Category: Lovely Things

Lovely Things April 2016

It’s been a while since I’ve posted but I’m back just in time to legitimately still be talking about April in the ‘Lovely Things April 2016’ edition. As regards my absence I can only give the excuse of life! It just happened! Nothing major, but my sister and I spent one week putting down some flooring, then the next was spent working and packing, then the next on a lovely holiday! (More on that later!) Among all that I still had time to notice a few things this month that I though might be interesting…

— Lovely Things April 2016 —

— Under the Greenwood Tree —

I start once again with a song! On this occasion it is ‘Under the Greenwood tree’ –  written by William Shakespeare for his play ‘As You Like It’ but arranged and sung by Laura Marling. I only found this song by watching the amazing ‘Shakespeare Live from the RSC‘ on BBC2 a week ago. In that show it was sung by The Shires – another new revelation to me! – their version was absolutely stunning and you can hear it here. It’s well worth listening to!

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— Getting Fit —

After the indulgences on Holiday I definitely feel the need to pull back a bit and start changing up my lifestyle. I’ve been feeling the need to change for quite a few months now and I think now is the time to start taking steps in a healthy direction. I want to get exercising and eating good wholesome food and I’ve been really inspired by reading lots of blogs and following people on instagram. One thing I’ve noticed is that pretty work out gear helps!!! I find this editorial, shot by Julia Galdo, a good motivation to get moving, especially if I can find some pieces as nice as these from Asics…

Lovely Things April 2016 - Asics 2016 by Julia Galdo

Lovely Things April 2016 - Asics 2016 by Julia Galdo

Lovely Things April 2016 - Asics 2016 by Julia Galdo

Lovely Things April 2016 - Asics 2016 by Julia Galdo

Lovely Things April 2016 - Asics 2016 by Julia Galdo

Lovely Things April 2016 - Asics 2016 by Julia Galdo

Lovely Things April 2016 - Asics 2016 by Julia Galdo

Speaking of Julia Galdo, I love this shot from a Clinique campaign she did…

Lovely Things April 2016 - Clinique Spring Shoot by Julia Galdo

(All images from Behance!)

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— Cath Kidston —

A quick snippet from Cath Kidston in the form of this Padstow Rose Cross Body Bag…

Lovely Things April 2016 - Cath Kidston Padstow Rose Bag

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— Love From Cyprus —

May has brought with it sunshine and an abundance of greenery to Kent and you can feel Summer is not too far away. With that in mind I’ve been looking at getting some new sandals this year and have found myself on Etsy and more specifically ‘Love From Cyprus‘. The sandals – and other items – are all hand crafted in Cyprus and have a quality and style that I love. I also love that you can get them in a variety of colours so there are lots of options to choose from. Here are some of my favorites…

Lovely Things April 2016 - Love From Cyprus

 ↑ Ermes Winged Sandal

Lovely Things April 2016 - Love From Cyprus

↑ Athena Gladiators

Lovely Things April 2016 - Love from Cyprus

↑ Erato Sandals

Lovely Things April 2016 - Love From Cyprus

↑ Customisable Ermes 

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— Magic —

I shall end on another musical note from The Shires. This is their beautiful cover of Coldplay’s ‘Magic’. I hope you all have a wonderful May and I’ll be back soon…

x Anna 

 

 

Lovely Things December 2015

Happy New Year!!! It’s 2016, it’s full of opportunities and cool things to come and I’m looking forward to it. 2016 is going to be good! But, before we jump into the new year with both feet I’d like to just take a little look back at the ‘Lovely Things’ for December 2015.

It was a good month for sure. December held the holidays and family time and cosy, relaxation time – it was a good time! And their were lots of Lovely Things to enjoy as well. So here we go with a run down…

Lovely Things December 2015…

— Yuna —

First off, as is becoming the custom, we have a little musical prelude above. This time it is from a new discovery of mine: Yuna. She is a singer-songwriter from Malaysia and her songs are a mix of folk, pop and a little soulful R&B. This song in particular – Rescue – is really uplifting and catchy and a good tune to start the new year on I think…

 

— A little Organising —

I did a long post on all the lovely 2016 planners and stationary just before Christmas, but there are a few extra things I’ve found since then that might be nice for the new year. The first comes from Emily Ley in the form of her Simplified Planner. Not only is it very stylish to look at , it has a clean fresh feel and the space to plan out a successful day. Just what’s needed…

Lovely Things December 2015 - Emily Ley Simplified Planner 2 Lovely Things December 2015 - Emily Ley Simplified Planner

