March | 2015 | Cider with Rosie

A lesson in hand lettering with Hero + Betty Etiquette!

31.03

If there’s something I’ve always dreamed of having, it’s beautiful handwriting. The kind that our grandparents have- elegant and swirling, with the sort of unique quirks and traits that make it as instantly recognisable as the sound of their voice. My own handwriting has always been as changeable as the weather. I never managed to find my own style whilst at school, and basically formed my own ‘hand’ at the age of about 10 by copying the writing of a friend of mine who always had the most admired handwriting in our class ;)

And so, when an email pinged in my inbox a few weeks ago inviting me to attend a workshop in which I’d have chance to learn the basics of hand lettering and calligraphy, I sent back a ‘yes please!’ faster than you can say ‘joined up writing’!

The workshop was held in Stockbridge and hosted by the lovely ladies behind a store called Hero, whose beautiful aesthetic I’ve admired via Instagram for a long while now. Our day began at 10 in a tucked away room of Woodfire restaurant (right on the high street), where we warmed ourselves up with a few coffees and pastries and chit chat about what a beautiful setting Stockbridge village is. I’d spent the whole of the drive down that morning admiring tiny farmhouse cottages and spotting fat pheasants in the fields and birds of prey flying overhead- if only it wasn’t quite so far away from Guildford and beyond the realms of a sensible commute for Jason, I’d have added it to our ‘house hunting locations’ list already!

^^ How dreamy is Hero’s range? I’d have taken that blue jumper home with me in a heartbeat! ^^

The calligraphy workshop itself was being run by Becky of Betty Etiquette, who was the most patient and encouraging teacher you could hope to find. We each were supplied with a pen and nib (which felt so elegant and old-school to write with, I loved it!), black Indian ink, paper, and an instruction card that walked us through the basics of Copperplate hand lettering. We started small- drawing out painstakingly careful vertical lines onto the paper that varied in thickness and weight- before moving on to lines in diagonal directions, curved shapes, and then finally on to numbers and letters. Becky explained the rules behind the Copperplate script that give it its characteristic style- downward strokes must be thick, sideways lines fine, and the lettering should be fluid with a slight forward slant.

It was far, far trickier than you’d imagine, and yet a thousand times more satisfying and enjoyable than it was fiddly! As someone whose artistic ability was maxed out during Art GCSE (all I ever wanted to do was play with the cameras anyway, and oh what a foreshadowing that turned out to be!), it was so pleasing to see the results of the morning’s work coming out looking not too shabby at all! I mean, I don’t think I’ll be attempting any hand-lettered place cards for the wedding any time soon, but you know! Maybe when the time comes to write thank you cards, I’ll have it in the bag! ;)

^^ Nines were hard for me, okay? I never did get it down…^^

My favourite, *favourite* part of the morning was moving on to writing out our names. It was harder than you’d imagine not to just slip straight back into your own handwriting, and instead to remember that the letters should have a forward slant to them and a distinctive pattern of weight and heaviness.

I decided to have a go writing my married name, which is, as you can imagine, my current favourite activity. I’m like a schoolgirl with a crush at the moment, writing out ‘Mrs Rosie Chappel’ and practising my signature in the corners of to-do lists and notebook pages every chance I get! ;)

Our workshop ended all too quickly (I could’ve sat there scribbling away for hours!), and was rounded off with a beautiful mezze lunch and yet another round of delicious coffee. It really was the loveliest way to spend a midweek morning, and I can’t recommend looking into a workshop with Betty Etiquette highly enough. It would make the loveliest hen party activity!

Thanks x1000 to lovely Laura from Hero for inviting me to attend. Do search ‘shopathero’ on Instagram and follow along- it’s the dreamiest feed!

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BREAKFAST INGREDIENTS :: eggs + avocados.

30.03

I N G R E D I E N T S + I N S T R U C T I O N S ::

Avocado
Eggs
Rye bread
Salt
Chilli
Lemon juice
Twinings English Breakfast tea

Smash up 1 avocado with lemon juice, chilli flakes, & salt, and load onto rye bread. Poach the freshest eggs you can find (in water that’s about to come to the boil, with a splash of vinegar to help the whites bind), then place onto the avocado & top with an extra sprinkling of chilli flakes.

Make tea in a teapot (it always tastes a hundred times better), add a dash of whole milk (perhaps instead of skimmed milk + sugar, for a more fancy weekend tea) and enjoy at leisure over a stack of newspapers and magazines.

