Summer is in the Air – Freshly Squeezed Orange & Pink

When I found this summer-inspired post on Southern Weddings, I just had to repost some of these gorgeous images. Photographed by KT Merry and inspired by Lilly Pulizer and the original Palm Beach juice stand, this shoot has captured the true essence of a summer wedding: the colours are bright yet pastel, the decor and food just screams ‘fresh’ and the flowers are among some of the most beautiful bouquets I have seen.

This is summer people! Be inspired with this post – imagine how great your first summer event could be with some of these great decor, food & floral ideas included? I’m thinking pool party, coloured lanterns, fairy lights, strawberries & orange slices in lemonade and everyone dressed in brights 🙂

HOME | Lyrics Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Alabama Arkansas I do love my Ma and Pa
Not the way that I do love you

Well holy moly me oh my
You’re the apple of my eye
Girl I’ve never loved one like you

Man o man you’re my best friend
I scream it to the nothingness
There ain’t nothing that I need

Hot and heavy pumpkin pie
Chocolate candy Jesus Christ
Ain’t nothing please me more than you

[Chorus:]
Home, let me come home
Home is wherever I’m with you
Home, let me come home
Home is wherever I’m with you

La la la la
Take me home
Mama I’m coming home

I follow you into the park,
Through the jungle, through the dark
Girl I’ve never loved one like you

Moats and boats and waterfalls,
Alleyways and payphone calls
I been everywhere with you (that’s true)

Laugh until we think we’ll die,
Barefoot on a summer night
Never could be sweeter than with you

And in the streets you run afree,
Like it’s only you and me,
Geeze, you’re something to see.

[Chorus]

La la la la
Take me home
Mama I’m coming home

‒ Jade?
‒ Alexander?
‒ Do you remember that day you fell outta my window?
‒ I sure do ‒ you came jumping right out after me.
‒ Well, you fell on the concrete, nearly broke your ass, and you were bleeding all over the place, I rushed you out to the hospital, you remember that?
‒ Yes, I do.
‒ Well, there’s something I never told you about that night.
‒ What didn’t you tell me?
‒ Well, while you were sitting in the back seat smoking a cigarette you thought was gonna be your last, I was falling deep, deep in love with you, and I never told you till just now!

[Chorus]

Home, let me come home, home is wherever I’m with you
Our home, yes I’m home, home is when I’m alone with you

Alabama Arkansas I do love my Ma and Pa
Moats and boats and waterfalls,
Alleyways and payphone calls

Home is when I’m alone with you!
Home is when I’m alone with you

Women’s Colours for Spring 2014

So according to the Pantone Colour Institute, here are the Top 10 colours for women for Spring 2014, as evidenced by designers in the latest catwalk shows. What do you think? A variety of brights, pastel brights and neutrals to play around with. Here is what Leatrice Eiseman, the executive director had to say about the colour selection:

“What’s interesting is we’re seeing exciting and fashionable colors as well as more neutral ones. It’s not as though everyone is willing to wear the bright colors from recent seasons head-to-toe. There needs to be equilibrium, and that is a more serious word than balance. The world still needs the stability of soft neutrals but we’re not just talking about gray, beige and taupe,”  (read more here)

I’m loving the Hemlock green, the Sand shade and Paloma grey. Thoughts Good Girls community?!

Commonsense & Perseverance | Monday Wisdom

What a significant amount of wisdom in the below quote. It’s amazing to think we often work exceedingly hard to the point of striving, whereas often the result could be achieved with far less stress and ladders in our stockings. A good dose of commonsense (using your noggin at the right moment and thinking clearly and objectively) combined with perseverance (often the end goal takes a bit of sticky-getting-there but you know if you put your head down and work at it, you’ll get there) is sure to get you places in life.

I would add that a reliance on something other than yourself is likely to help you here. I have faith that God is always with me, and that confidence ensures I’m never alone when things are hard, when life gets tough and when deadlines loom scarily in the near future. So this is my Monday wisdom 🙂

Friday Happy Bubbles

Just a little bit of cute inspiration for your Friday! A few little things that make my day – add to these a good long soak with bubble bath, wine in the bath (!), finding something you love that you packed away, jeans that fit right first time, watching your favourite reality TV when no one else is around, a sneaky chocolate or marshmallow flavoured Steri Stumpi…

…rain on an old tin roof, waking up to coffee in an aluminium cup and views of a remote little corner of South Africa, reading a novel that takes your breath away it’s so good, laughing madly with your friends at an inside joke, running through the forest with the smell of pine needles and rain in the air… what are the little things that make your day?

Into the Karoo | Style Inspiration Moodboard

I’m off to my favourite Western Cape reserve this weekend – Sanbona Private Game Reserve – for a MUCH-ANTICIPATED time of being with good friends, eating great food, drinking red wine and hanging out under the Karoo stars – my favourite.

What I love about being out in the Karoo is the incredible sense of space; the sky is bigger here (I can imagine Montana similarly), and the horizons blur out in the distance. The quaint farmhouses dot the desert scrub and herds of sheep skitter along the slopes; it’s farmland out here, and it’s so peaceful.

