another year older

(little me!...I'm the Queen of Hearts)

This idea behind this post is inspired by Andrea at the fantastic and ever wonderful blog Hula Seventy, and I'm sure she has inspired so many others before me to do something similar. She, like myself is a prolific list writer and every year she makes a list of things she wants to do before her next birthday, however life changing or small, random or even mundane they might be.

I have loved this idea since I very first stumbled upon her blog. It seems to be a great way of taking stock of things as they stand and creating some kind of structure for the year ahead so you just don't bumble along day to day without ever particularly achieving or setting your mind to anything, and then realising when it's too late that your life has passed you by and you haven't actually done anything you really wanted to. So on that note, this year I thought I would try something similar for myself.

Tomorrow I will be turning 26 so here is my list:

26 things to do before I turn 27.

1. Devote more time to designing and creating hair accessories.

2. Relocate to a different country (preferably Australia).

3. Enrol Lila in a course of swimming lessons.

4. Read 'The Great Gatsby'.

5. Learn how to cook a thai green curry and pad thai.

6. Rescue the sewing machine from under our bed and sew Lila a dress.

7. Visit Columbia Road Flower Market in London's East End.

8. Print out all of the photos of Lila and finish the photo album of her first year.

9. A weekend away to celebrate mine and Curt's first wedding anniversary.

10. Start growing something...even if it is just herbs in a window box.

11. Make regular library visits with Lila and start reading a bedtime story to her.

12. Start writing the novel I have been planning to write since I was 10 years old.

13. Visit Morocco.

14. Spend more time at my parents farm.

15. Start surfing again after the pregnancy and post baby hiatus.

16. Improve my efforts at staying in touch with distant friends and family.

17. Cut my hair shorter...just a little bit (maybe...gulp)

18. Watch 'Into The Wild'.

19. Get a magazine subscription to one of my favourite magazines.

20. Obtain a polaroid camera and some stocks of film from somwhere.

21. Make a home.

22. Bake fairy cakes with Lila.

23. Go on a trip to Cornwall.

24. Live by the ocean.

25. Invite the girls round for a night of ice-cream, wine and weepy movies.

26. Take an afternoon by myself and wander around South Bank and the Tate Modern.

All photos are of me (and my sister) taken, I imagine, by our parents, way back when.

last holiday as a single lady

Here is an account of our trip to Ibiza for my hen do in pictures (some taken by me and others by my very talented friend Jo.) Oh and one from a German website- the group shot- wooo, we're famous! Well I'll let the pictures tell the story and just say that I had an entirely wonderful time, I haven't laughed so much, danced so much, lazed around on the beach like that in a very long while. I will remember this trip for ever and it was so special beacause of the ladies who were there with me.

words of wisdom: part 2

A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened.
- Albert Camus



Image credits- Top image by Max Wagner. Bottom image- I have no reference as to the source- slap on the wrists for me! If anyone knows its origin please let me know so I can credit it.

P.S Arrived home from my hen-do holiday yesterday, very happy, rested (from the days spent on the beach) and also exhausted (from the nights spent dancing) but loved and relished every second of it. Big love and thanks to my 5 girls that came along. Will share some pictures later this week.

we're going to ibiza

It's been a really busy couple of weeks in the world of the wedding- the invitations have finally gone out (well most of them anyway!), the details and design of the cupcakes for the cupcake tower are being finalised and most exciting of all, this week I am off on my hen do with five of my lovely ladies for a four day holiday to Ibiza, the island that never sleeps!

I can't wait for some relaxation, sun, beach time and somehow I don't think I'll be able to avoid a little partying! I've been to Ibiza before, during the summer of my first year at University and I'm looking forward to revisiting some of my favourite places- watching the sun set with a cocktail on the beach at the famous Cafe del Mar, getting all dressed up and reliving my pre-baby days by dancing the night away at one of the legendary super clubs- probably Pacha, and browsing through all the gorgeous bohemian, hippy shops and jewellery stalls in Ibiza town.

Little Miss Lila is being left in the capable hands of my mother and Curt, and I'll be back at the weekend with lots of pictures and stories to share of my trip. Woohoo!



...Photos taken by me, from my travels in Australia...

just because...

..she can be so very cute sometimes.

These pictures were taken at Ham House, a beautiful historic house and gardens Lila and I visited with my Mum when she came to visit a month or two ago. It was lovely sunny weather for an English spring and I couldn't resist taking these picture of Lila in a little hideaway we discovered in the depths of the gardens.

I also wanted to share some pictures from a recent weekend trip we took to South Wales with some of our friends. It was primarily a surfing trip for the boys but again we were blessed with some beautiful weather and the coastline is simply stunning. We stayed in a quaint little town and enjoyed wandering around admiring the countryside, indulging in a spot of sunbathing, kicking back with a bottle of wine in a pub beer garden and heading down to the beach for some beers on the rocks as the sun went down. Pretty much perfect.

Yes, I am the one at the back laden down with bags of baby related paraphernalia!

words of wisdom: part 1

...image photographed by me...

Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary. - Cecil Beaton


...image by the incredible photographer Max Wagner...

hello flower

I've been doing a bit of research on corsages over on the wonderful etsy. I'd love a beautiful fabric flower pinned to one side at hip level on my wedding dress to add a bit of colour and a finishing touch to the outfit. I think this would suit the style of my dress well (can't go into too much detail in case Curt reads this!) The very lovely one above is by MGMart on etsy.

I found so many wonderful choices that I'm having a really hard time making my mind up. Weddings aside, all of these would also look equally stunning pinned onto a simple dress or a jacket to add a unique, feminine element and would instantly transform a tired old outfit. The possibilities are endless, hmmm, I am tempted to build up a whole collection of them!



This gorgeous creation has a subtle vintage look to it- by threadandpetal on etsy.



Loving the gentle pinks and the cream fabric with the hint of a print- also by MGMart on etsy.



The frothy layers of charcoal grey and lilac are so pretty-by tijusai on etsy.

lady with a camera- catherine servel

I'm really liking the work of fashion photographer Catherine Servel. I discovered her on the website of the agency which represents her- D+V Management. These are a selection of my favourites from her portfolio of images.

I have a degree in fashion (Fashion Promotion to be exact), which I studied at The London College of Fashion. Although my life at the moment could not be further away than the glitzy, intense and heady world of high fashion, I still like to immerse myself in the images every now and then. Usually it's the mood of the whole picture, the location of the shoot and the colours, not always the specific clothes that catch my eye and draw me to a particular shot.

adolie day

The above images are all by the amazing illustrator/artist Adolie Day- see her blog here. I know little about her other than she is French and she is obviously incredibly talented (her blog is in French, so I can only make out the odd word here and there unfortunately). You can buy postcards of her images and other lovely things on this website. I adore the whimsical nature of her work and the soulful, haunting faces of all the girls she paints. Breathtakingly beautiful!