Kitchen Heaven

I have fallen head over heels in love with the gorgeous, understated kitchen seen over on the Me & Alice blog.

Where to start with this piece of heaven?

The natural honey toned wooden floorboards?

The simple white walls?

The lovely displays on the clean white shelves?

The vintage wooden crates used to organise table linen?

The mismatched chairs at the dining table?

pretty much all of it then!

I am always wary of brilliant white kitchens - so many of the ones I have seen are cold or too modern for my tastes but this one is perfect.... Admittedly I would have to stick a bright red kettle on the side :-p hehe

xxx

Cute bits and bobs!

Loving the etsy shop INK + WIT - such cute little pieces - from patterned papers and stationary, to bunting and stamps with cute and quirky images (perfect for making your own cards and adding a personal touch to letters... if people send letters anymore!)

xxx

Apologies!

Oh. My. Goodness...

Apologies are definately in order as I have completely neglected the blog lately - I do honestly have very good reasons

a) Lily has been pretty ill with a viral infection (bad germs! probably because she puts everything she finds in her mouth!)

b) I have been busy working on not one but TWO weddings - the last one was Saturday 9th October, last weekend, and it was completely hectic - I think my body is still trying to get over the tiredness

c) Scott has been working loads so every minute we have spare to spend together we have been - it's horrible to not see him all day, spend a little family time together and then go off doing separate things!

ANYWAY...

I will be sure to post as much as possible this week to make up for my long absence, I am sure you all missed me! haha!

xxx

ps engagement shoot is this saturday and the dress i bought off of ebay to wear (gorgeous 1950's repro navy blue halterneck hasn't yet arrived aaargh!) xxx

Engagement shoot - but what to wear?

Yay! I am a very happy bunny today because I just booked our engagement shoot :-)

Ruby of Ruby Yeo Photography is flying over from Malaysia to see her sister and has very kindly agreed to shoot our engagement pictures!

Visit her blog here to see some of her work:

http://rubyyeophotography.blogspot.com/

Sooo I have a photographer, I have two locations (London Southbank where Scott proposed and Greenwich where we went on our first date), I have the fiance to be photographed with and so now all I need is something to wear!

I have absoloutely nothing post-baby that will look good for a photo shoot :-( I've ransacked the wardrobe and can find NOTHING so now its onto the web to find something just right for the engagement shoot!

Wish me luck, I'm going to need it!

xxx

Cute carnival themed engagement shoot!

OMG! How cute is this Carnival themed engagment party from green wedding shoes?

I am actually in love... and a little bit sad that despite being engaged for nearly two years (this christmas) we still havn't had one! I now desperately want one! The amazing stationary were designed by the bride's friend, the food was all organised by family and the decorations were DIY, borrowed or given as gifts... Dreamy!

See more on the bride's blog:

http://rachaelnicolephotography.com/blog/?p=1562

xxx

And whilst we are on the subject... Non-floral bouquets...

Images via google

How stunning are these bouquets? The first image is called a button bouquet (no surprises for guessing why?) and the second one is made completely out of felt flowers!

sooo stinking cute...

Unfortunately my husband to be doesn't share the same opinion - in his words they are 'strange' *tut-tut* maybe he is more traditional than I thought :-p

Well despite his inability to get past them being a bit 'weird' I think they are stunning, and I may just have to have a go at making one myself :-)

xxx

Non-floral Buttonholes



Buttonholes from Elizabeth Anne Designs and etsy seller Frittsrosenow

Lately I have become totally obsessed with sourcing out original ideas for DIY wedding projects. Whilst browsing Etsy for hours on end (as usual) I came across the idea of non-floral, handmade boutonnieres (buttonholes).
Traditionally these consist of a single flower - roses or thistles are popular and a small amount of greenery wired together and are given to the groom and groomsmen the morning of the wedding to wear on the day.
However I can think of nothing better than making one of these delightful buttonholes as a present for my groom and his groomsmen - my thinking being that a) they would work out a hell of a lot more budget friendly than the quote I got for £5 each (for rose and some weeds :-p) from the florist. b) they would look funky and unique and c) they would be a memento that lasted forever of our wedding day.


The two examples above are just two of the millions of ideas you could use - you could make them completely personal and individual to the man wearing it - or you could make the same for all the groomsmen and add a little extra touch to your husband-to-be's buttonhole. The first image shows a buttonhole made out of felt flowers and delicate beads and the second is, of course, made for a guitarist out of a tiny guitar and personalised wedding date pics.


There are endless ideas for ways in which to make your own buttonholes - button badges, felt flowers, twigs, feathers, mini plastic toys (what about incorporating fun superhero figures for the super-men in your life?) I know that something like this would go down very well with the men in mine!


xxx





Venue Woes

So these past few days I've been doing a lot of thinking about the type of wedding venue that Scott and I would like to get married at. However it's become clear that it is awfully hard to find reasonable wedding venues in London - particularly ones that meet my (quite fussy it seems) requirements.

