happy place

It's not always easy to explain why I love the beach. 

It is my happy place.

It makes all my worries seem small.

Rain or shine it's where I like to be.

WIP Shawl

A few weeks ago I picked up my crochet hook again. It's been a while and I was keen to get back into it. So with some super chunky yarn and a 20mm (yes 20!) hook I made a snood. It worked up quickly and the yarn was so soft not to mention a gorgeous bright turquoise colour. Then thanks to IG I spotted the perfect project to work on next. A granny shawl. So here we are so far on this WIP.

The pattern I used can be found here.

I love deciding on colours and combinations for a pattern. I decided to make this shawl for myself and I went to have a look in a local yarn shop for some inspiration. I nearly chose a coral coloured cotton that had a silky look to it but went with trusty Rico Creative cotton. I like the matt colours. They only had a few colours to choose from in the shop but 1 caught my eye. It's called clay. I decided not to do a striped shawl but a thick black stripe along the bottom of the shawl and for the edging.

What are your WIP's?

I'm also joining in with #WIPsLinky that Tales from Mount Pleasant has set up.

Love Lemon x

August Break 2013 - Catch Up

Me and my family drove to France for our holiday, it was a lot of fun. Challenging at times with a 3 year old and an 11 month old but it was so good to get away. We stayed in some lovely places and booked with friends so we met them there. Lots of French food and wine were consumed. I can't wait to go back.

So, here are my photos for the August Break 2013.

6. diagonals

7. skyline

8. a selfie

9. taste

10. red

11. play

12. far away

13. home

14. stillness

15. books

16. floral

17. touch

18. looking down

19. white

20. taste

21. something old

Love Lemon x

Day 5 - Close Up

Today I have used the August break prompt of 'close up' to brush up on some photography skills. I think it would be great to take part in a workshop to learn more about digital photography, however until then I will recall the brief lessons learnt from my media production degree.

Here are the best shots from a bunch I took:

I think my favourite is the lavender.

Love Lemon x

August Break 2013

I have decided to take part in the August Break 2013 hosted by Susannah Conway. It's a great idea, a chance to break from blogging and find some inspiration by taking photos and using prompts for ideas.

I mostly use my trusty Iphone but will also be using my Nikon D3000. You can find my photos on this blog or on Instagram.

I found useful tips about taking photos with an Iphone on Susannah Conway's blog.

It's day 4 of the August Break, here are my photos so far:

In honour of todays photo, here are a few things I LOVE at the moment:

These amazing handmade brightly coloured leather bags by LARK

The launch of a great new online shop Southwood Stores selling stylish accessories, stationary and homeware like this cool camera clock:

And this wallpaper by Missprint:

Are you taking part in the August Break?

Love Lemon x

What's on your Mantelpiece?

One of the things I love most about living in a period property is a fireplace, I like the way it adds focus to a room and to me it feels homely, a place to gather around (rather than the TV!). A fireplace can reveal so much about the history of a house and past owners. I think a mantelpiece can also say a lot about people and their home and style. I personally don't think there are wrong and right ways to display items above a fireplace it's just how it works for you. Some like symmetry and others have a theme and colour. Some people even like to change displays with each season.

I started to think about mantelpieces in homes when I was inspired by users on Instagram that asked everyone to show their mantelpieces. It was interesting to see such a varied collection of treasured items. I am not a fan of clutter but nor do I like the minimalist look, a happy medium I would say.

Here are some of my favourites:
I like the black and white and added bright pink and yellow on this mantelpiece.

Florence Finds

I like the bright pink letters below that seem such a contrast to the other items displayed.

GAP Interiors

The mantel below belongs to Cath Kidston, I like the co-ordination of colours and the artwork displayed.

Featured in Lonny Magazine

Letters are becoming increasingly popular and the mantelpiece seems a perfect place to display them. I like this collection of different styles and sizes.

These two fireplaces are the same but have been styled very differently, the second is my favourite with the collection of lovely vintage mirrors.

Blog

Interior Style

Here is my mantelpiece:

I collected colourful vases to match the colours in the painted tile on the opposite side. This tile is a painting of the sand dunes I visited in Brazil when on honeymoon with my husband and the artist painted the tile as we watched. I loved all the sunset colours.

What is on your mantelpiece? 

Love Lemon x

Head in the Clouds

Well another busy month for this family, we moved to the seaside just over a month ago. We are all loving it and very happy here. The sun is also shining which has been long overdue and I just hope it sticks around. I am hoping for lots more BBQ's, fun in the paddling pool, ice creams and trips to the beach. I have been making a few bits to go in the babys room which is looking really nice.

I made this cloud cushion for the rocker which has a bright turquoise fabric on the reverse:

I like all the cloud designs around at the moment. I made some bunting featuring a very sweet cloud print fabric. It works particularly well in a nursery for a girl or boy.

I recently discovered an amazing site The Modern Baby where I found these cloud wall transfers which I think would also look great.

The Modern Baby have so many lovely products that are not only fun and colourful but also very stylish. I love this cosy cloud blanket too:

I also made a little fluffy stuffed cloud and raindrops to hang up.

So here is Joe's room all finished, oh apart from the chair that needs painting, it can go on the list with all the other things I need to paint and perhaps a rug, I'm sure I will find more things to add to it too, maybe finished wasn't the right word:

As you can see Mr Lion is up now too, a few of the items I researched for my Cool Stuff for Boys post I did end up getting, I also had some cloud curtains in there too which may have been when I first admired the cloud print. I keep updating my Pinterest board too for more ideas for boys rooms.

ALSO my blog was featured on the Sainbury Bank website with a lovely review which was very nice indeed. 

Love Lemon x