DIY PLANT POT.

Last week I bought a cute little cactus, it was potted a standard cement pot and I knew I had to change it. I had some left over tester paints from previous projects, so I decided to get crafty and paint the pot. I love things all gold and copper, so I painted the lower part of the pot a rich gold complementing the top half with a calm blue. The two colours work great together and have turned a bland and boring pot into a cheerful home for my pretty cactus!

Gail's Bakery

A pretty wet weekend was cheered up by a visit to the recently new artisan bakery GAIL'S in George Street, Hove. Popping in for some lunch, the cakes, breads and savoury treats were beautifully displayed in the store. I decided to try the pesto, tomato and mozzarella sandwich made on freshly baked sourdough bread. Followed by a naughty and indulgent white chocolate and blueberry muffin!

The interior and seating is modern and relaxed, with its open brick walls and simple wooden furniture, we spent a a good hour or so chatting away enjoying the food and environment alike. Upstairs has a few large tables encouraging people to share the space. 

The service was friendly and welcoming. They took a while to bring us up some milk for our tea, and as an apology they asked us to pick a loaf of bread to take home for free! To be fair I think they were giving away free loafs of bread to certain customers due to its opening week, but never the less, it was a lovely gesture and I picked out a pretzel poppy style loaf to take home, which we enjoyed the next day!

CHRISTMAS PENGUINS.

This year I decided to make my own Christmas cards. I saw an idea on Pinterest for potato stamps and thought thats the one! I love penguins, so I got busy with some paint, brown card, stamps and sticky eyes and away I went...

For a couple of weeks it looked liked a mini factory at ours, with half stamped penguins everywhere. I just didn't have time to do them all in one weekend. So it took me about two weeks to finally finish them.

I know many people don't bother with Christmas cards - like half of my friends, but I loved making them for family and loved ones, and to be fair, it was a chance to get my creative juices running again and I reckon the finished cards turned out pretty good!

AN OBSESSION WITH PRINTS

My slight obsession with prints took over the our last flat, so having moved somewhere with more wall space, I couldn't wait to buy two new prints I've had my eye on for sometime. The 'Swimmers' print by Lou Taylor and 'B.brave' by Donk were perfect new additions. I also finally had the chance to put the 'Marrocco's' print on the wall, a gift given to me for my birthday. I'm not  really sure where my obsession with prints came from but I just love them. Every print collected, I feel connected to, which is the most important part for me.

On the opposite wall I wanted to keep it simple and decided to hang some beautiful planters above our grey sofa. All our furniture came together and we're really happy with the final space (much to the relief of my husband, who painstakingly put all the prints and planters up). However, I'm sure it wont be long until I start moving things around again...!

NEW HOME.

Above: My dinning space. We bought the table and chairs from LOAF. The beach wood adds warmth, with the Geronimo gunmetal chairs complementing the table, creating a relaxing and inviting space. I love greenery and will often have plants dotted around the home. I have collected various prints and photographs over the years, these are displayed around the house. The print 'Swimmer' is from Dowse, a favourite shop of mine in Brighton.

For the last 6 months we have been settling into our new home!

After 8 years of living in our small, but beautiful flat by the sea in Hove. We decided to move out of town and join suburban living in Saltdean! The first time we viewed the bungalow, we knew it felt like home, and in a lot of ways, it was similar to our old flat but bigger. 

To most, the word ‘bungalow’ makes you think of visits to your granny, but this place couldn't be further away from what your thinking. The previous owners opened up the living space, creating height, light and open planning living, which we love. The property itself didn't need too much work, apart from the usual painting and small DIY tasks. All rooms feel like a good size, and its a luxury to have space. I’m loving every moment of putting our own stamp on the property and its slowly coming together, starting to like home.

Talks of a new kitchen, bathroom and an extension, are very much on the cards for the future. Although for now, I’m just enjoying the simpler things, like owning a bath, and having a garden!

Brighton Half Marathon

Image courtesy of Smart Fitness via Google 

So, with my exercise regime being almost non-existent for the last year, I finally decided to sign up for the Brighton Half Marathon; a good way to force myself into exercise again! Although not long after signing up, the dreaded thought of failure started to creep in. I just signed up to a 13.1 mile run! I can’t even run for the bus these days without breaking into a sweat! HELP!

My husband, who is a keen runner, assured me I would be fine as long as I train – SO TRAIN I WILL! With this in mind, I headed down to Sweatshop a lovely running shop in town. They did a 'gait analysis' on my running style (helps runners to find the right shoe through assessing the movement of your foot, leg and body’s movement). They suggested the right running shoes that best suited my running style and also made me a pair of custom soles for my shoes. To be fair, all the technology talk went a bit above my head, I just picked the prettiest pair I could find!

So with my sparkly new running shoes I feel ready to tackle the Brighton Half Marathon! I am running with my husband and a few friends, I’m not setting myself a time just yet, I’m just hoping to finish! 

Mr & Mrs...

Images by Hannah May Photography 

Saturday the 19th of July 2014 we became Mr & Mrs Lipinski HORRAY! And as cliched as it sounds, it was one of the happiest days of my life. I only wished I could of slowed it down as the day almost run away with itself. All the people we loved in the world were there to share this beautiful day and I didn't want it to end. July the 19th I married by best friend.

All our planning, the diy projects and ideas came together, it was great to see everything as a whole. Hannah-May, our photographer, made us feel so comfortable and the photo's she snapped where just AMAZING! Her full blog posting of our day can be seen here What's more, the wedding blog Rock my Wedding also featured our day on there blog - exciting!