Life Lately: London and Wedding Preparations!

Hello!

 I am back in my home town of London for work which is so exciting.  Being in London is like meeting up with an old friend.  One you haven't seen for so long you almost can't remember what it's like to hang out but once you meet up again it's like it's been no time at all.  It's so wonderful to have so many places to go and explore, particularly all the lovely coffee shops we can visit.
Starting a new job is always a slightly stressful experience.  I couldn't sleep the first few nights properly as we were also staying somewhere I hadn't stayed before.  It takes me a little while to settle in anywhere new.  I'm a week in now though and things are starting to feel more familiar.
I feel like I'm at a cross roads in my life and hope I'll use this time in England to try to figure out what I want next.  There's a part of me that would love to live in London one day and I know that if I don't try to do this soon I wont be in a situation where it's easy to do it for much longer.
Last minute wedding preparations are being made as the wedding is this month.  I can't believe it will be here soon!  I just bought my last bridesmaids dress at the weekend.  It was a lucky find as we only had one day to get it before the bridesmaid jetted off to America for another friends wedding.  I had quite specific criteria for the dress (vintage, short, gold. 40's/50's era) and was lucky to find the perfect thing in a size that fitted.  Things are coming together quickly luckily as I also had to find shoes for myself and finally managed to find the perfect gold sparkly pair in Dune (in case you hadn't noticed gold is in the colour scheme!).  So now as things become hectic and tiring with work I'm glad that I've only got a couple of things to do.  One of them being the last flower crown for the bridesmaids to make.  I'm enjoying the preparations now that the actual day is in sight.  I don't like to drag things out over a really long period of time!

When we went bridesmaid dress shopping we stopped at a nice cafe on Brick Lane and the cakes there looked amazing!  My fiancé ordered the Banana and Butterscotch cake which I had a taste of, it really was delicious.  The cafe was called Kahaila and I would recommend checking it out if you're around the area.

Sorry if the photos aren't as good quality as usually but I don't have my DSLR camera with me so I'm making do with my iphone for the moment!
I hope you enjoyed this little catch up.  I don't really have a lot of time to blog at the moment but I'd like to try to keep this little blog as up to date as I can manage anyway!
Till next time
Twirlybirdie :)

Juliet Cap Veil DIY Update #3

Hey there!  It's been a while since I've posted.  Life has gotten a little crazy what with my wedding coming up in the next month and three work related overseas tours coming up over the next three months.  I'm afraid I don't think I will have as much time or energy as I'd like for blogging but I definitely hope to have a little catch up from time to time.  When things calm down I would definitely like to start posting more regularly again so I hope you don't give up on me!

Something I thought I would give a little update about it how my veil has been coming along.  Since I posted my last update I have sewn the appliqués on over the gathers.  I just applied them by lightly pinning them where I wanted them to sit carefully avoiding the embroidery and beads.  Once I was happy with their positioning I stitched them carefully on to the netting using a matching thread and making tiny stitches from the underside where I felt they would go unnoticed.

 Once this was done I attached some cream ribbon to the underside of where the appliqués were sat.  I folded over the edges of the ribbon first and stitched them down to make it neater.  Then I stitched this across where I had gathered the netting.  I intend to use this ribbon to attach the veil to my hair with grips.

  Sorry for my messy hair in the photos but I wanted to show how the veil sat.  As you can see I sewed the ribbon down in a few places to make the grips more secure but I actually did it a bit tight and found it hard to slide the grips through without catching the netting underneath.  So I would recommend either sewing the ribbon looser or attaching the grips to the ribbon before you try to attach them to your hair.
So I think that's going to be the last update on the top part of my veil at least.  I hope you enjoyed these posts.  I can't wait to wear it at my wedding!
You can catch my other DIY veil posts here (update #2), here (update #1) and here.
Till next time

Twirlybirdie :)

Life Lately: Lemon Drizzle Cake and Pink Tulips

Hello!

I think it's time for a life lately post as I haven't done one for a little while.  I had quite a quiet time at work for a couple of weeks which was lucky as quite a busy time is about to follow from right about now!

I've kept going with the baking streak I had been on since pancake day.  This cake was requested by my fiancé.  It was a lemon drizzle cake which I don't think I had ever made before.  It was really tasty and quite a bit denser than the carrot cake I had made before.  The recipe was super simple and you can find it here.  I personally preferred the lightness of the carrot cake but my fiancé preferred this one!

We bought some pretty tulips.  I requested the girly pink ones though I think my fiance wanted the yellow and red.  Hello spring!

