Cutting edge

Ellery Fall 2011 via Fashion Gone Rogue

I've never exactly been what you would call "edgy", sartorially speaking. My style has always veered towards the classic, the elegant, the understated - or that, at least, is what I've been aiming for. I tend towards tried-and-tested, timeless silhouettes. I play it safe with colour. I have a chronic fear of over-accessorising. You get the picture.

Don't get me wrong, I have made some baaaaaad decisions in my time (2001-2003 was a particularly dark period. Khaki fishnet fingerless gloves, anyone?) but once I eventually found what worked for me, I assumed my days of "experimenting" - *shudder* - were finally, blessedly over.

I knew Urban Outfitters wouldn't let me down.

You might expect, now that I am, after all, a married woman, that I would inevitably drift further along this path, perhaps with a brief stopover in Boringtown on the way to Frumpsville. And I should confess that Anne Fogarty's The Art of Being a Well-Dressed Wife (ladies' fashion circa 1959) is currently featuring among my bedtime reads.

But, as I have mused before, I am beginning to realise that perhaps everything in my life is not meant to be magically perfect by my late (cringe!) twenties. The expectation that I should have found my ideal career, ideal home, ideal style, in fact just have my ideal perfect life laid out before me like a mighty shimmering river flowing inexorably off into the sunset, is just C.R.A.Z.Y. And so, particularly in the last few months, I find myself... experimenting. Being daring. Taking risks. Dressing marginally more like the young person I am, rather than the boring-old-married-lawyer-lady I might easily perceive myself to be.

Just to be clear, that's NOT me. Sadly.
It's an off-duty model (no wonder she's so bloody perky), via altamira

Fear not. We're not talking fishnet glove-type scenarios here. For example, one day I wore bright red tights and a fashion-forward black dress to work, instead of the old grey suit (zzzzzzzzzzz). And on New Year's Eve, I wore black sequin leggings AS TROUSERS*. With black thigh-high suede boots AND two (two!) necklaces AND black feather dangly earrings. That's right. Badass. (I had an attack of over-accessorising paranoia when I added the second necklace - I'm with Coco Chanel on that one - so I took off my bracelet just in case. Well, baby steps.)

However, this post isn't actually about fashion (or, it wasn't meant to be. Oops). It's about the equally contentious issue of hair. Regular readers may recall that my hair is pretty bland. It's fine, it's straight, it's uninspiring. I grew it long for the wedding, now it's languishing in a bob that is in serious need of a trim. So far, so dull.

Then the super-stylish Celia pinned this picture, with this comment (the yellow bit was expertly added by me, so that you could fully visualise my reaction):

I tried to find an original source for this picture. I really did.
The closest I could get was here, but all the boobs distracted me.

Hold the phones. There are people in the world who actually wish for fine, straight hair? There are haircuts especially for that?? That look good?! This blew. my. mind. Needless to say, I have been lusting after this haircut ever since. And this one, even more so:

From here, here and here, all via Pinterest

So where am I going with this, you ask? Well. I suppose my question for you, dear readers, is twofold.

1. Do you think you need to be Edgy and Cool and On Trend and other such things to pull off a haircut like this, without looking like a middle-aged woman?

2. Do you think you need to have dainty, girly features (i.e. not mine) to pull off a haircut like this, without looking like Eddie Izzard?

Tell it to me straight. I can take it.


*I would never ordinarily endorse the worrying leggings-as-trousers trend, but somehow the sequins made it better. Plus I had a long top that covered the crotch area. Nobody needs to see a leggings-clad crotch. Ever.

Graduation

Image by Laura Burlton

Oh, I'm such a tease! Well, it's maybe not quite as good as shoes (good guess though Mum), but I am still very excited to announce that I have a wedding graduate post up on A Practical Wedding today. Yay!

Although wedding planning is definitely fun (dresses! shoes! pretty pictures!), it isn't always easy. You don't often hear people talking about how your wedding is not going to be "perfect" (but how that's ok); how it is the marriage, not the wedding, that really counts; and how stressful, overwhelming and, occasionally, lonely it is to be The Bride. That, for me, is where A Practical Wedding comes in. I found Meg's blog when I was in the very depths of wedding planning despair and it kept me going when I was ready to hurl my lovingly handcrafted place settings out the window. It is my Favourite Wedding Blog Ever.

