Eden Project

Hello! Summer has finally hit here in Cornwall, you'd be right to think these pictures look a little too tropical though... I spent yesterday wandering around The Eden Project. I'm sure most of you here in England have heard of it but for those who haven't (and those further afield) it's a botanical tropical and mediterranean series of gardens set in two huge biomes. I spent a lot of time there as a teen but until yesterday hadn't visited in about 6/7 years. Those years have definitely done it a favour, it was so much more luscious, the palms are now towering and the fauna was off the scale great. I think we hit it at the best possible season, everything is just still in flower and it's yet heaving with visitors.

The biomes are temperature controlled, so they are heated according to the area they are exemplifying. The tropical biome is my favourite (and always has been) it's incredibly humid and steamy, so it's very easy to feel you've been transported halfway across the globe. At first it feels a little overwhelming but you soon acclimatise and it always feels a bit sad to come back to the normal temperature of Cornwall!

Of course for the day I had to wear an outfit that did the beautiful backdrop justice, I opted for this glorious kaftan that I picked up in a charity shop just before I went to France. It was perfect as it allowed me to stay cool in the humidity (I totally pitied all the jeans wearers - if you are visiting definitely dress lightly, especially in Summer as it gets hotter due to the sun shining on the biomes). The headwrap is actually a scarf from Lush, usually used to wrap up their lovely smellies it makes the perfect wrap for bad (and good) hair days. I've worn it so much since I received it for my birthday.  

I was going for a sort of Matisse meets Gauguin look; lots of pattern, lots of colour and a tassels for good measure.

Madras Rouge, Matisse, 1907 (source: 1)

Nave, Nave Moe, Gauguin, 1894 (source: 2)

There is also the Mediterranean biome, this was so much better than I remembered. It's much cooler in temperature and they now have a pizza restaurant in the biome so you can eat amongst the magical plants (we were so sad when we realised as we had just eaten lunch outside!) They have an amazing array of cacti, grape vines and, my favourite, a vegetable patch of tomatoes, aubergines and other med delights!

I'll be back very soon with more of Postcards from Europe series. Hope you're all well!

Outfit Details

Cotton kaftan - charity shop

Lovebird headscarf - Lush

Raffia earrings - Mango 

Beaded necklace - car boot sale

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Bluebell

May has always been my favourite month: bluebells, wild garlic, the promise of sunshine and lush green grass from April's rain! Growing up in Ireland it had the added bonus of being the last month of school before the holidays (for real!! Irish summer holidays were 3 months long when I was a child!) Every year I feel so happy come the 1st of May; summer is on it's way. I love Mayday celebrations and always try to do something special to mark the day. 

In celebration of the start of this year's May I spent yesterday gallivanting around Enys Gardens, a country estate that lies about a mile away from my house. It's a beautiful sprawling estate with gorgeous wild flowers and a tea room that serves great cake (it's also outside which is very amusing; even in the rain it's packed with tea drinkers!) 

The 1st of May is the beginning of their week long bluebell festival. There was also an art fair in the house this weekend, so it was a double whammy of fun. The house is generally closed but they have a few open days across the year for craft and art sales. It's crumbly and falling apart in the most glorious way, they are currently restoring it all and doing a marvelous job - it is not a National Trust style renovation but instead a very sensitive affair with everything being done properly. I think it's fab when houses open in a slightly mangled state, I love being able to see the bare bones of a building! I actually hope they keep it like this as it's a lot more interesting than the trussed up houses you generally encounter.

For the excursion I wore this beautiful blue frock that my ma bought me for Christmas, it's been much too chilly thus far to take it on an outing, and although it drizzled all day it was actually not too chilly yesterday. I felt very lady of the manor trotting about in this ensemble. I spotted this breathtaking Rhododendron bush out of a window at the top of the house and knew it was a must as a backdrop. A sign with 'keep off the grass, naturalising bulbs' stopped me in my tracks so I had to hover on the edge politely rather than dash into the blooms as I had hoped!

