Another week has been and gone which can only mean one thing; it's time for your weekly update on the unnecessary but joy-inducing items available for purchase right now. Happy decadent browsing.
A glowing recommendation
You may not know this, but our bodies aren't actually designed to go to sleep minutes after staring at a blue light phone screen and wake up to a shrieking alarm at 6:30am while it's still dark outside. Some very clever companies realised this and have been developing solutions, the latest of which is the Casper Glow.
Flipping this light over will see it dim slowly to send you to sleep and setting your desired wake-up time on the app will make it brighten gradually for a softer 'good morning' than Dolly's '9 to 5' (my personal choice of torture tune).
I hate mornings mainly because I'm a) human and b) a commuter and I can honestly say this light has made me less likely to treat myself to a morning pain au chocolat at Clapham Junction to combat the injustice of actually having to go to work. Sure, you could just use curtains, but who has the energy for that?
The Casper Glow, £89 for one or £169 for a set of two, www.casper.com.
These boots were made for leisurely country pursuits
For style, substance and bragging rights, one can simply not beat an Ariat. So-called 'country-inspired refinement at its best', this is the sort of boot which could provoke someone to move their entire life to the countryside. One could do anything in this boot. I could do anything in this boot. Thankfully for my sedentary lifestyle, I will probably never own this boot.
The Alora boot by Ariat, £300, www.ariat.com/gb/en.
A midsummer night's dream of a jug
If you fill it with flowers, he'll look just like an Etonian on the Fourth of June.
Fine-bone-china Donkey jug (extra large) for £32.95 from Little Weaver Arts, www.littleweaverarts.com.
No need to draw the curtains if they just do not exist.
Looking at this beautiful picture, you can't deny that 'Betty Boop' is a stunning fabric, one which I think would look adorable draped over a four-poster or, as our Interiors Editor suggests, as a privacy curtain. Just please don't use it as an actual curtain. It just will not work.
'Betty Boop' by Rubelli, £240 per metre, www.rubelli.com.
Taking 'pampered puss' to the next level
Now, I understand loving one's cat to distraction better than most, seeing as when I return to my family home my cat gets offered two different kinds of food (wet or dry, depending on her mood) and I get offered a pot, a pan and the contents of the fridge. However, even in her most lavish of moments, I'm not sure my mother would offer Alice (a beautiful Burmese and the light of my life) the choice between chicken, prawn and Lily's kitchen cat food.
This is precisely the sort of service one can expect from the Paw Seasons, a luxury cattery in West Yorkshire. With a full spa program, al la carte menu (I'm not joking. Why would I be joking about an al la carte menu for cats) and a plethora of incredible rooms, your cat is sure to return accustomed to an entirely different standard of living. Good luck with maintaining that.
With rooms from £20 a night for one guest up to £45 for four guests. A larger family suite is also avaliable. Visit www.paw-seasons.com for more details.
"The only fedora I'll be buying is an Indiana Jones replica one"
With Cheltenham around the corner, our Luxury Editor has picked five fedoras to top off your look in this week's issue of Country Life magazine. I like this one. It's fedorable.
Beverley Edmonson Burgubdy-felt tribly embellished with pheasant feathers, £180, www.beverleyedmondsonmillinery.co.uk
Time for wine
Wine expert Harry Eyres calls this vintage “flowery and lemony on the nose” with a “beautiful vivacity and freshness”. Just the sort of wine we're looking for as we wave goodbye to the pseudo-summer we've experienced this February.
Muscat Grand Cru Goldert 2016 (£18.50 IB) from www.laywheeler.com.
If you purchased our entire list this week you would have spent £880.45 and would own exactly one metre of beautiful net curtain.
Credit: Foyle Fireworks
The Utterly Inessential Wedding Shopping List: From beautiful bouquets to romantic getaways
As the excitement of last night begins to fade into memory, we hold dear in our hearts those who are
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The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: Gifts to make him fall at your feet, a delightful decanter and all the Valentine's experiences a happy heart could hope for
The chill of February is ill-fated to be accompanied by a day dedicated to those lucky few among us who
The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: A bag good enough to ride, a golden fountain pen and a doghouse to die for
There's nothing quite as good as something you absolutely don't need, but still want anyway. Because really, assuming you have
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The utterly inessential shopping list: The illustrious party sporran, a penny farthing for your thoughts and two liquors for the price of fun
Forget about the big things. You can keep the necessities. Don't tell us about the must-haves. Alexandra Fraser takes a
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The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: Plant pots worth their weight in gold, posh chess and a Porsche to get your motor running
The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: Scarves aplenty, whisky candles and some charitable cushions
In a world infested with 'must-have', 'don't miss' and 'buy now', one list stands alone as the voice of reason:
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The utterly inessential shopping list: Cheese, chocolate, champs and chutney…it’s Christmas hamper time
Forget about the big things. You can keep the necessities. Don't tell us about the must-haves. Alexandra Fraser takes a
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If the future of Ferrari is electric vehicles, then it is our future tooIt's widely believed that Ferrari will unveil its first electric car this year. It's the signal that the internal combustion era is coming to an end.
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Gaze over Cap Ferrat in this four-bedroom French villaIgnore the wind and the rain. Imagine yourself in this hillside home with some of the best views the Mediterranean can offer.
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Seven perfect Christmas gifts for people who just love beautiful, functional thingsWilliam Morris famously said to have nothing in your house that you don't know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. These things do their best to hit both targets.
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Christmas gift ideas for menFrom fathers to brothers to lovers, we run through some smart ideas for Christmas presents for the men in your life.
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Perfect Father’s Day gifts for dads who deserve itThere are many ways to show your dad that you love and appreciate him. There's breakfast in bed, an offer to mow the lawn, a big hug and the offer of the last biscuit. Or you could just buy him something that he definitely doesn't need, but we're pretty sure he'll want.
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The Utterly Inessential Wimbledon Shopping ListWe've rounded up all the utterly inessential products — posh tennis gear, in other words — that you absolutely do not need to enjoy Wimbledon, but would probably fancy having anyway.
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The Utterly Inessential Mother's Day list: 16 gifts guaranteed to either surprise or delightIs your mum the sort who's happiest with what she knows — or one who loves a surprise?
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The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: Supercharged home Wi-Fi, smart headphones and a mobile phone literally anyone can useOur Utterly Inessential Shopping List returns with some technology that is far cleverer than we are.
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The best weekend bags and finest holdalls that (rather a lot of) money can buyGoing somewhere nice? You might be soon, so here's Hetty Lintell with her pick of the finest holdalls and best weekend bags you can buy.
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Best smart speakers for non-techie people: What to expect, what you'll love and what doesn't workSmart speakers are no longer the preserve of tech geeks and millennials — these handy speakers are, and (as we'll discover) particularly handy for those living in the countryside. We've looked at some of the main contenders to see which one comes out on top: Google Nest Audio, Amazon Echo Studio, the Apple HomePod Mini, and the Audio Pro G10.
