Hello Autumn, My Old Friend

Autumn is setting in, so naturally I'm in my element. 

The air is a little chillier as it wafts through the bathroom window in the mornings. The smell takes me straight back to the beautiful month we spent in New Zealand in 2011. That fresh smell of earth and plants and rustling trees which is picked out by the ever heavier dew. 

The sun hasn't even appeared when my 6.05am alarm goes off. A cup of tea is necessary to shake me into action. 

Cardigans are replaced by light coats and jackets. Perhaps a casual scarf to keep out the morning chill. Boots and Converse take the place of flip flops and ballet pumps in the wardrobe.

Autumn, I love you. 

This week I have: 

• Watched Legend at the cinema. Well executed Sixties style & not a complaint about the double Tom Hardy on-screen presence.

• Celebrated the engagement of my wonderful friend, Zoe, with the help of pizza, prosecco & pyjamas. 

• Booked our tour of the Brooklyn Brewery for our New York dalliance.

• Enjoyed a night of perfectly paired beer & chicken at Brickwood in Balham. Smoked chicken is a divine thing. 

• Watched the apples turn red on our tree and pondered whether to make chutney.

• Spent more time understanding the Rugby World Cup than I ever have before, all in the name of work.

• Gloated about my current standing at the top of the Fantasy Football League for both work and our friends & family.

Phoenix

I love writing in actual journals, particularly because I feel as though I've gone back to a simpler time when I put pen to paper.
Unfortunately I'm not great at a) keeping up with this habit and b) remembering where I've put said journal. I have many unfinished notebooks. So much so, I have a shelf almost dedicated to them.

Scrolling through my old posts earlier this week was a little treat.
I do love taking a moment to reminisce but it also made me sad I had let my little record keeping habits slide and have barely jotted down anything over the past year, on paper or online.

Therefore, the time has come for me to reluctantly concede that online writing is the way forward for me and a pretty fail safe option seeing as I always remember where I've put it and I almost always have access to it.
Ugh! Technology, you win again.

This blog is now my own little phoenix.
It has made it to its third reincarnation, this time as a record of the everyday for my own memory making but also for people to stumble upon.
I won't be promoting this blog or popping it on my social media (watch me eat my words), it's just out there in the ether.
I quite like the idea of floating thoughts. Little pages of a book drifting through a dark forest, getting caught on a branch and fluttering in the breeze, ready for someone to chance upon.

Autumn, the season which encapsulates almost everything I love, is now rolling in, which is about where I left off with this blog two years ago.
Turns out I'm not perfect at keeping up the blogging habit either.

Things have moved on a step or two. I am now the proud owner of a DSLR camera.
This blog will be as much to encourage me to take my camera out and about as it will be to remind me to write more.

So....let's see how this goes.

Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is in flower

Much to the annoyance of my colleagues and friends, I relish this turn in weather and seasons.

If I'm completely honest, I find summer a little over-rated. Yes, it's nice to go a little golden and of course I do like a good summer holiday. But after a week or so of hot, hot, hot....I get a bit bored. 

I love a season with a bit of character and personality, a bit of punch. Step up, autumn.

I love the change of colours in the leaves - green, to yellow, to golden orange, to brown.

I love the food you can tuck into in autumn - stew, chunky chilli con carne, sausage casserole and hearty soups. I'm a huge pumpkin fan!

I adore a stormy, windy afternoon when I know I don't have to leave the house. I can brew a cuppa and get stuck into a craft project at home - perfect.

I also think I look a whole lot better in autumn/winter clothes than spring/summer. I really enjoy the moment I can get all my tights back out and match them with boots and a warm, long sleeved dress. Last year I got a new winter coat which I'm totally in love with, this year I shall be choosing a new scarf and gloves set. It's the simple things!

Pumpkin spiced lattes. I am aware this is not something which naturally comes with a season and that it is also a bit of an American beverage, but last year I found pumpkin spiced lattes and this year I'll be going back for more! I am also just a little partial to a hot chocolate with hazelnut syrup. 

When the nights begin to draw in I love to light candles most evenings. We sadly don't have the delight of our own fireplace in our flat, so candles are the next best thing. That and a trip to the local pub which boasts a roaring fire (and some delicious ales!). I also adore the smell of smoke wafting from chimneys on my walk home. There is something wonderfully wholesome and comforting about it.

So....have I convinced you yet?

Emily x

Three's a crowd.....of exciting new bouquets

And so, after a several summery months of designing and creating,  I am happy to say that Thread & Ginger is now officially a budding little Bridal Bouquet company with several designs and possibly some sneaky matching accessories coming to a wedding fair near you.

We currently have three bouquet designs - The Zelda, The Betsy and The Emily (after Bronte....not Dall).

The Zelda is embracing and revelling in the utter decadence and beauty of the 1920s. Be whisked away to a Gatsby-esque era of elegance and opulence on your wedding day when you carry The Zelda up the aisle to your betrothed. Bubbling over with three different sizes of pearls and framed by light and sumptuous ostrich feathers, this bouquet is perfect to add to any colour scheme and season.

The Betsy is a rockin, rollin fun time kinda gal who just wants to the listen to The Beach Boys and sip soda at the diner. Styled around the pastel tones of the 1950s, you will feel like you want to skip up the aisle whilst holding this little bouquet of joy. We hope, in due course, that this bouquet will be a versatile number and that we will be able to offer different colour combinations in order to perfectly match it to any retro wedding day.

The Emily is inspired by the utter delight harboured in the imagination, excitement and romance found in your perfect book. What better bouquet to clutch as you spy your own sweetheart at the end of the aisle than this beautiful cluster of roses created from delicate book pages, adorned with tiny pearls and bordered by hand stitched green leaves. An elegant and thoughtful bouquet worthy of any Bronte, Austen or Woolf. Not only does this bouquet look stunning but we hope that we will be able to personalise the bouquet to each bride by creating it from their own favourite classical book.

If you would like to see either of these bouquets in person or perhaps chat about what we could create for your wedding day then do come and visit us this autumn.
Thread & Ginger will be at Belle's Vintage Wedding Fair in Hove on Sunday 8th Sept and at the Vintage & Very Nice Wedding Fair in Chichester on Saturday 28th Sept.

Go take a little look at threadginger.co.uk

Emily x