Cheers to the long Holiday weekend!

Cheers to Thursday! What are you up to this 4th of July weekend? I'm signing off a day earlier as I'm about to pick up family from the airport. They are coming for a few days to explore the city and catch up with us. Wishing everyone a delicious, relaxing and jolly long weekend and I'll see you back here on Tuesday morning, but in the meantime, here is a bunch of cool links for you to enjoy.

British flower markets make me swoon on so many levels! You?

Are you having a cookout this weekend?

4,223 Central Park benches with stories to tell...

Oh my goodness, would you dare? (Me? Never!).

'Why I go barefoot in my kitchen.'

For all the jewelry lovers, SimaG is having a 40% sale on all her goodies. Here is the code.

The ins and out of BPA!

'I've decided to give up alcohol, at least for a while'.

Brilliant studio apartment layout ideas that actually work!

Wouldn't you love to live in a house covered in flowers?

The 'it' 4th of July salad:)

Having trouble falling asleep? This podcast will help:)

Ah, a rainbow of flowers!

11 secrets to choose the perfect perfume.

Do you like poached eggs?

Love this hair transformation...

The one thing to eliminate from your tiny flat.

And a few beautiful flag dishes for your Holiday weekend.

And fancy a blast from the past?
- Five years ago today.
- Four years ago yesterday.
- Two years ago today.
- One year ago today.

P.S: How about a bit of chit-chat? Join me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and even Pinterest.

(Photo via This Is Libbets)

This Week's Gems

This blouse + those trousers = summer uniform at its best!...

How gorgeous is this personalized zodiac sign necklace?...

What a stylish pepper and salt set...

Dotted stardust goodness...

Fancy Sunday morning in a jar?...

Those tear drop earring are on my summer wish list...

The prettiest scarf...

My peony-loving heart adores this print to pieces!...

I want wooden everything...

One of each, please!...

Oh, how sassy are those nail wraps?...

The best and loveliest shoes for long summer walks...

Stunning!...

Aren't they lovely?...

Swoonworthy wedding gown...

On my wish list...

Gorgeous napkins for your next dinner party...

Dearies, what caught your eye this week? Any great finds or buys?

P.S: Fancy more gems?

10 Summer-Ready Takes on Watermelon

It's 92% water, contains lots of vitamins that help maintain body temperature and ease digestion - this round red fruit is what summer is all about - at least in my book! So with the Holiday weekend just around the corner, here are 10 incredibly satisfying, nifty, delicious, surprising (hello jam!), cooling and festive watermelon recipes that have summer written all over...

Staring with those amazing oysters served with pickled watermelon rind mignonette...

Watermelon chiffon pie...

Summer bliss juice with watermelon (of course!), cucumber, basil and rose water...

Watermelon rind jam...

Watermelon fruit pizza...

Spicy watermelon and lime popsicle with Ancho...

Watermelon rind pickles...

Thai watermelon salad with ginger and Asian fish sauce...

Watermelon and pineapple smoothie...

Halloumi + watermelon +mint...

Any favourites? How you like to eat your watermelon?

P.S: And let's not forget those watermelon melts:)
P.P.S: Plus, a few jazzy takes on water you might want to try.

(Photos by/via Renee Kemps, Ambitious Kitchen, Domino, Scaling Back, Earthy Feast, The First Mess, Watermelon, Honestly Nourished, Bobbi Lin for Food52 and The Hungry Hounds)

Summer Denim Tweak

Fancy making your go-to denim even cooler this summer? Simply embroider your favourite jean skirt or a pair of jeans with a special word, a sentence that is close to your heart or a little gem like a cactus, just for fun!

Recently, Geneva shared the ins and outs of how to jazz up your clothes that way (using two different methods) and I’m all for it. I love those little tweaks that make our go-to-uniforms even sassier. What word would you embroider?

P.S: And summer dress perfection.
P.P.S: Plus, a bit of this and that.

(Photos by AP&AS)

Bridget is Back!

Golly, it’s time to dust off those big pants and get ready for September 16th, because Bridget is back with a bang - along with a baby and two possible (and dapper) daddies by her side! Anyway, the newest trailer was just released this morning and if I may say so myself, it doesn’t disappoint :) Have a look for yourself and join me, because an 11-year wait deserves a happy dance!

P.S: Here is the first trailer back from March and did you know that they shot several different endings?
P.P.S: The ins and outs of Bridget Jones's Diary.

(Trailer via Red Magazine. Top photo via IMBb)

Blossom Girls

Holy moly, how fetching are those flower print girls? They were created by a super talented Chicago-based mother-daughter duo, Vicki and Brook. When they design a new piece, they then document it with a photograph and recycle everything they used back into the earth. But the best bit of all is that you can actually snatch a print for yourself, if you fancy. Which one is your favourite? I’m totally smitten with the fringe-short-bob girl – cutie!