The other new stationary I found that looked very alluring was from Julia Kostreva . If you love elegant and effortlessly cool stationary. Look no further. I pretty much want everything in her shop. These three any-year, daily planners are just a few of my favorites…

Lovely Things December 2015 - Julia Kostreva Gold Foil Daily Planner Apricot Lovely Things December 2015 - Julia Kostreva daily planner Lovely Things December 2015 - Julia Kostreva Daily Planner Daisy Lovely Things December 2015 - Julia Kostreva daily planner insides 5 Lovely Things December 2015 - Julia Kostreva Daily Planner Pastel

 

— This Pillow… —

 

…cos’ it’s pretty! And it reminds me of Spring with it’s watercolour patterns and pastel shades. It’s from Leif.

Lovely Things December 2015 - Leif Floral Movement Pillow

— Isidre Ceramics —

 

Similarly, these beautiful ceramics from the Isidre collection at Anthropologie just shout Spring to me. I love a good floral and these tick all the boxes.

Lovely Things December 2015 - Anthropologie Isidre Pitcher Lovely Things December 2015 - Anthropologie Isidre Platter Lovely Things December 2015 - Anthropologie Isidre Bowel Lovely Things December 2015 - Anthropologie Isidre Side Plate

— Cute Pastels —

A single picture for you: I’m definitely in a pastel mood. ‘Cute Pastels’ from Harper’s Bazaar Greece January 2016. Shot by Angelo D’agostino. Via.

Lovely Things December 2015 - Harper's Bazaar Greece January 2016 Cute Pastels

 

— Just COS —

I’ve been taking a fresh look at COS recently, it fell off my radar a bit unfortunately, but now it is well and truly back. The pieces are so simple, yet they seem to say a lot and just look so darn cool! Here are a few of my recent favorites…

 

↓ Merino Wool Silk Skirt Dress

Lovely Things December 2015 - COS Merino Wool Silk Shirt Dress

↓ Patch Pocket Dress

Lovely Things December 2015 - COS Patch Pocket Dress

↓ Round-Neck Printed Dress

Lovely Things December 2015 - COS Round-Neck Printed Dress

↓ Striped Cotton Shirt

Lovely Things December 2015 - COS Striped Cotton Shirt

↓ Speckled Cashmere Dress

Lovely Things December 2015 - COS Speckled Cashmere Dress

 

— The Sapphires —

Last, but certainly not least, we have a film called ‘The Sapphires’. I literally only just watched it last night but I really enjoyed it! It is about a group of four Aboriginal girls who create a 60’s girl group called ‘The Sapphires’ and go on to entertain the army during the Vietnam war. It is full of great songs and funny moments, but also has a touching side and you learn a lot about the tumultuous time they were living through. If  like me, you like singers like Otis Redding and The Supremes  then you will love the music, but it is a great watch for all I think. If you are in the UK you can watch it for free on the BBC iplayer for a few days… ( warning – there is a bit of swearing! Its only a PG-13 though, so it’s not the worst, I watched it with my Mum so it can’t be that bad!)…

 

Well, there we go! The December 2015 selection is complete! I wish you a very blessed 2016. I have high hopes for this year and a few plans that I will reveal here soon, so stay tuned!!

X Anna 

Lovely Things : November 2015

So it’s that time again: the time for Lovely Things! I hard to imagine that it is now December and Christmas is less than four weeks away! How did this happen?! This year has gone so fast and it will be 2016 before we know it. There is , however, a little more time do a bit of shopping and a bit of browsing before the rush gets on, so here are some things to hopefully inspire you in these busy weeks…

Lovely Things…

So where to start? It seems to be becoming a tradition to start with a song. Sorry to those of you that don’t want to think about it, but it had to be a Christmas song! I love listening to groups where the voice and harmonies are centre stage (Like ‘The Staves’, ‘The Unthanks, ‘Fleet Foxes’ etc. ) and I have recently really been enjoying Pentatonix. They are a vocal group that do some beautiful covers and the harmonies are just stunning. They oh so conveniently have a Christmas album out and the title track ‘ That’s Christmas To Me’ is one of my favorites.

—  Marble and Pine  —

You may remember that on my last ‘Lovely Things’ post I featured a cool desk organiser, well this time I’m taking it to a whole new level with this beauty! Isn’t it gorgeous! I don’t know whether it is because marble is a hot material right now in the style stakes; or the cute little compartments; or the detail and precision, but I’m just kind of finding it irresistable!

November's Lovely Things - Shkatulka Lesha Galkin

Unfortunatly I think it may have just been an exhibition piece and not put into actual production, but it’s creator Lesha Galkin is one talented designer! Images from Behance.

