Happy Fourth of July

Freedom is never Free. - Author Unknown

I wish all of you a safe and happy Fourth of July and I hope we all take a moment to remember all those who have stood before, who stand now and who will stand in the future for us to continue to have the freedom we are blessed with.
Jennifer ♥

Seven Years

Today, I have been married to Mr. Michie for 7 years and I am still loving every minute of it! We started off our anniversary with a bang yesterday and went into central London, to just roam where ever our feet took us.

We ate lunch, spent some time at the National Gallery, wandered through Covent Garden and picked up our tickets for an evening of Vivaldi by Candlelight at St. Martin in the Fields.

It was a wonderful day! We ate dinner at Cha Cha Moon, a new Chinese restaurant we wanted to try off Carnaby Street. It was very authentic, a lot of Chinese people were in there eating and that, to me, is always a good sign. Their dumplings were too die for!

Then we headed over to St. Martins just before they opened their doors. The Church was wonderfully cool and candles were lit everywhere, it was very romantic. The orchestra came out and and played a series of pieces in the first act, one being Bach's Brandenburg Concerto no. 3. Which is very special to us as we walked down the aisle to this piece after we were married.

My parent's instilled a true love of all kinds of music into my sister and I. We both played with a symphony and even had the opportunity to travel through Europe playing with them as well. My sister is a star violist and I am an oboist. I find that having played an instrument, I am so much more appreciative of what the performers are going through.

The second half of the concert was the entirety of Vivaldi's Four Seasons and as night began to permeate around us the glow of the candlelight became more heightened. We had the great fortune to see the lovely Kerenza Peacock play her first concert since she injured her wrist. It was outstanding. As her bow struck the first note, I was beyond moved.

What a sight to behold. Music that has been played for centuries to Kings and Queens and we had the opportunity to see it played within the hallowed walls of St. Martins in the Fields by an outstanding orchestra. The entire audience was on the edge of their seats, there was a true electricity in the air and I found that more than once I was holding my breath. How lucky we are to have had the opportunity to see and hear this!

We finished off the evening with a few little surprises from Laduree. They have opened a new store in Covent Garden and since I can't go to Paris at the moment, at least one of my favorite things from Paris can come to me!

So, Mr. Michie, here to seven more years on the roller-coaster of marriage and may they be as wonderful as the first seven!

May Day

HAPPY MAY DAY!
Goose Girl & Foxy decided to invite their friend, The Flying Scotsman over for a little dance around the Maypole celebration! They all had a wonderful time!

Sweet Paul

I always enjoy perusing Sweet Paul's blog. There are a multitude of beautiful images to look at and the simplistic style of his blog gives it a classic distinction.

I don't just visit his site to gaze at the alluring and interestingly taken photos, I also go there to read his magazine. The best part is, you can read it online, if you so chose, without having to purchase a physical copy.

His latest issue is a children's edition, packed full of the wonderful sweet things I have come to love and expect from him and his team.

This apple green horse alone, makes me want to eat this pie, if only to have the chance to stare at him while I munch away.

While flipping through the current issue I came across these and maybe it was because I was craving something sweet at the time and they were decorated in brightly coloured sprinkles, or maybe it is because I find this photograph simplistically charming, but I thought I would share it with you: Chocolate Sprinkle Ice Cream Bites. Nothing fancy, but mouth-wateringly presented and the essence of the perfect bite!

(All images are copyright Sweet Paul Blog, first image was embellished by J. Michie)

Spork

This just made me honest to goodness laugh out loud for about five minutes, last night. I hope it makes you laugh too!

Found via Swiss Miss via Mr. Michie.

The Anatomy of a Cupcake

Mr. Michie e-mailed this to me after coming across it. He knew I would love it and he was right! What a beautiful image. It was created by Allen Hemberger and Sarah Wilson as a birthday gift for a friend.

I think it is stunning! To see how they did it, watch the video here. Just looking at this poster makes me hungry!

Rides A Bike

Rides A Bike, is fast becoming one of my favourite sites to visit! Maybe it is because of my love of nostalgia and the romance of old Hollywood? Maybe it is because I want a bike so badly of my own to tootle away on. Whatever the reason, here are just a few images from their site that have brought a smile to my face, I hope they bring one to yours too!

The "hills are alive" with the fact that it is Wednesday! And that means we are almost riding into the weekend...

(1.Carol Lombard 2.Genevieve Bujold 3.Ginger Rogers 4.Glenn Ford & Rita Hayworth 5.Grace Kelly & Jimmy Stewart 6.Sean Connery 7.The cast from The Sound of Music)

A Box of Rainbow Happiness

This made me smile when I took the photo. Just a box of pastels, in a rainbow of happy colours.

I am 163 days in to my 365 Day Project. So, please head over to In the Art Cupboard to see what I've been up to!