So I am extremely honoured to "officially" become a part of Team Practical, and just hope that my post might provide a little morsel of comfort to some other bride out there who, like me, might be doubting herself or her choices. To that bride: Don't worry! It's your wedding! Whatever you do, it will be amazing!

APW header designed by Super Runaway

Oh, and if you have arrived here via A Practical Wedding, hello and welcome - it's lovely to have you here. Please, come in, take off your coat, have a look around. Make yourself at home. 

Eeeeeeeeeeeeek!

Greeting card, $4.50, HereMyDear

I'm soooooo excited, and I *almost* can't hide it.

But I'm going to have to try.

Come back at lunchtime to see what all the fuss is about...

(Don't worry Mum, I'm not pregnant.)

Full disclosure

How About Orange via Pinterest.

In a similar vein, check out Clare's Russian Ruble origami hearts - so cute!

If you have ever bothered to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and read this blog's small print (no, I haven't either), you will know that I have an Amazon Associates account. I set it up after I linked to a few bits and pieces on Amazon that I thought were cool and then discovered that you can actually get Amazon to give you money for doing that. Ker-ching!

I have read quite a bit about blogging ethics because, although this is a teeny tiny blog, I still want to be respectful to other bloggers and above all to you, the crazy lovely people who for some reason have kindly volunteered to listen to my ramblings. From everything I've read, the position on advertising, sponsorship, in fact any kind of money you make from your blog, seems to be quite clear: transparency is key.

So, in the interest of full disclosure, I have to tell you that I made my first ever money from the blog last week. I have officially Sold Out. Oh, the shame! 

Here's how it happened. Someone clicked on an Amazon link that I put up on the blog. They then went a step further and actually bought whatever it was (I was really hoping someone had bought Knit Your Own Royal Wedding, but alas, not yet). Finally, in return for promoting their products, sending them traffic and ultimately making them some cold hard cash, Amazon have paid me a grand total of.... 27p.

Yeah, you heard me. 27p.

Don't worry, I'll try not to let it go to my head.

P.S. If anyone has any suggestions on what you can actually buy for 27p, since even a Creme Egg seems to cost about £2.50 these days, please do let me know.

Blog Love: Lens Ladies

Attention please! I have a Very Important Blog Announcement. I have succumbed to popular demand (ok nobody demanded it but I'm sure you were all secretly longing for it) and.... *drumroll*... created a blogroll! Ta-da! Wait, what do you mean you were expecting something better? A big list of amazing blogs full of clever women and pretty things and all the other wonderful stuff that sucks all the productivity out of your day so you never have to do any work ever again? What could be better than that??

Since it transpires I read far too many blogs, and since the right-hand side of the page is already all cluttered up with Twitter and Rock My Wedding and poetry and whatnot, I have created not just a list but a whole PAGE dedicated to the blog love. It's up there at the top, next to the About tab (which you should totally check out too by the way, if only to admire Fin's awesome jacket).

To celebrate the launch of the new Blog Love page, I thought I would partake in a little... er, blog love, for a very special group of ladies. These particular bloggers all share a talent, one that I would give my right arm to possess (although ironically that would make said talent significantly more tricky) - they're all photographers. Really, really good ones. Oh, and they're all lovely too. Which makes me love them even more.

KRISTEN

The endlessly talented Kristen blogs at What Kristen Saw. She is also, conveniently, one of my best friends and played a starring role in our wedding as Light-Brown-Haired Bridesmaid. I can exclusively reveal that Kristen is one of those irritating people who is brilliant at everything they do, plus she's really pretty, plus she's really nice - I should really hate her. But I don't. Because she takes beeeeyoootiful pictures and lets me put them on the blog (like these ones. Ooh, and these ones), to the point where she even has a label of her very own.

She only took up photography as a semi-serious hobby quite recently, and blogging more recently still, AND SHE'S ALREADY AMAZING AT IT. So if you could all go and show her some love, that would be just dandy. (Look, there are cupcakes!)

LAUREN

I first came across Lauren, a.k.a. Lauren McGlynn Photography, via A Practical Wedding. As well as being a prolific and wise commenter and proud member of Team Practical, she is also an APW-approved wedding elf. She always stuck out in my memory because she moved from Texas to Aberdeen (is she crazy?!) and, of course, because she's crazy talented. She then left a lovely comment on my blog about two weeks after I'd started it so, if you've read my About page, you know that means I'll love her forever.

