The Life and Love of a London Couple

Bespoke Invitations

2010-03-08T08:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, so been doing more wedding planning recently and was really struggling to find invitations that a) matched my vision and b) matched by budget too!

However I came across the most wonderful website at bespokeweddings.net

and have fallen in love with the invitations that designer, Paul, created to my own brief.

I got a free, no obligation consultation where all I had to do was write a short paragraph about what was inspiring my wedding style and he got back to me with four of the most perfect invitations I have ever seen (and trust me I have seen many invites!)

We are definitely going to be using them for our invitations - now I just have to find a venue (!) and get our amazing invites ordered :-)

xxx

Summer clothes for Lily

2010-02-17T11:41:00.001-08:00

I am so excited about this summer - it will be Lily's first summer and as she will be six months in June she will be the right age for all of the adorable summer clothes around! I can't wait to see her crawling about and exploring in these cute dresses! The birdcage print is by Vertbaudet and is just so funky, and the broderie anglaise by Next is tres chic - won't lily look adorable in her new outfits?!

xxx

I Love Next!

2010-02-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

Im loving the new Next Spring/Summer range and can't wait to treat myself to some of their pieces.

I have an obsession with checked or boyfriend style shirts at the moment (luckily so does Scott so there are plenty in the house for me to steal!) Im also loving the light denim jeans and the feminine but casual striped cardigan in the bottom picture.

I'll be pairing my light denim jeans with a long white vest, a boyfriend shirt and my gladiator sandals - cute, relaxed but still fashionable!

xxx

Valentine's Day - Spreading the Love

2010-02-14T15:01:00.000-08:00

In honour of Valentine's Day I thought I would share with you two of my favourite romantic poems:

I cannot promise You - Mark Twain

I cannot promise you a life of sunshine

I cannot promise riches, wealth or gold;

I cannot promise you and easy pathway,

That leads away from change or growing old.

But I can promise all my heart's devotion;

A smile to chase away your tears of sorry,

And a hand to hold in yours through each tomorrow.

Extract from Bei Hennef - DH Lawrence

You are the call and I am the answer,

You are the wish and I the fulfilment,

You are the night and I the day,

What else? It is perfect enough.

It is perfectly complete, you and I.

Have a blissful day - I know I will :-)

xxx

Nappies!

2010-02-13T11:34:00.000-08:00

So originally we had planned to use reusable nappies, however the effort involved in drying them without using a tumble dryer made them pretty impractical - particularly as in our place there isn't much drying space!

Instead we are using disposables and have tried and tested a few different brands so here is a review:

The WORST nappy award, unfortunately, goes to 'Tesco'. We tried their newborn nappies for just three days as they were so bad we couldn't bear to subject Lily's poor bottom to them for any longer! They were leaky and badly shaped and resulted in six, yes SIX baby-gros and sleepsuits being thrown into the bin as they were ruined by the stains!

No Stars for 'Tesco' i'm afraid!

Just slightly better than the 'Tesco' nappies were the 'Huggies' newborn ones - we had fewer leaks with those but they were so badly shaped that they cut into our poor baby's thighs and left red marks on her legs. Ridiculous really, seeing as Lily was right at the starting weight for the nappy - let alone at the maximum weight and doesn't have chubby legs either!

1* for 'Huggies'

'Pampers' and 'Asda' are joint second. They were both reasonably well fitting and didn't leave marks on her thighs. However she has grown out of the newborn size a lot sooner than she has reached the supposed weight limit for the nappies. 'Pampers' claim that the nappies will fit until the baby is 11lbs, yet Lily-Rose is only 8lb 12oz and they are too small. Of course this means that half a packet has gone to waste! Exactly the same thing has happened with the 'Asda Little Angels' nappies. Also both styles, but particularly the 'Asda' range were very bulky underneath her little clothes.

2* for 'Pampers' and 'Asda'

By far the best nappies we have used for Lily-Rose have been the 'Sainsburys - Little Ones' range. Both the newborn and the Size 1 nappies have fitted Lily perfectly, we haven't had one leak and they aren't too bulky under her clothes - true perfection in a nappy! Then of course there is the price, just £3.74 for 24 nappies is a true bargain when they are of such good quality!

4* go to 'Sainsburys'

xxx

Swaddling Blanket

2010-02-13T11:08:00.000-08:00

Lily-Rose is six weeks old now but when she was newborn the best way to get her to sleep was with the use of a swaddle.

Unfortunately we didn't think to buy a fancy swaddling blanket before she was born so when it came to bedtime she was wrapped in a plain cot blanket, which, to be honest is not a good look (she looked like a little wriggling maggot... albeit a beautiful one!)...

Which is why I now have an obsession with the beautiful swaddling blankets that I have been seeing EVERYWHERE now they have my attention!

And aren't these ones beauties... I want another baby now so I can justify the expense :-)

This one above is from www.handmadefootprince.com and is utterly adorable.

Other fun and pretty designs that I love are over on www.landofnod.com - in particular the 'Swaddle it Bee' blanket with its funky animal patterns :-)

xxx

New Life, New Start and New Blog!

2010-02-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

Hello :-)

My goodness it has been such a long time since I have posted anything up here! I do have an excuse though as in the time I've been gone something very special has happened...

Our little girl Lily-Rose was born on the 4th January 2010!

I'll be posting up our home birth story soon so keep those peepers tuned :-)

I am absolutely loving being a mummy - it really is special (hard work and tiring but very special all the same!) and Scott is the most amazing dad - Lily is such a daddy's girl already!

xxx

Stationary Inspiration

2009-11-10T12:36:00.000-08:00

Credits: D. Jones Photography, Wedding bee, Rochelle Mort, Blooms by Martha Andrews, Michelle Photography, Cake Stands by Raise the Cake, Linda Chaja, Erin Hearts Court, La Partie Events

Wedding Stationary

I think that the wedding stationary you have at a wedding is really important. For a start its the first glimpse of your wedding that prospective guests receive and it is also one of the easiest ways to infuse your personality and style into your big day. I put this board together to show my mum the sort of thing we are looking at for our handmade wedding stationary.

Because the stationary is so important to me I'm more than willing to spend a lot of time getting it just perfect - which helps when there are so many paper ideas that we want to incorporate into our wedding day.

We are looking at using a combination of thick cream papers and brown parcel-type paper for all of our wedding stationary and will be combining these materials with lots of personal touches such as quotes from our favorite movies, books and songs, handwriting and calligraphing all of the stationary and including lots of little extra special touches.

These extra special touches will include a personalized wedding crossword or word puzzle at each place setting, an information booklet including all local accommodation, taxi, sights and gift list information, a hand drawn map and directions insert and a wedding itinerary for our weekend guests.

Inspiration Board - Simple and Fun summer wedding

2009-10-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

Credits: Meg Baisden Photography, Erin Hearts Court, Heather Kincaid, Dia Rao

For me this board epitomizes the type of wedding we want. What could be nicer than a summers day wedding, all of our friends and family together in a beautiful house - BBQ and buffet in the garden… the sweet smell of summer flowers in the air… popping the corks from bottles of sparkling home-made lemonade… lemon drizzle cake on cream plates… children playing hula hoop and ball games on the grass… candles being lit all around as the sun goes down… touches of bright against a creamy white background… DIY touches to be found everywhere… Simple… Fun… Sweet… Beautiful…. ‘Us’… xxx

Sorry!

