Interior Inspiration: A Touch of Monochrome

Posted in Interior by A Spoonful of Style

With a wardrobe that mainly consists of monochrome pieces with a bit of denim and neutrals mixed in, perhaps it is not surprising that I am drawn to interior schemes that also reflect my taste in clothing. Black and white is a timeless combination that can easily be varied and updated by adding colourful accessories.

All these pictures and more are on my Pinterest board ‘My dream abode’.

{I love the lamp in this picture and the wooden floorboards}

{A cosy and stylish living space}

{The curtains, the rug and the lamp in the corner – it all works beautifully together}

{I love the zebra rug and the Eames chairs. The kakelugn fireplace is a very popular feature in Scandinavian homes}

{Marble worktops may not be practical but they sure do look stunning}

{I would love a headboard like this in my bedroom}

12Mar2014

Linked In

Posted in Linked In by A Spoonful of Style

Happy Wednesday everyone! Hard to believe that we are already halfway through the working week. I have had one of those (very rare) productive mornings where I managed to get loads done without being distracted by the Internet (Facebook is the worst – I can easily waste half an hour on there without even realising – although I’m a lot better now that I’ve deleted the App from my phone) or the pile of glossy interior magazines currently residing on the kitchen table. So far I’ve written an article for work, put all the washing away, hoovered upstairs and ordered a pair of new football boots from Cameron (Rather scarily his feet are now just one size smaller than mine.) I still have half an hour until I have to collect Clemmie from preschool so plenty of time to share some of my best finds from around the web this week.

1. Now that the children are a bit older I would love to start travelling a bit more. I found this list of 100 places to visit before you die and there are plenty of places on there that I have yet to visit.

2. We all have different food tastes in our household but one thing that we all love is a good bowl of pasta. Here are 25 best pasta recipes to try.

3. Tips on how to write the perfect thank you note – and even better if it is written on this gorgeous Smythson stationery

4. The secret of a happy marriage is apparently to tell your partner you love them ten times a week and go on at least three dates a month. Does dinner a deux at home count? Otherwise the babysitting bill could start piling up…

5. This is one that I really need at the moment as I’m trying to sort through all the stuff from my parents’ house as well as old and outgrown clothes, toys etc. I don’t consider myself to be a hoarder but sometimes I have a hard time deciding what to keep and what to throw out or sell. How to edit your wardrobe and avoid stuffocation

6. Finally, here is a collection of Fashion Quotes to inspire and amuse.

Still 15 minutes to go so I’m off to sit in the garden with my coffee and one of those tempting magazines. Have a great Wednesday. X

9Mar2014

The Weekend in Pictures

Posted in Family Life by A Spoonful of Style

{I went for a walk on Saturday morning and snapped these lovely daffodils}

Isn’t it amazing what a difference a bit of sunshine can make? We have had glorious weather this weekend and somehow everything seems so much easier when the sun is out, everyone is happier (including the normally grumpy drivers in London!) and even food seems to taste better when it is eaten outside, underneath bright blue skies. I wonder if it’s just because nice weather is such a rarity on these shores. I’d love to know – if you’re lucky enough to live in sunnier climes, does it still boost your mood or do you just get used to it?

{The outdoor furniture could do with a good clean but it was blissful to sit outside with a cup of coffee and a magazine, listening to the birds chirping in the trees and the children arguing over the football (oh well you can’t have it all!)}

{Lady in blue: Me up in town this morning wearing my blue pumps from New Look (bought five years ago), a white and blue scarf (bought in Sweden), knitted jacket by Odd Molly, jeans by Paige Denim and sunglasses from Oliver Peoples}

{We try to go up to the Swedish Church in Marylebone twice a month so the children can go to Sunday school and practice their language skills. Afterwards, there is always coffee and plenty of cakes – during Lent they serve traditional Swedish semla (cakes flavoured with cardamom and filled with almond paste and cream) – sooo yummy!}

{It looks like it will be the perfect week to fit in a few power walks and trips to the park. No doubt the rain will return at some point so I intend to make the most of it!}

Now the kids are all in bed, the washing up is done, my blog post is written and I think we have time to squeeze in a couple of episodes of House of Cards. We’ve almost watched all of the second series so have to find another one soon…

