blush & bashful x

i love the line from steel magnolia's where shelby declares her wedding colours to be blush & bashful...so much more poetic than simply describing them as pink...

{top: kari herer; next: gaultier via dazed digital; next: via dress design decor; next: tim walker via making records; next: dylan thomas via madebygirl; & last: audrey in breakfast at tiffany's}

for now

xx

my vintage party x

i have found the most wonderful company, not too far from me, that hire out vintage crockery & accessories for teaparties & weddings. am slightly envious & can't believe that i've not thought of that as a business before.....what a wonderful job to have a genuine reason {not that not having a genuine reason has stopped me} for searching out & buying lots of vintage tea sets....

*my vintage party* also has the sweetest vintage caravan available for hire.....her name is lola & she's lucky enough to be furnished in cath kidston.....enjoy..x

{all images from my vintage party}

had a lovely day at home today

bathroom all installed & now just waiting for paint & all the fripperies

photos soon

x

a spot of tea x

really cute teabag wedding favours.....

{via project wedding}

love the red & white spots

&

really enjoying lots of cups of tea now i'm back in england.....one of the very best things about being home

xx

end of summer x

lovely soft images from franciose rachez....they remind me of the colours of the end of summer, the promise of still warm days, soft colours blurring into autumn days....and jam making with summer fruit......

*j'adore les samedis*

*romantique lumiere*

*vintage confiture*

back home tomorrow

&

get to see my {nearly} finished bathroom

xx

decorating.....x

feeling a little unsettled at the moment.....think it's the anticipation of so many nice things about to happen.....and particularly my new bathroom. after living with a very very bare shell of a bathroom for what seems like forever, it will be absolute heaven to have a gorgeously new & shiny bathroom to luxuriate in.....whilst most of the basics like the bathroom suite, flooring & tiles {and yes, treating myself to these beautiful, beautiful tiles as splashback to the sink} i can now start thinking of all those finishing touches....

{mikael dubois via johner}

....i don't quite have the room for the rolltop bath, but i love the colours and the light & airy feel this has, with gorgeous vintage touches.....lovely inspiration

bye bye for now
xx

how does your garden grow.....x

i feel posh today as i now officially have a gardener! it was so nice to come home today & be able to see the garden once more, not just weeds & very very long grass......there is still a way to go before it's the cottage garden of my dreams, but it's moving in the right direction...

{love of gardening via flickr}

xx

the sun is still shining.....x

....and will hopefully keep on shining until the weekend....i've a greenhouse to clean & tidy ready for tomato plants my dad is starting to grow for me.....

....have great intentions of getting up very very early on saturday to strim away the dandelions that have settled very happily in the front garden, and whilst i try & convince myself that they look quite romantic & countryish, i know that they really don't, and the house is gaining that embarrassingly unkempt, unloved look....

{weheartit via discoanimal}

goodnight
xx

white.....x

gorgeous home

i love the cleaness & lightness of so much white

with the injection of saturated darks

{skona hem}

i heart the sofa
i heart the filing cabinet
&
i really heart the pleated lightshades

xx

looking forward.....x

to a lovely long weekend, and hoping the sun will shine a little.....

.....i can't remember where i found the link to this site, but it makes me wish i lived a little nearer to sydney or melbourne so i could take a visit to *lee mathews*.....it has the feel of an australian *anthropologie*.....would love to hear from anyone who had been, to see if it lives up to it's promise....

on-line shop is coming soon

please please
hurry up
even if all i'll be able to do is *window*shop
......

only one more day till the weekend
xx

going home....xx

this trip has been a strange one.....i think mainly because of the strange situation everyone found themselves in due the icelandic volcanoe.....i have often been away from home & wished i were home, but have, luckily, never found myself in the situation where i couldn't actually get home even if i wanted.....i truly hope that all those left stranded have now found a plane, train or automobile back home, or at least have new plans to get there in the near future......me, well i'm very grateful, for possibly the first {and most likely, only} time that i had already decided to extend my trip by a few days, and so will be able to board my plane tomorrow morning, and be home for sunday tea....a very welcome thought indeed....