2009-10-07T04:23:00.000-07:00

Hey sorry i've been so neglectful of posting in the past couple of weeks,

had a lot on my mind and unfortunately having nappy brain and blogging don't really go hand in hand! I'll be making it up to you though with some great posts in the next few days.

Love alex

xxx

Grey wedding fashion

2009-09-24T06:42:00.000-07:00

Credits: Studio Foto

Scott has always had a thing for grey suits and this was the one thing he ‘insisted’ upon for our wedding day - that he wanted to wear a grey three-piece suit and have his groomsmen in grey suits aswell. This was fine by me as i’m not too keen on black suits for weddings anyway and we certainly aren’t tux kind of people!

Then when looking at all the different bridesmaid dresses out there I realized that I wanted my gorgeous girls in something a little bit different from the boring pink or burgundy dresses on sale everywhere - my first thought was LBDs but I have changed my mind… so in comes the LGD (little grey dress of course!).

My maids all have very different skin tones and hair colours and body shapes so a fairly neutral colour like grey will suit everyone and I just fell in love with the gorgeous Melissa Sweet dresses.

For the flower-girls I will be sticking to white but having grey sashes to tie in with the older girls.

And of course I won’t be getting married without a pair of laboutins on my feet - and these silver/grey ones fit the bill entirely- so glamourous its no wonder they are called ‘Hollywood’!

xxx

DIY Touches

2009-09-24T05:24:00.000-07:00

Credits: Meg Baisden Photography, Suthi Picotte, Kawartha Photography

I made up this board to showcase some of the DIY touches that I will be adding to our wedding (when it finally gets here!). Our budget might be low, but our creativity is certainly high and with my imagination (and hubby-to-be’s practicality) we hope to pull it off… it’s not like we don’t have enough time to plan either :-p

Most of our wedding will have a DIY touch incorporated in some way - from our invitations which we are hand-designing ourselves to our food, cake, flowers and favours.

All of our flowers will be hand-done, incorporating a mixture of pure white and colourful arrangements in glass vases, jars and other miscellaneous holders. We’ve already got our friends and family collecting empty jam jars and vases for us to use!

DIY food touches will include lots of home-made cakes, cupcakes, pies and biscuits, mini personalized jars of honey and jam for our guests to take away and lots of donated items for our buffet! Along with all of our stationary we will be designing and printing our own labels for favours, water bottles and my personal favourite - our personalised matchboxes. Admittedly they aren’t an original idea but we will be having those printed on one side with our names and date of wedding and on the other the definition of marriage and the quote ‘the perfect match’.

xxx

Wedding Flowers

2009-09-21T12:38:00.000-07:00

Credits: Sedona Bride

When we first started looking at planning our wedding my original plan was to go with all white flowers but after a lot of thinking, and digging through the internet and bloggers archives I realized that I just couldn't visualize our wedding being white!

I crave colour all of the time - my favourites are the bright ones - Red, Orange, Turquoise... And although I could put together lots of weddings that featured solely white colours I soon realized that those boards that I was diligently putting together weren't our wedding, they just weren't 'Us'. So i've scrapped that plan and now have settled on having a rather un-schemed colour scheme (if there is such a thing!)

We are going to have a mixture of bright, fun, summery colours in arrangements that are loose and handmade. Like most of our wedding we will be DIY-ing the flowers so they will be in simple arrangements, loosely displayed in various glass vases, mason jars, jam jars and other eclectic holders.

Scott likes the idea of putting some flowers in metal buckets or baskets, which I think would look great (just as long as they were done 'right'). Even for my bouquet (which I am going to go for solely white and creamy flowers) will be loose, hand-tied and probably filled with peonies, roses and greenery.

The ideal look for our wedding flowers would be 'wild and rustic' but with a touch of care that shows how much work has gone into making them look gorgeous!

xxx

Feature on stylemepretty.com!

2009-09-21T09:12:00.000-07:00

Credits: Jeff & Julia Woods, Jose Villa

How amazingly happy did it make me to log into my computer today, open up Stylemepretty.com (my favourite wedding blog) only to see that one of my own inspiration boards had been featured!

Abby (the blog creator) had this to say about my work:

"Alexandria has the greatest sense of style, full of whimsy and charm, and really takes the time to articulate her vision. I've loved reading her blog and always look forward to what she's going to do next. Definitely worth a trip over to the Style Circle to read what this Style Guru is saying!"

Talk about praise! And not to blow my own trumpet here (but) I am pretty proud of the stuff that I put together and get so much enjoyment out of it all - the new Style Circle has certainly changed the way I put things together - it makes everything so much easier than copying and pasting into paint and there are so many beautiful images to choose from!

Congratulations Abby on creating such a great resource for brides-to-be, and everyone else out there who loves a little inspiration!

xxx

Bird and Owl themed baby shower

2009-09-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

Credits: country living (2), ohdeedoh (2), Our baby shower (2), etsy (2), Country living (2), martha Stewart (2)

As you know from previous posts Scott and I have been thinking about adding a few bird-themed details to our wedding - little things like including birds in our stationary and having bird cake-toppers. Whilst on the web I came across loads of lovely ideas that could be used for a baby shower as well and what better theme could we have for our very own little 'Robin'?

The soft colours of Tiffany Blue, light yellow and pale pink are also the sorts of colours we will be going for in our nursery too - hopefully we will be able to reuse some of our baby shower decorations in there and vice-versa!

The Lemon souffle looks so yummy and served in mini white ramekins, decorated with lemon peel it looks almost too good to eat - as do the little bluebird cupcakes!

The cake is great fun - i love the colours, the whimsicality of the design and the cute little owls on top - its just too sweet! The nappy cake is a traditional baby shower decoration, but this one has mixed it up a bit and ties in perfectly with the theme as its decorated with birdhouses and mini birds - so cute!

Now i've just got to hope that my girlie mates see this and decide to go with a bird theme for our baby shower :-p

xxx

Nursery Inspiration Board

2009-09-16T06:15:00.000-07:00

Credits: Vintage modern nursery (2), Pottery barn (2), I-do Australia (2), google images (4)

As you all know me and Scott are expecting our first baby on January 6th (not long now!) and so I have been thinking lots about how to decorate our little one's nursery.

Im loving the idea of having a modern and fun take on a woodland/bird theme - with tree and bird murals on the wall and lots of cute accessories like the gorgeous owl cushion. By mixing it up a bit with the fun polka dot pattern it will be a more modern version of the theme. This sort of nursery will be quite long lasting too - we won't have to redecorate for quite a few years because its a versatile scheme.

Scott and I are expecting baby to be a girl (although it isn't 100%) so have been looking at a turquoise, white and pale pink colour scheme but this idea could easily be adapted to suit a little boy as well - just with a tweak of the colours :-)

xxx

Homemade Summer Wedding

2009-09-05T09:39:00.000-07:00

More Information: image by Martha Stewart weddings, image by martha Stewart weddings

How much am I still loving Style Me Pretty's Style Circle?