Hope you’ve all had a great weekend. X

7Mar2014

Five on Friday

Posted in Five on Friday by A Spoonful of Style

{Some of you may remember that I was lusting after the Narsissist eye palette by Nars a few weeks ago. Alas it was not to be – I had planned to buy it with my Space NK vouchers but as the eye palette was exclusive to Selfridges here in the UK, I didn’t feel I could justify the £55. So instead I bought the Narsissist cheek palette which was stocked by Space NK and comes with a blusher, highlighter and bronzer.}

{I’m loving my coffee table books at the moment. They make great home accents and I like to flick through them for inspiration. My most recent additions are the Alexa Chung book ‘It’ and a beautiful Chanel book filled with images to drool over.}

The best laid plans as they say…

This week hasn’t turned out quite how I wanted. On Monday Casper came home with a sore ear and he hasn’t been back at school all week. We went to the doctor who diagnosed a viral ear infection so antibiotics wouldn’t help, all we can do is try and reduce the pain with Nurofen and Calpol. It’s not too bad during the day but at night it is very painful as the fluid in ear builds up and he has trouble sleeping. So pretty much everything has been cancelled this week – from playdates and after school activities to my hair appointment and lunch date. While I hate to see him suffer, it has been really nice having him at home. With three children it’s not always easy to find one-to-one time, especially with the boys as they are at school all day. He has had to amuse himself with Lego and the iPad while I’ve been working but we have also had time for nice chats, board games and baking.

Hopefully his ear will improve as we head into weekend. The weather is set to be lovely – with temperatures of 17 degrees forecast for Sunday! – so I’m looking forward to sitting out in the garden with a cup of coffee to soak up some rays.

Hope you have a fab weekend! X

{The clear-out at my parents’ house continues and this week I saved a silk clutch, that my dad bought in Japan for my mum in the late 70s, from going off to the charity shop. It’s not my usual style but I think it will look good with a cream summer dress or just jeans and a simple tee, with gold heels and jewellery.}

{Cameron looked great in his Sherlock Holmes costume for World Book Day yesterday and I’m happy to report that my Burberry returned home unscathed.}

{It’s been a busy week but I managed to take a few minutes out to read the interview with SJP in this month’s Harper’s Bazaar. And of course, you can’t have a proper break without coffee and chocolate biscuits!}

5Mar2014

Recipe: Daim Biscuits

Posted in Food & Recipes by A Spoonful of Style

You can’t beat a good biscuit – together with a nice cup of tea (or glass of milk for the kiddos) it can turn a bad day into a bearable one with the first bite. The children and I first made these biscuits over half term and then Casper and I whipped up another batch this week when he was off school with an ear infection. I honestly think that just the delicious smell wafting through the kitchen did him as much good as all the spoonfuls of Calpol put together! If you don’t believe me, try them for yourself, quick and easy to make, they are the perfect mix of soft and crunchy – what’s not to love?

Daim biscuits:

(makes around 20-30 biscuits)
100 g butter (at room temperature)
80g caster sugar
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp golden syrup
150 g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 regular Daim bars (crushed into small pieces with a pestle and mortar)

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and knead into a dough. Divide in two pieces and roll into two long sausage shapes. Place them on a tray covered in baking parchment and flatten with your fingers. Bake in the oven at 175 C, for 12-15 minutes. Take out the tray and cut the biscuits diagonally before they have cooled.

Enjoy! X

5Mar2014

Interior Inspiration: Mad for Marble

Posted in Interior by A Spoonful of Style

A beautiful material that has been used since ancient times, marble is in my opinion the most elegant of stones – smooth and cool to the touch, it simply oozes luxury when incorporated into an interior design scheme. My other half has rejected my suggestion of a marble countertop for our kitchen on the grounds that it is too showy, expensive and impractical and I probably have to agree on the last point. Because of its tendency to stain and scratch, marble countertops in kitchens and bathrooms is not always the most practical choice. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t indulge in a few choice marble accessories around the house.

{A classic tulip dining table or a marble top coffee table like these ones by House Doctor and Asplund would be lovely but, failing that, any of these accessories would fit nicely into our home as well. Marble trays by Hay, chopping board by House Doctor, kitchen utensil holder from Crate & Barrel and marble candlestick by Menu at Royal Design}.