I've been obsessed with this Green and Black's Organic Milk Chocolate with delicate flakes of Sea Salt.  Soooo yummy!  It's been on offer for a little while but recently went back up to full price again which is a shame because it's so expensive :(

I've been doing a lot of work on my wedding veil which I will have to write a full update post on soon!
I hope you have a great week

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Life lately, film photography and lace

Hello!

I haven't posted a life lately post in a while so I thought I'd give one a go.  Because work has been quite busy there hasn't been as much time to focus on things at home.  I've been missing baking but lacked the time and resources so I think I might try and get back doing that with some valentines inspired treats.  Here are a few photos from my life lately.....

My fiancé had a bit of a tidy in the living room.  He put together a small selection of my notebooks and stationary on the windowsill near my desk.

Even though the days are getting lighter I still can't survive most evenings without a scented candle (or three).  These mango scented ones were on sale and I really like the scent!

 This was taken a while ago when the snow first settled.  It still looks pretty much the same out there though!  The snow is much easier to put up with when the sun shines on it!

A friend at work took some pictures with a retro film camera.  He gave me a few that he took of me.  This went in my journal, it's me and my ballet partner in the Nutcracker.

Working on adding the lace appliqués to my veil.  It's still a work in progress but I think we're getting there!

I went out to the shops this weekend to pick up some household necessities (like a plunger, woo!) and somehow managed to come back with these!  They were all on sale though.  More things to try out and review!

There is still snow on the ground but I can sense spring in the air!  That's what I'm telling myself anyway.  Yes work is busy and a little stressful but it is definitely making the days of winter pass by quicker.

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Juliet Cap Veil DIY Update #2

Hello there!

So I think it's time for an update on how my veil DIY'ing has been going.  I've spent a long time pondering over my veil since I bought my dress.  The shade of the dress meant that the bright white tulle I'd bought didn't really match it.  The style of dress also affected the simple style of veil I was planning on making.  I did look at a few veils to buy, particularly vintage ones but the decorative vintage ones cost a fortune and newer ones are still pretty pricey so I decided to still have a go at making something to wear.  I also do really like the idea of having made something special I would wear on the day myself.
So where have I gotten so far?  I went to the fabric store and bought 3 metres of tulle in a creamier shade.  At 2.50 euros a metre this was no great expense so of course I got more than I might need just in case.  When I open out the fabric and lay it side by side with the white tulle I can't actually really see the difference in shade, it's when it's all bunched up together that it's noticeable.  Irrespective I feel better knowing that the tulle is in a better shade to match my dress.
Next I spent a really long time looking at different veils and trying to decide what I felt would work best with my dress.  When I say a really long time I mean months I've spent thinking about this.  I'm really indecisive and don't want to get it wrong and change my mind and have to do it all over again!  I had to decide how I wanted it gathered, where and how I wanted it pinned, what I wanted to stitch to the cap or the edging.  Finally I decided that I wanted to try to gather it by sewing loops either side of the cap quite low down the side of my head.  Originally I had gathered the material at the sides using a hand sewn gathering stitch and then stitched the gathered tulle on to two combs either side of the head.  This time I tried a different technique as I wanted to fabric to sit more sleekly on my head without much puffiness on either side.
I found the middle of the top end of the fabric by folding it in half and marked this place with a sewing pin perpendicular to the edge of the fabric.  Then I placed that on top of my head so that the sewing pin matched up with the centre of my head and pinched the fabric on the side where I wanted my veil to be pinned to my head.  I also marked this place with a sewing pin.  I measured the distance between the middle and side pin so that I would know where to sew the gathers on the other side.

The pleats I made and then looped thread to around to secure.

 Then at the place where I wanted the veil to be pinned I folded pleats in the fabric, folding inwards first.  I made each pleat roughly 2.5 cm wide.  I folded five pleats and then sewed them together by making a loop two or three times around them with matching thread.  I repeated this process on the other side.  I have to admit that the first time around I wasn't happy with where the way the fabric had gathered on one of the sides as it seemed to be looser on one side than the other allowing fabric to be too loose on the top of one side of my head.  It was really easy to cut open the sewn loop and pleat the fabric slightly higher up and stitch it so that it pulled the fabric tighter to my head.

Here you can see the shape of the cap

I'm very happy now that I have the shaping of my veil figured out.  Next I'm planning on sewing two beaded appliqués I've chosen on to either side of the cap.  I have a feeling this is going to take some time and patience to get right so I'll get on it when I have a moment and fill you in.  I'm also trying to decide whether to sew the veil on to two combs like I did before or sew some ribbon loops that I can use to attach the veil to my hair with using kirby grips.  I have to admit I'm leaning more towards the ribbon loops than the combs at the moment as it seems less bulky particularly with the hairstyle I'm planning on having at the moment.