Dreamy.

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10 things that’ve made me happy this week!

27.03

As you’re reading this, I’m in Germany! This morning’s alarm went off at the ungodly hour of 4am, and I landed in Cologne at just gone 9! I’m here until tomorrow afternoon with Marriott hotels, exploring the city and celebrating the launch of Marriott’s 1000th hotel. I’ve never been to Germany before, so it’s such a treat to get chance to see a little of Cologne! We’re doing a little Insta-tour at some point over the next day or so, so if you’d like to follow along, find me at ‘ciderwithrosieblog’! :) I hope you have a delightful Friday, and an even lovelier weekend! Here’s a little round up of all that’s made me most happy this week…

1. Last weekend’s day spent on the ‘marriage preparation course’ our church runs for couples getting married there. I’ll admit that we weren’t sure what the day would be like, or if we’d find it at all useful, but it turned out to be full of so many lovely moments I can’t even begin to name them all. I found it especially moving thinking about how many people had given up their Saturday to run the course, and a little talk given about the idea of cherishing your partner.

2. Learning calligraphy with Hero & Betty Etiquette on Wednesday! It was SO much fun! Full post coming your way next week…

3. Afternoon snacks of sugared ring doughnuts. £1 for 3 from the local BP garage. Boom. (I didn’t eat all three. Just one. And a half. Okay 1 and 3/4s.)

4. Feeding the ducks by hand! They’re getting so bold. Keeping my fingers crossed the mama nests in the duck house!

5. A phone call from my best friend Jo on Wednesday, to say she’d just passed her finals and is now officially a doctor! She’s been studying in London for the past 6 years, and I’ve honestly never known anyone work harder for anything that she’s worked for this degree. I’m prouder than I can put into words. I’ll be going to her graduation in early July just a week or so before my wedding, so it’s going to be a pretty exciting month for us both!

6. Finding the perfect pale pink nail varnish shade. It’s so cutesy and girly, I can’t help but feel happy with it on my nails.

7. Philip Kingsley smoothing cream. Makes my hair less frizzy than normal (hurrah!), and also makes it smell like the hairdressers. Double win!

8. Starting to practise my new signature. Feels so good to be just a few short months away from getting rid of the lame scribble I’ve used for a signature since the age of 12…

9. Monday’s headshot shoot at Jason’s offices. It was so fun taking photos of actual people, instead of food and coffee for a change! ;)

10. Buying Easter eggs. Does anyone else get embarrassingly overexcited about Easter? I just love it!

Three posts I’ve loved reading this week :: Molly’s photos from Lucerne || the final instalment in Jaclyn’s series about designing her own engagement ring || & Gillian’s photos from a weekend in York.

Happy Friday, everyone!

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Who’s been in my sidebar this month? || March advertisers!

26.03

Oh, I really do have some corkers to introduce to you today! The blogs in my sidebar this month have been so very lovely, I’ve found myself getting distracted by them on a far too frequent basis! It’s been bad for my productivity, you know? ;) There’s a whole range of types and styles of blogs linked below- from lifestyle, to food, to ones focused on city-living, and luxury travel, and men’s style, and women’s style! Truly something for everyone! Your Bloglovin’ feed is about to get a whole lot fuller, my friends ;) Happy reading!

Landscapes and Cupcakes
It’s been the greatest pleasure having Victoria’s lovely blog linked in my sidebar this month, and to have had the opportunity to get to know it better. It is, quite simply, gorgeous. Victoria is a garden designer, (an RHS gold medal winner, no less!), and everything she shares on her blog, from photos to stories to snippets of her design work, is absolutely lovely. Landscapes and Cupcakes features beautiful recipes (check the lemon + blueberry layer cake with edible flowers linked below- to die for!) lifestyle posts, and photos from the Welsh countryside that are so gorgeous, they look like screen grabs from those ‘Visit Wales’ tourism board ads! You’re going to just love Victorias’s blog, I know!
Favourite post from the past month? Lemon and blueberry layer cake with edible flowers.

Let Us Wanderlust
It’s been another lovely month reading Carly’s blog! Let Us Wanderlust is a travel and lifestyle blog, with such a variety of posts it’s always a treat to catch up on the latest! There are sweet recipes (orange and date hot cross buns this month- the photos made me want to go running to the shops to buy supplies of dried fruit!), weekly favourites, and of course, posts about Carly’s number one love- travel! In a few weeks time Carly’s heading off to Europe to go travelling with her twin sister, so Let Us Wanderlust is set to be an exciting blog to follow for anyone else bitten by the wanderlust bug!
Favourite post of the past month? A Weekend to Remember!

