Anedoti Blog

Come and join Anedoti on Stand C142 at the fabulous Spirit of Xmas fair. We will be presenting our new glove collection for men and women, unique scarves and exclusive pampering offers. Books your tickets now if you want to enjoy the advance discount http://www.spiritofchristmasfair.co.uk. Happy Xmas shopping!

Spirit of Christmas

Dates
4 - 8 November 2009

Opening Times
Wednesday     4 November 10am - 6pm
Thursday        5 November 10am - 6pm
Friday             6 November 10am - 6pm
Saturday         7 November 10am - 6pm
Sunday           8 November 10am - 5pm

Location
Grand Hall, Olympia Exhibition Centre, Kensington, W14 8UX

Advanced ticket prices*

Booking line - 0871 230 1089*
Adult                        £15
Child (13 - 16)         £7.50
Two day ticket £27.50

All advanced ticket holders will receive a Fair directory upon arrival at the Fair.

What do Jo Whiley and Kate Moss have in common?

They both have been seen wearing RUBY Jeans, a slinky new line of fashion forward denim wear from U.K. Jeans designer Kate Ogle.

Featured in InStyle Magazine, Hello! and Harper’s Bazaar Ruby London is a cool-as-they-come London denim brand, which specialises in slinky, sexy jean shapes known for their flattering fit and easy pairing with dressy and casual pieces. RUBY Jeans a favourite of stylists, celebs and women worldwide.

Jeans by Ruby London

View the collection of Jeans by Ruby London

Whilst we spent most of this glorious bank holiday weekend in the park enjoying the beautiful weather, Ed Sebastian and I did manage to squeeze in some retail therapy and made some lovely discoveries.

Ash Shoes have just opened a shop on Marylebourne High Street. If you are not familiar with this brand, stop by and discover their luxury satin sneakers with velvet laces and unique gladiator sandals. I adore my black satin sneakers and now have my eye on the turquoise ones. If you don’t live in London, don’t worry you can buy them on-line.

We also discovered a great new brand of childrens’ clothing called POLARN O PYRET. So the name does not exactly sell the brand nor does its website which is quite bland. But the clothes are lovely. Beautiful cotton with cool stylish Nordic designs. House of Fraser carries a good selection.

Tom Salama’s Summer 09 collection has finally arrived at Anedoti’s London studio and its gorgeous. The Israeli designer has yet again pulled off some great draping and detailing combined fun playful prints and stunning silk chiffons. Asymmetric, off the shoulder and halter tops dominate this year’s collection. Shoulders are sexy and on display. Amongst my favourites are: the necklace halter dress, the red powerful off the shoulder red top and the floaty Shemesh dress in Turquoise. The collection will be available on-line from today at Anedoti.com!

With Anedoti, Ed and I are always on the look out for great new brands and shops when abroad. This month’s travels took us to Paris for the fashion shows and Whistler for some skiing and relaxation with our family.

In between shows, we enjoyed a relaxing stroll on rue du Faubourg saint Honoré and its side streets. Our two best finds of the day were sneakers for Ed in Pataugas and beautiful paper and writing accessories at l’Art du Papier. Check them out next time you visit:  

On the slopes, I was conquered by funky skiing brand Kjus. Founded in 1997, this Norway-born company creates beautiful gear for men and women, combining awesome materials with super stylish slightly retro designs. At $1000 a jacket, these beautiful designs don’t come cheap but they really stand out on the mountain and they are totally in sync with the needs of the sport.

Oscar, Ed and I headed off to The Commander on Saturday night in Nottinghill and we had a great time.  

This former rundown boozer off Westbourne Grove is now an American style porter house & oyster bar with an adjacent deli, butcher, florist & fishmonger. The restaurant has partnered with one of our favourite butchers,The Ginger Pig, as well as fishmonger John Norris.

The Commander truly captures the essence of a great neighbourhood restaurant: super welcoming staff, child and pet friendly, a lovely atmosphere and affordable luxury combining good food and excellent wines without being fussy.

The entire evening was a success. We started with a selection of oysters at the bar. I recommend the Rock Oysters. They were delicious. We then moved to one of the super cosy booths to enjoy a seafood extravaganza: lobster, prawns & langoustines. The king prawns were superb and come with a delicious sauce. The seared tuna salad is also wonderful. The pricing of wine (wholesale price + corkage rather than high mark ups) means you can really choose an excellent wine at a reasonable price. We enjoyed 3 wonderful bottles throughout the meal (and no headaches the next day). There were only 2 clumsy moments throughout the meal: the restaurant forgot to tell us the last food order is at 9:45 -rather early don’t you think! - so we could not order more charcuterie and the cutlery provided for the seafood. is rather cheap. We broke a pair of lobster plyiers whilst attempting to free our lobster meat from the shell! Nonetheless the charming staff made up for those 2 mistakes with charming smiles and a very helpful attitude. We will be coming again!

