Do you hear the waves?

Yesterday I decided to stay in Herne Bay and go on a relaxed adventure. We wandered into town still talking about our Folkestone holiday. I was happy to still be by the sea. It was cold, but I wrapped up warm. I am really loving my new squirrel gloves.

While we walked around town, I felt like it was time for a coffee or tea to warm up. We found this cute little vintage shop which also was a tearoom.

When you walk through the door amazing vintage clothes and furniture greet you. When you wander further in you see a lovely little space for a drink. It was nice to just relax in a quiet spot.

Folkestone continues

We woke up really early on our second day in Folkestone. The hotel we stayed in was beautiful. It was decorated in a stunning way. The decor was gorgeous.

We nipped into town for breakfast. We went back to the Googies Art cafe. The food was wonderful. I had pancakes with sausage and bacon. Oh and added maple syrup. The atmosphere is wonderful, plus they play the best music. So I was happily bopping along while eating my breakfast.

We carried on exploring for more local artwork that was hidden all around Folkestone. Today we used a map to help us find everything.

After lots of searching we decided to have a well deserved tea break. We went to the Lavender tea house. We were greeted by a lovely lady, and handed a long list of teas to choose from. We choose teas and also a cheeky little pink cupcake. We sat back and watched the world go by.

After our perfect cups of tea we thought about visiting the local cinema in town. The Theory of Everything was on. I wanted to see this film so much. The film was so beautiful. I was an emotional wreck all the way through the film.

After the cinema we went back I the hotel to relax and have dinner. It was a perfect way to end our second day.

'Baby Things' -Tracey Emin

Folkestone is a really creative place. I couldn't wait to explore and find all the local art pieces. One artist I was mostly looking forward to seeing were Tracey Emin's 'Baby Things' sculptures. These pieces were hidden all around Folkestone, and you had to try and find them. Items of baby clothing and a toy were cast in bronze and they were painted to look real. These were then left on benches, left on railings, or left by roadsides to look like they had been lost.

The pieces of work are a directed at Folkestone’s high teenage pregnancy rate. Which reminds Emin of her home town.

(We couldn't get into the tiny park above. The piece is a tiny knitted bootie lying very close to the plant).

I really loved the chase. Trying to find each piece, searching high and low. Mostly because all the pieces were unknown. So you didn't know what you were looking for most of the time.

I'm thankful to say I managed to find all the pieces. It was a fun little art hunt. All the pieces really did feel like they had been left behind. Lost.

Mini seaside getaway

So I packed my Kanken with my diary, Polaroid camera, clothes and other bits and pieces. Time for adventure. Myself and David hopped onto a train for a few days away by the seaside. We looked for different places to visit, but we settled on Folkestone because of all the local art.

I was mostly excited about finding Tracey Emin's 'Baby Things' sculptures that are hidden around Folkestone. But more about this soon. We wandered into the town and started to browse the quirky shops.

We then found Googies Art Cafe. I was really excited to eat and drink in this cafe. We had coffee, which was absolutely delicious. We also had their chilli cheese fries, which if you are ever in the area, you must have.

Afterwards we went exploring the coast. We found a few pieces of work, and we stumbled across the Folkestone Mermaid by Cornelia Parker. Enjoying the nosies of the sea and seagulls, with the gorgeous warm sun was a perfect moment. I really liked this piece. The mermaid looking out to the sea, searching for something.

I am sitting in my beautiful hotelroom eating breakfast with a good cup of tea. Off out to explore our 3rd and final day. Looking back at our first day, it was wonderful. More to come soon!

Let's all be happy

Happiness is something to want, you wish for, you crave. Happiness comes in different forms, from someone telling you they love you to a giant delicious cup of hot chocolate. 

Things that have been making me happy recently are:

-Coffee dates with friends and loved ones. Spending time laughing, chatting and being together. 

-Boardgame nights. Being invited to friends houses for fun boardgame nights this week has be so fun. 