The beaded appliqués I'm planning to sew to the veil.  They are from John Lewis.

So that's the story of my veil so far!  I have to admit it is tricky to do.  It definitely takes more thought and time than I initially suspected, perhaps because I'm just trying to wing it using trial and error.  I'm really excited to see how it works out in the end though.  I'm glad I've got quite a bit of time to fuss over it until the wedding!  I'll keep you updated on my progress.

You can read my previous posts on my veil making adventure here and here.

Till next time

Twirlybirdie :)

Wedding decor preparations and midnight blue nails

Hi there!

How quickly has this past week gone by?  I can't believe it's already Saturday tomorrow.  We have been busy, as I keep saying this is the busiest time of the year for the theatre.  Asides from enjoying the shows I am mostly looking forward to going home for a three day Christmas break.  At the moment the days consist mostly of hard work in the theatre and the evenings are mostly hot baths and candles (and chocolate).  The dark dreary weather is still a little difficult to get used to.  Adding a bit of brightness with a few choice cosmetics helps in the morning.  I think I just came up with a blog post right there!

Can you sense the greyness in the background?  We spent a few minutes making paper snowflakes (as you do!).  Surprisingly there isn't much snow on the ground.  Unusual for this chilly country.  It was snowing whilst I was walking home from work today though so who knows what I will wake up to tomorrow!

I made our first tissue paper pom pom as a tester for the wedding decor.  I think it turned out quite well!  Definitely planning to make some more although probably when I'm back home as I'm not sure how well these would hold up to transportation!

The dark evenings had me craving some darker colours on my nails.  This is one of my favourite shades, a rich dark midnight blue by China Glaze.  It's quick drying and applies well but I think because I didn't apply a top coat it started to chip after a couple of days.

My fiancé has been making some letters to apply to a photo backdrop for the wedding.  Gold and pink are in our colour scheme.  I think they look pretty cool.

I just love these matte gold sequins.  I'm thinking of using them to tie around the bouquets of flowers.

Are you thinking of making your own photo booth backdrop?  We looked in to hiring one but they were quite expensive and we don't really have the budget for it.  It's exciting to see all the little craft wedding details coming in to reality!  Luckily we have some really good inexpensive fabric stores near to us which helps with the crafting preparations.
Well time to get back to my chocolate!

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Little things: Angels and Hearts

Hello!  It's nearly Friday!  That thought cheers me up.  I am really struggling with the weather lately.  All day long yesterday and today it has been completely overcast.  It's cold outside and gets dark early which makes it a struggle to get any sunlight.  I feel sleepy all day, especially since I've had to stop drinking caffeinated coffee and tea.  I'm surviving on scented candles, hot baths, and (caffeine free) hot drinks.  I recently finished reading The Great Gatsby during my many bathing sessions and am on the look out for something as good to read next.  Any suggestions?

As soon as any sunlight peaks through when we're at home I try to grab my camera and take some pictures in the natural light.  These two cuties were bought by my fiancé as Christmas presents for angel loving family members.

This is the heart shape cutting hole punch we bought to make our heart bunting.  I also used to to punch out a patterned paper heart to put on a home made birthday card.  I think it will be getting used quite a lot!

Reams of home made heart bunting!  Wedding decoration preparations are well and truly under way!

My fiancé's favourite colour is green, in case you couldn't tell.  We went out for our weekend lunch date (sushi as usual) and I really liked the colour of this jumper which I couldn't ever remember him wearing before.

 The trees have lost all their leaves.  So sad!  Since then the branches have even already been snow covered.

I was given this as a Christmas present last year.  You follow the instructions and make a little fabric heart cushion.  There was enough fabric and trimmings to make more than one heart so I made another one this weekend.

The pattern cutting process.  

The finished heart.  Super cute!  I think I might use it as a pin cushion.

Even though I'm a fully grown adult I still can't resist having a chocolate advent calender!  The countdown to Christmas definitely seems to go by quicker than it used to!

Till next time

Twirlybirdie :)

Life Lately: Heart Bunting and Shopping

Hello!  I hope you are having a lovely relaxing Sunday evening.  The day was completely misted over here.  The fog was so thick you couldn't even see things that weren't directly in front of you.  It was very atmospheric.  The damp mist made up a bit for the clouded over sky and zero degree temperature.  We went out for chips and tea, then it was time to stock up on my candle selection as I'd become perilously close to running out.  How would I cope with the gloomy evenings without them?

