Peonies and Polaroids

projects in miniature

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:20:00 +0000

Dearest ones, thank you so very much for your comments on my projects and dreams post, I can't tell you how hugely overwhelmed I was by your wisdom and your sense of humour. (If you didn't read the comments {why don't you read the comments? The comments are the best bit} please go and read them right now. Especially if you're battling with your own projects and dreams)

You kill me. Even more than weddings with ostriches.

I'm planning on sharing some of those projects and dreams with you, big projects, big dreams. But it turns out that it's kind of hard to write about that stuff (who knew?) so it might take me a little while. In the meantime here is a little project I've been working on. Well I say little, but it's been a while coming together. Let's call it relatively little, like relative to trying to rebuild a house or start a business.

These five different sets of mini prints will be on sale here from next week and here (holyshitmypicturesareinaREALshop!) from whenever they arrive in Los Alamos. There will be a pink one and a green one and a sea one and a sepia one and my very very favourite Coney Island one.

Four prints, wrapped in glassine bags, nestled in boxes made from recycled card, curled up with silk ribbon and provided with four tiny clothes pegs for doing this with (but prettier, what with the lack of bulldog clips and the prints that match).

Come back next week for a wee giveaway of one of these sets and just maybe, some dreams and projects shared.

I never say this but have a lovely weekend my chickens.

With this wedding she is killing me...

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:28:00 +0000

Of course we knew it would be gorgeous, but this gorgeous? Celia is surely trying to kill us dead with beauty and love and ostriches and stuff.

* Photos of Celia and Jo's wedding by Cathryn Farnsworth and via East Side Bride

.

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:11:00 +0000

Lest we forget.

* Poppy and bud by Esoule

Projects and Dreams

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:32:00 +0000

Most of my life just now seems to be projects and dreams. Projects presentsand dreams of projects future. But that's what being 24 is all about right? Projects and dreaming. Making things happen and dreaming of the things that you hope will happen. But sometimes you just want the things to be happened, the dreams to not be dreams any more and to be done with all that waiting and planning and wondering which of your 102 disparate dreams of the future is the right dream. But that's not how it works when you're 24 and you have 102 dreams and you are trying to make things happen and amongst it all you're not really sure what you want to happen. And so you muddle on. And you thank whomever it is you thank when you're thankful that you have someone beside you to hold your dreams in their hands, to keep the others safe while you play with each one in turn, rolling it over and looking at it from this way and that and wondering if just maybe it's the right one.

Similar but different

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:00:00 +0000

I love The Guardian:

"Pygmy hedgehogs were last year's must-have pet. They are similar to a hamster in that they are nocturnal, enjoy exercise wheels and live for three to five years. They are different because they are carnivorous - and prickly"

Prickly? Who knew?

* The Guardian's Top Ten Miniature Pets. I'll take a pig, a goat, a mule, in fact I'll have one of each. You can keep the seahorse though. Eugh.

* Booful pygmy hog by Scott's View of the World

(Did you know that baby hedgehogs are called piglets? Thanks Countryfile.)

meanwhile elsewhere

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:00:00 +0000

a small collection of things from the internet that I wanted to blog about but didn't...

I still want a dog. This photo by Wendy Bevan makes me a little desperate
This one doesn't help either
Darling Amanda visited me, it was lovely*
what I am dreaming our home will look like one day. Or should that be 'our house'?
A small trip round Europe that will make your heart melt
A reminder
My Mum offered me her wedding dress when we got married, I think she was joking. Jamie Lea wore her Mum's wedding dress though and I just love the picture of the two of them side by side.

*I was a little nervous and talked too much, knocked things over in shops and fell off a pavement. She was kind enough not to mention any of that.

. image by Wendy Bevan

Something kind of fantastic

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:37:00 +0000

'We're different, we all are. Him especially. But there's something kind of fantastic about that, isn't there?' *

When I found myself sitting on The Boy, sobbing into his neck because we didn't have the right flour to make pastry and thus life was just impossible, it was pretty clear that I needed to get out. It was also clear, judging from the level of the screaming hab jab that was going on, that it would take something really really good to make this horrible situation better.

'How about we go out for dinner? Mono should be quiet on a Monday, we can sit in a booth and eat veggie burgers.'

'no' I muttered, shaking my head which was still hiding in his jumper

'Cake. We could go for cake'

I didn't even bother saying no this time, just shook my head again and sniffed loudly.

