If there is one good thing about my friend Zoë moving away to England it’s that she can tell me all about her adventures in her new place of residence, and visit all the places I would love to visit. The other day Zoë went to the opening of the anthropologie store in london on my behalf, and then sent me a truckload of beautiful photographs and wonderful descriptions of what is in store. I think my favourite installation is the tea bags in the front window, how fabulously creative and so very English. Zoë’s post is now in the guest quarters, so please  click here to read and view her gorgeous photos.

Thanks Zoë!

xx

It’s no secret that Anthropologie have something of a cult following in the blogosphere, and those of us not lucky enough to have visited a store in person have been left to gaze in envy on posts featuring stunning window installations and drooling over the luscious website (with its not-so-luscious overseas prices). So you can imagine my reaction when Pia received an invitation to the opening of the first Anthropologie store outside of the US and asked if I wanted to attend in her absence! The new Regent Street store, in a beautiful building in the retail heart of London, is 3 floors of eye candy, with so much to see and so many beautiful details to drool over, I spent an hour just looking before I even remembered to take photos! The prices sit mostly towards the higher end of scale, especially for the clothing and larger homewares items, but there are still reasonable items available, with enough scope to enjoy your visit and take away a little something as a treat.

While I recognised much of the clothing and homewares range from the website, I was overwhelmed by the number and scale of unique art installations decorating the store – most are from local British artists, and I was thrilled to discover they were all for sale as well! From beautiful handmade ceramic vessels to “knitted” pots and antique, reclaimed quilts refashioned into beautiful works of art, every corner was simply bursting with something surprising and handmade. It’s a distinctive philosophy of the store – to marry unique pieces from local and international artists, with vintage and antique items collected from all over the world to create a fabulous environment to compliment the apparel and homewares collections. Each store is unique and evolving all the time – the centrepiece of the Regent Street store is the amazing living wall – covering one entire wall of the shop, a total of 200m2, the patchwork of living plants is a stunning installation, and is even fed through a sustainable irrigation system which uses rainwater collected from the roof! It formed a fabulous background for the mouth-watering array of tea cakes and sandwiches on offer for this quintessentially English “afternoon tea” event, and I can assure you each and every one tasted as delicious as their appearance promised. And yes, I did try them all.

The event was a wonderful opportunity to see the store in its full glory, accompanied by champagne and yummy cake, and all-in-all I had a great time. I managed to walk away without too large a dent in my wallet (no discounts unfortunately!) and with some great images which I hope capture some of the atmosphere of this unique store. I even met one of my favourite fellow bloggers, the wonderful Susannah from Ink on My Fingers, and her sister Abby. The Anthropologie team have done a great job in bringing a unique independent boutique feeling to a retail chain – very different from the modern, bland and sterile-feeling establishments that populate the rest of Regent Street – the wonderful dyed teabag installations in the windows are an indication of what awaits you inside. Its definitely a fun shopping experience that is worth a trip if you’re in the area.

all text and photographs by zoë yule

On our way to the Val D’Amour we spent a night in Reims – a beautiful French city in the Champagne region. Yes, champagne.  Oh what a treat it was to enjoy a glass of the bubbly stuff right at the source! I had fantasies of finding a little bed and breakfast in one of the wineries and learning more about the making of etc, but alas we didn’t arrive in the region until after 9pm and had to leave by midday the next day to be able to get to our destination on time.

I did however have just enough time to enjoy a delicious glass of Mailly. The next morning, French Boy and I wandered about the town, I knowing little about where I was or what I was seeing,  and he knowing quite alot. I always feel really lucky to be wandering around this fabulous country with him, he is not only like a private tour guide but he has personal memories to add to each story.

After we indulged in a breakfast of pain au chocolat, croissants, baguette with homemade jam, fresh juice and coffee (me, tea of course), we wandered toward the cathedral, having spotted the towers ahead, pointed straight to the sky. And although I am not religious – despite the fact that my last name in Dutch actually means “by the church” (so ironic!) – I do enjoy history and art, and this particular church is an incredible structure housing both amazing art and fascinating history. From the outside it reminded me of the Notre Dame in Paris. And in the inside at first well, it just reminded me of a church. But as I wandered further through the huge arched nave, and looked and listened, I realised how significant this particular place has been in the course of French history.