This board is another of my attempts at recreating the feel that Scott and I want for our wedding day.

The inspiration for this board came from the amazing Martha Stewart cake (which I have posted on the blog before) and the colours and fun whimsy it provides. Our wedding, if everything goes according to plan and budget (!) will be filled with lots of little homemade touches - particularly where the stationary and decoration of our venue is concerned.

I have fallen in love with the idea of having paper lanterns and tissue paper pom-poms hanging through the trees, interspersed with hanging glass jars holding flickering candles as the sun sets *swoon*

The handmade guestbook is a fun and original idea, a bit more interesting than the average guest book and a lot more fun!

And of course the blackboard at the bottom sums it all up 'Live, Laugh, Love' - it's what every day and every wedding should be about!

xxx

Recipe Three - Chicken and Apple

2009-09-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

Chicken and Apple Puree

1 cooked and chopped boneless chicken breast

2 cooked and chopped dessert apples or 6 heaped tablespoons of apple sauce (no added sugar)

Puree the two ingredients together, adding a small amount of unsweetened apple juice if the consistency is too thick.

This recipe is great for a day when you and daddy are eating chicken - you can make baby's food at the same time :-)

xxx

Woodland Accessories

2009-09-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

I'm loving these woodland inspired pieces from australian company www.kidsgiftlist.com/au.

The height chart is a fun and interactive piece of room decor and the squirrels... well you gotta love the squirrels!

xxx

Budget Art

2009-09-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

Woop! I won my Ebay bid on three plain white artists canvases. I'm hoping to create something like the picture above with them :-) I'll probably leave the base white or paint it cream (rather than blue) and will be making the owls/birds and other animals out of patterned scrap paper. Hopefully they will turn out okay and fingers crossed they will make the perfect addition to the baby's room. I was originally planning to paste the birds and animals straight onto the wall but figured it would be more practical to put them onto canvas - much easier to change later on!

xxx

Family Tree

2009-09-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

How cute is this family tree painting?

I think we will definitely be bringing this idea into play when decorating our nursery. I won't be using these colours as we are planning to stick to a neutral base with brighter accents (there won't be any pink or blue!) but the idea of having all of our little one's family included in their room decoration is such a lovely one. And of course the tree fits perfectly in with our loose woodland/animal theme.

xxx

Our nursery furniture :-)

2009-09-03T03:39:00.000-07:00

Well we are pretty much settled on our nursery furniture now (just gotta go buy it!). We really like the Leksvik range from Ikea, and it helps because its a great value budget buy AND is still solid wood. The cot itself is £75 and there are a few different cot mattresses to go with it, although we are going to decide on which one to get in person (better to have a good feel don't you think?!).

What i really like about it is the fact that it has adjustable height mattress base (so will be suitable as a cot until baby is a year old) and then one side is removable so it can also be a cute toddler bed. Not bad for the price!

There is a matching chest of drawers that we are going to be getting too - we'll probably use it as a baby changing unit whilst the baby is young and then as clothes storage as they get older. It helps that Ikea has a normal single bed and a children's bed available in the same wood finish - so when it comes to buying their first 'big bed' we can match it up with the existing furniture.

Now just got to get a day off to visit Ikea... no doubt i'll find more little bits to get whilst we are in there!

xxx

Yummy Sweet potatoes :-)

2009-09-03T03:21:00.000-07:00

Lately my pregnancy craving has been for sweet potatoes and so I thought i'd post up my favourite way to have them.

Sweet potatoes are really healthy - they are rich in complex carbohydrates, fiber, beta carotene and lots of A, B6 and C vitamins. Which is good for me because they taste really yummy when baked :-)

When Scott and I cook sweet potatoes we do it really simply - just scrub the potatoes, prick them with a fork and bake them in the oven for about forty minutes. After they are softer we cut them in half and stick them on the grill with a topping of caramelized onions and cheese. These are so tasty and really filling too.

Great for when you're feeling peckish and also nice as an accompaniment with grilled chicken or fish. I think that I'll be eating LOADS of these once the baby is here and I need the extra energy for breastfeeding.

The other plus side is that once baby starts weaning i'll be able to cook sweet potato for them aswell - just bake until extra soft, remove the skin and puree with a tiny dab of butter (you can guess who will be eating up their leftovers!)

xxx

Recipe Two - Apple and Pear

2009-09-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

Apple and pear puree (optional cinnamon)

This puree recipe is taken from Annabel Karmel's 'Top 100 baby purees' and is an ideal first food because it is easy to digest and unlikely to cause any allergies. The cinnamon is an optional addition - some parents like to leave out extra spices until their baby is a little older.

For this recipe you need:

2 dessert apples (try Pink Lady or Royal Gala)

2 ripe pears (try Conference or Chinese sweet pears)

4 tbsp pure apple juice or water

generous pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)

Put the peeled and chopped fruit into a saucepan with the apple juice or water (and the cinnamon if using). Cover and simmer over a low heat for 6-8 minutes until tender before blending to a smooth puree.

Cute Baby Toys

2009-09-02T10:49:00.000-07:00

WOW WOW WOW!

How adorable are these handmade toys and mobiles from the Etsy Seller KLTWorks?

Im loving anything bird/wildlife themed at the moment and think that these are just gorgeous and such good, colourful fun!

These are going on my wishlist :-)

xxx

Nursery - paper animals

2009-09-02T10:37:00.001-07:00

More nursery inspiration I found whilst browsing chicmotherandbaby.com/au - these cute collages of animals are so cute and would be so easy to recreate yourself on a budget. I personally would put the paper images directly onto the wall - however if you wanted a room that could be changed easier then it would still look great if the images were painted/pasted onto canvases. You can pick up plain canvases pretty cheaply online and in big stores such as TK Maxx or Etc...

xxx

Nursery - Birds

2009-09-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

As usual I have been scouring the web for inspiring ideas for our little one's nursery, and, thankfully, haven't been disappointed by today's finds. Went through some nursery pictures on 'Rate my Space' (ratemyspace.com) and found this absolutely adorable and completely Diy-friendly nursery.

The nursery had a loose bird/woodland theme and this had been achieved in the colours aswell as all of the cute little details.

The birds themselves were cut out of scrap-booking paper found on craft websites and in their local stationers and were glued onto the wall before being varnished over - i think they are a really nice idea, particularly as they are a neutral and long-lasting design so the parents won't need to remove them any time soon. Of course you can get lots of murals and stickers online but I like these better because of their individuality and fun... not to mention how budget friendly they are!

xxx

Weaning

2009-09-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

Many parents delay the start of weaning until their baby is at least six months old - however this tends to be because of the fact that the processed jars of food tend to be aged at 6+ months. Most doctors, health advisors and nutritionists agree that a baby is able to be weaned from the age of four months.

During the first year of a baby's life most of the nutrition that they receive will be gained from their breast or formula milk intake - so as long as they are still receiving the right amounts of milk the baby loses no nutrition from being weaned at four months than they would later on. According to Annabel Karmel, a leading child nutritionist, it isn't a good idea to delay introducing solids any later than six months as a baby needs to learn to chew and swallow food. Also chewing encourages the development of muscles that are essential for speech.

