Field Notes: March

Better late than never!

As mentioned in my Book Club newsletter published earlier this week, the past few weeks have been hectic and I apologise for the delay with publishing this newsletter. It’s now the first week of April, the clocks have sprung forward and it is officially spring. My window sills are once again filled with seed trays and potted dahlia tubers, I’m spending every spare moment out in the garden or walking my dog in the hills, and each day I notice more signs that winter is behind us. My tulips are beginning to flower. There is blossom and leaf buds on the trees. The sun sets at 8pm. These next six months are the most treasured of the year for me.

March was a busy month for both work and travel. I spent a couple of days cosied up in a converted railway carriage in North Yorkshire at the beginning of the month (you can read about it on my blog) before heading to France for a week, which I’ll talk about it more detail below. Last week I travelled to London and back to shoot for one of my favourite interior designers for the second time this year, and then the long Easter weekend rolled in. I’ve felt like I’ve been chasing my tail all month, so it’s been nice to have a full week at home to catch up.

The month ahead will see me hopping from the Cotswolds to London to Brighton - all very brief and for work, so I won’t have any exciting tales to tell, I’m afraid. I’m quietly plotting my summer adventures, however, and can’t wait to share more of my personal travel stories with you all.

Things I’m looking forward to in April: warmer days, sea swims and saunas in Brighton, growing my garden, cherry blossom season, picking tulips from the pots by my front door, finalising plans for my upcoming solo trip to Greece, long evening walks, and tentatively dining outdoors.

Field Notes is quite a long read, and may cut off in your emails so is best viewed on the Substack app or website.

TRAVEL NOTES

My favourite part of the last month was undoubtedly my week in France with two of my closest friends. My friend and her family live close to Lac Leman (readers of my blog may remember my trip to visit her last summer) so we began our week with a couple of nights at their house. The three of us then relocated to the mountains for three days of skiing and snuggling up at The Landscape Lodge (ad/pr stay). Finally, we took a slow route home via Paris, travelling by train. We stayed in Le Narcisse Blanc for two nights (courtesy of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, who I was writing an article for) and spent one day travelling not-so-slowly to make the most of our time in the city.

I’m planning a newsletter for my paid subs focusing on my favourite spots I discovered in Paris, and will share a full account of my time at The Landscape Lodge on my blog. For now - my favourite memories of my time in the Alps:

Snuggling up in front of the fire with a glass of wine and a bowl of crisps, discovering that I’m actually not bad at skiing, apres ski aperols in the sun, an evening sauna and freezing cold lake dips, waking up to the view of mist drifting over the mountains, basking in the surprisingly warm sunshine, overcoming my fear of chair lifts, stomping through the snow, trying raclette for the first time, soaking up all the incredible views, and just spending time with my friends.

Keep your eyes peeled for more detailed accounts of my trip in the next couple of weeks, plus I’ll share a selection of the hundreds of photographs I captured over on my blog.

SUBSTACK SUGGESTIONS

My second Substack recommendation is for one of my favourite writers, who I originally began following on Instagram years back, when she focused on travel rather than interiors. Nowadays,

Eleanor Cording-Booth

writes about design for the likes of House & Garden, as well as designing a dreamy lampshade which I have my eye on for my home and writing a Substack that I adore.

Over on A Considered Space, Eleanor writes about everything from her journey into the world of interiors and interiors-based shopping edits to personal essays and accommodation recommendations (we have very similar taste, so if you like my travel recs, you’ll also love hers). She’s one of my absolute favourite writers, and I always look forward to reading whatever she publishes.

If you don’t follow her already, what are you waiting for?

MONTHLY EDIT

Every month I’ll share what’s been inspiring and tempting me in the worlds of travel, fashion and interiors.

5 things: travel & accommodation

I’m thrilled to be part of Curated Spaces Club, a community of curious travellers and slow living spaces around the UK. Sign up to their membership for giveaways and discounts, or browse their excellent curation of the very best places to stay in the UK. There is much more coming soon from this exciting new website.

Lavinia Cernau is one of my current obsessions on Instagram. I adore her sun-soaked travel photography and have spent some time scrolling back over her work this week to admire her shots. If you’re looking for summer inspiration and counting down the days until your next Mediterranean getaway, take a look at her work.

Kip Hideaways have shaken things up lately, upgrading their memberships to offer more perks. You can now sign up to a free membership if you just want to browse hideaways and book a stay, while their premium members can also enjoy access to exclusive booking dates, priority access to new hideaways and the chance to read their Seasonal Insider’s Guide - written by me.

I’ve recently stumbled across The Salt Sisterhood, and I love the sound of their yoga and wild swimming retreats. More and more, I’m wishing I could join one of these wonderful retreats I discover, but they are usually beyond my budget. The Salt Sisterhood’s Cornwall retreats are actually slightly more affordable than others on my radar, starting from a space in a shared room from £1350 for five nights.

