Project Lorna

Hotel Love

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:41:00 +0000

Today is our last day in Krabi. Our honeymoon is fortunately not yet over but tomorrow we are taken back to the airport and fly to Bangkok for the last 4 nights of our adventure.

I've not shared the wonderful details of our honeymoon because I've been rather busy enjoying it but as I lay out in the sun earlier I had a pang of love for our beautiful hotel. And then I felt it: the air turn and a storm on it's way.

With a matter of minutes to spare before the massive droplets of rain began to pound down I grabbed my camera and tried to capture some of the magic of the Amari Vogue Krabi experience.

You can see the storm coming and later, the rain itself. My photos don't do it justice so take my word for it - this place is very special.

Currently...

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:11:00 +0000

Wearing...
A new ring and it feels oh so good!

Actually, ever since we purchased this in Nassau on our trip to the Bahamas I've been desperate to wear it and have been "practicing" wearing it (on the right hand of course) at least once a week.
As it contains diamonds I've been careful not to wear it to the beach or when sunbathing so as not to get suntan lotion or sand in it but I miss it so much when it's locked in the safe. I'm thinking about getting a stand in band so I can always wear something.

Eating...
Afternoon tea. Each afternoon, I reach a point where I'm starting to get peckish and a little bit cranky. As if they have a radar that can read my mood, a hotel employee knocks on our door and gives us a plate of cake. It feels magical and I cannot stress enough how much I love it!

Reading...
The PC Peter Grant novels by Ben Aaronovitch. I started with Rivers of London on the recommendation of Sam's mum and devoured it in a day. I'm hoovering up the rest at an alarming rate.

Planning...
How to resurrect my blog. In the months since Project:Wedding has pushed everything else out of my brain Project:Lorna has suffered from a dearth of posts.

But now I am free to share everything I worked so hard on without fear of spoiling anything for my guests.

I am working on freshening up the blog and have a number of plans for world domination. If you are on Pinterest I have started a board for all things blog: http://pinterest.com/projectlorna/blogging/

Feeling thankful for...
My wonderful friends and family.

I gave a speech at my wedding and being a well prepared girl I wrote it in advance. I preemptively wrote how great everyone had been in the run up to the wedding. And at they point, they really had. But then, with 2 days to go everything ramped up and people's generosity and general amazingness blew me away. It actually reduces me to tears when I think about what people did to make our wedding so fantastic. Words will never do justice to their kindnesses but I'll never tire of trying to find some.

Floating on...
Air. Well it feels like it after my Thai massage today. I said I like firm and deep massages and so this tiny Thai lady beat the crap out of me. And it felt great! I feel 6 inches taller and she even braided my hair when she was done.

Working on...
Sorting out, labelling and just generally twiddling about with my photos. I half heartedly started labelling my photos when I moved to a Mac and iPhoto but this holiday has given me loads of time to really sort them out. I need a photo workflow and that is something I hope to bottom out while we're away.

Loving...
Thailand. I know that a lot of my love is actually for the hotel which is funny because this isn't the hotel I wanted to stay in. The original hotel we picked is undergoing construction work so we had to switch places at the last minute which was a small bummer. In the end though, I LOVE this place. It is seriously beautiful and I cannot get enough of the bubble jet seats in the pool. Sadly, they keep you so cool and relaxed that you don't notice yourself burning and both Sam and I look like proper typical lobster Brits! It's not got in the way of us enjoying ourselves so far.
It's not just the hotel though, we took a day trip yesterday and the sea is the perfect colour, the sands are all soft and pale and the islands rise up out of the water so sharply it takes my breath away.
The people we've met here are all incredibly friendly and helpful. Even the wildlife is awesome.
I love Thailand.

Missing...
Gwildog, but I'm sure he's having the time of his life on his doggie holidays with my mum.

Tip of the hat to...
Danielle of Sometimes Sweet for the currently blog post format and Elsie and Emma for their wonderful new A Beautiful Mess photo editor app used on all these photos (and many more in the future I can tell!)

WI College - Sewing Class with May Martin

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:00:00 +0000

Oh hey guys, are you enjoying the Great British Sewing Bee on BBC2? I sure am!

And did I tell you that I've met one of the judges: May Martin?

My final session at Denman College in December was a sewing class with May Martin.

We made three Christmas decorations and they're very professional looking if I do say so myself.

Here's Emma wearing our first efforts as earrings:

The sewing classes at Denman College aren't just run by celebrity tutors. They're in a wonderful purpose built sewing room and cover every type of sewing you can possibly think of.

Sewing up a storm

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 18:44:00 +0000

It is 33 days until the big day and instead of working on really important wedding things today I made a little sundress for the honeymoon!

Although it is not on my mahoosive to do list it is at least something I can actually blog about. Because it has been KILLING me that most of the awesome things I've been doing recently are unbloggable until they get snapped by our awesome professional photographer and seen by my lovely guests.

A few weeks ago I went fabric shopping for some alterations to one of my wedding dresses and came across some fantastic fabric that I couldn't pass by. So I bought a couple of meters and stashed it away with the idea that I would make it into a dress for the honeymoon.

I envisaged something cute and strappy but when it came to it (not having any time to devote to it) I decided to go for something super easy and super quick.

Clueless was on TV and I took it as a sign to get going on my dress and by the end of the film it was finished:

It's basically a girl's pillowcase dress pattern made a bit bigger and I cannot wait to wear it in Thailand.

On existing

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:11:00 +0000

My mum said that after she hadn't heard from me for nearly a week she checked out this blog to see what I'd been up to and in finding that I hadn't blogged at all in 2013 was worried that I must have expired.

Around the same time I came accross this post by Michael Gilpert via Nubby Twiglet and it struck a chord:

"What I was reminded by this whole ordeal, besides for the paranoid framework ive inherited from my mom, was that my friends and I currently live in a world where we dont exist if we dont post to the network."

Worry not: I have been existing!

A lot.

And some times, all that existing keeps me from proving to the rest of the world that I have been existing.

I woke up on the 2nd of January and suddenly realised: "I'm getting married this year."

Since then I've been a whirlwind of activity. A lot of wedding activity. And I didn't think it could be possible but even more non-wedding activity too.

At first I was drafting blog posts in my head about it all and just not finding the time to write them and then eventually I wasn't even thinking of blogging things.

I want to exist and document my existence and I hope that this is the start of the return of more regular blogging.

WI College - Wreath making

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:00:00 +0000

For my second session at the WI College I made a Christmas wreath. It was a brilliant session with a wonderful floristry teacher.

The ladies of the West Ealing WI were very pleased with their wreaths:

All of the supplies on the course were provided and we got to take everything we made home with us and my wreath looks great on my door:

This wreath has been on my door for 3 weeks now and it looks just as good - I'll be sad to take it down.

And here's my homemade wool wreath from last year:

WI College - Canapés

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 12:30:00 +0000

The New Wave Weekend wasn't a single course but a series of taster sessions. We were given options of courses and I chose canapé making, wreath making and sewing class.

My first session was in the cookery school and I cannot recommend a session there enough. Although the kitchen layout reminded me of high school food tech classes the facilities are amazing. I'm not much of a cook but the teacher was excellent and I managed to make some cheese pastries.

Here's a photo of my cheese pastry as I place it into the oven:

That was such a close call!!

The class made some truly delicious canapés and the best bit was that we got to taste all of them.

WI Cookery Demonstration at Denman College

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Our first night at Denman College for the New Wave Weekend saw us tasting the food in the Lady Denman Restaurant, sip on cocktails and see a cookery demonstration from Peter Lien, the head of the WI Cookery School.

The set up was really good, with cameras filming the detailed work and shown on big screens.

Peter demonstrated making Petits Fours and the West Ealing WI president, Emma, got up and helped him to paint melted chocolate on his florentines:

Peter talked to us about patisserie trends and you know how cupcakes used to be the baking trend, and more recently it's been the fiddly macaron? Well Peter reckons the next big thing is going to be the canele.

You heard it here first!

Happy New Year and a December Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 00:57:00 +0000

It's 2013 already!

My December was so crazily busy - I didn't find the time to blog which was a shame because I had such fun.

I went to Denman College, the WI's educational establishment which was so good, it's getting its own post. Another post will be devoted to the wonderment that was me hosting my first craft stall.

I also bumped into some of the cast of the BBC TV show Merlin and got a photo with them. Spot the actors:

I celebrated New Years' twice by going to the filming of Jools Holland's Hootenanny.

And I had a wonderful Christmas!

Ice Skating!

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 18:30:00 +0000

I saw a livingsocial voucher for an ice skating session at Broadgate Ice and with it being the closet rink to where I work I thought it would be a fun Christmassy trip.

It is actually really difficult to take photos while on the ice, you know with it being slippy and all!

The rink is quite small but it's a lit quieter than some of the better known ones and there's plenty of room for practicing.

I also love that you can see a small person fall down in the last picture - ouch!

Happy December

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 22:43:00 +0000

Seriously? It's December already?!!

And what have I been up to you ask? Well for starters I've done a whole heap of wedding prep.

I just saw this amazing wedding planning doodle and it represents my past month so well I had to share it:

Source: bespoke-bride.com via Martha Stewart Weddings on Pinterest

I came back from the Bahamas feeling panicked that it was less than 6 months to go and at the current rate I'd be in walking down the aisle in just a bra and pants.

I did quite a few dress shopping excursions and sometimes all it takes is your mum! A day out in Manchester and we'd both got our outfits sorted out. My mum was so kind to buy my dress for me which meant more to me than I thought it would. I don't think that anyone, least of all my parents, owes me a wedding but some gestures can really bring a tear to my eye. So soppy!

I also sorted out most of the save the dates. There are still a few to be sent due to a minor envelope shortage but I am so pleased with them. I love stationery and really wanted to go to town with the invitation suite and it took a long time for the right idea to turn up. I feel that we have done something genuinely unique and I cannot wait to share them with you all.

We've also been the venue again for a wine tasting and paid the deposit at last so I guess this is really happening!

In other news I've been getting incredibly festive over the past few days here's an outline of some of the things I'll be sharing over the festive period:

- my owl advent calendar and it's special journey this year
- Sam's advent calendar
- our Christmas decorations
- ice skating
- a festive playlist

The cutest coastal town ever

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 00:12:00 +0000

Have I told you how great my friends are?

When you live in London you don't expect someone to suggest a shopping trip 2 hours drive away, but when I did, my bestie did not hesitate to say yes. And off we went to Lymington!

We had such a fun girlie road trip and it is such a ridiculously cute little town:

The main purpose of the trip was to try on some rather beautiful wedding dresses at Exquisite Bridal Couture which is the most wonderful wedding dress shop in the history of clothes. Oh my goodness, the shop is so gorgeous with the most stunning dresses and the ladies in there are so fantastic. I genuinely want to move to Lymington and work in that shop!

Happy Bonfire Night!

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Sam and I arrived back in London early Saturday afternoon and after unpacking we headed straight out again to a pre-fireworks food extravaganza at Josh and Laurie's house.

The food was incredible and the fireworks at Ealing Cricket Club were once again outstanding.

If you're playing with fireworks tonight then remember to play safely!

The last Bahamian sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 19:30:00 +0000

Our flight home from Nassau was quite late in the evening so we caught our last sunset and it was rather beautiful.

Bye bye Bahamas!

Sunset at Compass Point

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:30:00 +0000

For our last full night in the Bahamas we decided to go to Compass Point to see the sunset and enjoy a cocktail.

The cocktails were delicious:

The sunset was beautiful. After a tumultuous few days of weather on the Bahamas it had returned to idyllic.

We had a great time and then went to our favourite pizza restaurant on the island for dinner.

