ephemerette

I'm on a bit of an enforced shopping diet at the moment so not really paying too much attention to what's in the sales other than some household stuff which desperately need replacing (discovered a spring  poking out of a mattress the other day :-/).   But,  but, look how pretty these plates from  Anthropoligie  are. Usually I prefer unfussy, plain white china when it comes to a dinner service, but  I have a collection of pretty mismatched small side plates used for snacks, cake and things. I'm a bit smitten with the handsome bird on the smaller side plate (right hand picture) and  sorely tempted to pick up a couple to add to my mismatched collection - they are on sale after all...

I moved offices recently landing me about 2 minutes walk from a Zara store. I'm telling you it's not a good thing to be walking past it's welcoming doors several times a day - just too easy to pop in and purchase on a regular basis.  Here are two of my recent buys -  This lovely caramel and black zebra scarf , think it may be a contender to finally replace my beloved and now somewhat bedraggled leopard scarf which I've been doggedly wearing year round for I think probably a couple of years now. This Zara baby is the perfect size and weight to wear at anytime of the year dressed up or down. And yes I am a sucker for animal print, to the point where I regard them as neutrals to throw over everything now. Secondly this black satchel bag . Pure impulse buy. I definitely didn't need a new bag  having bought several already this season but I really like it's shape and it has some nice detailing including the braided straps, plus for a cheapie it's mad...

I barrelled into Muji today to get a new notebook for work and sort of fell in love with this patchwork bulldog which is part of their Christmas collection (that time of the years again already?). Each one is made from a mixture of factory offcuts of tweeds and plaids so I'm guessing it's unlikely you'll come across two exactly the same. Love his little grumpy face- I have such a thing for grumpy looking animals.  They also have patchwork sausage dogs , and stripy cats made from reused yarn - For under £20 I think they'd make nice Xmas gifts, everyone needs a pet right?

I was admiring my friend L's homemade necklace the other day. She'd found a beautiful pair of vintage pocket watch keys in a charity shop and threaded them onto a long chain to make a pretty and unusual pendant. I thought I'd have a little look around Ebay to see if I might find any equally pretty keys for a similar project when I stumbled across, and promptly bought this beautiful (and working!) fob watch necklace by Fallen Angel .  They specialise in creating vintage inspired hand made jewellery and seem to have a bit of an obsession with Alice in Wonderland themed necklaces. I must admit I never really think to look for jewellery on Ebay, I tend to go to Etsy if I'm looking for something handmade or quirky, but judging by how many of Fallen Angel's pieces I've earmarked for possible Christmas gifts, clearly I might have been missing a trick.

I'm blaming Claire from Lola is beauty for alerting me to the existence of Sofia Coppola's second collection of SC bags for Louis Vuitton. Heaven, unaffordable, buttery, suedey, swingy heaven. She's got the perfect balance of luxe materials minus any clanging *designer* logo down. Lovely tidy size but capricious enough for the essentials - just the perfect take anywhere bag. As much as I appreciate LV's classic status I've never been very keen on their traditional monogrammed handbags as there are too many knock offs walking the streets, these clean, simple bags are the perfect antidote. Images via style rumour

I think I'm going to have to forcibly ban myself from any further extended periods of internet access, I've bought no less than 6 pairs of shoes in the past month and I keep finding more that I want including all of these beauties from F-Troupe . Buttons. Victoriana. Star shaped brogue punch outs. Squishy leather and bouncy crepe soles. I can't take it anymore, I'm checking myself into shopping rehab. Adieu.

As much as I'd love to regularly splurge half a months mortgage payment on purse it's just not a reality for me, and since my beloved Orla Kiely purse was stolen by some little toad earlier in the year I've been on a long search for a new perfect wallet and I think I've found it in this shiny little beauty above by Mimi Berry . It's not to big or small, has seperate zipped compartments for cash, change and cards and crucially for me isn't loaded with pointless clunky hardware causing it to take up too much room in my already overloaded handbag. I spent an embarrassingly long time deciding between whether to get the patent or grainy leather options and a further age agonising over sensible grown up black or brown or eye catching red or pink, but the 8 year old in me won so shiny pink it was and very satisfyingly it is too. Mimi Berry graduated from Central Saint Martins in London and specialises in beautifully crafted bags and purses all manufacture...

via plush palate Love the mixture of texture and tone in this look. It's highly likely you'll find me floating about in variations of this outfit all Autumn, lovely.

soft grey suede by ephemerette featuring suede boots Do you ever get weird crushes on a certain colour or fabric? Don't ask me why but at the moment I have it bad for grey suede shoes, in fact I've bought two pairs in the past week and if I track down the perfect platform court I might just buy another pair.  I have a tendency towards wearing a lot of black and the texture and colour of the velvety suede just works really well for me. Must diversify and actually but some shoes that'll work with the regular downpours we're starting to get in London though! 

