Outer Banks, North Carolina

The Outer Banks, North Carolina.... Where we got to spend a gorgeous four days over Memorial Day weekend relaxing on the beach, exploring the area, having fun, and where I got to do a few 'firsts' in my life!!

Which included.... eating pulled pork - real NC style, which when done well is soo good!! eating a dolphin sandwich (although tasty, I wonder if this negated all of the dolphin friendly tuna I've always insisted on buying?), and riding on a Wave runner!! but more of that later!! I also got to see Delaware, Maryland and (the East side) of Virginia on the drive down there! (oh, and NC too!)

I think one of my favorite parts of the trip were the sunset walks on the beach, it was quiet, beautiful, peaceful, and romantic... I loved taking the short walk to the beach, watching the sky turn pink, and feeling the waves curl around my feet.... I picked up so many shells too!!

The above two photos are from one of those sunsets.. just ... beautiful.

There was one scary moment on the first day, while out in the waves, it seemed the sea wanted to teach me a lesson... Lets just say, there was a strong rip tide, and I was very thankfully saved from what potentially could have been rather tragic... 

And so, I was happy to see the sun set on another day, where footsteps in the sand could be made.. 

Above is the short walk we took to the beach, it was soo nice to be as close as we were! And with my milky white skin (yes, I like it that way!!) I slathered on 50 strong sunblock to stop myself turning into a painful lobster colored woman!!!

Wave runners!!! I had sooo much fun on these!!!! We rocked these out on the second day we were in NC, and they were a blast!!! Zooming around at top speed, doing donuts, swishing back and forth and going all out with them!! Loved it!!! And one of the guys on guard said I was good at 'sliding'! Although I'm not so sure what that means, I think from the info I did get, it means making a tight turn smoothly!! (correct me if I'm wrong here!!)

And ohh the houses.... all on stilts to protect them from high seas during hurricanes... some were HUGE! Others, not so much... I did like the aqua blue one in the pic on the left, and one thing I really wanted to see, was the famous house in Rodanthe from the movie (based on the Nicholas Sparks book) 'Nights in Rodanthe' with Richard Gere and Diane Lane. I love that house, all dark wood with those bright blue shutters!!!

And just like all holidays, they must come to an end... I was sad to see the end of this one, it's for sure. But it was gorgeous, and peaceful, and beautiful, and so relaxing... I loved it. 

If I could, I'd go back in a flash!!

England Round Trip!

arriving.. the rolling hills of England! coming home.. the deep green of upstate NY!

I have no good excuses... I have neglected my blog terribly!!! And so, it's time to make up for um, lost time! 

I have been a busy bee, jumping here, there, and everywhere for the past month! But all of that later! As promised, I shall start off with my trip to England!

It was a great week (although a week wasn't really long enough!!) and although I was exhausted from running up and down England (and in need of another holiday to relax from the holiday!!) it was worth it!!

So a few quick pics.. first off, my Family, from left to right, my Mum's Brother and my Uncle David, My Mum, my Sister Kathryn and my Brother Daniel. I'm actually standing in my Uncles boat (which was obviously on land at the moment for maintenance!). On the way back to my Mum's house, we stopped for a classic Cream Tea... scones, jam and clotted cream, and of course, Tea!! My mission while in England was to eat everything completely and classically British! And I did pretty well too! Fish and Chips, Toad in the Hole, Proper Breakfast Fry-up!!

I also went up to see my good friend Sarah, in Shropshire, who has just been spending the last two years renovating her house! Finally, it is near completion! And it was a delight for me to see it after hearing so much about it!! I did fall in love with her bathroom, which has turned out beautifully - I wish I had the before pictures to show you!! Just think avocado green.. ew!!!

In this huge room, she created a huge shower, and a deep and welcoming tub, with Grohe fixtures. But best of all, I loved the way she used her slate tiles!! (which needed a whole sealing process also). The artist in her came shining through to create an original and striking design which, I think, makes the bathroom so special. One of the best things was, is that with this design, there was hardly any wastage of tile at all! Every sliver of slate was used!! I'm in love with this! Definitely one to keep in the inspiration folder! I can't wait to see the bathroom, and house completely finished and accessorized!! 

For Wicked Humor Only...

Because this appeals to my wicked sense of humor, I had to share!

Happy Thursday... yup, it's almost Friday... phew!

England!!!

I meant to say goodbye before I left for my holiday, but one thing happened after another and before I knew it, I was on a plane zooming off to another time zone!!

So!! Yesterday I came back from a 9 day trip to the wonderful England!! The last time I was back on the homeland was in 2007 and for unfortunately only 4 days! So this trip was particularly special, and a wonderful opportunity to really get over there and spend some quality time with friends and family!

I really did love my time there and made the most of every moment too, to the point of being completely exhausted by the time I got back to NY that I was knocked out cold last night and slept like a log, not a thing could of woken me up!!

