30 Photos | Day 30: Day of November

Nacton Shores | Suffolk | 23.11.2015 |

This was by far my favourite day in November, or if I can have a slight leniency on that, my favourite weekend. Even though the weather may have been raining down on us for most of the time, this one afternoon it stopped long enough for us to walk down to the shore and watch the gorgeous sunset created by the rain clouds.

Thank you Olivia for another great visit down to Suffolk, I'll miss you not being so close to the sea next year!

30 Photos | Day 29: TV Show

Gossip Girl | Amersham | 29.06.2015 |

Ed Westwick, Chace Crawford Penn Badgely & Blake Lively all in one show?! Yes that is what Gossip Girl gives you every single episode, the most beautiful of men and the most perfect clothes, shoes and general life of these upper east side adolescents. The fact I have watched the entire series on Netflix three times this year is only an indication of how much I love this show, it's story lines and it's characters and what better way to watch it than snuggled down with the cat.

30 Photos | Day 28: Gift

Reindeer Slippers | Val d'Isere | 28.11.2015

The benefit of my sister being away for 6 months in a ski resort means I get awesome presents that can only be found half way up a snowy mountain, and I love them!

30 Photos | Day 27: Song

Where We Belong | Lost Prophets | Chalet Girl | Momentum pictures | 2011 |

I am slightly cheating here having a video rather than a picture I know, but words don't explain a song as much as this scene from Chalet Girl does. This is probably my favourite song purely for the fact it is so perfect to ski to and skiing is one of my favourite things to do and coincidently I first heard this song on the soundtrack of one of my favourite films, Chalet Girl.

30 Photos | Day 26: Artist

Francis Bacon | Oxford | 03.11.14 |

I first studied Francis bacon at depth for my A levels and was mesmerized by the graphic and repulsive beauty of his work and the idea that we can be repulsed by or own matter of flesh. His work has inspired my threads of my own work, in composition and subject matter.

30 Photos | Day 25: Luxury

Cote Brasserie | Old Amersham | 04.09.15 |

It is rather rare that I 'go for lunch' as many people seem to, but seeing as for the next six months I am my mother's only daughter at home, she has taken it upon herself to treat me every so often and this meal at Cote was no exception. Oh what it would be to be able to dine out for every meal with such gorgeous French food.

30 Photos | Day 24: Photo

Me & Olivia at Elterwater Lake | Cumbria | 26.10.2015 |

The Lake District truly is my most favourite place in the country to spend the October half term week and this photo shows just how much I love it, and in turn, how much Olivia loved her first visit too.

30 Photos | Day 23: Chocolate

Dairy Milk buttons | Oxford | 27.09.2015 |

Forget the fancy pants brands of Lindt and Green & Blacks, there is nothing I love more than Cadbury's chocolate and in particular their giant buttons.

30 Photos | Day 22: Book

Where She Went | Gayle Forman | Amersham | 30.12.2015

I am ashamed to say that I rarely read but the truth is I always find something better to do, normally to watch a film which in hindsight is the far lazier option. I do however always read at Christmas tucked up in front of the fire, and last year was no exception.

This book, 'Where she went', is the sequel to the more known 'If I stay' which was made into a feature film starring Chloe Grace Moretz. The book follows on from the first novel in the aftermath of a traumatic family car crash to which only the oldest daughter survived. This sequel focuses on the life she leads without her family and captures my imagination in the most simple way, with a strong desire to reach the end and find out if she can be happy. What more could a girl want for herself or for a character she has felt many a pang of the heart for.

Much recommended for an easy yet fulfilling read.

30 Photos | Day 21: Pet

Mylo | Amersham | 01.09.2015

Isn't he perfect! My boy Mylo was given to me for my 18th birthday as a kitten and he is now 4 years old but as still as much of a big baby as he was when I first got him.

