tattoo'd

what do you think about tattoos? i know we're deviating from the norm of interior design here, but i stumbled upon these stunning images from pinterest and had to share them with you.

the woman above is literally saturated with ink, but the designs are so beautiful that her skin is like an intricately embroidered tapestry.

i'm always floored by the stunning designs that people have inked on their skin. i know the healthy eater in me is drawn to the gorgeously inked vegetables.

could tattoos ever be glamourous? do you think they're common, or are really beautiful tattoos a rare occurrence? 

i can't even begin to imagine the mind it would have taken to produce something so incredibly realistic. i'm in the process of wiping drool off my chin at the sight.

last, but not least. the above is almost certainly my favourite - purely because i've never seen man and ink sit together quite so harmoniously. 

a bit of an image glut, but they were all so beautiful i had to share them with you. if you have a spare moment, have a gander at this interesting history of tattoos. have you got any tattoos? would you get one? let me know! hope you're all having fantastic weekends. 

on a side note, if you fancy a giggle, be sure to have a look at my dad's blog. it's got details about how my little brother woke me with his saxophone this morning. i believe they were betting on how long the "saxalarm" would have to be played before i punched one of them. 

you are now invited to the other side of sanity

good evening everyone! i hope you've all had really lovely days - it's been just beautiful here in edinburgh! i realise i've neglected this little blog of mine for a wee while, so i came home from charity shopping around morningside this afternoon inspired to snap a few photos of my rearranged and tidied room for you. 

yesterday saw a rekindling of my  k-pop addiction and the completion of my most recent crafty project - sewing crystal buttons onto a cardi i picked up from good old primark that morning in stirling! it's now got a pretty vintage feel to it: i reckon dita would be proud of me.

the infamous kay nielsen calendar, and an angel fresco i picked up back in corsica, haggled down by a good €50. below is my own washing line - having banged on about them for so long i thought it only appropriate to include my own! 

"celebrate the everyday" from banterbanner.com

fairy lights and laissez lucie faire. the painting was a present from my gorgeous little brother for christmas. 

an accidentally moody but rather pleasing shot of my salvaged lampshade and this evening's plonk. the tablecloth is an embroidered table runner also seen here.

my newly rearranged bookshelves, favourite reads, knitting project and (now empty) strawberry pocky. can you spot the rachel ashwell fan?

more corsican antique finds, religious iconography, pocket watch and hearts. phew!

i'm moving in with manboy for a month or so until my flat in aberdeen is mercifully devoid of law students, so sit tight for photos of his eloise-d flat! (i won't be able to help myself, the chalkboard paint shall abound...)

we're off to la rosa (SQUEE) on monday - photos will abound. i'm stupidly excited - let's hope the weather holds out! what do you guys have planned for your weekends? is the weather lovely where you are? 

pocky, cushions, cottage.

well, damn. corsica, seven months - over! crazy. i can't believe it's gone so quickly. i had an absolutely amazing time, ate waaaaaay too many croissants and made some lovely friends who i will always treasure. 

just a few snaps from the weekend to share with you! it's incredibly surreal being home and having coffee in the garden instead of in le grand cafe de la perv! (hur hur)

the daffies and other blossoms have been blooming! 

and john lewis yielded lovely treats today in the form of strawberry pocky and amy butler fabric. at last, my diabolical cushion plans may commence!!

i hope you've all had absolutely gorgeous weeks! can't wait to resume posting a little more regularly - see you all soon!! 

alan rickman, and other delicious antiques

my dearest darling friend heather, who has been with me since wednesday, and i went antiquing post-mass yesterday. we had intended to go to calvi, but then lost ourselves with gay abandon in the brocante where i spent the better part of forty quid.

it was totally worth it.

heather and i found a gorgeous bargain bin chock-full of miniature liqueurs - gin, whisky, bulgarian rose flavoured amaretto, and curacao in lightbulbs (!). i fell in love with the faceted cognac bottle and snaffled up a couple of red and black label johnnie walkers. it was one of those moments where you said to yourself "€2 apiece!?" and then wriggled with joy. the fact that the owner of the stall threw in five extra didn't hurt either!

i haggled the above down from €40 to €10. it will go somewhere in a cluster of similarly tarnished gold frames in my bedroom.


more rummaging ensued until one very kind and enthusiastic lady (who had hair the colour of the night sky)presented us with a photo album brimming with vintage postcards from belgium and france. my earliest find dated 1905, but many were sent during and between both world wars. 


there was something quite moving about holding a memento in my hands, stamped with "antwerp" and curling with age. 

it's unfortunately invisible, but the edges of the above card are misted with a mirror-like foil that shimmers like fish scales. 

sent from jeanne to alice in 1905, the writing is etched deep into the front of the postcard.

beautiful watercolour and a faded gilt-glitter stamp.

heather's haul - sunny daffies and primroses, a lady with hair just like hers, and brown bears for her loved ones.

i have never been one to pass up religious tat/memorabilia/iconography. i think it drives my nearest and dearest insane, but that's okay! the little medals above only set me back €5. stupidly good. the seller fondly calls me his "petite cliente" and has spotted my weakness for the religious, frequently searching me out from other stalls and showing me things he thinks i'd like (i drew the line at the seashell madonna though...)

