Spitalfields, London

Yesterday, I took a trip to Spitalfields, a part of London I have never seen before- it is so interesting  and unusual.

Kenny Hunter's award winning Goat / Judy's Vintage Fair (well worth a visit!) / Christ Church / Pretty Books! / 'Paleys Upon Pilers statue, Aldgate / A. Gold shop / Looking out on the market.

Caroline xxx

A Mini Review- Nivea Lip Butter

I'm not one for lip balms- they get left at the bottom of my bag, and I never use them. This also means that I get incredibly dry lips, and can never be bothered to do much about it, as there doesn't seem to be a product that will deal with this properly without making my lips either greasy or excessively glossy. Well, that is where this comes in- I had heard a little about the 'raspberry rose' flavour of this lip butter, but when I was in Superdrug, I had a little smell of the testers and this one smelt so much better. SO, so, so, so tasty! If I could send you smells across the internet, you would agree (I promise!) It moisturises so well and lasts for ages- just what you need from a lip balm! 

You can find it here 

Enjoy!

Caroline xxx

Wishlist 9- Red/Brown

Brouges/ Blazer/ Dress/ Sunglasses/ Bag/ Hat/ Jumper/ Flats/ Sunglasses/ Watch/ Dress/ Bag/ Handbag

20 Questions!

This is a slightly different post today- made by my friend Frizz (she's starting her own blog- yay!)

We decided to do a kind of 20 Questions post, for my 'About me' page, as it was looking a bit boring! 

Here they are then:

Favourite colours?
Mustard Yellow and Duck-Egg Blue

Favourite hobbies (beside blogging of course!)?
Sewing, Baking and Playing my Clarinet & Guitar :)

Favourite ice cream?
My Mum’s Honeycomb & Vanilla- Yummmmy!

What makes you happy?
Lovely Comments and Emails about my blog (keep them coming- I love to hear about you! xx)

What makes you blue?
Too expensive but too lovely Etsy finds... The bane of everyone’s life :(

Any chances of a recipe? :)
The honeycomb recipe is from Lorraine Pascale

Favourite bloggers at the moment?
Kinsey from Sincerely Kinsey and Hannah from Foxtail & Fern

Favourite book?
The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson, Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson (review here) and Coraline by Neil Gaiman (Because it is about meee!)

Favourite music?
Might be here for a while... Laura Marling, Regina Spektor, Ben Howard, Lana Del Rey, Mumford & Sons, First Aid Kit, Alt-J & Jake Bugg :) 

Best shops?
Tiger (Gotta love Tiger), John Lewis for their haberdashery department, H&M, Modcloth, Love From Hetty and Dave & Etsy (Course!) 

Where do you want to visit (on holiday)?

St. Petersburg, Rome, Finland & Venice, not really sure why :)

Favourite quote?
‘We are all made of stars’ by Moby

How long have you been blogging?
Since August 2012- not very long but I love blogging- always puts a smile on my face

Favourite pen?
Orange fineliner- strange question! x The Stabilo orange fineliner is pure genius! I agree :) 

Lifelong ambition?
To write a book! I don't know what about, but it would be nice, y'know?

Favourite fonts?
Times New Roman (what I use on my blog) and Mountain Retreat 

Any advice for other bloggers?
Cheesy, but be yourself, and write about what YOU want to write about- there is no point in trying to be like someone else- you have to have your own ideas- make it a bit original! In the end, it’s your blog and you have to enjoy writing it! 

What photo editors do you use?
Pixlr, Picmonkey & Gimp (Occasionally Photoshop too)

What did you want to be when you were younger?
Don’t laugh- I was 5... I wanted to live in Spain on the beach and teach foreign languages. Interesting considering I don’t speak Spanish! 

Favourite artist?
Rob Ryan, of course

What fruit do you think you would be if you had to choose?
Ooh, another hard one- Pomegranate? Just because they are so pretty and yummy!

There we go! Thank you Frizz for the lovely questions! xx

Ben Howard & Landscape Videos

Inspiration Edition 2- Ben Howard & Landscape Videos

~•~

I was really wanting to share some really beautiful videos with you that I came across when listening to my favourite song lately (Ben Howard, I will be Blessed), and I decided to combine two posts into one, and share some music I have been listening to and some pretty videos! I hope that one day I could make stunning videos like these!

