(life through my lens) Ostrander Lake, Yosemite

It is no secret that Yosemite is one of my favourite places on earth. I feel totally renewed every single time I visit that place and its beauty takes my breath away every time.

This trip was no different. We were only there for a weekend but it was perfect and I loved every second we were there. 

Here are some of my favourite snaps from the weekend -- they bring back the most amazing memories :)

{When en route to Yosemite, we always stop at this lake for a picture. This time was no exception :) }

{We started our hike on Saturday morning. It was far harder than any of us anticipated but the views of the lake from our camping spot were well worth it!}

{The boys decided to climb to the nearby summit and the views look amazing. However, I was glad to witness these via the camera ;) }

{The evening was spent swimming in the lake, building a fire, cooking and generally relaxing. I love this photo of my and my best friend -- it was so good to catch up with her :) }

Ahh, I cannot wait to return already!! 

Do you have a special place that makes you feel totally renewed?

(things i love) french bulldogs

Eek, I have been going on at the boy for agesss about getting a little dog. I want a pug or a french bulldog or something equally as cute/ugly but he has always said no! :( 

That is until he bumped into an adorable little frenchie and fell in love (this might be a slight exaggeration but it's how I interpreted it). So, I am now allowed a little french bulldog and I am so excited! I haven't decided on colour yet but I am going to call her Frankie (Tyler will call her Frank:).

In celebration, I have picked out these cute frenchie accessories ;)

Ok ok, I might be a little bit ahead of myself, we don't even live on the same continent yet BUT, the six month countdown is almost here #lifeisgood

Do you have a little dog in your life?

All of these items can be purchased right here

(something for the weekend) a summer treat

Dress: Topshop | Nail Polish: Essie | Bag: The Cambridge Satchel Company | Pumps: Tory Burch

One of my favourite things to do when the weather turns warm, is make fresh lemonade. We used to do it during the Summer holidays when I was younger and I still think it is the most refreshing drink on a warm Summer's day. 

It is also extremely easy to make from scratch. Here is my recipe...

Mmm, I'm just hoping that the sunny weather stays around a little bit longer, so I can enjoy this Summer treat over the weekend.

Happy Friday everybody -- let's make it a good one :)

Linked with {long distance loving}

i'm back

{the boy and i overlooking Ostrander Lake, Yosemite}

I'm back from my 10 days in paradise (AKA California;) and I am looking forward to giving my (much neglected) blog some love.

The last ten days were filled with hikes to the most beautiful places, waterfalls, new experiences, yummy dinners, plenty of wine, amazing catch ups with my sister and best friend, big American style breakfasts on the beach, sunbathing and of course, lots of L O V E.

I have many photographs and I can't wait to share them :)

(guest post) the littlest things

Today, I am more than excited to have Sophie here talking about one of my favourite cities in the world. This brings back amazing memories of my travels down-under in 2010... take it away Soph :)

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Hi! I am Sophie from The Littlest Things. Sam asked me to share one of my dream destinations, or my favourite place I have travelled to. My list of places that I am dying to visit is never-ending! And I have been lucky enough to check out some of my all time favourite cities, towns and places. But my number one place is the world is my home town; Sydney! I currently live on the other side of the world, in the U.K, so I try to get back home as much as possible. These are some of my favourite things about my city. 

Thanks so much for having me Sam! I hope you are having an amazing time in America!

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Thank you so much Sophie! xx

All images are copyright Sophie Learmont

(guest post) {extra}ordinary wonders

As I am currently enjoying myself in the Californian sunshine and quite possibly sipping wine at beautiful Santa Barbara vineyard as you read, I am very lucky to have Becca here from {extra}ordinary wonders who has very kindly provided an amazing mini-guide to Cape Cod. This place has just jumped straight to the top of my vacation wish list! Read on to find out more...

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Hello! Becca Atwood here from {extra}ordinary wonders. When Samantha asked me to guest post about my dream vacation I thought of all of the places I want to travel to – Istanbul, Greece, South Africa, The Grand Canyon. I could go on! My list of places I want to visit is pretty long. Last week I was visiting my family on the Cape and I realized this is pretty much my dream vacation. I am so lucky to have grown up in such a beautiful place. Every summer I try to get home for at least one full week. We eat lots of seafood, ice cream, and spend our days at the beach or lake. It’s the perfect place to recharge. Since I know the Cape so well, here’s my mini-guide for you: 

Where to Stay: Rent a cottage! 

