London baby...food

Well, I really felt I should dedicate a whole post to some of the fantastic foods we ate over the 2 days...and yes, there was more than enough to fill a post! We started with traditional pub food and hot apple cider...mmm although I didn't get any pictures of this...we were too hungry and it didn't last long! Emma later told me that we were going to see a show as a suprise and that we were booked into a restaurant at 11pm that night so we needed to eat before the show. We found an absolutely adorable restaurant/pattisserie and ate calamari with truffle fries...no I'd never heard of them either but my goodness they were fantastic!! 

We also picked a cake each from this gorgeous selection!

After our show, we walked (in ridiculously high and painful shoes) almost a mile to Inamo, a japanese restaurant with a twist. The table was interactive!

There was a little mouse pad by each person and you went through the menu and simply ordered via your table. this completely blew my mind! Whatever dish you were looking at showed up on your plate too...A..MA..ZING!!

And I've never had food like it. I definately have a new favourite. It was delicious!

On Sunday morning, we couldnt resist a traditional breakfast...at Starbucks of course!

Now although I didn't eat here I feel compelled to show you this doughnut stand that we found in Camden.

Have you ever seen so many doughnuts in one place! Like...wow!

Anyway, that's enough about food, it's making me hungry, check back later for one final London post!

Love Danielle

xxx

London baby...shopping

Hi guys, this was totally supposed to be posted last night but I fell asleep at 8.30. Eek, I was super tired from the weekend and just couldn't keep my eyes open! Anyway, here are my tales from London (be aware these posts are super image heavy.)

So I got to London pretty early (after making a crazy dash for the train as mine had been cancelled!) and I met up with the beautiful Miss Emma and we scooted straight to the hotel to drop of all our bags and hit the shops! My first purchase was an amazingly snug knitted cardigan/wrap, from Topshop of all places...I never shop in there...but I couldn't resist!

admittedly, this is not the greatest photo...i will do a better one soon! I also bought these lovelies from Selfridges...I could seriously spend a lot of money in there!

I simply cant wait to get scribbling, there was no way I was going to London and not buying at least one notebook, right?

I love these shoes! I bought them in black and was smitten with them instantly, you can kind of see them here...

sadly...they completely fell apart that same night when I wore them out, we went to see Love Never Dies at the Adelphi theatre, which was so fantastic I can't even describe, and when we were walking to a restaurant afterwards they just gave up!

and this is me, trying to hold them together with hair grips...which worked, sort of. So anyway I had to take them back, but on the plus side I got to re-spend my money. 

I treated myself to a new bag, as mine had broken the day before...ok I broke it, but hey!

Isn't it pretty! We went to Urban Outfitter twice as I couldnt decide what to get, eventually I decided on these amazing notecards that I have wanted for months...

and this bow necklace...

then possibly my favourite shop...anthropologie...I wanted every other thing I saw in here...including half the furninshings. I got my little mits on this super cute mustard hair clip.

and this pale green diamante headband...swoon!

Just have a peek at some of the furniture they had too...it was all for sale but the prices were so astronomical it hurt to look at them!

I would kill for these drawers...my heart melted a little bit when I saw them!

and this bed is beyond anything I could dream...I had a daydream in the store about it being in my house...it looked so good!

I also loved this botanical wall, it was fantastically huge...it spanned 3 stories and was completely real. It smelled fantastic too!

So that's pretty much it for the shopping side of things...I'll be back soon with some random pictures that made me smile and a whole post dedicated to the food we ate, cos I was so excited about it!

Love Danielle

xxx

finding my way home

Hey there, I am sat on a train on my way home. I have had an amazing weekend and I can't wait to tell you all about it, oh and to show you my new beautiful things. I completely spoiled myself, we ate good food, drank cocktails, almost destroyed our feet in shoes that are just too high for words and laughed lots....



Isn't this kitty so sweet I found him and his frieda in Selfridges, I'll show you more about him later!

Love Danielle
xxx

ready, set....go

Oh my gosh, I am well and truly excitable tonight! I just finished packing my stuff to go to London tomorrow (hello 26 before 27!) to meet my best friend Emma. It's been planned for ages and I just can't wait! I'm going to try and get some decent sleep tonight because I got a cold last night...although I have kind of managed to fend it off with postive thinking....if I don't think I have a cold then I wont have one...worked so far but the sleep will do me good! I'm taking my new camera so expect some image heavy posts over the next few days! 

Oh, and here's what I made today, a spring time headband!

Lots of Love

Danielle

xxx

tick that box

Hi everyone, I'm super excitable today...I get one step closer to a couple of my 26 before 27's today. I got a little bit closer to my goal weight (even though it was my birthday and I totally enjoyed all the goodies) I have given a handmade gift (and have 7 more in the pipeline) and I found a new music artist to adore.

Miss Katie Melua. I have heard her stuff before and thought it was nice but it never really stuck...BUT my lovely friend Brooke told me she had heard her new song, The Flood and thought of me so I gave it a listen.

