{ inspired#21 . Let it Snow . Let it Snow . Let it Snow }

. inspired#21 .

" I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently?

And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt;

and perhaps it says, 'Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again'"

. Lewis Carroll .

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The first of a few festive mood boards, and with the weather we have at the moment how could I not be inspired by all the snow?

Those cosy looking snowflake mittens were captured by Marion of basic hus, and have me searching furiously for a similar pattern to knit myself a pair.  And that lovely last illustration, by the very talented Meera Lee Patel, is the perfect snowy scene. Though it does also remind me of how my early morning runs in the snow have felt; achingly beautiful, but uphill all the way!

{ have a cosy 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.

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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 }

{ inspired#18 . Autumn . Leaves . & . the Woodland }

. inspired#18 .

" Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree "

Emily Bronte

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I don't think I will ever tire of that lovely Emily Bronte quote.  Nor will I tire of beautiful autumn hues. How can we not be inspired by such a lovely season?

There's a little more Autumnal inspiration on my Pinterest board here.

But for now . . . 

{ have a happy day }

{ inspired#17 . Llama's and Peruvian polka dots }

. inspired#17 .

Advice from a Llama

Llisten to your heart

Llook on the bright side

Llaugh more

Llive and let Llive

Llove Llife

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Llama's are the new Unicorns.

You heard it hear first.

Lots more Llama love on my Pinterest board here.

{ have a happy day }

{ inspired#13 . the garden }

. inspired#13 . the garden .

how lovely the silence of growing things

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A midweek mood board, inspired by the garden.  My garden has been a little neglected over the past couple of years, and the only things growing have been a vast amount of weeds.  I'm hoping that with a little more time on my hands this year that it might be a different story.

Tell me about your garden.  Do you love gardening or loathe it, is it a haven of tranquility, order and calm, or a haven of wildflowers and wildlife?

For a little more garden inspiration pop over to my { in . the . garden } pinterest board.

{ have a happy day }

{ Over the Rainbow }

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. keep looking up . there may be a rainbow waiting for you .

I'm not sure that rainbows ever go out of fashion, but they seem to be popping up everywhere at the moment.  Well, everywhere except up the sky so high, despite having the perfect sunshine / showers / sunshine weather for them.

In the absence of any actual, real life rainbows, here's my pick of the virtual ones that I've spotted, and at least with these, they will last a little longer than those fleeting glimpses you only ever seem to catch of the ones above.

{ have a colourful day }

. inspired . #11 .

i love this time of year . summer is still lingering a little . some days are bright and sunny . & . cardi's and coats are still a distant thought . but . autumn makes it's presence felt . nights are darker and cosier . the hues in the garden are changing from glorious greens to warmer golden tones . there's a hint of what's to come . but . it's not quite here yet .

i was lucky enough to hear Jo Malone speak at this weeks Autumn Fair . she is a very inspiring woman who speaks from the heart . but isn't afraid to talk about the realities of life either . she spoke at length about making mistakes . about being human . about getting it wrong . about life being hard . she also spoke about life being an adventure . about trusting your instincts . about taking time to be inspired in order to feed your creativity .

so today's post is inspired by the changing seasons;  by the spices & tones of Jo's latest scent Smoked Plum and Leather;  by this Back To School time of year;  by all the lovely cosiness we have to look forward to in the coming Autumn months .

. inspired#11 .

. goodbye summer . back to school . plum and leather . hello autumn .

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. for lots more inspiration and images take a look at my Pinterest board .

. have a hAppy dAy .

. yOu're One in a melOn . { twelve ways to make . eat . & . party . with a watermelOn } .

last friday i took a short vacation to Kellerman's . courtesy of the Secret Cinema . there were a lOt of watermelOn's in the shape of beachballs . dresses . hats . bags . & . a few real life watermelons . given that the watermelon has only one small reference in the film { the film being Dirty Dancing if you hadn't already realised } namely the line spoken by Baby { I carried a watermelon } . just shows what an iconic line that has turned into .  & . it's also the line that i haven't been able to get out of my head since . it was an incredible night, one i'm hoping to be able to share a little more of in the coming weeks, but for now i'm sharing a few ideas to make . eat . & . party . all inspired by those infamous watermelOns . 

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{ isn't that umbrella just the sweetest thing ? }

. 4 . 5 . 6 .

{ lovely limeade . chocolate bark . cutest cookies }

. 7 . 8 . 9 .