28Feb2014

Five on Friday

Posted in Five on Friday by A Spoonful of Style

I went on a spending spree at Space NK and used up the vouchers I got for Christmas and my birthday last autumn. Love that shop! I will do a separate post on the things I bought next week.

I started putting together a kitchen inspiration folder ahead of our planned renovation later this year. Between that and my Pinterest board I don’t think I’ll be stuck for ideas.

This jewellery tree was on sale for only £10 in a local boutique. Having some of my favourite pieces on display on top of my dresser will hopefully encourage me to accessorize more.

Honestly, I am not a shopaholic but I had forgotten about these Unisa boots that I bought just before Christmas. Now that I’ve found them, I can’t stop wearing them as they are so comfortable. They remind me of my favourite pair of boots that I had at school.

I’m also somewhat obsessed with my Star sweater from Hunky Dory (another Sale buy) – accessorized here with my ten-year-old son’s beanie, which I keep stealing – much to his embarrassment I should add (I just tell him it’s pay back for all those toddler tantrums he used to throw in the middle of the supermarket to embarrass me!)

Happy Friday everyone! I hope the weekend is all you want it to be – and more! X

27Feb2014

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Posted in Family Life by A Spoonful of Style

My parents have put their house on the market and, as they’re downsizing, kindly invited me over this week to go through some boxes they had found lurking in the deepest, darkest corners of their loft. I spent quite a few hours wading through more than two decades of memories, from the newspapers published on the day I was born to my university dissertation. I won’t keep all of it of course, for one we haven’t got the storage space and also I don’t think it’s that interesting to anyone apart from me. But it was fun to relive old memories.

What made me laugh the most were the little books that my friend and I wrote (and illustrated) ourselves back in Sweden when we decided to start our own library – we can’t have been older than eight or nine. For someone who had a very harmonious and well-adjusted childhood, I sure managed to come up with some dark, disturbing plot lines…

I found some old photos of me as a toddler and as a teenager with my beloved grandmother.

We bought Clemmie a dolls house for Christmas without knowing that, tucked away in my parents’ loft, was a box of all my old dolls house furniture (the house itself has been disposed of along the way). We brought it all back home and she loves playing with it so we could have saved ourselves a bit of money! There is tons more, including bedroom, bathroom and three (??) kitchen sets – I only photographed a few pieces as I wanted to show you the sauna – so very Swedish!

Clemmie also took a shine to my old teddies which are now propped up on her bed next to the Maileg bunnies. Considering they have been in storage for such a long time they are rather well preserved although I have warned her to be gentle with them as, in Teddy years ,they are old age pensioners.

I also found some copies of The Face, dating back to 1996. It must be the same year (or maybe the year after..) I saw both The Prodigy and Oasis live at Glastonbury. I wonder if my children will be impressed?

There are still many more boxes to go through (having had the luxury of lots of storage space, my parents haven’t cleared anything out since we left Sweden!) but I hope to whittle down what I keep to two box files at the most. Wish me luck!

26Feb2014

Linked In

Posted in Linked In by A Spoonful of Style

1.In the end, happiness is what we all strive for. Here are ten habits that will make us happier

2. Save up to 30% on Shopbop with the code BIGEVENT14 (Valid until tomorrow). I love this Juicy Couture necklace

3. Make your own original headboard with this DIY guide

4. Put a spring in your step and drool over the latest styles just in at Selfridges from Isabel Marant, Nicholas Kirkwood, Acne and Tods

5. A new book with helpful strategies to help kids cope with sensory overload in today’s hectic world

6. Pancake Day is just around the corner: here is a foolproof recipe for perfect pancakes

25Feb2014

Interior Inspiration: A Walk-in-Closet on a Budget

Posted in Interior by A Spoonful of Style

A walk-in-closet is high up on my wishlist when we finally get around to doing our house extension. I’m not a massive hoarder but I’ve still got more clothes and shoes than I can comfortably fit into our existing wardrobe (and I’m already taking up almost half of my husband’s side…) As soon as I saw these pictures on the fabulous Stylizimo blog I was smitten. It is definitely the kind of space that I would like, and the best thing of all is that most of it comes from Ikea so it wouldn’t cost the earth to replicate.