Modern Pineapple

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November 1, 2015

A Happy Halloween

Kristen Moore Halloween

With our happy Jack!

One of the best pleasures of the weekend is Ben and I can be home as much as we want. I think I’m a bit more of a homebody than he is, and many weekends we do choose to visit with friends or travel, but some of our very favorite ones are when we spend the weekend around our home. Yesterday being Halloween, we woke up lazily, reading the paper and sharing a pot of piping hot coffee talking over our plan for trick-or-treaters in the evening.

In London, Halloween is a very civilised experience. Kids can only knock on doors and ask for candy from decorated homes, so Ben got out the ladder and I started orchestrating. Hang higher here! A little more tape there! The only snafu was when I tried to plug in our orange string of lights I had ambitiously and incorrectly packed in our shipping container last year, and realized it was an American plug. Ben has promised new lights for our next year’s setup. Our flat smelled of cinnamon and pumpkin all afternoon as I baked a loaf of pumpkin bread, and then started slow roasting lamb shoulder in red wine (a Daylesford recipe and one to keep!).

Halloween Ben Moore

We got to carving, which really means Ben assumed his power stance and pulled out his favorite kitchen knife. I drew the lines for him to follow – a top with a long panel down the back for easy scraping and lighting of the candle and a goofy Jack o’Lantern face. We’ll never be the scary house people because well frankly it frightened me as a kid! We were some children’s very first homes yesterday their parents told us teary eyed taking their pictures and videos as their little dragons and princesses gingerly put their hands into the bowl to take out a Mars bar.

Ben Moore Carving Pumpkin

After sitting outside on our front stoop sipping on glasses of pinot noir, listening to Halloween orchestra music (yes there is such a thing! YouTube for hour long playlists), munching on roasted pumpkin seeds sprinkled with Old Bay and handing out candy that went in less than 90 minutes, we came inside for the melt off the bone lamb and more wine. It’s hard to believe, but we doubled our candy from last year. There are so many families that come to Palace Gardens Terrace it’s hard to draw the line on how much to spend as it can cost a pretty penny around here for Halloween candy. I think next year we’ll import from the States.

Halloween Dinner at The Moores

We’re seeing Spectre today. Has anyone else already caught how dashing Daniel Craig looks in this one? (A controversial topic, but I think he may be my favorite Bond. The gorgeous Tom Ford suits help.) I can’t wait to see the intriguing Monica Bellucci either. Though secretly I’m just dying for a big bag of popcorn and to sit in the cold theatre. This evening we’ll head to the Mall Tavern for a last warming meal of the weekend before it’s back to work on Monday! UPDATE: The new Bond was spectacular. It got two thumbs way up from us – and I now have a girl crush on Lea Seydoux. I’m also on the hunt for that gorgeous silk number from arguably one of the best scenes (I want to dish but won’t spoil any of the film for you!).

Ps – I’m feeling more like myself than I have in ages. I’ve settled into my job and run into friends around the neighborhood. I can competently give directions around the city to understandably confused tourists (it’s the little things! and I’ve been there – it’s hard) and feel like Ben and I have really come into our own being here. We have traditions now and are feeling quite like the little family we are.

Ben Moore Halloween

Halloween with my guy, who kept replenishing the candy bowl (and the wine) from inside all night.

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Posted by Kristen Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Holidays Tagged: Decor, Halloween, homebody

March 9, 2015

Fast Fashion at Home

J.Crew Smalls

Lately I’ve been loving the build up of home goods from J.Crew, the latest of the fast fashion brands to join the home decor scene. Slowly but surely they have been adding stylish smalls to their site and in stores, mostly collabs with other brands. It seems to be a natural progression, and would make sense to start competing in this space to continue selling the J.Crew lifestyle. Hidden in the Women’s and Men’s left sidebar on the website, it’s called Home & Gifts {with different trendy goods for the ladies and the guys, if you haven’t scoped it out lately}.

J.Crew is dipping its toe in the water where other fast fashion brands have already started to make their mark with brick and mortars and websites. Zara Home is arguably the most popular and established, especially in Europe. They offer virtually everything for outfitting a contemporary home {I’ve bought multiple mirrors, vases and even furniture handles for our flat here}. In December the brand announced it’s really pushing to have a home goods store with every clothing store — they have over 2,050 stores in 88 countries {hoping a store opens stateside soon for friends back home, though online shopping is available}.

Another popular fast fashion retailer, H&M, started H&M Home to compete and are part of the clothing stores, versus a separate store entirely like Zara Home. It features more of the basics in stores: towels, shower curtains, pillows and the like. Online there’s a much broader offering from candlesticks to rugs. To date, I’ve only seen it inside the clothing store itself — specifically on Kensington High Street — but am sure it’s only a matter of time before it grows.

