The March Challenge.

I am super excited to join in with Laura from over at See Hear Say to do the March Challenge: Do something different every day! How exciting this is going to be, to challenge yourself every day, whether it be by try something new, watching something different, making something unique and find out things about yourself you never knew before!

Head over to this post to get a few more details about the challenge and join on in! You are welcome to leave a link to your blog on my comments if you will be joining in on the fun, as I would love to get some ideas as to what I can do different every day :)

Sweet Treat.

Marie Zucker is one stunning photographer! This shoot she did for Zuckermonarchie not only looks absolutely divine with the soft pastel colours creating such a sweet and dreamy effect, but made me crave a sweet treat this afternoon! I actually just want to eat this shoot it looks so good :)

Oh how the year is going so quickly already! That means my birthday will be coming up in a few weeks time, so this is definitely some inspiration for me to make a range of delicious treats for the occassion. Yum!

Loving Right Now.

Photography by Lorena Arance.
Yay, okay I hear you say, she is finally posting again! I thought it's right about time to give a little update as I have been a bit of a shocker lately (I won't bore you with excuses!). So here's a bit about what I've been enjoying lately - and I dare say it would be most desirable in return to hear what you have been enjoying of late, as I always find it interesting to hear recommendations of other movies, books, music and foods to find and try myself :)

♥Watching Bones Season Six - I could not be more in love with this series!
♥Reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (having some trouble deciding what to read after finishing The Hunger Games!)
♥Listening to Foo Fighters Wasting Light...pretty much have been since it first came out - Best Album!
♥Eating Cous Cous salads
♥Drinking Green Tea with Raspberry
♥Playing social soccer...and tend to get way too competitive and vocal

Addict.

Well my lovely friends, I apologise from my unexplained absense this last week! When life throws it's curveballs, it decides to do it all at one time ;) That, and the fact that I have decided when I post, I want it to be about things I actually enjoy, promote, love instead of just finding some generic information to post for posting's sake. I hope you can all bear with me on that one, but I promise, at least this way you will enjoy what you see/read. Anyone else got stuck in the routine of just posting for posting's sake?

Anywho, I have a confession to make...I am possibly becoming an Instagram addict. I have only joined up on Monday night and I'm loving it so far! If I ever dissapear again, you can always find me on instagram (search ilana_mcmorran to find me) ;) I am always sure to be on there! A warning though, I take a lot of photos of the bunny, so prepare yourself for some fluffy, cuddling, cheeseball action!

Happy Valentines.

How crazy that we are at yet another Valentine's Day...not sure what Neil and I are doing tonight, but he assures me it will be amazing :) Oh how I love surprises! Last night Amanda and I got busy baking some sweet treats to enjoy the lovey dovey day and tried to make some heart shape whoopie pies...as you can see they are not quite heart shaped, but it will do :)

Hope you all enjoy an awesome day with your loved ones!

Happy Birthday Boys.

I absolutely love celebrating birthdays! It's such an exciting time of the year that is all about YOU! And today, I get to share in
on the two boys', that are so dear to me, birthday celebrations...that is my husband and his twin brother!

So Happy Birthday Neil & Trevor, you guys make life a happy place :) Love you guys so much and life seriously wouldn't be the same without you!
(For most of you who don't know them, Neil is left above and Trevor is right)

Oh and can I just say, don't you just love it when you spend hours trying to bake the most perfect cake and it actually WORKS?? I wanted to cry after I finished icing their cake, as my cakes never turn out this way! Hah, now I especially cannot wait for the next birthday so I can try another cake! :)

Revealing the Tote.

I so happy and excited to finally being able to share these goodies with you!

Introducing the See Me Everywhere Tote bags!

If you have been following my blog for a while, you would know I have been waiting for the day to make a start and open my own shop filled with self-designed creations. I found that I have a big passion for screen printing, so near the end of last year decided to invest in my own frames and equipment. It has been a process to find the time to actually invest into this, as screen printing by hand can take a while and a lot of patience is required. But it is so much fun when you see your designs come to life, it's worth the time and effort!

So I am glad to be sharing with you all that I have the You & Me and the You Had Me At Hello (featured above) totes for sale here! Limited stock for my first run of stock, so get in quick (just in time for Valentine's Day)! I will be working at creating some new product and reruns of the same designs in the next month, so keep your eyes open :)

Also, thank you my lovely friend Amanda for helping me put these shots together!

Ring o' Rosie.

Dress - Modcloth l Shoes - Wildpair l Watch - DKNY l Bracelet - Me Collection l Bag - Asos

I've never really been a fan of the colour red - sure it's got some great connotations for love, passion and other strong emotions - however, I've just never managed to wear red and be happy with it. That was until I spotted this cute little number on Modcloth and couldn't resist giving it go. And I can safely say that I am happy I did! With the cute flower patterns and the adorable collar, it's quickly become a favourite of mine.

I suppose you never know for sure whether you like something or not until you try it! :)
- that goes out especially to my husband, try new foods! ;)

Beauty.

Yesterday as I was exploring the internet for some inspiration for a post today, I couldn't help but notice the incredible variety and range in expressions of fashion and beauty. For so many years it feels like society is trying to box in that definition of beauty and for so many the striving to get to it has come at great costs. I myself sometimes feel pulled to certain styles and fashions purely because it's the popular thing to do at the time and not because it necessarily suits me. But finally I feel like there is a crack appearing in this system and people are becoming way more expressive with their perception of beauty and I think it's such a wonderful thing. Now you can follow blogs of people that have taken a step out and expressed themselves in their own styles, in all kinds of shapes & sizes, colour, and with or without body piercings or tattoos.

I am not one to normally write too much on the blog, but I just felt it on my heart to encourage you to not just follow trends and styles of what you see on the internet or telivision, but rather create your own! A happy woman is way more beautiful than a superficial depressed one. Which is why I had a play yesterday with this photo taken by Tasha and super-imposed a quote over the top.

"Beauty is whatever gives joy."

- Edna St. Vincent Millay

 It sounds awfully cliche, but don't just try and fit "the mold", you are worth so much more than that :)