Pantone 2013

'Green is the prime colour of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises."

Pedro Calderon de la Barca

It would seem its official, Pantone's Color of the year for 2013 is none other than Emerald.
Since this is a favoured colour of mine (along with most other shades of green)I can't help but agree.
See below for some of my picks to make your days a little more verdant.

Cashmere Jumper

Dress

Cushion

Tumbler

Studs

Succulent Napkin Rings

Things that make me smile

Putting up some Christmas decorations this week has brought back memories. One of the nicest was wandering around the christmas markets on a freezing cold day in New York sipping Ninth Street coffee.
These cards were amongst my finds that day.
Get some for yourself here.

 all designs by The Frantic Meerkat

Into the woods...

I could really do with escaping today.
Leaving the city behind and finding some peace in the forest.
I think I'm missing the light.
Light through colour; through emerald and gold. 
Colour that feeds you and makes you feel whole. 

Images via Instagram rachelisntweird//glamagurl//queenoftheemeraldcity

Make & Take

This is cute, easy and bound to brighten the view while someone’s doing the washing up {so long as they have a window sill to put it on}


Plus, if you're anything like me, it can be mostly made from stuff you’d find hanging about your home.


For cheap baby succulents try Homebase or Ikea.

Click here for the tutorial on Oh, Hello Friend.

Posted with Blogsy

Kew Gardens

Over the Easter break M and I decided to head over to Kew to wander around the botanical gardens and visit our favourite restaurant.

The weather wasn’t particularly great but there’s something about the royal jardin that is just so lovely no matter what time of year it is.

I am going to make a promise to visit more often.

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

Photos taken with Instagram

Whistle while you work!

I can often be found staring absently out of the window dreaming of a life in the country away from the Big Smoke.

If I did live in a woodland cottage I’m sure that I would be able to throw my windows open Snow-White style and all the little animals will flood in and do my housework.

Until then I’ll get myself some of these wall stickers and squint so I can’t see the mess.

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a.

 



b.



c.



a. Rabbit by Hus & Hem £17.95
b. Woodland Animals by Lauren Moriarty & Co at Not On The High Street £29.75
c. Chipmunk by Hus & Hem £10.95

DIY Decals

Loving this fab little tutorial from The Beauty Department.

Simple, inexpensive and creative...so long as you have a steady hand.

An carnival of prints?

While attending the Ideal Home Exhibition in London's Earls Court at the weekend I saw a stand with some of these prints by Woop.

I really fell for their colourful mix of illustration and typography and was surprised to learn that some the talented people behind this also had a hand in the the magic of the Harry Potter movies.

I challenge you to peruse their large range of collective nouns or constellations and not want one for your home.

Did you know that a group of spiders is called a Venom?

Me neither...kinda makes me like them even less.

Oh and if you're buying an unframed print delivery is free worldwide. Nice!

DIY Cut-Paper Candle Holders

How pretty are these! 

I found the tutorial on How About Orange, graphic and textile designer, Jessica Jones' blog (always an interesting read). 

Over the weekend I made some of my own to decorate some empty glass jars that I wanted to use as table decorations.

They took me less than 15 minutes, cost me nothing and looked great.

Image owned by Jessica Jones

Orla Kiely for Uniqlo

What was that? You love O.Kiely's mid century style? AND you love Uniqlo's reasonable prices? Well, how about that! Some smart person decided to smush them together :)

Available from today at all good Uniqlo stores.

Sleeveless Tee £14.90

Scarves from £9.90

Graphic Tee £14.90

On the subject of Geometric...

...here are some lighting options that caught my eye.

a. Eclipse Pendant by BHS

b. Luminosity Aperture by John Lewis. Photo by Garry Knight

c. Tripod Floor Lamp by Tesco

d. Bridget lamp shade by Sarah Newman via Design Bark

Hello Geo!

It is no secret that I love me some geometric. Those straight lines and angles get my heart beating just a little bit faster.

Check out these beautiful (and quite reasonably priced) prints from Etsy store The Pairabirds.
Perfect for adding some drama to any room!

For when you can't sleep...

Do-It-Yourself Lullaby
lullatone

 free iPhone app too!