365 Project: Week 18

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18 weeks down, 34 weeks to go!

I’m a week behind with posting my 365 updates but rest assured I’ve still been snapping away. I’ll get Week 19 up later this week hopefully so I’m all up-to-date for next week. I’ve been a bit behind on life in general for the past few weeks since I’ve been away (as you’ll see in the photos below!) and training for a 10k run after work which leaves me absolutely knackered. It’ll all be over and done with soon though so hopefully I’ll get back to my usual blogging rhythm before long…

 

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Day 119/365: Green London (in black & white)

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Day 120/365: More blossoms

It doesn’t last too long, but when the blossoms are out they’re just gorgeous. Happy to be getting lots of photos of them this year.

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Day 121/365: Hello May!

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Day 122/365: Ferry to Texel in the Netherlands

This was the first of six sublime days in the Netherlands, we were so incredibly lucky with nothing but blue skies every day. This is the view from the short ferry ride from the Dutch mainland out to our favourite island, Texel. It was the third time we’ve been out to the island and probably the last time for a while.

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Day 123/365: Ice Cream & the icy North Sea

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Day 124/365: Glitter

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Day 125/365: Darts in the sun

Happiest with day 124, the abstract photo that makes the light on the water look like glitter. I wanted to say day 123 but I just realised my favourite photo from Week 17 was also of an ice cream…maybe that could be my food photography speciality?

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In 2013 I’m embarking on a 365 project adventure to improve my photography and document this awesome year, which means committing to take one photo a day, every day. You can start at any time of the year if you want to join in too.

You can see all my 365 photos so far, organised by week, here.

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Travel Photo Friday: Heathrow

Posted by Natalie in photography - (1 Comments)

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I wish this was the view I had over my morning coffee every day!

Taken by me at Heathrow yesterday :)

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365 Project: Week 17

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17 weeks down, 35 weeks to go…

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Day 112/365: Running

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Day 113/365: Blossoms

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Day 114/365: Three Buildings

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Day 115/365: Black & White

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Day 116/365: Pops of yellow

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Day 117/365: Stormy sky & a big rainbow

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Day 118/365: Oreo

Happiest with day 118, the oreo ice cream. How could I not pick that one? Seriously though, I like practising my food photography and I’m happy with the way this came out – looks pretty edible!

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In 2013 I’m embarking on a 365 project adventure to improve my photography and document this awesome year, which means committing to take one photo a day, every day. You can start at any time of the year if you want to join in too.

You can see all my 365 photos so far, organised by week, here.

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Travel Photo Friday: Marrakech Souk

Posted by Natalie in travel - (0 Comments)

marrakech souk

This was taken in one of the little outdoor squares that form part of the souks (markets) in Marrakech. It’s quite overwhelming at first because there are so many amazing things to see and buy – scarves, rugs, lanterns, tagines, jewellery, bed linen, poufs, leather bags, pointy slippers – it also looks so typically Moroccan and gorgeous!

Admittedly, I’m absolutely terrible at haggling so I didn’t end up buying a huge amount of stuff there. But even just browsing is a lot of fun :)

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The Stationery List: London Town

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Last year I pulled together this collection of airmail-inspired stationery that I was lusting after and since it’s Stationery Week this week (woohoo!), it’s a great time to get back to doing more of these. This time around, it’s paper products with a London twist…

london notebooks

 Image credit: Katy & June

1. These mini-notebooks from Katy & June are so sweet and are only £2.50 each! I’m not sure which one I want the most, they’re all so lovely. L-R: London Big Ben, London & London Bus.

london skyline tape

Image credit: Jane Rockett

2. This London Skyline Tape is crazy beautiful & I just love how the scene looks like it’s been stitched on! I’d stick this across the bottom of a kraft notebook or finish of some plain gift-wrap with it. It’s a generous 25mm wide & £8.50 per roll from Rockett St George.

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Image credit: Hello Lucky

3. Simple but beautiful, these graphic London thank you cards from Hello Lucky are just lovely and are £8.40 for a set of 6.

london notebook

Image credit: Lagom

4. I do love a good map with my stationery, and this hand drawn design of central London makes a super-cute notebook cover, the green is a fresh change from the norm too – £7.50 from Lagom.

london notebooks

 

Image credit: Kim Osborne

5. These awesome notebooks from Kim Osborne are hand-printed from original linocut artwork and are £5 each on Etsy. I’m eyeing up the Battersea Power Station one for sure.

