grand house tour ~ the study!

on with the little tour of my even little-er apartment. last up is the study. this room was supposed to be a second bedroom but with my need for an office, and 2 bunnies to home, a bed was never going to make it's way into here.

these days my work space is taken up with printers. when the fella moved in we couldn't decide which one to keep, so both are still here. under the desk is one of the favourite hang outs for my bunnies. here you can just about make out diggory under the radiator and agatha under the chair.

for this room i loved the idea of floor to ceiling bookshelves, but i couldn't find shelving the right height anywhere so ikea's billy range came to the rescue. many years ago, these shelves were a beautiful display of some of my favourite things, nowadays apart from a couple of birdcages, the cabinets are stuffed with books and more books (and some ugly flying manuals).

because of my wallpaper love, papering the backs of these shelves seemed only natural. i do really love the effect.

i also use the left over scraps to cover old ring binders that will look extra pretty on my shelves. what else can i use my beautiful wallpaper for? really i'm up for hearing some ideas!

i hope you enjoyed the tour of my little apartment. see you in the new year!

{em} x

instagrams on the beach

hello! i hope you had a lovely christmas. i enjoyed some down time which involved the fella and i flying half way round the world to florida for some wedding planning. we stayed on captiva off the gulf coast and enjoyed the beautiful weather and even more beautiful surroundings. 

thanks to the time difference, it was really easy to get up early in the morning. i loved getting up and running about 5km every morning before the sun got too hot. then heading back to our villa and making up pancakes for breakfast. i could eat them guilt free in the knowledge that i'd already burnt a few hundred cals!

during our first day we were astounded by the amount of wildlife to see around the island. we spotted manatees and dolphins within minutes of standing on the jetty. by the end of the week we were accustomed to such sights but not at all ready to leave them behind. 

most afternoons i indulged my love of the sunshine by spending a few hours soaking up the sun on the beach. my pale skin still requires lots of suncream, but i did manage to feel that lovely glow that only the sun can give. 

and call me old fashioned, but i could not get my head around the fact that even in florida, it was the week before christmas. christmas trees on the beach? "let it snow" on the radio? santa hats on a sunny day? very strange! as much as i love captiva, it was good to get home to the kind of christmas i know and love. 

i hope you had the kind of christmas you love too.

{em} x

christmas is my favourite!!

happy christmas friends

{em} plus diggory and agatha x

grand house tour ~ living space

next on the grand house tour is the living room, which is really a lounge, dining room and kitchen combined. i love this kind of open plan living, moving from cooking to eating to relaxing flows naturally in here as long as we keep the mess under control. 

i read somewhere that it is a crime against interior design to have a tv as the centre of a room, and since our's is a fairly big one, we had to find an even bigger mirror to balance up the room. 

lets play 'where's wally'... can you see me there in the mirror. i know it's not exactly professional but how do you escape that giant mirror? you wanna see more of that gorgeous sofa? 

my favourite part of the living room is my little corner where i can curl up in my purple armchair and read a book (or surf the web). 

i do love the mix of functions in here. despite being a room full of rooms, it feels really cozy thanks to heaps of pictures, flowers and lamps to provide the mood lighting. any day now i plan to christmas it all up, time for some fairy lights i think!

the last room on the tour is the study (and bedroom to my bunnies). prepare for a very small amount of excitement!

{em} x

it scrap{book}

i just about found time this month to get out my glue stick. i picked up some cute sticky notes at paperchase that are perfect for little accents on layouts and far too pretty for writing "get milk" on!

i'm thinking these might be the final pages for my florida scrapbook... even i am getting tired of looking at those beaches now. i really need to get out and take some pictures so i have something new to put with my pretty paper.

{em} x

quote lovely ~ roald dahl

what i'm reading - december issue

ooh lovely lovely books to read. the nights are drawing in, and i've plenty of time to snuggle up with my hot water bottle and a good read. well that and the time spent on a stuffy train with a thousand other commuters on their way into central manchester. so here's what i'm reading at the moment:

when god was a rabbit ~ sarah winman. i finished this off this morning instead of getting up early and going to the gym. a lovely novel about the love of siblings over the decades. if you liked 'one day' - this is for you.

every last one ~ anna quindlen. probably not one to read if you're feeling a bit blue already, but an interesting concept following the life of a woman who has lost almost everything. the book really gets going about half way through and is un-put-down-able until the end. 

