Autumn has arrived

Posted on October 18, 2015 by myeye1

Summer has come to an end and Autumn has now arrived, here in England. Autumn is probably my favourite time of year, as the days are cool but still bright and there are less bugs around too which in my opinion is always good! The other things I love about Autumn are the beautiful displays of newly changed leaves, from luscious greens to fiery reds, yellows and oranges.

On one such bright a day, I decided to take a walk in one of the several parks near where I live. This particular park is lovely; it has a nice lake, a grand looking mansion with a pretty flower garden, and a boating and play area. Armed with my camera, I kept my eyes open for any new autumnal displays, and it wasn’t long before I came across lots.

The highlight of my walk was coming across some cute, late summer ducklings (I didn’t get too close in case their protective mother came after me) and several curious, cheeky squirrels who were very interested in my camera. I also loved seeing freshly fallen conkers reminding me of childhood fun-filled contests.

I really enjoyed my walk and as we go deeper into the season I’ll keep my eyes peeled for more interesting developments.

Italian gardens in London

Posted on October 8, 2015 by myeye1

Wondering around Hyde park earlier this year I came across the Italian Gardens. The Gardens have embellished statues, urns and large water fountains, all which create a really nice relaxing space.

The main water fountain leading to the top of the Serpentine lake was a combination of a group of boys holding a huge platter with a woman on either side holding an urn, all pouring water into the lake.

On the far side of the garden is a chapel with really pretty flowers planted on either side in neat geometric rows.

I thought the gardens were laid out nicely and kept in really good condition. I found them to be a calming space with the sound of rushing water from the fountains drowning out some of the background noise and pretty flowers soothing to the eyes. I’ll definitely look to visiting it again at some point.

Capturing artwork

Posted on September 20, 2015 by myeye1

I recently went to the National Gallery in London and since my last visit you are now allowed to take photographs. I would normally never take photographs of paintings as I always would want to visit and appreciate the work in person, but on this occasion I decided to take a few snaps as a nice reminder. The photos I took were of some of my favourite paintings by great artists that I’m lucky to have on my doorstep in London, namely The Waterlily Pond by Monet and Sunflowers by Van Gogh.

I always like to take a moment and think about how long it must have taken to create such a painting and what kind of person the artist must have been to paint in this way during their life, artworks that really stand the test of time. I love being able to see the textures of the layered paint and the colours, which close up looks quite messy but stand back and you see how great it all comes together and looks quite beautiful.

I hope to visit again at some point and enjoy all the great paintings that are luckily so easy for me to access.

Mad as a Hatters tea party

Posted on September 15, 2015 by myeye1

My younger sister decided to throw all the women in the family a tea party. She spent weeks and weeks secretly buying and making decorations and props to complete the look of her theme; the classic, Mad Hatters Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland.

We were all amazed at how much effort had gone into all the little touches; the tiny book cover cake toppers (which were my favourite), quotes from book Alice, the decorations made of book pages, a real top hat and more.

Aside from all the snacks on offer, which we had after lunch, there was lots of food to eat. We had pasties, sandwiches, pasta, chicken strips and much more that we all enjoyed. My sister also set up a photo board so we could take pictures against a pretty, floral background and everyone had lots of fun playing with the different face parts that she had made too.

We all had a fun afternoon, enjoying all the good food and especially the various cakes and desserts on offer. I’m sure that we’ll have more parties to come seeing how much everyone enjoyed this one. You can see my sister’s post and more pictures here

WPC: Close up

Posted on July 28, 2015 by myeye1

Those that have been following my blog for a while know I love a close up of a pretty flower. I especially like tulips which look elegant and fun, and come in an array of colours. This such flower has petals with interesting pink strokes, almost making them look like bird feathers.

