. a fEbruary frEebie for a fAbulous fridAy .

how did we get to the end of jAnuary already .  this month has flown by . but fEbruary has it's charms . vAlentine's dAy . pAncake dAy . the days will { hopefully, pretty please } start to get warmer . oh, & there's the little matter of a hAlf mArathon that i'll be running . mOre of that soon .

but for now i'll leave you with a little frEebie for this fabulous fridAy . fEbruary's calendar for you to dOwnload & do with what you will .

. fEbruary2015 .

. have a fAbulous dAy .

. a little pride & prejudice .

thanks to a lovely post that i spotted by pEnguin books, i was reminded that today marks the 202nd anniversary of the publication of " pride & prejudice " . i love reading & i love books . but . i have to make a small confession in that i haven't read too many of the classics . this book has been on my " been meaning to read this for a while now " list . but maybe i should start off with this uber cute version for little ones .

. 1 . 2 . 3. 4 .

from the very lovely . & clever . BabyLit who take classic literature favourites & with the wonderful illustrations of Alison Oliver of Sugar, work them into sweet little books for your toddler to enjoy . BabyLit also sell these sweet tote bags & gorgeous playsets which include the book & punch out characters & scenes from the book . the perfect way to introduce lovely stories to your little ones .

now i'm off to hunt down a copy of this wonderful classic so it can move from my " really need to read this " list onto my " I so loved reading this " list .

. have a lOvely day .

. hAppy aUstrAlia dAy .

today I am a little bit excited . today is aUstrAlia day . well technically yesterday was aUstrAlia day as it's now tuesday dOwn under . but technically it's still mOnday here in the uk so bear with me . so aUstrAlia day . that sounds like the perfect excuse for cake right ? how about a gorgeous buttery light vanilla cake . a smidge of jam & frosting . a lashing of chocolate . & . a dusting of coconut . well here you go . my first time making that australian classic lAmingtOns .

. recipe for the cake adapted from white on rice couple .

. recipe for frosting & icing adapted from raspberri cupcakes .

. p.s. today i booked flights to aUstrAlia .

i am

. so so so excited .

. have a sweet day .

. blue mOnday .

hOw are we all on this lOvely mOnday . happy ? sad ? perky ? tired ? or just plain blue ?  if you are feeling blue take small comfort in the fact that you're not alone . the third mOnday of the month of January is purported to be the most depressing day of the year . yes, really . there is even a formula to support this . well, if you believe wikipedia that is ?  in an effort to knock this theOry into touch i have spent the day in complete defiance of this & had a very happy day indeed, part of which was spent searching for the happiest 'blue' pics on pinterest . well, lets face it, any day that involves pinterest in any small part is a happy day, no ?

. 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 .

for more blue lOveliness take a peek at my board on pinterest

. have a { not so } blue day .

. rainy days .

sunshine, showers, snow, sleet & storms . i think we've had every kind of weather going here in lOvely england over the past few days . looking on the bright side { the very best side to look on i always think . . . } it gives us a chance to put on some bright pink { glittery ? } wellies & gO jump in some puddles . . .

. 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 .

. am I the only one wishing these all came in grOwn up sizes too ?

. have a glittery day .

. sunshine & showers .

summer stills feels a long long way away . although . as i'm looking at a little trip down under soonish it feels like a glimmer of sun through all the gloomy grey rain . sO . just a little post today .

. a little reminder to always look for the rainbow .

. have a cOlourful day .

. alice's adventures in liberty print .

an email dropped into my in-box a couple of days ago from liberty . introducing their new fabric collection for spring&summer 2015, it reminded me that i'd been lucky enough to view the range at premier vision last year & i remembered how lOvely & charming it was . based on the adventures of alice in wOnderland, it celebrates the fact that this year marks the 150th anniversary of it's first publication.  taking inspiration from the original illustrations, from the whimsey of the story itself & also existing prints from liberty's own archives, the cOllection is a wOnderful marriage of the two . . .

. There was a table set out under the tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it . 

. She was considering in her own mind, whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies . 

. 'Where do you pick the flower?' the White Queen asked: 'In a garden or in the hedges?' . 

. Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank .
. and of having nothing to do .

. She knelt down and looked along the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw . 

. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different . 

. But if I'm not the same, the next question is, Who in the world am I? .

. The chief difficulty Alice found at first was in managing her flamingo .

. liberty .

at the moment there are 99 events planned in over 10 different countries to celebrate this anniversary; everything from theatre productions & ballets, store window displays, exhibitions, discussions, & of course no celebration of this story would be complete without a tea party or two would it ?

see mOre here . . . 

. have a wOnderful day .

. colour lOve .

one of my favourite things about starting a new season or a new collection is gathering together cOlour;  different hues & tones, endless cOlour combinations & cOlour stories.  before i start looking ahead to the new spring trends i wanted to ponder a while on Pantone's colour of 2015 . meet Marsala . aka Pantone 18-1438 . i think it's fair to say that this cOlour choice has been welcomed with mixed reviews . following on from the prettiness & freshness of Radiant Orchid from 2014 you can probably understand why . but whilst it's taken me a while, i think that this new cOlour is growing on me . it doesn't make me think of the coming spring & summer, but lets face it, they're still a while away yet . it does however make me think of warming spices, of mulled wine & spiced cocoa, of velvets & furs, it's a cosy, comforting cOlour, & whilst we're still in the winter months i think it's a cOlour to enjoy right now . . .

. 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 .

so do you

. lOve it . like it . lOathe it .

if you're still undecided have a peak at my pInterest board with lOts more images to help sway you

. have a cosy day .

. resolutions .

resolutions . goals . aims . wishes . dreams . aspirations . whatever you like to call them, & even if you profess not to make them, I think we all start each new year with some hopes for the coming months . some of my hopes already have dates in place;  after taking up running last year I'm running my first hAlf marAthon in brighton in february . other things are less tangible;  opening an on-line shop is something i've dreamt of, & talked about, for quite a while . most things will be about making time for them, about making the most of those 24hours in each day .

. 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 .

. have a happy day .

. hAppy nEw yeAr .

hAppy nEw yeAr to you . . . the christmas tree is down, the resolutions are made { more on that in another post } & the new year is looking good . ok, so we're only 2 days in but . . .

a little frEebie for you today, something to brighten up your desktop & wipe away any back to work blues that might be starting to creep in . . . tA dAh, the first lily&Bloom downloadable / printable / do what you like frEebie .  now this is the first time I've done anything like this, so we're keeping finger's & toe's crossed that this works ! whilst I'm busy working my way through the other 11 months of the year I'm sharing my jAnuary 2015 desktop calendar with you right now . . .

. jAnuary2015 .

. have a happy day .