Maison Lune
Nursery textiles
Undyed linen, hand-finished blankets, and a moon-grey cot quilt we have thought about far too often.
View the list at Maison Lune (opens in a new tab)Please join us · A baby shower
a small cloud of a girl, arriving this autumn
- When
- Saturday, the twelfth of September
Two o’clock in the afternoon - Where
- The Orangery, Ashcombe House
Wiltshire
A note from the family
We have been keeping
the loveliest secret.
For nine slow months we have been folding tiny things into drawers and practising a name out loud. Eloise. It still catches in the throat a little.
She is not here yet, but the room is ready and the light comes in at four o’clock exactly the way we hoped it would. Before she arrives, we would love to gather the people who will teach her things — how to whistle, how to lose gracefully, how to make a proper cup of tea — in one room, on one afternoon, while the house is still quiet.
Come for the afternoon. Bring nothing but yourselves, or something small if you must. Leave her a sentence in the book by the door; we will read them all to her when she is old enough to be embarrassed by them.
Amelia & Theo
and a very expectant Labrador named Bruno
Saturday, 12 September
The shape of
the afternoon
Nothing is compulsory. The garden room stays open the whole time, and there is always somewhere quiet to sit.
- 2:00 Arrival & elderflower punch Doors open onto the west lawn. Coats in the boot room, glasses on the long table.
- 2:45 Afternoon tea in the Orangery Seasonal tarts, cucumber sandwiches, and a great deal of Earl Grey.
- 3:30 Words for Eloise The wish book is on the writing desk. One line each — advice, a warning, a recipe.
- 4:15 The cake, and the cutting of the ribbon Almond and honey, three tiers, entirely too much for the number of guests.
- 5:00 Golden hour on the terrace The light is best here at five. Stay for it if you possibly can.
- 6:00 Farewell & favours A small jar of Ashcombe honey each, from the hives behind the walled garden.
Dress Soft, unhurried, whatever you can sit down in. Cream, sand and sage if the mood takes you.
Parking Through the east gate, past the chapel. Someone will wave you in.
If you would like to
A few
small things
Truly, your company is the whole of it. But several of you have asked, and asked again, so here are four places we love.
Atelier Petit
Wooden toys
Turned beech and lime, oiled not lacquered, made by two brothers in the Jura who answer the telephone themselves.
View the list at Atelier Petit (opens in a new tab)Verdure & Co.
For the nursery window
Slow, forgiving plants for a room nobody will have time to water. Their olive in a chalk pot is the one.
View the list at Verdure and Co. (opens in a new tab)The Linen Fold
Swaddles & bedding
Washed cotton in cream, sand and the faintest blush. Everything softens rather than wears out.
View the list at The Linen Fold (opens in a new tab)A contribution to her book fund is just as welcome — ask Amelia, she has a jar and no shame about it.
Drawn for her
Six little
windows
Six plates commissioned for the invitation — one for each month we have been waiting.
Kindly reply by 22 August
Will you
be there?
Received