Cath Kidston Cafe

I love Cath Kidston.

I fall in love with patterns and colours from time to time

and you may have noticed my choices often move from classic to english rose to modern.

But that is who I am.

I may not be totally perfect, but parts of me are excellent

as the saying goes!

However,

when it comes to overall perfection

Cath Kidston stands out, up there in my personal kolophon of favorites, 

right next to Lilly Pulitzer.

It took me ages to embrace the colourful side of me, but it's OK, girls, as long as we get to know and embrace who we are.

Which brings me to my subject.

The Café opened at the Cath Kidston store in Japan.

See the wallpaper? The red chair and cups?

And the bags? I love Cath Kidston bags.

Remember the one I got as a birthday present?

Then we move to stationery.

Look at the shades, the vintage typewriter, the kitch paintings, all setting the mood.

Remember. If I get lost somewhere one day,

I shall either be in the stationery or the bags section.

Otherwise, try Cartier!

Now, let's take our tea and cupcakes under the red and white striped umbrellas.

We might as well be in Brighton or Folkestone!

I wonder what these young ladies think.

"Yummy English Experience" is what comes to mind!

All images-Cath Kidston

Added:

Did you notice the open drawer unit where stationery is being displayed?

Looks so much like C's childhood chest of drawers.

Got to love those stylists!

November Days

November so far

 

In the garden

The maple trees have shed their leaves, golden yellow and most favorite red.

Off went tomatos, cucumbers and courgettes~

Thank you lots, see you all in a few months, sweet darlings.

The roses, encouraged by the sky's sunny disposition, produce some pretty amazing blooms.

In the spring we planted some vines.
They're tiny and I hope they will survive the winter.
I always wanted to have vines in the garden.
They remind me of my grandpa's estate in the Peloponnese...

Over the weekend we planted lettuce, sprouts and cellery.

Watched

  Cars 2  

 It's almost blasphemy, but... it's even better than #1. 

Well done, Pixar! 

 The Hangover Part II  

 Gross, but hilarious at times. 

 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 

 Julie Walters and Maggie Smith are perennial favorites. 

And the Neville guy, ha! he's my hero!

We have been watching Harry Potter on TV for the past two weeks. 

I absolutely loved the films, and I look  forward to reading the books.

 Cooked*

*Don't forget to use your favorite cuttlery.
I love mine, from Cath Kidston.
The sous-plat, barely seen here, but I'm sure you've noticed in previous posts :) is from French company Les Olivades that we used to stock at the shop.

Penne, cooked, then layered with mushroom, saucage and canned sauce, half tomato, in the middle, one cheese on top. 

Add grated cheese and nutmeg. I could smell of nutmeg every day.

On Sunday we cooked some veal with mushrooms in a red wine and tomato sauce.

As of November 14, St.Philip's, we are fasting for Christmas.
So, our stews will have to be vegan. Like this potato stew I cooked the other day.



