Homecoming - Tree Of Life Doormat From Red Candy UK

Sometimes you see something so unbelievably perfect for someone, that you just have to get it. That was how I felt when I saw this gorgeous Tree Of Live doormat, which immediately made my think of my wonderful mother in law and her pretty countryside home. Ever since I've known her she's been looking out for a Tree Of Life tapestry which didn't cost the earth, and whilst it's not that exact item, this doormat was pretty cute and within my limited #freelancelife budget. As she does a lot of gardening and goes on a lot of countryside walks, it was the perfect thing for a little extra Easter gift.

Freeze Frame - A Mobile Photography Competition with Giff Gaff.

I'm never normally too far away from a camera, but have found myself using my phone more and more to capture those off-the-cuff moments when running from one destination to the next. As such, my Instagram feed is filled with lots of photos of London at it's finest so when I saw that GiffGaff were running a #nofilter photography competition, I thought I'd "give it a shot".

My entry is the image above - a shot taken on my phone as we pulled into Paddington station ahead of some almost apocalyptic storms which London experienced a few weeks ago. The sky was crazy, but utterly stunning and was definitely a scene which didn't need any sort of filter thrown on top.

The competition got me thinking about other images I've shot on my phone, so went through my feed and pulled out a few of my other favourites.


















In addition to those ones, here are a few images which have been taken on my phone but had a little tweak with the help of filters.











If you want to give the competition a go yourself, the rules can be found on the GiffGaff website here.

Until next time,

Diana xx

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Bloglovin and Facebook.
www.fashionlovesphotos.com

(All photos (c) Diana Thompson / Fashion Loves Photos unless otherwise stated. Please do not reproduce without written permission.)

Blue Skies.

I love living in London, but the last few weeks have been crazy and I could not wait to escape to the countryside to spend the Easter bank holiday with Howard's lovely family.

It was four days of boardgames, good food and countryside walks with a touch of Easter Bunny magic thrown in for good measure.

My fruit bunny made by Howard's niece and nephew.

The personalised Kinder egg I made for Howard. Turns out it's impossible to re-wrap them once open! 

Mount Everest - one of the many, many boardgames played over the four day weekend.

Although I've been visiting Lambourn for almost three years, it was only this weekend where I felt like I'd really explored it. Howard, my lovely sort-of-sister-in-law and I all went for a 5k walk through the local fields, which despite nearly killing me thanks to big hills and hayfever, was very much worth it for the stunning views.

The start of this walk is just minutes away from the Burdett parental home, and it offers breathtaking views and a path of wild flowers to make you feel like you've stumbled into some sort of fairytale.

We were also lucky enough to see two families of ducks and ducklings learning to swim against the current in the river running along the backgarden. There were several cries of "Ducks! Ducks!" over the weekend which led to everyone running outside to see them. Although the first family of ducklings were older, the second one were very much still tiny balls of fluff!

Most importantly, I got to spend lots of time with this handsome face. It currently feels so rare that we're not stuck to cameras or laptops until late in the evening, so it was absolute bliss to just spend time together doing very little. Most mornings began with playing boardgames in pyjamas with his mum at the breakfast table, and that pretty much set the pace for the rest of the day!

That said, no matter how lovely it is to get away, there really is no place like home and it was nice to be back in London.

Until next time,

Diana xx

Follow me on Blogloving, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!

www.fashionlovesphotos.com

(All photos (c) Diana Thompson / Fashion Loves Photos unless otherwise stated. Please do not reproduce without written permission.)

Sweet Head (Two birthdays, Halloween and a wedding.)

I know that this post comes a little late to the party, but I really love October. Not only do I get to revert back to being some sort of sugar engulfing eight year old with Halloween, I also get to celebrate my birthday, Howard's birthday and an assortment of other people's happiness which this year included a wedding.

This Halloween I was DJing at Whiskey Kittens, where I had an assortment of tricks and treats ready to play. With Howard away at a conference in Chicago, it was always going to feem more like a "girls night out" with some of my best friends and they certainly didn't disappoint with costumes ranging from a siren like Medusa to  the most incredible Sugar Skull make-up I've ever seen.

I decided to go as my favourite anti-hero, Daria complete with her trademark big fringe and *cough* "round" glasses.

Green Cardigan: Primark

Mustard Yellow T-Shirt: Primark

Black Skirt: ASOS (in the sale for just £14!)

Tights: Lida Tights

Green Sequin Collar: H&M

Record Necklace: Tatty Devine.

DM Boots: Stolen from boyfriend.

Glasses: eBay.

One of the most important lists of all lists, ever.

One of the other things I love about October is that mine and my boyfriend's birthdays are very close together. Although we will celebrate them together separately, the Saturday in the middle of them is normally reserved for a birthday blow-out with our closest friends. This year, it was a Saturday of booze, cakes and boardgames. And when I say cake, I wasn't messing around...

And then of course there was the wedding. One of my dearest friends had made the jump in the most happiest of ways, and so it was a weekend of celebrating in the countryside with my camera in tow.

Fascinator: SaiSai in Camden.

Dress and Cardigan: Matalan.

Tights: Lida Tights.

Iridescent Hearts Necklace: Tatty Devine.

The weekend was beautiful, and I felt lucky to have my most favourite arm candy with me - my dapper gentleman.

Although the day of the wedding was quite stormy, the return journey through the British countryside was filled with the most blissful sunshine and Autumn scenery.

All in, October has been  a pretty fantastic month and with November kicked off in style with fireworks and mulled wine, I can't wait to see what else it has to offer!

Until next time,
Diana xx

Follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!
www.fashionlovesphotos.com

Date With The Night

Peggy Lee Dress from Vivien of Holloway, belt from ASOS Curve, Bolero by Yours Clothing, Bag is vintage, shoes from Primark and leggings from Simply Be.

Love has certainly been in the air this past week, and it was with a feeling of intense sappiness that I celebrated my second anniversary with Howard. 

Card doodles; clearly you can see why I'm a photographer and not an artist!

 We had spent hours on our very first date walking the streets of London in the sunshine, and somehow found our way to the courtyard of St Pauls Cathedral. It was there where we shared our first kiss, so we decided that it'd be nice to go back there with a picnic lunch in the sunshine after he'd finished work.

b

This little guy clearly didn't believe that three was a crowd, and seemed quite determined to sit in my lap at one point.

Since we were in the middle of an incredibly busy week for both of us, we decided to take things easy. We ditched plans for the cinema in favour of a cosy evening of boardgames which was silly and cute - even if I lost!

Customised necklace from Bete Noire Jewellery back when it was Clutterfly, flower (just seen) from Pearls & Swine.

Peggy Lee Dress from Vivien of Holloway, belt from ASOS Curve, Bag is vintage, shoes from Primark and leggings from Simply Be.

The next loved up adventure was just outside of Wiltshire for a 50th Wedding Anniversary. Cue the most unforgiving car and train journey on my life which served up humidity, dehydration and the worst traffic ever seen on a motorway.

The journey was worth it though, with a beautiful day celebrating some beautiful people.

The happy couple! (A sneaky back of camera shot).

Another back of camera grab.

Sunday morning meeting.

Beautiful countryside views.

Stonehenge.

Stonehenge.

The payload when we finally made it home!

Until next time,
Diana. x

www.fashionlovesphotos.com
instagram.com/grungekittyphotogeek
www.facebook.com/fashionlovesphotos
tumblr.fashionlovesphotos.com
twitter.com/grungekitty