. hEllo to the hOlidays .

the hOlidays are here . i'm sure all your littleOnes are settling nicely into their hOliday routines . & . finger's crossed there haven't been any cries of ' i'm bored ' . at least not just yet . 

i know i've been a little remiss about posting over the past couple of months . but i haven't been slacking . { promise ! } . i've been around & about . here there & everywhere . & . i have a hUge list of things to blOg about . so i'm thinking that aUgust might be a little bit busier blOgwise .

but for now i will leave you with some sUmmer lOveliness . & . an aUgust calendar to brighten up your desktop . 

oh . & this month we also have a little something for your phone . or . to print out & pin up as you wish .

 . aUgust 2015 .

. aUgust 2015 .

. have a hAppy day .

. sAlted cAramel n'Ice creAm cookies .

i woke up yesterday to a very grey day . it looked distinctly unpromising . the long run planned for the morning fell by the wayside { after four runs in three days, including this little escapade through the mUd at sAturday's RaceForLife PrettyMuddy, i wasn't sure i was up for doing any run justice } . & . i was enjOying a little lounging on the sofa . & . then up popped the cutest thing from This Is Gold . 

. hAppy nAtional ice creAm dAy . 

i really do need to find out about these days in advance of them happening . a girl has no time to make copious amounts of ice cream when she finds out about them at 8:00am on a sUnday morning ! 

i lOve ice cream . well, i used to lOve ice cream . i could have eaten Ben&Jerry's dry i lOved it that much . there used to be the sweetest Ben&Jerry's stall at the bottom of Knutsford Terrace in hOng kOng that i could never ever walk past without buying a scoop { or two, well ok, maybe three } . last time i was there it was { sadly } no more . replaced by a very hip looking LabMadeIceCream . all very lOvely i'm sure . but Ben&Jerry's it wasn't . & . anyway the ice cream lOve had been a little on hold of late . & . anyway the skies were grey & gloomy . it was much more a crumble & custard kind of day than an ice cream day . 

&

then the skies cleared . & . i remembered that whilst i might not have a stash of double cream in the fridge i did have a few banana's stashed away in the freezer . might this not be a great time to sample the n'ice cream . the trend that seemed to have completely passed me by last year ?  so a little browsing on pinterest & a lot of internal arguing over the merits of chocolate vs. salted caramel . i struck a happy compromise . salted caramel n'ice cream . with . double chocolate cookies { which i think might be what's called having your cake & eating it ! } .

so it might be a day late for pOsting . but when eventually the skies are blue once more . & . you fancy indulging in a { sort of } healthier way . do try these . together . or . separately . i am happy to say they taste lOvely either way .

the n'ice cream recipe is from BeWholeBeYou . i added a touch of cinnamon into mine . & . i used almond milk for a lovely creamy texture . you might also want to add the maple syrup a little at a time according to how sweet you like things . i made mine without as i think the dates on their own were enough . 

the cookie recipe is adapted from TopWithCinnamon . this is such a great recipe as all you need is a tablespoon to measure out the ingredients . perfect for those late night munchies when you need a little something but don't want to make { & then eat . yes . we've all done it ! } a whole batch . the original recipe is a chocolate chip one . i added the cacao powder & replaced the chocolate chips with cacao nibs . but i think it's a recipe you could have fun with trying out different variations . 

i think the next recipe i make needs to be a bit more colourful . time to bring out the sprinkles & maybe some summer fruits i think . 

. have a swEet day .

. bUbble . lOndon .

and it's springtime & summertime at bUbble . 

despite the slightly gloomy weather outside on mOnday, islingtOn was buzzing with fresh summer colour, with pineapple prints, with origami animals & birds, & more than a few prints inspired by the new colouring-in craze .  slightly disappointed that a few old names were noticeable by their absence this season;  nO added sUgar . billieblUsh . & . bOnnie bAby had only let the bOnnie mOb out to play . 

there was still plenty to see though . & . more than a few sUper new brands were spotted . as last season's instagram provided such cool images i've let them take the lead this season too . it's always interesting to see the shOw through other's eyes too . see what took their fancy & what was popular under the #discoverbubble & #bubblelondon hashtags .

. the beautiful bUsiness dEsign cEntre . & . coffee courtesy of tOms .

 . aden+anais .

. who launched a lOvely range of layette clothing alongside their swaddle cloths .

 . peacheyboo .

. new to bUbble . but with the swEetest baby clothing .

{ & uber cUte pink & white sugar mice too }

 . as always the footwear was just the cUtest .

 . mini mElissa .

. i featured their gorgeous duck wellies last season .

. they don't disappoint for summer with these prEtty pineapple trimmed shoes .

