4 Flights, 3 Cities, 2 Apps and 1 Bottle of Pink Champagne

 

This last week has been busy, busy, busy…… in amongst it all were 4 flights, 3 cities, 2 Spanish i-pad apps and 1 bottle of pink champagne.

Talking of champagne I believe you should always have a bottle in your fridge, waiting for something to celebrate. It’s a matter of principle….and if it has been sitting there for too long, you just need to look a bit closer for what deserves celebration: there is always something….and if not, just share it with me and I will help you find something.

I started off with shooting Alex & Kevin’s fun-filled celebration of a wedding at Shoreditch House with almost certainly the funniest groom’s speech I have ever heard…..then a whistlestop trip to Ibiza to hang out with the pack, grab some end of summer sunshine, and one of Raco Verd‘s delicious Rico ciabatta’s…. when you haven’t been able to eat gluten or dairy for pretty much 6 months, a well made chicken & avocado fresh ciabatta, smothered with mayonnaise is like the holy grail of sandwiches….a welcome oasis in the desert of food restrictions….. I still smile thinking about it….

Now one of the things I love about this job is that you never stop learning and I like to keep what I do alive and fresh….and myself inspired and moving forward. With this in mind I decided to book on to Marianne Taylor’s Mnoo School Workshop. Marianne is another UK photographer who produces lovely work, in a way that’s quite different to mine…and that was part of the appeal. She runs a great business and it was really inspiring to learn how she takes care of that side of things and gives her clients the best possible experience. It was an inspiring few days and I have come back with a workbook full of homework! Thank you Marianne for of heartfelt teaching, thoughts, ideas, inspiration….. and more homework than anyone could want for. I loved the open and thoughtful spirit in which you approached it all….

This week in our house we have also been inspired by George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, currently running on Channel 4. A great series about small spaces and filled with amazing creativity, design and inspiration. We’re about to embark on our own second big building project in a year and I really enjoyed this. Somehow 101 projects and meetings this week turned into the Man designing our new kitchen, ordering it and shipping it out to Ibiza, before I even got chance to look at the drawings. Slightly nervous….but as the Man said, I don’t actually cook much so I am not best-placed to comment on useability and layouts.

It is true: I love to eat, I’m more than happy to let my lovely husband work his magic with the pots and pans. Where I shine is in baking: I made the best ever diary free, gluten free, sugar free, chocolate cookies this week: they tasted amazing. I meant to photograph them but I ate them all instead. Sorry.

Then was back to Ibiza for the second time this week with several exciting weddings ready to produce….the thrill of seeing the film scans download never ceases, no matter how many times I do it! Whilst the 2012 season is still in full swing for me, with weddings right up to 29th December, it’s also a time to chat with new clients for 2013, and it’s exciting to hear about their plans & hear new love stories…….

The seasons are changing and like many of you out there, our whole pack came down with colds….yes, Lolo included…..we took him to the vets at the start of the week and what we thought was something stuck in his throat turned out to be a sore throat and a cold. Bless him. I have committed the ultimate bad-dog-mum sin, and he is lying on the bed with me as I type…..My feet are currently crushed by 32.4kg of bulldog. It’s a strangely comforting feeling.

This week I am going to raise my glass of champagne to Lolo, who is the face of December in Bulldog Rescue’s new 2013 Charity Calendar. Well done little pup!!