I’ve always loved visiting Karoo farmhouses or side-of-the-road farmstalls, as there’s always something to look at, buy or get interested in, as well as fascinating people to talk to. One of the things I enjoy the most is the style of a farmhouse; I always say I want a Karoo kitchen, and hopefully one day I can make that happen!

From white-washed walls to simple ceramics, wooden floors and textured  pieces of furniture, the style is always unique and custom-made. I’ve put together a Karoo moodboard today – just for a little bit of inspiration on an entire style of living… for more great Karoo pics, check out this great Pinterest board.

Creative Use of Vases in Your Home | Decor Inspiration

For me, there’s nothing that brightens up a room more than a vase of flowers. It can change the theme of the room (proteas for South African flavour), add to the season (daffodils for spring), create a mood (roses for romance) or bring freshness to a space (think wild flowers or jasmine with those amazing scents).

But one of the best things about flowers is the actual vase! I’ve seen so many creative ways of how different objects, buckets, jugs and more can be used as a vase – and all of that really complements a room’s decor as well as work well with the flowers chosen.

Remember that vases can also contain fruit, vegetables, grasses and wire flowers – it’s really all about what sort of statement you want to make with your vase and arrangement. If you’re looking for some great flower tips & ideas (especially for a wedding or event) in and around the Cape Town area, then I would check out Audrey & Kay.

In the meantime, here are my ideas for creative vases!

Some Amazing DIY Vase Ideas | source here

Vintage Tea Pot as a Vase | source Ana Rosa

Gilt Edge & Vibrant Purple Flowers | source Erin Ever After

DIY Can & Clay Pot as vases | source Just Imagine

Clear Cut Glass Vase | source Pinterest

Bronze, Cream & White Tins as Wedding Vases | source Crazy About Weddings

Philosophy Posters – Today’s Big Thoughts to Mull Over

Found these on Pinterest and thought I’d share them. Some really interesting thoughts and ideas to keep your brain fresh when it’s bored and borne down by work, life’s little irritations and the dirty dishes in the sink that you should have probably cleaned last night. Enjoy 🙂

My Favourite PinBoards on Pinterest [Decor Inspiration]

I love Pinterest. It’s been such a great creative outlet, not just for finding great inspiration for house and home, but for giving direction and energy to my blog posts! I have been on Pinterest for a while now – when it was still ‘invite only’ and I have just loved the new look of the site. If you’re on it and haven’t upgraded – do it now! Bigger pins, better experience.

I thought I would share some of my favourite pin boards with you – all to do with home decor, DIY inspiration, clever ideas and some more specifics: kitchens, storage, at-home office spaces. This is all leading up to ‘The Big Move’ and so I’m pinning away so that one day I can use all these great ideas in real life.

Enjoy! If you have some great Pinterest boards of your own, please post the links below in a comment and I’ll be sure to follow your pins 🙂 x

All of my favourite home decor ideas – from couches to prints to frames to vases to ornaments. Anything that catches my eye ends up here 🙂

This is my ‘ideas’ space with great practical DIY opportunities to take something at home and change it into something really beautiful and lovely.

For anyone who ever wanted a home office – regardless or not if you think you’d be productive! – this is my inspiration space for dreaming of working at home.

For all those ‘ah, great idea!’ pins. Some very clever little ideas that look great, don’t appear to take very much work and will make everyone else jealous.

I’m a little bit silly over traditional farm/Karoo-style decor. I love the all-white rooms, the rustic wood, the vintage chandeliers and the homey feel.

Places to store and keep. From shelves to cupboards to containers and wardrobes – this is all about great storage ideas – and where to put those tesky items!

Looveeee kitchens. Anything that catches my eye that’s inspirational, beautiful and looks like a great space for dreaming, cooking and conversation ends up here.

Cute Valentine DIY Ideas | Week of Love <3

This week is one of the biggest commercial weeks worldwide, as millions of people buy flowers, cards, chocolates, cuddly toys and more for the loves in their lives. But it’s possible to get into the spirit of Valentine’s Day without overspending; instead check out these really cool DIY Valentine’s Day ideas that you can surprise your partner with on the 14th 🙂

Here’s a little bit of where Valentine’s Day began (wikipedia):

St. Valentine’s Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. The most popular martyrology associated with Saint Valentine was that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire; during his imprisonment, he is said to have healed the daughter of his jailer Asterius.

Legend states that before his execution he wrote “from your Valentine” as a farewell to her.Today, Saint Valentine’s Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion, as well as in the Lutheran Church.

The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines”). Valentine’s Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

I love DIY & craft ideas – check out my post from 2012 for even more Valentine inspired DIY ideas…

I Love Lamp | source Camille Styles

Pretty Bluebird & Robin in Love | source Milton B Sauer

Valentine in the Sand | source Swell Designer

All You Need is Love | source Creature Comforts Blog

Valentine’s Treats | source Picklee

Cosy Up in Pink | source Setting for Four

Cute Arrow Printable | source Camille Styles