'Um...' he said, starting to sound a little desperate. 'What about Fantastic Mr Fox'

My ears pricked.

I am in big love with Fantastic Mr Fox. This film is the love child of Ocean's Eleven and Wallace and Gromit adopted and raised by The Royal Tenenbaums. Fantastic, in other words. We went to see it on Monday when I was in the midst of the aforementioned rather major meltdown and I'm quite certain that there is nothing else in this world that could have calmed and cured me like those weird little animated mammals.

Sorry I've been gone. I'm struggling with, um, sanity issues. Which strangely my puter seems to exasperate something rotten. So I've been hiding from it. Avoidance (and animation) is the best medicine.

*words of the truly fantastic Mrs Fox.

Perpetuality

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:47:00 +0000

My first thought when I came across these pictures was what kind of crazyassed genius is this? My second thought, once I'd figured out just what I was looking at, was fuck yeah! I want one!

This perennial calendar from Little Brown Pen is too clever for words. It overwhelms me with cleverness. And beauty and talent and and and wow. I mean, it last forever. How often do you find a calendar that last forever? Almost never is how. It is made up of lots of little photos of Paris and you can buy your little piece of clever here. Or here.

Oh, and um, no. There won't be Peonies and Polaroids calendars this year. I thought about it, I even decided that it might be quite a good idea and then I tried to do it and well, I cried and I stamped my feet and I snapped at my husband and it was horrible. Maybe next year. This year there will however be Peonies and Polaroids gift set type things, which I'm very excited about. Peonies and Polaroids Gift Set Type Things only provoked lip chewing and hang wringing and a few what-am-I-doing-no-one-is-going-to-buy-these's which is a lot better than the aforementioned calendar situation.

If you're going to buy a sheep...

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:51:00 +0000

"If you're going to buy a sheep buy a good sheep"

These words strike me as Very Important to Remember.

words: farmer Adam Hanson on last night's Countryfile, which we have taken to watching with our dinner of a Sunday evening.

picture: a Very Good Sheep at this year's Royal Highland Show. An award winning sheep no less.

grudging participation

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0000

I hope those of you (weirdos) who do love halloween have fun this eve.

. image courtesy of Belle and Boo

(much as I hate dressing up I would really love to dress up the rabbit. Purely for the look of wrath I know such an indignity would evoke on his furry little face)

pumpkins and ghosties and ghouls

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:42:00 +0000

I don't like Halloween. I know that this along with the fact that I don't love Autumn makes me a hopelessly grumpy old bastard but I don't care. Normally I hide at halloween. I turn down invitations, refuse to entertain the notion of dressing up and turn all the lights off in case the neighbour's kids see that we're in and turn up on our doorstep expecting sweets in exchange for doing bugger all besides donning a flammable polyester 'costume' that will be in the bin come tomorrow mornin. Bah humbug.

This halloween I won't hide though, I won't hide because one of my very favouritest ladies is coming to town from way way over the ocean and we will meet and we will cake and we will chat and we will coffee and we will explore my favourite city which doesn't need silly old halloween because it is proper spooky and scary and there are ghosties down every alleyway and ancient haunted graveyards on every corner.

* photograph by the Husband, who captures Embra's spookiness better than anyone I know

Snippets

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:00:00 +0000

A few small pieces from my life of late.

A noticeboard that hangs above my desk to inspire. There are, perhaps, an embarrassing number of pictures of my boy but fuck it, I love him.

Jeans, rediscovered. I had forgotten how at home I feel in clothes that are just far too big. With holes in. Whenever I wear them people ask me if they're my husband's. Which is silly. One, he's almost a foot taller than me. Two, he does not have a 26inch waist.

One arts degree, which packs up most neatly into two bin bags and an invoice for quite a lot of student loan.

A new bag. Not just any new bag but the first handbag I have ever owned. Seriously. I've had school bags and I've had shopping bags and I've had quite a few bags that came free with magazines. For years these have served me well but it was time to grow up. Now I have a bag with a zip. And pockets.

My last cup. I try not to moan but every morning I want to hit the Boy as he sits there over breakfast with his perfect French press coffee. Bastard.

I know it doesn't look like an improvement but trust me, it is.

Clever LPC was right, I didn't need a month to throw out all of our junk. I did need three weekends without weddings to tackle the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, sitting room and hallway, to get rid of shit like this that has been hiding in forgotten drawers for a year or three. Now only the office is left. If only I could rouse myself to actually go inside it at the weekends.

