elegator

I hadn’t set foot in the Hermès boutique since my birthday last year, when I picked up the Birkin. At the time, it felt like the perfect finale - the kind of high note you walk away on. I’d dabbled in other designer labels, convinced that I was done with the Hermès game. The waitlists, the whispered negotiations, the endless anticipation no longer held the same charm. 

I’d seen alligator bags in-store, displayed in the vitrines. Beautiful, yes, but they never made my heart skip. Then, out of nowhere, the itch came. No idea why, no rhyme or reason, just a sudden, sharp pull back in. 

I reconnected with my sales associate, and after a bit of small talk and a few medium purchases, she made a big offer: the elegant Kelly II Retourne 25. Alligator. Exotic. Rare. Everything I hadn’t known I wanted until I did. 

It felt serendipitous, this impulsive acquisition, neatly tied to both my birth month and master’s graduation, making it a special gift to myself. 

🍊 Kelly II Retourne 25 Alligator Mississipiensis Y1 Vanille

tiers of time

The first time I saw a three-tiered dessert stand was at my best friend’s Bridal Shower in 2007, the same year that I started dating my husband. It was arranged with cute cupcakes and pastries, and I remember thinking how pretty and elegant it looked. But at that stage of my life, it never occurred to me to buy one - I had no reason to.

Six anniversaries later, when Amelia was a newborn, the dessert stand popped back into my mind. Perhaps it was the sleep-deprived haze of early motherhood or the longing for something beautiful in the midst of chaos, but I suddenly felt drawn to it. I started searching through online marketplaces like Gumtree and eBay, slowly piecing together a collection - not just of ceramic dessert stands, but of cake stands, plates, ornate tea pots, sugar & milk jugs. Each item felt like a little treasure, waiting for the right time to be used.

But life got busy, and when we moved houses, they were packed away into storage and forgotten. Seasons changed, and the collection remained untouched, tucked into boxes, waiting for an occasion I wasn’t even sure would come.

Who would have thought that the opportunity would finally arrive at Amelia’s 12th birthday party? She had chosen a pastel theme, and as I unwrapped each piece, I realised just how perfect they were. The soft hues, intricate patterns, and timeless charm made everything feel so special, almost as if they had been waiting all these years for this exact celebration. It was a full-circle moment, something I had unknowingly been preparing for since the very beginning.