9 3/4

I have a confession to make. I. LOVE. Harry Potter. I won't hear a word against it.

Isn't this print by EntropyTradingCo the best combination of subtlety and joy? It's perfect - people who don't care will just see a vaguely stylish, but unobtrusive sign, but those in the know will be filled with glee.

Which colours or colour combinations do you like best?

(Photos from Etsy)

E xxx

Bacon Jam

Doesn't the idea of bacon jam make you dribble with anticipation (just me?). The beautiful food blog Spoon Fork Bacon (have a look - the photographs make me want to eat everything!) has a recipe that just seems to die for. It's kind of a chutney, I guess, and sounds syrupy, spicy and just amazing. 

The recipe list is pretty long but the finished product lasts up to a month in the fridge (3 months in the freezer!). I am trying this as soon as I get home!

(Photos from Spoon Fork Bacon)

E xxx

The Invisible Mothers

Spotted them yet?
Look again.

In each picture, the child is actually sitting on the lap of a person covered in a cloth. Their mother, to be precise. In the days of long exposure photography, it was imperative that the subjects stayed still or the result would be blurred. In these,  the mamas would hold their little ones tight for the camera, but covered up, so the photo was just of the child.

Now, a lot of people find these pictures quite creepy, even sinister, but I don't think this at all! It is a little strange, I grant you, and I question why the mother (or father, in some cases) couldn't just be in the photo - but so interesting, right?

Some of the cover-ups are not very subtle!

These photos are, of course, from the wonderful Retronaut site. Click here to look at the rest!

What do you think? Creepy, or curious?

E xxx

London Pigeons

Pretty much no one I know likes London pigeons  They are, in fact, usually described as 'rats with wings'. However, I don't mind them - they are so, well, Londony. It also breaks my heart when they are especially bedraggled looking with missing toes. Doesn't this Trafalgar Square pigeon look especially disgruntled?

Anyway, it seems only fitting that for my birthday last autumn I received this Emma Bridgewater mug:

Isn't it perfect?! Or is it just me...

E xxx

The Great Gatsby

So, who's excited about the Great Gatsby movie? It's not out until May (although it was supposed to be released this Christmas, then got postponed -boo!) but I thought I'd brush up on my Fitzgerald and read it again. The first time I read this at university I struggled a bit - and I have no idea why! This second time I read it in one sitting, lying on my sofa with a pot of tea by my side - and absolutely adored it - it really is such an evocative and wonderful book.  I can't wait for the film.

This is my copy, which I think it so beautiful:

(photo from Inspiredology.com)

But these are lovely, too:

(Photos from Penguin.com)

In case you hadn't realised, I love a good book cover, and it really alters my reading experience. I don't think it would feel the same reading it from the classic American cover, which I think is rather ugly:

What's your favourite? There are dozens more out there!

E xxx

Monogrammed Bracelet

Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything I have that's monogrammed, but I love the idea of it. It seems such a luxury, and marks something out as yours, specially made for you.

This beautiful bracelet  by Danielle Stevens seems like a good place to start a monogrammed lifestyle...

I love the elaborate swirly letters, and the soft gold - it would be the perfect present! 

E xxx

The Breakfast Club

Breakfast is obviously the most important meal of the day, so it makes sense that The Breakfast Club is the most important place in London.* It is amazing. If I had to eat somewhere for the rest of my life, it would be here (although I would probably die early of morbid obesity).

Yes, this is an obscenely large tangle of crispy bacon, dusted in icing sugar, perched on three fluffy pancakes, drenched in maple syrup, and served with a bottle of more maple syrup.

It is heaven on a plate.

I am a creature of habit, so once I discover something totally delicious on a menu, my rationale is that I HAVE to have the same thing next time I go there, because otherwise I might choose something inferior and be disappointed, and have food envy of the people I am with who undoubtedly got the thing I was going to get but didn't. It is a veritable predicament.

However, I have managed to branch out because the menu is so tempting (and I have nibbled from the plates of my unsuspecting brunch-dates) - and I can honestly say that it is always delicious.

Look out for the sunshine-yellow shopfront off Wardour Street, and the queue of hungry people outside. You can't book, and it's always busy, but that never stops people (i.e. me)... I tend to go at odd post-lunch, pre-supper times where I can just waltz in and stuff my face. You will leave feeling full, warm, and happy.

E xxx

*It probably isn't, but it should be.