it was a glorious sunday. we went out for huge quantities of pizza, heather's 5-day-late luggage arrived complete with glass tea pot and her clothes and underoos. an earlyish night ensued after some fly-by-the-seat of your pants lesson planning, and all was well. 

heather also sat me down and made me watch (though after she told me what i was watching it took little persuasion) the bbc's dramatisation of poet christopher reid's "the song of lunch" featuring ALAN RICKMAN *swoon* and EMMA THOMPSON whose elegance always makes me feel like miss havisham in comparison.

go and watch it now.

oh, hell(UO)...

i am forever indebted to the pinterest community for turning me on to urban outfitters rugs. i'm currently in my pj's, complete with glass of wine and laptop warming (yes, you guessed it!) my lap. it's a pretty good place to sit and sip and browse from, so i'd like to share with you a few favourites of mine from the urban outfitters site. 

whilst ensconced in little back street cafes munching croissants and knocking back espresso, it came to my attention that my flat at home had a lovely little welcome mat, but no rug to welcome one's feet once you were actually inside the door. i love the vintage rose rug above as it has a quaint, pixel-y feel about it, but i think (ironically) my heart is set on the one just above. mainly because it is just £12, on sale, but also because it is simply charming. i love all my friends dearly, and they should know that i never want them to leave my flat, ever! the above rug expresses my sentiments perfectly.

the above print makes my toes curl a little bit with its hipsterism/post-modernity/tweeness, but apart from that, i think it's adorable. i don't know if i'd necessarily want it on my wall, but i think it's lovely all the same.

but then again, that's the ironic thing about urban outfitters is that it can outdo itself in terms of how hipster-y it really is, but you will almost certainly find yourself a treasure, if you can brave the big NHS specs, neon, and comedy moustaches. i'm working on it, which is why their online boutique is so good for me, haha!

and despite my recent denouncing of hipsters and all they stand for, everyone needs a rainbow clock for their entryway. i'd love to pair the above with some black lacquered antlers, and maybe a white china teapot for my keys. 

other ideas for my entry way include prettily written essential numbers (police, ambulance, pizza guy...), a tray for the wifi (or weefee if you're my mother), the teapot/bowl for my keys, maybe an umbrella stand? i'm also keen on either making or purchasing this sign to hang in the hall (also mentioned here). it makes me giggle every time i see it!

what do you think of urban outfitters - yes or no? and what are your essentials for your hallways? is there something that makes you sigh with joy at being home? 

please share! hope you've all had lovely days. 

chinoiseries

this will make your monday, better, guaranteed!

hope the start to all your weeks has been wonderful!

a cup of coffee

hello one and all!!

please forgive my scary absence, i've been bedridden for the last couple of days with a mysterious bout of ninja flu - no warning signs, just - KERPOW! leaky nose and eyes, sore throat, self-pity, you name it!! so i made chicken soup and had honey and hot lemon and today i ate my own weight in toast and feel just spiffy! (the dubious benefit of the ninja cold is that it only lasts about three days) i read books, chatted to manboy, blew my nose, had a birthday party planned for me (thank you charlotte!!!) and pinterested. 

hugely. 

also, today marks the two week countdown to getting home! i am so excited about returning to damp scotland, though i know i'll miss corsica fiercely. heather, my dearest darling friend is visiting on wednesday this week and i am positively beside myself with excitement. she's here for a week and then i drop her off at the airport and pick up my gorgeous mother, take her for a whirlwind tour of ile-rousse, and then we fly home on the friday! phew...

anyway, enough text. let me perk up your fridays with some of my latest favourites on pinterest (real posting will resume shortly, i promise, but everything on pinterest is just so pretty! can you tell i'm making the most of it?)

subway tiles in kitchens and bathrooms are a new thing for me. i just love the way they bring an industrial feel to a rustic kitchen. rachel ashwell, of shabby chic, uses them to stunning effect in her bathroom. 

is this not the most adorable "hey guys, look what i made!" moment ever!?

excited about cocktail nights out (guess the theme of my birthday party?), but also about cocktail nights in!! there's something so beautiful about liqueur bottles with their jewelled colours. i love them all set up on a silver platter, too...

MORE gorgeous work from coralie bickford-smith (what a lovely name!). i am always in awe of this lady's talent. wouldn't this great food collection from penguin books add a gorgeous pop of colour to a person's kitchen? when they're finally released on the 7th of april, it's going to be really hard not to blow my pay on them!!! i'm already planning shelf space for them, somewhere amongst my hodgepodge of recipe books. 

if you have a spare moment, do have a look at ms. bickford-smith's website. she is a lady of incredible talent and is a real inspiration.

pamela love's stunning gold bear ring. i love bears almost as much as i do rings. phwoar. 

this beautiful magazine recently came to my attention, and as soon as it did, i was truly heartbroken as it isn't sold in the uk!! why, why?! was my plaintive cry. the only way to obtain it would be via subscription, and whilst it's a wildly tempting idea, i need a job to fund my follies!

blue and white china teacups...with wine stems. to go with the cocktail evening, because, y'know...why not? 

does anyone have a DIY for these? i will pay you in happy-vibes for the rest of your days.

ah, so very true.

another pearl of wisdom. anyone else agree with me?

another addition/addiction. the fuchsia pink and gold would go so well with the willow-patterned teacup/wine-stem glories above. 

happy friday everybody! i hope you all have fantastic weekends to look forward to!

the sources of all images may be found here!