Cuttings on a blog

Randomness and links

2010-11-21T22:11:00.001Z

I'm really enjoying reading blogs again and having time to explore new websites, spend a little bit more time on Twitter, read interesting articles... It really is amazing, this online world of ours, so full of inspiration and information. Of course what makes this possible is all the wonderful people who share their knowledge, all the artists and creative bloggers who are very generous with their own inspiration and processes. The Internet has only made this sharing easier, but could you imagine living in a world without it?

I was recently thinking about inspiration and how ideas spread while watching this fascinating video on "influencers" (or "trendsetters").

INFLUENCERS FULL VERSION from R+I creative on Vimeo.

Of course we all suffer from information and connection overload from time to time. Or worse, from a sense of not being enough or not doing enough after reading how many creative people are living their dream lifes. I have been there, but I do think that it had more to do with how I was feeling in other areas of my life than with what I was reading online. However, it's always a good idea to have a digital detox from time to time, don't you think? If you feel the need to do this right now, Susannah has plenty of advice on her blog.

If on the contrary you're looking for new blogs to visit, you should go and see Paris vs New York. It's such a beautiful collection of illustrations about the differences between these two cities... It just makes me want to visit both! Which I'll probably do next year, if everything goes according to plan! These are my favourites from the blog:

There is so much beauty online, that perhaps sometimes we forget to transfer all that inspiration to our offline world. I'm definitely guilty of this, sometimes I spend most my time working and when it's time to relax I sit in front of my laptop to read some blogs. The Tour de Word (see video below) is just one way of taking something that started as an online adventure and develop it into something to do face to face. Our Blog camps are another example of how you can take relationships and friendships developed on the blogosphere to the offline world. I haven't been to a Blog Camp in a while, but if there is one next year, you can bet I'll be there!

2010-11-08T21:23:00.000Z

I can feel the quietness out there. More importantly I can feel the quietness inside me.
After the craziness of wedding planning,
after the magic of the day itself,
after moving house,
after some traumatic events that I'll tell you about another day,

... everything is back to normal. And this is a good thing. For now.

I'm enjoying autumn, quiet evenings. The peace, the stillness. Soon I'll be restless again. I can't stay still for too long. And I'm already looking forward to the madness of Christmas, the excitement and possibilities of the New Year. But for now, this peace is all I need.

Mr & Mrs

2010-10-08T16:24:00.000+01:00

We did it! We got married! The day was perfect in all the important ways. We had an amazing time, we shared a beautiful and important moment with our friends and family and we didn't care about the fact that we forgot to display some of the flower decorations.

The honeymoon in beautiful Santorini was relaxing and suitably romantic and we now want to go back to the island every year!

We're back in our new flat and we still don't have an Internet conection so I'd be missing from the blogospehere for a little bit longer, but here are some of the photos that our friends took on the day. More photos and details to follow...

Off to get married...

2010-09-10T23:30:00.005+01:00

Before I disappear to get married (Yay!) I thought I'd leave you with some of the inspiration pages from the wedding booklet I've created this year.

First the inspiration for the big event, when we'll be getting married in Spain on 18th September...

We've also organized a picnic brunch the next day for a more relaxing catch up with our friends...

Then we'll go on honeymoon to Santorini, Greece, and then to Barcelona for a friend's wedding (She's getting married two weeks after me)

On our return, we've organized a stylish (I hope!) champagne and cakes party in Oxford for some of our friends who couldn't make it to Spain...

I'll be back with photos and stories (but not too many) of all these events at some point in early October...

More bloggy weddings.

We're moving!!

2010-08-30T16:37:00.000+01:00

We thought it would be nice to come back to our own place after the wedding. Living in a shared house was supposed to be a temporary measure after we came back from South America, but somehow we stayed in this house for almost two years! I think it was meant to be as it means that we'll start our married life in a completely new place that will be only ours. Of course, and despite everything we have to do, I couldn't resist starting looking for inspiration on decorating the new place. These are some of my Flickr favourites. I'm going for a relaxed vibe and I seem to be drawn to white, blue and yellow (of course yellow!)

1. IKEA_Armoire_Cleaning_Closet, 2. Hip Home Offices, 3. Butterfly Bathroom-Elle Decor So Chic, 4. Hip Home Offices, 5. Hip Home Offices, 6. Strawberry Tart on Tray, 7. Living Room, 8. Silver Leaf Lamp, 9. Blackberry Sorbet, 10. HUGE soap dispenser!, 11. main guest room , 12. Jen's Corner, 13. mom's pillowcases - finished, 14. breakfast, 15. Corner of my home, 16. Kitchen shelves, 17. IMG_2569, 18. Untitled, 19. IMG_2616, 20. my redecorated entryway, 21. New corner, 22. muted metallic, 23. Spring Cure 2010: kitchen inspiration, 24. inspiration, 25. books on stairs

Randomness and links

2010-08-25T22:49:00.001+01:00

So, yep, I'm posting links, but hey, at least I'm posting! First a quick update: I'm stressing about work and stressing about the wedding... from time to time I get to talk to people about non-wedding or non-work related things, but not often.

When it all gets too much, reading your blogs helps. So I have been reading blogs, just not writing much. And I've been collecting inspiring images on my Tumblr. And I've been dreaming of going back to writing and taking photos, and reading, and crafting... I'm really, really excited about our wedding day and the honeymoon, but I also can't wait to have my life back afterwards!

And with that, I'll give you the randomness and the links:

Best writing advice ever.

If you're a blogger who value your blog and your time, you need to read this.

It's never too late to realize your dreams.

I found this article about model photographers interesting. I'm still thinking lots about what I like about photography and dying to go back to experimenting with my camera. I have On Photography, by Susan Sontag, on my bedside table but I haven't started it yet as I want to have the mental space to be able to enjoy and think about it

I'm loving the Inspiring Women series on Ill Seen, Ill Said which includes, of course, Lee Miller. I saw an exhibition about her somewhere in London a couple of years ago and I've been fascinated by her life and fearless attitude to trying new things ever since. Her biography is also on my bedside table...

A very articulate post on artists' right to earn money on side jobs. It's not selling out it's being responsible! I've always thought this and have never been able to put it into words as well as Amanda Craig.

There is no link for this one, but I found this quote by William Burroughs, on inspiration, that really got me thinking about this inspiring blog world of ours:

“Out of the closets and into the museums, libraries, architectural monuments, concert halls, bookstores, recording studios and film studios of the world. Everything belongs to the inspired and dedicated thief…. Words, colors, light, sounds, stone, wood, bronze belong to the living artist. They belong to anyone who can use them. Loot the Louvre! A bas l’originalité, the sterile and assertive ego that imprisons us as it creates. Vive le sol—pure, shameless, total. We are not responsible. Steal anything in sight.”

I'll be back soon... Some of my favourite bloggy people have disappeared from the blogosphere so I hope they come back soon too :)

Simple things... for a happy birthday

2010-07-16T11:56:00.001+01:00

It's Christina's birthday today and we are giving her simple things as a present. Here are some of mine...

* A day off in the middle of the week

* Going on a date with my fiance: some wine, a fun French movie... just the two of us in the middle of wedding planning craziness.

* Beautiful simple posts by friends

* Dreaming about travelling

* Discovering details of New York through Kristina's camera

* A coffee date with a good friend

* A text message just to say "I'm thinking of you"

* Rain in the evening after a very hot day

* ... And (I had to mention it) Spain winning the World Cup!! I'm still smiling! This couldn't have happened at a better time for Spain, we really needed a reason to celebrate. I celebrated in Oxford with my Spanish friends but here's an account from a Brit in Madrid.

More simple things here and here.

Summer

2010-07-10T13:13:00.000+01:00

Remember when summer was a time for fun and rest? Remember when you were a child and summer days felt so long that you didn't know what to do with them?

I can't remember the last time that I allowed myself to do nothing, but this weekend I'm trying to bring back a bit of that summer feeling and I'm doing nothing but watching movies, meeting friends, and resting (and of course I'll watch the Spain-Holland game tomorrow!). I'll leave you with a beautiful video (via the lovely Frolic blog) that will hopefully inspire you to slow down and play as well...

Coeur de Pirate || Comme des enfants from Dare To Care Records on Vimeo.

PS. After watching (and loving) Heartbreaker and listening to Coeur de Pirate, I'm regretting not having paid more attention to my French lessons at school and am dreaming about moving to France soon...

Our wedding invitations

2010-06-27T22:05:00.002+01:00

I've been dying to show you our wedding invitations, and now that most of our guests have seen them, here they are! If you remember, the stationery was one of those things that we decided from the beginning were very important to us. J is a designer so we always knew he'd design something for the occasion. I was in charge of the text and of course there were several discussions during the process on whether words or design are more important!

We started with the colour red and the idea to reflect the wedding venue. As we're getting married in a beautiful old castle we used the medieval theme throughout the invitations, with the stamp on the envelopes or the icon of a knight proposing to his lady (probably not very historically accurate, I know!). We also wanted the invitations to be fun and hopefully reflect that we want our day to be relaxed and not too formal.

We included a card with the basic details (what, who, when, where) and another one with information on getting there and accommodation. We also designed single postcards for our RSVPs. Finding a printers was the most difficult part. There isn't really that much out there for those who want to design everything from scratch and not use a template or buy designed ones, but luckily we found a good printers in Oxford that did the whole thing for us.

We are really happy by how they've turned out and it's been really good fun giving them to people. And that's one thing ticked off the list!

No longer 30...

2010-06-24T00:11:00.000+01:00

Remember my 12 months of being 30 series? A year has passed since I started it and I turned 31 last week! I'm obviously getting used to being in my 30s, as I didn't feel the need to talk about my birthday incessantly this time. I had a great day but definitely more low key than last year's. I wonder if this is what being mature is like?

I didn't manage to write 12 posts for the series, but I guess that's also a sign of what this year was like for me. Busy and full of new challenges. I started a new job that has proven interesting but challenging, I got a flat in my home town in Spain, I attended three Blog Camps and met blog campers that soon turned into friends. I did more creative things that I can even remember doing, including art journaling, jewlery making, collaging, and sewing, and I enjoyed writing and taking photos.

And of course I got engaged and started organizing a wedding!

It has been a wonderful year in many respects but it has also been difficult at times, and very, very tiring. I had to take a blog break because it was all becoming too much, but I'm slowly getting back and things seem to be slowing down in most fronts. At the moment, I'm trying to prepare myself for the madness that is surely about to start in the wedding front.

But in the meantime, I'm dreaming of beautiful and long summer days filled with books, photographs, flowers and walks in the beach. And plenty of time to think, to see, to love.

1. Print laundry I, 2. Larkspur Blues, 3. mini books, 4. Untitled, 5. ., 6. pale tulips, 7. Pretty days, 8. Untitled, 9. A la orilla del mar, 10. Colors, 11. rainy Tuesday (7), 12. *, 13. Love is in the air, 14. Always in my dreams, 15. Weekend is for rest, 16. Semana 3. Palabras/ Week 3. Words

Right now...

2010-06-10T19:08:00.000+01:00

It's windy, rainy and dark outside, my head is full of random thoughts, I can't focus on what I'm doing or decide what to do next. It's the perfect time for a bit of randomness...

I'm happy that I saw Beth, Polly and Jelica yesterday. I needed to step away from my daily life and talk blogging, photography, books and creativity. Thanks, girls!

I'm thinking about starting a photography journal, with ideas for shootings and notes on techniques. Do any of you do this? Is it useful?

I'm trying to decide between watching a romantic comedy that I know will disappoint (Letters to Juliet) or a beautiful movie that may require some brain action while watching (Fur, An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus)

I'm frustrated that I've been trying to write a post on learning and photography for three days and I can't seem to convey my thoughts on paper (or screen).

I'm wondering whether the fact that Borders is going to be replaced by a Tesco supermarket is a sign that it's time to leave Oxford.

I'm happy that I came back to blogging. Each and every one of the comments in my previous post made me SMILE!

I'm sad that I'm missing the next Blog Camp.

I'm thinking where to go next... I've just finished reading Lone traveller, by Anne Mustoe (She was an amazing woman!) and the temptation of leaving it all behind and leave with the boy and our bikes in search of adventures is almost irresistible.

I'm waiting for things to settle, for my to do list to become shorter and for the summer to arrive.

I'm hoping that I can focus and write a proper blog post soon.

What are you doing right now?

I'm back

2010-05-31T18:45:00.000+01:00

Dear Blog,

I'm back. Although my break turned up to be longer than I had initially planned, it seems it's exactly what I needed. When I decided to take a break, I could no longer decide if I was blogging because I enjoyed it or because I felt I had to. I didn't know if I was doing it for myself, or for others. It stopped being fun, and it was only stressful. If you remember, my word of the year was meaningful and when blogging stopped being meaningful, I knew I had to stop.

But now I'm ready to come back, to write again, to keep on exploring myself and my journey through this public diary. To keep on collecting inspiration, experiences and wise words from others. To keep on learning.

So what did I do while I wasn't blogging?

I participated in a beautiful project on the Wishstudio. The necklace I'm wearing in this photo is a clue...

I went to see She and Him live! Their music is so much better live and Zooey is cuter and Mr Ward more charming than you can imagine. It was a really fun night and the fact that it was on a Monday made us feel all young again!

We sent our wedding invitations. Only three and half months to go now... They deserve a post of their own but here's a sneak peek:

I thought a lot about marriage, marrying the family, marriage for life, creating your own rules for marriage. As it so often happens when you are thinking about something, everywhere I turned, marriage wasa hot topic, even SATC 2 (great fun!) turned out to be about marriage more than anything else!

We went on long walks and I took my camera out again...

I even played with the Diana + ( a Christmas present!). But...

I enjoyed the good weather (Yes, we had good weather in Oxford for two whole days!!)

But I also worked too much and started staying late in the office almost every day.

I read, and read and read.... Once I let go of the pressure to read all the posts in my feeder and to follow every link on Twitter, I found I had more time than I thought to read. For the first time in ages, I actually had time to read all my library books before it was time to take them back and still....

I missed my blogging friends, and I missed commenting on Flickr photos and interesting posts. And so...

I thought about balance, about routine, about taking care of myself, about how to find time to do everything, about priorities.

And now, here I am. Trying again. Looking forward to reconnecting with my blog and yours. To rediscover the magic of blogging, the power of the written word, the beauty of supporting comments, to being inspired. To everything that blogging brings.

A holiday...

2010-03-29T00:26:00.000+01:00

If you look at my browser right now, you'll see around 39 tabs. This is mostly your fault. You who post about interesting links that I just have to check out, you who write a brilliant post that I read in Google Reader but that I then have to open in another tab to comment on, you who suggest that book or that movie that I need to go and read about. I also have interesting articles or ideas that I think may the basis for a good post here, my Flickr page, where I've been planning to add some photos for weeks... I think you get the idea.
For the most part, I love it, all these interesting ideas, things to read, things to watch, things to think about. I love the stimulation and the creativity. But at the moment, it's all becoming too much, there is too much going on, I can't focus and it's distracting me from other important things in my life.
So I've decided to take a break from it all. Blogging, Flickr, Google Reader... For the most part of April, I'll be on an Internet holiday. I wasn't going to have much time for it, anyway, as I have a busy week of work ahead of me, 10 days of holiday back in Spain (aka wedding planning madness!), and a lot to catch up on afterwards. I'm not making any rules, I may pop up from time to time, but I'm giving myself permission not to.
I'm not leaving by any means, I'll definitely be back in May. If everything else fails, I'm planning a nice day with a friend at the beginning of May full of writing and photography that will surely get my blogging juices going. So I'll see you back here in May! Enjoy the beginning of Spring!

A (new) meaningful year

2010-03-24T07:45:00.000Z

Do you remember back in January when I told you I intended for 2010 to be a meaningful year? Well, it hasn't really been working out.

My purpose this year was to find time to get to know myself and what I want. I wanted to make time saying no to some projects so I could concentrate on the ones that are really important to me. I needed to make time to spend with those I love. I needed to stop doing too much and do more of the things that really matter. Instead, the first three months of the year have gone in a blur of wedding planning madness and crazy work hours.

I always see the beginning of Spring as a new start though, and this year, Spring also gives me a second chance to make 2010 meaningful. I'm concentrating on writing and journaling and on taking photographs that tell a story. I'm loving Susannah's series on How to fall in love with yourself and I'm following her advice. I'm going to take this course, The Handmade Writer, to get me back into journaling and writing. Because writing is the one thing I always come back to, what I've always wanted to do, what I've always imagined myself doing. So I think it should be a big part of my new meaningful year.

12 months of being 30: Our wedding, our way

2010-03-18T22:45:00.001Z

* This post is part of my 12 months of being 30 project, an attempt to record what happens during my year of being 30 through my own collage, photography and words.

I promise I'm not turning my dear blog into a wedding blog, despite evidence to the contrary. I do think that the wedding planning needs to feature in my 12 months of being 30 posts, even though I'll be 31 when I get married (but let's not think about that). And what better day than today, exactly 6 months before I get married? On the 18th of September, I'll be marrying Jon. I can't wait! And not only because the planning will be over then! :)

I'm still having a hard time with the stress of wedding planning, and with the pressure to do things "the proper way" (whatever that means), but for this post, I'm focusing on those things that I'm enjoying. The best wedding advice I've got is to pick two or three things that are important to you and concentrate on those. One of the most important things to me is the fact that we're writing our own vows (something still pretty unusual in Spain), but apart from that, these are the things that I'm looking forward to:

The dress: Yes, I'm that shallow but I think I'm allowed. I'm incredibly excited about my dress. I found it in two days, after visiting two shops in my hometown of Salamanca. On my first visit, I tried on lots of different styles. I thought I had a clear idea of what I wanted, but when I tried on those floaty, understated dresses that I had envisioned, they seemed a bit... boring on me, so I changed my mind and chose something a bit more fun! I won't post a photo here, but let's just say that this was my inspiration:

The photos: We both decided not to have video, as we can't really see ourselves watching it much after the wedding (I think I'll bow to the pressure, though, and get a friend to record the ceremony, but I'm not paying for it to be done professionally). I do see myself looking at the photos in years to come and remembering the day, the details, the guests... so it was important to find a good photographer that understood what we wanted. The search for a photographer was stressful, specially because we had to do it all online, but we think we've found the perfect photographers and we're meeting them in a couple of weeks, when we go to Spain for Easter.

The stationary: Jon is a designer and it was important to him to design our invitations and make them fun! They're now ready and we're about to send them so when they've reached our guests, I'll show them to you.

That people have a good time: Let's be clear, we all know (even if we don't like saying it) that weddings can be incredibly boring... I know my guests will be happy for us, but I also want them to have a good time! My biggest fears are that our guests get bored or hungry during the evening!

Random favourite things

2010-03-13T11:57:00.001Z

It still amazes me what an inspiring place the web is. After only an quick browsing of my favourite websites, I've found some very inspiring things for the weekend...

You know how much I love yellow!

Via Forever is Today

I'm a bit tired with my winter wardrobe (and totally fed up with winter now!!) and can't wait for spring so I can wear pretty dresses...

Via Spool No 72

Ah, my favourite girl crush has done it again... Isn't Zooey Deschanel the cutest?

Via Lily & the Muse

We've decided to go to Santorini for our honeymoon! I can't wait! Two weeks of doing nothing but being together.... In the meantime, I've been scouring the web for pretty photos of the place:

Via MarcelGermain in Flickr

The perfect digital journal

2010-03-05T19:19:00.000Z

I've been waiting for this all my life (at least all my online life!). The perfect mix of access to the online world with a traditional journal to sketch, write or store inspiration on.
It's so good, I'm finding it hard to believe that Microsoft would be able to pull it off, but if they do, I'm definitely getting one! iPad, what iPad? (Said by a self-confessed Apple girl!)
I'm seriously excited about the possibilities, watch the video and see for yourself!

Information and video via endgadget.

Ice skating

2010-03-04T01:10:00.006Z

With everything going on, I didn't have as much time as I'd wanted to watch the ice skating during the Winter Olympics. I did stay up until 3am on one of the nights I spent in Barcelona watching the ladies semi-finals, but that was it!
I have been trying to find things online and in the process I remembered what is probably my favourite ice skating couple ever! My sister and I watched them every time they were on TV, and trying to pronounce their names provided hours of fun (Ah, being young and silly!). I haven't been able to find many videos of them online. I guess they were around in the pre-Internet boom years (Remember those times?). I did find this short program that I love:

Now that I'm learning ice skating, I've been trying to look at their technique, their posture, their transitions... but I always end up forgetting about it and just enjoying how beautiful this sport is and how easy these two make it look...

PS. I'll be sending Thank you presents next Monday!

Missing Spain...

2010-03-01T10:25:00.000Z

I spent last week in Barcelona on a business trip. It was a week full of meetings, school visits, seminars and work dinners. Interesting, inspirational but truly exhausting.

As it sometimes happens (but not always!), I felt instantly at home and enjoyed every minute of it even though I was working most of the time.

The food, the sun and the people made up for the early starts and the intensive meetings. And how can you not love a city with a bicing scheme (Bici is bike in Spanish)?

I'm now back in Oxford, trying to remember why I live here and plotting how to take the boy (and the job!) to Spain. This will pass... it always does and I'll be happy once again to live in this wonderful city.

It'll take me a little bit to catch up on your blogs, but I'll get there! And the lovely people who are still waiting for my thank you gift, bear with me. I'll send them soon! :)

Thanks!

2010-02-19T07:35:00.000Z

I feel I don't say it enough! Thanks to my bloggy friends, my Flickr friends, my Twitter friends. This amazing community of people who offer inspiration, wise words, a smile, a laugh. People who open my eyes and my mind to new possibilities, new ways of doing things, new places to visit, new things to say, new photos to take....

Some of my favourite photos that have been inspired me on Flickr:

1. 47 365 Golden, 2. 46/365: Go Girl, 3. 44/365 Shine the light on Lake Peten Itza, 4. 46/365, 5. 45/365 Pink Love, 6. 46/365, 7. sideways, 8. DSC_0012, 9. 36/365, 10. cat posing, 11. LA Sky Last Night, 12. Tea and books, 13. in the post {34/365}, 14. rubber balls {35/265}, 15. Happy Snowy Bokeh Wednesday :D, 16. Pink Vanilla Meringue, 17. it snowed., 18. 24:365 winter watercolor, 19. 25:365 casting shadows, 20. paris et ses monuments, 21. 100119_WellThumbed, 22. Orbs, 23. IMG_0030, 24. hear the silence**, 25. 7/365, 26. Untitled, 27. 6/365 2010, 28. 5 365 A whiter shade of lemon, 29. gull, 30. DSC_3738 (55:365), 31. 1 365 The pylons are coming, 32. Untitled, 33. white snow crystal, 34. Bicycles and Polaroids, 35. dirty diana, 36. i want to run away

Thank you, most of all, to those of you who visit me here, read my ramblings and continue the conversation. Your comments always make my day. And your comments on my wedding post were amazing! They made me smile, they made me furiously nod in agreement, they made me so happy... Happy that you understood what I meant and reminded me what's important about my wedding day. Thanks Francesca, Jan, lamediterraine, An Open Heart, Cyndy, Spud, Rach, Kristina, Jane, Julochka, Green Ink, Ida and Christina. If you send me your addresses (My email is in my profile), I'll send you a little present to thank you! Because I'm feeling happy and generous today! :)

The Wedding Posts

2010-02-13T12:54:00.000Z

Via Green Wedding Shoes

I've been trying to write this post for weeks, a post about the wedding planning. And I struggled to put my feelings in writing, until I realized that I was actually trying to write two different posts.

One about how happy I am and how much fun it is to plan, to think about our day, to talk about what we want, to reflect about what it all means. I wanted to talk about the beautiful and fun inspiration around the blogosphere, and all the wonderful ideas. Because I'm, at heart, a romantic girl and I'm excited about this day, I can't wait to wear the dress, and I'm looking forward to sharing and celebrating our love with family and friends.

Via Green Wedding Shoes

Via Snippet and Ink

But then there is this other post that I feel I also need to write. About how confusing, frustrating, at times incredibly boring, this planning also is. How the inspiration can overwhelm you to the point that you don't know what you want anymore, and you start ~~needing~~ wanting things that you never even knew existed and that you could never afford. How tiresome it gets when absolutely everyone has an opinion and don't hesitate to tell you what you should and shouldn't do, regardless of what you want. How upsetting it is when people assume that my future husband has no opinion and no say about the whole day (What groom? You'd think he's merely another accessory for your day, if you hear what some bride magazines are saying.)

And I suddenly don't know if I want...

... a vintage wedding...

Via 100 Layer Cake

... or maybe a beach wedding...

Via Kiss the Groom

... or perhaps, I'm meant to have a winter wedding...

Via Snippet and Ink

... a rustic wedding...

Via Style me pretty

... or a modern one...

Via Green Wedding Shoes

And so, I've been struggling, going back and forth between those two stages of mind, feeling all the above, often all at once.

But then I read about other people who feel like me in this wedding blog with a difference, and I re-read the story of the best non-perfect proposal, and hear others talk about what it means to be married. And I remember that even though our wedding is an important day, it's not The Most Important Day In Our Life, it's only the beginning. And it's not all about me, it's about us, and it's not about having the perfect party, it's about getting together with the people we love to celebrate with them.

And then, I can dream again about our day and enjoy it, and I'm not thinking about eloping anymore...

Via Green Wedding Shoes

And I know that certain things are important to me... and I can compromise on others. I'm going to have red shoes and a red jacket... whatever my family thinks! Because it's the important things that matter... :)

Via Green Wedding Shoes

New projects

2010-02-03T08:36:00.000Z

Even though one of my New Year's Resolution was to do less, I found myself participating in two new projects at the beginning of the year. And I'm so glad I didn't say No to any of them!

Since the beginning of the year, I've been taking a photo a day for our Blog Camp 365 group on Flickr. Yes, I've found it difficult at times, yes I'm a bit behind adding them to the Flickr pool, and yes, this stressses me out sometimes. But it's all worth it because of everything that I've already learnt so far about photography and about Flickr. Seeing the photos that the others in the group take and choose to post is very inspirational, but it's the comments that are making this project so fun for me. From the beginning, we said that we all wanted constructive criticism as that's the best way to learn, and I'm loving everyone's suggestions on how to improve my photography.
You can see above some of my photos for January. Not all of them are there, as I've been playing with my new Diana + camera too and I need to develop and post those. Stay tuned!

The second project is a journaling project, Sojournal, a collaboration with three amazing ladies: Stacey. Julie and Polly. I truly love these ladies and I'm constantly amazed by their creativity. It all started with Stacey's idea that Writing is the new praying. We have each started a journal and are going to be sending them into the world soon. Initially we'll send them to each other and later, we're planning on including more people who want to be part of the project and start their own journal. The project is still evolving, we have lots of ideas to take it forward and I'm really excited about what we can do. I've posted some of my incomplete pages above (I need to add my own words) but will be posting the complete ones over at the Sojournal blog. Do come and visit!

It just shows that, sometimes, you should just say Yes... even if you struggle for time!

Good design is...

2010-01-26T12:14:00.000Z

We went to the Design Museum in London at the weekend to visit a very interesting exhibition about the work of Dieter Rams, an industrial designer who was the Head of Design for Braun from 1961 to 1995. He's generally considered the inspiration behind many of Apple's designs, including the iPod and the MacBook, so I was already expecting clean and beautiful products. But I didn't expect to find his work and his vision of what good design is so inspiring. .

According to Rams:
Good design is innovative.
Good design makes a product useful.
Good design is aesthetic.
Good design makes a product understandable.
Good design is unobtrusive.
Good design is honest.
Good design is long-lasting.
Good design is thorough down to the last detail.
Good design is environmentally friendly.
Good design is as little design as possible.

(Copyright Dieter Rams, amended March 2003 and October 2009)

I was so inspired by his words that I actually took more photos of his quotations than the actual products, so I'll leave you with my favourites:

12 months of being 30: The Blog Camp edition

2010-01-20T22:35:00.002Z

* This post is part of my 12 months of being 30 project, an attempt to record what happens during my year of being 30.

We celebrated the very first Blog Camp right after my birthday (and I did go on about being 30 maybe a teeny tiny bit too much!). Barely two months after that, we organized an almost impromptu Blog Camp 1.5 in England. There was Blog Camp 2.0 which I couldn't attend but I followed in the Blog Camp blog. And we have just come back from Blog Camp 3.0. So you could say that my year of being 30 is also the year of the Blog Camp :)

This was the last time that we celebrated Blog Camp in the mythical blue room, and in the place where the idea of Blog Camp was first conceived. Incidentally, I was reading back to the wishlist Julie posted when husband had the idea for Blog Camp, and you should go and read it because that's exactly what Blog Camp 3.0 was!

Like both times before, I had an amazing time and it's taking me some time to digest it all. I'm still reflecting on the fun and the laughs, the photographs taken and the creative art journaling (that you can see here), the conversations (at Starbucks, in the kitchen, at the table, in the blue room...), the food, the coffee, the wine, the thoughtful presents. But above all, I'm still marveling at the fact that I've been so lucky to find real friends through this dear blog. That something that started as a personal project to push my writing has given me this community of friends, online and offline. And that I've actually got to meet some of them.

It's been there all along, but I truly saw it last weekend. It's not simply that there are real people behind the blogs, it's that there are real friends. The ones who have been at every Blog Camp with me, the ones who came to the first one, or the second one, or the new additions on this third one. They're all friends.

And I'm so grateful for it.

12 months of being 30: November & December catch up

2010-01-20T18:55:00.003Z

* This post is part of my 12 months of being 30 project, an attempt to record what happens during my year of being 30. During November and December, I did my writing and collage, but I forgot to post something here, so I'm catching up now!

November felt like a transition month. I was still getting used to my new job. Already looking forward to Christmas, but without wanting to get too excited. It got cold, but I managed to keep the blues away thinking about the simple things that make me happy. And, of course, in November, we got engaged!

December was all about Christmas, and I loved it! This year I realized that I love the run up to Christmas probably a tiny bit more than Christmas itself. The parties, the drinks after work, the office party, even buying the presents can be fun (maybe because I was very organized!). I always go home for Christmas, and this year, we celebrated it twice: Once in Spain with my family, and later in England with boyfriend's family. It was the best of both worlds! December was also a month for looking back, saying goodbye to 2009 and looking forward to the future!

Still

2010-01-12T17:08:00.001Z

3:365, originally uploaded by ByBlanca.

Words haven't been flowing easily lately. I've been quiet, both here and offline. I've also been moving more slowly, and doing less of everything. It's almost as if my body and my mind need to hibernate for the winter, or at least take a rest.
And for once, I'm not fighting it. If there is something I learnt during the past of year of writing, observing, reflecting, recording my thoughts in this blog, experimenting with writing and art journaling, etc. is that I need to allow myself to go through these quiet, still phases.
It's difficult and frustrating at times. My to do list is not getting any easy to manage, but all I can do at the moment is to keep adding things to it, so that when the next phase starts, and I'm full of energy, I can put it to good use. And it's going to happen. I know it. So I'm just waiting.

Salamanca

2010-01-06T21:53:00.002Z

I really love my hometown. It's one of the most beautiful and friendly cities I know. It's full of nice independent coffee shops and great tapas restaurants. There are historical buildings everywhere you look, and a story in every corner.

Even The Independent UK thinks so.

A meaningful 2010

2010-01-01T22:35:00.034Z

So, after looking back at 2009 here and in my previous post, what's left for 2010? Surprisingly, not resolutions (if you don't count the ones that I'm keeping from last year), but a single word that will hopefully carry me through the year.

The truth is that I've been having problems expressing exactly what I want to accomplish in 2010. I guess it feels like such an important year (probably, because I'll be getting married in August!), and it's a bit overwhelming. And so I have started multiple resolutions lists, both as drafts in this blog and in my journal, but none of them felt right. Until a single word popped into my head and I realized that it really encapsulated what I want 2010 to be: Meaningful.

Now, I've seen people around the blogosphere choosing their own words at the beginning of the year. I think it all started with Ali Edwards who has chosen a word for each year since 2007. Last month, Christine Kane hosted a Word of the Year month in her blog, in which several people revealed what their word for 2010 was.

But I really wasn't looking for a word myself. However, once it came into my head, I knew that I should use it instead of a list of resolutions this year. Because meaningful really is what all the thoughts in my head are about. It's not about spending less time online, it's about making the time I do spend here meaningful, visiting inspiring places, connecting with creative souls and not just jumping from one website to the other. It's not about buying less, it's about thinking carefully about what I need and want, and buying only those things that will make me happy for a long time. It's not about reading all the books in all the lists of books to read before you die, it's about reading those that mean something because they teach me something, or simply make me laugh, if that's what I need. It's not about going through an uncluttering phase and getting rid of stuff, it's about keeping and living with those things that are beautiful, useful or special. And it's definitely not about organizing a party for our wedding, it's about creating a day that is special for us, our families and friends and that we'll remember for ever.

It's about living a meaningful life, savouring each moment, reflecting on each decision. Giving meaning to every day.

Looking back

2009-12-31T12:55:00.001Z

I love the days between Christmas and New Year. A slow time to recover from the Christmas excesses. A quiet time to reflect on the year that has almost passed. An exciting time to dream about what's to come. And, yes, a time for resolutions. I love resolutions, thinking about what I want to achieve in the months to come and what I want to concentrate on. I enjoy sitting down and spending some time making plans for the year ahead. I always start looking back at the resolutions made the previous year, because my new resolutions normally evolve from those. I also think about those resolutions I didn't keep and reflect on why and whether I want to try again this year or maybe it's time to let go of something I'm not really meant to do. This year, as I told you about all my resolutions for 2009 in the blog, it was a lot easier to look back. A year ago, I promised that I would:

Write more: I'm feeling a bit bittersweet about this one, the resolution that appears in my list every year (and that must mean something). I've written more often, I've started several short stories, I've thought about plots and topics for potential books... but I don't feel I've done as much as I hoped. I certainly haven't managed to write every day, and I still haven't finished any of my stories. During the year, however, I took a writing class for the first time and went on a writing retreat, I collaborated with Discounderwold, and I definitely step out of my comfort zone with my writing. So, for next year, I want to continue challenging myself and I'll come up with specific targets for my writing (I'm thinking at least a short story and a non-fiction article every month), and I'll be trying again to write something every day.

Take more photos: I feel I've achieved this one. At the beginning of the year I knew I enjoyed taking photos but I really didn't know much about photography. My blog camp girls, and specially Julie and Kristina with their passion, and Spud with her Camera Club have inspired me to think more about photography as art, composition, and even aperture! I definitely want to continue with this one, and I have several ideas for fun photography projects for 2010. I've also decided to participate in the 365 photo project that Julie has started in Flickr. I know it's going to be challenging, but I'm looking forward to it! Also, I got a a Diana F + for Christmas and I can't wait to start playing with it! The boyfriend and I are going on a photography expedition this weekend!

Decorate my own house: This is a difficult one. Yes, I bought a house, but I bought it in the wrong country! My boyfriend and I bought a flat in Spain and spent the week before Christmas getting it ready to rent it out in the New Year. So, yes, I'm proud to own my first house, and I enjoyed trying to make the most of it on a budget, but I haven't been decorating the house for myself and it was a bit sad knowing that we won't be able to enjoy living there any time soon.

Would do more crafts, specially sewing and knitting: I'm not sure about this one... I certainly tried and learned how to sew a bag, a purse, a skirt... I took a course on bookbinding and loved it and I've been trying to do more things with my hands. But I think I was pushing myself too much with this one, and I'm going to relax a little bit. I want to continue learning and experimenting, but I need to realize that not everything I make would be perfect, specially not the first time that I attempt something!

Uff, do you think that was too much? There was also the reading challenge that I didn't keep, the think before you buy challenge that I loved, my vow to not read the news, and a lot of thinking about my 5 rules for life, which can be considered resolutions for life.

What's left for 2010? Stay tuned... :)

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-19T10:16:00.002Z

white snow flake, originally uploaded by micamica.

The boy and I are leaving for the airport in a minute. The snow has been causing havoc here in England, but that's not going to stop me from spending Christmas at home in Spain!
I hope you all have a lovely holiday! I'll see you here before the New Year. It's New Year's resolution time and you know I love it (See here, here, here, here and here)!

My Glee obsession

2009-12-14T15:41:00.002Z

I've recently discovered Glee! How did it take me so long? My two guilty pleasures (musicals and high school dramas) combined into a TV series that is also clever, witty and lots of fun!
The perfect antidote for those winter, rainy evenings...

This year... and the next!

2009-12-11T22:30:00.000Z

Hello, hello! Well, look at that! It's almost Christmas... Can I use that as an excuse for not having blogged in three weeks? No? How about my engagement? No? Surely, if I tell you that the wedding planning has started you'll understand why I haven't had much time...

