Found: Terry’s Harmonica.

I have a real fondness for old things. Old films, books, crockery, clothing and people. Why? I think it’s because of the stories. I love being reminded of the people that have gone before and survived this thing called life. I love the thought that the dress I’m wearing has been a part of someone other ladies story and memories and now is part of my own. Romantic and cheesy? Oh yes!

All that is to offer some form of prelude to one of my favourite birthday presents.

Last year, for my birthday, I was given this Hohner Chromatic Harmonica.  Beautiful and old. I love it, not because I have managed to master the art of the lovely mouth organ, sadly, but because of the original gift tags.

Here’s to you Terry and Jill, I hope your lives were full of love and the harmonica.

xxx

Celeste

Field Trip: Denmark

So Hanna, her husband and I embarked via glorious Ryanair to Denmark for the magical wedding of our old and dear friend Kiki.

There was sleep deprivation, cute shops, wandering danish streets, a forest wedding, windmill, vikings, fish spa, local beer, vanilla tobacco, headphones and coffee.

Here are some of our fun pics.

The wedding ceremony in the forest was magic … matched only by the macaroons and the reception venue.

Loads of fun shops in Denmark.

My favourite little shop. ‘The Golden Deer’. 

A beaut little Elderflower beer. Yum! 

The mannequins are strange though…

More from ‘the Golden Deer’.

One of the first things to do… purchase a danish typewriter that you can’t possibly take back as ‘carry on’ luggage.

Windmill. This is what they used to look like.

The Golden Deer, once more.

They love their antlers, the Danes.

Sometimes it’s a good plan to smuggle in rum in a hipflask.

Beautiful decorations.

Kindly we were provided with english translations complete with headphones. I may or may not have worn them all day.

Mr and Mrs shoes.

The glorious ceremony.

So many pom poms. Hanna’s are bigger.

If you get the opportunity to visit a forest wedding in Denmark then make sure you go… even without the forest wedding, make time in your life to visit Denmark and find a viking.

xxx

Tracks of Foxes

Penny for your thoughts: The Great Gatsby

After almost eight years I find my self coming to the end of a season and starting the beginning of a new one.

I was walking along a road I had walked so many times in the last eight  years, a road that had before been an escape, a road that I had lived off, a road which I had known and had known me but somehow it felt different…the sun shone brightly (and about time that you made an appearance sun!) As I walked, in the sun,  I read. From experience I have learnt that reading and walking can be a dangerous affair…It is an art to avoid lamp posts, pedestrians, prams and dog poop. I don’t want to sound smug but I pretty much nailed it.

”And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees … I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” F. Scott Fitzgerald

Sometimes it happens like this. That there is a book, poem, song that you have read or heard a thousand times and the words that you have seen, known & missed jump out at you and describe for you feelings, hopes or dreams that you may not have even known how to articulate. This has happened to me, today in the sun.

Cheesy but true.

P.S. I can’t wait for Baz Luhrmann’s film of this book, ‘The Great Gatsby’ to come out and blow my mind.

F. Scott Fitgerald and Baz Luhrmann in my mind only a winning combination!

Happy Thursday/Friday morning

xx Celeste 

Dress Up: Small Earth Vintage

Be warned: If you have a weakness for pretty vintage things look away NOW.

I remember when I was little and I thought all I need to be happy was some pink glitter jelly sandals (turns out they’re back in?),  or a Barbie, or blonde hair, or a Baby G watch, or some Doc Martins, or TV Hits Magazine, or a boyfriend… Today, all I need to be happy is one of these little numbers from Small Earth Vintage Clothing. 

 

 

 

Small Earth Vintage Clothing,  you could get me in an awful lot of trouble… but the kind of trouble I like!

Happy browsing, shopping, coveting.

x Celeste

 

Make Do Mend: Raised Bed.

So the warm and fuzzy thoughts of living in community and growing all your own veg has led me to actually trying to make a communal veggie patch happen.

The key, so far, to a communal veggie patch is people. First I spoke about it enough to other people that they made sure I could make it happen and I got a River Cottage book for Christmas from the veggie gurus Hanna and Jon. Then got my lovely friend, and guest blogger,  Jonny to help make it happen. It was never going to happen if it were down to me. So grateful for community making it possible.

We went scouring for pallets.