Do you have any favourites in the list? Or any more London-themed stationery goodness to add?

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Thoughts on coffee and travel

Posted by Natalie in travel - (2 Comments)

If I was Jamie Oliver, I’d say they were “best friends”. It kinda gets on my nerves when he does that, so I won’t – but I have been thinking about how coffee and travelling seem to go hand-in-hand. I drink coffee every day at home, so I’m not talking about only drinking it when I’m on holiday, it’s something else about the combination that just seems to go so well together…

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I love the anticipation of trying coffee in different countries that I visit. The ritual of enjoying a cup in the morning is even better when you’re waking up in a new place, gazing out the window at a new city and contemplating what adventures the day ahead holds. Coffee seems to be a regular presence in some of my favourite travel memories too…

…in Istanbul it was sitting at a small table in a behind-the-scenes corner of the produce market where the locals who worked there hung out and went to get their tea and coffee fix. It was my first taste of strong, espresso-style Turkish coffee and the first stop on an amazing food tour. I knew I was in for an incredible day.

…in the Maasai Mara it was the flask of fresh Kenyan coffee brought to my tent at 5am each morning as part of my wake up call routine ahead of the morning’s safari. Accompanied by a few simple biscuits to keep me going until a proper breakfast, I took a moment to savour my cup before hurriedly gulping it down as I rushed to get my camera gear together and wrap up warm for the morning drive.

…in a small town near Lake Como I had my first taste of Italian espresso. My friend’s sweet grandmother had just fed us the most delicious lunch in her home and when she asked who would like a post-lunch cup, as a non-coffee-drinker at the time I shook my head and politely declined. I don’t think that was the right answer, because she brought me a cup anyway – as is the tradition – and I wasn’t going to make a fool out of myself twice, so I took the leap and drank it down. I think I can pinpoint this as my first coffee drinking experience that kicked off this love affair.

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I also find thoughts of coffee creeping into my daydreams about future travel plans. When I’m picturing waking up bright and early at a campsite in Yellowstone I think about the crisp air, beautiful light and then my mind strays to thinking about firing up the camp stove to make a cup of joe. Or I think about getting up before sunrise on a trek to photograph the day’s first light: I imagine myself getting rugged up, setting up my tripod and then my thoughts stray to the little thermos of coffee next to me to keep me company.

Back at home and wandering through Sainsbury’s I even find that choosing coffee is a travel inspired moment. Standing in the supermarket, weighing up the options: Nicaragua, Colombia, Kenya, New York, Costa Rica. Am I the only one who picks their coffee based on where I wish I could travel to that day? After I got back from Kenya, I went for months buying only the Kenyan coffee, like I was hanging on to and reliving a tiny little piece of that incredible trip somehow.

cornwall coffee

Maybe I’m just completely addicted. Or perhaps it’s because I only started drinking coffee since moving to London that it’s become so closely tied to this season of my life where I’m travelling more regularly.

It’s probably a combination of both those things, but it still feels like there might be something else to it: coffee and travel might just be some perfect combination that inspire and enhance the experience of one another. Like best friends.

Is coffee a big part of the travel experience for you too or is it just me?

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365 Project: Week 16

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16 weeks down, 36 weeks to go!

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Day 105/365: Stroopwafel

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Day 106/365: The Tube

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Day 107/365: Green Wall

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Day 108/365: Cupcake

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Day 109/365: Liverpool Street Station

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Day 110/365: Record Store Day!

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Day 111/365: Planning & scheming

Happiest with day 105. These dutch biscuits are best served after sitting on top of a cup of coffee for 5 minutes :)

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In 2013 I’m embarking on a 365 project adventure to improve my photography and document this awesome year, which means committing to take one photo a day, every day. You can start at any time of the year if you want to join in too.

You can see all my 365 photos so far, organised by week, here.

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Travel Photo Friday: Alhambra View

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alhambra granada

The Alhambra is an incredible place to spend an afternoon. The mosiacs are beautiful enough but the view out over Granada is pretty special too.

