A holiday...

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

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

* 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

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

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

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...

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!

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

 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

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!