. hAppy fridAy .

. 1 . sUch a beaUtiful shared room for a bOy & a gIrl shared by ElleDecoration .

. 2 . sUch a dreAmy vintAge room for a lUcky little girl shared by HelloLittleBirdie .

. 3 . sUch a beaUtiful fashion shoot . a beaUtiful mini Madame Butterfly .

. 4 . sUch a whimsical fashion shoot . Down the Rabbit Hole with TutuDuMonde .

. 5 . there's still time to treat yourself to some pretty stationery to celebrate NationalStationeryWeek .

. 6 . these made me smile . gnOme cAndles to brighten up the gARden .

. 7 . a pOetic illUstration by Annabel Tempest .

. 8 . a quOte & wOrds to live by .

. 9 . still tOo cold for gardening . try this little DIY instead . perfect for prEtty cactI .

. & . finally . a bAnk hOliday weekend is the perfect time to tackle baking croissants .

                     three days to make & bake & probably three little minutes to eat !

. have a hAppy dAy .

. crEate your own sUnshine .

as i was sitting at my desk yesterday . beginning to put the mAy calendars together for this post . i looked up just in time to see the snow start to fall . 

we are in spring . it's the end of april . very nearly mAy . earlier the skies had been blue & although it was bitterly . unseasonably . chilly . i really did think that we had moved on from the snow showers . a minute later it was all blue skies again . soon after that a flash of lightning streaked the sky . followed by the rumble of thunder . a darkening of the skies . and then the rain . but then over almost as quickly as it began . 

strange weather indeed . but i think it's also a sign about taking your chances where you can find them . about searching out the moments of blue sky & sunshine . the breaks between the rain showers & snow showers . 

. sOmetimes you just have to create your own sUnshine .

. may 2016 .

. may 2016 .

. have a sUnny dAy .

. hAppy fridAy .

. 1 . a belAted hAppy 90th birthdAy to our queen .

. 2 . this is the prettiest upside down rhubarb cake i've ever seen .

. 3 . a rose printed blouse for StGeorge'sDay tomorrow .

. 4 . a vintage Liberty print makes for a very Ladylike dress .

. 5 . spOtted on Instagram @chichihooo . lOng live the Queen .

. 6 . feel like a queen by wearing this beautiful crown .

. 7 . a little more pretty food with this white chocolate panna cotta .

. 8 . today this seems a very apt quote .

. 9 . as does this image spOtted on Instagram titled WeekendVibes .

. & . finally . rhubarb in the fridge ready to be turned into a myriad of lovely things . a little cake . a little jam . & . a little tart .

. have a very hAppy dAy .

. inspired . #9 .

on sAturday StratfordUponAvon will play host to a whole wealth of activities to remember the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death . the day of which also happens to be his birthday . { something he has in common with Ingrid Bergman . Gertrude Astor . & . the painter . Rafael } . between the birthday parade . with everyone invited to don their William Shakespeare masks as they cry ' Three Cheers for William Shakespeare ' and the finale of fireworks . there will be specially commissioned performances featuring some of his most iconic characters & best known moments from his plays . 

i have seen a number of performances at the RSC . & . like most of us have studied some of his plays at school . upon seeing a new performance & a different play it always surprises me how different they were to one another . & . how creative the RSC continues to be in the spin it plays on each play it performs . in a way i don't have a favourite play . in a way you can like so many of them for so many different reasons . 

that said . one of the plays i've seen most often is A Midsummer Nights Dream . undoubtedly one of his most well known & loved works . the tale of Oberon . & . Tatiana . king and queen of the fairies has been captured on stage & screen so many times . a 1935 film adaptation had a cast including James Cagney, Mickey Rooney & Olivia De Havilland . whilst in 1968 a British version of the film brought together Helen Mirren, Diana Rigg & Judy Dench . a little more familiar may be the 1999 film which cast Michelle Pfeiffer & Rupert Everett in the roles of Tatiana & Oberon . with the wonderfully comical Kevin Kline as Bottom . i have very fond memories of a performance i saw a the RSC in 2011 directed by Nancy Meckler & designed by Katrina Lindsay . 

and so today's inspired . is inspired . by the fairies & forest & flowers of this tale . 

. inspired#9 .

. WilliamShakespeare . fairyQueens . dayDreams . floralCrowns .

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. see more on my Pinterest board .

. have a wonderfully whimsical day .

. hAppy fridAy .

. 1 . this cUte sOck mOnkey brought a smile to my face this week .

. 2 . as did this sUper cute sneaky peek at the new baby range from LaDeDahKids .

. 3 . wOndering if they'd make me a pair of these in my size ?

{ oh . and . hAppy 10th birthdAy to Not On the High Street } .

. 4 . wOndering if they'd make me a cute cloud blouse in my size ?

{ spOtted on Instagram at pepper.pics } .

. 5 . lOving the beautiful tiles on the beautiful Sugarhouse Studios .

{ spOtted on Instagram at thewelshhouse } .

. 6 . sadly missed out on seeing the Monet exhibition at the RA . 

       so . looking forward to making time to see Dutch Flowers at the National Gallery . 

