Tom Dixon Oil: Scented Candle as Decoration
As a general rule, I like beautiful things better than I like ugly things. I’m somewhat puzzled by stuff that looks completely hideous: why make these things? Who buys them? Anyway, I shouldn’t get agitated. There are exceptions – I have only once bought a p..
Autumn Is For Big Books: 14 Fat Suggestions
Some people might say I’m not really in tune with nature, but this is, like, wrong. I totally am! My reading list is very much in sync with the weather and seasons. Autumn for example is the time to read big books – tomes on history, ponderous classics, mood..
(French) Onion Soup with Apple Cider
I have wanted to make this soup since mid-August, but have resisted, as the weather hasn’t been right. Is this normal behaviour? Possibly not, but I feel very strongly that onion soup is an early autumn dish, especially when it involves some apple booze. It ..
5 Office Outfits
Last week, The Guardian’s Jess Cartner-Morley wrote a pertinent column about modern power dressing. She made a point about the sheath dress being over and I’m afraid she’s right. Obviously, you can still wear a sheath dress. You are a grown-up woman and can ..
Lipstick Season: 10 Current Favourites
It is a beauty truism that women return to lipsticks in autumn and want to wear deeper colours as the days get colder. And I think it’s generally true, at least for me – but it’s also reinforced by the fact that new lipstick launches tend to take place in Se..
Byredo Unnamed and 10 Violet Fragrances to Try
Violet is one of my favourite perfume notes*, especially if it’s blended with wood, or green notes, or moss, or leather. It is therefore relatively – but not entirely – understandable that I bought Byredo’s unnamed scent pretty much as soon as I tried it. I ..
It Was All Yellow
I wasn’t planning to write this post at all. Not that all of my posts are carefully planned, but I do have a general list of topics in my head (and on my iPad) that I keep updating and developing. Sometimes, however, I have an idea in the morning and a blogp..
The Ordinary: For Skincare Geeks on a Budget
Some of you may remember how I pledged – more than a year ago – that Life in a Cold Climate is not going to be one of those ‘look, here’s a new product!’ type of blogs. And I still make an effort to see the bigger picture, to test things thoroughly before re..
A Dinner Menu Inspired by The Great Game
Every time I’m hosting a dinner (or a lunch, brunch, breakfast, cocktails, afternoon tea, you name it), my family becomes a little tense. It’s not because they think I’m going to screw up, but because I’m never able to simply host a dinner – or any of those ..
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
The one thing I knew with absolute certainty when I finished A Little Life – emotionally drained and unstable – was that Hanya Yanagihara has shitloads of talent. Not much of a result, considering I knew that already since reading The People in the Trees, he..