Notes From Nicolas — Friday Edition #1

A note from Nicolas:
This is the first ever Friday edition of Notes From Nicolas — usually reserved for paid subscribers. But for today, I wanted to share it with everyone so you can get a feel for the kind of content you’ll receive each week as a member. If you enjoy it, I’d love to have you join me as a subscriber.

Hello dear readers,

I wanted this first Friday letter to feel like a welcome gift — a handwritten card slipped into a bouquet. These weekly editions are my favourite kind of letter to write: part scrapbook, part journal, part love letter to the quieter side of life.

I’ve poured a lot of care into what you’ll find below — a few things that made this week feel beautiful, thoughtful, or just quietly satisfying. I do hope you enjoy it.

With love,
Nicolas x

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This Week’s Elegant Finds

Fragrance
Floris’ Purple Memoir — rich, powdery, and quietly mysterious. It evokes the feeling of dusk in an old English library, where velvet drapes and faded florals mingle in the air.

On My Wishlist
A platinum Soup Plate from Astier de Villatte. Entirely unnecessary. Deeply necessary.

Just Ordered
Bone-handled knives for summer lunches on the terrace (should it ever stop raining).

From My Camera Roll

Sophie enjoying my new French chairs that I won at auction

The bar stocked and looking elegant

I decided to give my bedside table a refresh

Breakfast in the suite at Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair

Handsome architecture on my recent trip to London

At The Fairmont St Andrews to attend the Launch of Dr David Jack’s new residency

A Short Thought: On Living Beautifully in Small Ways

I’ve been thinking lately about how elegance doesn’t require grandeur.

Sometimes it’s found in a peach eaten at the kitchen sink, or the quiet satisfaction of polishing silver with Radio 3 playing in the background. Sometimes it’s just lighting a candle before sunset, because why on earth not?

We often save our loveliest things for guests or ‘special’ days. But what if we didn’t?

What if we wore our best jumper on a quiet Wednesday, or laid the table beautifully for one?

Perhaps beauty isn’t something we reach for — it’s something we notice, and choose. And that, to me, is the heart of this space.

Links & Little Luxuries

📚 Reading
The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters — sharp, gossipy, and gloriously British.

🎬 Watching
Rewatched A Room With A View. It moves slowly — and I loved every minute. Florence in filtered sunlight, tea in bone china, longing in every glance…

🥂 Phrase I’m Borrowing
“Professionally peaceful.” I saw it on Instagram and immediately adopted it. You may too.

Until Next Time…

Thank you for joining me here. It means more than I can express. If you’re enjoying Notes From Nicolas, feel free to tap the ❤️ or leave a comment — I always read them.

I’ll be back next week with the public edition, and again next Friday just for us.

Until then — keep noticing beauty.

Nicolas x