Carmen Miranda

A bit more from the wedding

A country wedding

Good things

Uno. Meeting up with old school friend and fellow blogger Kelly, her gift of homemade pistachio macaroons was so sweet, and incredibly delicious. What do two bloggers talk about? Gocco, letter press, inspiring blogs, old school friends and their whereabouts, ribbon, recipes, books and shoes.

Due. Filling every available vase and jar with sweetpeas

Tre. New gold shoes, perfect for tango evenings

Quattro. Meat free Monday Mark III, salad of lettuce, angelica leaves, mint and nasturtium flowers - all from the garden of Miss P, served with Chargrilled Halloumi cheese, The Hound and The Aristocrat have yet to be convinced that flowers and sheeps cheese are food, and are polishing off the macaroons.

Other good things have included: Rose wine, slutty red nail polish, hot summer days and sultry evenings, Wimbledon, Hickstead and Glastonbury coverage on the BBC.

Not such good things have included, mowing over the lawnmower cable - how the devil to you fix it? Being served Waitrose "Essentials" coffee, humid weather making one's hair curly, and The Hound has dug up more of the lawn.

Tomorrow....some weddings

Things are a bit hectic this week, so posts will be few and far between, but oh my! when we return so much to show you.

I leave you with the first of the sweetpeas, The Hound, and meat free monday the lazy girl's supper. I call it Bruschetta, The Hound says it is stuff on toast, and therefore cannot constitute a meal.

Here are a few lovely blogs to keep you amused.....Ci vediamo presto xoxo

Punam Bean

Nectar and Light

Blue Moss

Gladys Gladrags

Swine before pearls

Ferrari finished ahead of McLaren, this is not a good thing.

1. Still we have the heady scent of Tuberose to lighten the mood, it is the sexiest smelling flower ever. 2. Cherry brandy roses that really should be thrown out, but they look so beautiful as they fade. 3. A photo from months ago that has inspired two brides. 4. There has been a lot of giggling.

A new series of Top Gear starts tonight, The Hound is pouring us all a gin in preparation as I leaf through this Months OFM. Mr Slater has wonderful recipes for Meat Free Mondays, are you giving it a go? Can we eat fish? There is also an interesting article on my old boss Antonio Carluccio

Today my sweetpeas have finally decided to flower.

The Cool Wall

Did we get it right? Qualifying didn't exactly go well, The Hound is hoping for a miracle or that at the very least both Ferrari's are DNF, either way.

Off to select a pair of **** me shoes for this evening.

à demain xoxo

Don't phone....it's just for fun.

Can't you tell that this is all just a contest?

The one that wins will be the one that hits the hardest

But baby I don't mean it

I mean it,

I promise

Da da da, da da

Flowers for a Friday

The Hound has given fresh lavender a badge of merit. Badges of merit are his new thing, he is also giving detentions and one suspension.......

We are planning a weekend of purple hydrangea and alliums, a Grand Prix, out and out decadence, sky high heels, and pink cheeks.

xoxo

Pink at Burghley

The wedding breakfast is to be afternoon tea. In their honour we have eaten cake, a lot of cake.

Currently loving......navy blue and bright pink

It is summer, navy is the new black. Buttonhole of garden rose, mint, acacia and that vintage ribbon.

The new hair is meeting with universal applause with the exception of The Grandmother who prefers it long, she would also probably prefer we all wore crinolines and did needlepoint and played the piano.

Today a lady came into the shop who asked to speak to Miss Pickering, I declared myself to be the very one. She looked bemused, and said i didn't look like the picture on the website, neither The Hound or I can decide if this was a compliment or not. Sometimes people are expecting an old lady or somebody from a Jane Austen novel, I am neither.

Also my name is not Sarah.

Think Carmen Miranda

As over the top as you like, this is my brief for a 40th birthday party. Pineapples and bananas mandatory, see it's not all vintage roses.