A few of my favourites so far, over the progression of the project.....

Day 141

Day 81

Day 64

Day 124

(All Images Photographed by and Copyright of: Jennifer Michie)

Sugar, Sugar

As I opened my e-mail this morning, there was a message waiting there for me from Mr. Michie.

He had sent me a link, stating that he thought I would love this. Well he was right! Swiss Miss is a blog that I always peer at over his shoulder and this image, just made me smile!

So, I am sending a little sweet sugar your way on this very frosty Sunday afternoon.

(Image copyright Arkadia & Co.)

Peaches

Into The Cupboard

I ventured into the cupboard yesterday and began to get the lay of the land. I wanted to straighten some things up, clean some things out and just get a general idea of where everything is supposed to be!

In the process I brought along my camera with me to start to get a feel for how I want to shoot things: in a collage, by item, a mixture of the two? Do they look best on my work table? My desk? With a fabric background?

So, I played around a little, grabbed a few things and started to shoot. I had so much fun, cleaning and discovering some of the items in there, like an original box of violin strings from what looks like the 50's or 60's, there is a handwritten note on the side stating they are 20p each.  I also found an original handheld camera from the 1960's with the original receipt of purchase and Japanese instruction manual still intact.

These are just a few images from yesterday. Some, might be used in my new blog, others not, but I wanted to get a feel for things and how they would best work and be photographed. I can't wait for school to start!

Visit my new blog I will be beginning my 365 day project soon...

(Tape & Tag in image are Pugly Pixel Freebies)

Lost & Found 4

*"London Brick Company", toy truck found on a windowsill.

Lost & Found 3

*"Fetch", plastic dog with a ball found on a windowsill.

Lost & Found 2

*"I Ain't go noBody...", a Dora the Explorer head found on the sidewalk.

Lost & Found 1

*"Stuff It", resin dog found on top of a garbage bin

Lost & Found

As you know, from my last post, I am beginning a new blog called, "In the Art Cupboard". It is here that I plan to do a 365 day project through the medium of photography.

I am making a point to be armed with my camera more and more as I go out to run errands, shop, or we take a walk through our beloved woods.

This is a small test, dipping my toes in the water to see what I think of doing this project, is it best to leave my photos as they are, do I like the idea of tweaking some of them, do I want them all to have a certain feel, or will that change depending on what I am shooting?

So for the next 4 days I will place one image on my blog in a miniature series of "Lost & Found". These are all items that I have found out and about while talking a walk. Some still remain where I found them, others have either been taken by someone else or swept away....

In the Art Cupboard

You might have noticed recently that I have a new button in my sidebar. It is a link to my new blog. I have decided to take on a 365 day project in conjunction with my new job and if all goes well, I would like to continue taking photographs of a chosen theme for a set amount of time. Sometimes a picture really can say a 1,000 words!

I still have some tweaks to make and cleaning up to do, but the bones are there and the structure is slowly being defined. My new job is a position within a school Art Deparment and my office is literally "In the Art Cupboard".

It is filled with the most delicious items vintage and new, that are used to set up still lifes or for use in the students personal work. There are tons of old car parts, lanterns, ancient suitcases, doll parts, vintage bottles, old-fashioned typewriters, just to name a few things that are contained within those walls.

I shall begin, with what I hope to be an ongoing project by photographing the items hidden within my cupboard for 365 days. I hope you join me on my journey as I begin to discover what exactly is "In the Art Cupboard"!

I Love to Snog!

Armed with my new camera, a trip into central London this week, meant an excuse to go into Snog and grab a tasty frozen treat! I'll be honest, at first, I was not sure about their frozen yogurt, but now I think I have been won over. I really enjoyed their chocolate flavour with white chocolate stars, and they were far from skimpy on my toppings!

The walls had wonderful colorful art, like a page out of a storybook. My first Snog treat was on my Birthday day out and I was not expecting the Greek slightly soured tartness to it, I expected it to be more like frozen yogurt from the States, which is sweeter, but little by little, it is growing on me, even if only for the chocolate stars!

* A note, for my non British readers, "snog" is slang for kissing in jolly ol' England & I like the fact that they have played on that word, because who doesn't "fancy a snog"?

The First Day of August

The Last Slice

I have been working hard these last few days. I don't seem to have gotten very far however, this week has been unbelievably busy.  I have been out of the house more than I have been in and trying to do all my sewing in the in-between.

But, tonight I am inside, the dishes are done, the iron is hot and I am just about to make some Jenny Wren tags to sew into little bunny and bear legs. Before I do that, I am going to eat the last slice of this:

The marble cake we made for the Fourth of July has managed to stick around a few days longer than I thought since we have been out so much.  So, the last slice, is mine! After all, a girl needs to keep up her strength when sewing so many little creatures together...