I know, all lame excuses! But I'm here now. I'm here to stay. How could I not when there are so many friends reading and congratulating us in our engagement! Thank you so much to everyone who commented in my post. It's amazing to think about this bloggy community of ours, where we make new friends that then share with us so many important moments.

Yes, I'm in a reflective mood, as always at the end of a year. I've been thinking back to what this 2009 has been like. I keep referring to 2009 as a "bad year", but that actually couldn't be further from the truth. It didn't start well, it's true. We came back from our amazing trip in South America at the end of 2008, and so 2009 was the year we came back to rainy England, the year we went back to work, the year Jon and I missed the freedom of traveling, spending time together, visiting amazing places, making new friends and doing something for others...

But of course, 2009 was also the year I turned 30 and had an amazing party, started to take blogging more seriously, made new friends and participated in the very first Blog Camp (as well as the version 2.1 in England, and we're planning the third one for January 2010). This was the year I bought my first property with my boyfriend (now fiance!), the year I got a new, much better job, and of course, the year I got engaged. Not bad, right?

So what's left for 2010? First of all, a wedding! We are planing to get married next summer. It's going to be exciting! And stressful! How do you plan a wedding in a little over six months and in a country different to the one you live in? We're about to find out! I'll try not to make this blog a wedding blog but I'll be showing you some of our ideas from time to time, if you don't mind.

And a honeymoon! We're not planning anything extravagant, just a beautiful place where we can relax and be together. For the first time when planning a trip, our priority is not to see and do as much as we can, but to spend time doing nothing together. Any ideas for wonderful locations in Europe? Not Spain or England, please!

We're engaged!!!!

2009-11-20T17:01:00.000Z

So, I wasn't feeling great the other day, I had a cold, I was tired, and I just wanted to go home.... The boyfriend, however, had other ideas. He insisted we went for dinner, as we had planned. I thought it was weird, since he's the one always telling me to slow down when I'm not feeling well. Turns out, he had a reason... and a plan!
He took me for a small picnic in the same spot in the park where we had our first kiss. And halfway through it, he went down on one knee and took a small box out of his bag. Now, I'd love to say that I was elegant and composed while he said his bit, but all I did was shriek "A box, a box, a box..." He was very nervous but was incredibly sweet despite my shrieking. I guess he knows by now what he's getting himself into!
Once I said yes (Of course!), we could both relax. He had planned an amazing evening with dinner at one of my favourite restaurants in Oxford, The Old Parsonage, and a performance of Giselle, by The English National Ballet. The performance was amazing, but truth to be told, I may have spent more time looking at my ring than at the stage.

It was thoughtful, it was romantic, it was perfect. I can't wait to start this new chapter of our lives together. Jon, I love you and of course I want to spend the rest of my life with you.

Simple things

2009-11-16T07:55:00.004Z

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”
Robert Breault

iPhone Photo by boyfriend

Christina has invited us to celebrate the simple things in life that make us happy.

These are some of mine...

* Breakfast in bed

* Arriving home right before it starts raining

* Listening to an old song on the radio and be instantly transported to that summer

* Painting your nails pink and feeling instantly fabulous

* Reading a blog post and realized that someone has put your exact same thoughts in writing for you to understand

* Chocolate.

* An unexpected call from a friend

What simple things are making you happy?

For a first round of my simple things, go here. See if you can spot the one that I've mentioned again today!

An Education

2009-11-12T23:43:00.001Z

"I feel old, but I don't feel wise.", Jenny in An Education

Oh, to have a picnic by the Seine...

I have just seen the beautiful film An Education and I highly recommend that you go and see it as soon as you can. It's the story of 16-year-old Jenny, who falls in love with an older, mysterious guy. It's the story of David, who sees everything as if for the first time when he's with Jenny, but hides a secret. It's the story of Jenny's parents, who try their best but make mistakes. It's the story of London and England before the sixties really started. It's a coming of age story, it's a love story, it's a social portrait of a time before modernity.

The story is beautifully shot and incredibly well acted. I liked every character (even those we weren't supposed to like), because the actors managed to make them all real, with their strengths and flaws. There is no doubt that Carey Mulligan's Jenny carries the film. She has already been compared by many to Audrey Hepburn. And she may very well be my new girl crush!

2009-11-02T07:58:00.004Z

Photo by Sew Fab Martha in Flickr

I hope you had a wonderful Halloween weekend! I've never before been excited about this celebration but I absolutely loved it this year. We now live in a neighbourhood with lots of young families and many of them went trick or treating with their children. And for the first time, we didn't go to a Halloween party and at the last minute, decided to stay home to give sweets to the children. Who knew it'd be so much fun! The neighbours next door had an amazing Halloween party that included fireworks! The children loved it! I'm already planning my very own Halloween party for next year!
I'm off to enjoy some pumpkin soup now...

Wasting time

2009-10-29T11:41:00.000Z

Oh, where does time go? That's exactly what I wondered when I realized I haven't posted here in more than a week! I'm not the only one who feels like this, of course...

Through the beautiful Peonies and Polaroids, I found Alison Provax, who is creating a series of letterpress prints that form The Time Wasting Experiment. She says of the project, In part inspired by tracking 'billable hours' but also coming from the compulsion to always be doing and producing objects. This series is sort of an audit of how I spend my time, but could also be thought of as permission slips to spend a period of time in a wasteful way (maybe recontextualizing a private, shameful activities into something which one tries to get done in a set amount of time). You can buy the prints from her Etsy shop.

I love the simplicity of these, and seeing all these "wasteful" activities with a timeline attached to them is also a real eye opening. I'm definitely guilty of many of these, and since I'm not sure I can stop, maybe I should start trying to set a limited amount of time to do them.

So what have I been doing? Apart from wasting time, that is... I've been getting used to a new job, new projects, a completely different new way of doing things (in fact, part of my job is coming up with new ways of doing things!). I'm getting used to a new office and new colleagues. It's been almost two weeks and I'm starting to get a clear picture of what it's going to be like, exciting but crazy and stresful times lie ahead!

All this has left me with little energy to do much with my free time, and so I have been wasting my time with lots of movie and DVD watching (guilty secret, I've become obssesed with Brothers and Sisters... should I worry?). I've also been watching lots of Friends and listening to Regina Spektor, two things that never fail to put me in a good mood. And I've finally found a way to post music in the blog, so I leave you with my favourite Regina's song.

12 months of being 30: On writing

2009-10-19T16:50:00.001+01:00

* This post is part of my 12 months of being 30 project, an attempt to record what happens during my year of being 30.

Stacey said it first and Julochka instantly embraced the concept of writing as the new praying. I've been thinking about it a lot lately, because writing is definitely helping me feeling better despite the stress, the depressing weather, and the lack of energy that I told you about in my last post.
I know I haven't been writing here much (Sorry!) but I've been playing with words quite a lot, on my own, and as part of a Creative Writing class that I decided to take on a whim (a creative writing class in English! Talking about leaving my comfort zone!)
Last week, we did an exercise that I found incredibly liberating. We had to write three short autobiographical texts (100 words each), and chopped them up word by word. Then, we have to play with the 300 words and create a completely different text with them. The idea was putting words together without thinking too much about their meaning, but perhaps not surprisingly, most of the people in the class found that the words were definitely trying to transmit something to them. I had so much fun doing this and liked my text so much, that I used it as part of one of my 12 months of being 30 collages.

For the record, my teacher thought that I needed to add some concrete concepts as it was too abstract, but I still like it as it is.

I'm now determined to go back to a routine of writing morning pages before going to work, and sitting down and writing on a stream of consciousness whenever I feel lost or overwhelmed. I'm not sure if writing is the new praying, but for me it's definitely the best form of therapy.

PS. It's my first day at my new job today. Wish me luck!

2009-10-12T00:29:00.000+01:00

If September was a month of new beginnings, good changes and hope, October seems to be the complete opposite. The beauty of cool, crisp Autumn mornings has given way to cold, dark and rainy days. This gets me every year, the beginning of a winter in England starts too early and will last for far too long. During the last week I've been fighting a cold and dragging myself to work, as well as trying to finish a couple of translations I volunteered to do, and so I feel tired, devoid of energy and ideas. I haven't been writing, I haven't been reading, I haven't been art journaling, I haven't been taking photos. I've just been doing a lot of nothing.

In an effort to get myself out of this funk quicker, I've of course turned to the blogosphere. The new Unravelling course starts tomorrow, and I'm really hoping it'll help me look around me and maybe take photos again. I did the first course Susannah taught at the beginning of the year and it was great, so I'm sure this one will be too.

The Fragrant Muse of course had the best oil for this situation and Cyndy has embarked on a decluttering journey that could be my inspiration. How about dreaming of other places? I love absolutely everything about this post by Lana.

SAS, who seem to be in a hole of her own, posted a quote by Rainer Maria Rilke that maybe exactly what I need:

Do not now look for the answers.

They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them.

It is a question of experiencing everything.

At present you need to live the question.

Do you ever feel like this? What do you do?

Corner view: Oxford souvenirs, UK

2009-10-07T10:42:00.002+01:00

This week's Corner View theme is Souvenirs of your city. Ah, Oxford! One of the most beautiful cities in the world. What could you take as a souvenir after visiting? What would you remember?

Well, there is the obvious, a postcard of the Radcliffe Camera, which is probably the most recognizable building in town...

Or a postcard of one of the Colleges, like Christ Church. One of the most beautiful buildings in the city, it's now famous because it inspired Hogwarts school in the Harry Potter movies. This is the back building overlooking Christ Church Meadow and my favourite part of the college.

You could get a book about the city. This is, after all, one of the most important Univeristy cities of the world, and it offers plenty of bookshops where to spend a fun afternoon...

You could go for something British... with a twist...

Or you could simply go and enjoy one of the old pubs in town. The Eagle and Child, in St Gilles, is where the writers' group, The Inklings used to meet. Its members included J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, so you'd be in good company.

Go to Jane's blog, Spain Daily, to visit more Corner Views around the world.

Books and magazines (or languages and music)

2009-10-02T10:37:00.000+01:00

Hello, welcome to the news edition of Cuttings on a blog!

We're discussing Dreaming in hindi at the Hermit Book Club today! I'm starting the conversation:

Dreaming in Hindi is the story of the author, Katherine Russell Rich, while living in India and learning Hindi for a year. But not really. It's mainly a collection of theories, ideas, and reflections on learning a second language.

Randomness and links

2009-09-30T17:20:00.000+01:00

I think it's time for another Randomness and links post, don't you? If only because I've been writing this one since July!

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This made me smile...

Yep, I've been there! If I work from home, it doesn't mean I'll have time to do the laundry, the shopping and the cleaning. Also, no I can't meet you for coffee. I'm working. Although if I'm totally honest, I guess I also have moments of this:

For more Artsyville prints, visit her Etsy shop.

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The five rules from life blog is very inspirational. Every time I visit, there are new ideas to think about. I think these rules are my favourite at the moment. Oh, and just in case you missed mine, they are here. What would your five rules for life be?

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I'm one of those people who have to arrive at the cinema BEFORE they dim the lights, before the adverts, and obviously, before the movie starts. I also like to wait until the very end to leave; yes, I leave after the closing titles have finished. I love the experience of going to the cinema and I don't want to miss a single second. This is all better it the movie has creative title and ending sequences. I really don't like it when the movie starts straight away, I think everyone involved in making it deserves to have their name displayed in an interesting opening sequence! The Art of the Title website pays homage to some interesting film and TV opening sequences.

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Ah, Polaroid! There is something very special about them. For me, Polaroids are about small moments, about those rutinary objects that we never pay attention to, those scenes that we see every day. The uniqueness of the day to the day. I recently heard about Jamie Livingston, who took a Polaroid photo a day from 1979 to 1997. The story of his life (better, his day to day) on Polaroids. Go here to see them all, or read more about it here.

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And for more creative photo projects, I'm loving The Photographic Dictionary. They keep adding more words and the photos keep getting better. Some of my favourites are birthday (hilarious), home, pink, and plastic. I could spend hours checking every word!

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I'm loving the idea of Hope notes. It's easy, it's beautiful, and it makes me smile. See how Kristin started the hope revolution here. I heard about it from Sas, who has already done it. I think for my first hope expedition I'm going to go around my office. We're not a miserable bunch, but the the days are getting shorter, mornings are becoming colder and we're all feeling a bit blue.