Lauren and I are now friends on Twitter and she is officially the nicest person ever. She was also one of the two (yes, only two. sigh.) people who actually wanted to come to the Scottish APW meet-up I tried - and failed - to organise. (Don't worry girls - it WILL happen one day.) Her work as a wedding photographer last year was truly amazing, and this year looks set to be even better. She's actually shooting Peacock Feathers & Diamond Rings' sister's wedding this summer, which I predict will be fabulous, if her sister's is anything to go by! Plus, I happen to know for a fact that Lillian and Leonard recommend her, and you cannot get higher praise than that. Go check her out, and say hi from me.

LUCY

I have mentioned the lovely Lucy before but I just have to mention her again. Lucy is just starting out as a wedding photographer and blogs all of her fabulous professional and personal projects at Lucy Stendall Photography. I love her decidedly vintage but distinctive photography style, with the rounded corners and faded colours - just gorgeous. She is also a huge supporter and friend of the Any Other Wedding girls (check out her recent guest post here - so cute!) and recently shot Anna and the Ring's super-stylish birthday-wedding-combo bash. Um, jealous!

I sense something of a kindred soul in Lucy, or maybe a freaky twin - she too is still reading wedding blogs months after her own wedding; we both have a creative streak but spend our days doing decidedly un-creative jobs (yawn); we even studied and lived for a year in the same random French city just one year apart! How creepy is that? Of course, the weird thing about the internet is that she could have just made all that up and really be some kind of weird stalker-type character, but I'm thinking (hoping) not... Anywaaaay, you should still go and admire her gorgeous photos and general prettiness - I foresee big things from this lady. You heard it here first(ish)!

PEN

Pen, she of McKinley-Rodgers Photography, gets an extra-special mention because, as those of you who follow me on Twitter might have noticed, Tuesday was a very exciting day for a safe mooring: I got my 100th comment! Now, I know that might seem quite lame compared to people who get hundreds of comments a day, but when I started the blog I genuinely set myself a target of getting 100 comments, and honestly didn't know if I'd ever achieve it. You just never know, do you, whether anyone will ever look at your random wafflings. But yay, people did! (Obviously I haven't counted my *own* comments towards the total - that really would be lame.)

And the lucky lady who left that 100th comment? 'Twas Pen! (Here it is, if you're interested.) Pen and her husband Cam are wedding photographers - you might have spotted McKinley-Rodgers' amazing quirky VW campervan advert on all the most stylish wedding blogs. It's pretty cool. As is she. Pen found my blog through Lucy (see, it's all connected!) and also left me this adorable comment - how could I not repay the blog love after that? So click here to visit their fab blog. Like, now.

CARA

And finally. No photographer-blogger round-up would be complete without mentioning Cara and the wonderful Peonies and Polaroids. As I think I might have mentioned once or twice, our wedding photographs were taken by the spectacular Lillian and Leonard. I could look at their wedding photography ALL DAY. When she's not busy creating amazingness like this, Cara also somehow manages to produce a beautiful, witty personal blog filled with "photography and beauty and love and stuff" (I would also add bunnies, babies and hilariousness to that list).

Cara was kind enough to mention my blog to her many Twitter followers and sent a whole load of them my way (literally, my pageviews went up by 2500% from the previous day). I'm sure some of you reading this found a safe mooring thanks to her. So thanks for the blog love Cara - right back atcha!

Hello lover

I wasn't going to post anything today. The Hubster is getting mightily sick of me tapping away at the laptop every evening (I can't help it ok? Blogging is FUN!) and I promised him a day off. So this isn't really a proper post. It doesn't count. At all. 

I just thought you might be interested to know that, after my weekend of lusting after a certain pair of sweet-smelling, heart-encrusted, retrolicious shoes, yesterday the evidently psychic Rock n' Roll Bride tweeted a link to 20% off said shoes. With free delivery. For one week only.

IT'S A SIGN, PEOPLE.

So, as directed by the Universe, I *may* have just bought these little babies:

Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Lady Dragon in Violet, £110 £88, Hervia

Whoops.