Eid exhibit

Posted on July 15, 2015 by myeye1

At the end of Ramadan muslims around the world have a day of celebration called Eid-al-Fitr. Muslims have a great meal with family and friends, give each other gifts and money, and wear nice, often new, clothes. In preparation of Eid, my sisters and I went to an Eid exhibition in London to see what new designs of outfits were available to buy. The outfits available were designer pieces and more expensive than I tend to buy but it was nice to see what other styles were around. My photos didn’t come out too well as the lighting in the room wasn’t as bright as I would liked, but hopefully they give an idea of what was on show.

There was a nice range of beautiful outfits, from heavily decorated dresses with pearls and diamantes, metal and thread embroidery to less extravagant outfits with just thread work or prints. Some were more suitable for weddings than an eid celebration but it was nice to see the intricate work that went into making some of these outfits.

As well as clothes there was a section that had stunning metal clutch purses and colourful jewellery. And to complete the look there was also a makeup artist on hand to give beauty tips and makeovers to guests, which my sisters trialed. We were also treated to drinks and fancy cupcakes and biscuits to keep our energy levels up.

We didn’t end up buying anything in the end as although many of the outfits caught out eye they were just a bit too expensive and out of our budget, but we did enjoy talking to some of the designers and looking at lots of pretty things.

Colourful creativity

Posted on June 14, 2015 by myeye1

I love stationary, and these coloured pencils I came across in my sister’s house caught my eye. The creative potential they hold in all these various colours is inspiring.

East London street art

Posted on June 8, 2015 by myeye1

I recently went to dinner with friends in Brick Lane and one of the things I really enjoy in this part of East London, apart from the food, is the amazing street art. For those who don’t know, Brick Lane is known for it’s delicious food and wide range of interesting street art, and whilst I was waiting I took a walk to check out the artwork. It wasn’t long before I had my phone out and began taking photos (and I wasn’t the only one).

I wasn’t walking for long but I managed to take lots of photos. What I loved was seeing just how talented these artists were and the array of different styles and vivid colours that were used to express ideas and notions. You could see in some areas new paint covering the old, showing how art in this part of London is alive and ever changing.

I hope I can go back soon with my camera and spend longer admiring and capturing the artwork and I’m sure that there’ll be lots of new ones to see when I do.

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate

Posted on May 17, 2015 by myeye1

Just before Easter I went to a chocolate fair in London with my sister and niece. We were excited about all the possible chocolate creations we’d see and we weren’t disappointed! There was was a big range of beautiful and clever designs which were a treat for all our senses.

Our favourite stall was one that had chocolate in various shapes and forms that we thought were really fun.

I think what I really like about these are that they have been dusted with cocoa to make them look rusty.

We also saw a collection of other chocolates in interesting (and slightly strange) shapes, from chocolate samosas to face prints.

Some of the chocolate looked so artistic and beautiful and just too good to eat. I especially love these colourful blocks

We came across other clever and pretty ideas too; chocolates named after Shakespeare’s leading ladies, elegant balls and textured cubes.

Aside from chocolate there were so many other delicious looking and sweet smelling treats; definitely something for everyone.

One of the best things was that we were able to have a taste of most of the products before buying, and we didn’t hold back!

We all really enjoyed the day, taking photos of all the lovely things to buy and taste. We bought home a range of goodies for ourselves and for family whilst trying to not to be tempted to buy one of everything! I still have lots more photos but I’ll have to post about them another time.

I would definitely recommend going to a chocolate festival for those with a sweet tooth and a love of eye candy. I’m currently thinking of going to the one that’s being held towards Christmas to see what other fun ideas that might be presented.

Trip to the garden centre

Posted on April 29, 2015 by myeye1

Every year in early Spring my mum visits our local garden centre to buy a range of plants for our garden, this year I happened to have a few days of work so decided to tag along. There was a wide range of flower and vegetable plants to choose from.

There were also some interesting garden ornaments; I love the giant chess pieces and the elephants and cheeky gnomes would make a nice addition to any garden too. I was also intrigued to see the old fashioned styled brooms made of straw.

We got a little carried away and it was hard to not buy at least one of everything, but in the end we chose some strawberry and pepper plants and and variety of flowers so we have a range of treats for the eyes and tastebuds to look forward to.