In my dreams...

Busy weekend ahead....between the usual Saturday morning errands for Mila, we are off to Steve's God-daughter's communion and are likely to come home late and merry tonight...

And of course, tomorrow Mila's Birthday party is on... and I'm half-ready for it.

I was planning to attempt making gorgeous, homemade marshmallows for my pink theme but this is SOOOO not going to happen this weekend, instead I got some fat-free ones from the supermarket.

Anyway, if you have a more relaxed weekend, you may want to try this....although given the hot weather, I think sipping mojitos outside in the garden would be a lot more appropriate!

Have a great weekend!

Image 1 from here | image 2 & recipe from here

WOW! 5000 fans + a gift

WOW! So yesterday we reached 5000 fans on Facebook and I've got a stupid smile on my face.
I don't indulge in this often but I will take the time allocated to writing this post to appreciate how far we've come since the beginning (arrgh...no let's skip the beginnings...they were not fun at all!).
I saw this image earlier this week on Pinterest that made me laugh. It says 'there is no point telling me what I should do or shouldn't do because I will always do what I want" which kind of resumes my way of thinking :-)
When I started B&F, I had a few friends who told me it would never work and they were not even saying this to be mean to me. They are still very good friends and have admitted since then that they were wrong but I guess at the time, we were not looking at B&F from the same lens...They were judging it from a business perspective whereas I was daydreaming of creating something different and very special, very personal...
I have so many plans and projects in my head, I hope this keeps moving into the right direction but in the meantime, I'm enjoying the journey. I have met so many nice, creative people thanks to B&F and later on today, case in point, I'm actually meeting the talented Paul Raeside in one of my favourite places in Notting Hill, then I will check out the Clerkenwell Design Festival. 
Have a great day and enjoy 15% OFF until Sunday as a thank you gift for being part of our little adventure!

Happy pom pom!!

SUN, S.U.N., SUUUUNNNNN 
I have to spelt it out because in London, we've been searching for it for a good 8 weeks and now it's back and I loooooove it! 
Let's hope it's gonna stay as beautiful until the weekend because on Sunday, we will have 8 gorgeous little girls celebrating Mila's Birthday at home.
So the minx does not want a theme this year, so no moustache party for us or anything else for that matter but I'm hoping to have some kind of lovely white and pink decoration on the table and in the room. 
I've already ordered pink & white Marshmallows and pink lemonade from Ocado and just need to sort out the party bags...(Just! Honestly, who invented party bags?? When I was young, it was the birthday girl that was receiving presents not the guests...anyway...)
Did you see these gorgeous pom poms we posted on our Facebook page this morning? 
I think I'm gonna use the Aubergine/Pink/Peach pom pom set to decorate the room and stick some pale ballons on the wall with washi tapes.
Right, that's it for me, I'm off to the book launch of Sweet Paris: A Love Affair with Parisian Chocolate, Pastries and Desserts in Notting Hill. The book was photographed and written by Michael Paul who shot our home last weekend and the one in France and by the same publisher of the Donna Hay one so I will have a little competition for you again at the end of the week!

Styling from the weekend

How was your weekend?? I woke up with a nice sense of relief on Sunday, you know the kind of mood you feel after you've managed to put to bed a few big projects...


The photoshoot I styled with Michael Paul was done. He has taken some beautiful shots and I'm very excited to attend his "Sweet Paris" book launch on Tuesday evening in Notting Hill (I'm secretly hoping that Australian Chef Bill Granger will be there).
Our Spring Summer catalogue is being sent out this week to UK customers and that was a massive project in itself!!
So basically there were two more things to do:  Mila's Birthday party and another photo shoot with MILK magazine in June and that's it, I could relax...


So bright & early on Sunday, I made some pancakes for breakfast for Mila and her friend Clara and then bake a chocolate coconut cake for Mila to take to school.
OK I was one week behind schedule but as we say in French: "On ne peut être à la fois au four et au moulin" which means that you can be in two places at once.


Anyway, once the cake was done, it gave me an idea for the Christmas catalogue so I tried a few 'styling' ideas...


I won't share with you the recipe quite yet because frankly since my friend Verity gave me the recipe when we were in New-Zealand for Christmas, I must have done it a dozen times and put on 2 kilos so trust me YOU REALLY DON'T WANT the recipe before the bikini season but I promise to give it to you after the Summer because it's a very easy recipe and it is just amazingly de-li-cious!