drums on the night air ~ veronica cecil. this is next to read on my list. i was drawn to this book as my parents had their own african adventure with me when i was only a few years old. much more exciting than our own travels, this is the true story of veronica's escape from the war zone of the congo. 

the death instinct ~ jed rubenfeld. the sequel to 'the interpretation of murder', this latest offering from jed rubenfeld is just as gripping a mix of detective story and historical backdrop. if you thought that terrorism is a problem only the people of the 21st century have to suffer, you will think again from the opening pages which follow the events of the wall street bomb more than 100 years ago. 

have you finished any of these? i'd love to know your thoughts. what are you reading this cold winter evening?

{em} x

instragrams in the city

on monday i was visiting my company's london office. the location is incredible and every time i'm there i can't help but feel proud to work in such a place. it was a cold and rainy day, but the mix of old and new buildings around london bridge provide a great backdrop to some serious business meetings. 

as much as i love the city, i'm always glad when it's time to head home. i find people who never smile and the jam packed underground pretty tiring and often need to sleep for an hour or too on the train home. it's even better when the train home is running on time! overall a successful trip.

{em} x

grand house tour ~ the bedroom!

with the prospect that i might be moving out of my little apartment next year, i thought i should start appreciating what i have here before it's gone. so i thought i would share a little house tour with you guys. to call it the grand house tour might be a small exaggeration, but i have a lot here to be proud of so i'm gonna roll with it. 

i bought my apartment in 2006 when i was just 22. it was supposed to be a rental investment but i just couldn't resist moving in. living on my own wasn't at all daunting. i embraced having my own space, and tried to make every corner of it totally "me". i finally got the chance to indulge in my love of wallpaper of decadent chairs, and i wasn't afraid to go a little crazy at times. 

up first on our tour is the bedroom. i took to this room with my paintbrush almost immediately, and as soon as i thought the walls had dried out, papered the feature wall behind the bed. 

i adore this handprinted paper by louise body, it's kind of naughty and only suitable for the bedroom! if you look a bit closer at my side of the bed, you'll see that it's really overflowing with paperbacks and teddies. this is where the next few books i plan to read reside... at the moment i have a substantial backlog! not too pretty right?

...well i'm a slave to paper and bears. one of my other weaknesses is chairs. this one i spotted at a furniture shop closing down sale. i guess it was for the showroom to exhibit just how well they can meet the tastes of even the craziest person. anyway i can't resist a bargain or a velvet stripe, so this one came home with me.

i fear my fella hates this room - it's a girl's indulgence with throw pillows and hats hanging off every corner. luckily he only has to sleep in here, and has plenty of his own touches in other rooms. well that's just about it for the bedroom. i'm ashamed to say my overflowing wardrobe didn't make the cut this time, but you can imagine that i'm sure! next up i'll be boring you with my living room... prepare yourself for more unusual chairs!

{em} x

this november week

well hello there friends. how has your week been? we've had some sad news in the family and the mood here has been sombre. nevertheless there are some things that have brightened up my world and i'd love to share them with you. 

- flowers from my fella to mark 3 years of being a couple. i guess this is the last time we will celebrate this little anniversary i invented, as next time we will have a proper anniversary to enjoy. what a crazy thought!

- these vintage air hostess pictures (found via galadarling.com) are fascinating. i love those funky boots.

- watching marilyn monroe and laurence olivier in 'the prince and the showgirl'. marilyn is still a glamour puss even though she wears the same white dress throughout the whole film.

- if you've ever read or watched some of the twilight stories, you might enjoy this literary examination of bella swan. 

what's been cheering you up this week?

{em} x

been pinned much lately?

hi friends, i just saw this cool tip (via amyistheparty.com). if you want to see if anything from your blog has been pinned on pinterest, you can just go to http://pinterest.com/source/yourblogname

for example, i looked at...

http://pinterest.com/source/unremarkablegirl.blogspot.com/

.. to see who'd pinned me. i feel practically famous!

