Chanel: The Rare and The Wacky

Although Chanel is, still today, most famous for being the very definition of elegance and chic, Karl Lagerfeld has certainly not lost his sense of playfulness and humor when it comes to creating novelty in each collection. I have a little file in my inspiration folder where I tuck away Chanel's most unusal and/or wacky accessories. Some I would love to own, and some I wouldn't be caught dead in but would likely appreciate on someone else. I would definitely lean more in the direction of the unusual over the wacky. Perhaps, I'd wear the needlepoint tote if I found it for a good price. But mostly, they just make me smile.

This is a recent limited edition from the Paris-Moscow collection. I am such a sucker for anything military-inspired, and I think the bright red is so chic. 

I love the handcrafted feeling of these jeans with the crocheted trim. I usually wouldn't wear such a big, obvious logo, but since these are obviously vintage (you can tell by the cut) I actually think its funny here.

I'm surprised we haven't seen Rihanna wearing these Chanel comb/sunglasses yet.

Maybe it's just because black and white stripes are the big look of the season right now, but I think this classic bag in the bold yet classic stripe is very chic.

I'd never seen this shape or the smaller scale quilting before, and I LOVE it!! Of all the things on this bag, this is what I covet the most.

I wouldn't wear these myself, but I girl in my freshman year art class at Brown had these boots, and I was obsessed with staring at her from across the room. I just couldn't believe that someone would wear Chanel boots in college!

I love nearly anything that is needlepointed and crafty-looking, so you can imagine how I love something that is needlepointed, crafty-looking AND Chanel. It's probably one of those things that I wouldn't carry very often but would make me happy when I saw it hanging in my closet. 

I'm always on the fence about suspenders. I feel a bit affected at the idea of wearing them, but then love it when I see them on someone else. I'd especially like to see Alexa Chung rockin' these.

A metallic metal clutch is such a chic thing to wear in the evening. I have a Calvin Klein one in textured copper that I carry again and again. I love stampings on this one, and the fact that the other side just has the hammered quality without the markings, in case you want to be more discreet.

As most of you know, my daughter's name is Coco. I would love get this bag for her, but I probably wouldn't. It just doesn't feel appropriate for a child or even a teenager to carry a Chanel bag. 

I have a thing about not carrying bags that are cumbersome to carry, and I certainly wouldn't employ a wristlet, but I do love this as an object. It would look great on my dressing table or on a bookshelf. 

I love how classic this bracelet it. It reminds me of the chunkier ones Celine recently did.

God I love the shape of this backpack - so unusual and with beautiful hardware.

The hand-carved work on this pin is very pretty. It would make a great ring.

The ombre coloration on this 2.55 would be so great on someone, just not me. 

Genius.

Life in England: My Favourite Houses, Part 2

The abundance of great houses, both big and small, formal and rustic, untouched or newly restored continues to capture my attention here in England. We make whole day trips to go see a house or a garden, have a picnic, let the kids run around and hope that they absorb at least one thing they learned from the adventure. My 11 year old has just begun to take an interest. When we drive around now, she comments on houses she thinks are special or beautiful or that she thinks I might want to take a photo of. I think it's important to teach kids about inspiration - the idea that we can be excited by things we don't have to buy, the idea of developing a visual vocabulary, and the idea of sharing opinions - sometimes agreeing, sometimes not. It's fun!

I drive by Cornwell Manor on my way to drop the kids to school everyday. Even though I have been to the house may times (our friends live in it),  I always slow down to take in this view of it, and the reflection of the house in the pond, from the road. 

My kids are much more excited by the dovecote at Cornwell. Every day as we pass it on the school run, they crane their necks to see how many doves are visible on a given day. I just love the idea of a "bird house" being built in to match the architecture or your garden or house. Theirs is next to the stable yard as you can see.

Riding on bridal paths and going to hunting meets is also a great way to see beautiful houses. This is the huntsman and his hounds waiting for the day to began at Fifield.

I pass this cottage every morning on my daily run. It is one of my many dream houses.

Every time I drive into Oxford I take a different route so I can all the beautiful college buildings I haven't seen before. This residence is one of my favourites.

This cottage with the river running under it is along the path of a great, long walk I took recently. Could you live this close to the water? I think I could, but certainly not with little kids. 

In most English towns, there is a large house right in the middle of the village. Often it's a bit set back from the road and usually has quite a lot of land behind it, but it still feels part of the community. I find this idea very reassuring, to have space and privacy, but be close to other people.

Badminton is one of the more well known houses in England, particularly because it hosts the horse trials every spring. We recently went to stay with friends that live on the estate, and so enjoyed going on long, wintery walks in such beautiful surroundings.