Advice for a happy marriage, Part 3

Finally, time for Part 3 of my marriage advice trilogy. Part 1's words of wisdom, you may recall, came from a bunch of children. Their advice was questionable at best (heavily focused on triplets and bunnies). Part 2 explored the world of the 1930s housewife (think girdles and rampant sexism - also highly questionable).

For Part 3, having exhausted everything my bookshelves have to offer, I have decided to showcase the marriage advice given to us by the very people who (should) know us best - our wedding guests. Hold on to your hats, people.

As I mentioned in Part 1, I struggled to find an idea for a wedding guest book that didn't make me weirdly uncomfortable, in a very OCD kind of way. It was one of the only wedding details that really stressed me out (I know. I need to get a life). Eventually - and I mean ev-en-tu-a-lly - I decided, given that our invitations and table plan were postcard-themed, it would make sense to carry that theme on and use individual postcards for our guest book too, thus neatly avoiding the potential empty-pages-in-the-back-of-a-book Nightmare Scenario.

It took me even longer to find postcards that fit the bill. They had to be vintage-y, preferably lots of different pictures so our guests could each choose one that tickled their fancy, plus vaguely relevant to us. Oh, and cheap. Not easy. But somewhere, somehow in my internet wanderings I stumbled across the fantastic Postcards From Penguin. 100 different vintage book covers (I'm a total book worm) in one bargainous box - perfect.

(I should add, I'm not the only one who worked these into my wedding - Clare from Any Other Wedding used them as escort cards, and Kiara from Henry Reigns used hers as a photobooth backdrop - see, they're so versatile! The same publishers have also since brought out a kids' book version, Postcards from Puffin, which are too cute. Trying to think of an excuse to buy them - all suggestions welcome.)

We put the postcards out in piles and left little cards on each of the tables inviting our guests to pick a postcard, give us their top tips for a happy marriage and then leave them in an old suitcase for us to laugh at on our honeymoon. We duly gathered them up after the wedding (well, somebody did, I was pretty much a zombie at that point), shoved them back in the box they came in and we carted them off on our honeymoon with us. When we had finally recovered from the wedding enough to think about reading anything - say, two days before we were due to come home? - we cracked them out and read through each and every postcard. It was - an experience.

The advice ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous to the clearly very drunk. There is sweet, heartfelt advice from couples whom I have known and admired my whole life, and from couples whose first drunken snog I witnessed in a dodgy club. There are daft tips involving hiding in sheds. There is even a drawing of a man crushed under a giant thumb (at least, I think that's what it's meant to be. That or a giant worm).

As we flicked through the cards, a few themes began to emerge, and some genuinely helpful advice. Also, some completely random nonsense. So, without further ado, here is the definitive guide to a happy marriage, courtesy of our wedding guests and carefully whittled down by me. You're welcome.

1. "Choose the right person in the first place." Done (hopefully).

2. "Be patient with each other and be able to laugh together."

3. "Enjoy life - travel, sail, golf, dance, sing, walk on the beach." Ok. You're joking about the golf, though, right?

4. "Take time for each other! Every day and in every way."

5. "Keep the flame burning." Or the straight-to-the-point version, "Kama sutra."

The key ingredients for a happy wedding (and, indeed, a happy marriage).

6. "Don't be quick to judge! Think first."

7. "Have a way, for when you disagree, to be able to say that 'this really matters' and respect that from the other person. It makes a big difference."

8. "Never let the sun go down upon your wrath." We had many, many variations on this theme, but none so poetic as this.

9. "Sleep on the couch as little as possible. Remember Kirsty very rarely will be wrong [true] and when she is she will not be the one spending the night on the sofa [also true]."

10. I have to quote this one in full. Pay particular attention to the numbering - I think he's been taking tip (d) a little too seriously...

"(a) She's always right.

(b) Let him watch the football.

(c) Vacation together, never apart.

(d) Have a glass of wine together.

(e) You're both on the same team and want the same thing.

(f) Visit your mum regularly.

(e) [wait, what happened to (g)?] Tell each other how important the other person is when you least want to.

(g) [oh, here it is] Visit your charming cousin in Seattle." No prizes for guessing who wrote this one.

(L) Wedding appropriate. (M) Not even remotely wedding appropriate. (R) Blog appropriate.

11. "Be kind to each other."