November's Lovely Things - Shkatulka Lesha Galkin

November's Lovely Things - Shkatulka Lesha Galkin

—  Spring’s New Look  —

Next up we have a few pictures from a recent editorial that caught my eye. Even though the festive season is on our minds it is sometimes nice to look ahead to the new year and the new things that Spring will hold , so these pictures remind me of the days warming up again and the light coming back…

November's Lovely Things - Spring's New Look

November's Lovely Things - Spring's New Look

November's Lovely Things - Spring's New Look

The editorial was for Harper’s Bazaar and shot by Julia Noni. Images via.

—  Shoes —

Along with the party season comes a wave of new party shoes that have to be given their day, so here are a few that have been on my wish list…

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November's Lovely Things - Boden Bow Heel

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November's Lovely Things - Boden Bow Heel

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Bow Heel from Boden.

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November's Lovely Things - Boden Embellished Mary Jane

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November's Lovely Things - Boden Embellished Mary Jane

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Embellished Mary Jane from Boden.

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November's Lovely Things - Boden Audrey Bow Flat

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November's Lovely Things - Boden Audrey Bow Flat

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The Audrey Bow Flat from Boden.

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November's Lovely Things - Boden Lucinda Heel

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November's Lovely Things - Boden Lucinda Heel

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The Lucinda Heel from Boden.

The PRINCIPAL Lace Up heel from Asos.

— Rose —

As my penultimate offering I have this on picture by Evelyn Bencicova that just made me sit up and look when I saw it…

November's Lovely Things - Photo by Evelyn Bencicova

— Mary Did You Know? —

Lastly I have another musical offering, once again from Pentatonix and once again from their Christmas album. This one is called ‘Mary Did You Know?’ and it is beautiful…

 

I hope you found something new to love,

Anna X

September’s Lovely Things

It’s October! It is now officially Autumn and I love it. Simple. Autumn is the best. Warm, yet it’s acceptable to be wearing knitwear and boots. I really am a typical English person aren’t I! Always talking about the weather. Anyway, this post was not meant for a  meteorological report, but rather as a run down of all the lovely things I came across in September. So, without further ado, let’s begin!

↑ Quadron – Hey Love

So, first off we have a little music. This time around it is from a new discovery of mine: Quadron. They are a Danish duo with a jazzy, soul sound that is right up my street. I found them while browsing similar artists to Lianne la Havas on Spotify. This song ‘Hey Love’ is taken from their most recent album Avalanche and it really grew on me until I was singing it in the shower and while making dinner and such. It feels very current, yet also has elements of the retro about it, as I say, right up my street! What are your thoughts? Like it?…

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The Beautiful House of Take Courage

I am a big Take Courage fan. Cat’s blog has the warmth and personality that I aspire to create here one day. She and her partner ‘The Texan’ have recently bought a house and are stamping their mark on it lovingly and beautifully, I always look forward to seeing the progress and all the interesting bits and bobs they collect. And…she has a very cute cat called Chutney.

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Art by Krough Studio

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These cool geometric, art deco inspired pieces are by Krough Studio – artist Kristina Krough. She is from Copenhagen and is inspired to create these pieces and others by all the architecture and history around her. I’m more of a floral/ landscape/fashion illustration girl in general, but these pieces just seemed to have something that made me want them!

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The Mysterious Sea Woman

A strange title I grant you, but these mysterious pictures were found by imthecatlady at a thrift shop in Virginia. They are beautiful pictures and the mystery of who the woman and photographer are just add to their appeal I think. Imthecatlady is trying to find out who she is, so if you have any clues??…

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(Images from Honey Kennedy)

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The Sweet Life

I also loved these two pictures from a recent editorial I came across called ‘The Sweet Life’. I t was shot by Ben Toms for Teen Vogue September 2015…

(Images from Visual Optimism)

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Constellations 

Along the same lines, I loved this shot from a recent editorial for Glamour Netherlands by Jasper Abels…

(Image also from Visual Optimism)

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Oh Anthropologie!

Lastly we have some really lovely things from Anthropologie. If I had some spare cash, this is where it would probably go! All there stuff is so beautifully curated and elegant and..just…lovely!

Windblown Blooms Platter

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Pearl Inlay Dresser

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Sunset Fringe Scarf

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Gem Cascade Necklace

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Soledad Felt Fedora

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Climbing Rose Pen

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Well, I hope you liked September’s compendium of Lovely Things. Here’s to October, who knows what’s in store!…

X Anna