{ my october }

As L.M.Montgomery once said, I'm glad I live in a world with October's. The month hasn't been entirely worry free, but looking back it's only the lovely things I'm choosing to remember.

{ learning }

The month began learning how to crochet, something I've talked about for far too long. My grasp of double and treble crochet, and of course, those oh so wonderful granny squares, is all thanks to Clare, whose patience is matched only by her passion for crochet and all the many wonderful things you can create with it.

{ making }
Yarn has been a recurring theme this month, with the learning to crochet, and signing up to my first POPup Market. The past few weeks have been full of designing, planning, and making, pom pom's, tassels, banners and blankets. There is lots more yarn to arrive, lots more to make, but it's been very exciting seeing everything start to come together.

{ reading }

In a busy month, quiet moments have been cherished by sitting and quietly reading. After months of seeming to devour novels, this month I've enjoyed reading the Autumn edition of 91, and the latest edition of Lagom. Both have content that you can quite happily lose yourself in. 91 has led me to find even more creatives on Instagram to follow, whilst Lagom is feeding my wanderlust and adding even more places to my To Visit list. After all, who wouldn't be tempted by a Treehotel in Sweden? 

{ watching }

Although it broke my heart ever so slightly, I adored Goodbye Christopher Robin.  If you have even the faintest interest in Winnie the Pooh, and remember playing pooh sticks in your long forgotten childhood, then do try to catch this on the big screen.  Beautifully shot, it is melancholic without being sentimental, and brings a bittersweet note to the tale of the bear who has been a part of many childhood's.

I'm looking forward to November with an edge of apprehension.  The diary, it is fair to say, is crammed full of lovely things. There are plans to tick off a few more things on my Fifty before 50 list, that little POPup that I keep mentioning, and so much more. And I'm guessing that it won't seem five minutes until I'm sitting here writing all about it!

{ have a happy day }

{ happy friday }

{ 1 } Childhood with These Little Treasures.

{ 2 } Every girl needs a peacock in her life, right?

{ 3 } So perhaps I don't need a swan but I'd really really like one!

{ 4 } Beautiful birds in flight by Elvira Von Vredenburgh.

{ 5 } Crushing on these White Edition candle holders from local lovely Copper & Solder.

{ 6 } Hoping Rock My Style's prediction for the next Pantone Colour of the Year comes true.

{ 7 } S is for. Serendipity. Solitude. Sympathy. So many of my favourite words.

{ 8 } Weird is the new normal.

{ 9 } Etsy find of the week. Literary Emporium. Quoth the Raven "Nevermore".

{ + } Darkly delicious Black Charcoal Doughnuts, the perfect bake for Halloween.

{ have a happy day }

{ turning the page }

Things may be a little quiet around here for a while. Things are about to change. I am saying a very fond farewell to lily&Bloom, and saying a huge hello to MissSmith. Do you remember that I asked you to say hello to MissSmith a little while back? For those of you with memories as good as mine you can have a read here. Since then, momentum has ebbed and flowed, but hadn't gained the pace it really should have done.

I had considered keeping lily&Bloom. It has been with me for nearly six years now, and came along at a time when I needed a big change in my life, or rather one had been forced upon me. Under the comforting umbrella of lily&Bloom I have worked for some really lovely clients, learnt to appreciate a much slower pace of life, rambled on and shared my, often random thoughts and findings with you on here. It has allowed me the time and space to find out a little more about myself, which I guess is why I now find myself saying goodbye, and becoming MissSmith instead.

Rest assured, there will still be random rambling thoughts. There will also be lots more besides. I'll be sharing with you my design inspiration for my knitting, and more importantly all the lovely things I've been busy making that I'm hoping a few lovely people will buy! The next couple of weeks will be spent turning the website and my whole on-line presence over to MissSmith, and it will also be spent busily knitting and making things for my very first event. Yes ( cue the trumpets, and drums, and all that celebratory nonsense ) I am super excited to say that I will be joining we are POP at their POPup Christmas Market, happening in three very short weeks ( cue the anxiety, nerves, and general scary feelings! ). Baby blankets, wall hangings, pom pom garlands and so much more are being designed and made in every spare moment, dare I say, perfect for Christmas for gifts, or a cheeky little present to yourself.

And so I leave you with a sneak peek of the new look MissSmith above, and a little sneak peek of my Christmas mood board below.

And as I'm absolutely certain that curiosity will get the better of you, and you will want to POP along, here are the details of the market. I would love to see you there. 

