The Mulberry Bush

I have stumbled on a delightful website called The Mulberry Bush (http://www.the-mulberrybush.co.uk/). Set up by Helene Iveson, the site carries deliciously pretty things by Lulu Guinness, Maisy Mouse and most importantly Emma Bridgewater (what a very nice name). Her range is divine! Please see her beautiful Starry nights and dancing Mice plates above. I especially love the teatowel as I am sure I have had the same dream....?. Other very special things are available as well. Who needs to go shopping in person ever again? Oh, except to go to Fortnum and Mason for a lady-like excursion.

I just can't help it.

I am convinced that the best way to spend a sick day from work is to rest in bed while mindlessly blogging and looking up Tiffany catalogues online.

This particular page made me squeal with delight. I allows the purchaser to completely justify the purchase of multiple charms by connecting them to life events. That means by now I would have bought myself one for getting a new job and another for relocating to the UK....and a collection is born.

I am especially enamoured by the Champagne bucket, far left, that I would have bought for myself when working at Taittinger last year (had i any money!).

What a lovely idea for christenings, bridesmaids and girlfriend gifts. Now, we all just need to go and purchase the bracelet so that we have excuses to buy for eachother.

Tiffany and Co, I just can't help it!

Inspiring Stores in Royal Tunbridge Wells

I am now aware that Royal Tunbridge Wells is a pretty fancy place to live. This is obvious to all that visit the town by the number of super swanky stores that we have! Here are a few of my favourites.....

Lombok is a UK distributor of Balinese furniture. Now, before you shut your computer down and run away screaming, I must explain. It is furniture from Asia but in a very Colonial Style. Their look is based upon big dark pieces of furniture, think captain's desks and glass doored display cabinets, lightened by the inclusion of natural fibres such as linen, rattan and water hyacinth, and splashes of silver and stainless steel.

Mum and I fell in love with this store and I am addicted to their style. One very simple window display below

shows the inspirational use of dark furnitire and lighter fabrics. They also stock gorgeous storm lanterns which stand almost a metre tall and I was lucky enough to receive one as my early birthday present from mum and dad. I adore it and it has pride of place in my little living room.

I am surprised at how much I love this look! It is quite a change from the white, white, white Scandinavian look that I have favoured for some time. Maybe it is because it reminds me of the Martha Stewart line of Turkey Hill furniture and a bit of Coco Republic as well. If Martha likes this look then it must be OK!

Find more inspiration at http://www.lombok.co.uk/

Another beautiful store that we have is Le Petit Jardin at the bottom of the High Street on the way to the Pantiles. It is a store filled with faded, scrubby garden seats, buckets and plants. They also stock lovely garden furniture and cute gardening gloves and wellington boots. The best thing about LPJ is that it is immaculately styled and draws one in like a magnet from the road. Impossible to walk past without buying something!

After this final store I willl stop bragging, so I had better make it a good one! The honours go to Cook which is a business designed for lazy bones like me in mind! Again this shop is twice as enticing because of the way it is styled. They use lots of red and white gingham, bunting and home made labels. it has a 50's home maker vibe. Oh, and the food is great as well (although one needs to save up for the convenience!).

Lucky girls like me can order online and have the food delivered after hours. if only my freezer wasn't the size of a deck of cards....! Think hearty meals like Beef Strog and Paprika Chicken and "puddings" (deserts) like Banoffee Pie. I will try to ignore the pudding section of the website. Try.

The Divine Fortnum and Mason

Yesterday, being a delightful sunny day in London, I decided to go for a lovely, long walk to Fortnum and Mason. Located just off Piccadilly Circus (it has been there for 300 years) it is the Holy Grail of department stores.

To begin with, the current window displays are pale blue birdcages filled with treats from around the store such as birthday cake shaped candles, ladies etiquette books and faberge eggs. Oh, so pretty. This is accompanied by bird calls being piped from the store front to add to this beautiful sensory experience.

Clive Christensen, the most expensive perfume in the world is available at F and M. They also stock Caron, the oldest perfume house in the world.

On entering the store you are swept into a whirl-wind of colour and delightful scents from the bespoke lolly bar, the flower section and ice cream sundae bar! It is absolutely amazing!

Everything is packaged in a version of Tiffany Blue (surprisingly) and tied with bows and ribbons. In fact, it is like a super glamorous version of the old David Jones in Adelaide, just much, much smaller. They don't even have a clothes department but instead concentrate on food, wine (yes, they have Chapel Down) and accessories for the powder room, picnics, kitchen and garden.

A delightful spot for afternoon tea or chosing little Christmas presents for those in Australia...... Such a shame that you don't all live in London as then I could have treats delivered by the F and M Horse Drawn Carriage.....amazing!

A new blog is born.......

Dear friends and family.

Here goes my bumbly blog.... Now that 3 mobile have FINALLY set up my internet connection at home I am able to waste my evening hours in front of the computer instead of watching the REVOLTING UK Big Brother. So shameful, I know. So, please grant me your patience while I discover how to put pictures on my blog and bore you with the details of my tiny life in the UK. I love your blogs and I hope you like mine just a little bit too.

Oh, and mamma.....I was looking at Emma's list of blogs and thought what an inventive person thought up a name like Runcible Spoon, looked at the blog and was amazed that someone would love Bellagio so much.....until I realised it was you. Too funny for me Joshua.