Dear Lennon and Maisy, how have I not seen/heard you before? I am in love!
And... one day in Paris
What would you do if you’d never been to Paris before and you had one day, just one, precious day, to see as much of this magical city as you could? Where would you go? What would you see? That's the content of my post on the English Muse today, here. Want to receive regular "messages in bottles" from me? Subscribe using one of the links in the right hand column, or follow my blog with Bloglovin
Roll up, roll up. Great wonders will appear before your very eyes. What phantasm is this? Behold, the conjurings of the magic lantern, seen here in my post on The English Muse this week (hint: they do it with mirrors). And in other news, have you seen these dance blooms yet? Stunning, oui?
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The weekend is almost here! Time to pull out the camera and get creative...
1. Wearable photos
2. Instagram secrets
Those cheeky Instagrammers! I've been wondering how on earth they manage such amazing photographs, even with the help of the Instagram filters. Then I read this how-to and discovered what goes on behind the scenes. 3. The still life stylist
Still Life stylist Sonia Rentsch is guest blogging for the Design Files. I love her simple, quirky aesthetic. She says, "A fruit tree, so simple and evocative, is beautiful in and of itself – but how do I make it more? In a world saturated with imagery, how do I ask people to look again?" 4. Women of WWII
Take a look at this post and collection of archive photos from WWII on Hila Shachar's blog, le project d'amour. So moving, and thought-provoking. 5. Closeup worthy pink hair
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I am off to Sydney today! It's just a very quick visit to say hello to my dear friends and family before the baby arrives, before I am too pregnant to fly. I simply can't wait to see everyone. It has been way too long.
My friends have organised a little celebratory "baby is on the way" party for me for Saturday, although I've made them promise no games or presents, just the good company of people I love. How do you like your parties to go?
1. Party in a box
How about adorable little "parties in a box" like those pictured here (Valentine's Day party, St Patrick's Day party; and Easter party)? These and other fab ideas and beautiful photography are all on You Are My Fave. 2. Potter party
For ages now I've been planning to host a Harry Potter party for Emily. When I finally get around to it, she and her friends will sit down (ok lie down) for a marathon viewing of every one of the movies, and I am going to cook up a storm. At regular breaks in the movies we'll stop to eat... There'll be acid pops, chocolates and more on the Hogwarts Express; pie, drumsticks, roast vegetables and more for the Hogwarts Great Hall feast; spiced hot chocolate and crumpets in the Griffindoor Common Room; cauldron cakes and butterbeer on a Hogsmeade visit; and I've even found recipes for Skiving Snackboxes, which I think I'll give to Em's friends as take-away gifts at the end. Somewhere during the marathon I'll also need to slip in these amazing Golden Snitch cake pops, because they are just gorgeous. There's even more food planned (eek!) but it's too much to put on here. If you're looking for Harry Potter recipes, let me know in the comments and I can email you what I've gathered so far, with links to the recipes.3. Free candy-stripe party favours box
Wouldn't you like to give a box like this to your friends at your next party? I sure would! (So you should come to my next party). Amy from Eat Drink Chic designed these, and her instructions and design are FREE. 4. DIY bunting, badges & invitations
5. Wild forest party
One day when I throw a party just because, I will hold it in a beautiful forest. When you arrive at the edge of the forest, magical night-lights will guide you to the party, looking a little something like this photograph by Rune Guneriussen. At the end of the path, all of our friends will be waiting. We will warm our hands at a crackling bonfire. Festive music will play. Wine will flow. We will sing and dance until dawn. Want to receive regular "messages in bottles" from me? Subscribe using one of the links in the right hand column, or follow my blog with Bloglovin
Guess what I discovered yesterday? FREE creative digital design downloads! But for a short time only. The lovely folks at Creative Market are just starting up and, while they get ready to launch, they are offering some wonderful freebies to give early adopters a taste of what's to come. Here are some favourites I've already downloaded:
A set of vintage-style hang-tags
Beautiful herringbone patterns
Chalkboard-style icons
Snippets from a 1912 French text book on geometry
_I think this is a super smart marketing idea, kind of like the digital version of those little tasters they give you in gelati shops that sucker you in to buying the three-scoop cup when you weren't even hungry. I'm fairly certain creativemarket.com has won a future customer in moi. Also, I need to extend a big thanks to Nicole Balch of Making it Lovely for alerting me to this great opportunity.
