Headline: my wallet dilemma has been solved…

(embarrassing to be wearing an un-ironed skirt as a stylist but i must confess i rarely iron at home as i do so much of it at work. baaaaaad confession.)

I received ‘the chosen one’ in the mail yesterday and threw my old milk stained one right into the bin (perhaps the milk will help it disintegrate quicker!). After heavy etsy searching and looking at everyone’s suggestions (thank you all!), I chose to go local with a little brand some of you will already be well acquainted with. So, let me introduce you to the new member of my handmade accessories collection…

This is a beautiful wallet from the very talented Megan Hoffman of Frank and Gertrude. The attention to detail is sublime, and her fabric combination I just love. This one doubles as a clutch purse so I do not have to carry a handbag everywhere. However, now that I have my first piece of Frank and Gertrude, I am very keen to buy one of their beautiful handbags, check out their store right here.

Also in the headlines: yesterday I received a ‘You Make My Day’ award from the lovely Mary-Laure at Aurea and it certainly brought a smile to my face! Thank you Mary-Laure, it means alot to know that I make your day as you do mine.

image by Jen at Simply Photos via Marie at Là

The rule is that I pass this award onto 5 blogs that make me smile so I will be passing it on back to Mary-Laure as she does indeed make my day! and will also pass it on to:

Josyln at Simply Lovely (and she is sick at the moment so she deserves a big pick me up so go and say hi), Jen at A girl and Her Polaroid, Liivian Talossa and Jo at A cup of Jo (and it is her birthday so how could I resist! but i just found out she is a year younger than me goddamnit)(and has a twin sister. lucky thang.)

As Marie at Là so succinctly wrote, the ‘you make my day award’ works like this…

1. write a post with links to 5 blogs that make me think and/or make my day
2. acknowledge the post of the award giver
3. tell the award winners that they have won by commenting on their blogs with the news.

Coming up soon: my heart wanders update!

Side Note: this post is best read with KT Tunstall’s Black Horse and The Cherry Tree in the background. Go on, try it, works for me!

view from my kitchen window, Paris.

for you dad.

My handmade pussy-willow front door Christmas wreath has just been revamped. I didn’t want to take it down even though I made it for Christmas so I decided to revamp it and make it into a ‘hurry up spring’ wreath. I removed the fairy lights to start with, and then the red velvet ribbon that was holding it to the door frame. The little fluffy white blossoms (not sure I can get away with saying ‘pussies’ here?!) still look fabulous after a few months although some are starting to brown but I quite like them that way. I ‘enhanced’ the wreath with the left over berry buds from my birthday flower arrangement and also added a lovely brown velvet ribbon to replace the red one. I am rather pleased with it, it looks quite striking but what do you think? I have decided to just keep adding to it once things die off – so instead of replacing or removing altogether, I will just add more to it over the coming months and see what transpires. I shall keep you informed on how it looks if you like. For further details on how it was made, see below.

Here is the full view of it:

To see what it looked like for christmas, click here (you will need to scroll down to the bottom of that post).

PS. I just added the direct ‘my heart wanders’ link to the sidebar here for you so you can easily check up on any updates you may have missed on the project. No deadlines have yet been set so don’t panic! But I will be setting one very soon. But before then we will check out some more inspiration for the project. And if I can remember how to do this sidebar thing I might add this little wreath too so you can click on it through the coming months and see how it changes. Ooh I’m having so much fun here in the (blog)house!

How to:

I am not the most patient of creators so you can be assured that whatever I make is super easy and quick. First I had a lightshade metal frame lying around so I cut out the middle bits. Then I cut the hard bottom stems of each pussy willow branch and bunched a few together (for time saving only) and curled them around the frame, securing them in two places with thin copper wire. I did this until I was satisfied with the shape and look of the wreath. Then I simply tied little leftover black and white ribbon in bows around some individual branches. I added little berry-like buds to the wreath and hung it up on the door with a brown velvet ribbon. It took approximately an hour to make in total.

I was a pubescent 14 year old living in a foreign land when this show premiered on my only english-speaking tv channel, the fabulous BBC (nicknamed my ‘sanity savior’). It can be said that after the first episode I was hooked. It encompassed all my passions of life back then – fashion, fabrics, sewing, art, paris, travel, love, boutiques… and all set in my favourite era of the 1920’s, London. This show set the groundwork for much of my inspiration as the essence of it has stayed with me all these years. To my absolute delight, the BBC recently released the entire series on DVD and when my mother read this news she was quick to get hold of it for me, knowing how much this series meant to me some 15 years ago. So what on earth am I talking about you ask?

Why, I speak of the House of Eliott of course!

The House of Eliott is based on the journey of two sisters, Bea and Evie, who embark on opening their very own fashion house amongst the haute couture of London and Paris boutiques, starring the brilliant actress Stella Gonet (as Bea) as well as Louise Lombard (recognise her in CSI?). This classic drama series takes you through all of the ups and downs of running such a boutique, including the scandals that befall them from jealous competitors, and the opportunities that come from the most humble of gestures. All this while giving a fantastic rendition of the political turmoil of England at that time, and post-war life.

These stills give you a very minimal peak at what this series has to offer visually – the sets, props, fashion and style is to-die-for, and for those of you Paris lovers, the series takes you there a number of times, with a complete look at Paris 1920’s fashion. What astounded me the most when I watched the series this many years on, was the resemblance of events within my own life. I remembered exactly how I was feeling when I watched the show at 14 years old, the sketches I started making from being inspired by Evie’s sketches, my imagination was really on an indescribable high. Now, at 30, thinking back to my 14 year old self, little I knew back then that I would have opened my own store only 7 years later and go through all the ups and downs expressed in the House Of Eliott. I was amazed to realise how times haven’t changed for small business, how the struggles are the same, and how all over the world, time after time there are still those people who try to sabotage you, bring you down, make yourself doubt your work and abilities. And then there are those people who stick by you, believe in you and support you through thick and thin. Watching the House of Eliott again brought tears to my eyes regularly and sparked that 14 year old imagination in me again. I won’t be running out and opening another store, but I certainly will not give up on my vision.

Enhance the Everyday review for House of Eliott: 5 outta 5.
I implore you to get hold of this complete series (there are 3 in total, click here for all 3), you will really love it. You will find the first series a little slow but it is essential to understand the whole story and you will not regret it. I just finished watching the whole series at Christmas and I am keen to start it again in a couple of months, I miss it already. Enjoy.

Artist: Peter Callesen

Peter’s work was first introduced to me by Michelle, and then today I spotted some more of his A4 creations on 2 or 3 things I know… which I just discovered to be a pretty cool blog. Who else has poppy love?