 . hOlly hAstie .

. lOvely fresh colours on sweet sUmmer dresses .

 . mR wOlf .

. another new brand & one of my favourites .

. geometric mandala style characters on simple stylish garments in great colours . 

 . little grEen rAdicals .

. organic doesn't mean beige for this range .

. geometric florals. origami birds . scallop prints .

. tinkEr & bOo .

. new to bUbble & to the uK being an aUstralian brand .

{ which is why i probably lOve it so much ! }

. fresh colours with hyper pastels & brights & fUn prints .

. 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 . 17 . 18 . 19 . 20 . 21 . 22 .

the shOw gave me lOts to think about & makes me excited to see what other brands have in store for sUmmer . & . with a lot of aUtumn ranges already making an appearance in the shops it feels like we might not have too long to wait to find out .

. have a sUnny sUmmery day .

. school's oUt . { for sUmmer } .

despite the { english } weather's best attempts to convince us otherwise, sUmmer is here & all the littleOnes have only a short time left at school before they finish for the holiday's . my mUm was a teacher & the end of the school year was something to look forward to as she came home laden with ' thankyOu ' gifts . chocolates & flowers & smelly's & a few more chocolates were the most usual presents . although i think if she was still teaching now i wonder if the gifts might be a little more inventive & varied .

there is so much inspiration for teacher gifts . either to buy . or to make yourself . here are a few of my favourite finds .

. apple for teacher . 

. 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 .

. bloom & grOw .

. 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 .

. for yOu .

. 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 .

need more ideas

?

take a look over on my pinterest bOard

. & .

just for fun

. alice coOper . school's oUt .

. have a fUn day .

. the pErfect strangEr projEct .

a very short month ago i spotted an interesting post on facebook via the very lovely oh comely peeps . titled ' The Perfect Stranger Project ' i was intrigued & wanted to know more . a simple click & i was reading about my perfect sounding project . in their own words . a box-swapping bonanza taking place across the globe . 

it's such a simple premise . you sign up . you get paired up with a stranger . you prepare a box of things you love . you send it to them . & . at the same time they do the same for you . simples !

now who doesn't like getting presents ? actually .  who doesn't like giving presents ? i lOve buying & giving presents . although i do have a tendency to agonise slightly over wanting it to be the very perfect gift . which begs the question .

how do you put together the perfect gift for the perfect stranger ?

you get the lovely option of writing a little note about yourself for your swap partner to see . 

my note . 

things i love . afternoon tea . art . baking . books . cake . coffee . cooking . fashion . flowers . fruit . glitter . haberdashery . knitting . museums . new york . paris . photography . reading . running . sprinkles . tea . travel . vegetables .

{ betting you could have had a good guess at all of those from this blog eh ? }

i was lucky enough to be paired with someone who'd also written a note . & . who is possibly my twin . living in the north of england !

her note .

Charlie ( girl ) . 

Love . glitter . the smell of books . teapots . letters . kitsch, tat & all manners of crap .

Artist . baker . maker . letter writer . d-i-y-er . jumper lover . avid reader .

Hate . small pieces of torn up paper . being born in the wrong era . Radio 1 .

this really wasn't going to be too hard now was it . but it was sO so much fun . 

. my box to my perfect stranger .

. my perfect stranger's box to me .

my gift came with a lovely letter & a lovely quote

. a stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet .

i couldn't agree more .

a lovely gift & a new friend . & . a lovely fun experience . 

see lOts more swaps here on instagram . #swapasurprise . 

last year a swap was held in nOvember . so . if this is something that interests you follow them on facebook . & . bookmark their lovely website . 

. have a happy day .

. hellO jUly .

is someone secretly stealing days out of all the months ?  how can it be jUly already . i haven't quite finished enjoying jUne yet ?

i have been out & about . here & there . & . have sO much to share . which i promise to do very soon . { well as soon as the sun's stopped being so wonderfully shiny ! } . & . i owe you a little jUly calendar to pretty up your desktop too { oops ! } .

goodbye jUne & hellO jUly . 

jUly will be a little quieter than jUne

{ possibly }

but i'm still looking forward to

. celebrating 4th jUly along with the UsA .

. running the rAce fOr lifE around the lovely rAgley hAll .

&

. then getting prEtty mUddy at cOfton pArk .

{ eek }

. visiting the sUmmer mArket for craft & cAke .

. spotting the new trends for kIds at bUbble .

with

. a little bit of shopping out & about in lovely lOndon town .

ok

perhaps jUly will be as { beautifully } busy as jUne

2ndjUly . 

as they say . better late than never .

your jUly calendar to download .

. jUly 2015 .

. have a sunny day .