Vanilla Days

 Ice cream bowls from France.

A Pressing Matter

The journal i have been working on for the last few weeks is to be handed in on the 7th June. Naturally being unable to plan ahead, i booked a trip to Glasgow for a few days the week before hand in. I am spending nearly every waking hour this week rushing to get it written, designed, printed and bound, so there isn't much time to stop and chat. I took these photos in the letterpress studio at uni this morning, they're to go in the journal but i thought i'd post them as well.

Grandparents' Garden

Hintlesham Hall

...Or as it's since become known to me, future wedding venue. The grounds were so beautiful and well kept. It even had a fig tree growing up a wrought iron spiral staircase. It's the only place that's ever jumped out at me as a potential wedding spot. In fact it jumped out at me as somewhere a big fancy event should be held, not necessarily a wedding. I think because it was such a warm sunny day i wanted to be floating round in a silly dress drinking flutes of fizzy things, that's all really. How lovely would a big long table, laid with a huge feast look just in front of that enormous tree? I picked up a bookings brochure on my way out just in case.

Spot of Lunch

I realise it's taken me nearly a week, but here are some of the photos of a lovely lunch out with the Grandparents. I was taken to Hintlesham Hall for a fairly epic four course meal followed by a stroll round the fairly extensive grounds (175 acres, we didn't stroll it all). Photos of that to follow soon.

I had prawns in tempura batter with a chilli and honey sauce to dip in to start:

Followed by confit of duck on a bed of vegetable noodles:

And then mango sorbet to finish:

It would have been rude to refuse coffee and petit fours...

A Summer Garden

On my visit down south, i spent a hot sunny morning catching up with my Grandparents' old neighbours. We drank strong coffee and ate chocolate chip shortbread biscuits in the back garden. There's a different pace of life altogether there, which was difficult not to get caught up in. You feel a day has been actively well spent if the only thing you've done is water the plants, or if you completed the crossword that was faxed over daily from a neighbour at 6pm sharp. It is nice to let yourself exist in this sort of way for a while, you find you take pleasure in things you wouldn't normally stop to notice, like this garden for instance...

Graphein

Did you know the Ancient Greeks used the same word, 'Graphein' for writing and drawing. I love that. I found it out when i was at the Alan Fletcher Exhibition earlier this year. I was going through the notes i'd made so i could write it up for my journal and i'd made a note of it, with a big smiley face next to it. I'm not sure why i like it so much, possibly because to me it validates graphic design as a concept. Who knows?! Today i am in this sort of mood...

I'm going down south to visit my Grandparents for a few days, but shall be blogging as usual. Speak soon xoxo

Perfect Dinner

Courtesy of FoodPornDaily

 

Go on, treat yourself :]

Bicycle Days

Photo by The Sartorialist

It's not often i get the desire to get out and purposely exercise, but recently i've had the great urge to go on long bike rides in the countryside. I think because the weather is getting dryer, and i'm spending my days in front of a mac screen writing up a review of the year on my course, i'm missing the fresh air. There's something very appealing about the idea of whizzing down a country lane with the wind whipping your extremities, going ever so slightly too fast to be in control. I am slightly lacking in the bike department, but i wonder if there's somewhere you can rent one for the day. 

Yet Another Distraction

I have a few weeks to write a fairly epic journal, reviewing my whole first year of my Graphic Design course. Naturally this means i have discovered a whole new plethora of distractions to take my concentration away from the task at hand. One of these distractions is redbubble, have you heard of it? It's a website that allows users to post their own photography and art work for others to see, and if they like it, they can buy it to be printed on cards, tshirts etc. The website handles all the printing and just takes a small percentage of the payment. It's proved very easy to get lost in, just browsing through the thousands of photographs. Here's my favourite...

'Occy' by Stephen Colquitt

Kitchens

I spent a nice afternoon wandering round the kitchen section of Selfridges yesterday, picking out my future china and glassware (as you do). I have a feeling i may one day own a rather organised kitchen with lots of jars filled with herbs and spices in neat rows. I'd love any of the images below to be part of my future kitchen.

cups on pegs is a pretty idea.

I love how upsettingly organised this kitchen is.

I would like a big kitchen table with this kind of wood finish and a selection of table runners and flowers to go on it.

Want Their Job: Anna Wolf

Anna's a photographer from southern California. She gets to travel all over the place, taking beautiful photographs of beautiful people. Take a look at her portfolio here. I would like her job.

 

Stamp Duty

I was all set to make some sort of comment on the way last night's general election ran, however i found these rubber stamps this morning and thought they were far more interesting.

Simple Pleasures

Desipte being well into May, the weather doesn't seem to be getting any nicer. The trees are looking green and there is an abundance of baby animals filling the fields near my home, however the ever present drizzle that acompanies all this somehow takes the shine of things. I have just about finished the first year of my Graphic Design course and now should be the time for celebrating and enjoying a new found freedom, but i've felt a little restrained up till now.

Yesterday we (6 from my course) decided to go on an outing to the zoo, regardless of the weather. Naturally it did drizzle all day, but it felt good to flick the metaphorical Vs skywards and carry on having fun, tramping about acting like children again. It was nice to be able to navigate our way round the fairly sizable zoo without having to think about work and deadlines for a change. I think it was a release we all needed after a fairly hectic previous week of running round swearing at printers and collecting papercuts. I think that every once in a while it's worth spending a day doing something like this, just to remind yourself that despite work, weather, deadlines and stress, it is still possible to completely lose yourself in the situation and enjoy the simple things in life. The truth of it is, you'll probably go back to work with a much fresher, positive attitude.

The Art of the Barbecue

It has been announced that we are to gain possession of a barbecue, just in time for the summer months. After frequent pestering from my younger Brother, my Dad has decided to commandeer his parents' fairly major grilling machine. I must say I am looking forward to (weather permitting) musky evenings sat outside, wrapped up, candles lit and the smell of marinated meat, fish and vegetables wafting through the air. This time last year we were fairly lucky with the weather so spent a lot of our spare time BBQ-ing cheap things (food mostly) on a disposable unit in the park. This year I’m quite looking forward to trying out homemade marinades on thick steaks and fillets of fish. Probably my all time favourite charred dish is a barbecued banana served with a sprinkling of sugar and a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream and raspberry coulis. I have my Granddad to thank for introducing me to this wonderful concoction, and it will most likely be the christening meal when the appliance arrives. What’s your favourite thing to char to death on a BBQ?