Friday 30 April 2010

back to blogging

after a few days away from blogging, i'm back! with the end of my quest for the perfect denim jacket. i have been seeing them on everyone recently. literally can't get away from them, and instead of putting me off, it just made me want one even more. but instead of the classic 'gap' style jean jacket, i found a gorgeous biker style washed denim jacket from ted baker, but at £99, i was hesitant. but lo and behold i swiped a nearly identical model (that i actually prefer) from river island for £39.99! very chuffed.

i'm wearing it with bleached oversized t-shirts, leggings and plimsolls til the weather gets warmer and i can break out the sandals!

♥ xo

Monday 26 April 2010

birthday weekend

sorry it's been a little while, but as it was my birthday, can you blame me! i had a lovely party with friends the night before and then a beautiful meal cooked by my brother with my family on my actual birthday. presents included beautiful fresh flowers, the bunny i have been talking about from my boyfriend, the meal as a present from my brother, and a tiffany's surprise from my parents, as well as my present that i picked out. my uncles came over and surprised me with a beautiful hand painted minton tea cup from the 19th century. i'll let a few photos do the talking,


♥ xo

Wednesday 21 April 2010

birthday!

i'm counting down the days til my birthday (3!!), and my party with my best friend is this friday. i'm super excited but there's lots of organising, decorating, cooking and baking to get done, since we're doing everything ourselves!
we decided to go for cupcakes for our birthday, and we're definitely going to try this out!


{video from xanthe milton's book, eat me}
annoyingly the video wreaks havoc with my layout, but at least you get to see pretty cakes!

i always use the 'classic swirl' she describes first, but i definitely want to try the rose technique to make our cuppies extra special.

♥ xo

Tuesday 20 April 2010

push it!

i've seen these amorous salt and pepper shakers all over the place, but this cute couple from urban outfitters really caught my eye. sweet!


{image}

♥ xo

Sunday 18 April 2010

hey good lookin', whatcha got cookin'?

since going to uni and having to fend for myself, i think i've done pretty well (aside from a few calls to my mum and a 'burnt brocolli incident' that i prefer not to talk about). my flatmate and i used to go to the market and choose exotic fruit and veg to take back to halls and learn how to cook up in all different ways. now i live in a house with my 3 best friends - they happen to be guys and they happen to be really really passionate about food (think A LOT of money spent on cheese and cured meats on a trip to france, and countless sushi takeaways...but also the ability to eat box after box of chicken dippers and survive on doritos for a few days).
living away from my mum has taught me how delicious some of the things are that i used to refuse when she cooked (aubergine is now literally my favourite thing). and i love taking recipes and making them my own.

so, it's pretty safe to say i can't wait to have my own kitchen!!

but for now, here's a couple of my favourites:

{image}

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i'm quite surprised they're both white as i absolutely love colour. the first is from sophie dahl's show, the delicious miss dahl. you have to watch this show! although i'm not sure it'll be available to those of you acros the pond. but the above kitchen is redecorated with beautiful wallpaper, flowers everywhere, colourful pots and pans (le creuset, of course).

{unflattering screenshot from the bbc iplayer}

unfortunately, the largest it will go. but click for all the details!

♥ xo

Thursday 15 April 2010

room by room

i feel like i have decoration fever! i think i'm probably 'nesting' - i'm studying for my final exams and will probably move back home for a bit when i finish uni, but once i get a job i can't wait to move into my own little place, and all i can think about right now is how i'd decorate my dream apartment!
so for the next few days i'm going to be posting decorating ideas for bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, and starting today with the ultimate fantasy - dressing room!


♥ xo

Wednesday 14 April 2010

mix it up

i really love collections of frames in on the walls - it makes it so easy to bring together a bunch of pictures that don't necessarily go together, and make them cohesive and pleasing to the eye. i can't wait to do this

{image}

as i wrote about a few posts ago, moving in with the boyfriend might seem daunting (is he going to bring his video game posters?? please no!), but this seems like the perfect way to make compromises when you're cohabitating! throw in a vintage star wars postcard with a pretty sketch of tea cups, it really is a great way to mix things up. yay!

