holiday next-the-sea

Just back from our annual week in North Norfolk, where we walked along the beach at Cley-next-the-Sea,

an unbroken swathe of sand

super for seaweed spotting:

We also traversed the salt marshes--our favorite walk from last year--where we indulged in a spot of amateur bird watching. And the best bit: just a few paces past the end of the marsh path, hidden up a forested track, is the Wiveton Farm Café,

the perfect place to recover, while nibbling fluffy croissants spread with butter and homemade jam.

There were rows and rows of berries to pick by the kilo in the surrounding fields,

but with just the two of us, we purchased smaller pre-picked punnets and other goodies from the shop:

The ideal way to fill a bike basket,

or a bulging bag or two if you've arrived on (blistered!) foot.

open day

We were back at Petersham on Sunday, not just to try the new baguettes (though that would be reason enough)

or to admire the arrangements of peonies,

but to visit the private garden of the Nurseries' owners, Gael and Francesco Boglione. Sunday was this season's second Petersham House Garden Open Day, raising funds for the National Garden Scheme.

While their magnificent house and garden are adjacent to the Nurseries, up till now we'd only ever glimpsed a corner of the vegetable patch through the connecting gate...

I should have listened to G and taken more pictures of the planting scheme--the sweeping lawn, the beds brimming with alliums and poppies,

the walls covered in roses, and especially the 150-foot double border, of which this tiny specimen is my only reminder:

But of course this provides the perfect excuse to visit on the next Open Day. And I did get some snaps of the chickens and their rose-bedecked chicken coop:

Now I know exactly who's been making all that noise in the Nurseries,

though coffee at Petersham wouldn't be the same without a few cock-a-doodle-doos!

celadon and cucumber

I usually find the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition disappointing. But as we had the invite and I'd marked the date on the calendar, it seemed a shame not to go. And I'm so glad we did.

There were still some truly awful pieces, but the standard seemed higher than in previous years. The redesigned print rooms featured works by some of my favorite artists, including Larch by Angie Lewin:

But it was this piece that completely made the exhibition for me, Edmund de Waal's white lacquered cabinet containing 70 celadon and white vessels:

© Edmund de Waal

I just finished reading The Hare with Amber Eyes last week, so stumbling on this work seemed fitting. Sadly it had already sold. But I suppose that's just as well: no need to talk G into remortgaging the flat!

For more affordable enjoyment, we made a detour on the way home to Maltby Street Market. While Neal's Yard Dairy, St John, and Monmouth Coffee all have premises here, we were on a mission to sample Kitty Travers' La Grotta Ices.

© Phaidon Press and La Grotta Ices, London, UK

A graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, Kitty makes and sells artisanal ice creams from the back of her little white van. She was named in Coco as one of the world’s top 100 up-and-coming food personalities, and last year her company was named Best of the Best in the first British Street Food Awards.

And her ice cream is indeed the best of the best! G had Candied Kumquat and I had Cucumber and Sour Cream, already melting here in the hot Saturday sun:

Simply amazing! I'm so looking forward to opening the carton of Pea Pod Ice Cream we packed into our cool bag. And not only are her ice creams lovely, Kitty is really lovely too. I wonder if she'd consider training an apprentice...

pottering in petersham, take six

It's important to start the day with a good breakfast: lots of fresh fruit

and perhaps a croissant as a treat, made even better with a big pat of butter and homemade apricot jam.

Or you could have crunchy granola,

though you'd have to wait till you got home, as sadly it's no longer on the Teahouse menu. But the lush surroundings more than make up for the missing cereal:

And if you're still hungry, there's always cake!

dreamlike shortbread

I've been unfaithful.

After years of steadfast devotion to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his shortbread recipe, I've had my head turned by Lorraine Pascale and her Dreamlike Shortbread from Baking Made Easy:

And it is indeed dreamlike: simple to make and yet so tasty--somehow light and moreish at the same time. So while I'll still make Hugh's Lavender Shortbread with our flowers from the plot, I think I may have found my new everyday biscuit.

But does this mean I should desert Jamie and try Lorraine's pizza crust too? This could be the thin end of the wedge.

colorful kew

It's been a week of color: first at Loop, then at Kew. On Wednesday, Tracy, Nancy, and I met for our most colorful visit yet. There were bright blue skies and bedfuls of orange and yellow roses, many as lemony in scent as they were in hue.

But there were plenty of rosy-colored

and rosy-smelling ones too,

and other pink flowers,

including the most marvellous peonies, some in bud

and some in bloom,

in a hidden garden only Nancy had ever seen before. Which just proves that even after a year as members, there's still plenty to discover. And thank goodness, as Kew has just sneakily renewed our memberships!

double loop

I did a double loop this week with not one, but two visits to Loop! While I'd shopped many times at the old Loop in Cross Street, I'd yet to visit their new location in Camden Passage.

The new shop is bigger and brighter--a really lovely space, where dishes of custom candy are far from the only temptation.

With yarns from three of my favorite companies--madelinetosh, Quince, and Juno--there's gorgeous wool at every turn:

And on Saturday there was the chance to see Jane Brocket, who'd brought along samples from her new book, The Gentle Art of Knitting,

as well as piles of scones and plates of cakes. I had such an inspiring chat with Jane, and swayed by her glorious color sense--and some good advice from Sarah and Donna--I strayed from my usual grays and bought a skein of Tosh Sock in colorful Clover:

Sarah, Donna, and I spent more than an hour browsing, but there's so much to see. So Ali and I popped in on Tuesday too, right after a stop at the Nordic Bakery for coffee and sugar buns. Because good friends + sweet cake + squooshy yarn = perfect x 2!