My Ideal venue:

• A Blank Canvas - it's important to be able to inject our own personalities and colour scheme upon our venue - the last thing I want to be doing is having to make my flowers and bridesmaids dresses match the walls in a stuffy room... this may seem a bit random but imagine a Red and Black wedding theme in a blue and white roccoco style room... exactly my point!
• Outdoor Space - Granted outdoor space is rather limited in London but would it kill someone to open up a venue where you could have guests wander freely in pretty, scented gardens or at least a terrace where we could serve up BBQ and cocktails... clearly it would! The venues with outdoor space know that it is a valuable commodity and so charge through the roof for it - out.of.order methinks!
• Budget friendly! haha - now this is being unrealistic it would seem - a venue in London, with outdoor space for less than a hire fee of £4000 and without a minimum catering spend of £80 per head - pah foolish for even hoping for it!

Ok so maybe I am asking too much - but I just want our wedding to be perfect. Unfortunately perfection comes with a price... one which I would be unwilling to pay even if we could afford it!

Some of the dreamy but waaaay over budget venues I have been looking at this week:

The Imperial War Museum, London

Vinopolis, SE1

Kew gardens

Fulham palace

Queens House, greenwich

and my personal favourite: London Zoo (plenty of outdoor space but I can't imagine my guests being too comfortable with eating with the lions can you?

xxx

Anybody for a shot?... Of coffee that is :-)

There is nothing quite like a cup of turkish coffee (Kahve) to wake you up in the morning and I absoloutely love drinking from the dinky espresso style cups - particularly now I have my very own ashy grey set from Ikea (once again I heart Ikea!) 

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My new Ikea kahve cups... £2.59 for cup and saucer

Cute, cheap as chips and an ever so stylish accompaniament to my morning toast :-) xxx

Daytrip! We heart Ikea!

Spent today dawdling around the Ikea store in Croydon with two old school friends (believe it or not i've known them since primary school!) and Lily-Rose!

It was Lily's second trip to Ikea (which is one of mummy's favourite stores!) and her first time EVER to be sat in the little seat section of the shopping trolley which she loved... although I was a little less enthusiastic once she decided to try licking the metal bar at the front *GERMS!*

There was another great first for Lily today - Swedish meatballs with gravy and loganberries- she loved them, which is good because so do I and it was very exciting to see her tucking in to brand new food - feeding herself of course!

Aside from lunch and trolley experiences we brought home some little treasures at bargain prices... The first image is of the Duktig 14 piece felt vegetable basket set which cost just £5.99 and will be used for years to come for role play and the second are the Mula stacking cups at £1.99 which Lily already adores!

xxx

Cake Love... Yum!

Oooh found this cake on Project Wedding and it made me feel extremely hungry! I may have to forget the diet and pop down to tescos in the (very) vague hope that they stock something resembling this!

I've never been one to place much emphasis on wedding cakes but the more wonderful, creative cakes I see the more I begin to change my mind.

Although to be honest seeing the price tag that would go with a cake like this would probably stop me drooling anyway! hehe

xxx

Budget Special: Headpieces and Side Tiaras

Ok so whats a girl to do if her budget doesn't stretch to swarovski crystal encrusted Jenny Packham then?

I've spent the past few days hunting down glamorous, affordable alternatives that still look a million dollars and here are the two best I came up with...

The top design is (and you will never have guessed it!) from Topshop and is just £8 un.be.liev.able! So cute and so on trend it hurts. This design can be worn as a traditional alice band or as a 'side tiara' and could easily be glammed up by sticking some sparkly gems to the centres of the flowers! Now that is what I call a bargain.

The second design is more expensive at £88 from Glitzy Secrets (the home to the most fabulous costume style jeweller you could find) and although a little bit less affordable it is very luxurious and sparkly and would add that 'wow' factor to a wedding outfit with very little going out of the purse! Glitzy secrets have designs starting at as little as £16 but once I saw this 'Eternal Rose' I was stuck... there's no beating about the bush - I want it!

xxx

Spotlight on Jenny Packham - Accessories

This absoloutely stunning and ornate 'side tiara' is one of the new accessories in the 2011 Jenny Packham collection. It is called Acacia II and is a smaller, less elaborate (although you wouldn't guess it!) version of a previous design... imaginatively the design that it is based on is called 'Acacia'

My budget would never ever stretch to one of these beautiful and intricate designs (this one comes in at around £300 - a reasonable price for JP) but to be perfectly honest if I had a spare £300 it would all go on shoes!

xxx

Competition Win!