♥ xo

Tuesday 13 April 2010

terrarium inspired wedding

this is the sweetest thing - while i love girly girly details with plenty of pastel colours and feminine details, i'm becoming increasingly drawn to more masculine inspired designs that still make space for pretty touches. which is why this wedding, photographed by whitney and her husband over at oh, darling caught my eye. while i can't help thinking that a wedding with so many customised features must cost a bomb, it obviously paid off. the couple look so happy and everything is just flawless - head on over to the blog to see what i mean!

terrarium

♥ xo

Monday 12 April 2010

food for thought

my birthday party with my best friend is in little under 2 weeks! i'm so excited, but now that everything is ordered and organised, there's nothing left to do until the last couple days before, which will consist of setting up, decorating the room (so excited), making all the food and baking and icing all the cupcakes. i'm keeping my fingers crossed for gorgeous spring weather.
while the savoury food (think cous cous, pasta salad, roasted veggies, etc.) is going to be served up in big bowls on each table for the guests, we're thinking about having a sweet little dessert table with a few cake stands on it that we can put on the tables when it's time for something sweet (along with a speech i'm dreading by mine and my friend's mutual school friend, who has a penchant for bringing up everything embarassing you have ever done!). so i thought i'd share some of the dessert table inspiration that i've dug up over the past couple days (and lo and behold, another use for a cupboard!)

dessert tables
{images from stylemepretty and decor8}

i think we're going to go with something simple. while i'd love tons of flowers and bunting, we're already near the end of our budget. but the table we are going to use is to tiny, i can't imagine much more than some perfectly iced cuppies will fit on it anyway! and maybe a couple balloons sneaked in for good measure :)

also, today's lunch:

{salad leaves with aubergine and cherry tomato, olive and dill omelette, courtesy of my mama}

♥ xo

Friday 9 April 2010

the office

everyone loved that office-in-a-closet closet, and i found the where i got the picture from - the lovely rockstar diaries. check it out! it's fast becoming my favourite blog (probably because of their adorable bulldog puppy and the amount that he features in their posts).

i've always seen little closet offices in design magazines, but now that i try and search for me, my search just comes up with duds that aren't entirely inspiring and not pretty enough to post on a girly blog, thank you very much!

so here's a picture that's inspiring me in the run up to my 21st birthday party

{image}

hopefully this will reflect somewhat my birthday - my boyfriend is giving me a bunny and my parents are giving me a chair (i sort of wish it was this vintage metal loveseat now!)

i can't wait to post all the bits from my party when it's over - think dessert table, ribbon streamers, baby photos and colourful lanterns.

♥ xo

Thursday 8 April 2010

tucked away

i love small spaces. i think this comes from always have a little bedroom - i like to squeeze all sorts of things into it and make it like my magical haven, even if it isn't much bigger than a box! that's why i'm completely inspired and drawn to this idea:


{image}
the only problem is, why would you ever want to close the door on something this lovely!!

♥ xo

Wednesday 7 April 2010

anthropologist

anthropologie has just come over to the uk! well...it's been over here for a while but i haven't had the chance to visit the shop on the king's road until yesterday, and let me just say it is beautiful. everything about it is perfect and lovely and i would happily live there!
i also stumbled across an internship opening on their website, so keep your fingers crossed for me! i'm wondering if the fact that my degree is in social anthropology will sway them at all..hmm.
i desperately love this dress that is only available in the states, but my beautiful gorgeous friend ant is going to make it for me to wear for my birthday!

i love the sunny yellow colour and the bow on the back...well, i can never resist a bow! the best thing about this is it will be made perfectly for me, with lots of love, and will be an amazing keepsake from my 21st birthday!

i also picked out my birthday present - a beautiful little chair in a 1950s design from designer's guild. i never realised that anything you choose there you can have reupholstered especially for you - my design is super personal to me and, as an added bonus, actually came out cheaper than the display model! i can't wait to show you all on here, but for now you'll just have to wait and see.

right now i'm supposed to be in study mode. i can't wait for summer when i can get out of the house and do so much more blogging!

♥ xo

Monday 5 April 2010

creature comforts

easter weekend was wonderful, spent with family and friends, too much food and, most importantly, at home. there are just some things that can't beat going home to my mumma's house and leaving behind scummy student living, crinkly sheets and piles of dirty plates (mostly the boys, because i am a washing up nazi)

my favourite things about being at home are

a lovely girly bathroom without loads of stubble in the sink! (THE WORST)

childhood comforter that smells like lavender and home

fresh fruit always on the table

what are your favourite things about going home?

♥ xo

p.s. i made this lovely warm cous cous salad with rockette and figs for lunch last week. figs have really grown on me..i think i had them 4 different ways that week!


Thursday 1 April 2010

lost that bloggin' feeling

perhaps it's something to do with the abysmmal weather or my impending final exams, but i don't have any ideas for exciting blog posts or even much inspiration at all. but i never cease to be amazed by my brother's talent...so here's a couple things from a dinner party he threw that take my breath away (photos from his girlfriend's personal facebook album)

{radish bouquet, prawn custard, basil jelly and lamb with buerre blanc}

wouldn't a radish bouquet be the sweetest thing for little bridesmaids/flower girls at a rustic, diy, farmyard wedding?

my brother's birthday present to me (not long to go now!! gotta get party planning) is a delicious 3 course (or more!) meal with my family. i think he's planning on cooking the lamb - i can't wait!
he has a blog but i'm pretty sure he hasn't updated it in a long time, but you might find some good recipes on there.

♥ xo