Best Beach: Mayflower.

The beaches can get very crowded, so if you do rent a cottage you can walk to some of the resident only beaches like Little Beach. 

Best Waves: The National Seashore

Best Ice Cream: Sundae School

Best Dinner: The Red Pheasant
This is my parent’s restaurant, and while I may be a bit biased, it is one of the best restaurants on the Cape

Best Lobster Roll: Sesuit Harbor Café 

 Or
Make your own! You can buy fresh lobster at Swan River Fish Market among other locations. 

Best Nature Walk: The White Cedar Swamp
This is one of my favorite places on the Cape and I wrote about it here 

Best movie theatre: 

This is a hard one so I’ve got two for you. The Wellfleet Drive-in. There aren’t many drive-ins left!
 The Cape Cinema is another great experience. It opened in 1930 and has an amazing mural on the ceiling by Rockwell Kent. 

Must visit day trip: Provincetown

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Thank you so much Becca! xx

All photographs are copyright Becca Atwood

(guest post) running in heels

Today, I am very lucky to have the lovely Emily from Running in Heels standing in for me whilst I'm en route to Santa Barbara for a long weekend and her post is definitely making me want to book flights to Morocco straight away! Take it away Emily...


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Hey everyone! I'm Emily, from Running in Heels. It's so nice to meet you all:) When Samantha asked me to guest post about my dream trip, I was super excited. Travelling is one of my very favorite things in the world. I'm constantly dreaming up trips I want to take, and buying every book I can to make-believe plan.

Although I am in love with cities like Paris, Vienna, and London probably more than any person in this world, today I wanted to post about trip that's a bit more exotic for fellow adventurers out there.

Marrakech, Morocco. 

For some reason, Morocco has been on my mind as a dream destination for a couple of years now. I can just imagine wandering through the spice markets and shops during the day, and exploring beautiful sites such as the Koutoubia Minaret and the Djema El-Fna (Lonely Planet says it has snake charmers, henna, astrologers, acrobats, and storytellers!) at night. Since we are dreaming, I would go ahead and stay at the Royal Mansour hotel (above), an actual Moroccan palace hotel, complete with a courtyard, fountain roof terrace and a personal butler. 

Just looking at these pictures makes me want to pack up and go!

Marrakech has so much more to offer that I'm sure I haven't even heard about yet, I guess I'm just going to have to go check it out myself and report back to you all:)

What do you think, is Morocco as sexy and intriguing to you as it is to me? Would you go somewhere exotic and different if you had the chance? My suitcase is calling me for a trip out of town sometime in the near future. 

Thanks so much to Samantha for letting me share my wanderlust today! I hope you are all inspired to hop on a plane to wherever it is that is calling you. 

xo.

Emily

Carpet Showroom//Marrakech at Sunrise//Medina//Royal Mansour Hotel//Koutoubia Tower

i'm with this guy...

... and couldn't be happier right now! 

This afternoon, we are heading to Yosemite with a group of friends, for a weekend of hiking, swimming in lakes, camping, drinking, building fires, S'mores! and I cannot wait :)

Wishing you all a perfect weekend xx

Side note: his face is muddy from mountain biking :)

a quick hello.

Things are a bit manic round here today! 

I will be flying to San Francisco to see my love tomorrow and I'm very excited right now. 

Just wanted to share a little photograph I took last Summer... I just love those hills!

Wishing you all a wonderful hump day ;) xx

Image copyright me :)

(colour collective) tans & browns

Burberry Trench | Mulberry Wallet | Michael Kors Watch | Reiss Playsuit | Mulberry 'Del Rey' Bag | Jimmy Choo heels

For this week's Colour Collective, I'm lusting over these natural beauties. WHY must I love every single bag Mulberry releases? This gorgeous Del Rey has definitely gone straight to the top of my lust list!

(Blogging) Links à la Mode

Just a little note today to say thank you to IFB and Victoria for including my BEACH post on their weekly Links à la Mode update last Thursday -- I'm really happy about it! 

