Mad for Mochilas

There was a girl on the beach in St Tropez this week with the coolest bag. It was huge, woven neon pink and turquiose, with a stripey, ikat-y long shoulder strap. And pompoms. Heaven. After a couple of hours of research, I've found out that it's a Mochila bag - the traditional woven bag indigenous to the women of Colombia, in South America. It takes the ladies over forty hours to make each bag and no two designs are ever the same. I adore the loud, neon coloured varieties of them and cant think of anything more perfect for my next bit of beach action.

Last year there was a project called the 'Mochila Project' where top designers were given one of the bags and then let loose on it. Below are some of the results. I cant decide which I love most, Matthew Williamson's or Missoni's creation...

Roger Vivier

Moschino

Missoni

Matthew Williamson's

I've been trying to get hold of one myself but most of the real beauties are in America. There are a couple of places here in the UK that are selling them too though. Wayuu Taya is selling a few on Netaporter.com for about £145

Another lovely lady is importing them and selling them on her website www.mochilabags.co.uk

www.netaporter.com

www.etsy.com/Dizzybydesign

www.faridaspassions.com

Home Sweet Home

We're back from our French holiday, all in one piece. Maybe a bit larger pieces than when we left as all we seemed to do was eat. As usual, our days were planned around what we were going to eat. Mostly it was lunches that would go on for hours. There's something about being on holiday that means you're never full. You can just eat and eat and eat. My usual healthy eating went completely out the window and was replaced by a lot of 'nems' - deep fried spring rolls wrapped in lettuce and mint - and cheese. Very tasty but I've never craved vegetables so badly as I did sitting on the Stansted Express coming home last night. Supper was going to have to be slightly healthy with nothing remotely deep fried in sight. I came up with quite a tasty seared beef and roasted tomato salad concoction. The perfect way to ease us back into non holiday eating.

Ingredients

2 small fillet steaks

salad

asparagus tips

raw baby spinach leaves

french beans

Parmesan

cherry tomatoes

A mustard based vinaigrette

Chop the tomatoes in half and put in the oven at 180 degrees for about half an hour.

Cook the beans and asparagus and then plunge into icy water so they stay bright green. Keep them on ice until you're ready to use them.

Sear your beef fillets on a high heat, then turn the heat down slightly and cook until they're the colour you like.

Let the beef sit for ten minutes and then slice into thin slices.

Sprinkle your salad and spinach leaves onto a big wooden board.

Cut up the beans and asparagus and sprinkle them on top of the salad.

Then add the beef strips, tomatoes and dressing.

Shave some big bits of parmesan on top et voila...

Bon Apetit!

Au revoir x

I'm off on holiday.

See you next week!

xx

Niki Jones

I might not be able to make a decision about carpets but at least I know where my cushions will be coming from. I can't believe I haven't come across her before. Nikki Jones has an online shop, full of incredibly beautiful embroidered cushions, vintage Kantha quilts and bone inlay furniture.

www.niki-jones.co.uk

Min Hogg's Seaweed Walls

So I went down to see the new house on Friday and it's every bit as gorgeous as I remembered. I was definitely wearing my rose tinted glasses on my first visit though and this time round noticed that we will be needing to do far more work than we imagined. I think we're pretty much going to be re painting and re carpeting the whole house, from top to bottom. As much as I'm thrilled by a project, I have no idea whatsoever where to begin. Wallpaper has become such an obsession that the minute we get onto house chat, it's the only thing I think about. Carpets and paint colours just fade into oblivion. I went to Peter Jones yesterday to look at carpet samples and ended up speaking to a particularly unhelpful moron. When I asked him to show me his herringbone jute selection he snorted at me and told me that was a 'stupid choice' for a hallway. The wallpaper ladies on the other hand, couldn't have been more helpful if they tried.

Even though I haven't made any decisions yet, I do know that at least one of our walls will be wearing one of Min Hogg's gorgeous coral wallpapers. They are so beautiful and immediately conjure up images of beachy living.

My favourite of Min's Wallpapers

I'm tempted to totally recreate this bathroom

One of my favourite of her range

www.minhoggdesign.com

Summer of Rock

Erin Wasson's always been one of my faves and I love her in this French Elle shoot. A proper vision.

Erin Wasson photographed by Fred Meylan for Elle France,

June 2011

At home with DJ Ellie Shepherd

A year ago, one of my greatest friends sold her little flat in Kensington and with the money from the sale, moved up to Kensal and bought the most sensational, double fronted, full on house. It's huge. She's done it up so beautifully and it already feels like she's been there forever. Minimalism is not Elinora's thing and there are trinkets and treasures are on every single surface. Her magazine and book collections could rival the local library. From a distance the decor looks very girly. She's used mostly pale colours, a lot of pink and a lot of beautiful vintage lace. But up close you see that she's got a whole mish mash of things going on. Next to the wispy lace will be a studded skull or a leopard print something or other. She's managed to brilliantly create a balance between her love of girly, pretty things with her love of rock and roll and all things studded.

Ellie

Part of the sitting room leading out to the terrace

The front door that opens onto the open plan dining and sitting room

The view as you walk in the door

Dining table

Indian Cushion

Part of her library

Some of her vintage lace cushions

The Kitchen

Her DJ Decks

Part of Ellie's very extensive wardrobe

Her old ballet shoes

Dressing Table

Ellie and Andrew's bedroom

Painted moroccan screen used as a headboard

Ellie's Nike trainer collection