Five things I watched this week, plus my tree, which has arrived and is looking fine naked
Good morning, friends.
I was laughing to myself as I scrolled through the last month of posts and my calendar. It is a mishmash of pumpkin, cranberry, Thanksgiving and Christmas, with a smidgen of Halloween, sprinkled with holiday gift guides. Sorry, that is the life of a blogger. We have so many things to share that we have to cram them all into just a few weeks.
Speaking of Christmas, my tree arrived yesterday and I could not love it more. I was working on a project, but the minute after FedEx dropped that box on the porch I had it in the house and opened. Then I set aside 15 minutes, which turned into an hour of faffing with the branches. It comes prelit, so right now it is glowing away and looking fine naked. I have a plan for the decorations, but I was hoping to have the ceiling painted and the new curtains hung before I decorated. My new chairs will not arrive until after the holidays, so I decided it does not matter.
I think the traditional holiday sales calendar has flown out the window. I was getting pre-pre-Black Friday sales in October, this week it is the pre-Black Friday sales, and who knows what on Black Friday itself. Someone who knows more than I do, please tell me: when is the best time to shop? I can’t tell if you are actually getting a good deal.
Ok, enough of my all over the place rant. Let’s meander.
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A Restored London House
After last Saturday’s East Village apartment, we are crossing the Atlantic. Interior designer Elizabeth Macfarlane had her heart set on a Victorian villa in London, and when it went to another buyer, she took a chance on a neglected house in the same neighborhood. It was late Victorian, early Edwardian, and nearly every original feature had been stripped out. She and her husband worked from archival research to put it back, recreating the cornices and fireplaces, laying oak parquet floors and adding marble mosaic. Elizabeth is a former lawyer, and her design firm, Macfarlane Van der Heul, is built around English country house style, so the rooms balance proper architecture with collected art, antique furniture and richly patterned fabric. The palette began with a painting, a lamp that belonged to her grandmother and a scrap of 1930s floral fabric from a Paris flea market. A pantry lined with brown-and-white china is my kind of pantry, and I would happily take the dairy table in the kitchen too. The marbled-paper ceiling in her husband’s study is the detail I would steal first. The whole house feels as though it was put together over generations, which is a neat trick for a place that was almost entirely rebuilt. You can follow Macfarlane Van der Heul on Instagram at macfarlanevanderheul.
The Man Outside the Mansion
I am fascinated by this man. Anders Fernstedt is homeless, but he was not always, and his story is a surprising one. For years he has lived outside a mansion in Knightsbridge, one of London’s wealthiest neighborhoods, a house that once sold for £210 million, nearly $300 million. The house has 45 rooms and sits empty. Anders has built a life right outside it with donated food and clothes, power banks, books and a makeshift shelter. The video asks how he ended up there, how he gets by without money, and why the neighbors have accepted him. Forty-five rooms with nobody in them, and a man outside with a stack of books. You can see why I kept watching.
After I watched it, I noticed he was also interviewed by one of my favorite Instagram and YouTube accounts, Model Strangers. I hope you enjoy both videos.
The Making of the Fortnum and Mason Christmas Windows
A full year of planning goes into the Fortnum’s Christmas windows, and I spent an hour faffing with one tree and called it a day. The work belongs to their visual team and to Mojo Creative, a father-and-daughter pair of prop makers who have been working with Fortnum’s for more than forty years. After that long, they know the store’s traditions and heritage by heart, and the magic shows in every detail. This video takes you behind the scenes to watch them at work, which is a wonderful way to start the Christmas season.
Ralph Lauren Fall/Winter
Ralph Lauren and I go back to the 80s, plaid and all. This season’s story is an ode to the American woodland retreat, where nature, tradition and the rituals of family life shape the holidays. Ralph says there is a freedom in living close to nature, a gentler pace that lets you hear yourself. Woods, wool and a fireplace had my attention before I knew anything else about it.
Candles and a Cleanser I Am Loving
Dark winter days call for candlelight. Some people like candles and some people don’t, and I am firmly in the love-them camp. Linnea sent me two of their fall and winter candles, and I am enjoying both. Cedar Cardamom is the baking one, a mix of cardamom, fir and cedarwood smells like toasted spice and a cozy blanket. Pinewood is the limited edition winter candle, a blend of sage, pine and cedar that leans toward forest cabins and falling snow.
My new favorite skin cleanser is Youth To The People’s Superfood Cleanser. It is a gel cleanser made with kale, spinach and green tea, and it takes off dirt, makeup and leaves skin soft without stripping or drying it, and the scent is fresh and clean.
A Short Film for Your Saturday Night
Two waiters are closing up a Parisian bar for the night when their routine is upended by a mysterious old man, who may have come for more than a late drink. It is a romantic short film, in English and French with subtitles. Pour something warm and press play.
That is the meander for this week. Kim and Juliet have more waiting for you, so please stop by Make Mine a Spritzer and Northern California Style when you have a minute.
Now I am curious: when does Christmas shopping officially start at your house? And if you know when the real deals happen, please tell me, because I am still guessing.
Find me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for more during the week.
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