I have a few favourites but my most favourite magazine ever is Country Homes and Interiors - I love the contemporary/classic focus and become probably unhealthily covetous about much that is shared of lifestyles and product.
I also love the recipe pages - there's an earthiness that I really enjoy - so to find Lazy Sunday featured across 7 pages, and in the DECEMBER issue, is almost unfathomable to me. I kid you not, when I opened the magazine and found us there I did a not very gently skip along the high street until I found someone that I could show it to. I then bought every copy in the shop and sprinkled them amongst friends and family with every single bit of modesty that I could muster (and which was in short supply due to pride, excitement, and a whole raft of emotions inbetween!)
What I loved most of all, within the beautifully shot 7 pages, was the story telling around a really fabulous day - the building of a winter's feast that looked and felt exactly how Lazy Sunday feasts should feel. I got to use my beautiful amber glasses - they work so well in candlelit spaces and are some of my most prized possessions. At home I use them from the moment that the nights begin in the afternoon; and larger pieces, like the dish showcasing the pearl barley risotto in the image above, look utterly splendid on a simply dressed table.
So as you go from page to page you can see the story telling evolve - of a beautifully set wintery styled table; guests enjoying our sharing style food; of laughter and clatter as the courses progress; of steam escaping from the 'bashed at table' salt dough baked lamb (which we first experimented with for my eldest daughter's wedding). And of ch(i)ef Tomasz proudly delivering to the table the dishes that we had spent most of the day preparing in The Byre at Inchyra's beautiful kitchen.
But there's a 'behind the scenes story' too; of a day spent cooking; of working together with everyone involved in the shoot; of feeling just unbelievably immensely proud that Caroline of Inchyra had invited us to take part in this most special of days. I remember standing on the side lines at one point, just before everything came together and thinking that if I wanted to bottle the essence of Lazy Sunday then this day, this experience, this enjoyment around cooking hearty, generous, food and sharing it with friends and family - this would be it.
There is a quote from a bit of a revolutionary chap called Cesar Chavez that sums up the essence of Lazy Sunday almost as beautifully as the beautiful seven pages that feature us. 'If you really want to make a friend' says Chavez, 'go to someone's house and eat with them...The people who give you their food give you their heart." And that's the behind the scenes story; the essence. And I think it shines through in Dan Duchar's beautiful photography: ' The people who give you their food give you their heart.'
Thankyou to Caroline for inviting us; to the awesome team that is Dan Duchars and Sara Bird (Art Director); to the Lazy Sunday team for entering into the spirit of the day; to James for being such a brilliant laaaaambassador. I've always wanted an Oscars moment - I think that was it!! And no. I still haven't come down to earth yet.