Instead, I'd much rather go out and buy cake and figs.

(addendum, bag is from Matt and Nat, swallow jacket is from Topshop and is positively ancient, mug is from Emma Bridgewater)

A chronical of time wasted

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0000

I don't know where time goes. I sit and I work and I don't do an awful lot else and yet by the end of the day, after 7 hours in front of the computer I've done about 3 hours worth of anything useful. Perhaps I should start chronicalling my days.

. images from Alyson Provax's Time Wasting Experiment. Prints available on etsy

pink and white

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Today I want this outfit. I would dance my little socks off in it. And drink champagne. Actually I would drink rum cocktails, I don't really like champagne. I would wear false lashes and paint my toenails shocking pink. My legs wouldn't be a deathly shade of blue because it wouldn't be October in Scotland and I would be having a fabulous party with my fantastic Mr because our house would be done and ready to have friends over and there would be loud music because we would have lovely neighbours who would never complain and all of my dearest friends would be there because there would be no such thing as geographical distances and oceans and continents that take days and moneys to cross and oh wouldn't it all be fun? See you there? Dress code: Fabulous.

hat dress shoes

Happy Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:23:00 +0000

Yes yes, I know it's not Monday but Boy and I were working on Saturday so we pretended yesterday was Sunday and had a day of wondering and the cinema and cardamom buns and visiting mothers and grandfathers (two mothers, just one grandfather) and chatting round the dinner table and driving home in the dark trying to stay awake. So today is Monday. Yes it is. Because I say so, aright? Good.

This Monday I'm thinking about big wheels, and thus (of course) Coney Island (baby) and I'm listening to songs that make me smile. Elsewhere big wheels are called ferris wheels. I like our name better, mostly because big is a good sensible word and ferris is a silly word, the meaning of which I'm not entirely sure.

I'm thinking about big wheels because the fabulous racheljan has started a new flickr group called Ferris Wheel Love, from whence all of these beauties came...

The songs that I'm listening to that make me smile and make be happy and make me glad that it's Monday and I'm getting a little work done are this one and this one and this one and this one.

I hope you're having a happy Monday, or whatever day it is where you are.

credits:

1 Ferris Wheel, by youaremyfave
2 I Love Them by racheljan
3 untitled, by Simply Hue
4 Bucket Seat, by youaremyfave

Big Dog Small Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:29:00 +0000

For the last few years I've been desperate for a big dog. I've also been quite keen on a small baby (I waver more on the baby than I do on the dog).

This series of pictures by Emmy Anne at A Dirty Blonde however has convinced me that there is simply no point in having one without the other.

So. Big dog and small baby it is then. One day

pictures via A Dirty Blonde

What Christine Did Next....

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:32:00 +0000

My lady friend over at Pretty Pretty Paper has been up to all sorts of magic, turning a tired old shop into a beautiful new Custom Invitation Studio, Paper Goods and Miscellany Store. It's clearly exhausting work (ask Frances) but look at what she did....

So if you happen to be within sensible distance (damn Scotland, damn it to hell) of Los Alamos California and need some custom invitations, paper goods or miscellany get thee to Cevd, post haste.

(you might just find a little something made in Scotland there, one day soon. In the meantime Cevd is the exclusive stockist of Jamie, Ms Desertfete's new line of paper goods. )

. images from Pretty Pretty Paper

sets

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:00:00 +0000

A little preview of a little something I'm working on...

Things after which I lust....

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

A Simple Bird and NYC Souvenir by BROOKLYNrehab

Note to self, buy test tubes and labels before trip to NYC. And protective gloves.

The Birds and Beautiful Bugs, by D.S. Brennan

The bug section was always my favourite in the museum. The bugs and the gemstones. I've always liked shiny things, precious things.

Old Lady Swearwords by Sianuska

It's missing a few of my gran's choice phrases but I'm not sure that anyone but my gran says dengity. Or go and fachle your wachle. I think it's a scottish highland kind of a thing.

Tree, Orchid, Biplane and Birdcage pillowcases by branchhandmade

Flowers and birdcages for girlies who like to look at pictures of flowers (because they kill the real thing) and buy bircages (because they're all vintagey and curvy) and biplanes and trees for boys who like to climb trees (jut 'cause) and whose graddaddies flew funny little planes in the olden days.

So Very Happy by Dazeychic

Because sometimes we need to be reminded that happiness isn't beyond us.

