Summery Outfit

One from the warmer and sunnier days. 

I'm wearing:

- sandals - Boden

- skirt (former dress) - Corazon

- obi belt - Kokoska (local brand)

- top - local shop

- sunglasses - M&S

- forget-me-not necklace - Etsy (silverpebble)

- earrings - Etsy (gift with purchase)

- bracelet - souvenir from Vienna

- crochet bag - I made it!

P.S.: I'm taking a little blogging break, to spend some much longed-for time with my family. Will be back soon, hopefully with some new adventures!

Would You Like To Take Your Dragonflies Shopping?

Giveaway time, yay! Pop over to Diana's lovely blog called *p r e t t y l i t t l e t h i n g s* and you may just be lucky enough to win the most gorgeous handmade bag with appliqued dragonflies! 

The giveaway is open internationally and what you have to do is:

1 follow Diana's blog

2 leave a comment for the giveaway post

3 share the giveaway on your blog / Facebook /Twitter etc.

Good luck, everyone, including myself :)

Cycling Outfit

Ever since I got my precious cruiser (just over two years ago!), I've been figuring out that I can actually cycle in most of my outfits (and more or less the entire year, minus the snowed-in time). Naturally, I ride my beloved Peacock more frequently during the warmer months, even though I must admit that it is rather appealing to cycle with hand-warmers and bundled up in woollen scarves...

Anyway, almost time for scarves in the last few days, but generally speaking we've had a fair share of warm summer days so far.

My cycling go-to uniform usually consists of a summery skirt, a top of some sort, sandals or plimsolls, and some fun accessories.

On one of my cycling trips into town I wore:

- plimsolls (with cherries!) - Cath Kidston

- denim skirt - Corazon

- shirt - McKinley

- bicycle pendant - borrowed from my son

- hydrangea brooch -  handmade by my friend Marysia

- messenger bag - Joules

- pink watch - S. Oliver
- glass cherry earrings - Etsy (bullseyebeads)

Do you enjoy cycling?

Three Things

I'm cheating a little bit, I'm posting five things on three pictures but never mind. These are some accessories I just had to have for the Jubilee celebrations last month. Aren't they all adorable?

The key rings and the Union Jack heart pin are from Accessorize (which is now available in our capital, yay!). Very British (although, sadly, most probably made in China...).

I made the above necklace myself, from bits and bobs I found in my little treasure chest :)

Last but not least, as always, a gorgeous purse from Cath Kidston. Love at first sight, as you can well imagine  - florals, mother-of-pearl buttons, Union Jack - what's not to love?

Long live the Queen!

May & June In Pictures II.

In the beginning of June my boy turned eleven. 

He's a big fan of 'pancake pie' (as seen in Findus books) so he asked for one for his birthday.

My Mum made him a coconut cake. Both were delicious. Here you can see the birthday boy light his own candles :)

His greatest birthday wish was to fly with a friend of ours who is a proud owner of an ultralight plane. 

Our friend gave us a big surprise by flying all four of us (separately, of course). We enjoyed lovely panoramic views of our little part of the world.

Needless to say, our birthday boy had a blast!

Thank you, our dear pilot friend R.!

May & June In Pictures I.

As the month of July is nearing the end I thought I might share some snippets I finally managed to download from my camera which tell a story about our cosy late spring/early summer days. 

The last weekend in May saw us on a mountain climbing trip (more like a hill climbing, to be honest) in the north-west of the country. It was the last trip of the season for the young hikers at the local school - both my children are part of the group - and parents were invited to join them. Yay!

We had a wonderful day, the weather was gorgeous, and once on top of the hill, we could take a peek to the neighbouring Austria! At the picture below you can see the border stone, and RS stands for the Republic of Slovenia. The valley behind me is already Austria.

Mid-June was time for picnicking. There wasn't a weekend that we would spend at home, I believe. Totally enjoyable.

Lots of sun, yummy food, and beautiful surroundings. Watching the children splash in the river, chatting to friends, some of whom hadn't been seen for ages. Taking photos and just drinking it all in.

