End of the week post..

TGIF.

I have been running around a lot this week - it's been busy, hence my lack of posting.. which I intend to make up for.

A brief trip towards the East of England made me miss my lovely house last year.. I long for it on a daily basis.. it's not the most glamorous of places, but here are some pictures... I loved it.

(photos are mine, besides the second to last which is by Second Hand Junkie and is linked)

Vintage Stuff Over The Weekend

Over the weekend, I took a trip with my folks over to a HUGE vintage shop in St Albans. It's called Fleetville Vintage Emporium and is full to the brim with all things vintage.

There are lots and lots of clothes, especially the fur - just £40 for a cropped fox coat and between £15 - £25 for real fur stoles in great condition! The selection of kitchenalia is also a real treat!

The cafe is also very nice. The homemade cakes are delicious and served in very generous portion sizes with clotted cream at no extra cost, if you so desire and pots of tea are served with mis-matched china. It's got shabby chic down to the ground!

Now I have discovered this wonderful place I have a feeling I will dragging anyone willing along with me to explore and drink tea on the very, very sweet veranda outside.. mmm, I can't rate this place enough!

(Photos are my own. If you like this, check out this post by Second Hand Junkie.)

Sunday Night Poetry

Here's a beautiful and timeless poem because sometimes it's nice to reminded of the bright that's in us all. This poem is dedicated to someone - the brightest and best star I know, the Northern lights in fact..

Bright Star by John Keats

Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art--
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors--
No--yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever--or else swoon to death.

(Photos are via tumblr and linked. Get a good nights sleep.)

Friday Favourite, Diane Keaton

I caught a snippet of 'Somethings Gotta Give' last night (I have seen it in it's entirety in the past, and like it very much,) Diane Keaton is quite underrated.

She's is one of my favourite actresses - I adore her in 'Manhattan' and (of course) 'Annie Hall', as well as 'The Family Stone' and 'Somethings Gotta Give.' I really love her representation of her characters in those films.

Always endearing and always beautiful -she has well and truly stood the test of time. I just wish I possessed some of her achingly cool characteristics - because how could a person not fall in lovewith her?!


(Images are mostly from google - I know, lazy! Nevertheless, this is going to be a busy day / weekend, happy Friday all!)

A Dose of Optimism

Here's a cool illustration which I find helpful as a struggling arts graduate, though I believe it can be related to all..
..I also find it very fitting as about a million more graduates will soon be entering the world - my advice is to retain that same optimism you felt when leaving the exam hall for the last time because, actually, despite setbacks - it has set me in good stead.

Besides, a glass half full is always way more appealing!

(Image is linked via Christine Wong Yap for the positive signs project.)

Work Wear Wednesday

Being well presented...

Here's a little collage - just because sometimes to make the best impression you need to at least appear to be well presented, even if your heart rate is at a million miles an hour and your palms are slippery..
(Collage is my own..)

A Few Good Ideas..

It appears that aimless feelings are becoming the norm for the early part of the week.

But this interview with director John Walters provides some good, grounding thoughts to hang on...

My policy is "unless you know the full story, don't judge", and you never know the full story.

You should be depressed sometimes. If you just broke up with someone be sad, if you ran over somebody drunk driving feel depressed. You shouldn't take a pill that makes you feel OK about terrible things.

I live in four cities so I have four little lives. Four sets of underwear is the key to happiness.

These are just few of his comments, I sometimes wish for wisdom like this - (I guess it will come to me one day!) But do check out the interview - it will alter your perception of the day.

(This lovely drawing is linked. The article I was talking about is on the guardian website, right HERE!)

Sunday Night Poetry

To continue the restless feelings of the week - I have those apprehensive Sunday The feelings you have right before the start of a hectic week..

In an attempt to generate calm this evening, here is a relaxing poem about retreating from the world for a few hours and having faith..

I Just Stepped Out... by Felix Dennis

Where am I? - Oh, I just stepped out,
No need to make a fuss, or shout,
No need to comb the nearest wood
Or roam about the neighbourhood.

Call off the dog - she'll find no scent,
Please don't worry where I went,
And do not climb the garden tree,
My dear, you'll catch no glimpse of me.

The attic steps will pinch your thumb,
The cellar will be dark and dumb,
Yet you should search your heart with care,
Though I am gone, you'll find me there.


(Images via tumblr. Enjoy your Sunday night everyone. I am going to attempt to be serene..)

Pinterest?

Whilst blogger was down yesterday, I created a 'Pinterest account' to keep myself busy.

From what I can see, it's a lot like tumblr - only you can group your favourite pictures.. right? Are tumblr and pinterest in competition?! Like blogger vs wordpress, would it be a bit pointless having both? Please enlighten me... (if I have to chose - I'm vote tumblr.)

If any of you have a pinterest, please leave me your URL so I can follow you!

(Image via pinterest)

A musical Friday Favourite (on a Saturday)

Josh T Pearson - I realise that this guy isn't to everyone's taste, but I really like his voice and his kooky looks. I find him most attractive.

'Sweetheart I ain't your Christ.' mmm.

Sweetheart I Ain't Your Christ (piano version with Dustin O'Halloran) by joshtpearson
I discovered this guy via Miss Moss; if you haven't already been there, I highly recommend downloading some of her monthly playlists. I especially like this one, Ships in the Night, (it's a bit of melancholic, folky Americana.)