12. "Tolerance in all matters. Love each other always."

13. "Always kiss goodnight."

14. "It doesn't matter what language you speak, love conquers all." From my brother-in-law and his Chinese wife, who lead by great example.

15. "If we can make it till Oct 9th it'll be 43 years [they did]. The secret is TWO TVs!"

Some of the more random responses:

"Fuckin best wedding ever!" Thanks, little bro.

"You are today's lucky winner!"

"BWURRGHHH!!!"

And, finally:

"No advice needed, you guys are awesome just the way you are!"

My favourite postcard. Look, Fin's even wearing a kilt! My dress is lace! She's a genius. 

And there you have it. The collective wisdom of 140 of our closest family and friends. No relationship is perfect, but if we can follow even half of this, I think we'll do ok. Who knows, in 43 years I might even feel qualified to come back and give some marriage advice of my very own.

Now, dish. What's the best marriage advice you've ever been given? Actually, screw that - what's the worst??

Wedding images by Lillian and Leonard

SEE ALSO:

→ Advice for a happy marriage, Part 1

→ Advice for a happy marriage, Part 2

Pinteresting times

Image by Otto Schulze Photographers
via Style Me Pretty via Pen McKinley-Rodgers

One of the trickiest things about blogging, I find, is hunting down pretty and appropriate pictures to go with posts. Much as I would like to, I can't just keep filling every single post with various pictures of my wedding. Yes, Lillian and Leonard are super talented, and yes, I fully intend to wring every. last. drop. out of those photos, but eventually I will run out (I only have like 500 left).

Sometimes, I write a post and then spend hours trawling the internet trying to find the perfect picture, one that illustrates and illuminates the point I'm trying to make (do you know how long it took to find a picture of a South American military dictator wearing an outfit that made him look like Prince Harry? DO YOU?). Other times, I'll fall in love with an image (like this Hello sign) and spend weeks waiting for just the right moment to use it.

Image by Maison Scotch Photography via Siddhartha via east side bride

And, of course, you can't just merrily stick images up on your blog willy-nilly - there's the whole question of attribution and copyright and all that stuff which, as a lawyer, I feel I ought to at least pretend to take seriously. Then, on top of all that, I like my pictures to fit with the look, feel and, yes, colour scheme of the blog as a whole (these things matter you know. If you're reading this in a blog reader, you really should click through to behold the magnificence of the full blog effect. I spent fifteen minutes ages on this design. Clicky clicky).

So, after hearing a few people waffling away on Twitter about "pinning" and "pins", once I worked out they weren't discussing acupuncture, I realised they were talking about Pinterest. I thought it sounded... (wait for it...) pinteresting. Oh I'm so hilarious. Anyway, I thought I'd give it a whirl, so I signed up. Except, I now realise, you can't just sign up to Pinterest. Oh no. You have to be invited. Which, of course, only serves to make membership instantly all the more desirable.

Speaking of desirable...
Image by Jake Rosenberg via The Coveteur
via Apartment Therapy via Katie Evans

Fortunately, if you hang around long enough - kind of like that person at your work who nobody really likes but who it would be too cringingly awkward not to include in the after-work drinks (come on, we all know that person, secretly we all worry we might *be* that person, or is it just me...?) - you will eventually get an invitation. And lo, as of this weekend, I am IN!

I'm not entirely sure how it works yet, but I like what I see so far. So many gorgeous images to pinch, and you can click through to the source so you can credit it properly - if not the original source, then hopefully at least a path to the original, although sometimes that path can take aaaaaages and result in a lot of "via here via there" nonsense (as you can see above). Pinterest's real strength is probably more as a way to gather all your bits and pieces together in one place than as a source for new material, although if you are just looking for inspiration then the possibilities are endless.

Basically, if you see something you like, be it on a blog, a shopping site, the BBC, whatever, you just click the little "Pin It" icon on your taskbar and the picture gets automatically saved into one of your pinboards (you can have as many pinboards as you like: Fashion, Hair, Chihuahuas, Military Dictators, and so on). It's so much quicker, if you come across a lovely image that you want to bookmark, than saving it to your favourites or onto your computer, plus you can share it with others (and see what they're pinning too). Best of all, I can access it from home and, ahem, work, which is seriously handy.