One of my favourite areas of Enys' ground's is the crystal grotto. It's a wonderfully mystical place, and one I feel I'll be revisiting in a future post, it's far too good not to have a post all of it's own. Crystal grotto's were a favourite of 19th century gardeners, they work best at night lit by candlelight, the rocks sparkle and shine creating an altogether magical feeling. I really hope that Enys will do a nighttime opening at some point, I'd love to see the grotto sparkling!  

I hope you are all feeling excited for May - I've just looked out of the window and the rain has stopped and miraculously the sun has popped out, hurrah! I'm off to make wild garlic pesto, I collected lots yesterday morning from Glasney Valley, yummm! Have a very happy bank holiday, see you soon.

Linking to Visible Monday

Outfit Details

1930s blue velvet dress - Christmas present (from a chazza!)

Blue velvet boots - H&M sale

Necklace - nabbed from my mum's wardrobe 

Matte blue nail varnish - Mariachi from Topshop

Ex-theatre hire floral silk coat - Angels costume sale

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Grace Elliott

Hello! It's been a little while since I've popped my head up here. There are a combination of reasons mainly that I've spent the last month or so flitting back and forth between London for work but also it's been terrible weather which does not really make one feel like donning elaborate outfits and jumping about outside. Luckily the weather has cheered up and I've had a little break from my flitting so I finally have time to put together a post.

The jacket I'm wearing in these pictures was bought by mum in the late 1970s from a boutique in the town she grew up in, Worcester. The shop was called Grace Elliott and the label of the jacket reads just that in a lovely bubbly 1970s typeface. 

Grace Elliott denim dress, mid-1970s. Source: GoldCanaryVintage

The jacket was passed to me when I was about 18, I'd ogled it from afar for a long time. It's a beautiful thing; hand-stitched squares of liberty-esque florals and lined in ivory silk. It's a like an old friend, I can't really imagine not seeing it hanging about on my rail.

Grace Elliott denim dress, mid-1970s. Source: GoldCanaryVintage

A few years ago my mum found the pink acetate skirt in Falmouth, what should the label read but Grace Elliott! Although the label was by this point a machine embroidered number. The strangest coincidence. She of course bought it right away. By now I was intrigued, who was Grace Elliott? Googling over the years since has produced very little in the way of information. I know it was open from roughly 1970-1985 (when it was dissolved), and there were two (possibly 3) shops; one at 35 Friar Street and one near The Butts. They traded under both Grace Elliott and Grace Elliott Designs Ltd. I've found one other Grace Elliott item selling on Etsy recently - a denim dress with embroidered tapestry cuffs and pockets. 

However, apart from this the thread has run rather dry. My intrigue is now at an all time high (my favourite thing is a mystery, and an ungoogleable one is the best sort!) This post is a sort of plea/call out/shout for help! Have any of you ever encountered items by Grace Elliott? Does anyone know anything about the firm or indeed remember it? Please comment if you do! Likewise I'd be very interested in seeing pictures if you have any items by the mysterious Grace. I'm pretty sure it was only based in Worcester so it's operations were probably quite small (however, items travel as exemplified by my skirt!)

Both these items are such favourites of mine that I can only imagine how wonderful the other items they might have sold would have been. The jacket reminds me so much of the fabrics used for flour sack dresses. I've never found a patchwork as wonderful and delicate as it. The skirt is made of 100% acetate (!) and has the brilliant watery/woodgrain pattern. 

I've rarely worn both items together but I  like the results, I felt a little like Andie (Molly Ringwald) in Pretty in Pink:

Andie, Pretty in Pink. Source: 1

Andie, Pretty in Pink. Source: 2

She was my absolute favourite as a teenager so maybe that's why I feel such an attachment to these items. They definitely embody that late 1970s-1980s style: ultra pink, floral and girly but with a little punk spirit thrown in. It's ever so slightly sloaney pony but it just about gets away with it (it's all about the attitude you imbue an outfit with...)

Please please please do get in touch if you have any information regarding Grace Elliott (send me an email if that's easier) or any tips on how one might go about tracking down a provincial boutique. My supersleuth investigative research skills have failed me this time!  I'll be back soon I promise!

Outfit Details

Jacket & skirt - Grace Elliott (via my mum)

1930s theatre dress (worn as top) - Vintage sale

1970s brown suede platform boots - Charity shop

1930s straw hat - Belonged to my mum

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