Happy Birthday, Little Prince!

Photo: source

Bringing back so many happy memories of my little ones! 

Taking It Easy

Now this is what I call a slow start into the new year. Nearly half of January has passed already and I'm on my second blog post! Well, it's been busy at our quarters in the last couple of weeks, what with my birthday celebrations and all ... And now I'm finally ready to embrace life at its usual pace :)

For a proper start, I'll make your mouth water with some of the Christmas & birthday goodies we made. As usual, I'm still not one for carrying my little camera around the house and taking photos of everything I do, so here's a very limited selection of our makings:

I always make shortbread for Christmas, following the above recipe. Always a success :)

Another batch was a chocolatey one - one half of the rice flour substituted by cocoa powder. Yummy!

The ones below are seriously the best biscuits ever. My little girl (with a brand new hair do) has been a busy bee :) And a great helper!

Next project and more help - I love making yummy treats with my girl!

The biscuits turned out absolutely gorgeous - and delicious. Looking forward to this year's Christmas :)

(P.S.: an Easter Bunny has hopped onto our plate of Christmas biscuits - no wonder, considering the weather!)

Four!

Happy birthday to Angels & Blossoms :)

Photo: source

Done!

Just a quick hello and another apology for the lack of posting - I had to finish an urgent translating job, and it's done! It was an exhausting philosophical text so I didn't really have the energy to write about outfits and crafting...

The pictures are a lovely reminder of this year's summer holiday - we went hiking to our mountains with a group of friends. The views were breathtaking, the company was beyond enjoyable, and I won't even mention the food!

Happy Birthday, K.!

My little girl is turning eight today. I've scheduled this post to be published at the exact time of her arrival. The above picture was taken seven years ago, on her first birtday. She is held by her late Grandpa, my husband's dad. How time flies...

Favourite Earrings

Three Things

I haven't done this in a while. Three things that make me happy these days:

- a warm cup of delicious Vanilla & Caramel flavoured tea

- a pretty tin of home-made oatmeal biscuits

- two charming little Christmassy tea-light holders

Getting ready for the holidays, yay!

Wreaths - A Year On

Oh my, it feels like I've only just posted this. And it was a year ago! My thoughts on the subject have not changed in the past year, so I'll just let you enjoy reading last year's post... The wreaths, of course, are new this year!

The one on our dining room table was hand-made by my little girl & me!!! I'd never actually made a 'proper' wreath before, but this year there was an advent-wreath-making workshop at my daughter's school, and we attended... It was lovely! There was a professional florist giving instructions, with all much needed materials at hand. I made the wreath and my crafty little girl chose the decoration. You can tell, can't you, with pretty little cream & pink baubles, and tiny golden stars! I love our family advent wreath this year!

The one on our front door is very similar to our last year's one, only that I've decorated it with a sweet Christmas fairy instead of a nutcracker. It was a boys' wreath last year and we're having a girly one this year...

As there's no name plaque on the door as long as we have our wreath I've put a little Christmas nametag above the door bell. Just in case...

Three Things & Happy Birthday To A&B!

Exactly a year ago today I started Angels & Blossoms. Happy birthday to my little blog! On average, I've got a lovely new follower every fortnight in the past year. Thank you all! I've also passed my two-hundred-blog mark recently, so there's plenty to celebrate! Don't worry, I'm making plans... There's a giveaway in sight!

I'm celebrating my one-year-anniversary with three things that make me happy today:

- my lovely new butterfly tablecloth

- a precious little trinket box

- some pretty floral hankies

Happy birthday, Angels & Blossoms!

Six Years & A Pink Butterfly

My little girl is turning six today. I know it's a cliche but it truly and honestly seems she's just been born. My little baby.

She's grown into a self-confident young lady, incredibly smart and joy to be with.

I'm very blessed.

Lots Of Neutrals & Yummy Raspberries

This is what I wore to escort my little girl to school on her very first day yesterday. I chose neutrals all over because they felt very autumnal but the pieces were summery enough to get through the day with so many different temperature levels.

The morning was obviously too cold for sandals so I put on my tan leather boots (no tights, only knee-high socks for me, thank you very much). Once it got warmer I quickly changed my footwear and felt very comfortable in my soft leather sandals.

Because of all the neutrals I chose too wear a plethora of accessories again. I put together my favourite brooches and was really happy with the result. A big bright corsage completed the look!

