The plan was that this was going to be the epitome of a hot, sunny post but it’s all gone a bit wrong again thanks to our bizarre weather. If you’re a regular reader you’ll remember the post when I was feeling sad about our friends (J&R) who are moving. These are the friends who, for 10 years, have lived just around the corner and, even though they’re moving to a village nearby, it won’t be quite the same. R and I both grew up here (although we didn’t know each other) and like us, they had big careers in London but moved back here here for the schools and the lifestyle. Because of this, we find we have a mutual understanding of things that other friends don’t always get. In a meeting of minds, we all sometimes miss the glamour and sophistication of the South but at the same time appreciate what we have gained. Anyway, the move is happening very quickly so on Saturday we invited them round for one last ‘stagger home’ evening to give them a break from the packing. We wanted to make it a bit special so we took the 3rd place World cup play-off as inspiration and themed it Brazil / Netherlands.
It was a blazing hot day so I spent the afternoon putting bunting up, placing lanterns in trees, stuffing and hanging a piñata (I know that’s Mexican but stay with me) and making sure that I had my most scented garden pots in the right places. We devised a Brazilian / Dutch menu (marinaded steak with a coriander salsa and pico de gallo salad with mango along with sliced pineapple for Brazil, fries with various dips and sauces and Dutch apple pie for the Netherlands).
Mr MC spent a (very) happy afternoon trialling caipirinha recipes and we had Brazilian beer delivered. An hour before they were due to arrive, all was ready and I slipped off to change into an outfit with a nod to the tropical:
- Dress: vintage Quiksilver
- Espadrilles: Boden (past season)
There was just time for a sit down in the garden with a small aperitif when, gazing out across the bay, I saw storm clouds rolling in, bringing the wind with them. So – change of plan, change of clothes (quick sip of caipirinha as I was transporting everything back inside):
- Sweatshirt: J Crew sale £35 reduced from £69
- Hampton boyfriend jeans: £79 Jigsaw
- Pointed slingbacks: Boden now £34.50 in sale – grrr!
There followed a mad dismantling of everything we’d done and we threw everything inside just as the rain and the guests arrived (in their Carmen Miranda masks – how did I forget to take a photo)! A good evening ensued, with Mr MC determined to proceed in his Brazilian inspired attire – in the rain:
Not much football was watched and the indoor piñata experience was a bit alarming as children aged between 9 and 17 beat it with full force whilst a battered MC held it!
And of course Sunday dawned bright and sunny for the clearing up:
- T-shirt: Oasis (out of stock)
- Chino Shorts: Boden (now £310
- Necklace: Accessorize
- Sunglasses: Chanel
- Pointed slingbacks: Boden
So – the last time I talked about J & R and the big move from a fabulous house to a ‘project,’ a number of you sent in pleas to see the houses. I now have their permission for a show and tell so, in a move away from my normal type of post, here is some house love:
The beautiful house that they are selling (yes it’s the whole thing):
Gorgeous isn’t it – and the house that they are buying which needs a lot of work inside but will be also be beautiful by next Easter!
It’s a typical Beatrix Potter Lake District style of house and the gardens go on forever with twists and turns and secret bits – our gang of kids are going to have a whale of a time playing hide and seek – in fact we may well lose them for days! So, although they will now be ‘offcomers’ in our village, we wish them well and look forward to seeing what they do (and no doubt helping them do it at various points when photos will be taken)!
Reverting back to clothes quickly in case I’m losing any of you, here’s today’s outfit (you will remember I was very, very lucky with the Whistles sale last week):
- Lena blazer: Whistles £40 YES £40 (I bought it in black too so I now have one in every colour which was my goal at the beginning of the season)
- Bardot T-shirt: Wallis currently £8 in the sale (these are my favourite plain white t-shirts and I just replace them every year to keep them fresh)
- Relaxed skinny jeans: Next
- Silver pointed sling backs: Boden currently £55.20 in the sale
- Necklace: Treaty
I’m also holding the new backpack that I’ve bought as a day sack for our holiday. If you don’t have a teenager you won’t know that Herschel is the hottest thing to have right now. I’m smiling because I know how my eldest will groan and roll his eyes heavenwards when he sees I’ve bought one (despite the fact that I got him one ages ago). They’re usually about £80 in places like Urban Outfitters but I imported this from the states – it only took 2 days to arrive and even with the £16 duty was well worth it at £37. Unfortunately I can’t find the link but if I do, I’ll post it. Here’s a close up:
So there you have it – a mixed up post about clothes, food, accessories and interiors – I hope you’re still with me! Let me know if you like seeing interiors now and again and I’ll include more, equally if you’re happier just to stick with clothes that’s fine by me. It would be really helpful if you let me know via the comments.