Image by Habitat via Kimvallee via Emma

If you're already on Pinterest, you can click here to follow my pins. Be warned - I've only just started, so it's all a bit random at present (latest pins include a baby dolphin, Sienna Miller's hair and a load of clothes that look like they belong to the ginger teacher from Glee. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll find some better stuff soon...).

If you're NOT currently on Pinterest, well, today's your lucky day - I have six invitations to pass on to recipients of my choosing (ooh, the power! I feel like I'm one of those evil, make-me-depressed-about-the-state-of-humanity brats on My Super Sweet Sixteen!). So, dear readers, I choose you. If you fancy giving it a go, just leave me a comment or drop me an email and I'll ping one over to you.

Happy pinning peeps!

All images found via Pinterest (duh).

Tea and sympathy

Vintage advert via Adore Vintage via Pinterest

On Saturday, I went to Glasgow for a fabulous lunch with my fabulous friend Yvonne. Since we met during our first week (first day?) of university nearly ten years ago, she and I have lived together, travelled together, and read Penny Vincenzi novels together. She was the first of my friends to get married and her wedding is still one of my favouritest ever (the ceremony music included both a communal a capella rendition of Crazy Little Thing Called Love and the theme tune from the Disney cartoon version of Robin Hood - need I say more?). She has am amazing collection of vintage dresses and she sends me links to random Royal Wedding paraphernalia (like this). I'm very fond of her, to say the least.

We went to Fifi and Ally for a 3-hour lunch, culminating in a huuuuge meringue. Yum. We browsed the Le Creuset shop and lusted after their new coastal blue range, then tried to counteract the depressing middle-aged-ness of that excursion by going to the Vivienne Westwood shop and lusting after the Lady Dragons (I've seen them all over the wedding blog world, including on the gorgeous Aisling, but never in real life - it was an exciting moment. I can confirm that they're dead comfy and smell like My Little Ponies). I love Glasgow almost as much as I love Yvonne so, all in all, it was a good day.

Vintage Japanese postcard via lunaticpandoraxd

However. I am conscious that there are countless women just like Yvonne and me in Japan, at this very moment, for whom the thought of a carefree lunch and a gossip with a girlfriend, an afternoon of idly admiring overpriced cookware and pink plastic shoes, must seem like some sort of cruel joke. A parallel universe where earthquakes and tsunamis and nuclear meltdowns and snowstorms and water shortages and economic collapses only happen on TV, to other people, and certainly not all at the SAME DAMN TIME.

Several bloggers, in a bid to raise awareness and funds for Japan, marked Friday as a Bloggers' Day of Silence. As you may have noticed, I didn't blog on Friday either. However, I feel morally bound to admit that it wasn't because I was intentionally participating - I just didn't have anything to blog. I didn't actively choose *not* to participate (although I think people are pretty aware of what's happening in Japan already, you know, with it being on the news 24 hours a day, and there are suggestions that as a wealthy, developed country, it doesn't actually want the money). I was simply too busy, and too tired, and too lacking in inspiration to think of something worth blogging about. I tried to write a post about how I felt about Japan, but the words wouldn't come - what is there to say that hasn't already been said?

I do believe, though - and this goes for life as well as blogging - that there comes a point where you have to pick your battles. For example, I was delighted and honoured to take part in In Her Own Words as part of International Women's Day, because I think raising awareness and educating and sharing our stories is an important part of the fight for equality, and until that fight becomes unnecessary I will keep on supporting that cause. It's great to see bloggers transcend their own little corner of Blogland and join together as part of a bigger movement.

Vintage snapshot via elegant ladies via design is mine

While I admire and respect the bloggers who did just that by organising and participating in For Japan With Love, it just didn't feel like the right way for me, personally, to respond to the awful events there. I have so much sympathy for the people of Japan, but I tend to agree with Meg that deliberate silence in the face of so much tragedy is not necessarily what they need (although, short of sending trained rescue dogs, I accept that it may be all we have to offer). Please don't get me wrong - I think it's wonderful that so much money has been raised (even if ultimately it goes to a different, equally worthwhile cause) and that people have come together to try and DO something, to overcome our powerlessness in the face of such incomprehensible disaster.

