We are down in Key West this week, a tiny island floating between Cuba and Miami. It is about as far from London and the Queens Diamond Jubilee celebrations as you can get.In fact, the only link betw...
I know this is a rather strange subject, but I want to chat about hotels. Specifically, what makes for a good hotel.Tonight, we are staying in a mid-priced hotel on Collins Avenue in Miami. One of th...
There is something incredibly restorative about being in a garden. Don’t you think? Like many of my friends, I came to gardening late in life. Before I turned 25, I was more of a fashion girl. T...
Here in New England, many of the media outlets have been focusing on the tragic death of Mary Richardson Kennedy, estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. And its not surprising. It is a terrible sto...
Hidden up in Falls Village, a blink-and-you-miss-it hamlet in the green hills of Connecticut, there is a house that has become famous the world over. It is located down a winding road with a curious ...
It was Hunter wellingtons at fifty paces yesterday at Connecticuts annual Trade Secrets fair, one of Americas most beautiful garden and antique fairs. As the sun danced upon the topiary bay trees and...
Sandy Cull is one of my favourite book designers. I first noticed this Melbourne-based freelancer when she designed Carla Coulsons gorgeous book Italian Joy, which was, literally and aesthetically, a...
Downton Abbey started it, dont you think? The hats on that show were so gorgeous they could have inspired their own spin off series. I dont know about you but I would have trampled over Mr Bates for ...
I wanted to attach these lovely covers to my last post, but Blogger was being mischievous this morning, so I gave up. Hopefully it will behave now. These are the five nominations for the Australian B...
Im often told by my lovely publishers that Im not as enthusiastic about self-publicity as I should be. This is because Ive always thought that authors should not have to speak for books. If books are...
A few years ago, I sat next to a lovely woman on the Eurostar from Paris to London. She was Scottish but worked as a French/English translator in Paris. We were the same age and had shared similar li...
Remember the novel The Bride Stripped Bare? It was Nikki Gemmell literary tour de force, originally published under the nom de plume Anonymous because its chapters were too scandalous for the author ...
Remember a few years ago when everybody was painting their walls Tiffany Blue? (Which Tiffany trademarked by the way.) So many people became obsessed with the delicate turquoise colour of the famous ...
Its midnight here in Melbourne. Autumn has come to the hills. The garden outside is invisible under a cloak of mist and the heater is fighting to keep the first frost of the year at bay.I have spent ...
Dear Library Readers,I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all those who take the time to drop by this little site. I know most of us dont have as much time to meander through the ...
Floor plan porn seems to be a popular post on this blog. Now I dont know whether its the floor plan part thats attracting all the hits, or the porn? (But if its the latter, shame on you! The only wic...
New York has always had an allure for writers. Gritty, compelling and full of metropolitan myths and gossip, it’s long been a subject matter that’s begged to be written about. "Rome may be a poem...
Sheila Scotter was the original Anna Wintour. The first editor-in-chief of Vogue Australia, she was one of the most formidable, influential, frightening and famously fastidious and stylish women in f...
Reading through the New York Times Style magazine this morning (the Spring Design Issue is now online at tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com), I stopped in my reading tracks at the London home of designer Ha...
Connecticut. For the past two days I have been researching this tiny-but-perfectly-designed US state. A garden-loving friend told me we should visit the Trade Secrets Garden Fair held there...
Coco would like to say a sincere thank you to everyone who kindly sent their caring comments and get well emails last week. We were all very touched, and apologise if we didnt get back to everyone wh...
This is an apologetic little addendum for the recent post about fashion challenges. I would like to sincerely apologise to all those Library fans who love their white shirts. Truly. Im very sorry if ...
Jason Wu stormed into the fashion headlines when he designed Michelle Obama’s iconic inaugural ball gown. He hasnt stayed out of them since. Up and up the Snakes and Ladders world of Style he ha...
So. This posts gonna cause a lot of up-in-arms. (Although judging by how stylish you all are, theyll most likely be Marc Jacobs-clad ones.) But I think there are some things that need to be said. Or ...
"Free To Good Home –" the ad said. "Jack Russell/Maltese terrier. Slightly energetic – (I loved this, the way theyd tried to downplay what was obviously a crazy personality) but stil...
Lately Ive been noticing that more and more perfume entrepreneurs and fragrance makers are bringing out scents inspired by books and libraries. Its a great idea. Ive always loved the smell of a brand...
Some people are so innately creative, their talents dont stop at just one thing. Sofia and Francis Ford Coppolas are two such aesthetes. If making successful movies wasnt enough, now theyre venturing...
Yellow is a difficult colour. Its like the middle sister of the colour wheel: overlooked by some, left out by others, and adored by those who know just how bright, witty, colourful and uplifting it c...
Pamela Page is one of those supremely talented plantswomen who can knock together a lavender parterre and then pen an inspiring piece about gardening in almost the same breath. A self-taught landscap...
Heres something strange. Ive never been to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I know! I cant believe it either. How could I have written 3 books about Paris and never looked out over the twinkling, shimmer...
You are no longer following . Undo?
English
Suomi
Svenska