summer

Bare toes in the sand, the first warm day of Spring, laughing so hard that tears roll down your cheeks, holding hands, freshly painted toe nails in mint green, hearing her giggle, lying in a meadow and staring at the clouds, re-reading beloved books and discovering new favourites, fresh flowers, the herbs growing on in a wooden planter on my windowsill, a glass of pear cider with plenty of ice, green fields and blue skies, the first night of sleep in freshly laundered sheets, warm potato salad with fresh chives, lazy afternoon barbeques and reminiscing about good times, flying high on a swing, floral print sundresses, looking for ladybirds with Lila, picnics with scratchy blankets and hardboiled eggs and lemonade, hair in plaits and artfully messy up do’s, freckles on my nose, ice cream with butterscotch sauce, taking off your shoes and running, just running until you can feel your heart beating in your ears and you feel free.

It's coming and I am so happy.

All images by SunnyMarry, found on flickr.

environments

The work of the Australian photgrapher Olga Bennett is completely inspiring (I originally came across it via the lovely Here Comes the Sun). She has a series of photographs called Environments where she has photographed the spaced of several creative people and here's what she says about it on her website:

"I'm interested in the environments we create, spaces that become extension of ourselves. I'm drawn to people who shape their lives to compliment their vision and beliefs. I really like dreamers."

These are a few of my favourite shots...

The environment of Penny of Sparrow Salvadge- Artist & Jewellery Maker

The environment of Luci Everett- Illustrator & Graphic Designer

The environment of Belinda Kennedy- Ceramic Artist

Ninainvorm

How absolutely amazing are these ceramics designed by the Dutch artist Nina van der Goor. She is one incredibly talented lady. I found these images on her flickr page, and she also has a lovely blog which you can check out here.

Even better, she has an Etsy shop called Ninainvorm where she stocks these ceramics as well as screen prints and collages. I want to buy every single thing ceramic piece she has in there!

a thing for...

Oh my goodness. I can't actually describe how incredibly happy I am about my latest blog discovery (spotted via Lobster and Swan). A thing for... is a blog featuring stunning, exquisitely curated moodboards in a variety of different colour palettes. I absolutely love moodboards (see here) and these ones are certainly not just your average collection of pretty pictures.

The images used in these moodboards are so beautiful and evocative, I just can't stop looking at them. Here are just a few of my favourites, but honestly, I could've posted all of them from the entire site!

some lovely art

I am enjoying the work of illustrator Clare Owen, who I discovered on Flickr the other day. It has a naive, endearing quality to it and the muted colour palette she gravitates towards is very calming and pleasing. The fonts she sometimes incorporates into her work are pretty excellent too. You can see more of her work here or on her website.

All images by Clare Owen

sugar & spice and all things nice

Every now and then I am reminded just how totally and completely excellent it is to be a girl.

A visit to the ultra stylish The Cherry Blossom Girl blog is always one of these occassions. It is such a shrine to all that is delicious, fabulous and unashamedly feminine: shoes...bags...jewels...

long flowing locks...more shoes...floaty frocks. Today I am all for losing myself in a sea of prettiness.

Though I must say I do love the way she toughens things up sometimes with ripped jeans, a leather jacket or studded boots. Don't all get me wrong, I'm all for girliness but sometimes you just need a bit of an edge to stop it all from becoming too sickly sweet.

All images from The Cherry Blossom Girl

rice

I'm usually drawn more to pastel, muted shades than anything outrageously bright, but there's something about the products from the Danish based homewares company Rice that is just so joyful and they seem especially perfect now the weather has started to warm up. I'm not sure I could surround myself with a house packed full of such vibrant shades and prints but I'd certainly love a few of their things to brighten up my kitchen and add some pops of colour.

They offer a whole range of delights from accessories, cushions and blankets to tableware and wall decals and all products are ethically produced and responsibly sourced. Their website has a list of retailers so if you're interested in brightening up your home for Spring you can find your nearest stockist or where to buy online. Or just sit back and enjoy the visual colour fest!

upwards and onwards

I have probably spent a lot of hours looking up at the sky. One of my very favourite things to do on a warm summer evening is to lie in a meadow of long grass and stare up at the sky. Watching the clouds gently drift past and watching the light as it falls through the leaves of the trees above.

It's a small, simple thing but it always makes me feel happy. Shame there aren't too many meadows in London but I am looking forward to spending several days at my parents farm next week for some time to re-group, be thankful for all the good things in my life, get my head in order and generally do very little.

Here are some beautiful sky pictures in the meantime...

All images found via we heart it.

P.S. Thank you so much to those of you that stopped by to leave a comment on my last post. Your kind words are greatly appreciated.

And to end on a high note... sometimes when a sad thing happens, it's hard to remember how to smile again but a dose of hugely happy news came just when I needed it. On Monday my sister phoned me from Australia to tell me that she is getting married! Huge congratulations Jo and Blair!

goodbye dear small one

To my tiny unborn baby,

Yesterday was supposed to be a day of excitement. Our chance to glimpse you and see you moving for the very first time. Instead, we looked at the screen and you seemed so very small and still. As the lady started to say "I'm so sorry, it's bad news. There isn't a heartbeat", I think I detached from my body and the words seemed so distant, like it was all a dream and happening to someone else faraway.

Your Daddy was very brave and strong and I fell to pieces as I realised that we would never get the chance to meet you. To hold you in our arms and to see the person you would have grown to become. That you would never meet your big sister who would have loved you so very much. So now we must accept that it was never meant to be. For a reason we will never know, you were not destined for this earth. We must try to move forward and carry on as best we can with whatever twists and turns life brings us next.

But I want you to know that we love you with all of our hearts and that I will think of you every day. May you always rest in peace.

Love from your Mama xxx