Fly on the Wall

These fabulous pictures have been posted before by other bloggers but I just love the 'fly on a wall' approach to these photos.  Taking photos from above a room or object or collection of objects seems to be all the rage and I must say I love this style of photography.

image 1 - Deborah Needleman via Style Court
image 2 - via Pretty Stuff

Seaforth Cottage

Jane & Neville {above}

Janes Lilies {above}

Harry on the front steps {above},  He looks like he lives there!!

Me with Max and Charlotte {above}


I have long admired {actually, ever since I was 14 years old} the very pretty cottage which is located diagonally opposite my parent's house.  It is called Seaforth Cottage and was built C.1897.  It has been owned by Jane and Neville for the past 30 or so years and they are some of the most beautiful people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

As a young girl I would often talk about the pretty white cottage across the road.  I even told Brad when we were looking for our first house years ago that if that house ever came on the market then I would really, really love to live there.

I recently plucked up the courage and went over and introduced myself to Jane and Neville.  We sat on their front verandah and I asked them the huge favour of whether I could use their beautiful home for our upcoming Christmas/Summer photo shoot for our online store.  I explained to them that I had always loved their pretty cottage and I would often wish I could go inside to see what it was like and what lovely things they had furnished it with.  There was absolutely no hesitation and they offered their home to me with open arms.

One of the most beautiful things about Jane and Neville is their generous spirit.  Jane is actually a potter and an extremely talented one at that.  She holds classes for a couple of ladies in the street one morning a week in her gorgeous white timber shed at the back of the house.  You might have noticed the pottery animals on the verandah under our Christmas tree over at the online store.  Well, those are Jane's.  She has lined her entire verandah with her pretty and enchanting pottery animals.  I told her I wanted to take them all home with me!  She laughed.

I should also mention that next year Neville turns 100.  I really couldn't believe it when Jane told me. 

We had the most glorious day setting up our Christmas/Summer vignette on their front verandah and front lawn.  Did you notice the beautiful garden in the pictures?  It is amazing to say the least.  When we were there all the November lilies were beginning to flower.  It is just so beautiful and rambling and imperfect.  Just the way I like gardens to be.

I hope you enjoyed hearing a little bit about the beautiful house we used for our online vignettes this season.  I feel that Seaforth cottage was the perfect setting for our photo shoot.  It gave us that beautiful, lived-in, comfortable, old family house feel which is exactly what I wanted this season to reflect...a place where good times are shared and memories are made.


xx
Anna

Above are some of Jane's pieces.  They are so gorgeous!!

Kiki & Coco in Paris

I stumbled across this gorgeous little piece of fun on photographer Stephanie Rausser's website over the weekend. If you haven't already seen it click HERE now to see the most gorgeous slideshow ever!

Colour Connection

There is certainly lots of things to love about this month's Vogue Living which I just received in the mail today. In particular I loved this shot of Hamish Bowles' living room and thought it went so well with the beautiful child portrait photograph at top by Jenifer Altman.

image 1 - jenifer altman photographer, image 2 - stewart shining photographer for vogue living

Today I Love...

These very pretty images by Lobster & Swan.

Happy Thought

Image 1 - Elizabeth Messina via Mary Ruffle

Image 2 - Kate Spade

Felicity Interviews Yvette Inufio

Hi All, here's another fantastic post from Felicity {All Things Bright & Beautiful}....xx Anna

Those who know me know that I have a weakness for beautiful photography and flowers. Yvette Inufio is one incredibly talented lady who combines both. She photographs a variety of subjects which often have a certain vintage ethereal quality to them, but her flowers are my favorites. She often pairs them with inspiring quotes such as ..........

"Love life, engage in it, give it all you've got. Love it with a passion, because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it."~ Maya Angelouand........

"Stuff your eyes with wonder... Live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories."~Ray Bradbury

I am delighted to be have a short interview with her for you to enjoy.................

Yvette, where are you from?

I was born in La Habana, Cuba, 33 years ago. I've been living in Miami, FL since 2002.

How long have you been photographing for?

Since I owned my first camera, about 10 years ago.

What is your favorite photography subject and why?

I enjoy discovering simple things and love how they look in my photos, it's like magic.

Who are your favorite photographers?

I don't have any in particular. It's that bad? But I learn every day from all the pictures that I see constantly. It's a great inspiration.

What are your plans for the future?

I dream of having one day having an exhibition of my pictures. Until that day arrives I will continue to shoot all the tiny details of my world.

Thank you so much Yvette for taking the time to chat with us. You can also find Yvette's work for sale here on Etsy. Have a look, she has some lovely prints.

All images from Yvettes flickr stream. Thank you Bliss for the introduction:-).

White

If you love white like I do then you must visit Photographer Mari Eriksson's website...lots of white eye candy there...

More Paul Costello Loveliness

I think I may have saved every single image from photographer Paul Costello's website in my 'I Love Files'. His work is so beautiful, fresh, pretty, colourful and youthful. Last week I posted a few of his photos and I couldn't help sharing some more here today. How dreamy is that beautiful white house in the top image?! Love the cane furniture on the grass! My mum puts her cane furniture out on the grass under the shade of the trees at her house at Straddie in the Summer. It's just so lovely to sit with your bare feet in the cool grass on a hot Summer's day!!

All images - Paul Costello

Today I Love...

Hello again. How was your weekend? Today I'm in Love with this gorgeous vintage inspired photo by Amy Dickerson.

Pretty Pink

Oh, that lamp, that mirror frame, that wall colour - love it all!! But then again it is Ruthie Sommers...my favourite designer of all time!!

I have the perfect spot for this gorgeous Made By Girl Poster!! Loving the red and pink combo!! Wouldn't it look gorgeous in that beautiful white mirror frame in the top picture {mirror removed of course}!!


Tuile frills get me everytime!!

Here are a few pretty pink pictures I'm mad about!


Top - Ruthie Sommers via Stylecourt, Middle - Deeply Madly In Love Poster from Made By Girl, Bottom - Rachel Popo Photography via Oh Happy Day Blog.

Pretty

Let's start the week with some very pretty photos by photographer Monika Elena. I would love to create a room using that top image as inspiration!!

Up, Up & Away...

While I was searching for my French Inspired images I stumbled across these beautiful balloon images from Imapix's photostream @ Flickr which I had to share...the colours are so beautiful don't you think?!

Mesmerizing

I am very taken with this beautiful, sensual and romantic image by photographer Ken Kochey. Isn't that lace to die for!!

Into The Blue

Some pretty blue inspiration above. I love how the girl's swimmers in the top image look just like the blue hydrangea in the bottom image!!

Top image - Cig Harvey Photographer, Bottom image - Madison Magazine

Photography

Bueller Designs emailed me today with a link to their Etsy shop which contains the most wonderful array of photographs which are available for purchase. These two above were my favourites. They seem to be able to capture some amazing street scenes and their beach photos are stunning as well.

Photo via Nate Berkus

Photo via Desire to Inspire

I do love photographs hung in clusters and even purchased photography pieces mixed with black and white family photographs can look wonderful. As usual there are no rules but sometimes people choose to frame all the photos in the same colour frame but mixed styles and sometimes people just group a complete mix of framed pieces. Whatever your choice is make sure you do it with impact so lots of pieces I think are best and even hung down to the floor or like the above picture just leaning against the wall.