{ have a happy day }

{ happy friday }

{ 1 } #sorrynotsorry for a little more crochet inspo from LittleDoolally.

{ 2 } Will we ever grow tired of gingham? 

{ 3 } This weeks 'Does it come in my size?' Polly's fabulous forest dress.

{ 4 } Will we ever grow tired of velvet?

{ 5 } #weekendgoals time to sit & enjoy reading the latest 91magazine.

{ 6 } Preferably with a plate of these cookies by my side!

{ 7 } Oh my! Am I too old for a house tree of my own?

{ 8 } Creativity is intelligence having fun. Albert Einstein.

{ 9 } Etsy find of the week. The Minted Evergreen. The loveliest ombre patterned knits.

{ + } #prettyinpink with the cutest babycakes from the team at Khoollect 💕

{ have a happy day }

{ hooked on crochet }

One of the many ( many ) things on my Fifty before 50 list, was to learn to crochet properly.  It's something I've dabbled with now & then, but not something I've ever felt I really knew how to do. I've been keeping an eye out for a crochet workshop, and was especially pleased to find happening not too far away from me, and even more happily, taking place in one of my very favourite coffee shops, The Steamroom.

And so, on the past three Sunday mornings, I've sat in the company of Clare, of Clare Gets Crafty, being taught how to chain stitch, how to execute a double crochet, a treble crochet, getting to grips with the magic loop technique, all accompanied by a cup of the house batchbrew. Happiness, as it turns out, is simply coffee and crochet on a Sunday morning *sigh*. Clare made the best teacher; calm, with infinite patience and a yarn and crochet book stash to make you more than a little envious. Looking back, each week was structured in ways that made the most of the time we had, teaching new skills each week with time to get to grips with those new skills during the workshop. It's safe to say that I was a little hooked after the first lesson. A brand spanking new Pinterest board pays testament to that! Week two saw us fall in love with Granny Squares - or maybe that was just me ♥︎ ? And in our final week we crocheted an amigurumi cactus, which I enjoyed, but I'm not sure that it will grab my heart in the same way that granny squares did. 

As I don't have an abundance, just yet, of crochet loveliness to share with you, here is a little of the inspiration I've been busy pinning. I think I've a way to go before I reach this level of crochet craftiness, but I'm guessing practice makes perfect. 

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 

I can't thank Clare enough for the past few Sundays. You can find Clare over on Clare Gets Crafty, and read more about her workshops here. And for any of you local to Brum, she'll be at Etsy Made Local on the 2nd and 3rd of December, and at the Harborne Handmade Christmas Market the following weekend, on the 10th December.

And look, that pile of granny squares just keeps on growing #hooked.

{ have a happy day }

{ happy friday }

{ 1 } A few black cats inked by Laura Hughes to ward off any Friday 13th bad luck.

{ 2 } When the city of Westminster is your playground #citykids.

{ 3 } A Technicolour treat from MilkMagazine #colourfulkids.

{ 4 } Wondering if I could get away with those cute Kitty tights?

{ 5 } Wishing I could go #nestandflourish with Object Style this autumn 🍂

{ 6 } Counting down the days to this Autumn Insta Gathering.

{ 7 } Etsy find of the week. Max and Mila. This Bham girl loves this BHM flag.

{ 8 } Chase your dreams #wordsfromthewise.

{ 9 } Can you fall in love with a painting #hillsandhouses.

{ + } Chocolate Week calls for chocolate biscuits & buttercream, smothered in a lot more chocolate.

{ have a happy day }

{ inspired#19 . Sheep . Lambs . & . a week of Wool }

. inspired#19 .

Baa, baa, black sheep

Have you any wool?

Yes, sir, yes, sir,

Three bags full.

clockwise from centre

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

Yesterday, over our Sunday lunch, my sister and I were reminiscing about our childhood, and in particular our costumes for the street party for the Queen's Silver Jubilee.  I was six, she was a toddling 18months. I was Bo Peep, and she was my sheep, complete with a hand knitted loopy lamb bonnet. Photographs do exist, though, possibly to my sister's relief, I can't quite place my hands on them at the moment. I still have fond memories of the crook that my Dad made for me, complete with crepe paper streamers. It turns out my sister's memories are less fond, though I seem to remember her making a particularly cute little lamb on the day.

Our trip down memory lane coincidentally coincides with The Campaign for Wool's annual Wool Week. A week of exhibitions, events, activities and initiatives, by amongst others, Wool and the Gang, Brora, and Jack Wills, who are celebrating their obsession with wool with a rather sweet, specially commissioned film, which you can take a look at here.

