What I learned today no 352

The secret to wisdom and eternal youth are the same - a boundless curiosity. Nothing is more attractive than an enquiring mind. Take interest in the world and you will never be lost for fresh ideas. A miracle waits within everything, no matter how grey and still it seems; everyone you meet is a potential adventure. Life's a playground full of inspirational new friends. Say hello.

Thanks Rikki.

Home: Nice wallpaper

My experience so far is that wallpaper is quite expensive in Australia, or its my excuse anyway to look for nice patterns for our new home, whilst Im away. I'm thinking of this wallpaper for our boy's room. Whilst Sydney Harbour is a long way from Whitby's which is the inspiration, we have the same seagulls I recon. Thing is, I can't decide what colour!

'Whitby' wallpaper from Mini Moderns

Shop: Suzannah

I parked outside Suzannah whilst visiting Cliften Nurseries, one of my regular haunts for pot plants. Suzannah is Suzannah Crabb who was once a trend forecaster but now makes beautiful tea dresses to order, from her shop in Maida Vale. She now also makes wedding dresses, of which I'm on the hunt.

Suzannah Boutique

6 Bristol Gardens

London W9 2JG

Marylebone Summer Fayre

Hooray! I love a good British fair and this one is just down the road from where I used to live.

There will be dance shows, food from great retailers, including the Conran street picnic. There's also live music, market stalls and all in aid of a good cause - the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Marylebone Summer Fayre 2011

Sunday 19th June from 10:00 to 17:00

Marylebone Village

Cafe: Morito, Exmouth Market

Meeting my designer friend Paul in Clerkenwell gives me a good excuse to go to Exmouth Market for lunch. This time we visited Moro's new baby, Morito which is a tiny tapas bar next door to the original.

Its fairly traditional tapas and after knocking back a couple of pomegranate juices, we shared squid, olives and patatas bravas, walnuts and other tiny plates of deliciousness. Paul, who was once a vegan but now is a rare meat lover, managed to squeeze in a tiny hamburguesa too.

Morito

32 Exmouth Market

London EC1B 4QE

Tel: +44 2072787007

Shops: Fabric in Portobello

On the hunt for fabric for the cane sofa that I'm reviving, I've visited two of my favourite West London fabric stores. The first is Warris Vianni, where, many moons ago, I bought the cream fabric for a sofa that I loved, which now lives with my friend Jess in Brighton. This shop stocks beautiful textiles, bed spreads, cushions and shawls, many from artisans in India.

The second shop, The Cloth Shop, is stuffed to the gills with all manner of fabric, linen, gauze and cotton. Also war time blankets and the odd bit of camping gear.

And its hard to mention West London fabric without mentioning the infamous Temptation Alley which stocks pretty much anything you could ever want if you were going with 100 feet of a sewing machine. Worth a visit for the experience alone.

Yes they post, anywhere apparently

What I learned today #351:

The better the excuses the worse the career, the slower the progress, the sadder the story. Stop turning your loved ones into alibis. Stop betraying your body with blame, stop rewriting opportunity as tragic biography. There is one reason and one reason only - that reason is you. Stop designing a life out of Why Nots, and use that creativity to take back this day. No excuses, no delay.

Every day, Rikki, who I've mentioned before, posts his learnings from today. Always apt and something from which we can learn.