Things I return to again (and again)

A special place to stay, a gift that never disappoints and of course...pants. Why bother changing when some things just work?

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I know we are warned to never become creatures of habit. People that do the same thing, use the same thing, return to the same place over and over again are dull and myopic; stunted to the bigger picture of it all. Right? Well actually, no. Because frankly some things in life are so inexplicably good, that frankly you would be idiotic not to return to them.

Over the years I have tried to be that person who shakes things up regularly: a new hairdresser; a different holiday destination, Android to Apple, Netflix to Hulu; grey instead of navy, brogues instead of trainers. Changing things up is supposed to signal an open-mind and a certain strength of character. You’re a shaker-uper! You’re modern! You move with the times! But recently I’ve started to think that the really sensible people are those who are not afraid to turn on their heels and go back to what they know..because it’s just better.

So here are the places, the people, the books, the food, the everything that I always return to. Take my word for it, they just work. (All links in green by the way- zero affiliates)

Chanel’s Les Beiges Healthy Glow Lip Balm

I’ve probably spent more money on lip balms throughout my life than I have on pants. (Although the below pants are really quite exceptional). This one is is hands down, the best on the market. It’s actually one of those quasi lipstick-balms, which nowadays I find are kinder to my face than those austere clear lip balms. It comes in three shades and ‘medium’ is a perfect dusky pink that suits everyone.

Trois Gros

In a very average town, in a very average corner of French, a hundred or so kilometres south of Lyon is paradise. This is a restaurant called Trois Gros, a complete institution in France where they have been serving up 3-star Michelin meals for decades. You can go just for dinner but, because it’s in the middle of nowhere, I suggest staying the night since the hotel is very beautiful with a huge lake and ponies and a lovely wooden hot tub in a vegetable garden. And it’s dog friendly. This is our fourth year of coming here and we will come again every year until we die. Expensive, yes. But very, very special. 

Nigel Slater

I don’t know how you would explain Nigel Slater to anyone who is not British. But you should probably try. He is a ‘cook who writes’, is how he explains his craft, but he is far more than that. He is the only cook I know where people buy his cookbooks to read- so comforting and beautiful is his prose. (His recipes are excellent too, however). Anyway, if you have never read any Nigel Slater then his new book, A Thousand Feasts, just came out and is exactly what one needs for this miserable times. It’s billed as sort of memoir, but it’s better than that. It’s a collection of thoughts and observations, all of which feel joyful in spirit- the joy of a good quality tea-towel, the joy of crumbs on your plate, the joy of eating a mango in a rainstorm. A book to savour forever.