Operation - SAVE MONEY

Given that I am saving for a house, wedding and general LIFE, I need all the help that I can get. Although I am generally quite good with my finances, I do have a tendency to buy some unnecessary things. When I've had a stressful day, it's quite nice to go to Marks and Spencer's and buy myself some delicious and expensive food for dinner. Or go to Topshop and pick a new and necessary dress. If only there was something in my purse that shouted 'do you really need that?' when I opened it to grab my debit card?! That is why I think that these printables from Lara Watson are so good. You print them out and put them in your wallet. I think I might laminate them and put them beside my bank card. Some self-inflicted guilt can be very motivating!

life is what happens....etc.

Buddah Bar, Calangute Beach, Goa, 2010

I have returned! I wasn't in Goa, but its nice to imagine I was. In reality, I have been working like a beaver and undergoing some pretty big life changes. I had to go through a restructure at work, and me and my whole team were reinterviewed for out jobs. I managed to keep mine, but lots of people were made redundant. So glad I kept my job, but feel so guilty that it means other people didn't. There aren't many archaeology jobs around these days, so I'm glad all my studying has paid off.

So now I have a  new job role, which is much better than the one before, and means I will get lots of good experience. Hopefully after I do it for one year, I can move onto something better.

I also set the date for my wedding - 28th December 2012, so not long now! Despite considering getting married abroad or doing something a bit alternative, I have not settled on a big, traditional Irish wedding and I can't wait! All my family and friends will be there, and I get to feed and entertain all of them. There will be many more wedding related posts coming as I plan the big day. The photo above reminds that I MUST sort the honeymoon soon.

Other changes include dying my hair almost brown (it was bright blonde before) and learning how to use make-up properly. More to follow!

I hope I haven't lost all my followers, perhaps I will find some new ones as I start to write again? Please, join me!

(Black) Friday Night

I didn't think Black Friday really happened in the UK, but it does on etsy. I want everything from the beautiful Lolas Room site, but these are my favourites. At such a good discount, it would have been mad not to make a purchase and I can't wait to hang the first two beauties on my wall!

... Deep roots are not reached by frost

Remember that heat wave from couple of weekends ago? When the whole of the UK was basking in an Indian summer, I was back in Northern Ireland where it was cold and wet. It looked like something out of Lord of the Rings, with a heavy fog sticking to everything. I quite liked it, it was the perfect excuse to drink lots of hot tea, eat biscuits and wear thick woolly socks. 

Knitting and Stitching 2011

Today I went to the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace in north London. The vast number of people and exhibitors was completely overwhelming, but I managed to pick up lots of inspiration and some new crafty things to play with!

These gorgeous floral hair bands by Poppy Daisy were only £2, I restrained myself to buying two but there were so many that would look beautiful in Autumn.

This skirt making kit is so cool, the pattern is drawn on the material already, so no cutting-up and pinning down paper! The fabric I picked is quite crazy, but I think it will look good. I had never heard of Cloth Kits before, but apparently they have been around since the sixties.

I had to buy this little keyring kit from the Tugbakop stall. The lovely girl who owns the shop is an illustrator and textile artist; her stuff is really worth checking out!

Finally, I got this FREE crochet hook from Tulip, who are a Japanese company who sell really nice crochet hooks, knitting needles and felting needles. I love getting free things! Even better than the little pink crochet hook was that the amazing crocheter Doris Chan was there, doing demonstrations of crochet lace and signing copies of her book. 

All-in-all it was well worth going to the show, but I would have liked to see more crochet stalls!

Sweden

Last month my boyfriend and I visited Stockholm. We stayed in a hostel which was actually a boat on the river between Sodermalm and Gamla Stan. Stockholm is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, I absolutely loved it. It's a bit expensive to eat and drink, but the clothes shops were amazing and quite reasonable. I got lots of stuff in Monki, although of course you can now order online! I also got some new glasses, as I noticed that everyone in Stockholm wore great glasses and great shoes!