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The two books I can’t live without in London

Posted by Natalie in london life - (2 Comments)

Sometimes I crave a temporary break from city life – a change of scenery and fresh air can do wonders for the soul. It would be lovely to spontaneously fly away somewhere exotic for the weekend, but that’s rarely (if ever!) a viable last-minute option. There are 2 books I bought a few years ago – after my sister recommended them – that have been completely invaluable for getting me out of London on a budget, so I thought I’d let you in on my secret…

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Country walks near London

There’s something completely perfect about this idea – a book full of day walks in the countryside that are accessible to Londoners by train.

Published by Time Out, I have both of the two volumes of this book available and, after my Oyster Card and a pair of tights, it is hands down the best purchase I’ve made since moving to London. The first book is a great place to start, with 52 walks inside (one for each week of the year). Volume 2 is a great supplement to the first if you’re really keen or want more of a variety to choose from, as there’s an additional 30 walks in this one.

What I love about these walks:

- There’s a huge range of walks to do. They’re graded out of 10 for difficulty, so depending on how much time I have or how much of a challenge I want it’s usually easy to find one that suits.

- On average I’d say the walks usually take about 4-6 hours and there’s often an option to shorten the walks if you don’t have quite that much time to spare.

- Most of the walks are within about a 1.5 hour journey from London, so they’re just close enough that you can get a full day out and each one is easily accessible from a London train station.

- The book has full details to get you from London, to the beginning of the walk and then back again. When you arrive at the station, the instructions literally start with something like “leaving Platform 2 at the station, climb the stairs to the road and turn right, your direction 140 degrees”…they’re very detailed right from the beginning.

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- One of my favourite things about these walks (typically) is that the routes include a recommendation for a well-deserved pub lunch part the way through and then a tea shop for a cuppa at the end. Seriously, there’s nothing like a ploughman’s and a pint at the local country pub half way through a nice country walk!

- Lastly, a lot of the walking routes have been designed to take in places of historic interest. Our most recent walk took us past Lord Snowdon’s backyard pond complete with Japanese pagoda, some Roman ruins and a field of spring lambs. One jaunt across part of the South Downs Way took us past Virginia Woolf’s country home (and sadly, over the river where she drowned herself). Another one of our walks ended in Great Missenden, the village where Roald Dahl used to live, which now has a Museum (and Cafe Twit!) in his honour.

At less than £9 per book, it’s been money well spent! Especially if, like me, the UK isn’t your first home. It’s been an awesome way of seeing more of the countryside without hiring a car or paying for accommodation and it can be hard to know where to go or where to walk without any prior knowledge of the areas surrounding London.

If you live in a big city too, do you ever feel like you need to just get out for a day for some peace & fresh air?

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365 Project: Week 15

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15 weeks down, 37 weeks to go!

There’s a bit of a mix this week with quite a few more building/street scene shots thrown in. As part of this project I really wanted to capture a lot of the everyday London moments, whether it’s the old buildings, red post boxes or big landmarks. I think I need to keep this at the forefront of my mind though and venture out with the purpose of photographing some specific London-y things.

I had another hiccup this week too (if you can call at that), with my second missed day of the project. Like last time, I’m trying not to beat myself about it too much and turn it into a lesson learned – 102 photos in 104 days isn’t bad :)

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Day 98/365: Cereal mag inside a Monocle envelope

I’ve been itching to get my hands on Cereal Magazine for a while after seeing Jo tweet about it, so I headed to the Monocle store in Marylebone to pick up a copy. Loved the way they packaged it up in to one of their envelopes with a simple sticker.

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Day 99/365: Blossoming spring

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Day 100/365: Pointy

I wish I’d done something a bit more momentous to mark Day 100, but I don’t really keep track of which number day I’m up to until I start compiling them at the end of the week!

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Yep, I actually managed to forget a second day. Even after I implemented an alarm system on my phone to go off each night so I don’t forget. Sigh, moving on!

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Day 102/365: Patterns

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Day 103/365: Made You Look

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Day 104/365: A day outside in the sun

 

Happiest with day 99. I like photos that mark the seasons or certain elements of life in London and when the blossoms start coming out it’s always pretty awesome :)

- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

In 2013 I’m embarking on a 365 project adventure to improve my photography and document this awesome year, which means committing to take one photo a day, every day. You can start at any time of the year if you want to join in too.

You can see all my 365 photos so far, organised by week, here.

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