Petersham Nurseries

The other day I went to Petersham nurseries, which as you know if you read this blog is one of my favourite places. It is more a place you associate with a bright, sunny day but seeing it when it's dark before Christmas was also really lovely. Candlelight, chandeliers and lots of Christmas trees gave it quite a magical feel.

They are also holding a candlelit Christmas fair, Christmas floral displays by florist Ronny de Kooning and lots of Christmas gift goodies for sale. Sounds fun to me!

It was quite dark to take photos but I just loved this combination of fern, rose and nice glassware.

Marilyn

Love these Marilyn photos that were found recently. Gorgeous. Looking forward to the Week with Marilyn film too!

And below the Anzu So Marilyn card.

Anzu pick of the week, by Ellen

'I pick Anzu's Party shoes card as I am going to a party this weekend, and will be taking this and a big armful of multi-coloured roses! This card is perfect for the festive season and I also plan on wearing an equally glamorous pair of shoes'.

Anzu in December's German Vogue

We are delighted that our Christmas cards decorated with Swarovski crystals have been featured in German Vogue's December issue, and in such a deliciously sumptuous issue too.

We also LOVE all the rich, indulgent and glamorous photo-shoots and products they have put in this issue. Just gorgeous.

Modern Kimono

I love this shot (so fun) and that the latest craze in Tokyo is to wear kimonos and yukata again but in a modern, more relaxed way. I think it is always sad when national traditions, costume or food get lost - they should just be reinvented for modern life, so this is great to see.

via the Satorialist

Anzu pick Of The Week: Ben

This week I gave the Mr. Moneybags card from our humorous Men's Cameo Range to congratulate a friend who has recently got a new job in oil exploration. Wishing him luck and success on his quest!

Sumptuous

In the office, we're loving these indulgent and rich images from Wendy Bevan. They seem perfect for these dark evenings somehow.

Letter writing

Although I'm a fan of email, twitter etc somehow there is nothing that quite beats handwritten correspondance, whether it is on a letter or in a beautiful card. The handwriting, the choice of stamps, the beautiful paper. Each step conveys personality and thoughtfulness.

I think these illustrated letters by Vincent Van Gogh are beautiful. It's also interesting to see the stationery that people pick.

This is so Marilyn - the nude/flesh colour, the softly embossed name and the tactile texture of the paper. Everything about it is sensual.

Strong, understated, stylish. Pure Paul Newman.

Hand-painted Junior crests

We are happy to say we have just launched Anzu junior crests over on www.notonthehighstreet.com . Each crest is hand-painted bespoke individually for each baby or child. Simply choose the template shape, tell us the child/baby's name and the things they love and we will hand-paint a crest for you.

The crest above was created for 2 year old Chloe. Chloe loves monkeys, kites and the colours blue and green.

10 year old Sophie absolutely loves her horse Star and spends all her time after school riding Star in the beautiful fields that surround her home. When she's not busy horse-riding, Sophie also loves ballet.

7 year old Jack is not into football, but loves taking things apart to find out how they work, and his favourite toys are trains and lego.

After you have purchased your crest, the original piece of art will be delivered to you mounted and cello-wrapped. There is then the opportunity to buy cards and letter paper with your crest on them. Baby Mila Lavinia had a funny birth story involving carrots, and as daisies represent innocence her Mum felt they were the perfect choice for her newborn. This crest was then applied to birth announcement cards and letter paper.

If you would like to buy or know more simply visit www.notonthehighstreet.com and look for Anzu crests or click here

'The Patient Gardener'

How amazing is this? Swedish architects Visiondivision have designed and are working on this two storey leisure area.

Ten Japanese cherry trees will be bent and pruned over the next 100 years - yes 100! If only they could speed it up! As my Dad says, when you think of things in tree years you suddenly realise and appreciate how short time is.

www.visiondivision.com discovered via Another Magazine

Crystal Christmas

As part of the Swarovski Crystal Christmas that Harrods are doing this year, this Ralph and Busso dress worth £230,00 has been created and will be displayed in the store.

Like Anzu cards, the dress is decorated completely with Swarovski elements. The dress features more than 150,00 stones and took hundreds of hours to make.

Anzu will also be participating in the Swarovski crystal Christmas with some designs that are only available in Harrods (more to be revealed later).

Dangerous

Wear these two together at your own peril!

Shoes by Charlotte Olympia, Bag by Valentino

Lori Nix

Fantasy landscapes from photographer Lori Nix. Always love stories or photos of nature taking over so these really appeal to me.

You can see more of Lori's work here

Hawaii

My friend's parents are going to Hawaii, so I asked the lovely Claudia over at Passage Paradis for some insider recommendations and she has just done two wonderful posts over at her blog. So thoughtful and sweet of her, and it really made my day. I wish I was going now, especially after all the food tips!

Top of my list would definitely be the Doris Duke Shangri-La estate, with it's amazing collection of Islamic Art.

Claudia has great style, sense of fun and is a big foodie so be sure not to miss out on her posts. You can read them here and here

But if you can't go and want to get into the holiday spirit, you could always just buy some of the Anzu Hawaiian shirt cards instead!

Images: Fine art America, unknown, Anzu

Anzu Pick of the week: Saffiah

'I am picking the Anzu cosy candle to give to my sister. It is 1 year since she got married and moved into her new house, and I think this is a perfect gift for housewarming. The rich colours of the patchwork packaging remind me a bit of this great photograph below of the Pointer sisters.'

Diwali

Anzu would like to wish a Happy Diwali and new year to all celebrating it. Here are some images and a video we love, to celebrate the festival of light.

Strings of rainbow Diwali decorations

A bright, embroidered and jewelled section of a sari

An Indian miniature portrait of the Hindu Goddess Shiva surrounded by a glowing fire.

Our sparkly Rainbow Necklaces card embellished with Swarovski Crystals.

An amazing satellite image of India during Diwali. It's literally glowing.

A scattering canopy of fairy lights

These gorgeous French chandeliers!

We also love this video from the Bollywood Devdas, the song is based on a candle that never burns out, symbolic of her love for a man. Click here to view it.

Anzu Pick of the Week: By Ruth

My choice this week is our simple yet elegant 'Wedding Rings' card from our Diamonds are Forever range. I am going to a close friend's wedding next month in Australia and I feel the words 'from this day forward' sum up the occasion perfectly!

Edward Burra

My friend Jasmin (not to be confused with Anzu's Jasmine!) has been working on a documentary on the artist Edward Burra which is going to be shown on the Culture show tomorrow and BBC4 at 10pm Monday night.

Burra liked to paint Harlem, people sitting at cafes or listening to jazz and urban life scenes although he did also paint more typical English landscapes.

One of the things that is inspiring about Edward Burra was that like Frida Kahlo he was in pain for much of his life, but battled through that to create a legacy of work. Despite crippling arthritis, Burra would only sleep five or six hours a night and would paint until he had worn himself out. It is thought that he began to paint watercolour because it was physically easier for him to paint than oil as you could be in a sitting position.

Whilst looking for images, I came across this one below, where Southville Primary school had re-created the painting, which I thought was quite funny. Bet they had fun doing it.