Palmier knot

First of all, I'd like to apologize for being behind schedule, and for having missed out on July completely! I will try to make up for it by posting another blog next weekend, which will include an in-depth how-to for the new "Palmier" knot I am featuring today. 

Life has changed so much for everyone in recent months. I can't remember any five-month period in over ten years of blogging that hasn't had an 'inspired by Hermes windows' post, a travelogue, or any kind of outing to take you along with me. 

The suspension of traveling, outings, and socializing feels almost too strange to be real, but has meant more time on our hands to dive into projects that are otherwise difficult to fit into our normal schedules. I've spent a lot of time exploring and photographing new knots for the app, and I've also found cooking, baking, and home decoration projects to be a grounding counterbalance to a life that seems to be essentially on hold. 

While working on the app, I very much missed the fabulous "La Marche du Zambeze" scarf that I lost on a trip a few years back (I'm becoming increasingly good at losing things when traveling!). So I googled to see if I could find a replacement and stumbled upon the website of Ardmore Artists www.ardmore-design.com, the scarf's designers. I discovered that they have a beautiful collection of scatter cushions, table linen, and napkins, that are all very much in the esprit of my lost scarf. The cushion covers I ordered arrived within a week (pics below) and I'm tempted to get a few more! You can also find their famous ceramic collection on the site, as well as furniture, small gift items and fabulous face masks  that you'd actually want to wear. I'm happy to be able to share a 25% discount offer (on your first order) with you: please email jon@ardmore-design.com to redeem.  

Hope you enjoy the blog and the new knot. Be well and safe.

I thought "Palmier" would be a lovely name for the new knot, as the overlapping scarf ends remind me of the graceful way that palm leaves rest on one another. 

With a "Parures de Samourais" 90 Silk Twill scarf

The "Monkey Bean" in Ash Linen is one of the lovely cushion covers I ordered from Ardmore (here). They ship worldwide and you can always email them if you have additional questions: info@ardmore-design.com

My relatively new "Plumes en Fêtes" bracelet with Parures de Samourais in CW05

PdS scarf as above, only this time highlighting the tasseled corners.

I feel very lucky that my daily exercise routine walking The Wiener Boys has not been affected by the pandemic. If anything, I tend to take a little bit more time now. I never set off without my (phone) camera, but now I often carry a pair of secateurs as well. I've come to love foraging wildflowers, weeds, and twigs, and then arranging them into bouquets and posies around the house. 

Here's the above, a few weeks later, on my kitchen shelf. While the colors have become a little bit softer over time, they've preserved wonderfully, and are still vibrant in comparison to their sun-beaten counterparts in the fields.

 

Over at Instagram, @merlinetmaurice and @lulilutinnytin identified the yellow flowers in the picture below as Immortelle (if only we could know its secret!)

Some may recognize or already know that my car is a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle). There are many obvious benefits to electric cars (you can find out more here), but one of the lesser-known facts is that you can activate the air-conditioning when the car is parked, which is something you cannot do with an internal combustion engine. On a hot summer day, I can set the interior temperature via my phone app to a cool and pleasant 20 celsius (70 Fahrenheit) when I'm within a few minutes of starting a drive. It is such a great bonus to get into a cool car in the summer and to pre-heated one in winter.

Opaque vases are perfect for foraged bouquets, as wildflower stems are mostly not that pretty. The empty containers of scented candles are perfect for that purpose, and when I buy candles I don't choose them for their scent alone, but also for the shape and color of their containers.  My favorites are Odalysque by Cire Trudon, which makes a great small "vase", and the Ritual's XL candles for bigger arrangements (love Precious Amber and Wild Figs) 

Palmier with a Fantaisies Indiennes 90 Silk Twill scarf

And since this post is as much about home decoration as scarf styling, I thought I'd share my "Geese Gallery" with you. Getting your favorite photos printed on canvas creates wall art that reflects your life and it is easy, fun, and inexpensive.  Those who have followed the blog for a long time might recognize the pictures below. I took them a few years back in the courtyard of a cloister in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter (click here to see the post)

Another Ardmore treasure: The fabulous "Bush Bandits" in Stone Linen (available here)

This post wouldn't be complete without trying the Palmier with the beautiful "Plumes en Fête"!  Here with a Hermes Clic-Clac H bracelet in Bleu Indiens.