Mirkwood Cottage

I love a happy ending (and Mr Darcy)

According to Meg Cabot, all (Austen loving) women want to be Elizabeth Bennet, although in her case, she's apparently more like Emma. Lucky for me - Austen loving woman that I am - I do get to be lovely Lizzy, if only for a blog post!

"You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of ridiculousness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgement that serves you very ill indeed."

Well, if you say so! :)

Take the Quiz here!

Pretty Vintage!

I am very excited to announce the launch of what was my "secret project" - my new fashion / lifestyle blog, Pretty Vintage! After giving up fashion blogging quite some time ago, I found that I missed it terribly - or at least, I finally realised what was causing that aching hole in my heart!

Pretty Vintage is exactly what it says on the box, encompassing fashion, hair, beauty, film & tv, books, craft, cooking and whatever else might come to mind. I look forward to seeing you there!

Wouldn' it be luv-er-ly!

There are few things more fabulous than a long weekend, and I plan to make the most of it! A few activities that will feature prominently:

- Working on my second crocheted granny blanket;

- Wearing a frilly apron while baking Lemon Delicious slice and dancing to 1930s tunes in my kitchen;

- Trying my hand at pin curls and vintage-inspired make-up (and then insisting my husband takes me on a date to the movies);

- Going for a bike ride on my Electra Cruiser, complete with newly installed wicker basket, in which I will pack delicious treats for a picnic in the autumn sunshine by the ocean;

- Doing plenty of relaxing, curled up with a few good books;

- Writing my first few entries in a secret new blog project that you will know about very soon!

How will you spend your weekend?

[Image of me, courtesy of mini-photoshoot by David James Photography]

Books and their covers...

If ever there were evidence that we should not judge a book by its cover, Susan Boyle could well be it.

If you're not averse to having joyful tears in your eyes, click away.

[Image from here]

The Perfect Space

I dont know about you, but I find that certain spaces help my creative juices to flow better. I love writing at night, sitting by an open window, staring out at the distant window lights and stars. I love writing by the sea; the ebb and flow of the waves soothing my thoughts and words. I love writing in the mountains; their sheer mass and majesty allowing me to feel my smallness in a beautiful and peaceful way. (What are men, compared with rocks and mountains? ;)

And then there's this little beauty. I can imagine my inner five-year-old delighting in this fabulous pink space, playing with the cupcakes and tea... inviting my teddy bears in to dine... reading the lovely invitations to delightful tea parties in my letterbox.

What a wonderful place! What a glorious space! If you'd like to honour your inner five-year-old, this 'Cup Cakery' play house is available from Miss Pretty Pretty on Etsy.

And in the meantime - I'd love to hear about your perfect space for creativity!

It must be love, love, love...

Oh me, oh my! I must admit that one of my favourite ways to creatively avoid doing what I intend to do (i.e. writing, paying bills, cleaning) is to browse Etsy and marvel at all the beautiful handmade creations therein. One of my favourite searches to run is 'owl', being that I love them so, and just look at this!

Made from exquisite linen with pretty cotton details, buttons, hemp string and an owl (screenprinted, not real) it's the stuff of my daydreams. This one comes complete with a notebook to jot down plot points and fabulous twists, but I think it would also make a wonderful book cover to protect your favourite books that travel with you. There are lots of other prints (including more delightful owls!) and you'll find them at Christina's Etsy Store. You might have to fight me for them, though...  

[Thanks to Decor8 for the heads up!]

I'm So Excited!

Well, there I was, enjoying the first relaxing day I've had in weeks, browsing all my favourite blogs, when I discovered.... I'm a winner! (In the literal sense, although I won't turn my nose up at anyone who'd like to think I'm a figurative "winner"!)

I have won the GORGEOUS Domino: The Book of Decorating from Claudia, who writes the most divine decorating blog 'The Paris Apartment' and is a published author of The Paris Apartment: Romantic Decor on a Flea-Market Budget.

I warn you, though. If you go to her blog, make sure you have hours to spare, because you'll get completely lost in all of the stunning and exquisite decor she writes about!!

Thank you, Claudia - you have absolutely made my week!

Elizabeth Gilbert on the Creative Process

I found Elizabeth to be articulate, amusing and profound. If you long to be a writer and don't know how; or if you are a writer struggling with your demons, I hope that this presentation will uplift you.

Thanks to Diane (Five Minutes Peace) for the link!

Me-me-me-meeeeeee!

The lovely Keris has provided me with yet another excuse to go all egocentric and tell you some random stuff about me-me-me-meeeeee!

Now, I've already tagged a bundle of friends on Facebook who'll now have to complete this... and let's just say that if you're reading this and I haven't tagged you yet? Consider yourself tagged! Feel free to do yours in comment, or if you have a blog, leave me a comment with the link, because I want to know more about you!

So, 25 Random Facts About Me...

1. I sing a lot of random nonsense songs, because I can.

2. I am completely addicted to British crime shows - Inspector Morse, Taggart, Foyle's War, Lewis, Rosemary and Thyme, Inspector Lynley... if the Brits made it, I'll generally love it!

3. I am completely addicted to Abundant Earth organic hot chocolate. It's the most expensive beverage I own.

4. I love vintage-styled hats and own quite a few, but feel terribly self-conscious so I rarely wear them out.

5. I miss the Scottish highlands so much that sometimes it aches.

6. I purchase a lot of sensible personal development books, but generally disgard them to read children's books instead.

7. I am my own worst enemy. But I'm workin' on it.

The best laid plans of mice and men...

Well, it's been an interesting few weeks, that's for sure. But I'm pleased to update you all and say that my novelS are moving forward, just not in the way I thought they would! I thought I'd share my observations here in honour of full disclosure, and in the hope that this might help other inspiring authors out there.

To revise, this was my Personal Goal: to write 450 words per day of my novel.

So, what didn’t work?

I’m going to start with this question, because honestly?  This goal was a complete mess. After getting home from a very motivating seminar and intending to get on with my personal goal, I found that no matter my intention, I just didn’t get around to my writing.

With each passing day, I felt more and more guilty, started internally beating myself up, and not surprisingly, went into a bit of a depression about it all. I thought about trying to “catch up” on my word count by writing extra words each day. By starting all over again. But no matter the mechanism I came up with, nothing came of it.