Etsy:: Hidden Gems – Whales

I would love to go whale watching – I intend to at some point – and see these spectacular creatures in the seemingly limitless landscape of the open ocean. There is something about those magnificent giants that fills me with wonder.

These watercolour prints are just delightful and would suit any wall!

Find it here.

 

 

This little brooch is derived from a vintage print and I just love it! A little unusual but funky all the same.

Find it here.

 

 

Who doesn’t love notebooks? This beauty, printed on recycled paper, is absolutely perfect for half filling with lists and plans and doodles then left on the desk to be admired. Naughty notebook hoarders!

Find it here.

 

This lampshade, with a whale swimming around it in loops is a perfect touch to any lounge or bedroom!

Find it here.

And there we have it, a little selection of four whale themed gifts!

Thanks for reading!
Dominique

Snapshots :: Nottingham

Nottingham, as well as being one of my favourite cities, is also my home and has been for the past four years. I thought that after university I would be inclined to move on elsewhere but the city is so enticing and buzzing that I’m reluctant to leave!
I will be doing a few posts, infrequently, that are a selection of snapshots that focus on my life and experiences of Nottingham, the secrets, the cafes, the music, the people, the nature and history.

In all the time I’ve lived in Nottingham I have never visited – though I’ve walked past it many times – the cathedral. It isn’t the biggest or grandest Cathedral in the world but it is very beautiful. The day we visited was sunny and streams of sunlight poured through the stained glass windows above our heads and coupled with the music being played on the organ it created a very beautiful experience.

Nottingham has become a little obsessed with beer. Which is fine by me as I’m a little obsessed with beer too. This is a photo of some of the exotic and unusual beers at the Beer Cavern. I shall be popping back in this week to pick up a selection for the upcoming weekend with our friends who are visiting.

The two photos above are from the current exhibition at the Nottingham Contemporary, it was fascinating and has encouraged me to further research the issues that were highlighted within this exhibition.

We took a walk around Nottingham City Centre and spent a while hunting around the small alley ways and tiny streets that are hidden in and around the city centre. These secret spots are home to cafés, cute curiosity shops, micro brewries and more I have yet to discover.

Two snapshots of the beautiful Nottingham Castle.  My house mate and I took a visiting friend to have a look around. I loved it here it was a real treat to go and look around as I hadn’t been for years. It was full of history, beautiful garments, treasures and art. At the end of our saunter around we stood out the back and had a look across the city.

Thanks for reading. These are just a few Snapshots of my life and city over the last few weeks.

Dominique

Merry Christmas

I ventured out today to the Nottingham Sumac centre as they were holding a winter craft fair. It’s a fantastic little community centre, you should check out there website! I really enjoyed the fair as it was all local crafter’s, selling homemade and handmade gifts. From whiskey marmalade to bracelets made with sustainable beads and hemp thread to peppermint soaps! I bought a few small gifts for my family as presents. It felt great to be buying and supporting local people.

I also treated myself and bought my one and only Christmas decoration.
Here is Jeff. Who, to be honest, will remain all year round.

Dominique

Social Media Shout Out

I am going to, from the offset, deny that this is shameless self promotion. I follow quite a few of you bloggers out there and so I thought this would be a good idea, you can link/follow me and I can follow/link back to you. It’s a good way to get to know someone (watch this space for my Blog Party – coming soon), especially when you read their blogs quite often, which are almost like online craft/life diaries! I would like to follow other bloggers on other platforms and see their styles, ideas, patterns they like and perhaps some new stuff that I haven’t come across. Come on guys and gals, the internet is a big place, one person alone cannot scour it, let’s work together and pool ideas.

So if you are interested and would like to follow me elsewhere.. click on the links below.

PINTEREST

INSTAGRAM

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

RAVERLY

Wow I really flaunt it about on social media! I would also love to follow you people out there. Yes, you there, reading away! ( if there are any) Please comment with your links and if you want I will add a link to your blog below.

Thanks for reading

Dominique

^ The Wish List ^

Fun >> I must say I did enjoy the Breaking Bad series! This chopping board is pretty darn cool.

Etsy >> Just stumbled upon the amazingness of Mimi Kirchner, I love everything she makes… Just look at that beard!

To Watch >> This film won the Palme d’Or and though it looks intense, “Blue is the Warmest Colour” is one to watch.

To Nibble (or devour depending on you willpower) >> I absolutely adore gnocchi but I have yet to make it, I will definitely be attempting this Chorizo Gnocchi recipe . 

The weekend is almost here! Wahooo! I am super looking forward to this weekend  I have a lot of little but nice things planned. Also I have a FO to reveal in the coming days!

I hope you have had a lovely week and enjoy your weekend!

Dominique

x

A New Day

I took a moment out of my crafting and hooking to take  a morning stroll.

To get a breath of fresh air and revive my creative soul.

The colours of the trees so vibrant, so rich

The beauty of a flower caught, in a single glimpse

The fallen leaves crunched beneath my feet.

It was a wandering, walking, crunching, reviving treat.

