Foxy Finds Friday

Here is a treat for you all this Friday! How about a hand woven rug inspired by our favourite animal? Maine designer Angela Adams' new range of hand woven New Zealand wool rugs features this gorgeous Foxy  design of organic geometric shapes that takes its inspiration from the tunnels and dens made by the wonderfully perky Red Fox that we love.

 I love the colour combinations in this, giving the design a warm retro vibe. Foxy Love indeed!

(Images © angela adams licensing, LLC)

Nutritional Therapy: Grape

There is one thing that I find annoying about the UK v USA, and that is that all purple coloured candy is blackcurrant flavoured in the UK, instead of the infinitely more delicious grape of the US. I admit this is not a tragedy on the scale of the impossibility of buying Magic Hat in Britain debacle, but it does suck. So with this particular frustration in mind, I am going to get my grape on with a purple tinged selection for you.

 Grape Soda Print Keep Calm Gallery

 Isabella Print Peggy Wolf

First Row:  Le Creuset Dutch Oven and Trivet, Williams Sonoma Potholders Emma Lamb, Multi Strand Silk Necklace Streeks. Second Row: Rebecca Dress Michelle Tan, Professional Patent Clogs Dansko, New Haarlem Candle Bond No. 9. Third Row: Felt Flower Headband Giddy Up & Grow, Vintage Jelly Jar Aquamarine Dream.

Tasty selection I hope you will agree?

Feeling the Valentine's vibe.

I'm really not one for Valentine's per se, something to do with being single :(. Never could get into the whole red theme either, but PINK? Well, you know how I feel about that! Anyway, I am a sucker for all the lovey dovey-ness it entails and obviously love to shop around, so if anyone is interested, here's my Valentine's vibe.

Top: Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rose 1998, I Love You Banner by Nice
Middle: Stripy Scarf from Boden, Pink Heart Stickers by Knot and Bow, Nera Flat from Kate Spade
Bottom: Friendship Tote by Pretty Little Things, Only You Necklace from Sophie Dear

Wallpaper and Amy Butler: A match made in heaven

You know I love Amy Butler, and that I adore wallpaper so this is a no brainer...the new wallpaper collection by Amy designed exclusively for Graham & Brown is simply gorgeous!

Wallpaper selection: Georgia in Stone, Fountain Damask in Midnight, Lacework in Field, 

Temple Tulips in Ocean, Momento in Sunset and Field Poppies in Moss.

Amy's approach to design comes from being "passionate about color and forms inspired by nature and I love mixing prints that create surprising design stories. That's what I want my collections to show. I want to share a fresh perspective that highlights the confident personalities of the people who adopt them. Your home says so much about who you are, and what you care about. I want people to feel inspired, and treat their very lives as a work of art." via Graham & Brown

I am besotted with the Momento pattern both in her fabric collection and here in its wallpaper incarnation. I use Amy Butler fabric in pretty much all of my sewing projects and have visions of decorating a craft room with a selection of these prints, even if I just use some to decorate book shelves with, or use as drawer liners? Bravo Amy, you have done it again!

I "heart" Necco Sweethearts

Necco (New England Confectionary Company) began its life in 1847, with Olive R Chase's invention of the lozenge cutter candy machine. Fascinating history of the company here. This is a Boston company arguably most well known for the Necco Wafer, but since Valentine's Day is round the corner I thought that a look at the company's Sweethearts (Conversation Hearts) was in order. These are the world's number one selling non chocolate Valentine's candy. Impressive!

Top Left: Greetings Card by City Sisters Shop Top Right: Piles of Sweathearts ready to be mixed and boxed, Necco  Bottom Left: Necco Factory, Cambridge MA (Image by Jill Robidoux, Flickr) Bottom Right: Cross Stitch Kits by Slipcover Your Life

I am willing to bet that we all passed a Sweetheart to someone in our youth, leaving it up to the candy to deliver the message we couldn't find the words for ourselves. They began life in 1866 and Necco has updated their Sweetheart Conversation Heart range continually, adding modern sayings to the mix over time. In 2010 they went back to the drawing board and asked the American public to redesign the sayings, resulting in a new generation of heart candies...."Tweet Me" anyone? LOL!