All of these videos use music taken from these two Ben Howard albums- The Burgh Island (Oats in the Water) and Every Kingdom (Gracious & I will be Blessed) 

~•~

This first one is my favourite- both the video and the music are just amazing! The song is Gracious from the album Every Kingdom (see above), and the video is by hounddogpictures, and if you haven't seen any of their work then I suggest you take a look- they also did a pretty video for Oats in the Water (see below...)

~•~

This second video is also by hounddogpictures and is for the song Oats in the Water. It is beautiful and goes really well with the song chosen. 

~•~

The final one is for I Will be Blessed, and is also really inspiring, and the mix of beautiful sunny landscapes and green trees makes me really miss the summer! 

I hope you enjoy watching these videos as much as I do, and that they inspire you too! 

Caroline xxx

Wishlist 7, Green or Blue?

Clockwise from top left;

Dress/Bag/Nail Polish/Shoes/Notebook/Jacket/Nail Polish/Dress/Chair/Camera/Teatowel

Chuck Close & Keira Rathbone

Inspiration Edition 1- Chuck Close & Keira Rathbone

~•~

Chuck Close

I found a book in my library the other day- Chuck Close, Face Book. It is a beautiful book, and I was inspired to have a look at some of Chuck Close's other work. He is a photographer and an artist, and takes portraits and self portraits. He then paints them using a square grid. I think he is really inspirational, as he was paralysed from the chest down, but was determined to paint again, even if he had to 'spit the paint onto the canvas.' 

I love his polaroid photographs like the ones above, and the way he uses paint to form patterns within the grids. 

~•~

Keira Rathbone

Keira Rathbone uses vintage typewriters to create these beautiful pieces of artwork, which are absolutely stunning. The amount of patience she must have!

~•~

Hope these amazing artists inspire you too!

Caroline xxx

Photos from here, here, and here

If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

January has been a long month, but a good one! The start of the year, and yet Christmas seems so long ago! I thought I would show you what I've been doing this month!

I love this DIY by Jordan from Oh Happy Day- stunning illustrations by Samantha Hahn and a really pretty hairstyle as well. I love the idea of a craft night to learn a new technique, and they had the most gorgeous gift bags! If you want to know more, look here

My favourite post so far this year on The Little Skylark is this Gibson Tuck tutorial- I hope you like it too! 

In terms of music, my favourite album has been Of Monsters and Men, My Head is an Animal.

(I know, I know, it was released in September, but I've been listening to it non stop!)

This is my favourite song- The King and the Lionheart! 

And lastly, this book, Everything Alice. It was a Christmas present from my lovely sister, and it's beautiful. Full of clever DIY ideas, and papercuts! I might do a full review of this later- keep an eye out! Photo via www.vintagefolly.com

Hope it's been a good start to your year too! 
Caroline xxx

~ • ~

"If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"

Percy Shelley

Wishlist 6- Orange or Blue?

Orange or Blue? Or Both?

Have a nice week! Caroline xxx

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2013- Resolutions & The Coming Year

I don't normally set new year's resolutions, 

but I thought I would set myself a couple for blogging in the next year, 

and give you a little hint of what is coming up for the little skylark in 2013! 

New Year's Resolutions!

1. Take the time to produce something good

I have learnt a lot in the few months I have been blogging, and I think that it is SO important to enjoy what you are doing, 

and produce something you are proud of at the end. It is too easy to stick with what you know you can do, especially when you are short on time or when you feel it isn't worth it. Well it is! So there! I want the little skylark to be interesting, and not boring, and I want to be proud of it.

2. Be prepared

I have a habit of only blogging when I have the time, which means blog posts are sometimes not as good as I want them to be! I think the solution to this is to be prepared, and plan ahead! 

3. Share more with you!

I think I sometimes miss out on a blog post because I don't have my camera with me, so what am I going to do? Take my camera along whenever I can, and take more photos for you! I also want to choose the content you want to see, for example DIYs! 