Wow...I am addicted! I have it on super annoying to everyone else but me repeat!!

Mixed in with A Happy Place - this really makes my heart sing! Such an inspiring song. It makes me want to dance! Infact, I have been guilty of some, ahem...behind closed doors and curtains dancing today!

Who is the soundtrack in your life at the moment??

Love Danielle

xxx

sharing some giveaway love!

Hi, just a quickie post to spread some giveaway goodness! Allison over at the CUTE crafted love is having a fab giveaway!

Allison has a gorgeous blog full of crafty delights, tutorials and a peek into her day to day! It's a definate, sit with a coffee blog! Just look at the amazing prizes you can win..although I am a teeny bit reluctant to share cos I want to win hehe!

There are tons of ways to win...so head on over here to have a go!

Good Luck,

Danielle

xxx

Question & Answer

Hi everyone, hope you are enjoying your Tuesday, whatever time it may be when you read this! I'd love to get to know you all better and for you to know a bit more about me. Sooo, I would love it if you caould leave a link to your lovely blogs, pages or shops so I can have a little mooch around. I know I already follow quite a few of you but for any one I don't please say hi! Also, I will be holding a question and answer post soon so if you have a question you'd like answered please either comment it or send me an email to danielle at curiosukey dot com!! It can be about anything, and I promise to be honest! 

 weheartit

I'm excited to go playing with my new camera tomorrow!

Love Danielle

xxx

Monday Morning Motivation: Birthdays

Good Morning! Well, it's official, I'm 26! So birthdays are my monday morning motivator this week. 

I pretty much feel the same way on a Birthday as I do at New Year...it's a chance to change, evolve and move your focus to be where I want to be. It's also a chance to be with family and friends and just feel special, and I seriously do. 

My boys bought me the beautiful camera that I have been craving!! I can't wait to get out snapping! Yay.

I also got a huge stash of my favourite body care products, Soap & Glory, from my sister! Hurrah.

source

There was a surprise knock on my door too and these beauties were delivered from Emma!

My brother got me vouchers for my favourite craft store. LOVE. And I got some spending money for my London trip from my parents and other relatives. Eek!

So, spoiled...probably. Grateful...definately.

Thanks to everyone for making my day special! 

Love Danielle

xxx

26 before 27

Yikes, Im actually 26 tomorrow. Oh my Gosh! I can't believe how quickly its come around! As promised though I have completed my 26 before 27 list! 

 

Do you want to see my list? Ok, here goes..see if you can spot my accidental mistake??

1. Go to London. This was on last year's list too, but I didn't get around to it. I am super excited to tell you that I am going on Saturday!!

2. Collect more artwork. I'm utterly inspired by the artwork I got for Christmas and want to add to my collection. I want more uncommercial art by independent artists and illustrators. (if you are one of these please leave me a link!)

3. Make my own dress. This one will need a lot of practice for this but I'm sure I can do it.

4. Make 3D animal ornaments. I love love love all the ones that are around at the moment and I just want to make some of my own!

5. Finish my sewing course. I want to make all the projects in my Home Ec course. 

6. Finish and give my secret project. I still can't talk about this too much, but it will be going on in the background for a little while yet!

7. Reach my goal weight. Hmm,  I don't like to talk too much about this but let's just say I am well on the way to this one!

8. Make handmade my career. I so want this and am going to work so so hard for it!

9. Reach 300 followers. Kinda self explanatory but you guys can help me out here!!

10. Make time to paint. I am craving some time with a huge canvas and lots of paint.

11. Do some video tutorials. Ahh yes I am super shy on camera, so this will take a lot of work!

12. Learn better photography techniques. I really want to do this, also to take more pictures too.

13. Find 10 new music artists to love. I love music so much, I listen to it constantly and if not, I'm singing. I love variety so throw some suggestions this way please?

14. Make a jewellery showcase. I want somewhere to display all my jewellery and accessories that I can make myself.

15. Take and blog 100 smiles. more about this one very soon.

16. Create a folksy. I don't know if any of you have these yet, but I'm interested!

17. Create fabric homeware. I want to stuff my house full of handmade pretties!

18. Get better at Photoshop. Honestly, you would never know that I did a photogrpahy A level with the knowledge I have now! I need a super refresher course!

19. Find 20 new artists to adore. Goes hand in hand with number 2 but allows me to pine for the stuff I can't afford!

20. Fill 6 sketchbooks with ideas. I lose lots of my ideas because I don't get them on paper fast enough so this is an important one for me.

21. Re-style 5 items. I'm not good at re-styling things so this will be a chance for me to learn something new!

22. Learn 20 crochet stitches. because I love to crochet.

23. Make a real 'for me' scrapbook. just for my memories...honest and open.

24. Reach 100 etsy sales. This is a huge goal for me and I will have to work very hard, but I think it's do-able.

25. Design, print and sell a notebook range. This is pretty much a childhood dream that I hope to fulfil later this year...eeeee!