Awesome WE read + a little creative project

Hello! I realised this morning that with everything going on, I totally forgot to tell you that our gorgeous, inspiring, awesome Spring Summer 2012 catalogue was now available on issuu. The print version will be mailed to BODIE and FOU customers and those who requested a copy next Friday. Voila! job done and I hope you like it !
I also wanted to share with you these FREE downlodable vintage paper placemats from the Pretty Blog (I love the cutlery one).
Have a lovely Sunday.
I'm off to make a cake for Mila to take to school for her birthday (I'm one week behind) and I have to start planning her Birthday party. This year she doesn't want any theme, so no moustache party like we did for her 6th birthday, and no lovely decoration like we did for her 5th birthday. I cant work out if I'm relieved (because let's face it I'm exhausted..things have been a little bit crazy since the beginning of the year) or a bit disappointed...

Twig Hutchinson: Stylist

Yesterday, I spent the day styling our London home for a photoshoot with Michael Paul - who shot our home in France in 2010. As we were talking about styling, we realised there were two stylists we both really like, although they have a totally different style: Twig Hutchinson and Lotta Agaton.
Prop/Interior Stylist and Art Director Twig Hutchinson is definitively of my favourite British stylists.
The shot of these woollen socks (image 5) she styled a few years ago for mail order company TOAST is one of my all-time favourites and she has done more beautiful shots for Toast, Joules and other British brands since then.
Twig's styling is very inspiring and creative. I love how she uses raw materials, textured fabrics and vintage pieces to enhance old, decadent interiors. She creates beautiful atmospheres with a relaxed feel and each time, my head wanders in the countryside where I would be living a very relaxed yet exclusive & stylish life with my friends and family.
And if you love this style, I strongly recommend you to cycle to Petersham nurseries in Richmond...it's a very unique and inspiring place and you will have a wonderful time.

Urbanears headphones

Good news! The white Plattan headphones and all the other colours will be back in stock.
If you a runner "like me", I strongly recommend them. I used to run with the littles ones that came with my iPod but they kept falling off and between looking after Lucas (not so 4 months old anymore) and these things that didn't stay in my ears, it was doing my head in so I switched.


These Plattan headphones by Urbanears stay firmly on your head, the acoustic is fab and they have a Zound plug which basically allows your friend to plug into what you're listening. 

Photo: François Kong | Styling: Karine Kong

Mila's Birthday

Mila is 7 today...
I could never have dreamt in a million years to have such a gorgeous, beautiful, smart and funny little girl and I wish from the bottom of my heart that she grows into a beautiful, smart and funny young woman...
Happy Birthday ma chérie, je t' énORmement!

Photo 1 & 2 by Chris Tubbs for the Grand Design photoshoot  | Photo 3 & 4 by Michael Paul for Home Beautiful Australia who is shooting our London home this weekend.

Super easy creative project

A few years ago, a US customer sent us some lovely images where she used our Bird Clothes pegs to hang the name of her wedding guests for the seating plan (which I thought was a genius idea!)

When Mila was 5, I used them in her bedroom to display her drawings masterpieces...
I also use them too to keep packs of rice and bulgur wheat closed in the cupboard and as paper clips but that's just me....However, the food bags thing then gave me the idea of using them to make an advent calendar...
This year - LET'S BE CRAZY!!! - I may use them for Mila's upcoming Birthday party...
Anyway, I was thrilled to see this image Sophie from Skinflint shared on Twitter...If you have done something really cool with it, let me know or send me some pics :-)

 

 

-

Inspiring Typography

I love typography...
I also like the visual impact a chosen font will have on the style one wants to convey for a brand, a packaging, a logo or even a page layout (i.e. the Welcome page of our SS/12 catalogue).
If you are in the process of launching your brand or company, it is very important you think about what you want to convey with the font or logo because.... first impression counts!
So here a few examples of typography, page layout and branding examples I'm collecting on Pinterest....
Have a lovely, inspiring evening!

1. Welcome page of BODIE and FOU SS/12 catalogue (which is now on Issuu!) 2. Only As print using typography (see also Do What You Think Is Right print) 3. Mila's bedroom with Pigmee garland 4. Layout by Aline Diepois and Thomas Gilzome 5. Pinterest 6. Lotta Jansdotter window shop 7. Charlotte Gainsbourg in VOGUE

Sneak-peek of our SS/2012 catalogue

Here is a sneak-peek of our Spring/Summer catalogue which I think looks even better than our first one (and that one got an Award!).

This time we take you on a summery journey between London and the French Atlantic coast to indulge in beautiful soft bed linens from France, stylish Clare Vivier clutches to go to a party in town or for an evening walk by the beach and as usual inspiring, creative ideas to make your home a happy place.

I really hope you will love it as much as I do and I take this opportunity to thank everyone at CHS Creative and Sophie and Francois that have done an amazing job!
Have a wonderful weekend! xoxo

Photo: François Kong | Styling: Karine Kong