The architecture in Stocholm is beautiful and ranges from winding medieval streets to immense art noveau buildings. Everything seemed cleaned against the clear skies and fresh, sea air!

Traditional crafts of felting and using traditional materials such as wool and reindeer skins never seemed far away from the urban environment. I noticed a lot of interior decor shops which seemed to specialise in all kinds of lighting; in a country where it is dark for months, this makes sense. I plan to decorate my flat with lots of lighting this winter to create a cosy atmosphere in the long, bleak evenings!

Food was expensive, so we snacked on coffee and cinnamon buns during the day, saving our money and appetite for an evening meal.

I cannot describe how excited I was to shop in Monki, in Sodermalm, which is the coolest district in Stockholm!

Brighter than the Sun

For Autumn I'm normally thinking about earthy, black and camel coloured clothes to keep warm in, but these pictures have changed my mind! I'm loving all the teal and burgundy in the shops, but wasn't entirely sure how to wear them. This is how it should be done- matching tones of maroon and pink, sand and pink, dark blue and bright blue all set against a nude palette!

All pictures are from http://blog.stylesight.com

http://blog.stylesight.com/street/double-dose

...Friday I'm in love

Getting ideas...

Ragwork always seems to retro to me, but it reminds me of snuggling up in the massive blanket my mum had lying in front of the fire when I was little. I love the patchwork colours in this design.

What lies beneath

I have been lusting after some beautiful lingerie from Hopeless Lingerie for absolutely ages. I am a huge fan of their blog and often drool over their beautiful inspiration photographs and the styling for their new designs. This is my ideal lingerie - part Alice in Wonderland goes burlesque, part Marie Antoinette! It is girly and frilly, with seriously sexy details. What makes them stand apart from the mainstream brands such as Agent Provocatueur is that all their items are entirely handmade! You can buy their designs on  their website, and I love that they often blog about the process behind making the many bows and frills! Basically, I want.

If you want a chance to win two pieces from the shop, you have to either leave a comment on their blog, tweet about them, write on their facebook page or write a blog post. I want some of their lingerie so badly that I am doing everything I can to stand a chance!

Blue skies are coming, but I know that it's hard

Over the last year or so I have been adding songs to Spotify playlists that are specifically designed to suit different moods. The Happy Happy Love Love playlist is so self indulgent that it could have been put together by my 16 year old self, which says a lot about how I've matured over the years! But here it is , designed to help me indulge all my angsty tendencies while at the same time reminding me to put a smile on my face and get over it. Let me know if you like it!

alison scarpulla

Stitching

Some things I've been stitching lately!

Cross Stitch Dog

Bird Decoration

Eye Mask

Present for my mum.

Quilt Fest No. 3 - Rose Wood

Out of all the wonderful things I saw at the Festival of Quilts, the one I was least expecting was the amazing work of Rose Wood. You can just make her out in the picture below, sipping a cup of tea in her exhibition space. Rose was joint winner of the Graduate Showcase (shared with Alice Fox). Inspired by Issey Miyake, her work features clothes and jewellery made from textiles that are cut and folded to move with the body. On her website she describes this as 'kinetic'. She makes really cool films which explain her work much better than I can.


Untitled from rose wood on Vimeo.

Rose Wood Exhibition

Some pieces of work on display

Festival of Quilts - Part 2

As well as being inspired by the stunning quilts last Sunday, there was also lost of fun to be had looking at the various shop displays and lovely things for sale. Some of my favourite shops are pictured below, Amy Butler, Liberty and some smaller names that I hadn't heard off. I especially enjoyed meeting one of the ladies from the Royal School of Needlework who stitched the lace on Kate Middleton's wedding dress. It's not that I'm a massive Kate and Will fan, but I was definitely excited to see samples of one of the most famous dresses in the world and meet someone who worked on it!

Amy Butler Display

Possibly another Amy Butler

Amy Butler display

Liberty of London display

Royal School of Needlework display

Close-up of royal wedding dress lace

Dotty Fabric!