home x

back in hong kong, back to posting.....i did find a sneaky way around the blogger ban in china, so i could see my blog, and post, but not with any of the editing tools, so no pictures, no links to sites, so no fun really!

i have a couple of days back in hong kong before returning to china....but must confess i am missing home a little today....i think this quote sums up my feelings today....

there are no foreign lands
it is the traveler only who is foreign
quote by robert louis stevensen

....so forgive me if today i post some photos of things which remind me of home and friends xx

curling up in my armchair with a great book to read

tea & cupcakes....no explanation required!

dressing up to go out with friends
x

my garden, oh so messy, but i love it
i wonder if the tomato plants have now completely taken over the greenhouse?

are you playing at home or away today
enjoy
xx

happy birthday x

happy birthday to my mum.......
mum, i hope you have a lovely day, and so sorry i am so far away on your birthday xx

awesome x

a huge thank you to katherine at *oh french!* who tagged me with an award a few days ago.....

thank you
xx

so, now i'm to list 10 things about myself and pass on the award to 10 other blogs....

me first....
1. i would love to learn to fly (a plane, not like superman!)
2. in my head i'm a fantastic singer (in reality, probably not so much)
3. i would love to open a florist shop, combined with a bookshop & farmshop style deli
4. i cry at most movies & most books, whether they're sad or not
5. i'm scared of the dark....
6. ....but i love thunderstorms
7. my favourite foods are freshly made ham sandwiches, and greek yogurt with honey (but not at the same time)
8. my favourite book is *to kill a mockingbird*
9. one day, just for a while, i would like to live in paris
10. i would love to be named a *blog of note* one day (hint, hint!)

now 10 lovely, lovely blogs....
*a heart in provence
*a view to
*after hours
*an apple a day
*concrete and honey
*dottie angel
*duften as erteblomster
*make room for living
*moas tid og rom
*pretty.little.world
enjoy.....
xx

leaving on a jet plane x

window by leenah via flickr

all my bags are packed

i'm ready to go

i'm standin here outside your door

i hate to wake you up to say goodbye

but the dawn is breakin

it's early morn

the taxis waitin

he's blowing his horn

already i'm so lonesome

i could die

so kiss me and smile for me

tell me that you'll wait for me

hold me like you'll never let me go

xx

lyrics from *leaving on a jet plane* by john denver

i had completly forgotten that this was used in armegeddon...yes, i know it's cheesy, but it's cute cheesy, and it makes me smile! if you hadn't already guessed i'm on my travels again, and will be in hong kong & china for the next two and a bit weeks. now i know about the blogger ban in china i've come prepared, and will have prepared posts about my favourite blog reads to be published for the days i'm in china

hope you are having a lovely weekend, enjoy what is left of sunday

xx

coffee and cream x

i'm not addicted to coffee, an answer, i had some dreams,
montblanc, framing light, boulange de cole valley,
chocolate banana salted caramel & peanut cake, millinery roses, the cupcake sans kid

he was my cream, and i was his coffee
and when you poured us together, it was something
quote by josephine baker

slightly bizarre day, mostly spent in various coffee establishments in peterborough.....my passport was full with visa's & stamps and needed renewing before i fly at the weekend, so a 4 hour wait for a new one today.....so first there was a stop at starbucks (drinks: grande skinny latte extra shot, passion fruit and mango smoothy) (people: 2 women, work colleagues at a guess, who did not stop talking from the moment they sat down till i left, aprox 1 hour!, 1 fairly cute man drinking a mocha, which i never think of as a man's drink? - is that a silly comment?) a quick shopping trip to spend a silly amount of money on cd's (very strange mix of blondie, michael jackson, beyonce & take that - yes my music taste is very very eclectic!!) - and then onto cafe nero (drinks: grande americano with skimmed milk, english breakfast tea) (people: a very strange mix of various nationalities, it was like sitting in a european coffee shop, especially the attire of cropped denim jeans, a little strange, and a highly amusing trio of husband, wife & his mother, in which he seemed to be getting completly hen-pecked by both women?).....nosy, me? yes!

till tomorrow
xx

white x

milk, untitled, all things white,
the will and the wish, whites day, white blossom,
clothes, spring light, digitallacedress

don't attach yourself to anyone who shows you the least bit of attention because you're lonely. loneliness is the human condition. no one is ever going to fill that space. the best you can do is know yourself.....know what you want
quote from *white oleander*

wishing you a light & bright monday
xx

sunday x

a quiet day of cleaning, reading & list making.....