A blog that is entirely dedicated to raising awareness and funds for all the myriad issues that blight our world would no doubt be fascinating and worthwhile and generally awesome, but I am neither qualified nor, honestly, inclined to write it. There will always be causes that need our help. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was deeply moved by the videos shown during Comic Relief on Friday - you could write about a different issue every day and never run out. So, like I say, you have to pick your battles.

All of which is to say, even though I didn't participate in this particular project, I am of course thinking about Japan and wishing so much that things were different, that every woman in Japan could have had a fun, carefree Saturday afternoon like I did. I know it will be a long, long time before those days will come again for so many of them. I also can't help but feel extremely grateful, if a little guilty, that I and my family and friends are safe, and together, and able to partake in and appreciate all those little pleasures - meringues, pretty shoes, spending time with the people you love - that make life so precious in the first place.


{As Rachel so wisely put it, it is up to each of us to decide whether to get involved or donate money. If you would like to donate money, you can donate to the British Red Cross and other charities here}

Grab your balls

Kool-aid dyed yarn via Knitting Iris (how, er, cool)

OF WOOL. Jeez.

Not last Christmas but the Christmas before, my mum bought me a gorgeous Cath Kidston knitting set, complete with kitschy patterned knitting bag and vintage-esque wooden needles. I love it. She also bought me a handy little book called Stitch 'n' Bitch(oh, how very edgy knitting is these days!). I promptly planned to knit myself an entire winter wardrobe. Cheap! Crafty! Creative! Of course, I would have to start with something simple - a chunky sweater here, a chic beret there - before I worked my way up to knitting fairisle socks, reindeer jumpers, and the like.

Unfortunately, in the 15 months that I've been in possession of this oh-so-stylish knitting paraphernalia, I have knitted precisely one scarf (with holes) and one hat that might possibly just fit on the head of a newborn baby (it was meant to be for me). Oh, and I made a pom pom, which apparently is not *technically* knitting.

However, I think the problem was simply a lack of inspiration. I wasn't excited - no, I wasn't challenged by these dull hat-scarf-pompom projects. I needed something more... expressive.

People, I think I may have found it.

That's right. You, too, can Knit Your Own Royal Wedding*. All you need is wool, patience and a burning desire for a knitted Archbishop of Canterbury. And let's face it, who doesn't have a burning desire for a knitted Archbishop of Canterbury? Lookathislittleface!!!

And if you were wondering whether Kate would be rocking Oldfield or McQueen on the big day, wonder no more - this lovely woollen ensemble is one-of-a-kind and so original.

I must admit, not all of these woolly wedding creations are quite so successful. Prince Harry, for example, looks not unlike a South American military dictator, which is unfortunate (if not entirely outwith the realms of possibility). Of course, the president in Rastamouse has a similar look going on, and we know he's a goodie, so it's probably fine.

Spot the odd one out.

The only slight problem is that I'm currently busy crocheting the entire cast of Star Wars for the Hubster**, so I'm not sure I'll have time to complete the entire Royal Wedding line-up before April. Do you think anybody would mind (or indeed notice) if Prince William married Princess Leia instead? Brown hair, white dress, she already has a title - frankly, it makes sense.

Amazing crochet Star Wars patterns (and ohmygod this little guy) by Lucy Ravenscar

The real question is, which one could be Prince Philip? I'm thinking Darth...

*What? Come on, you didn't think I'd last until April without mentioning the Royal Wedding, did you? You KNOW I love a wedding. It was always going to happen.

**He's a bit of a fanatic. Just don't mention Jar Jar Binks in his presence or he may try to kill you. Just sayin.

Snowed under. And not (only) in a good way.

I'm ba-ack! Did you miss me?

And to think I was worried there wouldn't be any snow.

There was so much snow that if we hadn't borrowed my parents' four-wheel drive to get up there, we would probably still be stuck somewhere off the B9152, the top of my little Ford Fiesta barely peeking out over the drifting sheets of snow, its wee wheels spinning helplessly as Fin and I ration our one bar of Cadbury's Whole Nut and listen to Enrique Iglesias' Greatest Hits on repeat (note to self: next time I borrow my parents' car, must bring my own music).

There was so much snow that my Ugg boots soaked right through. So I dried them with my hairdryer. And, er, melted them. But only on the inside, so it's totally fine.

There was so much snow that the ski centre was closed. Fail.

There was so much snow that even Mercedes the polar bear looked kind of pissed off.