{ party . party . party }

. 10 . 11 . 12 .

{ pretty plates . party props . pinatas } 

. have a hAppy dAy .

. hAppy weekEnd .

. 1 . hues of indigo at MaboKids . spotted at BabyccinoKids .

. 2 . white with pops of daisies at MilkMagazine . photographed by AnnaMalmberg .

. 3 . red . white . & . blue . to celebrate the 4thJuly . spotted at HooligansMagazine .

. 4 . what the best dressed walls are wearing . quirky makeovers by AlijoeDesigns .

. 5 . what the best dressed girls are wearing . beautifully illustrated by EmmaBlock .

. 6 . lOving the new strawberry print from Thornback&Peel .

. 7 . lOving the cute comfort box from KimsLittleMonsters .

. 8 . don't you just lOve the word bOmbdiggity !

. 9 . cUte stripe shOrts . just because .

. & . finally . would lOve to be celebrating a win for AndyMurray at the WimbledonFinal . 

. & . these would be the perfect drink to do that with . StrawberryChamomilePaloma . chEers .

. have a wOnderful weekEnd .

. hAppy weekEnd .

. 1 . yAy . finally found a little time to share some lovely things with you all !

{ starting with this cUte dIy vase from Kailo Chic } .

. 2 . who knew that hanging out at the laundrOmat could look this lOvely ?

{ by Paulette did . not one . not two . not three . but four lOvely Lavomatic shoots ! } .

. 3 . wOnderfully surreal papier mache masks !

{ created by the artist Elsa Dray Farges }

. 4 . prEtty pOm pOms . 

. 5 . cAmping just got a whole lot more appealing thanks to Orla Kiely .

. 6 . in days before sAtnAvs we had super pretty maps instead . 
{ is it wrong that i kind of miss those days ? }
. 7 . from the literal & the precise . to . the abstract & the imaginary .
. 8 . my thought for today .
. 9 . spOtted on pinterest . flowers to brighten up your day .
. & . finally . soup for a { british } spring saturday . 
{ and . lOve the idea of sweet potato wedges to dUnk ! } .

. have a hAppy dAy .

. mAy flOwers .

as good as the shOpping is around most big towns & cities now there are still some stores that remain unique to lOndon . Liberty is one of those & one that i always look forward to pOpping into . & . particularly over the past few years with the various collaborations they have participated in . from Hermes in 2009 . Blahnik & Barbour . Acne & Erdem . through to the ongoing partnership with Nike .

the latest marries the classic Liberty florals with the modern LifeWear philosophy of Uniqlo . easy to wear shapes in some of Liberty's most recognisable prints for women & for littleOnes . it has many covetable pieces . 

it has also been beautifully shot by the iconic fashion photographer Nick Knight . who has brought his own unique vision to the fusion of past & future .

{ all images by NickKnight for Uniqlo }

fabulous florals for a mAy dAy

. have a hAppy dAy .

. 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 .

 { 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 }

 { 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 }

{ 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 .

. fOols gOld .

we're a day away from April . & . from April Fool's Day . there will be the usual fOolish things in the news . the papers . & . facebook i'm sure . in the meantime i'm busy planning a fOolish fUn fUnfetti cake for my next clAndestine cAke clUb event . { think sprinkles . funfetti . lOts of layers . & . strawberry milkshake } .

amongst the myriad ideas that whirled around my mind before deciding on the funfetti cake was a very whimsical golden drip cake like this wOnderful one . or . this swEet one { which i still have a lOnging to do . & . see an icecream themed event in the not too distant future ! } . & . so out of all my searching for golden inspiration on Pinterest came this collection of golden images . reminding me of the phrase ' all that glitters is not gold ' . certainly no gold amongst these gorgeous images . but an awful lot of glitter & gilt .

. 1. 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 .

see you in aPril

. have a gOlden glitter filled dAy .

. eAster eggs & bOb-tailed bUnnies . { twelve lovely dIy's for easter time } .

a very chocolatey blOg post from a good friend pOpped up this morning & reminded me that eAster isn't too far away now . for the past few years i've liked the idea of making my own eggs & as this year i'm cutting down on sugar & trying to eat as cleanly as possible, it seems the perfect year to have a go . & . to be honest when they look as good as these ones do then i don't think i'd be missing out by not buying one from the shops .

but whilst i'm waiting for my easter egg moulds to be delivered i thought i'd share some of the easter dIy's i've spotted whilst busily pinning eAster ideas to pinterest . from simple monochrome black & white . to . the brightest of neons . i'm hOping there's something there to take your fancy & make you want to pull out your paper & scissors & get creative for eAster .