My solo trip to Greece is fast approaching, and I’m already dreaming of my next trip to the Greek islands. Amorgos, Tinos, Koufonisia, Folegranderos, Sifnos, Milos, Antiparos, Hydra, Paxos, Antipaxos, Ithaca, Lefkada and Symi are all on my list for future island adventures. I’m also anticipating that I’ll want to return to Andros to stay in the three properties that have eluded me on my upcoming trip: Melisses, Ktima Lemonies and Onar. If you’re also daydreaming of the Greek isles, from May onwards I will be sharing plenty of Greece content - from where I am staying to travel guides and my thoughts on my first solo travel adventure.

5 things: fashion & beauty

I want to use this space to mention pieces in my wardrobe that I already own and love, rather than always talking about new items I have my eye on. Linen Fox are one of my favourite brands, and I own several pieces which I wear over and over again. Their Anna dress in white was the very first garment I purchased from them, and I asked for it to be made longer so it sat at a more flattering length on me. I wear this dress over and over again every spring and summer. I also recently added their cropped linen vest in red gingham to my wardrobe, which I wore two days in a row in Paris and am looking forward to wearing all summer long.

Another of my favourite sustainable British brands, Ren is currently having an archive sale. If you’re looking for beautifully made linen trousers and cotton shirts with just the right amount of flounce, look no further.

I swear by ROWSE’s skincare products. I currently use their organic rose water and rosehip oil for my nighttime routine, and am thinking of adding their regenerate night serum to the mix (as I’m not getting any younger, and it contains Bakuchiol, a plant-based antioxidant that works as a natural, non-irritant retinol alternative). I’d also like to mention my favourite ever body oil - their summer body oil has lasted me for three years, despite constantly slathering it on my skin during the warmer months. I also tend to wear it as a perfume over the summer as I just adore the scent.

I’m always on the lookout for the perfect pair of socks, and I think I may have discovered my new favourite socks for spring. I have a pair of Colourful Standard’s classic organic socks in scarlet red, and they’re perfect for wearing with both boots and trainers. I don’t need any more socks at the moment, but when it comes time to give my sock drawer a refresh, I’ll be stocking up.

I recently visited the Shop Doen pop-up at Merci Paris and fell in love with their whimsical designs. I already own one of their beautiful skirts that I picked up in the sale for a fraction of the original price - I’ll be wearing it all summer long. I’ve been eyeing up their dresses, and although they’re far beyond my price range, have completely fallen head over heels with this beautiful design. With brands in this price bracket, I can’t afford to buy full price (and I don’t really agree with spending that much money on clothes) so I would keep my eye peeled for sales or occasionally search on Vinted.

5 things: interiors & garden

I shot for Studio Alexandra again last week (this time, a beautiful mews house in Kensington) and completely fell in love with the design of these shelves. I’m hoping to completely redo our spare room at some point this year to replace the bed with a sofa bed and add in bespoke joinery for storage, book shelves and desk space for both myself and my boyfriend. This room was giving me all the inspiration.

While joinery is on my brain, I already have my eye on Matilda Goad’s hardware for when this project gets underway. I particularly love her brick red knobs and natural oak bamboo handles.

As mentioned at the beginning of this newsletter, I’ve been potting and sowing and plotting for my garden, and one thing I did last weekend was pot up my new dahlia tubers. I keep these in pots on my window sill until late May, when the risk of frost has passed and I’ll pot them out in the garden. This year I’ve gone for Molly Raven, Cafe at Lait, Night Silence, Brown Sugar, Negroni Sunset, Orange Perception and Totally Tangerine - plus my tubers from last year which I still need to plant.

I’m loving everything Beata Heuman at the moment - from her Florentine wallpaper (I’m eventually planning on wallpapering our stairs and landing) to her Alma floor lamp (as usual, I’m drawn to the red). Everything is out of my current budget (heck, I can’t even afford the plastering and decorating at the moment, let alone dressing a room) but I can dream!

Does anyone else love trawling Inigo for houses that they’d love to live in (and then plan exactly what you’d change and how you’d decorate)? My current favourites are this cute Cornish cottage (I fell in love with all that dreamy foliage in the front garden and stayed for the beamed ceilings and limewash - I’d be adding plenty of colour and pattern however) and this book-filled Bristol pad (this feels like a house from a children’s story and I love how its spread over five floors).

Coming this month …

I’ll be sharing my favourite design-led hotels in the UK and my address book of the best spots I discovered during my recent 24 hours in Paris. I’ll also be musing about train travel in Europe (something I’m committed to doing more of) and talking through my travel essentials and what I’m packing for my trip to Greece.

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Emma x