Fragile life.

There has been an unexpected death in my family, so I will be away from my blog for a week or so. I hope you and your families are well. Life really is so fragile. It’s so easy to forget that. Kiss your husbands, call your friends and hug your babies. Much love to all.

xo,

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Ready to Unravel…

Good morning!

Today, I begin my journey as an official Unraveller and I am beyond excited!

I am enrolled in the highly acclaimed e-course: UNRAVELLING, run by the incredibly humble, inspiring and talented Ms. Susannah Conway. I’ve got my pencils sharpened, pretty new pens ready, camera charged, a lovely new journal for note taking and of course, a hot cuppa tea!

I can’t wait to unravel and further explore my creativity. I so need this. I will share with you some of my discoveries along the way and I’m pretty sure I will be taking plenty of pictures too…

xo,

Friday Escapes: Ireland

Happy Friday! With yesterday being St. Patty’s I thought it only fitting that we journey to Ireland today. I can’t wait! Let’s go…

Speaking of castles…you know I have a thing for them…what girl doesn’t? So of course, I found a gorgeous one for us to stay in! We are headed to Lismore Castle just outside of the town of Lismore in County Waterford. Map. If you want to stay at Lismore Castle you have to rent the whole thing out…it costs a fortune but I managed to pull a few strings and got us a deal. ;)

Oh and I have a surprise – I arranged for a coach to pick us up. Why? Because arriving at a castle in a horse drawn carriage is perfectly dreamy…

There is the castle up ahead!

Let’s check in and take a peek at our room and then we can explore the gardens.

So beautiful! Don’t you feel like a princess? Oh let’s stop in the drawing room and have tea and treats before we venture out…

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Let’s go for a stroll through the manicured grounds…

Well…I must leave you now my friends. Have a rest on this bench, smell the roses and breathe in the gorgeous fresh air of the Irish countryside. Hope you enjoyed our little trip to Ireland.

Have a fantastic weekend!!

xo,

Images via here, here and here. Sounds via here.

Flowering Branches

We’ve been a having a lot of rain lately and well…honestly… it’s getting a little tiresome but I am taking great pleasure in witnessing the slow bloom of all the flowering trees. Dogwoods, cherry blossoms, camellias. I’ll take them! Give me some brightness and beauty amidst the gray!

This weekend, I plan on going out into the garden and bringing in some of these gorgeous flowering branches. They make the most beautiful display. Inexpensive, dramatic and inspiring you can’t help but want them in your home. Check out these gorgeous images via Style and Home.com…

Don’t you love the deep shades of navy, teal and amethyst and how they contrast against the lightness of the blooms? So lovely!

What spring blossoms are you enjoying where you are?

xo,

French Note Cards

Hello friends! Hope your Tuesday is less wet than mine! It is dumping rain outside.

I have resolved to spend the afternoon creating a series of Paris inspired note cards…here is my first one…

What do you think? Should I add text to these? I’m thinking a series of six would do nicely.

A trip to Paris might be necessary…you know…for reference.

I wish!

More to come…

xo,

Etsy Love: Macaron Magic

Lately, I’ve been wanting to buy macarons. Not because I have a craving, or I want to give them as a gift…I just want to take pictures of them. Yah…I know it sounds weird but I have seen the most gorgeous photos of macarons and I want to give it a try! I’ve almost ran out to Pix to get some…but I decided to head to Etsy for some inspiration first! My dear friend, Amy referred me to the beautiful work of Havilah…a local Portland photographer! Her Etsy shop – dearmachine has some lovely images!

Check out these delightful photographs of this most famous French cookie…

So pretty right? I love that something so simple as a baked good can look so special. Almost as enchanting as a cupcake…

xo,

 

p.s. want to try making them yourself? here’s a recipe from Martha. ;)

 

all images via dearmachine