A Wally Of A Dream

http://player.vimeo.com/video/37876758

INTERMISSION: CHAI BREAK

Masala Chai is perfect for a cold winters day.

Video by High Beam Media

Via Fine Dining Lovers

Hermes Leather Forever

Celebrating 175 Years , Hermès Leather Forever Exhibition shows us the beautiful company's long relationship with leather. The show is divided in 12 rooms which represent various leather collections including Travel, equestrian, accessories and handbags. Bespoke items from history such as items commissioned by the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson and a winged saddle apparently commissioned by a Japanese band. Most exciting for me is the Craftspeople from the Hermès workshop in Paris who will be present at the show, demonstrating the art of leather-working.

There is more , Hermès created four one of a kind versions of its Passe- Guide Handbag  representing England , Scotland , Ireland and Wales as tribute to those countries. Christie's will conduct and online auction of the bags from 14th of May till 31st. All proceeds of the auction will be donated to the Royal Academy of Arts. They should make a special piece for the Her Majesty The Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Hermès Leather Forever Exhibition

6 Burlington Gardens

London

W1S 3ET

8th to 27th of May 2012

10am to 6pm Daily , Late Night on Fridays till 10pm.

Admission Free

Sources via,

www.hermes.com

www.christies.com

www.parkandcube.com

Cabin Fever

Snow Cabin via Sister Himalaya

Winter Home via Architectural Digest

Modern Mountain home via Pinterest

Rustic Bathroom via Pinterest

The Peak of Rustic Chic Idaho via Elle Decor

Rustic Bathroom via Sisson Designs

Jackson Hole , Wyoming via Elle Decor

Le Chalet Chatel via Les Fermes de Marie

Wild White Horses via Sister Himalaya

Chalet Table scape via Pinterest

Fairy Trees in The Snow Via Pinterest

Am off to the Swiss Alps for a couple of days to enjoy some Nature and fresh Air, can't wait after 2 months in the city.

Yodel Away xo

Henri Biva (French, 1848-1928)

Pond in the mist, 1910

Oil on canvas

Picnic Splendor

Photos via Rolls Royce

Photos via Krug

Photos via Bonhams Auction House England

Photos via Bonhams

1957 Ford Carbeque Photos via Top Speed

Martell Trunk made by Pinel

Gorgeous summers days, perfect for a luxurious picnic.

Photographer:  Prabuddha Dasgupta Model:  Kamai Sidhu

V is for Very Glam

And very Veruschka. Here, the model stuns in a 1966 Richard Avedon photograph.

Amangiri

Earth, Teach Me

Earth teach me quiet ~ as the grasses are still with new light.

Earth teach me suffering ~ as old stones suffer with memory.

Earth teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.

Earth teach me caring ~ as mothers nurture their young.

Earth teach me courage ~ as the tree that stands alone.

Earth teach me limitation ~ as the ant that crawls on the ground.

Earth teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.

Earth teach me acceptance ~ as the leaves that die each fall.

Earth teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.

Earth teach me to forget myself ~ as melted snow forgets its life.

Earth teach me to remember kindness ~ as dry fields weep with rain.

- An Ute Tribe Prayer

Set in the majestic Desert Canyon of Utah on the border to Arizona , Amangiri meaning Peaceful Mountain is in complete unity with its incredible surroundings. This is a resort that reaches into your soul and connects you to the Desert with Panoramic views from every angle, the colours of the pink sky and the splendor of the Canyons as your companion.

With 34 Suites in total with different layouts and categories some with larger terraces, Sunset views or sunrise views, some with pools and its two special suites the GiriJaala and the Aman Suite with dining al Fresco, terraces and large pools a home away from home. All Suites are designed with minimalistic but warm decor in Desert tones to blend the surrounding nature into your room. There is also an outdoor bedroom were you can sleep under stars for the very brave!

At the centre of the resort resides the Main Pavilion were you will find the dining room, cellar, library, Art Gallery where they showcase the regions best Art, Jewellery and Handcrafted wares from the Navajo tribes.

There is a a beautiful pool that blends into the canyon with king size sun loungers, and  next to the hot tub there is a fireplace area for the colder days. The vast 25, 000 Sq ft spa with floatation therapy, indoor and outdoor treatment rooms , even the indoor treatment rooms have spectacular views of the Canyon. The spa menu was created to reflect the Navajo Healing and Culture Traditions. There is also a a yoga pavilion and a the classic gym for those in need, which I find doubtful as Amangiri organizes the most incredible trips in the surrounding areas, hiking trails of different levels with names such as Coyote, Studhorse, Cave Peak and Hodoo. 

Visit the Naional Parks such as Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, North and South Rim and Monument Valley. Or if water is what gets to you visit Lake Powell or go Fly Fishing in the Colorado River. Last but not least take it all in from the sky with Hot Air Baloon Flights or a Private plane, not too shabby this Amangiri.