P.S: Ah, daydreaming about this secret spot in Paris...
P.P.S: Remember those or these?

(via Taxi)

Summer Floral Hair Comb

I'll take any excuse to wear flowers in my hair and it seems that Gwen feels the same way. Let's face it, flowers have magical powers and we should all wear them more.

So it's no surprise how much I love these divine floral hair combs that you can wear for a random coffee with friends, a dinner party or a summer wedding. I think we all need a bit of flower power from time to time, don't we? Here is the full how-to if you fancy making those combs yourself. Would you?

P.S: Is it OK to go grey?
P.P.S: Sassy feet.

(Photos by Material Delight via/for Design*Sponge)

Cherry Nice Cream

Hmm, too hot to eat something proper? Here is something that might keep you cool and satisfied. Just blend four (peeled, chopped, frozen) bananas with 1/3 cup of pitted cherries and a tiny piece of vanilla bean. Then top it all off with some more pitted cherries, put your feet up and indulge! Deal?

This cherry nice cream is the best thing ever on a hot summer day. You're welcome:)

P.S: Speaking of...

P.P.S: And this.

(Photos and the brilliant recipe by This Rawsome Vegan Life)

The Art of the Wedding Toast

Personally, I tend to dread giving a wedding toast, as admittedly 95% of them are utterly embarrassing or awkward – in a hilarious type-of-way. Let face it, it's hard to put together something funny and personal about the bride or groom that a big chunk of the guests will find beautifully touching as well.

Having said that, Balazs and I have a friend who is a pro at giving wedding toasts making everyone fall in love with his stories - even me, the rather cynical type:) Anyway, Matt uses a simple 3-1-2 toast formula he read in The New York Times.

It works like a charm and it goes like this:

First, for a few minutes you should speak in the third person, sharing a funny story or a warm memory about the bride or groom. Next, you should say a few genuine words in the first person, explaining your own feelings about the groom or bride. And finally, you should speak directly to the couple in the second person. “May you have a life filled with...” or “May you always find joy in...”

That is all - short, personal, beautiful and truly heartfelt. What more do you need, right? Have you ever given a wedding toast? How did it go?

P.S: Sweet, little wedding moments.
P.P.S: 100 years of wedding dresses in 3 minutes.

(Toast tip by Bruce Feiler. Photo by Lisa Poggi via Rock My Wedding)

The New "It" Wine (and it's blue)

What wine do you drink? White, red, rosé, sweet or dry? I'm all about a chilled glass of rosé or a bottle of a great sparkling Italian wine, but this might just change...

Ha! Have you heard of blue wine? Last week my mom sent me the link to a brilliant Spanish startup that came up with this rather genius and beautiful wine made of both red and white grapes sourced from various vineyards across Spain. The blue tint comes from a mix of pigment found in grape skin and indigo dye that is naturally extracted from Isatis tinctoria plant. That hue makes me swoon!

P.S: Yummy!
P.P.S: Remember this?

(via Time. Photos via Gik)

Cheers to a summer weekend

Cheers to the weekend, lovely ladies:) What are you up to? Balazs and I have no big plans, just catching up on laundry and being utterly lazy:) Wishing everyone a jolly good next two days and I'll see you back here on Monday morning but in the meantime, fancy going down the internet rabbit hole? Enjoy!

Dreaming of a timeless French-inspired wardrobe?

Village vibes in London's Harrow on the Hill...

Fancy some style advice?

Hmm...

So special.

Natural mosquito bite remedies that actually work!

Dancing for the future...

The state of the domestic goddess.

How to drink coffee like an Italian:)

Yum!

Why you should exercise.

And 5 actually fun ways to do so.

Six simple and free tips for healthy skin.

I'm intrigued, you?

The ultimate after-sun soothing lotion that you can make yourself.

Yes!

And fancy a blast from the past?
- Five years ago today.
- Four years ago tomorrow.
- Three years ago today.
- Two years ago today.
- One year ago today.

P.S: How about a bit of chit-chat? Join me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and even Pinterest.

(Photo via Takashi Takimoto)

This Week's Gems

Cheery:)...

How swoonworthy is this pink Sapphire charm necklace?...

Love!...

I want this dress in every colour - the perfect summer go-to piece...

Wow, this stunning lava bracelet is made with natural round lava rock beads - how special!...

This cookbook seems lovely...

The prettiest earring for summer!...

Aww...

Beauty...

Coral branch goodness at its best!...

Ha! A nifty jar opener...

I can't get enough of personalized charm bracelets...

Oh, how much I need one of those lovely eye pillows...

Sweet little skirt for summer!...

The loveliest beach blanket:)...

Dearies, what caught your eye this week? Any great finds or buys?

P.S: Fancy more gems?