Ah red wine jeans.  Finally.  I was craving a pair of jeans in this colour last year but never actually managed to buy any.  I spotted the perfect pair in Mango a few weeks ago for only 25 euros (!) but I was not in the mood for trying clothes on!  Typically they all sold out in my size really fast and weren't in the shop again for ages, so when I stumbled across them again I snapped them up straight away.  They are the perfect fit for me and have already ventured outside in them many times.

As I had run out of body butters an emergency shop for replacements had to be made.  I ended up buying two just in case I had a bad reaction to one of them.  I picked the Organic Surge Sweet Blossom Body Cream, and the Alba Botanica Hawaiian Body Cream in Kukui Nut.  They both smell delicious though I've had more success with the Organic Surge cream on my sensitive skin so far.

We bought this heart shaped hole punch to make heart shaped bunting for the wedding!

Bunting being created by the fiancé on my sewing machine, once I had taught him how to use it!

My latest candle stash.  All Bolsius candles as these are the cheapest scented candles they sell at our local department store.  I got vanilla, cranberry and sugar and spice scents.  Just looking at lit candles makes me feel warm and toasty inside.  A lot of shopping seems to be featured in this post, perhaps I should have called it 'Shopping Lately'!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your day and have a great start to the week!

Till next time

Twirlybirdie

Life lately: Flowers, Cards and Rice Milk

Hello!  I hope you have had a lovely Monday (haha).  Luckily for me it's my day off as we work Saturdays and (Sundays too sometimes).  As seems to be the usual for my days off it was overcast and cloudy all day long :(.  It was also pretty chilly so I was convinced I was going to achieve little other than spending the day hiding under my duvet thinking of all the things I should get done whilst avoiding going outside.  As it is I actually managed to convince myself to get out the flat and go for some tea with my fiancé as well as go food shopping and even hoover the flat (woo)!  This evening I'm even writing a blog post whilst I wait for the dinner to cook.  A much more productive day than I expected.  So without further ado, here is a selection of photos that I've taken from my life lately.

This is a really beautiful flower I received after the performance on Sunday.  It was given anonymously but was a lovely unexpected surprise!  So thank you mystery person :)

A card I drew to give to my sister to ask her to be a bridesmaid at my wedding.  I tried to draw a relatively accurate picture of what her dress will be like!  Her dress is so pretty, it's a vintage dress I bought from an antiques market in Marylebone.  A lovely 1930's dusky pink number.

My current favourite drink, Sea Buckthorn juice, which is apparently very good for the immune system as it is rich in vitamin C!  Perfect for the winter season when you need to start warding off colds.  I'm addicted right now and trying to stop myself from buying it every day as it's not cheap.

I bought these cute paper index notes to help me to be more organised in my notebooks.  I love writing in notebooks much more than on loose A4 kept in a ring binder, but I do find it difficult to keep track of different notes I've written on different subjects.  My brain skips around like crazy so I have blog post ideas, to do lists, general life plans etc all randomly skattered all over the notebook.  Now I can put a little sticker on a page I need to refer back to and even write on the sticky note exactly what it is.  Should have started using these ages ago!

Ever since I've tried to go dairy free the one thing I couldn't deal with was using a milk alternative in my tea and coffee.  However somehow I've managed to wean myself onto using rice or oat milk in those as well.  I've also developed an issue with caffeine too so now all my tea and coffee drinks are lactose and caffeine free!

Dinner is ready!  It's a lovely stew which is definitely something that appeals to me on these cold, dark evenings.  Unfortunately I put tumeric in it (yellow, stains easily) and then managed to splash it on my lovely cream jumper which is now lying in the bathroom smothered in Vanish.  I'm praying the stains come out!  I am so clumsy and even own the most gorgeous apron so why I never wear it those times when I really should I'll never know!

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Gold Shoes For The Wedding

Hello there!  How are you?  I've been searching for the perfect pair of gold coloured shoes for my wedding dress. So far I have picked up a super glittery pair from Dorothy Perkins for a bargain £29 and a luxe gold leather pair from a second hand discount designer shop called Dress For Less in Angel, Islington.

They seemed to be very good quality leather shoes and in perfect condition considering they are second hand as well.  I wanted to wear a lower pair for the ceremony and these were low and comfortable to wear which is the main reason why I bought them.  Now though I'm not sure if the colour is quite right.  I feel like I might actually want something more bridal looking.  I'm quite surprised at how fussy I feel about my wedding shoes.  I thought I'd pick up a cheap pair and it would be a done deal.  I better get it right next time otherwise I'm going to end up spending a fortune!

Till next time :)

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