. 7 . this lovely image makes me want to put Little Women onto my 2016 Reading List .

. 8 . thought for today .

{ it had to be a coffee quote for Uk Coffee Week }

. 9 . speaking of coffee . 

       i'd quite like to be drinking my morning coffee from this lovely espresso cup .

. & . finally . what better to accompany that cup of coffee that a lovely slice of cake .

. have a hAppy dAy .

. the art of cOffee . & . cOffee as art . { twelve ways to make your morning lAtte a lOt lOt cuter } .

i am doing my very best this week to support National Coffee Week . although i managed to miss out on the lOndon cOffee fEstival i have managed to sUp my way around the cOffee shOps of Carnaby Street . and . today i seem to have managed to fit in a little work in between spending the day making { cOpious } amounts of coffee . 

my usual cOffee order is a fairly pedestrian Americano with hot milk . bUt . on the occasion that i order a latte there's something lovely about wondering what latte art will grace my cup of coffee . as lovely as the coffee shops i frequent are, so far i haven't yet been presented with anything quite as stylish as some of the examples i've stumbled on today . & . is it wrong that i'm completely fascinated by the 3d latte art . but . can't help wondering that in the time it takes to create something like that surely the coffee must be stone cold ?  i think that's possibly the coffee lover in me taking precedence over the designer in me ! 

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. 4 . 5 . 6 .

. 7 . 8 . 9 .

. 10 . 11 . 12 .

. cUteness in a cOffee cUp .

. have a hAppy dAy .

. hAppy wEekend .

. 1 . beautiful painted florals to be seen at the mOnet to mAtisse exhibition at the RA . 

{ it's the last few days . so . catch it whilst you can }

. 2 . beautiful florals for your littleOne to wear from WolfeChild .

. 3 . beautiful florals on this floral alphabet washi tape painted by Emma Block .

{ buy it here on Etsy }

. 4 . watercolour doodles to put on the wall from Jimmy Cricket .

. 5 . daydreaming fashion shoot from Melanie Rodriguez .

. 6 . daydreaming of this magical garden at Vielle Branche in Brisbane .

{ and wishing my garden looked a little like it } 

. 7 . the prettiest pencil & paint sketchbook experiments from Gemma Luxton .

. 8 . thought for today .

. 9 . a pretty floral trimmed bicycle would certainly lend a more leisurely pace to life .

{ super lovely DIY from lovely indeed }

. & . finally . a pretty spring like salad from John Waite .

which . { now i've finally managed to finish this post } i'll be pOpping out to buy all the ingredients for . for a lovely lunch today .

. have a hAppy wEekend .

. spring . grEens .

somedays the sun shines & the sky is blue & it feels like spring . somedays the rain falls & the sky is grey & it feels like winter has not quite loosened it's grip . not quite yet . luckily those spring like days are starting to outnumber those less than spring like days & whilst i may not be quite ready to leave my hat & scarf at home yet . i am already starting to gaze longingly at the pretty floral dresses that are already in the shops . & . the small signs of greenery & colour in the garden are a reminder to grab each lovely day that comes & make the most of clearing the weeds to make way for all the summer blooms . 

so today i'm embracing those small signs of spring with some spring green inspiration . lets all keep our fingers crossed that spring starts to win out against winter & i can put away that hat & scarf for a few months .

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{ 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 }

. have a hAppy dAy .

. hAppy fridAy .

. 1 . with aPril comes aPril shOwers . but with shOwers come the rainbOws .

. 2 . and the excuse to buy a really prEtty brOlly !

. 3 . or you may think these are the best kind of clOuds . on really cUte macarons .

{ i may need a little more macaron practice before i tackle these ! }

. 4 . denim dungarees . & . cosy jumper . the perfect spring oUtfit via gApkids .

. 5 . sUnshine . & . shOwers . the perfect spring decor via tinymE .

. 6 . sOmewhere over the { beautiful wooden toy } rainbow .

. 7 . divine denim from bOnpoint .

. 8 . a thought for today . & . a song for aPril from Judy Garland .

. 9 . ' have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful . or believe to be beautiful .

{ William Morris's words & ones i'll keep in mind during this weekends spring clean }

. & . finally . i'll be making a little { healthy } strawberry milkshake fudge . 

{ to go on top a { slightly less than healthy } strawberry milkshake funfetti cake } .

. have a hAppy dAy .

. hEllo aPril .

{ bE silly . bE honest . bE kind }

hEllo aPril

&

hAppy aPril fOol's dAy

have you spotted any foolishness yet ?

{ oh . if only Cath Kidston . & . oh . so wrong Jamie Oliver }

things i'm looking forward to this month

. saving my silliness for a sprinkle filled milkshake topped cake .

. indulging in cocktails & craft at the Spring Market .

. saying a hAppy 400th birthdAy to Shakespeare .

. whilst celebrating St George's Day .

&

. travelling back to the Fourteas to drink tea .

all in all

. a beautifully british month .

. have a wOnderfully fOolish first of aPril .