Tonight is cocktail night, I am going "in the style of " SJP series 5, I have had 3 inches chopped off my hair and wired up a few peonies onto an aliceband. I will not be taking a child.

Make mine a Dirty martini

Ingredients:
2 1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz dry vermouth
olive brine to taste
olive for garnish

Meat free Monday

By reading this blog, I discovered that there is a new campaign to be meat free for one day of the week. I can't help but think Monday isn't the best day, cold roast chicken sandwiches are the norm. Anyway we decided to give it a go, tonight roast veg with buffalo mozzarella.

I found the official Meat Free Monday website, and discovered it to be nothing more than a veiled marketing campaign for Linda McCartney's veggie sausages - I feel cheated.

In my teenage years I was have a vegetarian twice, The Mother Hen learnt to do wonders with bulgar wheat.

Also The Hound reminded me that we had eaten trout for breakfast. Does fish count in this sort of thing?

Hydrangeas in a rusty pail - contemporary chic xoxo

I have my photographers hat on this week, so expect posts with beaucoup of arty shots.

That's all.

King for a day

Free to a good home....he may look like butter wouldn't melt, but The Boy Wonder has a devil streak. Today's carnage, 2 toy pheasants, 1 lawn, 3 pieces of bubble wrap.

He will eat you out of house and home, demand to sleep between bowls of roses from Vaas (apparently this is what all royals do) embarrass you at the pet shop or vets, and make raaaaaaaaing noises at all other dogs. Any takers?

Free Fallin', Fallin'

1. French newspaper, British Vogue, Garden Roses, 2. Rhubarb and Rose compote, 3.Bansky Exhibition 4. She's a good girl crazy about Elvis.

Is this the best ever beginning to a film?

" That's the way it goes, but don't forget, it goes the other way too". Clarence Worley

Poppy heads and valerian

Flowers for a Friday.

Tomorrow I am working on a top secret mission which will be known as "The Saturday Project"

Have a great weekend, the weather promises to be lovely, so move the dining table into the garden, hang Chinese lanterns from the branches of trees, light candles, tie ribbons in your hair and fill jam jars and old jelly moulds with flowers.

Airing ones laundry in public

I know, I know a gratuitous shot of SJP in Paris carrying violets, but this is how I wanted to look today. I am wearing polka dots, and a necklace with the Eiffel tower, a seashore, and bambi on it. Eclectico (Due to seasonality I have opted for sweetpeas rather than violets.)

Unfortunately somewhere on Stamford Meadows I turned into Judy Finnegan, the middle aged television presenter, you remember that time her dress fell down and revealed her bra don't you?.....

This morning The Hound and I took a promenade on the meadows, after the incident I now carry my keys on a lanyard, normally around my wrist, but today I opted for around the neck - a more sporty look. As is common place on the meadows you bump into other dog walkers, and do the cursory chat about breeds, behaviour and how spoilt they all are - most pleasant. The Hound itching to snuffle for small furries decided it was time to go, and as I turned caught sight of my cleavage. Rather more than my cleavage, the weight of all the keys around my neck had popped open the buttons on my cardy, and I had been chatting away in my bra. My only saviour, unlike Judy in a matronly number, is todays bra is a black lacy number.

We're gift-wrapped kitty cats

We're only turning into tigers when we gotta fight back
Let's go, Eskimo
Out into the blue....

Did you ever think there would be a day when Girls Aloud lyrics would be on here?

We have been wrapping vases in gift wrap, works equally as well with ribbon and wallpaper.

One glass vase, countless options....simples.

Window vase of succulents, roses and peonies.

What florists do of an evening

1. Watch the last in the current series of Ashes to Ashes

2. Fill vases with grain for a corporate order tomorrow

3. Realise due to last minute increase in number of arrangements, there won't be enough grain.

4. Hit upon marvellous idea of filling vases with empty water bottles to utilise less grain.

5. Drink 3litres of water in 30 minutes to free up said water bottles.

6. Spill a lot of grain on the sitting room floor

7. Yes that is a tree, and no it isn't.