Spring pink

March has been a beautiful and fun month; it included a trip to London and the arrival of spring blossoms, birdsong and the tiniest of new leaves.

My winter outdoor flower ensemble still looks fresh after three months, but I'm looking forward to replacing it with hydrangeas, basil and thyme very soon.

I love putting on my pink coat this time of year; it never fails to put a spring into my steps. Wearing it here with a Sous l'Egide de Mars CSGM and a pair of houndstooth trousers I found at the Ines de la Fressange boutique when in Paris in January. While standing at the checkout, a tall and beautiful, casually dressed woman came strolling in ... it turned out to be Ines de la Fressange herself. She was absolutely lovely and friendly and also signed my trousers. What a wonderful encounter!

As you may know, I've been captivated by arts and crafts and embroidery for a while, so when I saw that Eppie Thomson from the Fabled Thread was holding a workshop at the Ham Yard hotel, I had to go! I stayed at my happy place in London, the Number Sixteen in South Kensington. It is in such a pretty area; here, a fabulously decorated house on Walton Street, just across the road from the flagship store of the British interior designer Andrew Martin.

(for more London pictures, go to one of my favourite Instagram pages:  www.instagram.com/magnoliawalks)

At the workshop, we were asked to choose our embroidery floss and backing material before embarking on figuring out a design. I thought this was such an interesting approach to free-style embroidery; it broke up the process into small chunks, making each step manageable without thinking too much about the next. 

It only occurred to me later that the colours and fabric I chose were an exact match to my outfit. Subconscious decisions like this happen so often; at least half the scarves in my collection must have been chosen that way.

In the past few days, I walked the dogs in a t-shirt or light sweater, and it seems that our coat season is coming to an end. I loved wearing it often as I could!

My room at Number Sixteen

Outdoor seating area - more pink and green

Back at home progress - "Le Duck-Soleil"

Pretty for spring ... the new ZigZag Collection with fabrics by Andrew Martin (also available in light grey and lava, view the collection here)

February recap ... because of the workshop excitement, I forgot to post pictures of the lovely weekend we spent at the beach in early February. The weather was sunny and mild, and it felt like summer. We stayed at the Plage Palace by the Costes brothers; it is just wonderful to have it close by. For this reason, it is also an ideal place for anyone to stay the night before attending one of my workshops! 

Looking forward to more adventures! 

Have a beautiful and happy spring season, everyone xxx

As usual, this post does not contain sponsored content, paid advertising or affiliate links, nor collaborations with the brands mentioned.

Ines de la Fressange shop: here

The Fabled Thread on Instagram: here

Hotel Number Sixteen: here

Hotel Plage Palace here

MaiTai Collection ZigZag inserts: here