30 Photos | Day 20: Keepsake

Antique silver locket | Amersham | 25.01.2015

This gem will indeed stay firmly by my side forever more after being given to me by my best friend Olivia for my 21st birthday. Knowing I love a bit of history and antiques, she found this gorgeous silver locket from the first world war and I couldn't love the sentiment more.

30 Photos | Day 19: Clothing

Handmade wrap top | Amersham | 29.04.2015

If you too share a larger than average chest like I do then you will find buying any kind of 'skimpy' top entirely impossible, thus I decided to whip up my own. Using a mannequin I draped and pinned until I had the perfect bodice fit and then put on a pair of long arms to suck in my wobbly bits and you see, ta da, the perfect piece of clothing!

30 Photos | Day 18: Quote

Aldrich Killian | Iron Man 3 | 2013 |

30 Photos | Day 17: Night In

Girls Night | Amersham | 26.07.2015 |

What's better than a night in with my two besties, cooking a carbolicious dinner and taking some beautiful selfies? The answer...Nothing!

I've had these two beautiful girls in my life for what seems like forever already, and I know they shall be in it for the rest too. No doubt they'll be many a movie night to come and many more opportunities for me to cook for them too.

Love you girls!
#challygirls4lyf

30 Photos | Day 16: Recipe

Oreo Cheesecake | Amersham | 30.10.2015 |

Is it cheating to post a recipe I have already championed you may be asking? The answer is no when it's this good! Chocolate, check. Oreos, check...perfection!

Check out the recipe here!

30 Photos | Day 15: Film

Movies & Pizza| 23 Southfield Road | Oxford | 07.02.2015 |

Sharing pizza with some of my best girl friends can only end in one movie choice and it's fair to say Bridget Jones Diary is truly one of my biggest guilty pleasures. Not only is this film heartbreaking, funny and witty, it joins us girls together in a war against the world of dating, dieting and boys! 

We may not all have a Mr Darcy but we have each other...and pizza of course!

  

30 Photos | Day 14: Something Old

Ellie & Lenny | Oxford | 27.09.2014 |

The oldest thing I own is probably, like most girls my age, my childhood toy. Meet Ellie the elephant and his newer friend Lenny. Despite the fact my 4 year old self had a severe oversight in naming a boy elephant, Ellie, I have proudly had this toy for 17 years, keeping me company when I've been all alone and in need of a cuddle.

Yes it may be seen as sad to still have a toy at 21, but until I have someone to rely on to take to bed every night, I'll continue to keep him close.

30 Photos | Day 13: Something New

Me | Amersham | 06.11.2015 |

I know something new implies something material but for me the most drastic thing that has happened to me recently is my new hair cut! I have had hair that fell all the way down my back for over three years now and due to a lot of bad hair dye and a bottle of home-dye bleach (absolute disaster, and I have to admit not my first encounter with such problems), I just had to get rid of the damage!

Arm my mum with a pair of scissors and tell her to let lose, and I'm now 8 inches of hair lighter! I love it for now, but who knows how long it;ll be until I wish for my long locks again!

30 Photos | Day 12: Gadget

Canon 70D | Amersham | 23.10.2015 |

OMG! I can't believe I own this bad-boy! I have pined after a DSLR for over 5 years and I finally got gifted it by my father as an incentive for my third year at university. I have treasured my old Panasonic Lumix fZ45 since I was 15 but it was time to move up in the world of photography, and graduate to the big leagues.

I can't wait to document more of my life in HD!

30 Photos | Day 11: Tradition

Olivia picking strawberries | Prestwood | 21.07.2015 |

I know most traditions find their roots in years of family history, and though my family share the same traditions as many, like putting up the Christmas tree together and having brunch on birthdays, this year is going to be slightly different due to my big sister being in France for a ski season, so I thought I'd share a newer tradition.

This one may be unseasonal, but one of my favourite new traditions over the past few summers has been strawberry picking with  my best friend Olivia. Here she is finding the best of the harvest at Peterley Manor Farm near her house in Prestwood.

