Winter Whites

Love these rooms curated by The Beautiful Soup:

Breakfast with Audrey

I received many wonderful Christmas presents but there is one I particularly love, Sam Wassons Book: Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman, about the making of my favorite movie ever. It is such a wonderful book and if you are an Audrey Hepburn fan I highly recommend it. So here is what I call Breakfast with Audrey:

Breakfast with Audrey by fromlondonwithlove featuring miu miu shoes

Audrey Little Black Dress, 295 GBP
Jil Sander Frill collared shirt, 185 GBP
Charles Anastase Oversized rain mac with belt, 390 GBP
Chloé Wool checked pants, $838
OSTRICH OPTIC BALLERINAS, 325 EUR
Miu Miu Patent-leather peep-toe pumps, $525
Bat Drop Earrings, Midnight Grey, $150
Audrey black sunglasses, 195 GBP
3 row rhinestone headband, $6.99
Pashley Cycles - Pashley Princess Sovereign
audrey by girlzinha mml

Wishing you a Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for including me as one of your daily reads and for your wonderful comments. I love sharing my adventures in London with you. It means the world to me as I love blogging and hope you enjoy my posts. Looking forward to a new year of even bigger adventures. Wishing you the very best!

Beauty in Design

I love this note that hangs in my parent's house. My dad and I love quotations. This is one of my favorites:

So true, isn't it?

Ode to Annie Hall

I love movies and Annie Hall has always been one of my favorite characters. I love her bold mixture of man meets woman. I was inspired today when I saw this picture:

Such great style! Here is my tribute to her:

Ode to Annie Hall by fromlondonwithlove featuring gold plated jewelry

Helmut Lang / Overlap Back Shirt, $255
Pinstripe suit waistcoat, 110 GBP
Cotton sailor pants, $80
gidigio almond toe 1" stacked flat heel 4 eye lace-up brogue F311-LAT, 325 CAD
Stud Bag, 495 AUD
Tennis racquets charm, 915 EUR
Charles-Hubert, Paris Gold-Plated Open Face Mechanical Pocket Watch, $225
Mont Blanc Women's MB221 Oversized Sunglasses, $283
Banana Blue & White Braces, 55 GBP
Black Floppy Hat, 20 GBP
Outlined Diamond Pattern Woven Silk Tie, $65

image via moviephone

My childhood bedroom was....

...awesome.

I'm taking a little break from my vacation here to write this special post for Blog For Digs: a fundraising blog crawl to raise money for an amazing cause called Dwell For Dignity hosted by Stonehouse Love. Dwell For Dignity is a wonderful organization that helps create safe and inspirational homes for families in need. Let me first thank Fabulous K for passing the blogging on to me. Please take a moment to visit her blog and all the other wonderful stories from designers and artists who have contributed to the crawl. They are great fun to read.

My favorite thing about my childhood room was the red velvet paisley wallpaper. It was not only ridiculously bright and cheerful but it had a wonderful tactile quality to it. The only thing that would have made it better was if it was strawberry flavored scratch and sniff like those stickers from the 80's. I loved running my hands along the wall and feeling the grooves and ripples of the paper. It was soft and velvety and reminded me being in a castle. I felt like a princess.

This matched my favorite red blow up chair that I would sit in and read Richard Scarry books. There is nothing like inflatable furniture. It's very functional in California as it can go in your living room or in the pool. I have a picture of this chair somewhere but unfortunately my parents have just moved and it is stuck in a box in the garage. I will try and find it though.

I shared this room with my brother for a few years. We loved making tents out of sheets and broom poles so that the whole room was a fortress. It was awesome. Indoor forts are the best I have to say. My mom made us 'people of the world' sheet sets which were wonderful and had people in native dress from every nationality. I loved being tucked into bed and being told stories about where the people were from and where they lived. I would fall asleep dreaming of places I wanted to go.

Years later my brother moved to his own room and my room was redone.  Down came the red velvet and up went the white and pink rosebud Laura Ashley wallpaper, matching towels and pink carpet. All picked out by yours truly. Every 10 year old girl's dream. I also had a quilted green window seat built into the bay window where I would curl up and read for hours. My room had old white shutters which I always loved and you just don't find nowadays. The kind with the really slim slats and little latches.

The one decor item I always wanted wasn't really a decor item but more of a lifestyle. I dreamed of living like Pippi Longstocking and doing things like washing the floor with brushes on my feet and having a horse in the house. That would've been cool. And a monkey. Have to have a monkey.

It gives me great inspiration for when I have a family. There will be no rules. I would love to do things like have a swing in the living room, secret rooms, lofts and charcoal walls to draw on. My childhood was wonderful, imaginative and filled with inspiration. In my teen years my parents let my brother and I design our rooms as we added a second floor to the house. This included hammocks in the bedrooms, splatter paint and a 50 gallon salt water fish tank built into the wall. I was always allowed the freedom to explore and use my imagination which definitely shapes my design sensibility today.

However to this day that red velvet wallpaper still remains my favorite memory. I will always be inspired by it. It reminds me to be bold, be brave and to break all the rules!

Please make sure to check out Fuerst Editions tomorrow for more Blog For Digs stories and don't forget to make a donation to Dwell for Diginity. Anything is appreciated! Merry Christmas!

A little R&R....

Thank you so much for following FROM LONDON WITH LOVE ☂.  It means the world to me. I'm off to California for some much needed rest and relaxation. See you in the New Year!!

Hello old friend

When I was in elementary school there was nothing more exciting than a shopping trip to Esprit which at the time was located in West Hollywood right across from the I-Hop and is now a CVS pharmacy which is totally depressing. The building was very modern cement and they had these little kid size shopping carts. I was a kid in a candy store for sure. I can still feel the thrill of walking around and trying on all those amazing clothes. It was the 80's and let's just say there were a lot of geometric shapes and loud colors. It was azzzzome as my friend says. I have not worn Esprit since I was 12 and was brought back to this nostalgic state by a trip to the big Esprit on Oxford St. I have to say. I'm liking their style. Maybe I'll be an Esprit girl once again!

French Farmhouse Perfection

Love this home by Josephine Ryan a British designer who spends her time between here and France collecting vintage wares. I will have to visit her store in London:

 

via Inspiring Interiors

Love my Hudsons

I have one pair of H by Hudson boots that I got here and they are my staple boot.

Saks

There motto is Good Shoes for Good People and I have to say they are good shoes and I definitely feel good wearing them. I know they are now reaching the States and are being carried at Saks. Like any walking city London is very hard on your shoes and mine don't even have a dent after 6 months of wear and tear. They are one of the best made and most comfortable boots I have ever owned. Here are some more I dream of adding to my collection:

H by Hudson UK

Jules B UK

London Family Style

This book is definitely going on my wish list: London Family Style by Paumes

 

Lovin over the knee!

ASOS

I'm really loving the over the knee socks. It's a big trend right now that I'm seeing all over London. So cute! Also when you layer with tights it's really warm.

The Fiesty House

The Refinery

Domestic Sluttery

source

Fashionising

Juicy

Especially when paired with a great pair of H by Hudson Oxford Shoes: