keep the good things going

These shots were taken while England was still basking in the heat of the Indian summer and I lost whole afternoons tooling around London town with my sun hat and camera.

I don't know how, but Autumn passed me by in the rustle of a leaf. I swore I had it, but before I could say "pumpkin spice latte", it was gone ;)

Now here I find myself staring at the ass end of November and the mercury has sunk to below 8°.  

 Frozen fingers and bottle-warmed beds are now the flavour of the day.

 I've got a thirst on for thick wooly tights, Christmas get-togethers, tree decorating with Vince Guaraldi band and much anticipated dustings of snow powder. Also I'm making mental notes to stock up on mulled wine and gingerbread ingredients and surviving the winter months via self-induced food coma!

The season is almost upon us, friends, and it has a habit of keeping things sweet and light.

 I hope yours is a happy one x

free people road trip

Let me see....spectacles, testicles, wallet+ watch.

Ok, I think I have everything >.<

No sooner have I arrived here in London and I'm hitting the road again!

I could have done cartwheels on the moon when this exciting opportunity came up a few weeks ago.

To celebrate their UK launch, clothing brand Free People are hosting a weekend long road trip to the pretty seaside town of Newquay in Cornwall... and they invited me to come down and cover the event for their blog!

Wild stories of VW camper vans, live music and beach yoga classes have my heart skipping beats and I'll probably burst with excitement on the train down there today. To even be asked is such a huge honour and I'm stoked that this brand are launching in my homeland~ I love losing myself in their collections, they always stir the wildness in me.

If you fancy following the fun in Cornwall this weekend you can do so on instagram: #fproadtrip

Back soon!

(with sand in my jorts probably ^.^)

mi casa

A little peek inside my new Chiswick residency!

 I can't tell you how good, and grown up, it feels to live in an an actual house again. After years of living in tiny Korean studio apartments and my room in my parent's home, to have so much delicious living space is kinda rocking my world right now.

I'm slowly adding twigs and feathers to my new nest. My bedroom is a work in progress, I've had a blissful few days re-watching Girls season 1 + 2 on the laptop while slowly unpacking and decorating. I'll be doing an IKEA run tomorrow to pick up some furnishings and doo dads to bring it all together and make it my own. All these months of pinning home decor will finally be put to good use as I'm full of ideas!

Hey! Did you vote for Stars in Jars to win the Free People UK Guest Blogger competition yet?

I was overjoyed to be selected for the final three and I sure would appreciate your vote!

2 seconds of your time por favor!

goin' up the country

My last few weeks on the Emerald Isle have had the most round house kickin'/ fist pumpin'/ air guitar playin' kinda effect on my heart.

My beautiful cousin and soul sister Finn came to visit for a long weekend. I'll be sharing a house with this amazing girl as well as some other pretty rad house-mates when I move to West London tomorrow (TOMORROW!).

We managed to squeeze in a full day of sightseeing, Irish coffees and pub time in my parent's home-town before packing up the car to head off to Kerry for a big old family knees up.

A 5 hour car journey, way too many travel sweets and one retail park pit stop later we were in beautiful Killarney in Kerry to visit my aunt and her family. It was a girly affair with 4 aunties and three girly cousins staying up way past the witching hour at the kitchen table drinking wine, taking photographs and swapping family anecdotes.

I treasured the opportunity to connect with my little cousin Zio as it's only the second chance I have had to meet her since she was adopted from Vietnam when she was a baby. Such a funny, smart and kind little human being, she just adored getting to know her grown up cousins and we took every opportunity to play with her and get to know her beautiful personality.

When she jumped on my bed one morning and said "Let's play 'Mamas and darlings', you can be the Mama and I'll be the darling" (a game she learned from a tv show apparently) I seriously thought my uterus would go off like a bomb. Sigh. 

As well as the (several) maternal ticks and twitches I also thanked my moon and stars for being blessed with such a huge close-knit family and I relished the chance to bond with some seriously cool female matriarchs. 

Killarney is a treat to visit and if you're ever considering a tour of Ireland it will tick every box~ I particularly fell in love with this time capsule tea room which we all loved so much we ate lunch in it two days on the trot. Smoked salmon and poached eggs and eggs benedict for the girl who wanted to run away with the china. Delicious.

My flight to London leaves at mid-day tomorrow so it'll be an early night for me tonight. I can't wait to check in with my first post from my new home. Thank you to all of you who have left such sweet words of luck and encouragement for me on my journey. Hugs and kisses are on the wind to you all x x x

Thank you so much for reading! Why not hitch your wagon to Stars in Jars?
>.<

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link party ♢ weekly wishes #6

...time has run away with me, in just three short days I will be boarding a plane that will fly me into the next phase of my life. Eeshk!

I'm going to be a Londoner again and my heart could burst I'm that excited.

Today is a flurry of folding and packing, checking off lists and re-organizing piles.

And for making big decisions on what is important enough to bring and what can be let go of and left behind.... both literally and symbolically.

I've decided to dedicate today's weekly wishes link up to a few affirmations for 'London V.2'~ just a little contract with myself that will help me make the absolute most of this move and avoid returning down paths best left in my past:

△ Be a present participant, not a passive observer of my own life~ looking back over the past couple years I recognize that there have been times, moments and events which I have not taken an active part in and enjoyed to their fullest potential. By continually practising mindfulness I won't be a passive participant any longer, instead I'll make an effort to be present and active in each precious moment.

