Bliss in Bath

 An amazingly indulgent Christmas was had by all in my house, the day ended with the sublime Downton Abbey Christmas special, by the end of which I was trying to reign in my sorrow, a few stray tears falling onto my mince pie. I will post soon about the presents I received but before that I wanted to post these beautiful pictures taken a few weeks ago. I know this Christmas post is a bit late, I was meant to upload it on Christmas Eve but I spent a lot of the time doing last minute wrapping and cooking, however the Christmas spirit  still infuses the air, and I really wanted to upload these pictures of Bath. I know the city to be  culturally and historically rich, embellished during this time of year with touches of the magical and joyous. So, under the guise of checking on my sister studies, the family took a sojourn down to Bath for the Christmas fair. The fair attracts stallholders from as far a field as Russia and Germany selling hand crafted gifts and amazing hot delicacies, I love German gingerbread!

Poor elves! I love the need for clarification, that the pies contain pork not elf ... 

The night air was teeming with enticing smells, beautiful sights, and the melodious warbling of an effervescent, enthusiastic choir singing carols in aid of a local hospice.

I wore: my vintage inspired plum cloche hat, black 1950's suit with white fir trim and silver brooch, green glass vintage necklace, Dents gloves and Clark's t-bar shoes. My mom was also wearing her amazing 1920's elaborately detailed flapper coat.

                  

                      

In the evening we visited the 'Cosy Club' a relaxed restaurant incorporating a mix of industrial loft space living, with a shabby chic, eclectic, antique style. I greatly admired the assortment of pictures displayed, providing sustained interest for the eye. The lighting was also perfect creating an intimate, warm, friendly ambiance conducive to sustained lively conversation.

               

My father became transfixed by this cow creamer, delighted that the cream/milk poured directly from the cow's mouth. He was so enamoured with it he went on a mission the next day to find one for himself, as my mother refused to hide it in her purse, fortunately he did, so we were saved from enduring further effusions of love, regarding the great genius and beauty of the object, and moreover his desire to own it.

Traditional English fattening fare, fish and chip with mushy peas, definitely the best fish and chips I have ever had, evidenced by the fact I polished it off sharpish!

Day 2

After a good night's sleep, I woke up feeling as if I had overindulged far to much on food the previous day, in part due to the fish and chips, but mainly due to the many sweet treats I bought from the various stalls the night before and insisted on eating there and then!

I decided on wearing my plum cloche hat again, brown Victorian reproduction shoes,Cadbury coloured purple blouse and my often worn brown skirt from Puttin' on the Ritz  perfect for nipping in the waist when you feel a little bloated! You can also see my beautiful 1940's plum coat on a coat hanger.

After strolling round the many beautiful boulevards, admiring the architecture and imagining women in Regency era clothes, we stopped for lunch at this amazing French restaurant for a healthy light bite. The restaurant had a charming vintage french flair, reminding me of an old Parisian coffee house.

                

After lunch we indulged in our love of interior design and drooled over the many desirable objects (not literally as we would have been asked to leave).

               

                

They also had amazing Christmas decorations.

               

Furthermore, I managed to find the time to visit a few of the vintage clothes shops of Bath. I came across this amazing fur astrakhan coat, I would have tried it on but then I saw the price tag, over a £1,000, it was truly amazing but I wonder who will be able to afford it at that price, wouldn't it look perfect on the Orient Express, I have however never seen anything like it before, très chic!

In this picture you can see the my favourite coat, a beautiful 1940's number, incorporating adorable brown pompoms and an amazing collar, which fortunately also matches my cloche hat and Mulberry handbag.

                

I hope you all had a splendid Christmas and Boxing day.

Yours,

Evalily Harlow xxx

Christmas Cheer

Merry Christmas. I hope you have a fantastic Christmas and New Year!

Things have been a bit hectic in the Harlow household, with tinsel and baubles flying round the house, hurriedly preparing. I stupidly decided to wait to put up my decorations until I had broken up from University so I could get into the festive cheer. 