As of now, here are my favorites from the J.Crew Home & Gifts to add new flair to your home {thinking that Ferm Living hexagon vase would be a perfect addition to the almost final redecorated guest room (!) and the Acme Party Box mason jars are needed for summer}.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11

 

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Posted by Kristen Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Home Decor Tagged: Decor, Fashionable Home, Party goods

February 17, 2015

Guest Room Must-Haves

Traveling is exciting, wonderful and, at times, majorly stressful. I love staying in hotels, resorts, B&Bs, with friends… but when I’m not in my normal environment little things I need to help maintain my day-to-day can be worrisome, from will there be a hair dryer to where’s that plug!?

By working in travel PR, I’ve spent a lot of time in hotel rooms {a lot}. I’ve taken note over the years on ways the best make stays special for their guests, and incorporated them into our home. Here are my favorite ways to make our guest room a little haven for friends and family:

Wifi Password – Let’s be serious. It’s going to be one of the first questions after opening the door and hugging hello (especially for us where our guests might not be using international calling plans, instead relying on wifi). I used a cute design from Michelle Hickey {love her printables} and put it into a frame on the dresser.

Wifi Password

Fresh flowers – There are few things as special as waking up to fresh flowers on a nightstand. I place seasonal blooms in the room the morning guests are set to arrive. They’re the perfect greeting upon arrival, and each time they’re in the room.

Flowers

Charging Station – With living in another country, I know our guests probably won’t have a charger for their iPhones, iPads, and other electronic goodies. Behind the nightstand, I set up a power strip so there are multiple outlets available {there’s nothing worse than having too few outlets in a room you don’t know} and put extra chargers we have in there. Use tags to label the chargers so they know what to use for each device.

Clean Towels on the Bed – It’s easier to have towels folded nicely and placed on the bed so guests know those are theirs to use. I save our travel toiletries from different hotels, and include those on top as well.

Towels

Books & Magazines – On the nightstand, I put out a few interesting books for reading pleasure, along with a couple of that month’s magazines. Based on who is visiting, I’ll pick up something I know they might like. {When my parents come, I’ll get Architectural Digest, for my best friend it’s British Vogue}. It’s also great idea to have a local magazine or newspaper. We get a couple free ones {The Kensington Magazine and The Resident} every month, so I save that for our guest room. It’s both inexpensive and thoughtful. I also keep a notepad and pen in the nightstand drawer, just in case they need to jot down some notes.

Keys – Chances are you won’t be with your guests 24/7. Let them feel comfortable to come and go as they please with their own set of keys. I bought a cute London bus keychain to go with ours, picked up at one of the tourist shops for less than £1.

Keys

A Local’s Map – Unless you’re planning to welcome home family, your guests don’t know the area fully. For us, that’s beyond true. Urban living means big cities and so much to explore. I put a map of London on the dresser with the keys. It has places of interest, the tube system and shows all the city’s neighborhoods.

Space in the Closet – This one is the hardest for us, I will admit. We use our guest room closet for all of our seasonal clothes. Still, while our guests are here we will take out some {ideally all} of our clothes so they can hang their with the extra hangers I keep in the closet.

Luggage Rack – My favorite thing. It’s such a little luxury, but I love having my suitcase on a luggage rack in hotels. That little elevation makes all the difference to me, and will to your visitors too. {They’re worth the minor investment! I purchased ours from Amazon.}

Luggage Rack

Blankets – I always have a blanket folded across the foot of the bed. Everyone’s body temperature is different, so I like to make sure people have easy access to extra warmth.

Special Tools – I try to always pack in a carry-on if it’s a trip of five days or less. That means I’m really looking at cutting down space and it’s only essentials going with me. I figure my guests want to do that too, so I keep a hair dryer and curling iron in a basket in the guest room. I also keep a flashlight in the nightstand drawer, just in case!

 

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Posted by Kristen Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Guests Tagged: Decor, Guest Room Ideas

February 4, 2015

A Warm Welcome

Welcome to Modern Pineapple! For quite awhile, I’ve had this idea rolling around in my head of sharing ideas on elements of elegant entertaining and hospitality. It’s everywhere, from how we treat ourselves and our homes every day, to hosting dinner parties and houseguests, to the experiences we have as guests in hotels and new places.

Being raised in southern Virginia, pineapple motifs and its symbolism were omnipresent. In colonial times, pineapples were a rarity from the Caribbean islands and brought back by speedy ships to coastal towns to go to the local confectionary shops. A hostess’s ability to have a pineapple showed her status, and that she spared no expense to ensure her guests’ dining pleasure.

These days, we’re not boasting about our abilities to get fruit for our centerpieces (well, maybe sometimes we do), but the pineapple still represents welcome, good cheer, warmth and affection for gatherings. I’m excited to share what inspires me in entertaining and hospitality — which is what I’m calling my ‘modern pineapple’ — and hope it inspires you too.

Ps - How perfect is this welcome mat from Houzz? Currently coveting it for our apartment.

Ps – How perfect is this welcome mat from Houzz? Currently coveting it for our front door.

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Posted by Kristen Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Entertaining Tagged: Decor, Welcome

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