26. Keep to a daily skin routine and acheive clear skin. With wanting to take and be in more photos I really want to clear my skin.

and now for my accidental mistake, i did a 27 too...well this is a bonus one shall we say?

27. Give 20 handmade gifts. I started this today by giving my sister bunting for her bedroom! Many more to come I hope!

Well there it is...what do you think? Have you got a list? How are you doing? 

Love Danielle

xxx

Crushing On: Nooks, Crannies and Cubbies!

Hi there! So glad you stopped by today, I'm sharing another one of my many loves...storage. I just adore open storage, I hate the thought that I might forget something that I have to create with by stashing it away in a box or drawer! I also love to use baskets to store things in although these can take up heaps of space so they aren't always an option. But!...take a look at these cuties...drool!

Is this not fantastic? Just looking at this gets me silly! The possibilities...cute creatures, wool, fabric...LOVE!

I would seriously love something like this for my keys...I am always losing mine. (Sharry will vouch for that) 

I think these wire racks are enchanting and are just waiting to be loved and decorated with mini bunting, crochet and sparkly things!

Ok...so I had to put one wicker basket in...I can always find space for one more...eek! I found all these gorgeous items at Graham and Green! Lovely.

Right-o I'm off to re-arrange the craft room, to accomodate all my new things that Santa brought!

Love Danielle 

xxx

no really...I painted!

Hello there, I have had a pretty busy few days recently but I am so excitedto now be on Holiday from work. A whole 9 days with nothing to do is stretching out infront of me. I need lots of fun exciting ideas of things to do that are...a bit different... I don't know, any suggestions? But anyway, yeah I painted. I have been putting this one off for well over a year cos I'm pretty afraid that it's not my forte, although I am pleased to report that I love my little pictures. Here is Milly...




And here is Ruby...



They are painted on plates with porcelain paints and it's another of my new crafting loves. I could sit for hours! I do seriously struggle with the faces though. Any tips for faces?

I'll fill you in on my holiday plans soon, if I ever get round to making any!

Love Danielle
xxx

Giveaway at The Happy Daisy

Hi all, I just want to share this giveaway with you all from Amy at The Happy Daisy. She is giving away a gorgeous 4oz Lucky Dip fabric scrap bag. 

Visit here to see how to enter, I mean who doesn't get completely giddy at the sight of pretty fabrics?

I'll be back later with some painting (*gasp, I actually did some)

Love Danielle

xxx

Make a date

Hey! How has your day been? Are you still lovingly optimistic about 2011? I am, I had a really yummy evening, I made 2 beautiful coffees (with my beautiful new machine) and my mr and I chatted about our hopes for the future and made some plans. It's nice to have an idea of where we want to go. It's exciting! Afterwards, I got back to a little crafting and made this...




mmm...hello coffee mug! While I was doing this we were watching Tim Minchin's DVD. Oh my gosh it was so funny (although you have to have a particular sense of humour) what a lovely way to spend an evening!

I'm still working on my 26 before 27 too, I haven't forgotten. They WILL be posted on my birthday, ready for a brand new year!

Love Danielle
xxx

i love Rob Ryan

Hi there, I have been just dying to show you these. My best friend Emma (and her new husband!! Hugo), gave us an absolutely wonderful gift for Christmas. It's a set of 4 Rob Ryan paper cut printed plates.  Oh my gosh, I love them so much!

 They are based on the four seasons and are so intricately made! I am super jealous of his talent!

I think this one is my favourite...but I'm not sure, I keep looking at them,

I have the plate hooks ready and they will be making a feature on our wall when the decorations come down soon! 

Looking at these each time I go into the living room will guarantee lots of smiles!

Off to cuddle up to my mr. as he just got back from his trip away. Night!

Love Danielle

xxx

look what we made!

Hi lovlies, I have been a busy bee crafting with my sister, Laura the past few days. We have tried a few new crafts recently and I have to say, I love them all. I was hoping to wittle down my craft selection and focus more on improving my skills but I just keep finding more things to experiment with! Here are some of the things we have tried...

first off, we tried some porcelain painting. 

I absolutley love how pretty these look with such little effort.

As I do more of these, I feel that my coffee obsession will form a huge part of my cup themes!

Next, we tried felting, it's soooo much fun. Although dangerous...we both managed to stab ourselves several times with the needle. I also learnt how to do blanket stitch...I have wanted to learn this for ages and now I have, I can't believe how easy and cute it is!

oh and I just adore this little guy!! I want to make lots of little creatures. I just need a little more practice and some more imagination!

This ladybird was a tad hit and miss as I was making the pattern up as I went along, but I think he turned out ok!

and meet mr and mrs owl. The cutest newly weds...ever. They are just two of Laura's creations and I love them to pieces. They are made from the softest fabric and felting. Lovely!

Have you crafted in the New Year yet? What have you been making?

Love Danielle

xxx