There was so much snow that by the time the mountain finally reopened and we made it onto the slopes yesterday, we were skiing in a foot of fresh powder with whole pistes to ourselves, the only downside being that it was so damn snowy you couldn't actually see where the pistes ended and the powder started. There was nothing but white. So, I may have accidentally flipped headfirst into a pile of snow. Ok, more than once. But in my defence, I had no idea the piles of snow were there until I was lying in them face first.

And now, thanks to all that snow, I can barely lift my arms. My calves feel ready to snap and even my bum muscles are aching. Oof.

But, according to the BBC, Scotland officially has the best ski conditions in Europe this week. And that NEVER HAPPENS. So, I'm happy we got to ski, although it would have been nice if it had looked a little more like this when we were there:

Yep, that's Scotland, today. I'm more than a teensy bit jealous. {Edit: I just realised I linked to the webcam image. Which changes every day. FAIL. Trust me, on the day I linked to it, it looked amazing.}

Now, sadly, I have gone from the literal kind of snowed under to the more metaphorical version. I had hoped that everyone would just do my work for me while I was away and I would return to an empty inbox and a nice clear desk. Shockingly, that didn't happen!

I have so much work that I want to hide under my desk and cry.

I have so much work that I am tempted to put on my out of office message and run away and join the circus.

I have so much work that... yeah, this is really boring.

I DON'T have so much work that it will stop me blogging something more interesting tomorrow. Promise. (Assuming I have regained the use of my arms by then.)


'Hello' recycled wooden sign, $42, etsy

Gone skiing

When I was wee, every winter my dad would pack us all into the car and haul us up the road to the Highlands, to participate in that most rare and dangerous pastime: Scottish skiing.

Rare, because the unpredicable snowfall and brutal winds often render the rickety old lifts completely superfluous for days or weeks at a time.

Dangerous, because you never know when a clump of heather, a bit of fence or a hidden stream is going to rudely interrupt your graceful passage down the so-called pistes.

But. When it's good - when fresh snow blankets the craggy hills and the clean Scottish air is filled with sunshine - there's nothing better. The fact that it's only a couple of hours' drive away is just the icing on the cake.

So, to continue this tradition, and since the stupid wedding used up every spare penny we had and precluded any sort of European skiing adventure this year, Fin and I are off to try our luck up north for a few days. I'll be back on Wednesday (hopefully with all my limbs still intact).

Happy weekend, lovelies.


Photos by my dad.

An Ode to Dolly

I LOVE Dolly Parton. She is up there with Bette Midler as one of my all-time favourite sassy songstresses - not because of her music, particularly (although have you listened to Jolene recently? Soooo good!), but because she is just all-round fabulous.

It's easy to look at Ms Parton, with her hair, her nails, her enormous... assets, and assume she's just some fluffy bit of nonsense, a joke. But underestimate her at your peril - she might look like an older version of Heidi Montag or (*shudder*) Katie Price, but the similarities end there. This is the woman who said, "I`m not offended by dumb blonde jokes because I know that I`m not dumb. I also know I`m not blonde." Smart, talented AND funny. I love.

What, you may wonder, has prompted this little love note to Dolly? Well, just this week the queen of country's Imagination Library project has been rolled out across Scotland. The scheme will give children who are living in care a free age-appropriate book every month until their fifth birthday. That's potentially a library of 60 books for each and every child.

I can't even begin to tell you how happy this makes me. As a child, I was a total book worm. When Fin and I recently popped in to visit my old childhood next-door neighbour, she regaled him with stories about how all the other children would play in the street while I would be sitting in the house with my nose stuck in a book. This was (a) embarrassing and (b) only partially true, but still, there's no denying I love a book.

On Saturday night, as part of World Book Night, I was lucky enough to be given a free novel as I was sitting in the pub. I was ridiculously over-excited about it. Can you imagine being a child in care, with all the complex emotional and social baggage that this entails, and being given the simple gift of a new book every single month? Reading has always been one of the greatest pleasures in my life and I can only hope it will bring these children all the excitement, adventure, terror and joy that it has brought me.

So that, people, is why I heart Dolly. That, and her craaaazy bazookas.


Top image: source unknown. Bottom image: chotda on flickr. Hat tip to Peacock Feathers and Diamond Rings for the article.