Author Archives: britrish
2011 Pressie Guide
This weekend, I will be boosting the American economy by finishing the rest of my Christmas shopping. Okay, I’m being optomistic, but we can all hope for a little Christmas miracle.
In that spirit, I proudly present the first-ever Britrish.com Pressie Guide. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.
Monocle Magazine’s Five Issue Gift Subscription, £45. Ships to the US or anywhere else on the globe. A discerning read for a discerning recipient.
Jonathan Adler’s British flag coaster set, made from 100% wool needlepoint. $45. The perfect partner to an IPA or creamy stout.
Adagio Teas 16-Ounce Ingenuitea Teapot, $17.45. The most convenient teapot you will find anywhere.
London map handkerchief, $12.95. Because runny noses like London, too.
London in a box. $17.95. Recreate your favorite London memories with this wooden collection, which includes Big Ben and the London Eye.
Kate Spade hedgehog coin purse, $95. Stylish little hedgehog purse puts boring coin purses to shame.
Masterpiece Theatre: Downton Abbey, $13.99. An already small-screen classic.
Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi, $21.63. Vibrant veggie recipes for carnivores and herbivores, alike.
Trunki, $39.99. The perfect pack, ride and pull along suitcase for trips to the UK and invented by a Brit.
Gruffalo, $6.99. This British Book Award winner is a sweet read for kids and grownups alike.
2011 Pressie Guide … Tomorrow!
Don’t forget to return here tomorrow for Britrish.com’s 2011 Pressie Guide, my top 10 gift picks for the pickiest of anglophiles (and their kids)!
Union jack kids’ bedrooms
The union jack is a fantastic design element. Take a gander at these children’s bedrooms, all using the union jack as a motif.
A special thanks to Mix and Chic for sourcing these photos.
Free Willy from Cornwall
Free Willy from Cornwall. He must have gotten lost.
I thought it was odd when the earthquake hit Cornwall last weekend. But today, when news broke that killer whales were spotted near Padstow? *Cue ‘Twilight Zone’ music* Just what in tarnation is going on in the West Country?
What next? Locusts? Unicorns? Dodos?
Distraught, I turned to ThisistheWestCountry.co.uk for the real scoop.
Strangely enough, I couldn’t find any news about the whales or the earthquake, although I was able to find an interesting story headlined “Man Arrested After Late Night Rant.”
Perhaps, I’ll wake up tomorrow and learn that I’ve just dreamt it all.
The beauty of a digestive
My husband brought some Cadbury chocolate digestives (graham crackery, chocolate-dipped sweet meal biscuits) home from Cost Plus this weekend and I wasn’t going to have one. I’m trying to curb the excess, at least in the run up to the full fledged eatathon that is the holiday season. I’m consciously scaling back a bit, before I strap on the feedbag and get down, in true American fashion.
But then somewhere in the midst of deciding not to, I ate one.
All shook up
Bodmin - Before Earthquake
Bodmin - After Earthquake
An earthquake in Cornwall? Who knew?
Well, apparently they do happen – and one struck the town of Bodmin early Sunday morning, registering 2.2 and lasting a few seconds, according to news reports.
I’ve lived through quite a few earthquakes here in California, but can’t recall anything along a 2.2. It’s the kind of geologic activity that probably doesn’t make big news here and makes me realize that I really am a hardened Californian at heart. I can’t help referencing the earthquake scene in “L.A. Story.”
So funny I forgot to laugh
“Top Gear” host Jeremy Clarkson is all over the British media for what he now recants as a joke that he made about public sector workers who staged a strike on Wednesday.
But, wait! Aren’t jokes supposed to be funny? At least a little? It’s doubtful that this would even make it as a gag on “I Hate My Teenage Daughter,” which I had the misfortune of catching last night, like one would catch rabies.
As the public is now calling for Clarkson to be fired, maybe he can get a job as a writer for that show. I’m pretty sure they’ll think he’s God’s gift to comedy.
Meet the Scouse brow
Is this a post-Halloween joke or April Fool’s Day come early?
MSN.com is reporting that the latest trend in brows in Britain is the “Scouse brow,” as seen on “Desperate Scousewives,” a new reality TV show that follows the lives and loves of eight blokes and birds in Liverpool.
But is this really a look that Brits are going to recreate? Only time will tell.
I will say that I doubted that the mullet would ever become a fad and then visited the UK a few years back, only to find mullets on the Tube, on the high street, on the bus.
I thought that was shocking, but this? Brow-raising…
How to dress your kids like northerners
A couple of months back, I blogged about how to dress your kids like Londoners.
Well, Janie and Jack has gone British this season with its Yorkshire Princess line. Boasting “tailored looks featuring primroses, classic plaids and Fair Isle,” the latest line is just the ticket if you want to create the look of a northern lassie in your little one.
And for northern lads?
Well, they don’t have a Yorkshire lad equivalent, I’m afraid. But they do have a line called “Dapper Young Gent,” which mixes argyle, Glen plaid and velveteen.
Just lovely.
Dec. 9th
Procrastinators, start your engines!
We are exactly 10 days from this year’s international mail deadline – Dec. 9th (i.e. the last possible day that you can mail from the U.S. to the United Kingdom and ensure that it gets there by Dec. 25). My list is long, which is why this blog post is short today.
Yeah, I think I know how Santa feels.
BRITRISH.COM 