 The garlands, I made myself last year out of: stray pieces of tinsel, red thread and red tissue paper that came in a shopping bag from an outfit I bought, always recycling! I made templates in paper of gingerbread men, stars and Christmas trees, then used them to cut out shapes in the tissue paper and finally glued them to red cotton thread. Cheap, unique and a fun, relaxing activity.

I love these popup Victorian inspired Christmas cards.

This cute googly eyed Father Christmas was made for me by my crafty thoughtful friend Mariam. This obviously has great sentimental value and as you can see she went to a lot of effort for me.

I have quite a few of these nutcracker decorations, I have loved The Nutcracker ballet ever since I went to see it with school when I was 11, I  recently went to see it again and its truly as magical as I remember.

I  love to decorate my room with beautiful Christmas images, these  two Christmas cards of Wightwick manor and its grounds in the snow are perfect, you can purchase them from the gift shop at Wightwick Manor or online at the National Trust Shop. I have given quite a few of them to my friends but have kept these two to decorate my bookcase. Wightwick Manor and its grounds are always amazingly breathtaking but especially with its snow dusted coating.

David Bennett, View of the east wing of Wightwick Manor in the snow, copyright of the National Trust.

Patrick Vasey, The Holly Walk, copyright of the National Trust.

The following two images are also Christmas cards that I am using to decorate my bookcases. I purchased both of these whilst at University in the Barber Art Gallery, they both depict scenes from the Christmas story, and are images that can be seen in the gallery. 

 Jacopo Bassano, The Adoration of the Magi, c.1560. Oil on canvas. Image copyright of The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham. Barber Art Gallery website, Jacopo da Ponte called Bassano.

I especially love the magnificent emerald, Lapis Lazuli and rubellite jewel tones of the robes, juxtaposed with the earthy tones of the animals. The expressive facial features of the figures are mesmeric:  the serene devotion of Mary, the awed and beguiled foregrounded, emerald coloured robe wearing, wise man and the puckering of Christ's lips in anticipation of his mothers milk. I would urge you, if you can, to visit the Barber art gallery, as it is amazing when one can see it at its full size, and really appreciate the colours and the details of the image.

Domenico Tiepolo, Venetian (1727-1804), The Flight into Egypt, Etching, first impression made in 1753. Image copyright of The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham. 

There are other Tiepolo prints within the collection, including this one that depicts the same scene. The etching is stunning in its monochrome simplicity, with Tiepolo's incredible mastery of the medium and attention to detail. It's interesting the angle Tiepolo chose to depict the scene, with the figures and donkey  mainly with their back to us, Joseph and the donkey saddled down with heavy loads. The artist has chosen this angle to focus on the action of travelling, the position of the viewer, is so that we follow in the footsteps of the holy family, sharing their journey.

I adore fairy lights and Christmas is the perfect excuse!

Chocolate and scented candle, delicious flavours!

Clara Bow and a rotund red robin!

Not only was I making trinkets for my room, I also helped decorate the whole house, here's my sister decorating the tree.

To ensure I suited my surroundings I have been frequently wearing my hand knitted vintage Christmas jumper I bought off ebay, it was a complete bargain and a great quality!

I had been trying to get Seth to look at the camera, as you can see I was not successful!

A very productive Saturday afternoon was had by all, making paper chains and snowflakes.

With regards to culinary efforts, a return from uni bonding exercise occurred between Beth and I, mainly ensuring this gingerbread house didn't fall down, by drowning the foundation in icing sugar.

A few weeks a go, I went for a preemptive Christmas tipple (well more than one!) with friends in my gorgeous 1940's dress, Hobbs grey velvet jacket (velvet is one of my favourite fabrics for the winter, I saw an exhibition recently which included an red velvet suit worn by Oscar Wilde and was completely enamoured with it!) I love the silhouette of fourties dresses, they really  help to create or accentuate an hour glass shape.

 

1960s beaded evening bag, deceptively big, think Mary Poppin's carpet bag, although I haven't tried putting a full floor lamp and hat stand in it yet!

Finally got him to look at the camera, begrudgingly, what a scrooge!

Yours,

Evalily Harlow xxx