Wow! I am absoloutely thrilled to have won a competition on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings Blog for a Boudoir shoot.

Lou and Shaneen (the photographer) judged the entries on imagination and creativity and my entry for a literature/movie themed boudoir shoot came second place! Unfortunately as I was only runner up I didn't get a completely free photoshoot however Shaneen was extra generous and has offered me a heavily discounted shoot! Wowee! So i'm going to check the bank balance and beg and borrow to get the shoot of dreams.

My entry was for a shoot based on mine and Scott's favourite films and books - in particular Twilight, Alice in Wonderland and Indiana Jones!

Visit Shaneen's site at: http://www.rosewarnecoxphotography.co.uk/

and the amazing Whimsical wonderland weddings blog: http://whimsicalwonderlandweddings.blogspot.com/

xxx

It's all in the paper!

Continuing my interest in all of the little details that people put into making their wedding stationary amazing I found these invitations on Project Wedding.

I like the top set because the maps and calligraphy were all produced by the bride to be herself, the vintage cinema 'ticket' reflected the couples love of film, the printed invitation itself was on vintage floral fabric and hand sewn to card backing. SO much effort went into this and you can completely tell!

The second I love because... well just look at it! Each invitation was individually packaged in a coordinating box with SWEETIES in it :-) How cute is that?

xxx

A little something extra...

I am a big believer in the idea that it's the little things that make a big difference and that when it comes to weddings that it is the small details that people remember the most.

I came across these images on The Knot and Green Wedding Shoes and absoloutely love the way that these couple's invitations suites are completely infused with personality and detail. From the vellum printed inserts and photobooth strips to the absoloutely Ah-maz-ing handmade Vintage Book invitations that are unlike anything I have ever seen before.

The bride actually created the Book invitations herself - sourcing vintage books of love poetry and romantic stories, cutting out a section in the middle and printing all of the inserts etc - the copper plate pocket was made by her husband to be and the buttons were all from her grandmother's collection! So romantic, so personal and so unique!

I think i'm in love :-)

xxx

Big Fish, Little Fish

A few days ago Scott took me and my younger brother and sisters and Lily (a lot of us!) to the London Aquarium for the day...

It was the first trip for Lily and two of my sisters to the aquarium and they had a great time looking at all of the fish and the sharks, sting rays, jellyfish and crabs...

The all round favourites were the tropical fish in 'Nemo's Cavern' which we couldn't tear Lily-Rose away from and the Stingrays, with whom we spent a good hour watching them splash around and play in their open tank... unfortunately the rules have changed since I went with my primary school and you are no longer allowed to touch any of the fish which was a bit dissapointing as I had told all of them about how fun it was to feel the stingrays and the starfish in the tanks...

One tank I definately wouldn't be putting my hand in is the shark tank though! It was a great day but VERY expensive for all of our entry's and food etc... but definately worth it for the quality time we got to spend together which so rarely happens :-(

xxx

'Just keep swimming' Dory - Finding Nemo

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

Hiya

I am sooo sorry that I have been so neglectful lately - i've had a mega busy time this past couple of weeks, have been house sitting, puppy-sitting, looking after my younger brother whilst my parents are away on holiday and spending as much time as possible with my gorgeous fiance and our baby girl whilst he has the time off of work!

So what have you all been up to?

Here are just a few of the things i've been getting into in my absence:

Baking yummy lemon sponge cake and strawberry cheesecake for a BBQ party with some friends...

Spending time playing with Lily-Rose and her lovely activity cube (bargain from Tesco!)

Visiting the London Aquarium...

Taking a trip to the park...

And watching lots of movies with the other half...

Hope you've all had a great a couple of weeks as I have!

xxx

Unique Hand-illustrated Save-the-Dates

How cute are these hand-illustrated save the dates from Etsy shop FeliceDesign?

They would be perfect for mine and Scott's wedding - he's a coffee guy and i'm a tea drinker. I'd customize the design a bit more though but the essentials are there :-) Adorable!

xxx

Book inspired weddings

I totally love this vintage book inspired tablescape by Brancoprata at Marry You Me. What a great way to incorporate a little bit of personality into the wedding decor, and as an avid book-reading couple we will definately have to find a way to use this in our wedding... albeit without the doilies (i'm sure I have a phobia!)

Im thinking maybe stacks of books to rest the flower centrepieces on? Or maybe even a copy of one of our favourite books as a favour... expensive but very personal?

OOOooohhh *lightbulb* how about buying up books in bulk from local charity shops (or asking friends to donate), and covering them in brown kraft paper - the same way I used to cover my school text books in pretty wrapping papers... that way they will all be coordinated with the colour scheme and we could 'print' our own titles on the side :-)

My brain is going into overdrive on this book theme wedding inspiration... will think of some more to share soon

xxx