Would you like to know what it sounds like inside? I recorded a little soundscape for you, click the play button below to be transported inside as we gaze at the photos I took while wandering through the aisles…

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This is where I stood for the longest while, looking up at those gigantic windows and watching the light flood through. Of all the stained glass windows in the cathedral, these ones made me stop in my tracks. They were so uniquely different to all the others, so modern and creative. French Boy noticed my reaction and lent in to whisper two words to me:  “Marc Chagall”. Oh I thought, no wonder I adore them, what a masterpiece.

I hope you enjoyed my quietish tour through the cathedral. Although this particular post really had nothing to do with the scenery or food of France.

xx

PS Funnily enough there  just happened to be a Canadian village set up in the Reims city square that weekend. How bizarre it was to be eating croissants in this very French town and seeing Canadian flags attached to little wooden huts selling maple syrup, cranberries, beer, salmon, soaps and wool sweaters. It was like being in Montreal, but then absolutely nothing like it. Nice touch to our weekend though!

photograph by pia jane bijkerk

Our sweet (blog)house guest Zoë has just left a very special post in the guest quarters for us all and I’ll only give you one hint: it’s about following one’s dreams. Please click here to read Zoë’s post and leave her a special comment. I will write a proper post about it soon once you’ve all read what she has to say. I will just add this though – thank you, dear friend, for sharing your world with us.

xx

Friends, this post is quite poignant, and has been a difficult one to write. So I hope you will forgive me some waffle.

Way back, many months ago, when I first met Pia, I sent her an invitation to my own private (shamefully neglected) blog which I write for family and friends back home. One post in particular caught her eye, after I visited a wonderful museum in the heart of the canal district: the Van Loon house.

The grand double-fronted canal house dates from 1672, and was once the residence of Ferdinand Bol, one of Rembrandt’s more successful students. Throughout the 19th century, the Van Loons, a wealthy and influential family in Amsterdam, made the house their primary residence.

Various Van Loon family members were at times city councillors and mayors of Amsterdam, and held key positions within the Dutch East-India Company.

The last resident of the house prior to its conversion to a museum was Thora van Loon-Egidius. She was Dame du Palais (friend, confidant and lady-in-waiting) to Queen Wilhelmina for forty years, and as such entertained royal guests and important visitors at the house. The current Mrs van Loon occupies a similar position in the court of Queen Beatrix, and lives in the house next door to the museum.

My new friend and I visited the house (and another similar), during which Pia made an astute observation: despite the grand, opulent surroundings of the reception rooms and family apartments, my attention was firmly occupied by the less celebrated goings-on behind the scenes. It turns out I like to know what’s behind closed doors! The life and work of the unseen members of the household – the housemaids, the cook, the butler and others – these were the stories I wanted to hear. Their attic bedrooms are not accessible to the public, but the light, cosy kitchen and “below stairs” rooms are, though I doubt they would have been particularly light and airy with that huge range running constantly.

This visit was the beginning of a beautiful friendship (corny, I know) and I have been saving it for a special occasion, reminiscing.

As I write this post, I have left Amsterdam for Bristish shores, to embark on a very exciting new phase in my adventure overseas. I leave behind many wonderful friends, but I take with me many more wonderful memories. One particular friendship, the one I’ve spoken of that started with the Museum van Loon, has been instrumental in giving me the courage to pursue my dream career, even though it has meant moving away. As a book editor I love to work with authors who are passionate about their pet subject, whatever it is. As I got to know Pia I began to realise that I would be a better editor if I could work with authors who were passionate about the same pet subjects as I am. And so, I have left my years of academic editing behind, to try and make it in the world of baking and craft, gardening and design, interiors and exteriors: all the things I love in a book.

This was going to be my last post, but Pia is so, so busy with a couple of huge projects at the moment (stay tuned – I know they’ll be worth waiting for!) and has asked if I’d stay a little longer. So you’ll see a little more of me here over the coming month or so as I pop by every now and then to let you know how I’m getting on. At the moment I’m really loving the ability to communicate with ease, though never let it be said that speaking the same language means instant understanding – there are accents over here that I cannot fathom a word of!!

Wish me luck!

All photographs and text by Zoë Yule.