Warning: smug post alert. I couldn’t help sticking up this photo of my FIRST EVER POTATO. Well, not my very first, as a kid in France my sister and I would be in charge of digging up wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of spuds, but my first as a grown woman. Yes,…
A weekend in Somerset
We have just returned from an impromptu few days escape to Somerset. To say it is 45mins away across the border, it feels like another era. Our sleepy sanctuary, the OH’s parents country abode, is in the village of Montacute – it couldn’t be any more British if it tried.…
Object of desire: Love Brand & Co. swimming trunks
When we discovered Country Bebe was on his way, and that ‘it’ was a he – my immediate thought was this: Daddys and their mini mes in matching trunks. Surely the best reason to have a boy? The launch of Love Brand & Co. brings me a step closer to…
A round-up of sunscreens
As a beauty editor, every spring would herald a deluge of new sunscreens to roadtest. Every time I headed off to exotic climes I would grab a couple from the stash and dutifully put them through their paces. Over the years there are some that have impressed me so much…
Clarks SS12 collection: an unexpected find
I am writing this post in stunned silence. My feet haven’t graced a pair of Clarks shoes since my Black patent Magic Steps. Come on, you must remember. The ones with the key in the sole? It was the first TV advert I remember watching and thinking THEY MUST BE…
Object of desire: Rifle Paper Co.
I am a total sucker for stationery. Of course I have the obligatory Smythson correspondence cards but it’s personalised stationery that really floats my boat. Perhaps the pinnacle of personalised stationery is the wedding invite. We had ours done at Mount Street Printers in Mayfair and their service and surprisingly,…
Instagram on Countryfille.com
You may have noticed in the last few posts my photos have got significantly jazzier. I have Instagram in my life and all is well. I did photography as part of my degree so I will freely admit to being a camera snob, namely that I still don’ t believe…
Country Bebe roadtests reusable gNappies
When you’re pregnant (for the first time at least) you have lots of Good Intentions. 1/ I will not co-sleep with my baby 2/ I will only let organic, home-cooked food pass their lips 3/ I will use only re-usable nappies. Well, lets just say, at 4am I would have…
Things that other people do: making marmalade
So, I popped my preserves cherry today. Seville Orange Marmalade, no less. Look away now if you are a by-the-book jam maker as this will probably make you scoff: I used oranges from a tin. If this makes you clutch your WI recipe and break into a cold sweat, I…
Object of Desire: Aspinal of London
I will admit, I am more than a teeny bit in love with Aspinal of London. I remember defecting from my ardent Smythson habit back in 2009 after one too many ‘Pretty Woman’ moments in Smythson’s Bond Street store. It’s a diary people, how elitist can a shop girl…
A blustery week in Devon
So, it has been a seriously stormy week in Devon. In fact, last Friday the wind records reached the highest in 5 years. How do we know this? Because this happened: We woke up one morning and our 80ft, 6ft high boundary wall had fallen flat overnight, taking a beautiful…
Our first family holiday: Bedruthan Steps
It is with HUGE excitement and a little intrepidation that I’ve booked us our first family holiday. We shall be spending 3 nights this June at the Bedruthan Steps hotel, Mawgan Porth in Cornwall. Gulp. The trip will not be into wholly unchartered waters as this shall be my third…