Now apart from attempts at poetry and wandering I am up to something crafty, something very crafty indeed! I have been a very busy bunny over the last few days, here at MOL HQ (My Other Loves Head Quarters). This busy-ness has included; learning new skills, using all the ones that I have learnt over the years, reorganising and then subsequently disorganising, photographing, hooking, stitching, frogging, sawing, painting, sticking, sewing, cutting and designing. So due to all of the above things that I have listed – my crafty corner is, well I think describing it as “messy” would be nothing if not polite – but that is the life of a crafter – and a burden I must bare!

OoooOoOooOoOoooO Cryptic!

All shall be revealed in the days ahead.

Thanks for reading guys and gals!

Anything new going on with you?

Dominique

Elderflower Fritters

What a busy few months it has been! I cannot believe how much time has passed since I last posted! I’ve finished University, moved out, taken a well needed holiday (or two), got a new job and I have graduation on the horizon! All very exciting but it has left little time for crochet… I have experienced some serious yarny withdrawal symptoms. However I am, now I am settling down, getting back into my crochet!

I spent a few days in Loughton, Essex. A very lovely place indeed and situated on the edge of the absolutely stunning Epping Forest. We spent a lot of time walking and exploring it. At the moment as it is the perfect time for elderflowers, a friend (Sop) and I decided that we had to use them for some kind of recipe. We pushed away any cordial or alcohol recipes because of the high sugar content. After a little research Sop came across the Elderflower Fritter recipe, found here or here. Sorry in advance for the bad quality photos i took them on my phone rather than my camera. 

We made a small batch of very light batter and dipped the Elderflowers in the batter so all the flower heads were covered and then in the deep fat fryer they went.

I think the oil was around 170 degrees! Ouch. The batter caused the oil to bubble and froth.

We let the Elderflowers cool for a few minutes on some tin foil and as they cooled we dribbled some delicious honey over them.

They actually looked really appetising and smelt lovely.

…and suffice to say, they did not last long at all. 

 

SO! Make the most of the elderflower season, Eldeflowers have a really lovely but subtle taste. There are many other recipes that you can experiment with like this, this or this. But I wholeheartedly recommend the Elderflower Fritters there is something strangely satisfying about munching on some tiny, delicate flowers.

Dominique

What’s in my bag – January

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious. 
Albert Einstein

I always find it interesting to see what other people like to carry around with them on a daily basis. I think this is partially because I am a little bit nosy . So I have decided to post the contents of my bag once a month for anyone who is a little bit nosy like me or who is a little bit curious!

 

 So here we can see what I have been carrying around this week!

– My ripple blanket (Just in case I get a spare moment to hook – can you see its growing!!)

– The Basics (Keys, mirror, phone, purse and pencil case )

– The book I am reading at the moment. It is called Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson. ( I Promise I am not obsessed with Oranges! Although it may appear that way at the moment.

– My current textbook for uni  – Equity and Trusts, all I can say is BLEUGH! 

– And finally, a small pack of playing cards (I promise they come in handy) and my ever so tiny owl diary to keep those important dates and deadlines!

This is my bag… Flamingo Flamingo!

Dominique

2013.

Resolutions, goals, ambitions, desires, objectives. A few typical words that float around at the end of each year.

Now I enjoy writing to-do lists… Completing them – well that’s another story… Although I do always try my best!

Here are my “to-do’s” for 2013.

1) Finish a blanket – finally! Hopefully my ripple blanket.

2)  Learn to knit. I think there can be nothing lost from learning new skills and there are some beautiful items of knitting that I would like to have a go at.

3) Attend another craft fair! A little better prepared and with chairs! I managed to jumble together a selection of small crocheted items I had made along with a few items from a friends and had a stall at a nearby Christmas market. Although in our haste we didn’t take chairs to sit on… It was a long day!

4) Write! Write! Write! Write! Write! I need to dedicate some time to my fiction. Perhaps I should include some time management practice within number 5 on my list.

5) Read 10 books (No need to be too ambitious, goal must be achievable)

6) Study more and spend less!

7 ) Continue to crochet – new projects, patterns and stitches!

8) Practice piano daily!

9) Blog. Focusing on quality and not quantity.

10) Meditate. Meditation is a good way to focus the mind and I think a way to learn patience. This year I would like to learn the basics of meditation.

11) I forgot the most important one!! Uni Work! This should be top of the list really, oops!

I shall imagine, that as I hope to keep my blog up to date with my progress it will also inadvertently motivate me to achieve my aims. I may even add a few as the months pass.

I hope you enjoy following my progress with “to-dos”.

Dominique

What’s in my bag – January

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious. 
Albert Einstein

I always find it interesting to see what other people like to carry around with them on a daily basis. I think this is partially because I am a little bit nosy . So I have decided to post the contents of my bag once a month for anyone who is a little bit nosy like me or who is a little bit curious!

 So here we can see what I have been carrying around this week!

– My ripple blanket (Just in case I get a spare moment to hook – can you see its growing!!)

– The Basics (Keys, mirror, phone, purse and pencil case )

– The book I am reading at the moment. It is called Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson. ( I Promise I am not obsessed with Oranges! Although it may appear that way at the moment.

– My current textbook for uni  – Equity and Trusts, all I can say is BLEUGH! 

– And finally, a small pack of playing cards (I promise they come in handy) and my ever so tiny owl diary to keep those important dates and deadlines!

 

This is my bag… Flamingo Flamingo!

Dominique