I like living in our little part of the world, even though my heart believes that my home is in Britain...

To be continued :)

T-Shirts For My Girl

I embellished these two simple T-shirts for my girl a little while ago. I put my signature crochet flower on the first one and Liberty Tana Lawn Suffolk Puffs on the second. They look rather sweet, even if I say so myself :)

My little girl loves them, which is the only thing that counts in the end, right?

The Lady In Red

The title seemed so appropriate... On second thought, it is a bit pretentious to call oneself a lady, isn't it...? Anyway, an outfit at long last, from a couple of weeks ago. When it was really, I mean really warm. Hot, actually. It was still hot last Saturday. Then, all of a sudden, the temperatures dropped alarmingly yesterday. Summer, what's going on here? 

I'm wearing:

- tan leather sandals - local boutique

- shirt dress - McKinley

- top (underneath) - Benetton

- embroidered belt - Brora (last summer's sale)

- tan leather bag - Benetton (old!)

- turquoise beads - bead shop in the capital

- giraffe pin - crafts boutique in the capital

- sunglasses - M&S

- angel bracelets

- last but certainly not least, my all time favourite 'accessory' - my little girl :)

Here's to us ladies!

A Giveaway At Jane's, Yay!

Jane from The Small Fabric of My Life is having a fabulous giveaway, open to her blog readers from all over the world. Jane is a fabulous blogger with the greatest sense of style and I absolutely adore her blog. If you know Jane, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't know Jane, what are you waiting for?

Check her giveaway here.

I love this shirt, I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Three Things

Making me happy these days: 

- vibrant red poppies

- fuchsias blooming in a hanging basket outside our garage

- apples on our apple tree, ready to be picked - yum!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend :)

We're off again to our annual family picnic in the woods!

Flowers For J.

About a year ago, after seeing my FlowerPower T-shirts, my friend J. asked me if I could embellish a summer dress for her. I said yes, of course. Alas, with life being as unpredictable as it is, it has taken me a whole year to actually complete the mission. It's J.'s birthday today and I put all my efforts into finishing the task before midnight :)

I crocheted the flowers a while ago but I couldn't get round to the leafy bits... until last night!

Today it was all about ironing and sewing...

... and here you can see the result! The front...

... and the back :)

It's come out rather gorgeous, even if I say so myself... I sort of wish I could keep it...

Then again, there are always new dresses to turn into a summer garden, right?

A couple of hours ago I packed the dress in a brown box, added a birthday card, tied the box with a piece of string and attached a garden posy on top.

Then I hopped on my bike and personally delivered the package to the birthday girl.

So, once again, happy birthday, J.!

Hi! Sorry. Fancy a Reading Suggestion?

Hello, my dear blogging friends. I am awfully sorry for my totally unexpected four-week blogging absence. I have no particular excuse up my sleeve, just life as it is. Nothing special. Children finishing their school term, along with all their extra activities, idling away on hot summer afternoons (yes, we have plenty of summer to be had in our little part of the world - all you soaked British bloggers are more than welcome!), and to be completely honest, it takes me ages - literally - to download all those pretty photos from my camera, waiting to be blogged about. There's a camera full of lovely garden shots, outfit shots, crafting shots... you get the idea. I will hopefully get round to it in the next days :) 

In the meantime, let me share some of my current reading material (I must have told you already that there's always more than just one book next to my bed/kitchen table/picnic rug... 

First of all, a classic, Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. It's funny, though, I've read Pride & Prejudice at least a million times (feels like it, anyway), but I haven't read this one so far. Go Fanny Price!

Another classic, and oh what joy! I've read Three Men in a Boat several times but it's always so good to get back to them. And I'm totally looking forward to the sequel as well...

Last but not least (although admittedly the least interesting of the three), some statistics about Great Britain. I was told at one point that reading statistical data about a country for pleasure was utter madness but that's how mad I am, I can't help it (nor do I want to!).

Hope you're all having a lovely summer, despite the (non-) weather!

P.S.: I have been following all your blogs on a regular basis, even leaving an odd comment or two, just to let you know I'm still here...