Porcelain days...

So while googling 'pretty blue shoes' the other day, I came across these beautiful blue court shoes! They are perfect for Spring and I love the way they look so fresh and clean. The flowers are beautiful and the porcelain palette of colours makes them dreamy... either teamed with a crisp white cotton dress or warn dirty denim.

LK bennett

But these shoes are the start of a loevly trend hitting the catwalks and highstreet this Spring... I'm calling it 'Porcelain Days'. It's fresh easy and full of a lovely range of inky blues, the illustrations and prints are intrcate but dreamy and the shapes are classic with fun twist on the past. Scale is important and it is key that this look isnt taken to seariously, mix this trend with colour blocking and warn denim to keep it up todate.

From the catwalk...

To the celebs...

To the highstreet...

shirt hobbs... www.hobbs.co.uk

Shirt... www.ailexpress.com

Cute pants... www.matalan.co.uk

Also from Matalan

Swimsuit... www.warehouse.com

To me...

Jacket... www.h&m.com

The inspiration...

Cute hearts... www.etsy.com

I love this look it is so easy to pull of and in time it will still look classic even after the trend has faded from the highstreet. I always think Blue is pretty on little girls and I can see this look being taken into little ones over the next few months.

It reminds me of hoildays traveling through the Netherlands with the Deltware china...

Spring is here to stay!

A day in the past...

So Saturday I took a trip to Flur-De-Lis in the welsh valleys, its a tiny little village hidden away that most people probably never pass through... but its a cute little place.

It is the village where my Gran grew up, so I am always being told about the 'new school' the viaduct and the walk to school... but my Gran is now 90 and a few things have changed.

Ever since my Mum died nearly 3 years ago it has made me realise just how little I really know about the history of my family. My Mums Mum... my Gran has always been a huge part of my life, but since Mums death she means even more.

Often its really hard to spend time together as she reminds me of the good times with Mum. I never want to worry Gran or tell her about how life isn't always going to plan... day to day silly worries. I wish I could sometimes just get a bit braver and not worry about getting upset or remembering the past, often the hardest part is getting the the car, as I know as soon as I walk in to Grans flat everything will be okay... My Gran is the best; shes tried a zillion and one times to teach me to crochet, used to spend hours showing me how to watercolour, trips on the bus to town... she always has an ear to listen, gives me the best advice and never judges. I know matter how long it is between visits... even if she does ask me if I have run off with a china man... I know she will always be there and I hope she knows I will always be there for her too.

So Saturday was my time to show her how much she means to me, after a drive up to the valley we came across Flur-de-lis otherwise known as 'The Flower'...

Doing the tourist thing...

The road on which my Gran grew up...

Grans old house... I still can't believe how big it is as in my head I always imagined it to be a small little terrace house. Im guessing the garage extention is a fairly new addition. It looks like it would have been a lovely family home.

The Pub which Grans parents ran... I didn't even know they ran a pub till the day before this picture!

The viaduct... this just to be a major part of village life but now it is just a walkway which has become part of the Taff trail.

During the drive round the village we were trying to find St. Luke's church but after chatting to a guy in the pub we found out that just a few years ago the church was taken down and a house was built instead. You can just about see the house between the trees.

Spring has sprung in The Flower.

This sculpture made from coal carts now sits at the entrance to the vaiduct path... Its huge and is pretty impressive, apart from the kids graffity underneath the carts.

Dad, Teal and I at the end of the viaduct path...It was a fab day re discovering grans past.

I guess this also counts as one of my 30 before 30...

19. Ring my Gran more and take more time to learn about her past. 

Real pizza...

Place...   Dona Bella Pizza
              West Broadway
              New York City

A week or two ago while I was in NYC for work we went for a lazy tea and grabbed a big slice of real pizza from the pizzaria on the corner and it was amazing! Neither of us were that hungry but we new we had to eat something after a long day hitting the shops, but it was probably the best meal we ate during our trip.

A real pizzaria...

No airs and graces just good food at good prices...

Any topping...

One yummy pizza! 

I'm not even a fan of pepperoni pizza but it was shouting out at me, just realised how big it was compared to the paper plate... this left me inspired to design a over all print...

A quick patten repeat I designed... Elspeth Morris

The denim dress...

Denim dresses have been key on the catwalks this season from little ones to womenswear and within weeks they have been key pieces of the celebs wardrobes. The dresses are coming in all shapes and sizes... everything from pinafores to A line dresses. Dark washes to soft chambreys and not forgetting the mix and matches of different washes.

I love denim dresses they are so easy to wear, go with everything can be dressed up or dressed down and  you always feel girly when wearing one. It was only this Autumn that I threw my last homemade one out. It was a simple pinafore shape that was made from lovely soft dark denim, but after a few years of being put in the wrong wash and it shrinking and slowly dying it was time to throw it out... so which will my next denim dress be? (Will probably whip another one up next weekend anyway as the shape was lovely... but you can never have enough denim dresses)

Catwalk to High street... 