Twitter vs Facebook

I have both, here and here. I know a great many people who turn their noses up at twitter and say 'what's the point?!' 'I will never get twitter' blah, blah.

I have thought, a great many times, about deleting my facebook - but never my twitter account. As India Knight says:

'facebook is all the people you went to school with, but twitter is all the people you wish you went to school with.'

I could not agree more; Twitter is far more friendly, less evasive, snappier and filled with a dose more fun than it's more popular counterpart.

Facebook is full of bitchy comments, disheartening stalking, sighs of despair and feelings of sickness. I wish I had the guts to delete mine, but I need to keep in touch with my favourite friends and keep tabs on certain people.

It's a love to hate thing as 'facebook' irritates me 80% of the time.. your thoughts??

(images are linked!)

A tidy room = a tidy mind.

I gave my room a good tidy the other day, and although it's not exactly a Selby masterpiece, it brushed up nicely.
Of course, it's not likely to match the wonderfulness of last years house.. our perfect little Victorian terrace with damp cupboards and far too much 1970s-style wood was a such a sweet little place and a very cool - nevertheless, here are some photos of my tidied room (heavily edited to mask my bad photography.)

(Thankyou for yesterdays kind comments and helpful suggestions everyone, they made me feel better.)

Weightless Thoughts Post

After the fun of the weekend I have been vastly lacking in inspiration today.

Don't you just hate those restless days when you have constant butterflies in your stomach and you can't stop them. You don't know what to do with yourself.. and you can't concentrate on anything, not even day dreaming...

It's that light headed, high hearted, wandering and waiting feeling.

When I feel like this, I tend to visit 'Lolita' and scroll through her archives. I think it has something to do with the still and calm of her images. I also drink lots of herbal tea and listen to radio in the middle of the night; it tends to ease my flickering thoughts.
How do you bring yourself back down to the ground??

(Images linked via Lolita. I will try for a less airy post tomorrow, any advice will be welcome, I'm sure everyone has though awful in between days... perhaps I ought to just man up?)

Sunday Night Poetry

The weekend has been lovely. The days have been idle and last night was spent with all of my favourite friends... drinking, dancing to a bad cover band and concocting art projects on the train home.
MMM, so tonight's a bit of a melancholic one because it's no longer last night and it's Monday tomorrow...

Here in this spring by Dylan Thomas.

Here in this spring, stars float along the void;
Here in this ornamental winter
Down pelts the naked weather;
This summer buries a spring bird.

Symbols are selected from the years'
Slow rounding of four seasons' coasts,
In autumn teach three seasons' fires
And four birds' notes.

I should tell summer from the trees, the worms
Tell, if at all, the winter's storms
Or the funeral of the sun;
I should learn spring by the cuckooing,
And the slug should teach me destruction.

A worm tells summer better than the clock,
The slug's a living calendar of days;
What shall it tell me if a timeless insect
Says the world wears away?

(Enjoy the start to the week. See you tomorrow. It will be a good week. Photos via tumblr.)

Friday Favourite.

This is a really exciting blog! I feel embarrassed for posting about Disney animation, but this blog shows you some of the art work and brainstorming ideas which went into the design of the films.

I love the highly stylised illustrations, which really are very cool indeed. I also like the tiny details in some of the drawings.. either way it's all very charming and I like anything with a bit of nostalgia pulsing through its veins...
(The website is a little hard to navigate as it's in French.. )











(All images via The Art of Disney Animation.)

Work Wear Wednesday - Garance Dore

The Queen of easy French style - Garance Dore is timeless, chic and very likable. Reading her witty quips and seeing her beautiful photographs on her blog make me wish I was just like her.

Here are her suggestions for great style - and what French women are never without..

1. Baume Creme de Rose from Dior, for the pot & the perfectly pouty lips.

2. A pair of sunglasses -- to provide mystery!

3. A book by Francoise Sagan because she has an incredible perspective on life and was so rock'n roll -- in the French way, of course.

4. A pair of Repetto ballet flats (the real dancer ones with very soft soles) -- great after long hours in heels.

5. A pen. To write, of course, but also to put your hair up when you're tired of having it in your face. I don't know why, but every French girl does that!

(Cited: Read more: {this is glamorous} http://citified.blogspot.com/#ixzz1LNDve3iX)

(Scans are from British Elle, March 2011.)

Tuesday Tea Time

The good old appreciation of a decent cup of tea is one of the things I love about the blogging world... I stumbled upon this cute website a while back.... 'What Does Your Tea Time Look Like.' From the decadent to the humble, this is a collection of teatime images from all corners of the world, and I love anything that celebrates the glory of a good old cup of tea!

'Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world' - Tien Yiheng, a Chinese scholar, once claimed, I believe he was right. It's for the times of high anxiety, extreme joy and all those other moments in between, the answer to almost everything.. 'put the kettle on!'


(all images via What Does Your Tea Look Like - click the images to see the better quality ones featured on the website!)

A New Header for a New Month..

You will notice that today my blog header has changed..

I was thinking for a while that the old header (as seen below) didn't reflect the content of the blog. I have been feeling transitional in general recently and consider this to be a good marker.. I thought this header was nice and summery and lighter.

The illustration is by the wonderful East Anglian artist Christopher Brown. I used one of his lino cuts and simply drew over the top of it..


(Second image is by Christopher Brown, click on it to see the bigger version and check out more of his work here!)