Hiro , one of my recent feline additions to the family has been growing at a rate of knots, he's already nearly five kilos at just five months old and been nicknamed 'pony-cat' due to his size and habit of galloping round the house. He's pretty much out grown his kitten sized scratching posts now, so I was having a look online earlier for something a bit sturdier to withstand his heft when I came across this amazing  Cats Attack Scratch Post , a cardboard city which even has a little dangling helicopter toy so your kitty can do his best Godzilla impression and have a go at destroying skyscrapers instead of your furniture! Both my cats seem to love gnawing on cardboard, and I have a feeling they'd enjoy reducing this city to rubble so I might pop this in the shopping basket too whilst looking for a more traditional tower post. Just a bit frustrated at the lack of well designed and aesthetically pleasing cat furniture available which doesn't cost a bomb. Ins...

Just discovered these lovely air mail themed accessories by Paper Plane. I can't seem to find a dedicated website for the company but goodies like this envelope purse and 'something for the weekend' travel bag are available pretty widely on line in the UK. I've ordered myself change purse from the gifted penguin .

Spotted over at home shopping spy designer look but budget priced modern toile wallpaper called ‘La Vie Ordinaire’ by B&Q not usually known for quirky home ware. I'm not usually a fan of wallpaper as I find it too fussy, but I love the little London, Paris and New York scenes, complete with yellow taxis, bulldogs and poodles!

Why oh why isn't H&M home available in the UK? ( just as well really, or I would have bankrupted myself on frilly cushions and leopard print towels by now !) Loving the way these linens and accessories have been styled by Swedish stylist and set decorator Sasa Antic . I'm besotted with the top image, a glamorous bedroom in a barn! Just lovely.  

I braved the depths of the behemoth which is London's flagship Topshop store in Oxford Street  this weekend to pick up a couple of bits and pieces I've been coveting recently. As wondrous as the contents of the shop are, it generally it takes a hell of a lot to persuade me to go in as I have such little tolerance for the amount of mayhem, noise, marauding teens and often awful lackadaisical service it provides. But, I happened to be in the area early on Saturday morning so I performed a surgical strike and nipped in to get pair of these black suede and rose gold Helena sandals which I've had my eye on for a while (the pictures not doing them justice) and I also couldn't resist picking up this lovely faded pink woven bag, in lovely squishy leather.

I'm bowled over by these exquisite rings designed by Italian designer Arosha Luigi Taglia. having done a little digging it seems Arosha's a multi-discipline designer with lines in art, sculpture and interior products as well as making beautiful baubles like this. His work's available through his etsy shop and further information about his other work at his website .

Thes e lovely butterfly studies caught my eye yesterday over on mydeco . C reated by artist J oseph W arren using vintage maps, geological surveys and even lunar charts. They appeal to me as I'm not keen on the idea of keeping real butterflies in cases and I really like themes linked to travel and exploration in artwork. There's a nice little interview with Joseph on the mydeco blog here . The originals are quite expensive at £500 a piece over at image surgery which prices me out of owning one for myself, but I do like the idea of collecting some vintage maps and experimenting with creating a little set of my own.

Love the clean yet intricate pattern of this print Lace Study One by Elly Nelly, it reminds me of delicately patterned china. Available at Elly's shop here .

I couldn't help but take a few snaps of this beautiful collection of Wedgwood tea sets I spied recently whilst trailing around a department store in search of some non hideous curtains for my living room. All of the patterns and styles have been revived from vintage pieces held in the Wedgwood and Coalport archives, and are beautifully packaged in embossed teal and gold gift boxes. The top two images are from the polka dot tea story  collection, and second two from the Harlequin collection.

lonely city olden days skyscrapers Wild hodge podge ice cream coloured cities, and pastel vignettes of shops and streets by London based illustrator Janice Long, who also writes a blog called drawing in the back room  to journal her progress with drawings. There's all sorts of joy on paper available to buy at Janice's etsy shop  (my favourite is Lonely City). cakes at thirty three shops and balconies

via she design I'm really on a Scandinavian tip at the moment, j ust love the intricate honeycombform of this  pouffe  designed by SHE design studio based in Oslo, Norway. A pparently its entirely constructed of textile and bounces slightly when you sit on it!