From four months the types of foods that are suitable for a baby are:

baby rice mixed with breast or formula milk, avocado, bananas, cooked apple and pear, parsnip, potato, carrot, squash and sweet potato.

Image: babyccinoblog.com

xxx

Recipe One

2009-09-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

Ok so all the equipment you need to produce your own nutritional baby purees is a hand blender (or a normal blender although this is harder to clean) and some plastic ice cube trays.

Making your own baby food is not only a hundred times healthier for them but is also one of the most effective ways of saving money - particularly if you use ingredients that you are also using for your own dinners.

All you really need to do is blend the vegetables or cooked meat that you are using into a smooth puree, mixing with a little bit of the cooking water if you need to thin it out. You can then pour this puree into an ice cube tray and put it in the freezer. Once its frozen you can empty the cubes into a plastic freezer bag (labelled with the date) and this way you can reuse the ice cube trays too. Cooking in bulk and freezing in batches couldn't be easier - all you need to do is defrost your puree in the microwave or on the hob when its to be used.

First vegetable puree - carrots

Steam or boil (in a small amount of water) 350g/12oz of carrots that have been peeled or chopped.

Drain and puree with some of the cooking liquid until very smooth.

This makes 8 portions and is ideal for freezing.

Baby Food

2009-09-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately these days people are eating more and more heavily processed food - sales of microwave ready meals are on average twenty percent higher than sales of fresh produce and meals seem to revolve around spending as little time in the kitchen/eating as possible.

This has also led to a rise in the use of processed jars of baby food that you see in the shops nowadays, and which most mothers use for their babies. Many of these baby food companies, including the big names such as Hipp Organics and Heinz replace real food products with water and thickening agents in their baby food - of course this food is then going to be nutritionally inferior to products made with fresh food. So according to testing by the CSPI the baby foods are nutritionally defunct, and not only that but they cost a lot more than similar regular foods that aren't marketed at parents.

For me this is a really important thing to understand - I don't like putting junk food into my body and i'm certainly not planning on putting junk food into our baby either! So when it comes to weaning Scott and I are planning to make all of our baby's food ourselves - this way we know exactly what the baby is eating and that the food doesn't have added fillers and sugar.

It isn't actually particularly time consuming to make your own babyfood - particularly today when most people have a blender (or hand blender) and you can easily produce a big batch of food and freeze it ready to be used throughout the month.

Because of the importance of this to me i'll be adding a new regular post - each week i'll be putting up a little bit of nutritional information or advice on baby feeding and a quick, easy and nutritional recipe for baby food.

Hope you like it

xxx

ps: have a look at the link for more information about the different findings concerning baby foods and their nutritional (and purse friendly) values:

http://www.cspinet.org/reports/cheat1.html

Nursery Inspiration

2009-09-01T07:41:00.000-07:00

How cute is this nursery? I love the tree on the wall and the cute leaves cut out of scrap-booking paper. This is the sort of design that we want to incorporate into the nursery for our little one. We will be going for a wildlife theme mixed with neutral colours for the base and brighter accessories. I'm going fabric hunting this week for some lovely patterned fabrics to turn into bunting and cushion covers.

Scott and I were talking about painting a tree design onto the wall and turning it into a 'family tree' by attaching pictures of the baby's family and painting their names onto it.

xxx

Ice cream and Cakes

2009-08-22T10:23:00.001-07:00

How about this for a cute, fun and retro wedding?

This cake and ice-cream board evokes the 1950s - bridesmaids in taffeta prom dresses and the groomsmen in bow ties.

Cakes, cherry pies and lemonade cocktails on the back lawn.

Sorbet colours, pastels and sunshine...

xxx

2009-08-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

This was my first attempt at an inspiration board on the style me pretty's new style circle.

My inspiration for this board came from the soft grey's of the bridesmaid dresses and the table linen. Both are so elegant and by combining them with beautiful flowers in bright pinks and yellows means that the day can be classic, elegant and stylish whilst still being fun and showing personality. The rustic style pies and glass urns filled with cocktails and fruit juices are a must-have for our outdoorsy wedding and I love all the extra little details such as the paper lanterns and the recycled glass jars used as vases.

xxx

Inspiration Boards

2009-08-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited today because of the launch of the Style Circle from the amazing team that brought me Style Me Pretty!

The website is absolutely amazing- you can create your own profile, talk to other brides and make the most amazing inspiration boards without any hassle! It launched today and I suggest you get your butts down there to have a look at it and have a play around with your own boards!

Have a good day

xxx

Peek: The Birds, the Bees and the Butterflies

2009-08-18T11:22:00.001-07:00

The more I search for inspiration for a late summer wedding the more beautiful and original things i find that I would love to incorporate into my own wedding. How about a classic, fun, whimsical theme such as this one: The birds, the bees and the butterflies...

The headpiece above is designed by etsy seller Whichgoose and is just one of her beautiful and fun designs. How gorgeous would these look on your bridesmaids or flower girls?

I'm feeling inspired so I'm going to draw up some more inspiration and I'll get back to you on this theme...

xxx

Cake Toppers

2009-08-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

How adorable are these little cake toppers? They are made by Lauren Alane on Etsy and can be customized to suit the couple.

Scott and myself like the top birds best - the ones with the little ipod and are planning to use these instead of traditional (and unfortunately sometimes boring) cake-toppers of couples or rings :-)

xxx

Our Pram

2009-08-01T13:20:00.001-07:00

We chose our pram today :-)

It was a much more complicated procedure than I ever imagined that it would be - there are so many different types out there - it's as hard as buying a bloody car! But we got there in the end and chose the Mothercare Mychoice 4-wheeler in bright red with the Maxi-Cosi Cabriofix carseat. Its so perfect, I completely fell in love with it whilst pushing it around the store and folding it up (one handed woo!). The people in the store must've thought we were right crazies walking around trying out hundreds of different prams!

xxx

OMG! Big surprise!

2009-08-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

Wow Wow Wow Wow!

We have had some very exciting news recently (hence the complete lack of blogging) and now I can officially share it with the world because Scott and I are expecting our first baby!

I am four months (sixteen weeks and four days) pregnant with our baby :-) and am due between the 25th December and the 6th January!

Of course this is a majorly exciting time for us - made even more special due to the fact that, for a long time, I was told that due to endometriosis and cysts on my womb, that I was likely to be infertile. Getting pregnant has been a complete dream come true for us and we are so proud to have been given this opportunity.

Popular opinion on the pregnancy is a little bit irregular - some people are very happy for us, whereas others think that we are much too young to be considering having a child (I am 20 and Scott is 21), however in our opinion the perfect time for having a child is whenever you are lucky enough to have one!

So many people in this world can't have children, and I know what it feels like to think that you will never be a mum, so to me the most important thing is that a child is wanted, loved and that the parents (or parent) is willing to try hard to raise the child that they have been blessed with.

Im going to be updating the blog pretty regularly from now on with all things baby related. The wedding has, of course, been postponed, however my planning head is still 'in the zone' and so I won't be stopping the inspiration stuff that I love to post up here :-)

Hope our news finds you well and happy, just like we are

Lots of love

Alex and Scott

xxx

Simple, Summery Bridesmaid Dresses

2009-05-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

No matter where we end up getting married there is one thing that Scott and I are definite about - and that is the fact that we want a warm weather wedding.