{em} x

autumn musings

first of all, apologies for my quietness over the last few weeks. i was feeling poorly and keeping up with essential activities was about all i could manage. i was disappointed not have time to line up a 10 things post, and will do my best to make next month's extra good. anyway, i'm back to feeling better now and happy to be here. 

i was looking through my photo files this evening, and i stumbled on one of my favourite autumnal photographs that i thought i would share with you. 

this was taken on winter hill here in bolton, 2 years ago, just as the sun was going down. i love the way i captured all the colours of autumn and it reminds me of those glass bottles filled with coloured sand to make a pretty picture. 

that tree in the foreground is as gnarled and ugly as a tree can be, and yet it's shapes intrigue me. what did it look like during that summer? what does it look like now a few years on? i love that it stands there so proud. is it possible to see determination in a tree? why am i asking so many questions?

do you have a favourite photograph that you like for some quite peculiar reason? i'd love to hear about it, if only to prove i'm not completely mad!

{em} x

quote lovely - voltaire

autumn outfits

I love autumn by unremarkablegirl featuring wool hats

hello friends. i've been putting off thinking about monday by playing at being a stylist with my polyvore account.

i'm loving this autumn weather and as the last of the leaves are dropping off the trees as i type, i'm getting very excited about my autumn wardrobe. the autumn colours suit me best of all, so this is the season where i'm in my element. i love to wear earthy tones like browns, greens and deep reds. the chill in the air means i can wear my knitted jumpers and wool hats, and i've fallen in love with this red blazer from lk bennett which i feel would make my life complete. 

oh and if i had a little dog, it would have a cute autumn jacket - fact!

{em} x

could you be a friend of unremarkable girl?

i'm getting ready to update my sponsors on my side bar over there.

how would you like to be a friend of unremarkable girl? if you read along and would like to join in with a guest post or just get your blog button on my side bar, get in touch! of course i don't ask for any payment, only positive vibes.

thinking about it? send me an email now!

{em}

diggory and agatha say hello

at work today we were talking about the 'what happens if zombies attack and it's every man for himself' scenario that actually gets discussed more often than i like to admit. i was saying i would get myself and my bunnies (and maybe my fella) out to sea in a nice little yacht where we would of course be entirely safe, coz zombies can't swim ya know! i ended up by explaining all about my bunnies to some very confused people, so i thought i'd share a little of their story with you too.

diggory and agatha are very well trained house-rabbits. they live in my spare bedroom and when i'm at home they have the run of the house. most of the time they are very good at not chewing the carpets or the furniture.

both my bunnies were adopted as adults from rescue centres. diggory came first about 4 years ago. i was happy with just one bunny to keep me company as back then i was working from home a lot. when i saw him at the shelter looking through the bars of his little cage i couldn't resist his sweet face and floppy ears. it was about 18 months later when i came across agatha (so named because we knew nothing about her past - she was a mystery) i couldn't resist her. she was described as a little bit moody which is putting it lightly. agatha isn't a people rabbit, but that's ok with me.

diggory wasn't known to get along with other bunnies, but he instantly fell in love with agatha like we did and now they are best of friends. he doesn't love me so much anymore, but since i now go out to work, i'm glad he has a friend to keep him company. 

so that's how i ended up living with two fluffy babies. they are lovely to have around and not nearly as much maintenance as a dog or cat would be. i can't recommend living with bunnies enough, though i can't guarantee they will be as lovely as mine!

listen to me waffling on! i certainly can talk on the subject of bunnies better than the subject of zombies. so now, please tell me about your own furry friends. i'd love to hear. 

{em}

what a week...

well i think i just had one of the worst weeks of the year so far. my fella has been away for 2 weeks now and he's not due back until friday so it's been just me and ted hanging out here. i started monday by arriving at work and realising i'd left my laptop at home. considering the commute takes 60 minutes each way and i can't work without my laptop, i was not pleased. all week i was dead on my feet with tiredness. on friday morning i over slept and missed my train altogether. thank goodness the weekend picked up. in better news, this week was one where...

~ i started hearing christmas music and seeing christmas trees in the shops. it's only october, but my christmas excitement is setting in already. 8 weeks and counting...

~ i upgraded to iOS 5 seemingly without a hitch. i could get used to this apple life i'm now living. 

~ i watched 'mary poppins'. i'll never be too old for that film. i just love 'step in time' with the chimney sweeps on the rooftops. 

~ most of all, i just loved this parade of dressed up dogs.

hope your week was a better one than mine!

{em} x

lets get ready to rhumble!!!

i've been listening to some of my favourite music from my youth recently. just for fun i've put together my top ten 1990's songs. some of these you might only know of it you were aged 10 in 1994 UK, but others i think everyone will love, if only secretly. 