Atlantis, Paradise Island

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 10:00:00 +0000

So you've seen the damage that Hurricane Sandy did to our villa in the Bahamas. It's mainly superficial damage to the outside area. However, the pool is out of action and is currently undergoing major repairs and the owner of the villa has returned to the island to oversee the work. In order to make up for the lack of amenities, he arranged for Sam and I to spend a night at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island. The hotel itself reminded us of Vegas, but some of the facilities really blew me away.

We had a junior suite on the top floor and this was our view:

The grounds were really well landscaped:

And there were lots of lovely aquariums. I do love a good aquarium!

The shops around the marina reminded me of Downtown Disney in DisneyWorld and there were some really stunning yachts moored there.

We spent the day enjoying aquaventure, the water park, and had an amazing time. The lazy river is definitely the best I've ever experienced, with rapids, a wave machine and some excellent slides.

There was even a slide that went through a shark tank!

A drive around New Providence

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000

I'm so behind because of the sketchy internet connection but last week we took a drive around the island of New Providence.

My impression of the Bahamas is quite mixed at the moment. On the one hand there are elements of extreme beauty on this island. We stopped at a beach and I snapped a few pictures:

It's pretty hey?

But then all around are scenes of dilapidation or construction is progress. At the other end of the same beach pictured above is a partially finished building.

And all over the island, right beside some stunning properties are half built monstrosities. It almost looks like a big crisis hit the island during a construction boom and tools were suddenly put down.

Sometimes it's hard to tell if a building is half way through being built or half way to falling down!

Home and a Bahamas catch up

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:17:00 +0000

Woo hoo I'm home!

I had a wonderful vacation but my access to the internet made blogging impossible in my last week away so I'll be putting all of my Bahamas posts up over the next two days.

A trip to Nassau

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:56:00 +0000

On the way to Nassau we stopped at Arawac Cay:

The buildings had clearly taken quite a beating from Hurricane Sandy:

Nassau itself was not how I imagined it and we couldn't tell if it had been damaged by the storm or was simply worn down. I took a few snaps of some of the less dilapidated colonial style buildings:

Coming soon: a trip to Nassau

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 22:20:00 +0000

Welcome to the Bahamas

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 18:00:00 +0000

On Tuesday we flew from Philadelphia airport to Miami and then after a 5 hour wait boarded the smallest passenger airplane I've ever seen for the short flight to Nassau in the Bahamas. The plane wasn't even a jet engine, instead it had little propellers!

We knew that a tropical storm, Sandy, was on it's way and our first night was a little bit blustery. The first day we spent here was lovely and warm although not particularly sunny, but I managed to do some reading lay on the sun lounger and we enjoyed a lovely meal out.

Thursday was a day spent inside as the wind and rain picked up. The law of the sod kicked in and on the day that we needed it's diversions most, our internet connection failed us, much to Sam's dismay!

Sandy was upgraded to a grade 2 hurricane and was heading for us at 20 miles an hour by dinner time. The electricity cut out and our back up generator fortunately kicked in so we at least didn't have to sit in the dark. The outdoor furniture was placed in the pool and the shutters were closed on our windows and we went to bed believing that the worst of the storm passed us a by.

The sounds overnight were terrifying and we daren't open the shutters to look at what was happening outside. In the morning we were amazed at the devastation outside.

Take a look at the before and after shots of our pool area:

Fortunately, we're all safe. And in a strange miracle, the internet has returned. The clean up operation has begun and hopefully by the end of the weekend the winds will have died down and the sun returned.

Welcome to the Bahamas.

Last day in Pennsylvania

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 16:50:00 +0000

On Monday, the day after the wedding, as guests dispersed across the world, a small but select group went to Amish country.

First we went to Bird in Hand for a look around the craft shops and to enjoy a coffee and a cake. Then we met up with the married couple for a look around one of the quaintest shopping centres I've ever seen.

As you can see we had some fun with the photo opportunities!

Josh and Laurie's Wedding 5: The end of the evening

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 20:30:00 +0000

The happiest bride!

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:30:00 +0000

gif maker

Josh and Laurie's Wedding 4: The ceremony

noreply@blogger.com (Lorna) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 09:00:00 +0000