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{ black . & . white }

. 4 . 5 . 6 .

{ gilded . with . gold }

. 7 . 8 . 9 .

{ copper . & . neons }

. 10 . 11 . 12 .

{ bright . & . colourful }

i think a glittery gold eAster with pOps of neon colour would be perfect this year . a few eAster decorations around the house . & . a few homemade gifts to send out . & . that should brighten up these still dull days wOnderfully .

. have a hAppy { hOppy } dAy .

. inspired . #7 .

exactly one year ago i had just arrived in aUstralia for my first visit . staying with my relatives in brisbane i'd enjoyed a first day of acclimatising to the heat { no, an eight mile run on my first morning wasn't a good idea . yes, it was cut a little bit short . and no, i wouldn't be trying that again ! } and making plans for my first day in the city . first on my list of ' things to see & do ' { after sampling the first of the many lovely coffee shops brisbane, indeed aUstralia, has to offer } was taking in the museums & art galleries, including GOMA . 

i'd first read about Yayoi Kusama's obliteration room back in 2012 but hadn't had the opportunity to see it at the Tate . & . although there were now several around the world had forgotten that the original room was indeed at the Gallery in Brisbane . so it was a happy surprise when i spotted { no pun intended ! } the signs . well . spotted the spOts actually . & . followed them all the way to the bright . colourful . slightly headache inducing dizziness of the room . handed a sheet of stickers i wandered around the once white room, now ' obliterated ' by Yayoi's beloved polka dots . dots cover spOts . spOts on spOts on dOts on spOts . it's a riot of pattern created out of the complete randomness of strangers;  originally for littleOnes, it now draws in the young & old alike to add to this ever changing piece of art . it made me smile then . & . the memory makes me smile now .

. inspired . #7 .

. yayoi kusama . monochrome . spots . rainbow . polka dots .

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. see more on my pInterest bOard .

. have a wonderfully dOtty day .

. pAntone cOlour { s } of 2016 .

when pantone announced their colour { s } of the year for 2016 i think a shudder must have passed through anyone who has ever been involved in putting together a newborn layette range . the memories of the eternal search for that perfect pale pink . { not too blue . not too yellow . not too bright . not too dull } . & . that perfect pale blue . { not too red . not too green . not too bright . not too dull } . & . just when you thought you'd found that perfect shade . replicated onto the interlock & velour that were the key fabrics in those ranges it never failed to . well . just disappoint . 

and so . pantone's choice of rose quartz { P13-1520 } & serenity { P15-3919 } . colours that represent the gender stereotypes of boys & girls like no other . 

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have we grown to love them yet ?

see lOts more pale pink & bashful blue on my pInterest bOard

{ rose quartz . & . serenity }

. have a hAppy dAy .

. dreAming . of a white christmAs .

three short days to go . & . my tree is finally up & decorated . paper snowflakes at the windows . there are still a few gifts to wrap & cards to write . mince pies to bake & treats to make . 

but for now i'm enjoying a moment of quiet . & . some lovely simple christmas inspiration courtesy of pinterest . 

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. have a peaceful day .

. hAppy fridAy .

. 1 . these angel baubles are sO adOrable . a great holiday dIy for you & your littleOnes .

       { wonderfully created by Heidi from den kreative sky via Enfant Terrible Magazine } 

. 2 . a gOrgeous snOwflake patterned cardi to knit designed by docksjo .

. 3 . or if you prefer your knits already knitted take a look at Turnip & Doe .

       { & thankyOu to Paul & Paula for sharing on their blog } 

. 4 . beautiful seasonal colours from Leoca .

. 5 . oh . look who's giving their outfit an airing !

       { only seven more sleeps to go }

. 6 . and doesn't this bear bag make the best sack for all those presents ?

. 7 . spOtted on Instagram . @merimeriparty . pom pom's & reindeers .

. 8 . one of my favourite christmas quotes . from one of my favourite christmas films .

       { so beautifully illustrated by Peter Strain } 

. 9 . and a Christmas tale by P.L.Travers . the Mary Poppins lady .

. & . finally . this weekend will see a little more christmas baking .

        { including some of these lOvely lemon frosted gingerbread cOokies } 

. have a hAppy dAy .