The next year...

In the next year, there is a lot in store for the little skylark- there are going to be a couple of new types of posts (coming up soon!), in August, the little skylark turns 1! (Yay,) you can now like the little skylark on  facebook at www.facebook.com/thelittleskylark! There will also be more DIYs and papercut templates as they are your favourites (if you want to see more of anything else- comment or email me!)

I hope 2013 is a good year for you!

Caroline xx

It's nearly Christmas!!!!

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while- life has been very busy
these last few weeks!
Guess what I figured out today? 

It is only one month until Christmas!!!

I thought I'd share a little of what I've been doing this weekend...

I found this absolutely gorgeous bag (William Morris print)
from Liberty, it makes me sad though, because it is £195....

And, I know, I know, I keep going on about these candles

but they are absolutely gorgeous!!! My favourite is the 

chocolate brownie one. It smells amazing! They are from IKEA

And finally some of my instagrams from November and October!

(And I thought I'd just say a massive thank you to everyone who has got here 

by one of my little skylark tags (top right) 

and to those of you that are spreading the word!!!)

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!!!

Caroline xxx

Wishlist 5...

I spotted a few of these things the other day (Christmas shopping already!!!)

and I thought I'd do a little wishlist for you :)

1. Coconut macaroon scented candle.... yes please!!! From anthropologie

2. This is possibly the cutest necklace EVER!!! From modcloth

3. I love this toothbrush holder (from urban outfitters), reminds me 

of the coffee and TV blur video- here

4. These gorgeous earmuffs are from modcloth

5. This is possibly my dream present, from urban outfitters

6. This Swedish- inspired dala horse from possibly the cutest shop ever-

little moose

7. This bag is very cute and pretty, again from little moose

8. Finally, I think this origami necklace would work well

stacked up with a few other simple pendants- from etsy

just a few ideas if you are stuck for Christmas shopping inspiration!!!

Caroline xxx

Wishlist 4...

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Sneak Peak...

I have been working on a bird's nest ring DIY,

but I thought that I would show you a little of my inspiration...

This simple, cute bow wire ring, from here

These pretty wire wrap rings from here

This gorgeous wood burned ring from here

And a little sneak peak of my DIY- coming your way soon! 

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

I wanted to share an amazing band I've discovered recently-

 First Aid Kit.

They are a pair of sisters from Sweden- Johanna and Klara.

Below is one of my favourite songs, 

The Lion's Roar- Have a listen!!! 

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

Friedrich Nietzsche

Wishlist 3...

Bringing out my inner vampire... mwahaha!

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There is no Friend as Loyal as a Book

I Capture the Castle is definitely one of my favourite books ever,

so I thought I would share it with you!
It is a classic novel, written by Dodie Smith in the 1940's
 and was made into a film in 2003.

Reasons to read this book:
-It has a really sweet, charismatic narrator.
-It is set in an old ruined castle in 1930's Britain.
-The narrator's older sister is really beautiful,
and wants to live in a Jane Austen novel!
-There are some funny moments as well as melancholy ones,
captivating ones and perfect ones.
-I couldn't put it down! 

And also, I am really excited about the new Mumford & Sons album!
It is called Babel, and is released on the 24th September!
I can't wait!!!

Wishlist 2...

Makes me want to go back to the countryside!
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Reasons To Read This Book

News! You can now follow me on Bloglovin (search for my blog) - here

And  also, I just wanted to let you know about this really good book I read on holiday-

It is called Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, and is by Morgan Matson.

 Reasons to read this book...

-Everyone loves a good road trip, and this book is just that. 

-Like all good road trips, it is not just about what you see on the way.

-It  has the cutest hero & heroine ever, 

even though the car is pretty weighed down with all their emotional baggage!

-The book is full of photos, maps, playlists and even hand- drawn pictures.

-It may seem like a book crammed full of issues, but it's actually really funny,

I mean how can it not be, with a quest to save a fish in an ice- cream shop,

a chainsaw- wielding gardener and haikus about hiking?!!  

You can buy it here

Happy Reading! :)

Wishlist 1...

So many gorgeous things!!! 

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