May the strawberries never stop growing and the cream never stop flowing!

30 Photos | Day 10: Season

My Garden in the Snow | Chesham Bois | 22.01.2013 |


Winter. When snow looks so beautiful, how can anyone really love any season more than winter?

In England we get an occasional summer day where a beaming sun seems to bring everything to life, or that feeling after the rains of Autumn make the golden leaves glisten, but as weather goes, we seem to get more than our fair share of miserable nothing days. So as seasons go we can pretty much expect rain in all four of them, but in winter, when the temperature is just right, that rain we so love to hate, turns in to the flurry of beautiful white snow.

It's that feeling when the air is so cold it hurts your cheeks to walk down the road, when your fingers go numb even when they are tucked inside your pockets, that's the feeling that I love.

Hello Winter, welcome back!

30 Photos | Day 9: Shoes

Studio Shoes | Oxford | 08.10.2014|

Surprised? You wouldn't think a pair of mangled up yellow boots could possibly be anyone's favourite shoes, but you would be wrong my friend! These boots were an impulse buy after deciding I couldn't afford real Timberland boots, and at a mere £15 I have worn them to way past their worth!

They carry me from home to the studio on a daily basis, they are covered in plaster and paint but nothing changes how comfy they are or how arty farty they make me feel. as an added bonus I can wear those hideously comfortable fluffy slipper socks in them and no one can tell!

Maybe one day I'll have a pair of Louboutins or YSLs to show off but for now, my most treasured pair of shoes are these Timberland knock offs!

30 Photos | Day 8: Place to eat

Season's Cafe Deli | Old Amersham | 07.09.2015 |

If a cafe sells breakfast burritos and home-made cakes then it's a sure winner for me, and Season's do both and luckily right on my doorstep in Old Amersham. Having not spent much time in Season's before, I found myself in there a couple of times this summer with the two gorgeous girls pictured above, Vicks & Olivia.

Why is it my favourite?
Although I am more frequent diner at restaurants like Prezzo and Pizza Express, where I can use a cheeky voucher or some ancient clubcard points found at the bottom of a pile of post, it's always nice to pop in somewhere small and local and a bit different from time to time.

My favourite picks from the menu?
For a main I'd definitely choose the breakfast burrito which is the perfect combination of avocado, scrambled egg, spinach, chorizo and sweet chilli, then I'd top that off with a slab of the perfectly moist carrot cake if I could possibly fit it all in!

Next time I go home I'll be sure to pop in to Season's and maybe choose one of my other favourites; Eggs Benedict with a large latte to get me going on a Sunday morning.

30 Photos | Day 7: Flower

Mum's Roses | Amersham | 03.09.2015 |

There is nothing more beautiful to my eye than the swirl in the centre of a blooming rose. I'm not talking about the sentiment of a red rose on valentines day, or a white rose at a wedding, I love them all, the colours, the shapes, the textures and the variety.

These particular roses fill me with warmth just to look at, yellows, reds and orange that bring the colours of the trees outside onto our dining table in a variety of shapes and sizes

Give me roses and there isn't a day where I won't smile at the sight of them.

30 Photos | Day 6: Drink

Toffee Latte | Oxford | 06.11.2015 |

I admit it, I love the speciality Christmas drinks that come around every year, reluctant as I am to buy into such a money making marketing ploy. This year I have found a way around spending almost £4 on a Christmassy coffee...McDonald's!

I know what you're thinking, there is nothing classy or cool about carrying around a 'McCafe' cup normally, but this little penguin is as happy to be in my hand as I am to carry him. Although Starbucks have a heavenly Honey & Almond Hot Chocolate this year and Costa have brought back their Gingerbread Latte, this Toffee Nut Latte from McDonald's for just £2.19 for a regular is honestly just as good, and around 40% cheaper too!

My perfect winter comfort for walking home from the studio in the evening!