Beautiful Panties

If I can scrimp and save over the next year I have found the lovely and lacy underwear I wish to adorn my body on the day of my marriage. There is so much I adore on the Agent Provocateur website but I feel that there will be few occasions when I will be able to blow so much on underwear in the near future.

Pet Photography

Millicent

Mordecai


After reading an article in our monthly PetPlan magazine about pet photography I thought I would give it a try. I must say I am rather pleased with the results!

Miss Mariposa Loves... The Make Lounge

I have fallen head over heels in love with The Make Lounge and all of the wonderful courses they offer. I have been mooning over them for quite sometime and have just got around to signing myself up for one. The joy of their courses is the price and the time frame. The courses are a fraction of the price of any other courses I have found and allow you to learn a new skill in just one or two evenings. I already know which course I will do next, all I need now is a job to fund it!

Miss Mariposa wants... To go camping

One of my dearest friends has gone galivanting off to the shores of Cornwall this bank holiday weekend. I am very envious to say the least. These are a few shots of me and my Mister's summery jaunts. Soon I hope to have some real camping shots!

Yummy Treats Cheats

This is the recipe for my now renowned easy cheat "homemade" trifle.

Black Forest and Rum

2 packs of raspberry or cherry jelly

1 pack of frozen black forest fruits

1 cheap chocolate sponge

1 carton of quality pre-made custard

1 carton double cream

Dark rum to taste

Dark chocolate for decoration

Make the jelly with 1/2 more jelly cubes than stated.

Pour in a large bowl.

Add frozen fruit to taste.

Place in the fridge to set - the frozen fruit should help it set in under half the time.

Break up sponge and place on set jelly.

Drizzle rum to taste ( I use about 3 cap fulls)

Pour custard evenly over sponge and smooth gently with a knife.

Whisk cream until it stands in peaks.

Spread the cream evenly over the custard.

Grate the dark chocolate over the top.

It is seriously one of the most moorish things I have ever made. It can all be homemade if you have the time, but this is my cheats version.

Our Over-Budget Wonder

These are a few images of the magnificent Orchardleigh House and Estate. Within which is the simply stunning St Marys Chapel where our wedding will take place. The chapel is situated upon an island in the Estates lake. We will then have the entirety of Orchardleigh House to ourselves to celebrate our then completed nuptials surrounded by the people we love... Ah, bliss!

Beautiful Shoes

These are the shoes I want. Argh. They are so very beautiful. From the wonderful Jimmy Choo. I can and will dream.

Alterations

I have finally got around to starting my huge pile of alteration and adjustments. This is my previously awkward and worn once dress ready for a day in the park with my friend and her lovely little one. Excuse the poor quality photo.

Rediscovering Old Passions

Once long ago when I was young I was in love with all things creative. I drew and stitched, painted and baked, sculpted and designed. Over the years my passions where left by the wayside. Lost in a sea of unsure identity and the need to impress I forgot the things that truly made me feel good. I like to create. Scratch that. I love to create. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy. And proud. I am determined to rediscover these things and learn new skills. Over the past week I have taught myself to knit. The result is not perfect but looking at it puts a smile on my face. I made it. With my new skill.

Cats

In the past 24 hours we have:

1. Chased a mouse around our bedroom at 1am.

2. Been woken at 5.30am to the suspicious noises of something being played with accompanied by mewling.

3. Been woken at 6.45am by mewing and demanding food.

4. Opened the bedroom door to find a mouse missing a face.

5. Fed them after disposing of mouse body and needless racket only to have them walk away as soon as their bowls have been filled.

6. Been hijacked in bed where they insist on lying next to your pillow as close to your face as catly possible and licking their bottom.

7. Been stalked around the flat being shouted at for attention.

8. Been clambered all over you until they find as awkward a spot as possible where they then refuse to move from.

You gotta love'em though. Hmmmm.

Cakes

Being the very lucky girl that I am, I am surrounded by many very talented friends. Not only am I lucky that my friends are talented but also that they are incredibly generous. Many of them have offered up these wonderful talents in the run up to our big day. One of these generous gifts has been given by my lovely, lovely friend and bridesmaid Jodi whom is cooking our carrot cake wedding cakes. I had been racking my brains for quite some time about how to display these wonderful cakes... Until I found these beautiful American milk glass cakestands from Re-Found Objects. I have always had a soft spot for milk glass and these cakestands are a beautiful example of how elegant and unique it can look. Not only that but the colour could have been made with our colour scheme in mind. Their website is filled with a million and one things I will one day own. One day.

Silver Linings

Today I have been doing the soon to be Mother-in-Laws ironing. A task to help tide us over financially whilst I look for a job. It has now been two months since I returned from Venezuela and still not a sausage. There have been many glimpses of light which have unfortunately not materialised into a blue sky yet. Not that I have given up hope though. It's just an awkward time to be looking and at an awkward point in my life. And a good friend of mine may have offered a lifeline. We will see. But what it has afforded me is time. Lots of it. To bake. To learn to knit. To sew. To use my previously untouched sewing machine. To start drawing again. To plan the wedding. To find inspiration again. To get back into Neighbours! There are always many silver linings. A previously undomesticated woman can now iron.

The Hunt for The Dress

With 481 days until the wedding we're doing well. We have booked the chapel, the reception venue, the caterers and the photographers. Yet I am still no closer to deciding on my wedding dress. I am lost in a sea of chiffon, lace, tulle and silk. I can't decide between short or long, slinky or frou frou. I have though fallen in love with this Oscar De La Renta dress, which at £10, 000 is a little out of our price range! The fit and the drap are beautiful but what really makes this dress are the wax flowers. Gorgeous.