Whenever I picture our wedding I see bright, summery colours - yellows, blues and greens mixed with flashes of bright, clean whites. For this reason we have decided against traditional, formal bridesmaid dresses and gone instead for light summer dresses. Of course I've been getting my thinking cap on to find the perfect dresses for the perfect girls in my life :-)

These dresses are all from Asos.com and I love them all for different reasons - the turquoise blue is such a perfect colour (not to mention one of my favourites!), the yellow is so summery and fun - I love all of the back strap details and think this sort of dress would be perfect at a backyard wedding BBQ.

To be honest though - although I love those two dresses the white would definitely be the most versatile - particularly as it would be possible to buy them up and dye them different colours according to the colour scheme. Seeing as we havn't settled on a definite colour scheme this would be very beneficial to us.

And the best bit? Not one of these dresses costs more than £50!

xxx

Recessionista

2009-04-21T12:59:00.000-07:00

What is a recessionista I hear you ask?

My answer is this: A recessionista is somebody who, with a limited budget, still manages to be fashionable, unique and have fun with their clothes.

I would, given the current economic climate, suggest that EVERYONE start becoming more of a recessionista. Unless you have the budget of J-Lo then you have probably had to hold back with the credit cards in these recent months - I know that I certainly have been cutting back.

There are a few steps that really make you a recessionista in my eyes - and I truly have been following them to the letter in recent months...

This is the first...

a) You need to really sort through your wardrobes. A certain Gok Wan is known for saying that we should all "shop less and wear more" - this is the right idea but before you can begin cutting down on your shopping habit you need to learn the art of 'organization'

Scott and I recently sorted out our wardrobes, although mass-annihilation would probably be a more appropriate term for what we did. Sticking by the rule of 'If you haven't worn it in the past year then chuck it" we managed to whittle down three wardrobes and six drawers worth of clothes into one wardrobe and three drawers - a fact that I am very proud of. Im sure that we could have even got rid of more of our things If i hadn't had such a soft spot for lingerie and Scott for t-shirts!

The local charity shop was certainly lucky - with our TWELVE bin-bags full of donated goods, and shamefully to say, many of which were unworn!

b) Once you are left with only those items you wear organize them into sections - this can be via usage (i.e Sportswear, Underwear) or by Colour or any other categorization method that suits you...

Our wardrobe now goes a little something like this:

Drawer One - Alex's Underwear

Drawer Two - Scott' Underwear

Drawer Three - Socks/Tights/Gloves

Sportswear - including swimwear

Workwear - Shirts, Trousers, Smart skirts (pencil skirts etc)

Casual Wear - Jeans, t-shirts, vests, skirts (denim etc), dresses etc

Evening Wear - Dresses, suits, ties etc

Seasonal Wear - All of our winter jumpers etc have been boxed up and put in the base of the wardrobe until the weather turns again.

The idea was that by organizing our things into sections we could clearly see what we were lacking, or conversely, inundated with. In our case it's a mixture of casual clothes, particularly t-shirts, and evening wear (for something we rarely wear we have way too much of the stuff!).

c) Really think about what you are buying. Ok so you have cleared out your wardrobe - what you don't want to then do is use up all that new space by filling it with more useless clothes! When shopping stop and think about what you are buying - ask yourself some important questions:

Do I really need this item?

What will I wear it with?

Where will I wear it?

Is it worth the price on a cost-per-wear basis?

If you hesitate to find answers to any of these questions then step away from the unecessary purchase and put the money into a savings account instead! Think about it this way:

2 Dresses at £60.00 each from Topshop

Pair of knee-high boots from River Island at £80.00

Three bags at £8.00 each from Primark

Set of Underwear at £30 from Ann Summers

Two t-shirts at £15 each from H&M

Makeup from Boots at £30

This all comes into a shockingly high £314 - for that you could have really treated yourself to a pair of luxury Christian Laboutins. A divine pair of shoes that would last ten times longer than those River Island Boots, Won't be out of fashion in a couple of weeks and so much more satisfactory - A couple of years of budgeting like this and you could have a wardrobe filled with beautiful, designer, heirloom pieces to treasure forever!

A Costa Rican Wedding?

2009-04-21T11:15:00.001-07:00

So... If Scott has his way we will actually be getting married on the beautiful south american island of Costa Rica. Most likely somewhere like the Villa Caletas in Jaco *see picture* with views across the mountains, the rainforest and it's own private beach! It is truly stunning and the sort of country that really is 'us' but we are having a few problems - namely the fact that some of the people we really want there on the day (Scott's mum and a few others) would have problems affording the price of flights out there, not to mention their spending money!

As you can imagine its a bit of a dilemna - in an ideal world we would have enough money to pay for everyone to get out there but this isnt an ideal world - particularly when it's just Scott working at the moment!

xxx

Scott's Birthday

2009-04-21T10:55:00.000-07:00

Had a really lovely weekend - didn't do any wedding planning though :-S!

It was my darling Scott's birthday on Friday and so we had a nice lie-in, went shopping for a few bits and pieces (And new shoes for me!!!)

I'll be pairing them with black straight jeans (just like i pair everything) and an oversized shirt (probably the birthday boy's!).

The rest of the weekend we spent relaxing, reading, cooking together and listening to music. Although I did fit in a few hours to help my little brother with his egyptian project - I think I enjoyed making the barbie-doll mummy and the sarcophagus more than he did!

Scott is back at work now though :-( So i'm all alone until very late tonight - completely unfair but someone has to earn the money to pay for our wedding day!

xxx

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne

2009-04-14T06:32:00.000-07:00

'Pavel is not a doctor anymore Bruno,' said Maria quietly, 'But he was. In another life. Before he came here'.

I've always had a keen interest in the history of the Second World War - particularly in the understanding of the holocaust so when I came across this small book in Borders I made sure I picked it up. The book is about a young boy called Bruno, the son of a nazi commandant, who is moved to Auschwitz Concentration Camp and who makes friends with a boy 'on the other side of the fence'. It is a beautifully written story - and John Boyne has clearly researched his ideas carefully - including many seemingly small details that can be picked up by anybody who has read about the horrific history of the Nazi Occupation and the Holocaust.

It's quite a deep book and very moving. I would recommend it to anybody - not just those interested in history, but also to anybody interested in the world and the people in it.

xxx

Birmingham

2009-04-09T03:53:00.000-07:00

"When you realise that you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible" - Nora Ephron 'When Hally Met Sally'

Heya! Im back from a fabulous trip to Birmingham to see some of our close friends and their beautiful little daughter Maria! And how happy am I right now to say that me and Scott have just become godparents!

We had a really good time in Birmingham - doing a little shopping at the Bullring, going on long walks and visiting the parks and farms with our gorgeous god-daughter :-). By the way Maria loves the horses and adores Scott (we couldn't get her away from him!) It was so sweet and the perfect way to bring in the Spring months!

xxx

Baby!