10} Backstreet Boys: As Long As You Love Me.

9} Sly & Robbie: Compliments on your Kiss

8} Ocean Colour Scheme: Riverboat Song

7} Ace of Base: The Sign

6} PJ & Duncan: Let's Get Ready for Rhumble!

5} KCi & Jojo: All My Life

4} Hanson: Mmm Bop

3} All 4 One: I Swear

2} Desree: Kissing You

1} Michael Jackson: Man In The Mirror

Were you dancing to any of these in colour change t-shirts and leggings (the last time they were fashionable!) like i was? 

{em} x

fill in the blanks friday {childhood edition}

hello and happy friday! this week's blanks are on a childhood theme so i thought it would be fun to play along.

1} when i was a kid i wanted to be a journalist when i grew up.

2} as an adult my dream job would be managing a national trust country house.

3} when i was younger i wanted to be just like clarissa from "clarissa explains it all". do you remember that show? a young melissa joan hart wearing whacky outfits.

4} the childhood halloween costume that i remember the most was when i was a witch, aged about 5. actually that's the only halloween costume i remember. i'm not big on halloween :-(

5} my favourite childhood toy was a 'my little pony' hair salon. it had a working shower thing which i loved!

6} the time i got into the buggest amount of trouble when i was a kid was when i came home after a party, aged 14, a little tipsy. as i was throwing up that night, i realised i'd learn my lesson.

7} i get daily inspiration from my favourite blogs. see a selection of them here.

what are you upto this weekend? i hope it's a fun one!

{em} x

prompts provided at http://thelittlethingswedo.blogspot.com/ head over there to play along.

deadly decor

where i come from, we don't make a big thing of halloween. if i'm honest, i don't really like the idea of it. the undead stalking the earth and witches curses. doesn't sound like much of a reason to celebrate to me. 

however i'm not one to say no to a reason to breakout my glue and scissors and make a little seasonal decoration. what do you think of this ghostie garland? i used this template from ginger & george, played around in photoshop accessorising the little fellows until i had one page with 9 ghosts to print out. i sat and did some snipping while enjoying 'dancing with the stars', threaded them on a piece of string, and voila! halloween decor suitable for even the softest of people. 

do you go all martha stewart over halloween? or would you rather hide from the trick or treaters and eat your own sweets? 

{em} x

pretty in progress

without even realising it, i've started my first crotchet project in my blog colour scheme. these colours are a fair bit darker in real life, but i love how they contrast. i'm planning a long stripy scarf in some very basic stitches that i'm learning using the great videos at craftyminx.  it's currently going slowly and i'm worried that christmas is only 9 weeks away. this project may end up being a present for myself, sometime around april!

this year i'm determined to get ahead on my christmas shopping and making. i'm on the look out for cute tutorials that would make nice little presents. if you love giving handmade gifts, check out my pinterest board for some ideas. 

hope you are having a lovely weekend. 

{em} x

pugly graffiti

did i mention i have a pug obsession? every time i see a pug out and about, i'm begging my fella to let me have one. realistically i know it would be a bad idea with having no garden, and my 2 bunny babies being such tempting dinner to a dog. but i can dream. 

today i had to stop and take a photo when i came across this graffiti at a bus station in manchester city centre. i felt kinda silly taking photos but seriously... how cute!

what do you think of graffiti? is it an eyesore or does it bring a smile to your face?

{em} x

wedding junkie: pretty & peach

now i'm getting into the swing of this wedding planning malarky, pinterest is my best-est friend! anything that makes me smile is being pinned to my wedding inspiration board and without even realising it, a colour scheme is emerging. can you see a trend here?

                               Source: stylemepretty.com via Emma on Pinterest

                            Source: stylemepretty.com via Emma on Pinterest

 Source: thebridesguide.marthastewartweddings.com via Emma on Pinterest

since we started thinking of april for our wedding i have just been drawn to the spring-like combo of pinks and peaches. i love the effect that's so subtle and romantic. don't you just love that bouquet? and ever since my last trip to laduree i've been macaroon obsessed, what a cute idea for place cards.  

are you tired of the wedding talk yet? i hope you're having a peachy week!