The Sienna Miller dress has to be my favourite the shape is feminine, the sleeves are beautiful and the embroidery  being solely in brown keeps the dress low eye and on trend. I can't find the designer of this dress but I will keep and eye out...

Miss Selfridge

Asos

Asos

I love this dress the shape is very girly and very me! and the colours are lovely... I just wonder if it would be as cute in real life? I'm debating asking for it for my birthday? Be cute to team with a coloured cardie and simple sandals.

 Topshop

This dress is fab and I would love to have it in my wardrobe but now I have seen the Asos printed dress I can't decide which one i prefer... I they both do different jobs but I think that the printed one is more 'me'?

Which denim dress in your fave?

Easter madness...

Just before Easter I went to NYC with work for a couple of days and while there I spotted a lot of easter madness. I know in the UK some parents go over the top buying stupid amount of chocolate eggs to make there kids super size, but the shops in the UK don't seam to embrace it half as much as the USA.

So it is very cute to dress your little one in big bunny ears and to send them out in there dressing gowns in to the garden to find little hidden eggs... but these shops just go nutty for it! I couldn't help but take a few pics in both Target and Walmart.

Cuddly toys, plastic egg shells, cookie cutters, big baskets, drink beakers, toys, cards, greeting cards,gift wrap, table decoration and even special plates and bowls...

Just a tiny selection of cards, the sheep one made me giggle! Does anyone in the UK really send Easter cards, or is it just grandparents who are giving older kids money instead of eggs?

Walmart beakers... 

Target beakers... This proves they are two different customers. This was clear walking through the store, in the quality difference of the garments and the feel and laylout of the store. The Target products were generally more design focused and possibly built to last slightly longer? These beakers are pretty sweet.

Horrible plush toys, cute cookie cutters.

Creme eggs with the old wrappers.

What easter is really about... I am just suprised they have made it out of chocolate!

Is it Spring yet?

So the sun has actually come out, and it feels like the start of Spring! Flowers are poping out, buds on the trees and people are starting to cut their glass... it may still be freezing cold but it feels like spring is just around the corner.

Knits can get lighter, wardrobes become sunnier and heavy coats change for light jackets and body warmers are pulled out the back of the cuboards ready for those sunday afternoon walks across the beach!

The ombre trend is looking strong for Spring, is it that we are just dipping our toes into colour or is it that we are not quiet ready for a full wardrobe change? Take a peek at four ombre trends I have picked to be big this spring...

Purple to liacs...I love this way of displaying tuplips, so pretty. 

The table cloth would also be a real easy way to update any dinner party table!

Teal to mint.. Fabric necklace is not true ombre but it gives the same vibe.

Charcoal to grey... a really easy trend to carry off especially in the home.

 I always think a home full of books is a homely home... 

yes I do stack my own books in colours rather than topics!

Pink to coral... I love this necklace and I am very tempted to make one myself, it's pretty yet bold.

How fab does this cake look! This picture makes me want to learn to bake cakes that dont flop in the middle and then I could make a cake like this... I'm sure lots of little girls would love birthday cakes like this, especially if you kept the inside a suprise till you cut it open.

Hurry up Spring we are ready for you!

St.Davids day!

Yay, it’s St.Davids day!  After living in Wales since 2000, I have developed a real welsh pride. Welsh cakes have become a staple in my diet and I look forward to the spring when all the daffodils pop up and of course I support the welsh rugby team! 

So this year not being in Wales for the St.Davids weekend is a funny one, especially as I don't get to join in the cawl trail around Saundersfoot village. All the cafes and pubs in the village make up a big pot of cawl and everyone takes a small bowl and walks around the village testing all the different cawls and scoring them (along with washing them down with a few cheeky pints!) Lets just say the scores at the end of the trail are always higher!

Cawl... lamb and root veg

Yummy welsh cakes...

I would love to learn the welsh language and bring up kids in the future to be bilingual. I think it is important that children are introduced to different languages young, as it then becomes part of their daily routine and a game. As teenagers learning third languages at school it is then never an issue. If I wasn’t dyslexic I would have loved to learn more languages, but saying that I managed to get my head around basic Vietnamese while working there.

Look at this fab daffodil in Cardiff, Bute Park...

This fabulous sculpture was made by Susan Jones and is constructed out of wicker and recycled steel. It stands in Bute Park, Cardiff and welcomes all the visitors to the RHS flower show. Its stands a proud 11 feet high and 4 feet wide, and is being used to raise funds for the welshwarrior.org charity. It's always nice to see public art supporting the community for great causes. 

Beautiful daffodil field, I love yellow fields they are always so happy.

A quick doodle of mine, inspired by the picture above.

Happy St.Davids Day! 

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant Hapus!