Pattern from Kim Hargreaves Scarlet pattern book, called ‘Craft‘.

C2B, C2F, KTBL, P2…

…which is not an encoded call to Starfleet, but nonetheless a new language for me this season as I enter a new domain that is sweaters and cable knitting. Before I delve into the complexity of this sort of pattern, let me just say: if I can knit, a mattress can knit. A fingerless mattress. A blind, fingerless mattress. So don’t be discouraged when I say my eyeballs were bleeding and it took literally 32 hours to do a mere 6 inches. Cable knitting follows a grid pattern, and I’m not sure if you’ve tried doing geometry homework while watching a BAZILLION movies, but it sure slows you down (duh). Especially if some of them are Italian (La vita e bella) or French (Amelie) and you get your subtitles and knitting pattern confused and end up knitting “Bongiorno principessa“, then undo the entire row afterwards. It’s all good fun though, and not at all hard if you have Youtube and some time handy, which is exactly what this Christmas was, spending it quietly in London just with the hubby.

Ballerina flats – Josefinas

Ryan G

These navy classic ballerinas are from a Portugese brand called Josefinas, but considering how much I fondle them and dream of spring-time dates by the riverside I’ve decided to name it ‘Ryan G’ so that when the times comes I can say ‘I’m taking Ryan out for a ride’ and confuse the crap out of hubby. For now Ryan G’s in winter hibernation in a snug silk dust bag that smells like Eucalyptus.

White candle – Diptyque ‘Cypres’. Dark candle – Dior 30 Montaigne. Cuff – Chanel ‘boy’ lego brick cuff. Rings – Monica Vinader stacking rings

I’ll count, you hide.

A couple firm favourites from 2013 that I’ll be taking into 2014: a Mikimoto circle pearl necklace that used to be my mother’s, Monica Vinader stacking rings (Baja and Diamond pave), and Chanel ‘boy’ lego brick cuff from the Cruise 13 collection. The cuff is actually on loan from the Chanel press office to ‘play’ with (their words, not mine), although the most ‘playing’ I’ve done so far with it was wrapping it with bubble-wrap and placing it in a 6-digit-code safe. Which is what I used to do with my prettier looking Barbies anyway so I guess that does count as playing.  

Necklace – FHH Accessories via Lulu Guiness. (Similar here)

Come on baby light my fire

When this arrived in the mail my pyromaniac husband put it around his neck and ran around the flat giggling. I’m afraid I’m not even kidding. I swear one day he will burst into flames from sheer girliness.

Striped top – c/o Gudrun Sjoden. PJ Bottoms – Gift from mummy (from Oysho, I believe)

A new surface

Ever since spilling beer all over my slightly more ‘agile’ laptop (aka not a tank) I’ve had to get out of bed, walk a meter, sit in a chair, and start my day on the internet like a normal human being. However, thanks to the recent acquisition of Microsoft Surface 2, a tablet with a handy keypad/cover that snaps onto the side, I’ve been able to return to my blissful lifestyle of a single-cell organism, that is: wake up, troll online, sleep. Some kidding aside, so far it really has boosted my level of productivity, although if you’ve e-mailed me in the past couple of months and didn’t receive a response, MY DOG ATE MY PURPLE KEYBOARD OKAY.

Wool & the Gang ‘Ashleigh’ sweater knit kit, with custom elongated sleeves.

Chunky monkey

World, meet my first ever hand-knitted sweater! All thanks to Wool & the Gang, who generously supplied with the pattern, wool and constant cheering throughout. Their HQ happens to be located about 2 minutes walk from where I live, so sometimes I hear a ‘GO SHINI!’ which usually just turns out to be one of the teachers in the school behind my building yelling ‘NO SHITTING!’. Which, don’t get me wrong, is pretty good encouragement too because one mustn’t poop in the living room. This particular pattern didn’t take long to do (6-8 hours in total?) as the yarn is super chunky, so I’d say it’s perfect for first time sweater knitters!

Perfume – Kenzo Flower in the Air

In the air

A whiff of the Flower in the Air takes me back to that one day in June when I took a train to Paris, rode a ferris wheel by the river, and again, then hopped back on a train and came home. A fleeting moment, that’s what it smells like, which is surprisingly lyrical compared to the usual scent pairing with my sarcastic temperament. On the skin, it’s a clean, modern scent, quite sharp at first, but settles into a comfortable floral blend of rose, gardenia… almost berry-like. I can’t wait for it to snow a little actually, I have a feeling this might be a great pairing, albeit slightly ironic.

Time machine

Watch & straps – Daniel Wellington

Somehow the folks over at Daniel Wellington know about the unfortunate vintage watch I cracked with a plier three years ago, I think. Then again, it was a plier that usually does the pipes under the sink, I don’t know what I was expecting. My hand slipped and crack, a spiderweb on the watch face. A roll of duct tape was the only adhesive tapey thingy I had in the flat, and for a week I’d only know when it was 2:15. This DW set, however, comes with a tool that sings finesse: a firm nudge and it dislodges the bar from the hinges, which you then slide out the leather, and back on the hinges again. The grosgrain ribbon (that comes with a rose-gold buckle) slides through the bars, then secured. I can probably duct tape my eyes shut and do it again. Curse you plier!