2009-03-24T04:04:00.001-07:00

How much do I want a baby after seeing the adorable Summer ranges from Mamas and Papas and Baby Gap? And who could possibly resist the little converse?! *broody*
xxx

Butterfly Wedding Ideas

2009-03-23T10:26:00.001-07:00

I absoloutely adore the wonderful butterfly themed ideas I have come across whilst looking for wedding inspiration. These cupcake cases are from an American company called Estilo - unfortunately it doesn't look like they ship to the UK *gutted* so I shall be hunting down UK based suppliers of laser cut cupcake liners/wrappers! Aren't they just beautiful?

xxx

Perfect Summer Party Ideas

2009-03-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

These butterfly and daffodil filled birdcages are perfect centrepieces for a spring or summer wedding or event. You could adapt them to suit any colour scheme simply by changing the flowers or the colour of the butterflies! This is so simple but fun and really brought a smile to my face when I saw it on the Hostess with the Mostess blog! I can just see something very similiar on the tables at my wedding :-) xxx

Hello Lucky!

2009-03-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hours of research has had me feeling depressed over the revelation that there are very few suppliers of Letterpress Wedding Stationary in the UK. It was horrible seeing all of the beautiful designs available for brides over in the USA and then seeing the, somewhat paltry in comparison, invitations being sold over here in the UK. Over in America Letterpress Invitations are staples of any Bride's wish list - it's about time they got their due in England too!

And then I came across Hello Lucky! And I fell in *Love*. The company is US based but have a UK website with appropriate prices in sterling and some amazing 'English' Designs. One of my favorites has to be the London Skyline set - perfect for a city wedding and the Save the Dates would be perfect for me and Scott (after all we are getting married around the corner from Tower Bridge!) Hello Lucky! Have the most amazingly perfect invitations around - perfect for any style of wedding and with a huge variety of designs and colour schemes to choose from.

Letterpress itself is a type of handmade printing technique manufactured in the 1400s which involves each colour or ink being indented into the paper one at a time. It is a time consuming process, and thus more pricey than digitally printed invitations, but the effect is beautiful and well worth the extra money!

My beautiful Scott

2009-03-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

Ok so just read Scott's first post and *aww* i was in tears over it - I love you too baby! The words he wrote are so sweet and thoughtful and I'm completely blown away by it! Just an emotional, blubbing, hormonal wreck at the moment! Bless my gorgeous fiance - I still thank my lucky stars every day that I have such an amazing man in my life - he works so hard and is such a wonderful person to spend my time with! *i am truly blessed* Oh and btw sweety you could have ALL of the rolos if you wanted :-p Goodness... if that is his first post on our blog what are his vows going to be like? Best stock up on the waterproof mascara!!!

Xxx

Scott's First Blog

2009-03-23T02:13:00.000-07:00

Hey, this is my first blog entry and to be honest I'm not really sure what to say or how to start but i suppose it always good to start with the important stuff and if I'm starting there then i really should mention Alex as she is the most important thing in my life! we meet nearly three years ago and things have been really been the same since it was nothing as cliche as love a first sight but it was something like the sowing of a seed and with time, effort and a relentless devotion it would grow into what it is now.

waking up every morning and leaving Alex for college or work was damn near impossible when she first moved in with me three months ago and it was still just as hard this morning. I get the distinct feeling that that isn't gonna change tomorrow or any other day after that. it may seem weird but i think that was worth writing about because i don't think that I'll ever get tired or bored of her, don't think I'll need to bitch about her to my friends and family, I'll never need alone time or time with the boys. don't get me wrong I'm not saying i want to be with her every second of every day but what i am saying is that it would be OK if she was.

i love her, she will always have time, spare me her shoulder, budge over on the couch and give me her last Rollo she is my best friend.

Net-A-Porter

2009-03-23T01:50:00.000-07:00

Ok so you all know that net-a-porter isn't exactly within my budget (think more primark!) but this site is amazing fashion inspiration and many a time have I seen something amazing and gorgeous and completely over my budget by about £600 and then visited a store on the high street and seen its exact double! Chloe lookalikes at River Island anyone?! Its also the perfect eye candy website for people like me - shoe addicts! And now they have started up a bridal boutique with sooo many beautiful items for brides, bridesmaids, mothers of the bride and groom, lingerie, honeymoon and guests! How wonderful!!!

Have a look at:

www.net-a-porter.com/Content/boutique/wedding

Over the next few days I will post up some inspiration boards based on the different categories they have up on the site :-p so keep your eyes peeled!

xxx

2009-03-19T04:42:00.000-07:00

Addiction

I am suddenly becoming just SLIGHTLY addicted to the work of Martha Stewart and her Weddings team! Every time I look on the website I am completely enthralled by something new and amazing and *So Perfect* for my own wedding! The best thing about the ideas they put up is that the vast majority of them are DIY ideas - so not only are they budget friendly but they make it so much easier to organise a wedding - who wants to be dilly-dallying with a dozen suppliers when you can just make a quick trip to paperchase or rymans, have a bid on ebay or spend the afternoon with the husband-to-be printing ribbons with our married name? I know what I would much prefer to be doing! At the moment I am browsing the cake selection - and guess what? I have always said that the wedding cake wasn't important to me... but it soooo is! Just take a look at these ones!

Scott's pick is the gorgeous colourful butterfly cake - simple but dramatic, fun and flirty isn't it a beauty? And the real beauty? It can cost so much less than a typical wedding cake... Ebay searching butterflies right now... :-)

And what about the fun and summery daisy cake? Not so easy to do ourselves but what a perfect inspiration for a sunny summer wedding!

xxx

2009-03-18T16:46:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Martha Stewart via Style me Pretty

Biscuit and tea tins used as vases like these are beautiful AND eco-friendly :-p Just test them to make sure they are waterproof and fill with single flower arrangements. If they aren't waterproof line them with plastic bags.

xxx

2009-03-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

Picture Credit: Martha Stewart

This cluster of potted zinnias provides a favour and table centrepiece in one. The sign next to the display asks guests to "please pick one". The flowerpots are painted to match the colour scheme and what about personalising them with the names? They could then be place settings as well! These certainly wouldn't look out of place at the wedding scott and me are going for!

xxx

DIY Wedding Favours

2009-03-18T15:39:00.000-07:00

The simplest of wedding favours can be made spectacular with a little bit of DIY.

How romantic are the top favours? They are plain boxes wrapped with newspaper style print of Shakespeare writings. The little beaded tassle with the 'love' beads is a simple but beautiful touch! Adorable!

The centre image from Martha Stewart Weddings shows how a hole-punch can be used to make these simple dots (and lots of confetti). Lined with a brightly coloured paper and wrapped with a coordinating ribbon the favours look fun and very sweet! I want these at our wedding!