We smashed them up.

Stopped for a little coffee break. Coffee and Ikea cinnamon buns (no horse.)

Put them back together.

And after a whole day of scouring, smashing, nail removing, sawing and drilling this is what we created. Proud.

The best part about this is that so far it has been entirely free!!

Now all there is to do is make the rest of it happen and pray for the snow to stop!

– Celeste 

Found: Extracurricular Magazine

In celebration of ‘Good Thursday’ and Easter break here is a little publication that, coupled with some bourbon, has warmed my little heart this last week.

Thanks to Rohan Anderson, Whole Larder Love, instagramming I stumbled across this beautiful publication ‘for creative folk’ that comes out of New Zealand. Every thing good comes from the South Pacific.

Extracurricular magazine is a proper treat. Courtesy of the last issue I now have grande plans to make some homebrew, homemade ice blocks (if the sun ever arrives) and a little dinosaur terrarium. (!?!)

Looking forward to the next issue ‘New Beginnings’ which is timely as I am coming to the end of a long old chapter and starting a new little adventure in the next few weeks.  You can pick up past issues and the New Beginnings issue at BigCartel.

If you want to see pretty things, have good ideas and be inspired this little magazine is what you need to get your hot little hands on.  True.

They also have a sweet blog chockas with beautiful things, ideas and artists.

Thank you New Zealand for making something so special that we get to enjoy!

– Celeste 

xx

Penny for your thoughts: Amanda Palmer – The art of asking.

Yesterday, perusing the interweb, I came across this Ted talk by musician Amanda Palmer. Talking about ‘The Art of Asking‘. Like anything there are bits I love and bits I don’t love (being distracted by her eyebrows). More than her eyebrows what stayed with me was the invitation to creative generosity, community and humility.

To be generous with creativity, to be generous in community and to have humility are things in my life that I want to be in constant pursuit of.

Although I’m not sure I would strip naked though for drunk Germans to draw all over me. Maybe if the conditions were perfect? Hmm.. Perhaps not.

Have a look and see what you think? About the talk.. not particularly about getting naked for drunk Germans. But you tell me what you think about that also!

– Celeste xx

Found Things: Songs for the middle of the week…

Wednesday, it’s that time of the week that the fun and relaxation of last weekend feels like a distant memory and this coming weekend feels an age away. Also, I have been reliably informed from someone at BBC radio Berkshire that, apparently, you feel your ugliest at 3.20pm on a Wednesday? 

But here are some sweet songs and pretty videos for the last hump/ugly day in March!

Julia Holter – In the Same Room

Lord Huron – She Lit A Fire (From the album Lonesome Dreams)

Samuel Lane‘s new album ‘The Fire’ 

Fleet Foxes – The Shrine/Argument

Featuring beautiful illustrations from Stacey Rozich.

Happy hump/ugly day and it’s nearly Thursday which means it’s nearly the weekend! Hot Dang!

xx Celeste

Dreaming of sun …

Today, longing for warmer, brighter, greener days, I am willing the sun to come with the sunny sounds of Little Joy

and Tunng

and a little guilty pleasure, more pleasure than guilt if I’m honest, Keith Urban.

This short film is a part of Four Stories, a short film series and competition with Roman Coppola and The Directors Bureau, is also a little day brightener. I am a sucker for a Luchadore!

Come on now Spring, it is surely time for you to come and say ‘Hi’?

– Celeste

p.s. Merry Shrove Tuesday! I plan on making my old faithful’s, Coconut, Cinnamon and Banana Pancakes tonight. Yummmmm!

Field Trip: Blitzin’

The other week I mentioned the Blitz Party and the urgent need to don some 40s garb on short notice. Well it happened. There was some changing in grotty pub toilets in Shorditch, some red lips, plenty of Spitfire and a more than your fair share of bow ties. Thanks to housemate Joseph Colman, the one in the glasses, for his lomography skills.

Village Underground, Shorditch was a perfect wartime venue.

There was this amazing band where the man sounded like Louie Armstrong and had a leopard skin pill box hat. Weapon.

Drinks. Ration book.

Sandwiches.

Air raid sirens and lots of dancing.

Patriotism.

Spitfire.

An experience to be sure. Worth the £20 ticket for a special occasion with a gang of good ones!

Make it happen!

x

Celeste