Dorothy and Toto head South by South West

They said we were crazy, to go all that way on a Bank Holiday just for a couple of days. There was a point whilst sitting in traffic at Tewkesbury for 3 hours, where I had to agree.

But they didn't know what we find at the end of the rainbow. Dartmouth. Friends. Gin.

That the view from the garden would be of narrow streets and the sea, or that we would be fed and watered in such style, or that The Hound and Bertie would become such friends.

I spent a lot of time in awe of my friends Marcelle and Simon, mainly at the obvious love and strength in their relationship, but also because their home is the DB's.

If you too wold like to go to Dartmouth, then stay here because a very nice man will make you a breakfast of  fresh farm eggs with the yellowest yolks you ever did see.
Get on a boat and go and eat here.
and buy some flowers from here.
or if you can't make it, just look at the local property porn.

did you have a marvellous Bank holiday? Or do you live somewhere where it wasn't one, and are quite sick of hearing about everybody else's?

Cheap as chips

The retro and vintage shop opposite us is closing down tomorrow.

The Missing Curtain will continue to blog and sell online, but if you have designs of being Artemis or Hannah then get your brogues down to the shop for the last 2 days.

It is an Aladdin's cave, and things are very cheap.

Props for bloggers and brides a go go.

but not the bambis or the tray i have just bought stolen those.

Sorry about that.

Wise men say only fools rush in

but i can't help falling in love with you

You being Autumn.

I am longing for a change in season, kicking leaves, crisp air, bowls of soup, borrowing a lovers cashmere jumper, hats and scarves, burgundy and plum, bright orange, game pie, hot chocolate with whipped cream, seed heads, dahlias, acorns, stockings and a new pencil case.

Are you with me?

Elvis is always on my mind.

An intimate wedding

Vases of pinks and creams sat in Oakham Castle and then lined the table at The Olive Branch for a wedding of 14.

Quicksand and senecio, mint and rosemary, and Michelin starred food.

Emily Quinton was on camera. Bonus.

I haven't opened the Leon book yet, but i did assemble a salad for us last night. All fancy leaves and albacore tuna and flowers.

If you are thinking the flowers were gathered at dusk from my garden, you are wrong.

Waitrose sell them in little tubs, and last night they were reduced to 10p.

You can take the girl out of Yorkshire......

Simple

I am craving simplicity, muted colours, and simple form.

but then i ruin it with a bit of Hornsea.

Who can resist a pair of squirrels? Especially a pair of squirrels French kissing?

Her lips are devil red

She's livin' la vida loca

Or the wedding season. Whichever.

A slick of red lipstick makes you look less exhausted, because when you are exhausted the worst thing is having everyone tell you that you look exhausted.

There haven't been any long leisurely sessions in the kitchen, no food posts, a lot of sandwiches from M&S, and many cans of Diet Coke.

I am hoping a charity shop acquisiton of the Leon Cookbook might change that, and the discovery of a new deli in Oakham. Hello exquisite smoked salmon.

There has also been an acquisition of an achingly hip nest of tables and a swan.

and move over Artemis, this week I want to be Emerson.

Have you been having good times?

In print

Lapelman has made it into a magazine.

Stars of New Media love it when they are in Old Media.

Everybody loves old media.

It's an article on buttonholes.

It is also a lesson in the advantages of florists learning how to take a half decent picture themselves.

There are some really lovely buttonholes in the article, but it is only the photographer that gets credited. Quite rightly it is their image but maybe brides would also like to know where to get the buttonhole / bouquet/ hair flower from?

Just a thought.

I took the picture, it has my name on it. I'm waiting for a bride to ask me to shoot her wedding.

p.s. i love that Saturdays bride has interrupted her honeymoon to comment on yesterday's post.

Commitment to the cause, also can Matt have a puppy now?

Don't throw your husband under a bus

Whilst making these wedding flowers, I watched many episdes of The Real Housewives of Orange County, late into the night.

I adored this couple, after meeting them, I wanted to put them in my pocket and take them home.

I didn't, because that would be odd.

Instead i made them flowers for their wedding, sweetpeas, lily of the valley, freesia, stock, roses, hydrangea. poppy heads, sage, rosemary, mint and many many other things.

and my sisters and i loaded it all and drove to meet the bride and her maids, who all enquired as to the whereabouts of The Hound. Then onto Claridges, where we behaved like tourists as i snapped them outside and tried to work the new fandangly parking meters by text.

and we snacked on the pink champagne truffles the bride had given us for sustenance. Top marks.
and then Clara came and took photos with an old Russian medium format camera.

and then we went for lunch, and realised that outside of work, everybody wearing striped top, jeans, red lipstick, blonde hair, probably looked a little odd.

and then the bride and groom emailed the following day to say thank you. It was a beautiful email, i cried.

I can't wait for the pro pictures....

Thank you to my sisters. Same time this week?
xx