Weekend

Hello folks.  Just stopping by to see how your weekends are going... I don't think I'm alone when I say "I love the weekend!".  I've been at home this weekend catching up, cleaning, de-cluttering and feeling inspired by the changing season.  It's been a crisp and blustery couple of days, but the sun is shining and I'm enjoying wrapping up in scarves and socks.

Floyd is away tonight and I have my bestie coming over to keep me company - I can't wait.  We'll probably end up having a few glasses of our favourite cocktails (maybe too many) and then talking through the early hours.  We're going for sushi tomorrow and probably a bit of window shopping.  Just what the doctor ordered!

What do you have planned for the rest of your weekend?  I'd love to have a look at what you've been up to ('coz I'm nosey like that).

Tuesday's Tune: First Aid Kit

It's true, Summer has ended and a new season is upon us. With that come new musical vibes to get into whilst I'm busy crocheting away making warm things to wrap up in. This song is just perfect to lament the passing season (and the rest of the album is pretty perfect too). I'm looking forward to finding new playlists to keep me motivated through the ever darkening nights... le sigh.

The Gallery: Mademoiselle Maurice

I was blown away when I first saw these installations from French artist Mademoiselle Maurice.  I am a huge origami fan as it is, and have experimented with different origami features on my own walls at home (don't get me wrong - they were nowhere near this good!).  I especially love the fact that she has decided to put these installations in public spaces - sharing the beauty, but also making them fleeting as they will ultimately be weathered away.  You should check out her website because she's not only talented, she has a message too.  You can see her process in the video below:



Mademoiselle Maurice - Origami Street Art from ufunk parseError on Vimeo.

15 New Recipes

One of the things I put on my Birthday to-do list was to try 15 new recipes.  I have been quite good at trying out new recipes, but no so great at documenting them (sorry).  I love to cook, and love to eat even more!  Floyd is passionate about food and cooking too, so we're always up for trying new things and have quite a substantial collection of recipe books.  Above are just a few of the books I have been delving into recently.  Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall are safe bets for me... I've always enjoyed the things I've tried from their books so am pretty confident each time we try another one of their recipes.

I'm also a huge fan of Asian food and have tried many recipes in my time.  I like to think I'm getting more of an idea about the different flavours and ingredients (but I still have a lot to learn!).  The above book is a good place to start for those who may not have tried to cook Chinese food before.  We recently bought some bamboo steamers and have been steaming our own dim-sum (my fave!).

What are your favourite recipe books?  I'm always up for finding new recipes and food blogs, so leave links below if you have any you think are worth a nosey :)

4 Simple Goals

If you've been following me for a while you'll know that I love to make lists.  I'm a firm believer that if you write something down you're more likely to get it done and making goals is important for me to give me focus on the things I want to accomplish.  I'm not so great however at setting a deadline (with the exception of my Birthday list), so when I saw that Elsie from 'A Beautiful Mess' was repeating her 4 simple goals challenge I thought "why not?" and decided to play along.  The rules are:


1. Choose simple goals that will make your life richer and happier on a daily basis. Choose things you may not otherwise get done, but that are not difficult to accomplish.

2. Do not choose result oriented goals, choose activity oriented goals. for example.... instead of "lose 10 pounds", choose something like "eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day". Get what I'm saying? Positive actions instead of just the end result!

3. Choose goals that are personal that you believe will truly make your life richer just by doing them! They can be daily, weekly or one time experiences.

4. Choose a reward for each goal as it is accomplished! It can be a small or large reward- it's up to you.

5. Blog about your goals, each one as you achieve it and a big post when they are all finished before the new year!

 1. Frame Pictures - I have quite a few pictures that have been hidden away in cupboards, boxes and drawers for so long purely because I haven't got round to framing them.  It's such a shame and I need to do something about it.
2. Use my camera apps - I have a bit of an addiction to i-phone camera apps... there I admitted it, and now I have that off my chest I'm going to do something about it.  I'm going to make use of all the apps that lay dormant on my phone and add a bit of variety to my photos.
3. Meditate daily - this is something I have been trying out recently and I must admit I'm finding it really interesting.  I think there definitely is a benefit within meditation and I want to introduce it as a regular part of my daily life.
4. Showroom at least twice a month - there is an amazing independent cinema in Sheffield that me and Floyd are members of, but to get the best value for our membership we should go at least twice a month (which we haven't been doing - oops).  Now I've got more of a reason to change this poor attendance - and I'll get to see lots of good films along the way.

I haven't quite thought up what my rewards will be, but I'm sure I'll be able to think of something soon enough... If you are going to play along too I'd love to see what your goals are - leave a link to your blog below and maybe we can give each other encouragement.

Lois x

Spain

So I'm back from my sunny holiday in Spain with some great memories, a bit of sunburn and a few extra pounds around my tummy.  I had such a relaxing time, I'm quite sad to be back but happy to see my little Betty again.

If you've been following me on Instagram then you will have seen these pictures already.  I made the decision to not take my "real" camera with me on holiday so that I could properly switch off.  This decision I both regret and am glad about - a contradiction but nevertheless true.

I have come home with a new energy and motivation to make changes in my life.  I'm sure I will be blogging about it here soon.  Until then... :)

Butterflies

Ryan McGinley’s Beautiful Rebels from Ryan McGinley on Nowness.com.

I'm sharing this today because not only is it beautiful, but kind of relevant. Lately me and Floyd have been rescuing a fair number of moths that have somehow become trapped in our fusty flat. We've had to catch them, turn all of the lights off and try and ensure they make it out the window before we quickly shut them up again. It must (weirdly) be the season for them - I thought they came earlier in the year, but maybe I'm wrong?

I do love moths and butterflies, but not when they're flapping around my head when I'm trying to sleep!

Creative Mess

This is the state of my dining table recently.  We haven't eaten at it in weeks!  I've been pretty busy thinking up new ideas, making prototypes, re-making prototypes, designing packaging, crocheting, painting, creating and generally making a bit of a mess.

I feel like I've neglected my blog a little bit though in the process and for that I apologise.  I won't promise to fix that issue this week, because I've still got quite a bit to catch up on before I head off on my hols at the weekend (Spain this time - woohoo!), but I do promise that I have lots of plans for this little corner of the internet for when I get back so please bear with me.

For the time being I'm going to make some lists, draw up some sort of plan (I'm quite a visual person and need to see my goals drawn up in front of me) and make a promise to myself that I'm going to be more organised after my, fingers crossed, refreshing break.  Wish me luck :)

Kate Miss Jewelry

I discovered Kate Miss' shop when Emma posted some pictures from the new lookbook over on her blog the other week.  Now it is bookmarked as one of my favourites.  Not only do I love the pieces themselves, but the styling and photography for her entire shop is perfect.

Now I'm off to Hull for a surprise leaving party for my brother-in law who is leaving for Afghanistan for 6 months on his first tour with the Army.  It will be very sad to say goodbye, but we'll make sure he has a good send off.  I hope you're all having a good weekend.