Not quite in the same league as their film, today's post is my own small celebration of wool, and those sweet sheep for whom we have to thank for so much lovely yarn, and cosy knitwear.

Now, off to knit my sister a brand new loopy lamb bonnet 🐑 !

{ have a happy day }

{ happy weekend }

{ 1 } So in love with this sweater and cowl combo knitted by Happy Love Co.
{ 2 } Boys in beanies looking just so blinkin' cute!
{ 3 } This week's 'Does it come in my size?'. Polder's covetable mohair coat.
{ 4 } And also crushing on this camelia pink embroidered dress from Hello Simone.
{ 5 } First there was sweater weather. Now I'm ready to get my beanie on!
{ 6 } October aka Inktober. Pop over & follow Flora Waycott to see all her inky adventures.
{ 7 } My Etsy find of the week. Sincerely Louise. And her most wonderful knitted taxidermy.
{ 8 } Live cosy.
{ 9 } Tomorrow I learn how to crochet granny squares. Properly!
{ + } Tuesday is World Porridge Day, and I'll be pimping mine with cherries and chocolate.

{ have a happy day }

{ four I adore . Cake Bakers }

There was little question of what this month's four I adore should be about. With National Cake Week falling in this first week of October, it was the opportune moment to share some of the fabulous foodie bloggers I follow, the ones who seemingly have the same fondness for cake as I do. I could wax lyrical about the culinary creativity of these bloggers, their absolutely beautiful styling and photography, but quite frankly I know that you are just here to gaze at all that cake, so without further ado, here are four cake bakers that are worthy of our adoration.

 . Call me Cupcake .

Call me Cupcake began back in 2009, and is written by Linda Lomelino. She published her first book back in 2012, aptly titled Lomelino's Cakes: 27 Pretty Cakes to Make Any Day Special, which is a pretty lovely way to think about cake. A lot of her baking is inspired by her Swedish heritage, none more so than the Cinnamon Bun Cake pictured above. As today also happens to be Cinnamon Bun Day in Sweden, it was the perfect recipe of hers to share. The cake is scented with cardamom and speckled through with that most Swedish of fruit, lingonberries, the brown butter frosting is heavy with cinnamon, and the whole thing is doused liberally with a cream cheese glaze *sigh* How incredibly lovely does that all sound?  Just as incredibly lovely as it all looks. 

. The Kitchen McCabe .

For something just as Autumnal, but perhaps a little simpler, lets pop over to The Kitchen McCabe. Cardamom also appears in this recipe for Spiced Wholewheat Apple Cake, which is topped with an intriguing sounding Honey Caramel. A delicious sounding way to use up that glut of in-season apples you may have, and the use of wholewheat flour turns this into a slightly more healthier treat of a bake. Kayley, the author behind the blog, has a baking style that gravitates towards wholesome ingredients, and making a considered choice about the nutritional qualities of the recipes she develops. 

. butter & brioche .

At the moment I have a few fresh figs languishing in my fruit bowl, which is one of the reasons this layered Fig and Almond Cake caught my eye. The other reasons being all those lovely lovely layers, and that most darling of dark chocolate glazes. Butter & brioche is one of my favourite blogs, not just because of the recipes, but because of the quality of Thalia's writing. Using the most poetic of quotes and prose to accompany her posts, her writing has a literary quality, and more often than not, a melancholic note, that can resonate far deeply than perhaps a recipe post should. Butter & brioche is one blog where you should not just skip to recipe. Or perhaps skip to recipe, bake the cake, then sit and take time to read her wonderful words.

. Souvlaki for the Soul .

After the fanciful layers of that Fig and Almond Cake, we return to something a little simpler, though no less delicious I'm sure. My final bake, and baker, is this Tahini Cake, from Souvlaki for the Soul, the perfect cake to bake if you happen to find yourself without butter and eggs, or you need to bake yourself a vegan friendly cake. Souvlaki for the Soul's author is Peter, an Australian with a strong affinity to his Greek heritage, who marries his loves of food and travel in his blog. A photographer by trade his imagery is an absolute delight. Simply styled, but with a strong narrative, in line with his aim of capturing the beauty and simplicity of the food we eat and the big wide world around us.

Now, are you still with me, or are you already busy in the kitchen, lining cake pans and searching for enough eggs to make all of the cakes featured here? If you're already in the kitchen, I can't say I blame you. If you're still with me, then what the heck are you waiting for. Go. Bake. Cake!

{ have a happy day }

{ hello October }

. hello October .

{ have a happy day }