Flying High by Unravelling

I see a birdy sort of a lustfullnes developing here.

Waxed and Dastardly by Olerattlesnake

I know we're supposed to be over the moustache as accessory/icon/whatever but I like them. Bite me.

Simple Little Ring by Kateszabone.

Let's just call this what it is shall we? A Cristmas list.

In silver. With a white saphire. Size 5.

Thanks.

All images courtesy of the respective sellers on etsy.

And maybe...

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:15:00 +0000

And maybe winter won't be so awful either, with bare trees and crispy light and husbands* in hats on bridges with yummy things in bags.

* my behatted broken boy is on the mend, he can walk without a broom and he can even drive a little. He thanks you for all your well wishes. After a very odd couple of weeks life is righting itself again.

maybe

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:59:00 +0000

Maybe autumn isn't so horrible. Maybe.

On days when the sun shines looking out of our window doesn't make me want to cry.

rabtz

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:46:00 +0000

In obsessively scouring Design*Sponge looking for a little inspiration for our little home, I came across this little home. This little home with rabtz.

So the boy and I aren't nearly hip enough for all that orange and vintage formica but I love anyway. Because there are rabtz. And because they have made the place very very their own, which is what we want to do with our house. And because there are rabtz. With their own little specially designed bunny box. Note to self: find a less visually offensive house for the rabbit.

This place belongs to Kristen of deluxa and her musicy boyfriend. And their rabtz.

* images by Lorie Reilly and via Design*Sponge and Kristen 's blog

wild things

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:00:00 +0000

hullo chickens, sorry I've been gone. I have a broken husband you see, and a lot to do. And a bathroom that doesn't work and a head that's slightly fuzzy. And whenever I stop working (and sometimes when I start) (and occasionally in the middle)- a tailspin of panic. So, I've been working. Working working working. Working so much that I worked right through an appointment that I've been waiting 21 months for and didn't realise until 5 days later. Whoops. I also forgot to blog, or answer emails or, well pretty much do anything.

Poor broken husband isn't faring too well either. He busted his knee, it hurts, it makes him grumpy (although he's doing an admirable job at pretending it doesn't make him grumpy) and aside from 2 hours at the hospital he hasn't left the house for 10 days. On the upside... I'm a jumpy kind of a girl and it doesn't matter if he enters a room slowly or quickly, quietly or loudly, while my back's turned or while I'm facing the door, the sudden appearance of my husband in a room that I've been alone in for more than 5 minutes scares the crap out of me. But not this week! He can hardly leave he sofa and when he does he has to lean on a broom handle to walk. What with the clunk clunk clunk the bugger's not going to be sneaking up on me any time soon.

In other, completely unrelated, news. Don't you love love love the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are*? It's booful. And have you seen Away We Go? It's funny. Very. And did you know that Battlestar Gallactica isn't sci fi boy crap but is actually terribly good? (Um, yeah, I've been spending all that time that I've been not blogging and not answering emails watching sci fi boy crap on the sofa with my husband)

* can you believe that I'd never heard of Where the Wild Things Are until husband mentioned it to me a few years ago? Before you write off my childhood as entirely deprived of literary culture and learning though, bear in mind that by the age of 8 I could recite this great work of genius by heart. I still can.

perfection

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:13:00 +0000

the dress. the horse. the fence. the perfection.

. photograph by Jonas Peterson via Snippet and Ink

coffee cups

noreply@blogger.com (Peonies and Polaroids) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:21:00 +0000

I think I need this. Although to be honest I don't think really I need anything that facilitates my burgeoning espresso habit. Sure I could fill it with nettle and peppermint tea, but yawn?

For years I hated coffee. I loved the smell but the taste was revolting. Then about 2 months ago the smell became too enticing to resist. And what do you know, it was delicious. I think they changed the recipe or something. Kind of like they did with mushrooms because those things used to taste like crap but all of a sudden they're kind of yummy.

It's a dangerous sign when I start shopping for paraphernalia for a new interest. When I start reading the backs of the 72 different coffee packets in wholefoods, find the fact that robusta beans contain twice as much caffeine as arabica beans fascinating and feel that a new cup, small and perfectly formed is entirely necessary it is a sure sign that I'm on the verge of developing an unhealthy dependency.

All of which would be fine if I wasn't actually not really allowed coffee because it makes me ill. But it's just So Good. And look at the precious little cups that you can drink it from.

. cups and pictures from various sellers on etsy. Click on the pictures for links to the listings