The bottom favours from Martha Stewart were wrapped in hand-made paper. You can use any word processing program to make the design or for more complicated designs a graphics program. The designs were printed off onto thin paper and wrapped up with thin ribbon as an added touch :-)

xxx

All Pictures and ideas: Martha Stewart Weddings

Kate's Paperie

2009-03-17T14:50:00.000-07:00

All Pictures: Kate's Paperie (www.katespaperie.com)

The stationary and accessories on this website are just amazing! Not only does the site have all of their own origional designs but also stocks items from designers such as Kate Spade and Vera Wang! Lovely pieces - not particularly cheap but you can see the quality just looking at them! I would love one of these handmade book-top birdhouses covered with butterfly decoupage - maybe as decoration at the wedding or as a quirky note holder in the house!

xxx

Yellow in the Home 3

2009-03-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

Ok so technically this isn't much of a room inspiration but it sure helped me think up a few ideas. The mild buttercup yellow is the perfect colour for a communal living area and the beautiful big glass panelled french doors are lovely (just look at the view). The built in storage in very practical and I can just see right now how this room could look - it has so many possibilities. I would hang a paper thing white voile curtain at the french door, put a beautiful baroque style etched mirror in the space under the built in shelves and fill the sideboard with family pictures and trinkets :-) A big comfortable leather sofa would be on the wall next to the back door and a distressed wooden coffee table (probably vintage) would sit in front of it holding a few books and a vase of bright yellow tulips :-)

Photo: dohrmann construction

Yellow in the Home 2

2009-03-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

What can i say other than "Good Day Sunshine"! This hallway is the perfect antidote to morning blues - it would certainly wake me up and put me in a good mood for the day - no matter what side of the bed I got out of! Lovely.

Photo: Country Living - Keith Scott Morton

Yellow in the Home

2009-03-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

Pictures from: Country Living

How beautiful and sunny does this kitchen/dining room look? I get cheerful just looking at it! The combination of rustic wood and yellow walls is fun and reminds me of a mediterranean villa - and who wouldn't want to be there with the weather like it is today? Gorgeous!

xxx

Cheers!

2009-03-17T08:58:00.003-07:00

Pear Mimosa

2 bottles of champagne (or ginger beer for non-alcoholic)

4 cups pear nectar

1 lime cut into wedges

Pour the champagne into glasses, top with the pear nectar and garnish with lime slice

Photo Credit : www.find.myrecipes.com

Apple Martini

2 cups vodka

1 cup apple schnapps

1 cup orange liqueur

1 cup fresh lime juice

Mix all of the ingredients and chill. Right before serving stir in three cups of ice. In the picture apple slices have been added for decoration.

Picture and Recipe Credit: Country Living

How yummy do these cocktails look? I can't wait for the summer to come! Drinks with friends is the perfect excuse to try them out, as if I need an excuse! :-)

xxx

Sunflowers

2009-03-17T08:49:00.000-07:00

Photos: Top to Bottom, all from Country Living.

Sunflowers are such beautiful flowers and make great budget floral displays. In the pictures above I have shown them off in a rustic setting - the small cupcakes are made using yellow buttercream icing and a small amount of chocolate sauce as the centre-point. You can find similar lanterns in Ikea and Homebase. In the middle picture this relaxed family BBQ is brought to life with simple arrangements of sunflowers in different vessels, and note the lanterns again. At the bottom - what could possibly be more fun than a barn dance or dinner party? Perfect for a birthday or reception or even just because you love your Dolly Parton!

xxx

Garden Entertaining

2009-03-17T08:38:00.003-07:00

Photo: Decorative Country Living

Picture Credits: Tria Glovan

Deborah McClinton

Photo Credit: Deborah McClinton

How much do these pictures make me want to have a garden? They are lovely - perfect decor for so many events. Garden party? Check. BBQ? Check. Wedding? Check. Barn Dance? Check. Christening? Check. Family dinner? Check. Football night? Check.

Some of my favourite flowers are daisies, gerberas and peonies - fun summer flowers and these are some great examples of how to show them off!

xxx

The Green Kangaroo

2009-03-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

All Invitations from The Green Kangaroo (www.tgkdesigns.com)

Im slowly falling in love with wedding stationary. How delighted would you be if you recieved one of these through the post? These invitations convey the type of wedding that you are having. I can't even choose a favourite. Scott likes the daisy invite at the bottom - clear, simple and fun. But then there is the cherry blossom and swallow invite - elegant, fun and so beautiful. Oh but what about the filigree design in the middle? Is that not fun and beautiful and simple? And don't even get me started on the colours!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

xxx

Wedding Invitations

2009-03-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

These invites are by the talented Iva Swan they are so pretty. The top ones are fun and Scott reckons we could make very similar ones ourselves - although I'm not sure that amateurs like us could make anything this nice! Loving the colours and the pocket fold though!

xxx

South America - Peru

2009-03-17T06:40:00.001-07:00

Picture Credit: Wikipedia

One of the places Scott and I most want to visit is South America - In particular Peru. When you first think of Peru you do of course think of Machu Picchu. But we also want to see the rest of the country - from the metropolitan city of Lima, to the beautiful Arequipa and Cusco. Of course we want to see Machu Picchu aswell! Scott loves biology and so is always on the look out for national parks and wildlife sanctuarys in the places we plan to visit - and of course this means that one of the places that caught his eye was The Paracas National reserve in Ica. This is a state protected area of beaches and rock formations and is a refuge to fur seals, otters, penguins, dolphins and more than two hundred species of birds including flamingos! Just a short drive away is Nasca - the home of the Nasca Lines *top* (one of the great mysteries of the ancient World).

Arequipa is home to Mount Misti - It is a volcano that, despite being active, is not considered to be a threat. Scott wants to climb this on our trip... I personally am not so keen (not sure if the thrill of it would be enough to overcome the blisters) but as it is something he really wants to do I will join in - after all he certainly isn't leaving me at the base camp waiting! I personally am more interested in the cultural side of the countries that we want to visit - not too much mud or bugs and plenty of churches, people watching and eating lots of amazing food!

Tacna is a beautiful city in the South - 50 kilometres from the border of Chile and is exactly the kind of place I want to visit. It is a beautiful city - known for its baroque churches, wineries and monuments from the War for Independance.

Puno and Lake Titicaca are definate must-sees for both of us - here you can visit the Chullpas de Sillustani - a complex of burial chambers built by the Kollas, beautiful Colonial churches, and Pucara known for its amazing pottery. The lake itself is home to many tribes who live on man-made *floating islands* made out of reeds. Apparently this is an amazing site and I can just imagine the enjoyment that comes from photographing such a place.

I can't wait... maybe we will even make Peru our honeymoon... :-)

xxx

Springtime Entertaining

2009-03-17T06:12:00.001-07:00

Photo Credit: Aimee Herring

Photo Credit: Keith Scott Morton

Photo Credit : Francis Janisch

Me and Scott can't wait to have our own place so we can start inviting friends over for dinner. Spring and Summer are our favourite seasons and so when I came upon this on the Country Living website I couldn't help but be seduced. Maybe its the light and airy colours, or the gorgeous flowers or the fact that this is exactly what we want from our wedding... whatever it is I'm in love! Scott wants to have a go at the tin can vases from the bottom picture - I'll post his attempts up on here as soon as they are done! :-)

Cakes

2009-03-17T05:37:00.003-07:00

Photo Credit: Aimee Herring Via Country Living

Photo Credit : Frances Janisch

Photo Credit : Miki Duisterhof

Wow I'm getting hungry just looking at these cute cupcakes! They are off the Country Living website (complete with tips on how to decorate your own cupcakes). The little edible flowers on the middle cupcakes can be easily found - chamomile, violets, nasturtiums and scented geraniums are all useable :-) The cookies at the top are lovely - and of course you don't have to have the colours shown above. These are exactly the sort of thing me and Scott are looking at for our wedding - a little bit country, a little bit chic and a whole lotta perfect!