Better late than never, in honour of Mr B's and my first anniversary two weeks ago, this post is all about love, love, love. Because, dear friend, love comes in all shapes and sizes. Ain't it grand? 1. Streethearts
Good street art just melts this heart of mine. I adore the creativity, vulnerability and generosity of street artists, and I know I've gone on about this on my blog many times before. So you can imagine how wide my smile was when I came across this collection of " dead hearts" by bicycle-loving, anti-asphalt Canadian artist Roadsworth. 2. Love notes
Danni of Oh, Hello Friend (one of my favourite blogs) made this book of notes, inspired by The Jolly Postman, a while back for her husband when he was having a tough week at work. She said there were about eight to nine notes in the book, with one even hidden in a tiny capsule. One day, I will do the same for someone I love. Isn't it adorable? 3. Wooden tiebreakers
Whenever you disagree with your lover, just flip for the right to be right! This is genius. "Relationship management in a tin," says distributor Greer Chicago. Found, as so many good things are, on Happiness Is. 4. Pop-up book proposal
When NYC student Chris decided to propose to his girlfriend Julia, he teamed up with paper artist Jackie Huang to make a pop-up book filled with moments from their relationship in which he would 'pop' the question. More from the book on Jackie's blog here. I have always loved pop-up books. In fact I think I want to be a paper artist when I grow up. (ps. Julia said yes.) 5. The glow
I can't wait to experience this kind of love in just a few short months. This image is from The Glow, a site that calls itself "a glimpse into the world of inspiring and fashionable moms" and features gorgeous photography of mothers and their children. I don't expect to be either inspiring or fashionable, but I'm really looking forward to becoming a mum.
Do you love me? No? Yes?
A comic by K-Hito, pseudonym of Ricardo García López (1890–1984), found by 50 Watts in the book Album de K-Hito (Ediciones Marte, 1973).
Daylight savings ended on the weekend and I couldn't be happier. Not only do we get a bonus hour to sleep in of a morning, the end of daylight savings also heralds the imminent onset of winter, my favourite season. Winter means reading books by the fireside (or the heater, now that we've moved). Hot chocolate and honey crumpets. Snuggling on the couch under a woollen blanket made of crocheted squares. Ugg boots. Candlelit dinners at which the candles are actually needed because the sun has set. Mandarins, beets and persimmons. Cuddling Mr B through the night. Morning walks wrapped in coat and hat and gloves, watching my breath form clouds. The autumn weather hasn't been entirely cooperative lately, climbing to the high 20s and even 30 during the day, but it's slowly dipping overnight. This morning it was just 9 degrees when I woke up. I grinned as I shivered. Winter also means cosying into soft, gorgeous woollen sweaters, and I am seriously crushing over these knits from Pugnat. True I'm not sure I could carry off a Princess Leia-esque knitted bonnet. But I love the unusual sculptured shapes of these pieces, the romantic-yet-futuristic drapery, the unexpected play of materials. They put me in mind of Brontes, and moors. What do you love most about winter?
Happy Friday, dear friend (brought to you by Thursday night since I will be up at the crack of dawn to attend DPCON12 tomorrow). Have a lovely one! 1. Words for strangers
I am such a big, big fan of Hermine Van Dijck of journal de jours, I don't know how I missed this wonderful project of hers, Words for Strangers. Hermine says, "Sometimes people need a secret message. A word from a stranger." And she is so right! She hangs little messages for strangers wherever she goes. And now, through the magic of the world wide web, her words are being left all over the world. I think Melbourne could do with some words for strangers. It may be time for me to join in. 2. Hand-drawn letters
These letters just pop with personality, don't you think? I want to drink tea and toast crumpets with them. By Mary Kate McDevitt via Parcel Post. 3. Masterful understatements from literature
"I realize now that there's a lot to be said for travelling if you want to see something new." Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days
4. The Note Swap
I was alerted to this adorable Note Swap project by Brandi of Not Your Average Ordinary but the time differences between us meant that by the time I woke up and clicked through, the project was full. If like me you missed out, you can always join up with Katie of Letters from Strangers. 5. Sent well
And finally, if all these posts on words and letters inspire you to get back to hand-writing letters to friends (or strangers for that matter) but you simply lack the time, Sent-Well is your answer. It's pretty simple: choose a card from the website, give them your message, and they will hand-write the message and post it to your friend for you. It's the personal touch, without the hand-cramps! Nifty, huh?
A simple gift for you today, from husband and wife duo Jenny and Tyler (first seen on The Ardent Sparrow). Just lovely! Thank you for your heartfelt comments, emails, Facebook messages and phone calls about this post. They truly meant the world to me. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful community around me, near and far.
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