I started this blogging journey in September last year as a creative distraction to my current long distance relationship situation but it has become so much more that that... I have developed new skills, learnt more that I realised I could in such a short period of time, "met" some really amazing people and I'm having so much fun! Being creative really is a good cure for the LDR blues :)

Below are the other lovely ladies that made the round up last week... go check 'em out :)

Good Reads
Edited by: Victoria of vmac+cheese

Yawn. Mid-week holidays are fantastic because, well, they’re mid-week holidays. The down side? It’s Thursday and I’m sure we’re all wishing it was the weekend! Waking up after a holiday that includes all of summers’ best aspects (warm weather, fireworks, swimming, and grilling) can be painful indeed. To get you through your barbecue and burger hangovers today (and perhaps hangovers of another variety too), this week’s links all feature great, fun reads to peruse in your downtime. From fantastic DIYs to inspirational stories about women in fashion, you’re sure to find a good read. Settle in with a coffee, put some aloe on your sunburn, and enjoy.

LINKS À LA MODE: THE IFB WEEKLY ROUND UP: JULY 5TH


Aspiring New Moms: Runway Inspiration to Spice Up Your Black Tank

Barefoot Duchess: Raid His Closet

Crazy Style Love: Yet Another

Dress Code: High Fashion: Row Resort 2013

Elembee Etc: Style Crush: Classy Girls Wear Pearls

Every Shade of Green: Something for the Weekend

Fashion Pastiche: Delft Blue

Good, Bad and Fab: Fab LA Spotlight: Bollare PR Fashion Closet

Happy Pretty Sweet: Easy DIY Flower Crown Tutorial

Fiafafia: Ombre Love

Kate B McLeod: DIY Neon Yellow Capped Shoes

Mairead Lee: Nice Day for a White Wedding

Miss City Chic: DIY Beaded Bracelets

Pleasure Over Business: Trends: Great Gatsby Inspired

Pretty Innovative: Get Inspired by the Story of Gilt Groupe

River City Chic: Royalty

Shrimp Salad Circus: How To-sday: Vivid Ombre

Sole Sisters: Red Shoe Manifesto

The Dapper Bun: One Dress Three Ways

Tour de Fancy: Clear Cookies for the Best Price on Airline Tickets

(something for the weekend) America Stylee

In honour of the fourth of July, I'm going patriotic with my Something for the Weekend this week and this just happens to be my absolute favourite way to wear red, white and blue...

If you are on American soil, I hope you had a great time celebrating Independence Day this week. I love fireworks, so I'm sad that I missed out on the celebrations this year... maybe next year :)

Plans for this weekend consist of catching up with a few girlfriends for dinners and lunches. Some shopping and packing for my upcoming holiday, which can't come soon enough... it is torrential rain here in England at the moment, so I'm happy I'll be jetting off to the California sunshine in a few days.

Happy Friday everyone -- have a lovely weekend xx

For more patriotic inspiration, head over to {Long Distance Loving}

(100 things) week one

Today marks the start of a ten week series, all about the small things in life that make me happy.

I saw this idea on one of my favourite daily reads and absolutely loved it, so thought I would give it a go myself. 

I really enjoyed sitting down and making a list of all the little things that brighten my day and I really urge you to do the same! Go on, you know you want to :)

So, in alphabetic order, here is week one and the first ten things that make me happy...

What little things make you happy?

Image thanks to: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

(wanderlust) yosemite

One of my favourite places on earth is Yosemite National Park in California. It is nature at its most beautiful and I will be there in a week and a half! i. am. so. excited.

For this week's Wanderlust, I wanted to share some of my photographs of my favourite things to do here :)

For the record, I was rubbish at rock climbing but I gave it a go and I intend to be better next time! :)

Where is your favourite place?

All images are copyright me :)

(good food) salmon with stir fried veg

Linked with Tasty Tuesdays

(lust list) July

1. Kate Spade | 2. BaubleBar | 3. Kate Spade | 4. TopShop | 5. TopShop | 6. BaubleBar | 7. Zara USA 

I can't believe that it is July already! 6 months of the year have been and gone. Did you achieve everything you wanted to in the first half of the year? I definitely feel that I need to sit down and reevaluate my goals and dreams for this year. Is it just me, or does everyone feel like this year is going way quicker than normal?!

With a new month, come new wishes and this is how my current lust list is looking.

Are you lusting for anything new this month? I'd love to know :)