Beautiful Rooms

2009-03-17T05:08:00.000-07:00

This bedroom isn't really me and Scott but it is a beautiful room - and for some reason really reminds me of a friend of mine, Anna and her boyfriend Glenn. They are such a fun couple and the colours in this room make me smile - just like they do. Not sure Anna would be feeling the butterflies though!

Aren't these room ideas beautiful? I found them whilst having a quick search on Ideal Home Magazine website. The top one would be a really beautiful home office - feminine but chic and the wallpaper and matching noticeboards make a really cute room amazing!

Hasn't every girl always wanted a dressing table? I know I have - unfortunately no bedroom I have ever had has had enough room to put one in! The mirrors on the wall are lovely - probably not the most practical place to have them but pretty all the same! I love whitewashed wood furniture but I do prefer a more distressed look. Maybe when Scott and me get our proper place we will be able to have one :-) - if I'm especially lucky I might be able to get an old one from a charity shop or furniture yard and do it up myself *can see a DIY project coming on*

xxx

New Season Fashion - My wishlist!

2009-03-17T03:46:00.000-07:00

How pretty is this dress? I love it - and would love to wear it. Its perfect just the way it is shown on ASOS, but imagine it worn over a grey skinny-fit tee from H&M... Yes you like the idea too right?! Its only £25 Why oh Why do I not have more money?! :-(

This Fred Perry dress is soo nice :-) I love the rolled up sleeves and the deep v-neck I would wear it with grey pumps or black flip-flops! At £74 I'd need to save up until NEXT summer to buy it though :-p Fred Perry clothes remind me of summer and having fun, playing frisbee in the park and dancing around the garden to 'I wish i was a Punk-rocker' by Sandi Thom.

You can probably tell by now that I LOVE Asos - I'm always popping onto the site to check things out :-) Of course im never able to get the things I love due to lack of funds and a penchant for expensive or beautiful things!

xxx

Musings and Wishes

2009-03-17T02:53:00.000-07:00

The moment i saw this t-shirt from Ringspun (via Asos.com) I knew that it would be a staple part of my wardrobe the moment it arrived in the post! The weather outside today is sunny with a bit of a chill so I would pair it with a pair of skinny jeans and a slouchy cardigan (probably one of Scott's!) In the summer heat I would wear it with a pair of denim shorts and a pair of gladiator sandles (I have kept all of mine from last summer!) Then in the winter I'd be wearing it layered up over vests or a long-sleeved t-shirt, jeans and my trusty tan leather slouch boots! What an investment and only £25.00! Bargain too!

xxx

Red and White Inspiration Board

2009-03-17T02:05:00.000-07:00

I absoloutely love the drama of a vibrant red up against a crisp white background! This cake is such a work of Art I don't think I could possibly cut it at my wedding!

Clockwise from top left: Cake by Kate Sullivan, Picture of red shoes from Flickr via Style me Pretty, Invitation from Wedding Paper Divas (www.weddingpaperdivas.com), Dinnerware set up as tablecentre with cupcakes and mini glass christmas baubles all Marks and Spencers and Red Bridesmaid dresses J Crew.

First Inspiration Piece

2009-03-16T14:55:00.000-07:00

Inspiration for a Blue and Orange Wedding

How beautiful is the painting at the bottom 'Impression: Sunrise' by Claude Monet? I used this as a base for a colour scheme of turquoise blue and orange.

The cute earrings at the top are handmade from Button Jewellery (www.buttonjewellery.co.uk) and would look stunning paired with a deep blue dress for the bridesmaids.

The middle pictures are both from The Knot (www.theknot.com) and show a navy grooms suit with lighter blue shirt, coordinating tie and a sweet single gerbera buttonhole - very sophisticated but fun at the same time! The other picture is of an orange bouquet from one of their featured Real Weddings - how lovely are the different textures and subtle differences in colour?

I love these colours together - but it's definately a look for the brave!

xxx

Wedding Planning :)

2009-03-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

What can I say? Today has been a very busy day for me... and no I havn't got around to tackling the HUGE pile of ironing that needs to be done :S...

However I have sorted out something that I have been thinking about for a VERY long time - taking a part-time course in something I am actually interested in (compared to my university degree which unfortunately is proving to be a bit of a drag!)

Anyway enough suspense *drum roll please* - I am enrolling on a course at Central Saint Martins College of Arts London - and by this time next year will be a fully qualified event planner :D

Of course this probably isn't half as exciting for you reading this as it is for me - after all I am the one doing all the jumping around in hyper-ness (word?!) and thinking up my big plans.

This all started of course on the chatroom of the 'You and Your wedding' website where I was helping a certain young lady develop her ideas for an Alice in Wonderland Themed Wedding (I will post these up later by the way) and had several comments about how good my ideas were and that I should be... wait for it... a Wedding Planner! Once the idea was in my head I couldn't stop thinking about it - could I really help other couples like us plan the wedding of a lifetime? Would people really like my ideas outside of the realm of cyberspace?!

I admit I'm pretty nervous about the whole idea - yet the fact that the butterflies in my tummy are the exact same butterflies that visited me the night of my first date with the H2B (husband-to-be) makes me think that maybe this could be a great idea and what if, at last, I have found my calling? It makes me go giddy just thinking about it!!!

On a more serious note (the giddyness clearly got me running away with myself) I am actually really looking forward to it :-) Unfortunately the course doesn't start for a couple of months so I'm going to have to wait - yet something tells me that I will be using this time to get myself fully prepared! Not to mention getting my university work out of the way :-S haha!

I shall be posting a few inspiration boards up on the website to showcase a few of my ideas - any feedback would be much appreciated as I would love to know what people thought of my pieces :-) Also if anybody has real wedding pictures they would like to share feel free to email me at alex.peploe123@gmail.com

Kisses and Hugs

Alex

xxx

2009-03-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

This is us by the way - not the most flattering picture but we sure know how to have fun :P

xxx

First Post!

2009-03-15T06:19:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone

This is the first post from your London Couple :)

Thought i would tell you a little bit more about us - after all you don't want to be reading the random musings of a couple of strangers (not sure this makes us any more acquainted but oh well!)

My name is Alex (Alexandria - but don't call me that if you want an answer :p lol) and i'm a 19 year old history student from London, England. The other half of this incredibly adorable couple i like to think we are is Scott (also known as Smiley or Scotty 2 Hotty depending on who you are talking to!) - at the moment my gorgeous 20 year old fiance is studying Biology, Chemistry and Physics with the look to go onto forensic or biochemical sciences (btw don't ask me anything about science i'm not even going to pretend to know!)

We have been together for 2 and a half years and officially engaged since February 6th :) and are REALLY looking forward to getting married and jetting off somewhere unusual for our honeymoon!

This blog is mainly just a way for me to get rid of some of the thoughts and ideas and inspiration that clutter up my poor mind - especially since we got engaged and I have become addicted to wedding planning (you will see a lot of that on here no doubt) but hopefully it will also become somewhere Scott and I can show the world exactly what the life and love of this London couple is about,

Thanks Guys

Love Alex

xxx