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For more hope and random fun, go check the latest project of Improve Everywhere. They organized a photobooth in the underground! Brilliant! They should tour the world bringing fun to public transport. I love my bike, but one of the reasons why I cycle to work, even though it means getting up earlier and doing exercise first thing in the morning, is that everyone on the bus is always so miserable. It's not a good way to start your day!

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This is a beautiful love story set in Rome, I love everything about it, specially the fact that it was made of photographs. Isn't it clever? I found it at M. A. Belle blog. Enjoy!

12 months of being 30: new beginnings

2009-09-25T12:07:00.001+01:00

* This post is part of my 12 months of being 30 project, an attempt to record what happens during my year of being 30.

Slightly different format for my 12 months of being 30 this time. Lately, there hasn't been much time to make collages (or reading blogs, or writing here for that matter). So much has happened... And so, this post is all about a tale of new beginnings.

If you follow me on Twitter or are my friend on Facebook, you already know about my news (Sorry to those of you that are both on my Twitter and Facebook accounts, I promise this is the last time you have to read about this!)

Firstly, I got a new job! It's a very exciting new post in the same publishing company I work for, but I'm now working on digital material. I'll still work with some of the same people I've been working with over the years but the job is totally new. I'm very excited and looking forward to more responsibilities and some great new projects.

And I have just bought my first property! My family owned a flat in my home town in Spain, Salamanca, and we didn't know what to do with it. Most people wanted to sell it, and so my boyfriend and I decided it was the perfect opportunity to buy everyone else off and get on the property ladder (which is a very English thing to do!). Of course, I live in England, the flat is in Spain and this throws all sorts of questions about home and the future. For now, I'm not thinking about it!

It's funny how these two things have been in the pipeline for a while. Forever, it seems. And then, they both happened at the same time. Right when I was reflecting about September, new beginnings, small and big changes. I feel as if I'm finally moving forward. It's been a weird year, since we came back from South America. What do you do after one of your big dreams becomes a reality? How do you move forward after such an important time in your life? And so, this year, I've been a bit lost, looking back, concentrating on the past.

This blog has really helped me during this process. I've also been journaling a lot, but writing here and knowing that someone was reading has helped me to keep on track. Everyone I've met (both offline and online) because of this blog has inspired me in one way or another, to think about what I really want and how to get it. So thanks so much for being there! You know who you are.

Now it's time to live the past behind, enjoy the present, embrace the new opportunities, and more importantly, start looking ahead. Exciting things are happening, new possibilities are opening. And I'm ready for them. I hope you're ready to come with me.

Corner view: September in the UK

2009-09-16T11:06:00.001+01:00

Corner View is back after our summer break! The very timely topic this week is September.

For me, September has always meant a new beginning. It's of course, the back to school feeling. After a summer of fun, I was always more or less ready to go home, to see my friends, to get back into a routine, and yes, even to go back to school. Because the new school year was full of possibilities, of new things to learn, of new ways of doing things.

It's funny, I had that same feeling at the end of my year travelling last December. After an amazing time, I was ready to come back and create new routines and a new life with the boyfriend. This year has been difficult, but we're getting to the place that we imagined at the beginning of the year. A place where we want to stay for a while. Everything we've done this year (and before) has brought us here. To this September. And, once again, September has brought with it exciting opportunities and new beginnings.

I'll tell you all about the details of our new beginnings soon. In the meantime, I leave you with these September photos that I snapped last week in a visit to my friends in Chichester, in Surrey, England. It was my first time in the area, and it's so beautiful, I can't believe I never knew.

Visit more Corner Views around the world:

9.09.09: A day for wishes

2009-09-09T23:28:00.002+01:00

It's 9.09.09, a day for wishes.

I wish for a happy family, for smiley babies and tired parents

I wish for a simpler life, with fewer things and more fun

I wish for more time to write

I wish for a finished book, for a publishing deal, I wish to one day hold my own book in my hands

I wish for a road trip in North America

I wish for Blog Camp in New Zealand

I wish for my own coffee shop, a relaxed place where people come for coffee while they write, draw and talk. A place to be crafty, to discover and try out new things

I wish for more time, more space and less worries
I wish to keep on learning
I wish to keep on wishing.

What do you wish for?

I'm on Disco Underworld! Come and vote for me!

2009-09-01T13:08:00.000+01:00

I've been interviewed for the latest issue of the online magazine Disco Underworld about my time volunteering in South America! It's been great to remember and reflect on my time in Ecuador. Now, more than ever, I can't wait to go back one day.

As you probably know, Disco Underworld is published monthly online and they also have one annual print edition that includes the best articles and interviews of the year (You can get the Gold Issue here). Please go and read my interview and vote for me to appear in the print issue, please, please, please! I want to be in print! You only have to enter your email address and vote at the end of the article about me.

The boyfriend and I in the Salt Flats in Uyuni, Bolivia

And since you are there, you may as well read the rest of the magazine. The monthly theme is Positive Impact and there are plenty of interesting stories about giving back. As always, Stacey has done an amazing job at putting together another brilliant issue of Disco Underworld. Oh, and have you heard about her new project, Music Sandwich? I wrote an article about Tango in Buenos Aires for that one! It's very exciting to see this project coming to life and am really looking forward to the first issue!

12 months of being 30

2009-08-29T20:43:00.002+01:00

* This post is part of my 12 months of being 30 project, an attempt to record what happens during my 30th year on Earth.

Hello! Do you remember me, dear blog? I know, I know I haven't been around much. To be honest, I haven't been doing anything except working, in case you were thinking I've been having wonderful adventures somewhere exotic.
But here I am! A bit late, but I bring you a selection of the collages I made last month for my 12 months of being 30 project. I'm quickly realizing that my collages for this project seem to be more about what I need than about what I have. Even though I've been busy with work and various other things for weeks, my collages are calm and quiet, inviting me to pace myself and to do nothing.
Do you remember I promised to have a creative summer? Well, I've been making jewelry, sewing tote bags, embellishing my underwear (for real!), writing and making small books; I went to the Latitude festival and wrote about it at the amazing discounderwold magazine; I went to Blog Camp and came back inspired to make my photography better (and Spud is further inspiring me with her online photography club). I've loved doing every single one of these things, but now I'm plain exhausted.
I've been exposed to so many types of inspiration that my brain is full of ideas, projects, plans... Unfortunately, I can't take any of them past the initial drafting stage. It's time to stop, let the ideas settle down and think about which one of these projects I want to pursue right now, which ones I'll reserve for later and which ones are simply crazy ideas not meant to become a reality.
It's time to allow myself some space. To sit down and do nothing for a while. To pace myself. Which is exactly what I'm doing this Bank Holiday weekend.

In Blog Camp...

2009-08-16T23:35:00.001+01:00

There were six bloggers, and two suspicious partners.

There were Nikons and iPhones... And photos of the Nikons taken with the iPhones.

There were only good surprises...

There was Blog Camp Jam, made by the hostess...

There were of course, stones....

There was exchange of lenses, and lots of playing with them...

And there were also many things that I can't show you through photographs. The interesting conversations, about blogging, about books, about life; the laughs, the random ideas, the projects, the plans to meet again... and that fizzy feeling, the realization that something good was happening, that friendships were growing, the knowledge that we would meet again, in the blogosphere and beyond.

Still a blogger...

2009-08-14T21:43:00.000+01:00

Random photo not related to this post

I seem to have taken an unintentional break from blogging, but I'm still here. I'm still a blogger, otherwise I wouldn't be going to Blog Camp UK tomorrow. I'm so excited about seeing Polly, Julochka and Kristina again. I can't wait to meet Spudballoo and Bee, who is hosting this edition of Blog Camp, in her house (that happens to be just half an hour away from my boyfriend's parents' house). We'll miss Seaside Girl and Extranjera, but no doubt would be cheering on their honour.

I know it's going to be a creative and fun weekend, because I'm going to be in the company of these amazingly creative and fun women! Right, maybe I should finish the presents for them, then!

I'll tell you all about it next week!

Seeing blue

2009-08-06T22:46:00.001+01:00

Did I tell you I started a photography club at work? A friend of mine got a camera (not a Nikon, sadly...) almost at the same time as me. We were both excited, carrying our cameras everywhere and taking photos of everything. We got talking about how we sometimes felt too shy to stop and take a photo in the middle of the street, specially when you have to get on your knees, or you're seemingly taking a photo of something irrelevant on the road and people wonder what you are doing...

So we got a group of friends together and now we choose a topic and go out once a month during our lunchtime to take photos around Oxford. Last month we took photos of blue things and next week we're expanding the theme to take photos of blocks of colour. We're going to submit the best ones to the Tate Liverpool Colour chart group in Flickr.

These are some of the ones I took last month. It's amazing what you see when you start looking, there was blue everywhere!

disco underworld & me

2009-08-02T19:22:00.001+01:00

Hello, hello! It's been a while, forgive me! I've been on a staycation: A vacation where you stay home. I've always done and loved doing this, and people used to think I was crazy to waste my holiday staying home. However, this year, because of the recession, it's the cool thing to do and it even has a name!
It's been a busy staycation mind you. For a couple of days, I pretended to be a freelance writer and photographer. I took my laptop, my Nikon and my iPhone, walked around town taking photos and then walked to a nice coffee shop and wrote, wrote wrote. I tell you, it felt really, really good.
And I wasn't only pretending, as I was writing an article for the online magazine Disco Underworld. I wrote a review of the music at Latitude, focusing on music by women. You can now read it in the 10th issue of the magazine, which is dedicated to music. I really loved doing it! The photo on the cover is also mine! And there is more from me coming in the next issue... but I can't tell you anything yet.
If you don't know the magazine and the mastermind behind it, Stacey Childs, go and visit the website and her blog now. I really admire her energy and her endless ideas, she comes up with the most creative ways to promote the magazine!
And talking of women in music, I can't stop listening to Regina Spektor, who we also saw at Latitude and features in my article. She's so cute, I think she's my new woman crush (although I still like Zooey Deschanel). Here's a video of one of my favourite songs, On the radio:

During the rest of the week, I've been doing a course at a local school called Beginning Books, it was a mix of creative writing and paper crafts that I absolutely loved. I'll tell you more about it and show you some photos in my next post. In the meantime, go and read the story and tell me what you think.

Latitude: More than a music festival

2009-07-24T10:21:00.001+01:00

Entering the festival site

OK! Where did this week go? Finally, here it's the promised post about Latitude! Because I know you've all been impatiently waiting for it!

Latitude's organizers market the event as "More than a music festival", and that's exactly what it is. Of course, music is a big part of it an it is part of what makes the festivals' atmosphere so attractive. They have great acts and many people come exclusively to see them. They have, after all, five music arenas, but there is so much more to see and do outside these areas: theatre, cabaret, literary talks, comedy, film, radio, a knitting surgery...

Knitting surgery

This is my favourite thing about Latitude. The amount of interesting shows, and the variety of it. You can watch a theatre play, then move to the Comedy tent to see an act, go and watch a short film in the Film and Music Arena before heading to the Literary Saloon for a debate on the future of the book and finally going to the main music stage to see Pet Shop Boys. There is so much happening that acts have to really try hard to captivate their audience. With so many other interesting things going at the same time, they can't afford to lose audience interest. And they very rarely disappoint.

Overview of the fields

The downside is that it'd be impossible to see everything you've planned to see. Inevitably your favourite things happen at the same time, or something is running late and ruins your schedule, or you forget about them in between all the other acts. The upside? If you let go of your schedule, you are very likely to find an unexpected gem, a new singer or writer you hadn't heard about!

It's funny how some people do their research before they go, grab a timetable as soon as they get there and then follow a plan all weekend, and others just drift from place to place looking for something they may like. Some simply camp in their favourite tent and spend a whole morning, a day, or even a weekend there. I'd love to say I'm one of the spontaneous ones, but I did lots of planning and research before I went, so I knew what I wanted to see. I did however allow for some free time and ended up discovering great surprises... the inspiring and slightly scary debate on climate change that took place in the Music and Film Arena, the absolutely brilliant and funny Jessica Delfino in the Comedy tent and the very young and very talented Ruby and her Whorses on the Poetry Arena.