Wait there is still more, they do some specials tours and events during different times of the year. Full Moon Yoga on a sandstone platform a 15 minutes hike away from the resort . Presentations  and lectures "Dinosaurs of the Grand Staircase" were you will learn about the creatures that used to live in the area from archeologists that will bring some artifacts from the dig site. Love the stars? Then watch the stars via a Dobsonian Telescope with Amangiris Astronomy guide who will give you a tour of the night sky. For culture fanatics there is outdoor Opera in the amphitheater formed by the rocks.

Yes I am obsessed with hotels in the desert. Are you dreaming yet? xo

Photos via Amangiri, Flickr.

http://www.amanresorts.com

SURFING ON ART

Into the Waves, found via Pinterest.

Border Lines in Collaboration with Stephen Bowers

Trio Back

Matthew McConaughey's Airstream via Architectual Digest Photo by Jim McHugh

Paulownia Planing Hull in Collaboration with Gerry Wedd

Paulownia Planing Hull Detail in Collaboration with Gerry Wedd

California Surf Mobile via Pinterest

Paisley in Collaboration with Quentin Gore

Paisley Detail in Collaboration with Quentin Gore

1969, LeRoy Grannis surfing Hermosa Beach . Photograph © LeRoy Grannis.  All rights reserved. via The Selvedge Yard

Swastika 

 Floral Fish, One True Religion & Gun 

Vintage Surf Shop Via Tumblr

Burnt Fish

Burnt Fish Detail

Paddle back to your boat and spot the little shark, sadly no credit. Found on Pinterest via Roxy Europe. 

Finless Double Ender

Finless Double Ender Detail

1966 Iconic Documentary Surfing  film by Bruce Brown

Smoker

Antipodean Willow Mini Simmons in Collaboration with Stephen Bowers

Magic Sunset Ride, makes me think of Dreamland. 

"Out of The Water, I am Nothing" Duke Kahanamoku

One day I was walking on the street and I saw poster with the most vibrant colours with silhouettes of  men carrying surf boards and written across were the words "The Endless Summer ". I have such a passion when it comes to anything to do with the water, beach or sun that  I got the poster to put on my bedroom wall at school and  then rented the film. I was mesmerised and that was how my love for surfing began. The very funny thing is I do not know how to surf ( I did a little windsurfing) but that does not matter to me, I love the culture of it, the life, being in tune with the ocean riding those waves. It is so beautiful to watch, my favourite place to go and take it all in used to be a spectacular beach in Bali called Dreamland,  as it was perfectly named by the surfers. Sadly this magnificent beach was destroyed by the Indonesian Government but that is another story.

Back to present day I stumbled across the most beautiful image of a surf  board. I was not sure if it was a board or a piece of art, but had to find out who made this beauty.

Walker Surfboards designed and handmade by Artist Peter Walker in Adelaide Australia. He began his impressive career at The Tasmanian School of Art and worked in his own studio in Tasmania for 14 years . Then moved  to Adelaide to head the Furniture Design Studio at the JamFactory Craft & Design Centre. In between and after he headed so many departments that I cant keep track, including 10 years as Associate Professor of Furniture Design at the Rhode Island School of Design in the USA. The list is endless, obviously a very talented man. Combining his other real passion of surfing  with his artistic talents he produced this beautiful line of unique surfboards and collaborating on some with renowned artists Stephen Bowers,Quentin Gore and Gerry Wedd.

I love them, one day I will get one , need to find  a place to put it maybe its time to move to the beach or walk around London with one, now that would be a funny sight. 

I have included some links to articles about Peter and there is also more technical information, board designs & how to order on the site. You must buy one now! 

All Walker Boards Photographs by Grant Hancock, courtesy of Peter Walker,

Other images sadly were on the internet without credit.

Walker Surfboards

Further Reading ,

The Age Article 

Megadelux Article 

Long Live The Queen

Majestic: The artist's impression of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee flotilla recalls Canaletto's famous painting, River Thames with St. Paul's Cathedral on Lord Mayor's Day, c.1747-48

Newly Crowned Queen on the Cover of 1956 Empire Day Pamphlet.

Flags Regent Street and all over London.

Brora Shop Front

Royal Barge for the Diamond Jubilee Flotilla

Elizabeth by Cecil Beaton

Diamond Jubilee Cake baked for The Queen by The Military Caterers which took more than 500 hrs to make.

Tower Bridge with British Flag Colours for the Jubilee via Press Association

Don't Mess with The Queen

Hackett Jubilee Windows

Anya Hindmarch Jubilee Windows

Love her smilling.

Harrods

The Queen in a Hardy Amies white lace ensemble on her tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1953-1954. Look at her tiny waist.  Photo: Rex Features

Coronation Day

Mama and Son

Buckingham Palace

The Windsors

Rendering of Diamond Jubilee Stage at Buckingham Palace

Coronation Dress by Norman Hartnell

Long Live The Queen.

Convent Garden Union Flags

This weekend London and the rest of the United Kingdom will be in full splendor for our Majesty The Queen's Diamond Jubilee to celebrate 60 years of her reign.

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN! xo

Sources via,

www.telegraph.co.uk

www.dailymail.co.uk