Ed, Sebastian and I had a wonderful time in Barcelona last weekend. It was the perfect combo of great friends getting together, enjoying too much good wine and food; fabulous weather and a trip to the sea. One of the greatest highlights was the discover of Tapas and fusion spanish/Asian food “Cinc Plats” selected by our good friends Laszlo and Marian. I was first apprehensive when we walked into the stylish but slightly cold grey decor. This did not seem like a place for 6 rowdy hung-over adults and 3 kids under 7! And I wanted traditional Spanish Tapas. But it was fantastic.

Our waiter loved the kids and got the kitchen to make them non fussy special meals. When Sebastian abruptly woke up from a nap half way through dinner, our lovely waiter took Sebastian through a tour of the restaurant to let me eat in peace.

We had 4 bottles of wine, a huge amount of delicious food and the bill came to less than euro 50 per adult! A total deal. If you get a chance to try it, don’t miss out on the Patatas Bravas. They are out of this world and finish off the meal with an indulgent but light and alcoholic Mojito Sorbet!

Customers have been asking Anedoti about the perfect Valentine’s day gift. Personally I view Valentine’s day as a fun and sweet commercial celebration. I would never recommend an over the top gift -although woman will never say no to a diamond :-). Keep those for a date that is unique to your couple. Valentines gifts are not meant to be practical. I recommend something really pretty and beautifully packaged. Its all about that moment when your Valentine’s date unwraps her present. So focus on presentation and pick something unique. If you go for jewellery, pick a pair of earrings or pendant that she can wear out for dinners and parties. She will think of you everytime she puts them on. Be bold and go for a unique design.  I am in love with this stunning flower pendant by Kira Bella for £140. Absolutely feminine and unique. 

I am also a big fan of these beautiful earrings by Inbar. At £50, they are a total steal. Gloves are also a fantastic gift. With the cold temperatures we are still experiencing, she will thank you every day for keeping her warm and in style. Again pick a colour that she loves or a unique design rather than a basic black glove.

Hope that helps with your selection and remember you only have 2 days to go!

Returning from holiday can be depressing or inspirational, depending on your frame of mind and what you come back to. 

At Anedoti, we start the year full of energy and creative spirit. Having just returned from 3 weeks in Egypt, our heads are filled with the extraordinary sites of this magnificent country. So we are still walking on clouds. It’s also always a pleasure to return to vibrant London and to enjoy a new season of theater and films. As soon as we landed, I booked tickets to Eonnagata at  Saddlers’ Wells. I can’t think of a better collaboration than dancer Sylvie Guillem, theatre-maker Robert Lepage and award-winning choreographer Russell Maliphant and costumes by Alexander McQueen: 4 of my favourite artists working together on a unique production. The story behind Eonnagata is that of Chevalier d’Eon, also known as Charles de Beaumont. De Beaumont was a French diplomat, soldier and spy. He was a leading member of Louis XV’s secret spy network. Rather unusually De Beaumont often indulged in a spot transvestitism for the purpose of espionage. This dazzling new production draws on the Japanese theatre style, Kabuki.  

I can’t wait! Eonnagata runs from February 26th - March 10th in London.

December is a funny month isn’t it: Its dark from an absurdly early hour; you are exhausted from a year of hard work. So you just want to curl up in bed with a good book or watch a good movie at home. And yet its one of the busiest social months with office parties, cocktail parties and dinners at friends.

The only way I manage to get through it and enjoy all the social engagements is to book plenty of downtime between parties. I read loads of books, take long baths and do all my Xmas shopping on-line on my sofa in front of our fireplace. I can’t bear the thought of queuing up in shops and fighting for taxis on Regent street in the cold. I love outsourcing the gift wrapping and shipping to the companies on-line. 

In terms of great books, I just finished The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga who won this year’s Man Booker Prize. Its incredible dark and entertaining. For a good video, get the old series of Spooks. I just finished viewing series 2 and its really entertainment.

If you haven’t finished your Christmas shopping, go to www.anedoti.com today and get 10% off, free shipping in the UK and free gift wrapping. Enter Code: MadXmas at the checkout and you will get an immediate discount, free shipping and a lovely gift box and personalised message with your purchase. So much less stressful!!!!