Monday menu

5 intentions and an Erdem collection

A 5-piece selection of intentions and directions for the week ahead, based on my personal pillars and priorities such as career, creatvity, physical health, mental health, social circle, dining, reading, seeking, wearing… and so on. Why? Because spending some time thinking about what you want to achieve and how you want to feel by the end of the week is a really good way to begin it. Intentions don’t have to be serious and sterile, they are about creating, owning and living the life you want to lead. I hope you do something with intention this week, whatever form it takes.

IMAGINARY CONVERSATIONS EXHIBITION at Chatsworth, by Erdem

1. Relishing in the beauty of opportunity…
   When rejection really does mean ‘redirection’…
   The above image is taken from the IMAGINARY CONVERSATIONS exhibition at the Chatsworth estate, celebrating the legacy of the late dowager Duchess Deborah ‘Debo’ Devonshire through the Spring Summer 2024 collection by one of my favourite designers and creatives to ever exist, Erdem Moralioglu. I could talk all day about Erdem, his namesake brand. Every look, every product, every inch of fabric is an inch of art. Feminine, fantastical, elegant, powerful, yet approachable. It’s a brand that makes you remember why fashion can be considered art, and why some designers really do deserve the pedastal they are on. Erdem’s inspiration for the collection came from the house, the history, the Duchess, and how the past informs the present. He interpreted the dialogue into this collection using the emotions, stories, people and things (including a pair of historic curtains that once hung within Chatsworth, repurposed and reimagined as a new piece) he found within the archives and the present day. Prior to the exhibition opening in June, one of the team at Country Life were invited to attend and write about the exhibition. When said member couldn’t attend, a discussion was had about who to go instead. Not wanting to miss out on the opportunity, I put my name forward, knowing it was a push but knowing that I wouldn’t get anywhere if I didn’t go for it. I was rejected, and it was commissioned elsewhere (you can read the feature here: Country Life). I didn’t dwell, and accepted that it was unlikely I would go and see the exhibition, and watched the show, again. (Yes, that is the voice of Elvis you hear along with that of the Duchess (she was a big, big fan), entwined within that compelling soundtrack). Then, last week, I was asked if I wanted to visit a hotel on behalf of the magazine in order to review it. This is a big (huge!) deal for me, and I ws thoroughly thrilled to be given such an opportunity. Then, I looked at the itinerary, and the trip includes a visit to Chatsworth to see, experience and discuss the art within the estate, including the Erdem exhibition. My thrill gave way to ecstasy, unbridled utter ecstasy. Yes, my self-belief is testing me already, but I wouldn’t have been given the opportunity by the County Life Editor-in-chief if he didn’t think I was capable of producing the work, and the fact that it includes something that sets my soul alight is a sign that I can and I will succeed. Art feeds art, and Erdem, well, that feeds me.

   

   Perfect dress, September edition. Coming soon to Erdem

   

   A budding beauty. Erdem

2. Mantra (1): Never seek to be the smartest or most interesting person in the room, because if you are, there is little to be learned. Seek the places and the people unknown, for that is where you can absorb and expand.
   Let your curiosity guide you…
   Explore…
   Engage…
   Get inspired.
   

3. Eating: My sister is coming for a bank holiday lunch today, meaning I get to cook for more than just myself. On the menu: garlicky miso chicken breasts // coriander, soy and sesame carrot and cucumber salad // vegetable gyoza // peanut satay dip, sticky soy dip, roasted salted peanuts and fresh herbs to serve // and a sweet treat involving sugar doughnuts and strawberries for dessert.
   
   

   
   

4. Mantra (2): If you really want it, you will find the way to make it happen. It’s time to be honest (brutally honest).
   If you find yourself saying you haven’t got the time or haven’t got the energy to do what you want to do, it means you need to sacrifice something else so that you get the time and the energy to do it. If you can’t find the time or find the energy, then you need to ask yourself if it is something you really want, or something you just thought you did. Whew.
   Over the last few weeks I have been reflecting on the excuses I have made and the ‘reasons’ I have not succeeded in certain areas, and, realistically, it is because I am not dedicating my time and energy to it. Instead, I have been whittling it away on other things that aren’t half as important to me. It’s an easy pattern of self-sabotage, and one I no longer want to repeat. Our time and our energy is so god-damn precious, it’s up to us to use it wisely.

   

   Still Life with Sleeping Woman (1940), Henri Matisse

5. Listening to deep sleep frequencies on repeat.
   I am re-evaluating my nighttime routine as I navigate the disarray caused by coming of a medication I have been on for years. Among the numerous benefits that it brought, inducing sleep and reducing dreams was one of them, so coming off has been a bit of a nightmare - literally - though I’m determined to persevere. I’m taking magnesium, I have a no lights, no device policy (already firmly engrained), and I’m putting on my low frequency playlists earlier than ever before. I might look strained and drained for a couple of weeks, but I’m hoping to be calmer and in control in the long run.
   
   Have an intentionally great bank holiday!