Outside the poetry tent

Another thing I love about Latitude is that many of the people that perform over the weekend do it more than once and in different arenas. These artists are very difficult to classify, some appear in the Comedy tent first and the Poetry one later, or read their poetry and then sing in one of the music arenas. I love how there is music everywhere, even in the literary tent some of the acts manage to include music during their set. For me, great artists are those that express themselves in lots of different ways, that use many subjects and different tools, that simply follow their inspiration and let it guide them to the right media. On a personal level, this makes me realize that it doesn't matter that I don't know "what to do with my life", that maybe I'm meant to have more than one calling. That it's OK to want to write, take photos, make collages, that I can actually express myself through words and images whenever necessary. That I don't have to choose.

Outside the Literary tent

Going from tent to tent is so inspiring, there are so many ideas floating in the air, so many interesting people either performing or attending (sometimes both!), so many new things to learn, books to read, websites to check out, bands to listen to... It's impossible not to come back inspired to write that book, start that research project, or experiment with your blog... And I'm going to do all of those in the coming months! So wait and see!

But before, I want to tell you about some of my favourites from the weekend.

Comedy tent:
Mark Thomas: Ah, he should probably be the oficial ARWP comedian.
Shappi Khorsandi: Iranian-born, her family moved to England escaping the regime. She makes fun of politics, death threats, and race and can express better than anyone what it's like to belong in two different places, to be a foreigner at home... always with a laugh.

Theatre
The theatre was seriously good. This tent was the first and the last that we visited at the weekend. We started with Is everyone OK? a play by the group Nabokov about being 30 and wondering "How did I get here?" (so appropriate!!) and finished watching an incredibly funny account of sudden loss of dignities. Check the Bush Theatre website for more. And if you have experienced a sudden loss of dignity, let them know! They may include your story in their next show!

Is everyone OK? by Nabokov

Literary Arena and Literary Salon
They had great writers at the Literary Arena, but what I really enjoyed was the Literary Salon, where there were debates on the future of the book, workshops on how to play outdoors or how to talk to strangers with The School of Life and talks about writing for the BBC. Well, you all know how much I like taking courses and workshops so as you can imagine I spent a great deal of time here. Also they had sofas!

A very tired me at the Literary Salon on the Sunday

In here, I was reminded that we should sit sill from time to time, let our mind wander, because than when the best ideas happen, and that we shouldn't let the fact that we are amateurs stop us from doing something. So what if my photos aren't perfect? I enjoy taking them and that's enough for now.

Film and Music Arena:
My favourite thing was Richard DeDomenici talking about plagiarism. Has everything been done? he asked, and although his presentation, tracking down the roots of many famous works in music and art seemed to say that yes, everything has indeed been done before, he ended up reminding us that there are new ideas around and it's up to us to find them! We also saw a fascinating debate on climate change. We were urged to make drastic changes to our lifestyles before it's too late, to commit ourselves with real action and to pressure our Governments to make a commitment to change in the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December. See where your country stands here.

Music
All my favourite ladies were there (OK, Zooey Deschanel wasn't) I was already looking forward to both Bat for Lashes and Regina Spektor. It was the second time I saw Bat for Lashes live and she has grown and improved so much in two years. Regina was incredibly sweet, and she has such a strong and light sound at the same time, it was incredble watch her play the piano. The surprise of the Festival was Grace Jones who I didn't really know as any more than a famous name. She is an amazing diva and gave her everything to the public.

Grace Jones making a grand entrance

Also, The Doves were amazing, I'm not really a fan but there were great live and really engaged the public. Thom Yorke, of Radiohead, did an exclusive solo gig on Sunday morning, a mellow set that was perfect for a quiet Sunday morning. I also discovered and loved Sky Larkin. And The Pretenders! OMG, I heard I'll stand by you live!!!

Ufff, sorry for the long post. If you got here, thanks for reading!! I can't stop talking about it! And I can't wait for next year's Latitude!

Latitude teaser

2009-07-21T08:24:00.000+01:00

I have to tell you all about the fantastic weekend we had at Latitude! There was music, of course, but there was also theatre, literary talks, comedy acts, film and play! I'll be back later with a proper post. For now, I'll leave you with a photo of the main stage before the fun began!

PS. Thanks so much for your comments on the unveiling and my 12 months of being 30. I feel I'm opening up a bit more in the blog and your support is very important! You rock!

PPS. I came back from Latiude full of inspiration and ideas, some of which affect this blog, so as they say, watch this space...

12 months of being 30

2009-07-17T08:03:00.008+01:00

As you all know (because I've been talking about it endlessly!), I turned 30 last month, on 17th June. I do think that turning 30 is an important milestone, and a perfect chance to reevaluate your life, think about what you've done and achieved and how close you are to where you want to be. I was trying to find a way to document my year when I found 365 days of being 30. Erin is doing a piece of art every day during the year she's 30 and posting them here. I've decided to ~~copy~~ get inspiration from her project and start recording my own year of being 30. So, every month, on the 17th, I'll post art journaling pages, writing, photos or whatever reflects what I've been doing and feeling during that month.

In this month's pages I can definitely see a theme of doors opening, and the feeling that I'm walking somewhere, taking small steps towards a better place. My pages are surprisingly calm, which defintely doesn't reflect the month I've had (busy, busy), but maybe the place where I want to get.

PS. I've scheduled this for the 17th, so by the time you read this, I'll be at Latitude Festival! I'll tell you all about it when I come back and I'll try to twitter from there. Check my tweets here!

Corner view: The unveiling...

2009-07-15T00:31:00.001+01:00

You've seen bits of me before... like my feet (and beautiful yellow shoes) and the back of my head...

You've seen me hiding behind a camera or my sunglasses....

For this week's corner view, we're all unveiling...

Nice to meet you! If we're in Spain, I'll give you two kisses; if we're in South America, it'll be only one kiss on the cheek; and if we're in England, there'll be a handshake, unless you want to prove you are cool and hip, in which case, we go back to the two kisses.

Corner view is organized by lovely Jane (go and see her unveiling) and there are more corner view unveilings going on here:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad, caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, a day that is dessert, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, schanett, ritva, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, dianna, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, skymring, elizabeth, audrey, allison, lise, cate, mon, victoria, crescent moon, erin, otli, amy, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la lune dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, virgina, april, b , kyndale samantha, karen, kristina, dorit, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, desiree, di, travelingmama, aimee, sunnymama, amanda, ali, jenell, guusje, britta, juanita, pamela, inna, daan, myrtille, cris, ibb , susi, jodi , lily , gillian, jeanette, athena, pienduzz, latisha, clairette, kelleyn

A creative summer

2009-07-10T16:44:00.002+01:00

At the beginning of June I took one of Rachel Denbow's art journalling classes. We had to think about how we wanted to make the most of the coming summer and do some art journaling about it. These are the first three pages I made (more to come soon!). This was the first time I did art journaling, so, please, be nice :)

Prompted by The Fragrant Muse, who also took the course, I've recently came back to them and been thinking about summer. When I was a child summer meant time to play, no responsibilities, no homework, nothing to do until September. Although I can't exactly recreate that anymore (I need to work, after all), at least, I want to bring back the fun, and that feeling of having all the time in the world that it's so difficult to experience once you grow up. As I said in my pages, I want to make things, I want to spend time outside, I want to go for picnics and read on the grass, I want to dance, I want to write, I want to eat strawberries in the garden....

So these are just some of the things that I've planned and I'm looking forward to this summer:

Latitude Festival! It's next weekend and we are ready for three days of music, film, poetry, literary conversations, alternative theatre and lots and lots of fun!!! We went to Latitude two years ago, when it was still pretty small and unknown and absolutely loved it. I've been reassured that despite the fact that it's quickly growing into a big Festival, it still retains its charm. I remember thinking after the last time that I had seen more cultural acts in three days than during the rest of the year. I seriously CANNOT wait!

Jewelry workshop: I'm taking another silver jewelry workshop with a friend at the beginning of August. It'll be only the two of us and we're going to the artist's workshop to make a piece each. I'm going to make a huge pendant!

Workshops at The Make Lounge! I've been wanting to go to one of their workshops since Rachel took a bookbinding class there. They are not organizing any more bookbinding workshops, but I'm going to learn to crochet better than this and I'm going to make bags! By the way, Decor8 blogged about The Make Lounge today.

And of course, I'm looking forward to many picnics and days in the park! I really need the so-called heatwave (We call 32 degrees a nice summer day where I come from!) to come back.

In wonderland

2009-07-06T01:44:00.000+01:00

There was a garden.

There were flamingo-looking umbrellas.

There were tea mugs...

.... and some very tempting tea cakes.

Oxford transformed itself into Wonderland to celebrate Alice's day on Saturday. There were celebrations all over town, and we chose to have a picnic in the Botanical Gardens, and watched a representation of the story.

I'm feeling a strong urge to read the book again, and I can't wait to see what Tim Burton makes of the classic. It looks wonderfully scary!

Randomness and links

2009-07-02T21:33:00.003+01:00

Hello people! I'm still here, even tough I haven't been posting much, and not only because I've been feeling shy! Work is absolutely crazy, and there are other things going on in my life at the moment that I'll have to tell you about (good things that are making me feel all grown up!). I don't have the energy right now, but I'll soon be back with some planned posts about my awesomeness (because you know I AM awesome), my diary wreckage and, most important of all, my first dressmaking project. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a random list of random links.

Do you want to see some dreamy photos? Go to the Daydreaming images in the Rebecca Miller's portfolio. How would you represent daydreaming?

***

I'm still obsessed with yellow and I've found a couple of cool things in the blogospehre lately:

A yellow room from This is glamorous. Have you noticed the little office? Want.It.

And this lovely dress from my new favourite shop, Ruche. Go to their blog for more.

***

I'm sure you know Kerri Smith, the author of Wreck this journal. She posted this on her blog a while ago and I really want to remember. I always resist when I'm doing something outside my comfort zone, but, of course, those things I do turn up to be great most of the time and make for fantastic memories.

***

Have you seen this brilliant project about little people in the streets of London? It reminds me of a cartoon I used to watch when I was a kid, The littles. Do you remember it? More on the little people blog.

***

This is a lovely modern love moment that I saw in Le Love sometime ago. I just think it's perfect!

My mobile phone quit as I tried to let my wife know that I was caught up in traffic and would be late for our anniversary dinner. I wrote a message on my laptop asking other motorists to call her, printed it on a portable ink jet and taped it to my rear windshield. When I finally arrived home, my wife gave me a the longest kiss ever. "I really think you love me" she said, "at least 70 people called me and told me so.

***

I found this poster in Naturally Nina. What can I say? My thoughts exactly.

***

I'm loving the Disposable Memory project. Disposable cameras are released into the world for people to take some photos, pass them on, and finally send them back to the organizers. When we were in South America last year, my boyfriend and I used to have disposable cameras competitions from time to time. See the results here and here. And this is me, in Cuenca, Ecuador, snapping the winning photo in our second competition!

Random me

2009-06-29T00:45:00.004+01:00

Since blog camp, I've been finding it a bit hard to blog. I think it's the realization that, as Polly said, there are, indeed, real people behind the blogs. People who will like what I write, or won't, who may understand or not, who are sometimes in a receptive good mood, or in a silly negative one. I know what you're thinking, this is silly, because, of course I kind of knew all this before. Maybe, but now it's real.

So, to ease me back into it, I'll start with some randomness about me, me, me! Ali tagged me on the 7 things meme, so I have to tell you 7 random things about myself. Here they are:

1. I don't cook. Like never. I really wished I could cook, I wished I found it relaxing, I wish I was patient enough to do properly. I love to entertain, I love to create a home wherever I am. But cooking is the one thing I won't do. I'd, basically, rather use my time for other things. Lucky for me, boyfriend cooks and enjoys it! He even makes his own bread!

2. I have a collection of mugs from most of the places I've been to and I buy a new one in every place I visit. I can't remember how this started but I now have a huge collection. Most of them are at my parents, waiting for me to get a house where they can live permanently.

3. I look much younger than I really am. Sometimes people still ask for my ID when I try to buy alcohol or get into a club! And I AM 30! Although, as people have been saying since I started complaining about it, this would be a good thing when I turn 40!

4. I'm also quite short. But I decided long time ago that this was "cute" and got over it.

5. I love eating bread on its own. As a child, I could eat a whole baguette before we sat down for lunch, and my Mum had to buy two every day.

6. I used to be able to read more than one book at once without getting confused... but no more. I have to stick to two maximum, and even that gets confusing at times.

7. I don't have a TV. I know most of you know this already, but RWP (Real World People) get so surprised when they learn this, that I thought I'd throw it in here.