You will need
potatoes, quartered
onion
olive oil
tomato puree
a fresh tomato
a chilly pepper
a carrot, thinly sliced
salt
pepper
bay leaves
~~~
sauté the onion.
add the potatoes.
season to taste.
add veggies and bey leaves.
cover and simmer.
serve with feta cheese.

TV snack.

First satsumas at the shop, a treat for our customers.

Mornings start earlier, with little people requesting breakfast instead of skipping it.
Here, eldest daughter, F

And here, big cat boy Patcha, with little daughter D.

And a new addition to the gang

Meet Feta, as in feta cheese. Found wandering outside our condo. 

"Come in, sweetheart, it's freezing out there".

Friday's Fabulous Finds: Cath Kidston's Royal Wedding

Among the uggly souvenirs, Cath Kidston's Royal Wedding line looks cute and chic. 

Love it!

After
redecorating the shop,

Running a week-long charity event (ending next Monday)

with DIY sleeping pillows.

I now look forward to 

{the end of} 

a weekend+with the in-laws. 

Eldest Daughter is on a school trip to Corfu.

Son is heading to the mountains with the Cub Scouts tomorrow.

Youngest Daughter was granted permission to see her BFF during the weekend.

Hope to catch up with y'all in the weekend.

And write about our trip

(that's called escapism!)

LOL, dear friends!

Cath Kidston -25%

If I could a) afford them and b) fit in them, I would run and purchase these beauties from the Cath Kidston 25% off sale, currently running on the website. Let me know if you do~or show us some pics with these (or other!) beauties on!

Cath Kidston rules

Jools Oliver with daughter Petal on a Cath Kidston buggy. Very British!

Cath says: Renew!

Remember my posts on maps here, here and here? Maps are definitively a trend!

Classic Kidston, though I'd like to see more bedlinen in the collection. 

The bathroom is my favorite photo of the four. I really enjoy the rose range (paraben-free).

I just finished ironing. I used the ironing spray. Makinf everyday housework fun is just great. Thank you Ms.Kidston!

Yoga with Cath Kidston

Do you know the feeling when you are in love with someone and you feel like their faces are popping up  in the faces of strangers? I had one such moment yesterday. I stayed at home to pull things together after our recent trip to Athens. I did deserve a break which I put to good use leafing through a couple of new books.

One is  Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag, what promises to be unputdownable fun, and the other Yoga for Real Life: The Kundalini Method by Maya Fiennes. I am currently reading Paulo Coelho's Warrior of the Light: A Manual, (seen at the back), a Christmas present to my husband that I am picking on. The surprise came from Ms. Fiennes' book.

I have practiced for a while with her DVD  Kundalini Yoga - to Detox and De-stress. The routine is rejuvenating, even exhilarating. I so look forward to putting aside a couple of mornings every week to do it. In fact I look forward to going back to my morning yoga practice every day. Do try it, it works wonders for my mood, and so I wanted to read some more on her view. Anyway, the Fiennes book is a great book with wonderful photography by David Loftus *husband to the divine India Hicks. And there, among its pages, look what I found:

 

Among the inspiring stanzas and the oms, here it was, an ironing board cover by no other than dearest Cath Kidston.Oh sweet seendipity of our every day loves!

Tea and Cath Kidston love

Did you know, oh did you? Why then didn't you tell? All right, I will. Did you know that one of the world's loveliest tea parlors is all dressed up in Cath Kidston? How lovely is that? And to think there are people who call Cath passe!

I am sure Cath Kidston lovers will recognise many of her prints used in a tea room setting. To view more visit the Crown and Crumpet website.

My new Cath Kidston bag

 My 40th birthday present to myself!

Cath Kidston Magazine

As promised in my previous post, here is a look at Cath Kidston's new catalogue.
There is a definite shift from "catalogue" to "magazine". The publication features as a magazine in the company's homepage, too,where we are urged to request their "new magazine".

The change is made definite, as on the spine there is a number 1 printed and there is a price of 1,5 pounds, printed, too, although I did receive it free of charge and there isn't a charge if you request it from their website. Inside there are magazine-like features, like the one below, about Dublin, celebrating the opening of the first Cath Kidston shop in Ireland.

There is also a competition for a mother's day card inspired by and promoting her new book, Make,which, by the way, is quite nice and useful, not just pretty pictures, and comes with a cotton bag for you to customize.

There is also a special collection of presents for Valentine's day, as you'd expect from a Country Living kind of glossy.

All this shows that retailers, too, get the message of the times. If you want our custom, you've got to do more than showing off your stuff: create a lifestyle, and then promote it. It's beneficial for the retailer and the spoiled for choice customer.
That stack of fabrics above is my favorite picture of the catalogue. I love the harmony and freshness of the composition.
Finally, for now, instead of showing you the front cover, as happens usually, I am showing you the back cover with many intersting photos from the cat...sorry, magazine.

ENJOY!