{never have these words seemed more appropriate than this past week}

top {prettythings via flickr}
bottom {mrsoddles via weheartit}

have a wonderful weekend
see you on monday
xx

i heart......x

....this gorgeous leather chair

(gorgeous) vintage leather armchair from *rose&grey*

a lot

i have a little space created by a chair sold on ebay
sold chair for £210.00
this chair £795.00

oops!

hope your weekend has been a lovely one
xx

knit 1 purl 1 x

another monday, another blanket of snow....hope you've had a good start to your week....i'm feeling very lucky to have another week on holiday from work (although i am popping in for a quick meeting tomorrow!) and am going to make the most of each day....

vintage knitting needles by emma lamb via flickr

....inspired by all you creative lovelies i have taken up the knitting needles again, lovely new cath kidston knitting needles, currently working their way through a cream cable cushion cover....i had ambitiously wanted to start with a cable throw but thought it might be a little more realistic to start with something a little smaller....

handknit lace accent pillow by frenchpressknits via etsy

....i also want to learn how to crochet, properly, i have a vague recollection of sitting "crocheting" when i was younger, in fact i think i was just repeating the same stitch over & over with no real goal in mind....but i love the granny chic cushion covers & squares from the lovely emma lamb and would love to have a few of my own scattered around the house.....

off now to brave the snowy roads for dinner with friends
xx

a snowy, snuggly sunday x

a lovely sunday spent

listening to lily & nora, baking fruit teabread, and cupcakes, making more lovely cards, buying vintage buttons, ribbons & lace, reading vintage inspirations, and watching the snow still falling in the garden

enjoy the last moments of your weekend
xx

neat & tidy x

it has been so so cold today....another day tucked up in the house, although supplies (a.k.a chocolate) are running low, so will be venturing out tomorrow....

have had a fun afternoon making cards....have been thinking for a while now of opening my own etsy shop, inspired by all the fun and creativity so many of you show.....oh and the drawfulls of vintage crockery & linens that i'd forgotten were squirrelled away in the house & found whilst cleaning....any tips & advice greatly appreciated?

will leave you today with this delightfully cute suitcase, used to organise stationary & all sorts...

seen at *we heart it*

i can't seem to find the original source for this....if anybody could help?

wishing you a lovely end to the week
xx

snow x

a very belated happy new year to everyone.....i've had a lovely few days away from my laptop, and am now enjoying the deluge of snow that has arrived from the warmth & comfort of home. the supplies are in, the heatings turned up, cup of hot chocolate in hand and plenty to do here....

images from here & here

when there's snow on the ground,
i like to pretend i'm walking on clouds
quote from *animal crossing* by takayuki ikkaku, arisa hosaka & toshihiro kawabata

have a lovely day
xx

eat, drink & be merry x

there's something so nostalgic about christmas food.....i suppose only to be expectedwhen so much of people's christmas is to do with traditions, whether they are general seasonal traditions or familial.

my mum always makes her own christmas puds which i absolutely adore and wish would last longer than they always do......i love turkey, but could quite happily skip it in favour of a big plateful of roast potato's and lovely veg & the ubiquitous stuffing.......leaving lots of turkey for my very very favourite turkey sandwiches, which have to be on the freshest of white bread with lots of homemade stuffing......mincepies - can happily take or leave them.....

i might start my own tradition this year, giving christmas cookies along with christmas cards.......i am quite taken with baking at the moment, and just love these christmas cookies from *canelle-vanille*

favors by canelle-vanille
via flickr

what a lovely treat to recieve
xx

advent x

the start of christmas.......

did you open the first door of your advent calender yesterday?
do you think that branded & character chocolate advent calenders are now so commonplace that they are now the traditional calender, or, as i'm hoping, with our return to handmade & homemade values they might slowly diminish in popularity? i'm not sure, but if i was to think about having an advent calender this year, this one is top of the list......

advent buckets by sage
via *notonthehighstreet*

buckets to be filled (and then refilled next year) with small treats

have a days holiday from work today
(hurrah)
to be filled with xmas shopping
baking cupcakes, lemon shortbread & mini mincepies
a little more cleaning
making xmas cards

a busy but fun day
xx

tidy x

most weekends cleaning & tidying are the very last item on my *to do* list, but this weekend marked the start of my christmas cleanup.......i get to the point where i can't bear any mess and clutter and go through the house like a whirling dervish......so today, downstairs got the full tidy treatment, and i'm now sitting in my very tidy living room, with tealights & candles lit, enjoying this sunday evening....

gorgeous tealights on stairs
from
*weheartit*

i hope you have all had a lovely weekend
and enjoy your sunday evening
xx

it's cold x

i am back home
& even though it's colder, wetter, greyer than china, i am so so so pleased to be home.......

i love the autumn and the winter....
i love the early dark nights (you can sing to your hearts content in the car without everyone thinking you're a complete nut)
you have the perfect excuse for curling up on the sofa (well if it's raining out, why go out?)
and you can wrap up in cardi's and scarves and gorgeous winter coats

i love this coat from *cabbages & roses*

a soft puffball dress & opaques - just add oversized cardi

all from *cabbages & roses*

oh
and another great thing about the autumn
it means it's nearly
xmas
xx

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