-Nero's mint hot chocolate. It's to die for.

-Trips away. Planning for a mini trip away on Monday is so exciting.

-TV news. Watching the trailer for 'The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' has made me super excited! I love Ellie, and I really looking forward to seeing this show. Plus the casting announcement for SuperGirl! Amazing choice indeed.

-Re-watching the American Office over and over and over. 

-Buying new pretty dresses.

-Getting my art and my business out in the world. It's slow, but I am so proud of what I have achieved so far.

-My new Polaroid camera. I'm documenting my life lots more with this little gem.

What makes you happy?

Life

Life is a funny thing. You spend most of your early life wishing you were older. Wishing you were old enough to drink, go to clubs, have people take you seriously, and so on. When you finally get older you realise it's not all what it's cracked up to be. You realise that those clubs aren't where you want to spend your time. Drinking isn't all that, and drinking lemonade can be just as fun. 

Then after a while you realise time is moving too quickly. You are losing people you love, and you are forced to grow up. Be an adult. And then you wish for the old days of no worries. I have been thinking about a lot of this recently. It's all been playing on my mind. I don't want to grow up. Parts of my life, I do want to be an adult. I am a happy person, who is finally happy with myself. I like what I like, and I am proud of that. I have friends you love me. They actually love me, silly old me. Sometimes I need to take a moment to tell myself this. But part of me wants to be young and care free. I wish for those days at art college, where things really didn't matter. You could just make art, and not have to worry. But maybe I do want to grow up. Life is good. Adult life can be great. Making art because I want to again, and it's for me. Not for a grade or mark or degree. It's for me.

I also need to tell myself to slow down. Life is wonderful and amazing, and it needs to be cherished, enjoyed and loved. I just need to take every day for what it is. Enjoy it all. Because I am lucky for each new day I get.  Another day to love, explore, enjoy, feel, share, emote, and have. Life is an adventure, let's just live it.

Coffee shop hang out

I love the notion of going for a coffee. Whether it's meeting friends, having creative meetings, family catch ups, coffee dates or just needing that little bit of time to yourself. I love nothing more than grabbing a good book, my sketchbook, pens, and a good cup of coffee, and just relaxing. Yesterday I decided to visit quite a few different hidden gems in Canterbury.

I had different coffees, hot chocolate, and pretty teas. Being greeted by staff and finding the nicest spots to relax. Having time to relaxing in little cafés gives you the chance to take everything in. Make choices, come up with ideas, relax, be yourself, and take some you time. Yesterday was lovely because I had my beardy partner with me. We shared lots of different teas, coffees and yummy snacks.

I have needed to relax for such a long time. That's why I am really looking forward to my week off at the end of January. It's going to be a lovely week, filled with friend dates and a three day break with David. So having a little relaxing day was just what I needed. We ended the day in a tiny tearoom. It was dark outside, and tiny fairy lights lit the room. We had pretty tea in cute cups.

This was the perfect end to a long day. A day which made me smile. Plus, I found lots of new favourite places to visit.

My new Instax mini

So I took my new Christmas present out for an adventure yesterday. My gorgeous new Instax mini 90. I woke up on a misty morning and hopped on a train to Ramsgate. The sun had come out to play there, and no where else. It was still rather cold, but the sun was shinning.

I went down to the beach and harbour area to take some photos. Searching for cute spots to test out my camera.

This new Instax camera is wonderful. Mainly because of the new features it has. Plus it's new gorgeous design. It also comes with a neck strap now, which is so handy for taking photos. This camera has various new modes including, macro, party, kids, landscape, self-timer, and a double exposure mode. Which is a very fun feature. You get to take two shots, which come out in one photo.

Another good thing about this camera is that it has a rechargeable battery. This makes the camera so much lighter and smaller. Which is perfect for packing into my bag to take on trips. I'm still learning how this camera works, and the best way to learn is just by practice and taking lots of shots. I'm enjoying documenting my life lots more with this camera.