I will be posting some of my favorite photos of my travels up and down England, the friends I'd seen, the places I went with the family, and of course, those gorgeous and most beautiful rolling hills of England... oh, how I love those hills...

But for now I'm posting my favorite interiors, furniture and accessories which all give a shout out to the beloved Union Jack! (including a few you might recognize as being designed by Vivienne Westwood!)

Some Like It Hot...

It's a hot hot NYC today, kicking out a summer like 90 degrees.. and I can't say I'm quite ready for this kind of weather yet! (what happened to spring?! I swear, in ny that happens for only one week!)
Well, while the fan whirs near me, and I drink about 20 glasses of water, I dream of cold and delicious ice cream... because what else does a girl crave on a day like today?!

I hope you're all keeping cool, and enjoying the weather wherever you are!!

A Simple Sheet Of Paper...

When first saw Peter Callesen's work on Marte & Louise's Blog, I was instantly drawn to it. His work is of cut paper, revealing a depth to a simple sheet we don't usually see. I love his precision, the delicacy of his work, and his humor in the pieces.
Here are a few of my favorite works, but there are a lot more beautiful ones to discover too, so please check out his website!!

Framed A4 Papercut, Clockwise from the above left, 'Holding Onto Myself' 2006, 'Cowboy' 2006, 'The Core Of Everything' 2006, 'The Lost Sheep' 2006.



"I find the A4 sheet of paper interesting to work with, because it is probably the most common and consumed media and format for carrying information today, and in that sense it is something very loaded. This means that we rarely notice the actual materiality of the A4 paper. By removing all the information and starting from scratch using the blank white 80gsm A4 paper as a base for my creations, I feel that I have found a material which we all are able to relate to, and at the same time is non-loaded and neutral and therefore easier to fill with different meanings. The thin white paper also gives the paper sculptures a fragility which underlines the tragic and romantic theme of the works."

"The paper cut sculptures explore the probable and magical transformation of the flat sheet of paper into figures that expand into the space surrounding them. The negative and absent 2 dimensional space left by the cut, points out the contrast to the 3 dimensional reality it creates, even though the figures still stick to their origin without the possibility of escaping. In that sense there is also an aspect of something tragic in many of the cuts."

Quotes from Peter Callesen.



A4 Papercut, Above; 'Wedding Dress Without Bride' 2005. Below, right; 'Distant Wish' 2006, left; 'Hunting' 2005.

Bright is Better!

This weekend in NYC was perhaps the first really hot one of the year, and my gosh was gorgeous! Today, finally, I was able to pull out all of my beautiful, floating, feminine, bright and patterned summer dresses!!! I adore wearing them, so bold and beautiful, the bright patterns and colors are so much fun for me to wear... ohh, roll on summer!

So I thought I'd pull together some pics of some dresses I wouldn't mind adding to my collection! Starting clockwise from the top left.... though I can't remember where this first one came from!! So next, Just Cavalli, Zenboho.com, and last but not least, a most beautiful dress from Matthew Williamson's 2009 Summer line for H&M! Paired with a few of my Jimmy Choo kitten heel sandals, I'm all set! Now it's just time to get some organic sunblock!!

Happy Birthday Blog!

Silly me... I forgot my own blog birthday!!!!! April 10th 2008, at 10:55pm was my first post, and my blog has come a long way since then!!
I'd like to thank everyone for commenting, emailing, and visiting my site! I've loved making this blog, and I hope you've all enjoyed checking it out too! Here's hoping the next year will bring as many improvements, exciting posts and lots more fun in sharing it all with you!

Thank you!!

When Zeppelin Lights Up My Day...

I have posted about Marcel Wanders before (here!), and I do like what he does... One of my favorites is his Zeppelin chandelier, a classic structure made of steel, and then cocooned in a spray on resin which is protected by transparent finish. Not only does it provide diffused light, but there is a faceted crystal globe underneath and in the middle of the fixture, just to add that sparkle effect!

And yes, it does look like a spider had a field day with it... but that's what I kinda like about it too. Though perhaps not as much as the girl above...

It's clean, sharp, a little creepy, a lot rock and roll and well, when I see it, I have to of course listen to Led Zeppelin.. Ha! And I do looove Led Zeppelin...

Follow are two of my many favorite songs, unfortunately YouTube came up a little short on really good recordings, so these will have to do... I'm pretty sure I'll be listening to Robert Plant rock on for the rest of the night now anyways!

This first one, 'Your Time Is Gunna Come', is a bit more rock than the second and it suits the light fixture a little better, but I love 'Tangerine' so much and I think its such a beautiful song, that I had to share it too!

'Your Time Is Gunna Come' Led Zeppelin

'Tangerine' Led Zeppelin