Remember Remember...

Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason, why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

It is only relatively recently that I have truly begun to appreciate the seasonal festivities we have, especially those that us Brits so religiously celebrate year after year. Last night, on what felt like an exceptionally cold November evening, my flatmate and a friend put on our gilets, jackets and wellingtons and stood in the local cricket field getting our footwear muddy and delighting at a beautiful firework display. Against the pitch black sky an array of glittering colours 'popped' and lit up the night. There is a collective 'ooooohh' when a particularly big or pretty firework sets off and the air smells of gunpowder mixed with hog roast and hot wine. The 5th of november has always been one of my favorite nights of the year shortly following Christmas eve its a bit of a shame the story behind it is quite gruesome! 

So technically this photograph was taken at new years but seeing as I wasn't in London this year for fireworks night this picture of the lovely Big Ben will have to suffice!

Winter is not my favorite season (we usually have it wet, drizzly and windy down south) but when it is dry and frosty so that the steam is visible as your breathe out into the cold air even I have to admit its not half bad. [By the way since I was about five I've been calling such events 'fire breathing dragon days' and it never gets old]. Late October signifies piles of orange and red leaves, cosy nights wrapped up near the fireplace with a mocha in hand or dark frosty evenings wearing thick coats, fairisle knit wear and playing with sparklers. Its times like these that I must remember to remind myself that the Great British Winter isn't half bad after all. 

With love,

xoxo

The Bookcase Rant

I am a confessed aesthetic, to the point that sometimes it becomes a little OCD. My flat mate finds its hilarious that of all things its my bookshelf that has to look 'just right'. After weeks of petty debating I finally gave in and let her place her spiral bound notebooks on the third shelf rather than in her room (where there is no bookshelf). This may sound quite shocking to you but I cannot help but underline how ugly spiral bound notebooks are. They were simply not designed to be placed side on. 

On the subject of spines I have recently begun a collection of classic novels to my already bustling collection of books. I figured it was justifiable to spend some extra pennies on stories that have stood the test of time alongside the dozens of paperbacks I only read once and then either get lent out of sit looking pretty on the shelf (the aesthetic shelf). The stories I have read more than once are few but they are copies of books I will never lend, these include Paulo Coelho's 'The Alchemist' and Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' as well as copies of original Grimms' Tales and Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. These are stories I shall never be without. 

Anyway back to my original point; the Classics. This week I invested in my first 7 copies of the Penguin English Library. These books have beautiful covers and wonderfully colourful spines making them look like a very appealing read indeed when stacked in a neat collection on my bookshelf. In fact Penguin designers have even got the spines down to a fine art:

so a complete collection would look something like this:

They are SO pretty - no willpower is required to read these babies!

After having released 10 every month for the last 10 months creating a grand total of 100 beautiful classics I do hope that Penguin doesn't stop at 100.. there are so many other great novels to be included. The books I have begun with are as follows: 

• Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
• Short Stories, Edgar Allen Poe
• Tess of the d'Ubervilles, Thomas Hardy
• Wings of the Dove, Henry James
• The Picture of Dorian Grey, Oscar Wilde
• Kim, Rudyard Kipling
• Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens

There is a minor conflict of interest at the moment in that with all this 'Skyfall' talk I'm rather keen to begin collecting and reading the vintage versions of Ian Flemming's novels starting of course with the first, Casino Royal. I guess this will have to wait until christmas.... although I may be needing a new bookcase by then.

With love,

xoxo