1. buy my mum a birthday present
2. passport photos (yuK!) & passport application form
3. find a gardener to look after my gardens whilst i'm away (not because i'm posh, but more to save my embarassement of the garden turning into a jungle!)
4. buy new books to read whilst away (any recommendations anyone?)

& quite a few other things that i won't bore you with today......

i love seeing what other people do with their sunday's, though judging by the results you get searching *sunday* on flickr, coffee, flowers, lovely food, and friends seem to be a common theme......then there is sfgirlbybay, also known as victoria smith, and her series *sunday in the city* as seen on her flickr stream and her blog

take a look....

*rosy outlook*

*tea house*

*french laundry*

*patterns*

*haute couture*

*teatime*

*picture postcard*

hope you have had a lovely weekend
&
are now ready for the new week ahead
xx

the weekend x

it's the weekend.....
a day doing little, except catching up with family, friends and home

tomorrow i'm going to.....
.....take time to see my mum & dad, catch up on reading favourite blogs, & do a little bit of shopping for my next trip

today i'll leave you with some photographs from *happy loves rosie* of her new lovely, vintage, and oh so cute, holivan.......

visit her here & here

jealous.....me?
well, yes actually!

xx

cabbages & roses x

i think these must be the epitome of easy, but elegant dressing, & i think there might just be enough summer left to justify one last splurge....perfect for a greek island, or a gypsy caravan don't you think?

all clothes & photos from cabbages & roses

trying my very best to feel more inspired today after yesterday's moan!
spotted the quote below whilst randomly looking......how true, but how easy to forget?

*we either make ourself miserable or we make ourself happy. the amount of work is the same*
source unknown

take care for now
xx

gypsy caravan x

idea for holiday #4

sorry
i still can't get the idea of a holiday out of my mind
i love my work, but sometimes feel i havn't a single creative idea left to put down on paper
(which isn't a particularly good thing for someone who heads up a design team)

so how about getting away from it all, in a place surrounded by colour, texture and pattern
this beautiful caravan is found on the south coast of france, in what looks like beautiful woodland, and it looks the kind of place where the sun would shine all day long

how cute is this kitchen area?
all pictures from volpeimages

hope your week is off to a lovely start
xx

fly away x

idea for holiday #3

lets fly away
to
here

church in oia by marcelgermain

stairway in oia by marcelgermain

santorini door by yannislarios

santorini beauty by shadouphotography

to sit under blue skies all day long
and do
absolutely nothing
except
catch up on all the books i've bought to read
eat the freshest fruit, soak up lots of sunshine
& catch up on sleep, lots of sleep

the end of the weekend is nearly here

ready for another week?
xx

happy birthday x

my dad has the most beautiful garden
colourful, full of gorgeous flowers, vegetable patch overflowing with fresh beans, carrots, potatoes, fruit bushes & trees
i love it....so lovely and familiar....x

garden shed by embryonicboy via flickr

happy birthday
to
my dad
xx

the flowers x

*there are always flowers for those who want to see them*

quote by henri matisse

lazy tulips by danske via flickr

positivity x

inspire me thursday.....positivity x

alive by thresca

darling doilies x

feeling quite tired today......would have loved to have taken a little time off work but it's a really busy time at the moment so just biding my time till the weekend....

....starting to work on Autumn 2010 at the moment, and looking at really pretty stories for girls, lots of trims, ribbons and lace......we have the most adorable picture on one of our boards of a girl in a wider lace headband.....roll on Autumn!

....speaking of lace, catching up on internet reading and spotted these lovely ideas at *country living*.....

all images from country living

until tomorrow
xx

home sweet home x

home sweet home by whimsical views via flickr

mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam
be it ever so humble, there's no place like home
quote from jh payne *home sweet home* 1823

xx

waiting to go home x

i wish i found china as cute as i find this bag....

china dolls shoulder bag by kittyblossom via flickr

....i don't, not today!


p.s. would really really really like to be back home now xx