: scavenger hunt :

my first time joining in today with the amazingly talented Ashley Sisk who puts together a list of photos we need to come up with during the week to share every Sunday. 
Scavenger Hunt Sunday

: emotion :
my girls loves to jump & especially on the beach

: from a flowers point of view :
here is me looking at it looking at me


: natural frame :
taken from my car at one of my favourite spots

: letters :
a little wind vane

: bliss :
for me it is bliss to sit down to a hot cup of tea & enjoy a little something chocolaty





Don't follow me, I'm lost too?


The other night, my post was so offensive I lost five followers.

Yes, five people chose to leave my accidental-cult of followers* after revelations that my husband's Italian family were... a lovely, warm family.**

Hmmmmm.... that can't be right.

Of course it isn't. Followers drop off and join in on this blog all the time. Except for the fact that five abruptly exited at once, I may not have even noticed.***

But I remember the first time I 'lost' a follower, I was mortified - why would someone want to unfollow me. Was it something I said? Was I not fun enough? Was I, gasp, boring?

Oh, fickle followers, I thought. But I know different now.

Followers come and followers go, such is the merry roundabout of blogging life. New faces in, some faces lost. A little trace left behind or none whatsoever. There are so many so fabulous blogs out there (my latest 'must read - at least whenever I can' is Emily over at The Beetle Shack) that it's really, really hard not to let the eye wander off to landscapes new. It's hard to choose the blogs that you'll follow and stick with.

And how marvellous is that!

Have you misplaced a follower? How did it make you feel?


* Seriously, since when were the David Koreshs of the world involved in internet platform development?
** What is even more of a shame is that I named the post 'part one', indicating that I'm going in for another round soonest.
*** This is a lie.

[Follow Me tights from here are actually Twitter tights, but still...]

Pretty wrapped soaps

Bird Apothecary Jar filled with pretty soaps
We have started work on our new laundry room and cloakroom. So, after months of looking around the internet for cute, pretty ideas I have started to get my interior accessories ready! Don't you just love the part where you get to accessorize a new room?

I thought my bird glass apothecary jars from Modern Chic Home would look great in my cloakroom and would match my bird trail fabric blind (which I have yet to make!).

Today I am sharing with you my large bird apothecary jar that I have filled with hand wrapped pretty soaps and mini Cath Kidston guest soaps in colours to match my bird trail fabric. I decided it would cost me a small fortune to fill my large glass apothecary jar with the pretty Cath Kidston soaps so I bought a pack of pure vegetable soaps form Waitrose that were wrapped in white paper. I then wrapped two in blue polka dot wrapping paper, with a band of lace tape, pink polka dot ribbon, finished off with blue rik rak. Another two I wrapped in floral wrapping paper with a band of pink and white striped ribbon and a further two in pink polka dot wrapping paper.


Floral & Polka dot Soaps
Soap wrapping supplies
Hand wrapped soaps
Pretty Cath Kidston soaps


Have a sweet day!

this week I am grateful for



























lots more gratefulness 
over @ maxabella loves


what are you grateful for?

This week I'm grateful for... oranges


Fruit and I are wary of each other. Every time I start to think I kinda like it, it tosses me a frigid manadarin or a wanton pear. When it's good, it's very, very good, but when it's bad it is just so darn awful that I start to realise that the thing about a Snickers Bar isn't that it's convenient or addictive 'cos of the high salt/sugar/fat combo... no, it's successful because you always know what you're going to get.

Fruit isn't like that. Yuuuummmmm.... Snickers Bar... sorry, where was I?

But, this week I'm grateful for...

139. Oranges - sorry, Ms Winterson, but they actually are the only fruit that seems to be tolerable most of the time.

140. Baking - flour puffs, oozy dough, greasy hands, fragrant warmth, spoon-licking goodness. Substituting wholemeal flour means it's all good for you, right?

141. My pathetic little heater - yeah, yeah, I know I said last week that I really love the cold. But that was cold days. Not, you know, later at night when you're freezing through your four layers and your feet just won't warm up without a little help. Not then. So, we thought about getting ducted reverse-cycle air-con and I got it costed up and then I realised that my pathetic little radiator heater wasn't as bad as I thought...


So, what's making you smile today? Add your I'm Grateful For post to the list below (and please, we love you, but it really does matter that your post is a Grateful one and not just a random), add the button (grab the code from my sidebar and paste it into your post) and pretty-please add a link back to me. Then pop over to visit other bloggers who are spreading a little sunshine. 





[Image from How About Orange - another fabulous orange that I love to indulge in as often as possible! Thanks Jess!]

Friday Feature - Kirsten Jones

Kirsten Jones
Kirsten Jones

Welcome to my new series of posts, Friday Feature. This week I am sharing with you the delightful work of painter, Kirsten Jones. I first discovered Kirsten's work at the Affordable Art Show on King's Road several years ago. I treated myself to one of Kirsten prints called "Blue Bikini" as I was designing swimwear at that time. I can't wait to hang it in my new laundry room!

Kirsten Jones was born in Hartlepool in 1968 and grew up on the island of Jersey before moving to Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England where she gained a B.A. Hons Fine Art Degree.

"Kirsten is inspired by 'collections' of treasured objects and their remembered or imagined histories. Each piece has a subtle narrative,which she creates by collaging vintage envelopes, stamps, dictionary text and maps. These clues evoke memories of the places objects were found or bought. Once the collage stage is complete, Kirsten paints over the richly layered surface using gesso, inks and washes of acrylic paint."

She currently resides in Berkshire where she also runs Barn Acre Gallery, holding biannual exhibitions showing her full collection of prints and new paintings along with up to 50 other invited artists.

Happy Friday sweets!

Belly Baby

Where's your belly Liv?!

7-2B

original outtake photo that I ended up liking after playing around with it!

&& tomorrow is my sonogram! I'm hoping two things: my placenta is where is needs to be and I get to see a glimpse of my little's face :) afterwards I get to spend the day with hubby and celebrate our upcoming anniversary!