34 Comments
User's avatar
Ajke's avatar

I love those summer rules!! Saving those! Re the shoes, if you want them repaired (even if not to wear) I highly recommend Classic Shoe Repairs in Kentish Town. They are miracle workers and trusted by the very best ateliers for repairs too.

Laetitia Maklouf's avatar

Another fab cobbler recommendation! My cup runneth over! I’ll def check them out but these shoes are GOING! X

readalongwithme's avatar

Stealing the rules!!! I'm in need of quiet time. Can my 7 and 9 year old do it??? Xx

Sally Reynolds's avatar

For a second I was reading the rule list as though it was for guests and I was even more impressed! 🤣

Laetitia Maklouf's avatar

that would be …. punchy!

Rachel's avatar

Are those really your summer house rules? No screens before 5pm with teenagers in the house? That’s incredible well done!! I will steal for next year, we are away and almost at the end of the lolling about the house stage of the summer now. I’m sitting on my sunlounger catastrophizong about the state my garden will be in on my return. I had really really hoped we’d have had rain.

Laetitia Maklouf's avatar

No- thé Guilloteen is working so she is on her laptop all day…this is really to stop the telly going on when the other two are ‘bored’. Also, boy has online chess ♟️

Rosemary Taylor's avatar

It’s odd isn’t it to wake up to beautiful blue skies which we would normally be delighted about and then to feel disappointed. Am still watering the garden first thing in the morning and was nearly hit in the face by a hummingbird hawk moth yesterday morning. They are loving the salvias in particular. Also lots of tiger moths this year so this weather is good for something.

Laetitia Maklouf's avatar

Yes I have also noticed the tiger moths! Also lots and lots of dragonflies. I’m interested to see which species plants will self-seed well too. It’s all a learning curve x

Nellie's avatar

Im stealing those summer house rules! 👌

Natasha Poliszczuk's avatar

I am wildly impressed by your summer house rules. Also, I have just returned from France and nearly wept at the state of the garden. I dashed around with buckets of water whispering my apologies to the plants for leaving them.

Laetitia Maklouf's avatar

This is almost certainly going to be the summer in which we all educated ourselves re drought - tolerant plants x

Nicki's avatar

Lots of delightful things there. Adore the loafers (I can admire the pretty green shoes but even in my twenties I hated wearing heels!) also belated birthday wishes to your mother.

Laetitia Maklouf's avatar

The loafers are SO GOOD!

Judith's avatar

Your summer house rules are fantastic. I am copying them to my sons, as they both have small boys who will grow and will need summer rules in the future! Happy Birthday to your Mother, keep on spoiling her xxx

Laetitia Maklouf's avatar

I do think it’s nice to give them some firm GUIDANCE lol!!!

Steph Walsh's avatar

NO! Argh! You do not need to get rid of the shoes, take them to KELPIS in Fulham. They have done all of mine 😂 Side note: were you not wearing these in one of the pics in The VG? Or possibly SP for Summer? I seem to recall them from somewhere although possibly the ones I am thinking on from the first book were pink and you were carrying a bouquet of petrol station flowers...

Laetitia Maklouf's avatar

Possibly I wore them? But srsly they are SUCH a drag to wear… thank you for the excellent cobbler intel - always glad to have these important recommendations x

Veronica Hill's avatar

Ooh! I would rather like a quooker! I had a pair of pink platforms. Bought in ‘80s. Got rid of in the ‘20s. It happens.

Laetitia Maklouf's avatar

Highly recommend a quooker, especially if like me, you have a problem with kettle noise and a lack of counter space x

Veronica Hill's avatar

Counter space! 4’ doesn’t stretch very far. And we have an open space under the butler style sink, so room. I even looked at the bit that does soda water, and cold water, but common sense points out that I don’t use soda water, and my American fridge freezer dispenses ice and cold water.

Just a tad worried about doing the washing up as I rinse everything under the hot tap. Is that still feasible?

Laetitia Maklouf's avatar

So the hot water is literally boiling - just as it would come out of a kettle. For washing up you just use the normal hot tap which is part of the quooker tap; it all comes out of the same spout. We have the carbonated thing and the cold water as our fridge now integrated and that particular part of it takes up quite a bit of under sink space so it’s good that you don’t need it!

Veronica Hill's avatar

Thanks! Always good to get hands on knowledge!

Moira's avatar

I like the vow of silence re rain; just no point. Those sunflowers are glorious; I looked at the Hortus Poeticus website, the flowers are gorgeous. Although I do raise my eyebrows involuntarily at ‘atelier’ rather than ‘shop’!

Laetitia Maklouf's avatar

LOL atelier is very fashion isn’t it!

Liz Maidment's avatar

I love the rules! What age are your children? Mine are 8 and 11 but both very defiant - i wonder if I could enforce these with them?

Laetitia Maklouf's avatar

They are 17, 13 and 11. Eldest does her own thing re screens tho!

Monica Babich's avatar

I hear you on the tragedy of the water 😔. Lovely post

Pollyanna Wilkinson's avatar

That list for the kids is frankly iconic.

Jo's avatar

I have just found you and I love all of the above. Thank you x

Laetitia Maklouf's avatar

Thank you for this! So glad it resonates 😊