Corner view: Music, Oxford, UK

2009-06-24T00:43:00.000+01:00

One of the things I really like about Oxford is how many shows are always going on. Theatre, comedy... and of course, music! Walking around the town last week, I noticed many posters for different music spectacles.

From reggae, always present in Cowley Road, the most multicultural part of Oxford (which doesn't really mean it's that multicultural):

To classical music in the Hollywell Music Room in the centre:

With anything you can imagine in between:

For more musical corner views around the world, visit Spain Daily.

Blog Camp Bloggers

2009-06-23T00:15:00.003+01:00

You've heard about Blog Camp, you've seen the previews, many of the preparations and some of the details in the Blog Camp blog, as well as first impressions in the camper's blogs here, here, here, here and here. Julie has already started posting a series on what happened, so I'm not going to do the same, unless I discover that we have completely different versions!
Blog Camp 1 was the first time that I'd met any fellow bloggers in real life and I jumped at the chance from the beginning. But then, I got nervous, first about what they would think of me, and then, just a little bit, about what they'd be like.
Bee had told me that, in her experience, bloggers tend to be like their blogging voice. This was true... and, at the same time, it wasn't. Having the person in front of you instantly changes your idea of them, or at least it did for me. Suddenly, they weren't only words and photos on a screen. They were people, with their personal gestures, voices and mannerisms. I very quickly adjusted, we all did, and commented on how we all sounded very much like our blogs but later we wondered: Do we really sound like our blogs? Or have we changed our preconceptions of each other in light of the real us?
Were there any surprises? Only good ones. Ours was a eclectic blogger group. Some have been blogging for a long time, while others have just started. Some will post every day and will touch lots of different topics, others will post when they feel they have something to share about a particular book or film. Some talk about life, others about hobbies, pets, or relationships. Some are positive and others are sarcastic. Blogging shows many sides of you, but rarely the whole picture... You choose certain topics to blog about, and we of course all go through phases where we have less time or less energy for blogging.
So, yes, we discovered that Extranjera was "actually quite pleasant" (her words) and could crochet and knit, and that Polly is a model in the making, and much more funny in real life. Who knew that Seaside Girl would actually like to marry a Danish man and that Kristina would come sans Vigdis? Julocka? Actually, no big surprises there, she really is like her blog!
I'm not saying that you can't get to know someone through their blogging, because you certainly can, and we did before Blog Camp and we'll continue to do so. But you see many other sides of someone face to face. Which is, of course, why there is a Blog Camp UK in the making, and a Blog Camp 2 in Denmark to come!

I only exist when I'm online or at Blog Camp

2009-06-21T23:18:00.002+01:00

There were bloggers... they all were like their blogs... but even better!!! We did talk a lot about our blogging and real personalities. Are we like our blogs? More on this tomorrow...

Not the best photo, but I wrote: I only exist when I'm online or at Blog Camp on Julie's table. We all left our mark! Another one:

And, of course, the real reason why I wanted to go to Denmark:

If you want to know how the experiment went, we're taking questions over here. I'll tell you something, there is a blog camp UK in the making so... you guessed it! We loved it!!!

Blog camp is real

2009-06-20T11:29:00.001+01:00

The people behind the blogs

They are real. Julie's house is real (and amazing!). We are in Denmark, for real! And Blog Camp is REALLY hapenning. It still seems amazing that we are all here blogging together, twitting together, taking photos together. And soon, we'll be on video together. Do come and visit us at Blog Camp.

I'm officially 30!!!!

2009-06-16T22:57:00.009+01:00

I'm officially 30!!!! I was born at 11.20 on a Sunday, 17th of June in 1979. If you follow me on Twitter, you'd know that birthday celebrations started on Saturday, with a fabulous party that boyfriend organized for me (as if I needed any more proof that he's the best boyfriend in the world!). Lots of people came, including some surprise visits from Spain. There was a BBQ, a masseur, cupcakes, chocolate fountains, good weather, and lots and lots of presents! I had a fantastic time, but I'm still recovering, so today will be spent lazying around, walking around the river in Oxford and if it doesn't rain, we'll have a nice picnic outside. I was organized enough to get the week off from work and am having a great staycation at home!

I'm expecting maturity to kick in any moment now. I'll be all grown up, I'll know what I'm doing with my life and I'll suddenly discover what I want and how to get it! That's how it works, right? RIGHT?

In the meantime, I'm worrying because I haven't finished the book for the Hermit Book Club yet, and I have to pack for Blog Camp! I'm incredibly excited!!!!!!!!! So I won't be here much until next week, but I'll be over at those blogs. Come and visit us there!

5 questions

2009-06-12T06:40:00.005+01:00

Sussanah (of Unravelling and Ink on my fingers fame) invited us all to participate in this game. She sent me five questions that I'm answering below and I'll send five other questions to those that want them. Just leave me a comment if you want to play!

1. If you had to be stuck in a lift with someone, who would you choose?
I'd rather not be stuck in a lift at all, but if I really, really had to, I'd have to choose my boyfriend, he's great when I panic (and I would!) and of course, there is none I'd rather spend my time with, lift or not. Or maybe Keanu Reeves in his Speed incarnation, because he'd get us out of there in no time.

2. What's your favourite day of the week and why?
Definitely Saturday. I love the feeling of having whole two days to do what I want to do. Unless we're going somewhere, Saturday mornings are always a slow and lazy time in my house. It will more likely include breakfast in bed (yes, I have a great boyfriend), some Internet surfing, reading or film watching. Then, we'd go to town for lunch, to the park, or will have friends coming over to visit.

3. You have £100 you have to spend right now - what would you buy?
No problem, leave me in Borders for half an hour and the money will most definitely be gone. Although, because I want to belong at blog camp (7 days to go!!!!), I'd probably have to go and buy some chucks.

4. What's your superpower?
I can pretend I'm listening to my colleagues when I'm in a meeting while planning my next post here at the same time.

5. What compels you to keep a blog?
I started my blog as a way of creating a writing routine and an outlet where I could post all kind of things and be as random as I want. This is still one of the best things about having a blog. But what really makes me continue writing is you, the people I've met through this blog. You live in the UK, Denmark, US, Canada, Japan, or South Africa and yet, I can connect with you almost everyday. You do different jobs and are of different ages, and still we can always find something to talk about. I've met wonderful people and fantastic blogs online and I'm going to meet some of those people for real in only a week! We've started a book club that got me reading interesting books that I may not have picked up otherwise, I can see different corners of the world every wednesday... Do you need more reasons?

So, do you want five questions?

Simple things, happy things

2009-06-10T07:15:00.003+01:00

Yesterday, I spoke about small details and today, it's all about the simple things that make us happy. Christina, over at Soul Aperture, invited us all to make a list.

This is my simple list of things that make me happy:

An entire afternoon spent browsing a bookshop

Having a whole day to do nothing but read a book

Reading other people's blogs and thinking: "That's exactly how I feel!"

Coffee in the morning

A hug and a kiss from my boyfriend, that's when I love him the most

Slow Saturday mornings

Sunny weekends when I can go out and play

Rainy weekends when I can stay in and read or make things

My new camera and the photos I'm taking with it

The excitement of starting a new project

What would you put in your list?

Small details

2009-06-05T11:41:00.011+01:00

We're back from the lovely Cotswolds town of Woodstock, not to be confused with Californian Woodstock, this one is not as hippy. We've spent a relaxing two days celebrating the boyfriend's birthday. He's turning 29 so of course, doesn't get my whole "I"m turning 30" crisis. He's still in his twenties after all. And, yes, my own birthday is in a week and a half, so we're both Geminis, plenty of drama and multiple personalities in this relationship!

While there, we had plenty of fun with our new camera, which we are carrying EVERYWHERE with us at the moment. Last week, in an attempt to overcome the frustrated state I was in, I gathered some friends from work who are also interested in photography. We're going to choose a topic every month and go on a lunch expedition taking photos. This month, the topic is small details and, while on Woodstock, we were trying to focus on these small details too. These are some of my favourite:

My new favourite shoes. They are yellow! This is my new profile photo, have you noticed?

Wreck this journal

2009-06-05T11:25:00.008+01:00

I haven't been feeling great lately. I feel rundown, always tired, and very, very unproductive. I can't seem to finish anything, or, in some cases, start anything. I'm full of ideas though, and this makes the whole thing more frustrating. There is so much I want to do, all these ideas are dancing around in my head, but I can't seem to grasp them for long enough to do anything about them. I'm frantically making lists, writing sentences, phrases or single words in my journals, but I can't even sit down for long enough for a proper journaling session.

Maybe it's inspiration overload, maybe it's all part of the process and my brain is trying to absorb all these ideas, maybe it's pure laziness.

Whatever the case it seems fitting that we're starting the Wreck this journal bookclub today (Yep, another book club blog, I don't have a life outside the blogospehere). It's scary, even paralyzing, but I think it's probably what I need. This book is way out of my comfort zone. This is a journal with instructions such as:

*Ask a friend to do something destructive to this page (Oh! The control freak in me won't be able to cope!)

*Climb high, drop the journal (Drop? And what do you mean high? How high?)

*Rip it up! (But I was told to take care of books!)

*Spill your coffee here (My coffee? I need to drink my coffee, every single drop!)

*Burn this page (What???)

*This page is for tongue painting (Gross!)

*Tear this page out, put it in your pocket, put it through the wash, stick it back in (OK, no)

If doing things like these doesn't unlock my brain, nothing will. So wish me luck!

Oh, and if you want to join us, go here.

Corner View: The beach, Oxford, UK

2009-06-02T14:57:00.004+01:00

Time for another Corner View! The topic for this week is "The beach". Unfortunately, Oxford doesn't have one, but we do have lovely parks where people behave as if they were on a beach. Examples:

The first time I saw a scene like this, way back when I first moved here, I had a bit of a culture shock. I come from Spain, a country where summer is always sunny and hot (and that's how it should be!). We have more than three months of guaranteed good weather and so we tend to shy from it a little bit. In fact, unless you're actually on a beach or a swimming pool, you avoid the heat as much as you can, staying indoors until at least 8pm, when you can enjoy a nice temperature.
British summer, on the other hand is not to be taken for granted. It's never, ever guaranteed. It can be sunny today and rainy tomorrow. In fact, it can be sunny now, and rainy in an hour, so here, people make the most of it. At the first sign of sun, we take over gardens, parks, streets ... everywhere is a beach!

Don't get me wrong, I understand and in fact, now share this behaviour... I just wasn't brought up that way.

Corner View is hosted by Spain Daily, and you can visit more beaches at the these other corner views around the blogosphere:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie,esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,

caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, a day that is dessert, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch,c.t.,jeannette, outi, schanett, ritva, dongdong, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise,cabrizette, bohemia girl, dianna, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari,jgy, jenna, skymring, elizabeth, audrey, allison, lise, cate, mon, victoria, crescent moon, erin,otli, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la lune dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, virgina,april, rebecca, b, sunnymama, kyndale, samantha, karen, kristina, angelina, dorit, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, nicki, ruth, mcgillicutty, desiree, di, travelingmama, aimee

Is this a big moment?

2009-05-28T21:50:00.011+01:00

This is what the narrator of Encounters at the End of the World (the most random and surreal account of life in Antarctic you'll ever see) asks in the film at one point: "Is this a big moment?".
He was referring to a moment when a group of scientists had just discovered three new species. Everybody laughed, but the question seems an important one to me. We can never be sure whether the moment we're living is a big moment or not. What we think of as life changing may not be and small decisions to which we don't give a second thought could change our lives for ever.
So stopping and asking "Is this a big moment?" could be a good idea. And so I ask myself, I'm turning 30 (twenty ten!!!!) in three weeks, is this a big moment? Age has never bothered me, most of my friends are my age or older than me, and so I never "feel old" around them. However, this big birthday has thrown me a bit off course. Am I being silly for feeling like this? Or turning 30 is actually a big moment, an opportunity to reevaluate where I'm going with my life?
This may have to do with where I thought I'd be at 30. Married, with a mortgage and kids. Is it so bad that I'm not there yet? I'm on the right track to get all those things soon, so does it matter that it'd happen when I'm older? Would I change the past couple of years to be there NOW, at 30? No, most definitely not. Then, why is it that all of a sudden, I feel is if I'm late for things, as if I should start rushing.
Feeling like this has made me fall into some bad habits, the worse one, my compulsive buying. Yes, I confess (in true Polly style) that I haven't been doing very well on my Think before you buy challenge lately. Once I started using the "It's my birthday soon and I deserve a threat" excuse, I couldn't stop.
If you've been following my comments around the blogosphere (which I realize it's a lot to ask, but you never know), you'd have notice that I have just bought a camera (Nikon D40, LOVE IT!) and that I've been buying the books for our Hermit Book Club (Did you visit us last Friday? We had the first discussion and it was brilliant. There is still time if you want to participate!). I went to town on Saturday and before I got to my final destination (the park) I had a couple of things from Zara and a new pair of sunglasses.
I feel guilty, yes, and at bit disappointed, but I've decided to be good to myself. I'll give myself sometime to indulge, and then after my birthday, try to get back on track. There is no point in berating myself. As I said here, it's time we are all a bit more loving towards ourselves, even when we make a mistake, and stop trying to continuosly improve ouselves.
Because if turning 30 is after all a big moment, then I may as well celebrate, right?