The gatehouse at Badminton is the prettiest one I've seen.

St James' Palace is my favourite Royal residence. It looks more approachable and cozy than the other much more formal palaces around London.

This little cottage near Rousham with the twig porch really moved me. I can imagine having a very simple, idyllic childhood here.

This is another grand house in the middle of a village. I'm not sure exactly how the layout works, but the facade is just stunning.

So many of the perfect little cottages I see around England remind me of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. They make me want to go inside, eat a bowl of porridge, sit in a comfy chair, and then have a nap!

Discovering Sleepy Jones

Anything Andy Spade does gets my attention. He is a branding and marketing genius with a healthy sense of humor and great taste. His latest project is called Sleepy Jones. It's a collection of classic, colourful and relatively affordable lounging clothes, including pyjamas, underwear, robes and bathing suit cover ups. What also captures my heart is the written ethos behind the brand and the "journal" of photos that inspired it. When I come to New York in May, I can't wait to stock up on some Sleepy Jones for summer.

Snapshot: Robert Mapplethorpe's Belgian Shoes

I only like Belgian loafers on unlikely people. Robert Mapplethorpe is at the top of that list. Even less would I expect him to have his monogrammed!

Image courtesy of Patti Smith in "Just Kids."

Life on the Farm: Spring Babies!

With the abysmal spring weather we've been having in England, the one consolation is the overwhelming joy of meeting all the precious baby animals, both on our farm and on neighbouring ones. Just before the first of March my brother-in-law received 3 eight-week-old kunekune pigs to add to his existing 2 giant adult kunekunes. As soon as we opened their cages on the back of the pick-up we scooped them up into our arms and cuddled them. Delicious! It would be a short-lived pleasure though, as in just a week they were too heavy to lift and already too independent to seek human affection. Still, they're heaven to look at.

Our mini-herd of black sheep got knocked up rather late in the season, so we started seeing baby lambs on neighbouring farms long before we had the pleasure of having our own. One of my favourite things I've done so far this year in England was to go with my kids and a group of friends to see an entire industrial barn-full of newborn lambs at Daylesford, an organic farm just down the road from us. We were overwhelmed with cuteness and joy at the sight of all the little furry things wiggling their tails and drinking milk from their moms' udders. Adorableness turned to realness, however, when we got to see two lambs actually being born. My kids were silenced in their awe until my daughter Coco announced that birthing lambs is what she'd like to do as a job one day. She has already signed up to be a volunteer  in the animal barn at the Daylesford Summer Festival in May.

And lastly, we were so hoping our hens would have some little fuzzy yellow chicks this spring, but sadly our plans were thwarted when a sneaky fox got into the chicken house one night and ate our beloved rooster Kaiser. He was a glorious boy, with a rich red comb and slick black and green iridescent tail feathers. We had raised him since he was a baby, and he was just coming into his own, strutting around the farmyard like he owned the place. I like to think he died defending the 7 "ladies" that were his roommates in the coop. We're going to a get a new adult rooster on Friday so there may still be hope for some chicks this spring. Stay tuned....

Three little piggies. Isn't their ginger fur incredible?

The view from the Daylesford tractor looking over fields and fields of mommy sheep and their new lambs.

Day old babies at Daylesford. They mark the babies with a number matching their mother so they can keep track of who belongs to whom. When the babies are a day old they put a rubber band around their long tails to cut off the blood supply so they eventually fall off. We asked the farmer why they do this and he said it's to prevent infection. If their tails are long they get covered in poop and then flies are attracted to them and lay eggs there. Yuck! 

The mommy and new babies on our farm. Our black sheep are so furry and fat, it was impossible to know if they were actually pregnant. So far two have lambed (one a single and one with twins) with potentially two more to go.

Zach calls this one William because 'he has posh hair."

Coco, bonding with a day old lamb.

First day out in the field.

I stopped by a farmshop on the way home from the dentist the other day, and in the barn attached were these tiny piglets. The fact that I would run into something like this while buying groceries made me so happy that I live here.

Getting bigger every day! 

This is a little graphic - sorry! - but I couldn't resist showing it to you. The lamb in the foreground was the one we saw being born, just a minute before I took this photo. The one feeding in the background had had a very difficult birth just before we got there, but had recovered nicely. We stayed until the newborn stood up, and it was like watching a Disney movie - the little legs all shaky and the body off balance. There was plenty of trial and error and falling down, until he finally got his footing and made his way over the get a drink of milk. Birth to standing to walking in 15 minutes. Incredible.

My friend Laura and I getting broody with the babies.

Although it looks like the piglet is smiling along with Christopher (who chased her down and picked her up so the kids could pet her) you should have heard the squeals coming from her mouth! Poor piggy.