Feels like Saturday.

{ I'm intending to drink many cups of tea today! Find image here }

Let me set the scene. It's pouring outside, it's early and I'm sitting on the couch, cup of tea in hand, kitty cat curled up next to me. All the ingredients for a perfect DVD day on a rainy Saturday. Except it's Thursday, which makes it a work day - and a busy one at that. I've got lots to do today. No time to sit around. But I got up pretty early this morning so I've been lucky enough to have that blissful time of the day to myself, when hubby has gone to work and it's still too early for phone's to ring and emails to come through. And because it's raining there's no people out and about in the street and even the pooch is still in bed. I love that early morning calm...... even if this morning has lulled me into the confusion that it was Saturday. It will be soon enough...

No words....

 { i would so love to do this out our back door... i'm keeping it to show hubby, unfortunately don't think he'll love it as much as I do.... }

{ i love this rug and how cute does this pooch look all snuggled up on it? A perfect pooch pic }

 { i had a floral headpiece for my wedding and it was by far my favourite thing..... What a shame there's not more opportunities to wear these }

{ i blogged about this in my last post... maybe i need to frame this as a permanent reminder, such a nice thought  }

No words today, just pretty pictures. Some of my favourites that I've collected of late.... 

The art of quiet...

{ this image makes me feel nice and calm.... will hold it in my mind when things get hectic }

Earlier tonight I was reading one of my 'go to' blogs and this girl was talking about a goal she'd set herself a couple of years ago. She decided to make a list of 101 things she wanted to do, and she gave herself 1001 days to tick them off. Sounds like a plan. It's nice to think occasionally about things you'd like to do in your life and more importantly to capture them and then work through them. 101 things sounds like a lot to me.... not sure I'd want to do that many but I could probably manage 50.

But, all this got me thinking a little bit deeper. I know there's a couple of things about myself I'd really like change. And it's not as simple as writing a list and ticking it off. No, this is going to be a little more difficult. But it's time to commit.

What I want to try and do is be a little quieter, a little more at peace with life. Sounds wishy washy already. But I have a tendency to push things and to be a little aggressive (not sure that's the right word). My school report cards described me as "argumentative". And I can be. Terribly. So it's time to spend a little less time being heard and a little more time listening, being quiet and adopting a far calmer attitude to everything. 

1 year....

{ it's all in the details... my bathroom will be having a makeover and this will so be happening } 

{ fabulous statement curtains.... I have sooooo many curtains to make! } 

{ yep, I'll definately be adding some super cool wallpaper to my laundry room. So much fun }

Today marks one year since we left our city lives behind and moved into our cottage in the country. What a difference a year makes. For me this has been one of the best decisions in my life to date. I love our life in the country and I can honestly say I don't miss living in the city one little bit. Not one. Even things that I thought I may have missed haven't been an issue.

So, the year behind us has been action packed. Lots of things done around the house and garden but that 'to do' list of mine still has a million projects on it. As my husband says, "I don't think we'll ever really be done" (not in an overly enthusiastic tone!). And of course he's right. The (frustrated) Interior Decorator in me is constantly conjuring up new and wonderous ways to make our home just that - our home.

I have got "inspiration" up to my eyeballs so thought I'd share some of the projects that I'm setting my sights on in the coming months. We are in dire need of fabulous curtains in many rooms still, the bathroom is by far the ugliest room in the house - but soooooooo ripe for a makeover and I'm yet to find a way to introduce some 'to die for' wallpaper. Give me time... I'm thinking the laundry room could be the way to go - a la image above.

If you're looking for some inspiration to pretty up your home, feel free to visit my pinterest board 'Inspiration for Fidelis'. I'm happy to share the love.

Baby, it's cold outside...

{ gotta get me some of these slippers but we're out of sync with the seasons here so no can do }

Well, there is officially a chill in the air... I think the last of the warm autumn days are over and we're fast approaching winter. As I watch (ok, sometimes stalk) my American blogging friends I am a little jealous of their spring time joy. Spring is such a lovely, happy season - full of promise and optimism.

Anyhoo, we must embrace winter and all that it brings. It's a time for cosy winter woollens and snuggling up in front of the fire. But, at the moment I'm feeling in need of a little R&R so I'm planning a winter escape to a sunny destination just for a few nights. If only all the places I wanted to visit weren't sooooooo expensive.

Famous Faces

{ mary-kate or ashley? who knows but I love this shot - those girls really know how to work it for the camera }

{ grace kelly - so incredibly elegant, captured so perfectly in this image } 

{ I have so many pictures of kate hudson that i love but this one is my favourite - today }

{ love this picture of audrey, very different to the famous images that are so familiar }

One of the most amazing things about the world wide web is having access to pictures of famous peeps that you otherwise would never get to see - unless you devoured every single magazine on the planet. It's like getting a little glimpse into their lives, sometimes when they're looking amazingly perfect, and other times when it feels more natural and candid. The candid, behind the scenes type images are mostly my favourite but who can't help being drawn into the images that are so perfectly styled, complete with the best photography, lighting and hair and make-up that money can buy. I'm in....

Good times...

{ photo via my instagram - a bit fuzzy but kind of the perfect way to freeze a moment in time }

Spontaneous fun is often the best kind. And it happened at our house last night. My bestie (not GP, the "other" one) came for an impromptu visit yesterday which given we now live in the country means a sleepover (yay!). It's getting pretty freezing at night time in this neck of the woods so we were all snuggled up in our robes, watching The Voice and drinking champagne (the good stuff too which made it even better!). Me, hubby and bestie. It was soooo much fun. We laughed much more than is expected for a Monday night. 
I'm reading a fascinating book at the moment (more on that in another post) but it's really made me appreciate moments of happiness no matter how fleeting. So Monday night, here's to you... x

Photoshoot with the babies

{ above, our cat Arthur, reclining as he does all day every day.... and Gus, a moment of stillness, at last! }

Instagram makes taking photo's all too easy which is great, but it's stopped me from ever getting out my "real camera"..... which is exactly what I did last week. After one of my pinterest sessions I was inspired to take some shots of my beloved babies and so out came the Canon 550D and the next hour was spent trying to get some cool pic's of my pooch and pussy cat. 
The cat was a lot easier than the dog since he was already in position and more than happy to pose. The dog on the other hand was a complete nightmare. Way too excited and not very open to taking direction! Go figure! Anyhoo, after lots (and lots) of shots, these two are my faves. God I love these animals, they are both just soooooooo adorable.

Memories...

{ image found on my latest favourite tumblr site. find it here }

Some people have a desire for travel running through their veins. I'm not one of them. In fact, generally speaking I don't have a burning desire to visit faraway places (except The Hamptons of course). I'm more of a homebody. Happy to potter in my little corner of the world and not go too far out of my comfort zone. Having said that, one of my fondest memories of my life so far is when i lived in London for a year. It was 2004 when I lived there (wow, almost 10 years ago). I followed my boyfriend there having never stepped foot in London previously only to break up with him shortly after my arrival. I was in a foreign city with no friends but fortunately I got a job pretty quickly, made contact with some friends of friends and before I knew it I had the most bustling social life I'd ever experienced and having truly stepped out of my comfort zone I embarked on an adventure that I will never forget. It really was a surprise that something so unplanned and unlike me in so many ways became one of the best things I'd ever done.

I came across this picture today and out of nowhere I was suddenly transported to my life in London. I don't really think about it too much and given that I don't keep in contact with anyone from that time it's like this weird little part of my life that will only ever live on as memories. And what fond memories they are.