I wore my favourite earrings again after quite some time - they're yummy raspberries from a very talented American jewellery designer Michael Michaud. I mail-ordered them from the London National Gallery shop several years ago. It was love at first sight! They're so precious! I almost lost one last winter because it got tangled in a scarf - that's the reason I haven't worn them for a while, I've been absolutely terrified of losing them.

Today's outfit:

sandals - Leonora Passaro
skirt - local shop with really cheap things; used to be a peasant-style dress but I cut the puffed short sleeves off; the dress cost five euros altogether
top - Broadway (old!)
jacket - Tom Tailor
belt - H&M
scarf - Sisley
bag - Zara
cameo brooch - gift from husband for the birth of our boy (nine years ago)
thistle brooch - Scottish shop in the capital
angel brooch - gift from husband & children (I added the fuchsia blossoms)
corsage - Accessorize

Enjoy the last days of summer!

Weekend Wear

An awful lot of pictures today, so I'll go easy on the text. Still testing my picture-self-taking skills... The first lot is Saturday's outfit, the second one yesterday's.

Saturday (pics courtesy of my tiny tripod & timer):

flats - Nike
skirt - Labod (local brand)
stripy top - Zara
cardi - Zara
belt - TopShop
wooden beads - TwoWay
badges - Cath Kidston (Windsor Castle); Leonardo (Union Jack)

Sunday (pics courtesy of my husband):

sandals - Mum's hand-me-downs
dress (worn as skirt) - Benetton
ruffled blouse - Nara Camicie
belt - H&M
beaded bag - Benetton (Mum's)
angel pendant, bracelet

Yay!

More Black & A Touch Of Gold

Another set of pictures with self-timer - I'm learning! Not very quickly but still...

The kiddies & I drove to the capital today to see Toy Story 3 - it was lovely, we all enjoyed it. Plus some new acquisitions will soon be featured on this blog!

I'm wearing:

gold flats - Buffalo London (the most comfortable pair of footwear I've ever owned)
black skinny trousers - Mana
gold belt - local shop
top - Dorothy Perkins
cardi - TopShop
all accessories same as yesterday

I really liked the way my accessories came together yesterday which is why I decided to repeat the whole thing with today's outfit!

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Bye!

To our summer holidays this year. Both my husband and I start working again on Monday. The kids have another three and a half weeks to go, lucky little souls.

Another day trip to the mountains with our friends tomorrow, fingers crossed for sunny weather (there's been some torrential rain here these days...), a quiet Sunday at home (hopefully) and then it's off to a new start.

Enjoy the weekend!

Pleasant Surprise

Hello, my dear blogging friends, it's been a while, hasn't it? First and foremost, thank you so much for the expressed condolences after our loss. I took a few days off as there was so much to do before the funeral, and after that we decided to go along with our scheduled seaside holiday anyway because we all needed a break. I'll tell you all about our week at the seaside in the future posts...

The surprise in the post title refers to something completely different. I entered the giveaway on Jane's blog, The Applique, and won the greatest prize! The prize was a book on crocheting - I do that occasionally - and a fabulous felt brooch, hand-made by Jane (do check her Etsy shop, she's got some amazing stuff!) - the winner got to choose her own brooch! I purchased several items from Jane last summer, so I knew exactly what I was in for... pure bliss!

So, the brooch I've chosen goes by the name 'Blossom' - the obvious choice, right? I really like its vibrant green colour and the entire colour combination works really well. I'm looking forward to wearing it - a lot!

This is the book I got - it's got some really interesting designs and I've chosen three that I like the most for you to see. I'm not very skilled at crocheting but who knows - the book might help!

I really like this dress - it looks great worn over skinny jeans but I'm sure it would work on its own as well. Lovely 'vintage-y' look.

The cardi seems just what the name suggests - comfy. Plus I looove the colour!

Last but not least, the circles - I've been working on a scarf made of colourful circles since early spring. I haven't been making any progress lately but I hope that I'll be able to catch up soon!

I'll definitely keep you posted...

The package with the goodies arrived on the day of the funeral. Pleasant surprise and a bit of comfort... Thank you so much once again, Jane!

Easter Blessings

Have a very happy Easter, dear friends!

Enjoy your Easter treats, ...

... count all your blessings...

... and live your life in colour!