△ Keep one eye on my heart and one ear on my soul~ I've learnt the hard way that ignoring something that your soul is screaming for doesn't lead to anywhere good. We have a little inner guru working away inside of us that only has our best interests at heart. It's tricky to tap into what he's telling us at times but it's a necessary tool and well worth the practise.

△ Cultivate connections: friendship, communication, intimacy, conversation. All are vital to happiness and sense of self worth. Don't ever neglect them or shut them out. 

& don't be afraid to reach out, there'll always be someone there to hear you, whether you believe it or not.

△ "Change is a present activity, not a future event"~ This motivational quote has helped me no end in these last few months of healing and growth. These are words to live by and draw from in those moments when I just feel like phoning it in. 

Thanks again to the inspirational Mel for this wonderfully motivational link-up~ the posts I've written for them have unwittingly ended up being some of the most cathartic and therapeutic posts I've written!

Her blog is also a massive resource for positivity, honesty and self love. 

Go check The Nectar Collective and get your own spoon of honey!

Wanna join the party every Monday?

Click below!

Hitch your wagon to Stars in Jars!

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don't mind if I do, Mercury

Are we all here? Everyone make it out alive?

You're here reading this so I'm guessing that you did but I'd just go ahead and check your wit and wisdoms are all in order if I were you.

In case you're wondering what the hell I'm talking about, until a week ago Mercury was in retrograde.

For us earthly folk this occurrence signals all manner of personal and professional jiggery pokery.

Since the planet Mercury symbolises truth, travel, communication and clear thinking and when a planet goes 'retrograde' it appears to travel backwards in the sky, these things can start to go a bit cuckoo bananas for some us. A bit of a planetary shit storm if you will.

Scan back in your memory between June 26th and July 20th. Anything seem a bit "off" to you?

Were you feeling cloudy and tongue-tied? Experienced problems with travel plans or electrical equipment?

Trouble communicating in your relationship or on the receiving end of wrong information in your personal life?

These are all effects of the pandemonium caused by that little silver planet going retrograde.

BUT, my sources tell me, Mercury in retrograde can also present an opportunity for major emotional and intellectual breakthroughs. A chance for us to, essentially, "get our karmic shit together".

During those weeks that the cosmos spent tripping out I spent a lot of time walking the back-roads behind our house at the magic hour, catching some terrific captures of the sun sinking down behind the treetops along the way. As I pounded the pavements, listened to my music and drank in the sunsets I had ample time to think. To mull over my past and ponder on my future and mentally karate chop some of the doubts and fears holding me back from moving forward.

The outcome? I have a one-way plane ticket booked for London Gatwick in a few weeks time.

It's been nigh on four years since I last lived in the Big Smoke and my heart swells whenever I think about moving back.

So many haunts to revisit, streets to trample down, curry houses to frequent.

How do I begin to describe London? I'd say it's a bit like trying to grab hold of the wind... but here are a few snapshots of my favourite bits + pieces from the place that I am, once again, proud to call home...

<<Brick Lane>>

{{The Shampan curry house on Brick Lane~favourite ^.^}}

When I was 25 years old I announced to my Mom that I was finally ready to fly the coop. A week later I had moved in to a teeny wee bedsit in a tower block near the bottom of the infamous Brick Lane in East London. 

While it can err on the side of being too urban/hipster for it's own good, I will always and forever love this little corner of London for it's utter and unapologetic diversity. You can walk through a multitude of cultures, colors, styles, foods and tastes on just one single cobble-stoned street.

 Pop-up vintage markets and street festivals, book stands and street food riddle Brick Lane on the weekends and you can treat you retinas to Banksy art and graffitied walls, your taste buds to curry house fare and bagel stores and your ear drums to boom-boxed jazz to live Jamaican kettle drums.

In particular I can't wait to refresh myself after an afternoon's browsing with a mint tea in one of the several spit-n-sawdust tea rooms where you can take your pick from worn leather armchairs or Indian-style floor pillows. As I said, diversity definitely is the key word where Brick Lane is concerned!!

<<Notting Hill Carnival>>

I'm seriously happy that I will be back in London this year in time for the annual carnival in the streets of Notting Hill. 

Sequins and jerk chicken and calypso music, oh my!!

Plus the local upper crust loosen up for a few days and throw open the windows of their million pound apartments to have jamming sessions on their windowsills.

Can't beat that, friends!

<<London Fields Park>>

The sunshine suits London to a T and she wears it like a slutty dress.

The only thing to do when the summer is doing what it does best is to pack a picnic and go people watch in the green grass of London Fields. 

Strawberries, clotted cream and scones are non-negotiable!

If it's possible I just made myself even more excited to return!

So thank you for the mind-buzz, Mercury. An open invitation to take your future bull by the horns? Don't mind if I do!

London's calling...

Toot Toot!!

>.<

london trip// driftin'

A lunch made for one.

Cherry blossoms in the wind.

Cloud gazing.

Map reading and pavement pounding

The charm of the tube.

I had such a time in London. It's my birthplace, my old haunt, my history. 

Since I left it to roam and drift around I gave scarce thought to ever returning again. 

But in the warm, charming little bubble of my birthday visit I found myself falling back in love with the place, enjoying the crowds, the vibe, the unmistakable spirit of the big smoke. 

I felt home.

I love it when birthday gifts filter through long after the day has faded into history...

when I returned back to my parent's house in Ireland I had two lovely packages waiting for me.

Dallas sent me the sweetest bundle of Korean paper goods and a baby Totoro on a keychain.

A little baby Totoro!!! I can't even.

Also one of my best friends Jen runs a small print business and had my blog header printed on to a mug for me! It's shameless self promotion but hey, I love it!! hehe!