{em} x

not too cool for {crochet} school

why am i still awake and online after midnight you ask? you might also ask why i have a little metal hook in bed with me. the answer to both questions is here.

my name is em and i'm addicted to craftyminx's incredibly cute crotchet tutorials. the videos are super easy to follow and her blog is so sweet i just want to click around it for hours. 

photo courtesy of craftyminx.com

now i have got a grip on the basics i want to just keep going. i may end up with a very long scarf all in the most simple of stitches. this makes me feel good because i'm learning something new and i'm tackling a potential handmade christmas present. well for anyone who needs a very basic, very long, green scarf!

if crotchet is something you've thought about but never got round to trying, here is your chance. but make sure that you get some sleep at some point too. goodnight!

{em} x

quote lovely - j.r.r. tolkien

so very beret

in all the excitement around my paris trip, i forgot to show you my newest addition to my hat collection. i spotted this cute beret in the cath kidston shop while hunting for suitable outfits for a parisian weekend, but didn't buy it because, well, i have more hats that i can count. but then after 24 hours of regretting leaving it behind, i ran back to snatch it up quick. 

now i know what you're thinking. a beret to wear in paris, that's a little cliched, but have you seen it from the back?

that bunny broach just about sealed the deal for me. i just can't say to a bunny / hat combo. in the end i was thankful for my cute beret. it sheltered my poor hair from the rain shower we dodged around on our splendid walk along the south bank. i think i may need a new hat for every weekend break from now on. 

{em} x 

10 things... to blog about

joining in with shimelle's '10 things on the tenth game' is one of my favourite blog features. knowing that playing along brings lots of new readers to my little unremarkable space makes it even more fun. so in honour of all those bloggers stopping by for the first time today, i thought i'd share some blogging inspiration. today's list is 10 great blogging prompts.

1} write a letter to your past or future self. share what you have learnt and what mistakes were important to make.

2} give your opinions on some recent news. be brave and put your thoughts out there!

3} write a guide on how to...

4} write a guide on how not to...

5} share your notes on the best blog posts. big up some of your favourite bloggers and think about why they inspire you. 

6} finish the following sentence. this may surprise you but...

7} say it with photos. leave out the words for a change and show your day in photos (like mine back in april)

8} talk about your hometown. it may be boring to you, but to somewhere else it could be an exotic place. i've been meaning to share some of my favourite places in manchester for a while now.

9} make a list (hula seventy has some brilliant lists).

10} tell the story behind one of your favourite photos.

do let me know if you use any of these ideas, i'd love to hear your take on one of these prompts. check out 10 things written by other bloggers at shimelle's blog, and some of my previous 10 things here.

{em} x

swoon!

images of these iphone charger docks are all over the blogosphere right now and i just had to share one. but that's no surprise, pretty and practical are 2 of my favourite things. 

check out the etsy shop for lots of pretty book combos, many featuring my favourite cloth bound penguin classics. although it would pain me to damage one of my own collection, i'm tempted to pick up some hardbacks from the second hand shop and make one for myself. 

and while i'm being crafty with books, i'm thinking of trying my hand at some black out poetry... i find this stuff amazing.

wishing you a happy crafty weekend.

{em} x

what am i'm reading ~ end of the summer

looking at my reading pile right now, i've noticed a theme of novel to film stories. i'm sure that isn't deliberate, but that's summer isn't it? if it's a easy summer read, it'll be great on screen. there's plenty of time for the more meaty stuff over the winter months. 

a room with a view ~ e.m. forster. an oldie but a goodie. if i didn't already have a great catch, this book would make me want to go to italy and fall in love again and again.

the bell jar ~ sylvia plath. i love to go back to the bell jar every few years to remind me why i read and moreover, why i write.

the help ~ kathryn stockett. so i figured i should read this before the film hit the cinemas. i picked it up and just couldn't put it down. now i don't really want to see the film anymore. i'm sure that no-one could do justice to how i picture the characters myself. if you only read one book this year, this is it.

one day ~ david nicholls. i know i'm late to the party here, but how good is this book! i wish i was friends with dex and em at university. i was gripped to their story, clever depicted on the same day every year for 20 years.

what are you reading right now? any recommendations?

{em} x

wedding junkie: engagement pictures

the fella and i had an engagement photo shoot this week.  we spent 2 hours in the park at sunset, often feeling silly with a crowd of spectators, but it was worth it. this is the only shot i've seen so far, and i must say i love it! i'm sooo excited to see how the rest turn out. 

{em} x