Corner view: Cityscapes in Oxford, UK

2009-05-26T23:07:00.005+01:00

Welcome to Oxford, a charming city where you can escape opening any door. It will almost always lead you to a beautiful place.

Where you can escape and hide in beautiful buildings full of books.

Where you can escape by sitting near the river, or better still, getting in one of those boats and enjoying the peace of a different Oxford.

I moved to Oxford from Spain seven years ago and, in that time, I've seen many sides of it. The cold, rainy city where everyone speaks a language I don't understand. The sunny place that welcomes foreigners and makes them feel at home. The town that speaks multiple languages and it's still so undeniably British. The city centre where locals, University students, English language students and tourists walk side by side (annoying each other). The neighborhoods, so different, each a small universe, I've lived in over the years (I've moved a lot!). A city that can be so infuriatingly small but amazingly lively.

The city that I now call home, for here I've grown and learnt about myself more than anywhere else, and here I've fallen in and out (and in again) love. A place I keep coming back to, everytime.

More cityscapes around the world:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,

caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, a day that is dessert, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t.,jeannette, outi, schanett, ritva, dongdong, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, dianna, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, jenna, skymring, elizabeth, audrey, allison, lise, cate, mon, victoria, crescent moon, erin, otli, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la lune dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, virgina, april, rebecca, b, sunnymama, kyndale, samantha, karen, kristina, angelina, dorit, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, nicki, ruth, mcgillicutty

Education and creativity

2009-05-25T10:37:00.011+01:00

You may have seen this TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson titled Do Schools Kill Creativity? I only discovered it last week when a friend of mine posted it on Facebook. It's not only interesting and insightful but also really funny ("If a man speaks his mind in a forest, and no woman hears him, is he still wrong?"), so if you haven't seen it, press Play. If you have, watch it again.

I was a bit reluctant to watch it because of the title, Do Schools Kill Creativity? It's all too easy to criticize schools and teachers. Most teachers want to encourage creativity and give every child an opportunity to shine. They do their best to make their subjects interesting and to promote creativity. But what many people don't realize is that teachers work in a very difficult environment and are under a lot of pressure to prove that they are doing their jobs well, which is why, a lot of the time, they have to teach children how to pass exams, instead of how to think for themselves.

Fortunately Sir (I love that he's been knighted) Ken Robinson is not talking about teacher's shortcomings, but about a systemic problem. The fact that our education is based on an outdated system that encourages homogeneous thinking, and it's based on memorizing facts, dates, and formulae instead of giving children the skills to come to their own conclusions. A system that doesn't encourage experimentation or the value of making mistakes as learning tools, and that, as he brilliantly put it, prepares everyone to be an University professor.

Shouldn't we be teaching children to think for themselves, shouldn't we be giving them the skills to create, look at things in a different light? Experiment? Shouldn't we be fostering their different talents?

I was lucky at school, I found it fairly easy and never had to try that hard, but I was definitely encouraged to stick with what I did well. Spanish and writing were my strong points, it was decided early on (and for this, I'm grateful). I was also told that Foreign Languages, and English in particular, were definitely not my thing. I now realize that what wasn't right for me was the teaching method, but if it hadn't been for my love of traveling and my curiosity about other cultures, I'd still think that English was something I couldn't do.

Sir Ken Robinson advocates a school that promotes uniqueness, that caters to different learning styles, that fosters mistakes as a way to learn things, that encourages children to experiment and be creative. I hope that we can make this a reality.

Randomness and links

2009-05-20T12:39:00.020+01:00

I don't normally write random posts, but today my head is full of randomness and more than a bit fuzzy. This may or may not be due to the fact that I haven't had coffee in over 24 hours. I didn't decide not to have it (could never do THAT), but my stomach is telling me that it may be a good idea not to drink coffee for a while, like until tomorrow. And this leads me to the first bit of randomness:

How come I spent a whole year in South America, and didn't get any stomach bugs, while everyone around me was ill, then I come back to Europe and I start getting them? So I asked this very important question @ Twitter and I got interesting responses, VEG thinks that it's the Universe telling me to drink more coffee to kill the bugs, Extranjera thinks that the bugs already on my stomach were killing the South American bugs. I, the eternal optimistic, think that it's the Universe telling me to go and live in South America, since I liked it so much.

***

Which leads me to Twitter (Ha! Not so random after all, there IS a method to my randomness), I've been on it for while but couldn't actually understand the point of it! Suddenly I totally get it! See? I was told Twittering was microblogging, which may sound very exciting but gets boring after a while, specially if you like talking non stop (140 characters is not enough!). But it's actually such a good conversational tool and, when you are following interesting people, they post really good links to lots of good articles and websites. Do you twitter? If you want to follow me, I have a link on my sidebar.

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I don't normally miss receiving letters in the mail, I think it's much easier keeping in touch in the age of email and Facebook, but I do miss getting pretty cards and postcards. If you want to start getting postcards from all over the world, join Postcrossing here. I've just joined! I discovered this website because it was tweeted (is that a word?) by Angelthreats. (Ah, Twitter again)

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If you are anything like me and the blog camp girls and like to spend your whole day in your pyjamas, but feel bad and lazy when you do, and unfortunately need to eventually get changed when you have to leave the house, then go to this clothes website here. They had me at their name, Pyjama Room and their motto: "comfortable luxury". Is there anything better?

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Finally started to properly read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao for The Hermit Book Club. I'm loving the writing style and specially the humour; the author manages to make everything funny. Even some very tragic things. I'll tell you some more when I'm at least half way through (hopefully I'll have time to read this weekend, as we're discussing it at the end of next week!

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If you have a business and are struggling to find a cool name for it, go here. If you don't need a business name, go anyway, because it's so much fun! I quite like Peach Banana Design and Red Parrot Labs.

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To end on a lovely note, lovely Lynette from the lovely blog My creative fling, gave me a lovely award. I want to pass on this award to lovely Jan, who writes a beautiful blog called Race of Style. Jan always finds the best things from Britain, tells us all we need to know about Paris Hilton (please, don't stop) and loves Cecil Beaton. Although she's not keen on Twitter. But she's a caring and lovely lady, so she truly deserves a lovely award. Go and visit her!

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What randomness is going on in your head at this very minute?

Corner view: Coffee, Oxford (UK) and Salento (Colombia)

2009-05-19T23:35:00.016+01:00

Back to my favourite topic! This week's theme for corner view is coffee!

This is my favourite place to have coffee in Oxford. The Jericho Cafe has good coffees, great food (if a bit overpriced, but this is Oxford, after all!), and good wine. Their English breakfasts are amazing! I love those coffee shops in England where you can spend the whole day, if you want to. Sit down and have breakfast, mid morning coffee, lunch, tea, and dinner with a glass of wine, all the while reading your book or a magazine or working with your laptop.

This is what my coffee looked like today half drunk (I know, fascinating!) inside The Jericho Cafe. It's a latte, which is my favourite type of coffee. I think this is also the most popular coffee choice in England, although if they want to splash out, they'll have a cappuccino!! England is traditionally a country of tea lovers, but with the arrival of Starbucks and others, the coffee shop culture has really taken off, specially among students and young people. It's all about the experience... and the pleasure of coffee.

Now, I know that Colombia is not exactly my corner of the world, but I couldn't resist posting these photos from the coffee region of the country, which we visited last year while traveling in South America. We went to a small coffee farm where the owner, Don Elias, showed us around and explained to us the coffee making process. He still does everything by hand, from picking to drying to roasting the coffee. We also went to a bigger farm, where they use machines for everything, but that's a lot less interesting.

You can have coffee around the world in the other view corners:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,
caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, a day that is dessert, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t.,jeannette, outi, schanett, ritva, dongdong, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, dianna, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, jenna, skymring, elizabeth, audrey, allison, lise, cate, mon, victoria, crescent moon, erin, otli, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la lune dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, virgina, april, rebecca, b, sunnymama, kyndale, samantha, karen, kristina, angelina, dorit, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, nicki, ruth, mcgillicutty

Time for everything

2009-05-18T01:01:00.004+01:00

Do you know how we are always running around trying to get ahead of time? Getting stressed because there are just not enough hours in the day to finish everything in our to do list? How we never spend a day doing nothing because there is always something to do? Well, this weekend I didn't have to. I woke up on Saturday with a feeling that I had almost forgotten. Something that I hadn't felt since I was a child. The knowledge that there is, indeed, time, that we don't need to rush, that at least once in a while we can stop and look around, take in the beauty of being here and doing nothing else. Magically, the two days of my weekend seemed to stretch so that I had time to do a lot of nothing and enough time to do everything that was on my list.
And so, magazines were read and cut, books were finished, the fabric for my dressmaking project was cut, meals were prepared (with my help; this almost never happens, the boyfriend cooks. I know, I'm lucky), naps were taken, photos were selected for my Mood postcards, new blogs were discovered... there was even some time to write in my journal.
I wish I knew where that feeling came from, and what it was that made me feel relaxed and productive at the same time. For it doesn't happen often and I know it won't last. Soon I'll be fretting around again, my piles of magazines and books always growing, my lists getting longer and longer.
Maybe it was the intermittent rain that we had all weekend. It relaxed me and made me sit still, listening to the drops. I almost wish it rained every day.

It's the small things...

2009-05-14T23:31:00.007+01:00

Amanda over at Sucker for marketing published 6 unimportant things that make her happy and invited us all to play along. So here it's my list!

Weekday mornings: Now, hear me out, not that I'm crazy to go to work, but I've come to cherish the time in the mornings before I go to work. I've got into the habit of getting up an hour earlier than I need to and so I'm normally the first one up. I love getting down to the kitchen, putting the kettle on, having the first coffee of the morning (one of many), and sitting down with my coffee and my journal or my Mac, to think, write, or read.

Home made fruit smoothies: They make me feel good and healthy and they are so, so yummy!

Borders: I love the Borders in Oxford. I should probably tell you that the concept of a bookshop where you can browse, pick up books or magazines, sit down with them (and a coffee), and just relax and enjoy is completely alien in Spain. I literally could not believe it the first time that I got into Borders when I moved here 8 years ago. It's still my favourite place, although I should probably not go so often, specially when I'm trying to think before I buy.

Friends, the TV series: I know what you are thinking. It may not be the best TV program in the history of TV, but a good episode of Friends never, ever fails to put me in a good mood. In fact, J has learnt that when I'm having "one of those days", he only has to suggest we watch an episode to make me happier.

Blogging: Why? Real people ask me (that's people not in the blogosphere). Let me see: I've made new friends, there's going to be a blog camp, and we're starting a book club. In blogs I find lots of inspiration, laughs, beautiful photos, crazy ideas, random facts... and all, without leaving the house.

My pink wellington boots! which are not really pink, but anyway...

What small things make you happy?

Sisterhood in the blogosphere

2009-05-14T12:29:00.003+01:00

A while ago I got this lovely award from Mrs Rotty, and I've been meaning to pass it on.

I have to nominate at least 5 blogs with great attitude and/or gratitude. I'm nominating the lovely ladies who are coming to blog camp, because I do think that their blogs reflect the right attitude, with witty posts, sense of humour, clever social commentary and just the right amount of craziness, and because I think blog camp is the perfect example of the great things that can happen in the blogosphere, and a sign of true sisterhood. So for you ladies, no need to pass it on, just enjoy!
Julochka, from moments of perfect clarity
Extranjera, from What will I ever do with my life?
Polly, from Sotto Voce
Seaside Stories
Kristina, from Vigdis et al.
And, finally Lynette, from Wheatlands News, who is not coming to Denmark, but is organizing a Blog Camp: South Africa.