Quintessentially Me
Quintessentially Me has been a new discovery for me recently, and I’m so enjoying getting to know it! Ashleigh, the blogger behind the posts, was born in Brighton, grew up in South Africa, and now lives in London. Her lovely blog began life as an online shop, and now is home to posts about dining out, travel (luxury travel only by Ashleigh’s own admission, a girl after my own heart! ;), healthy eating, and life in London- and I just love reading it! Ashleigh’s posts about health and wellbeing especially I find inspiring- in the past few weeks alone she’s convinced me I need to start making bone broth, and to buy a juicer! One to add to your reading list right away! :)
Favourite post of the past month? An overnight stay with Urban Villa.

Silverspoon London
Oh, can I just switch places with Angie for a little while? She seems to live the most exciting life! Silverspoon London is a luxury travel and lifestyle blog, documenting Angie’s incredible (and seemingly endless!) adventures both in London and abroad. This month alone she’s shared posts from sunny South Africa, a snowy Istanbul, and written up a London guide that is quite possibly the ultimate ‘to do’ list for anyone looking to treat themselves next time they’re in the city! I just love living vicariously though Angie’s posts- and anyone fond of Made in Chelsea’s envy-inducing luxury will love it too! :)
Favourite post of the past month? A Luxurious Guide to Victoria.

The Peppermint Pencil
If you’re not already a follower of Anya’s beautiful blog, you’re in for a real treat. It’s just beautiful- one of my favourite and most frequent reads ever since Anya first took up an ad spot here on my blog a few months ago. The Peppermint Pencil is a lifestyle blog, focusing on food, Anya’s adventures in the countryside, and weekly doses of inspiration. It’s Anya’s posts from her walks in the Peak District that are my forever favourites- I never fail to be in awe of her ability to photograph wildlife! You must check out the photos of a red grouse in the post linked below- they’re just too gorgeous for words!
Favourite post of the past month? A View from the Edge.

A Little Lusciousness
I already mentioned this on Twitter a little while ago, but it’s true- every single time I visit Rosie’s blog, my ‘where to eat next in London’ list grows longer! Rosie’s recommendations and reviews are just so fantastic. Her voice is so knowledgeable and authoritative, the reviews are comprehensive and beautifully written, and I find myself absolutely trusting her opinions about each dish and restaurant. A Little Lusciousness is, as you’ll have guessed, a food blog- both about the making and eating of really delicious meals! I’ve found myself returning to Rosie’s site time and again over the past few weeks, and can’t recommend you add it to your reading list highly enough.
Favourite post of the past month? The Kitchen Table at Bubbledogs.

Uncia + Tigris
I’ve followed along with Clare for such a long time now, and love everything she puts out into the world via her blog. There’s such a refreshing honestly about all of Clare’s posts, and I find her style of writing pretty inspiring. Uncia + Tigris is another of those wonderful lifestyle blogs that contains a true mix of everything- from ‘life lately’ style posts to posts about beauty, recipes, and weekly round ups of the very best of the internet! My favourites are Clare’s posts entitled, simply ‘Q #..’, in which she shares a particular quote that’s been resonating with her of late, and shares a little about what changes and improvements and reflections it’s brought about in her life and state of mind. Amazing.
Favourite post of the past month? Q #40.

Holland’s Reverie
There’s something uniquely beautiful about Chelsea’s blog. She lives on a small homestead in Arkansas with her husband and four children, and shares photos about stories from their adventures in farming and parenting. Holland’s Reverie is a personal blog at its absolute best- a real insight into the lives and loves of a family living on the other side of the world. This month, Chelsea’s shared her St Patrick’s Day traditions (which sound amazingly fun, by the way!), photos of her four darling ‘wilds’, and a post about how her lovely husband managed to get all four children out of the door single handed one evening, but accidentally found himself at a party wearing his slippers. It’s exactly the sort of blog that warms my heart!
Favourite post of the past month? A Humorous Fail.

My Blonde Reality
Jennie describes her blog as a ‘London based luxe lifestyle blog-journal’, and uses her lovely site as a way of documenting her adventures in the city! It’s quickly becoming a favourite read of mine- full of fun to-do lists (you MUST check out the Jennie’s summer city to do list, it’s a dream!), restaurant reviews, recipes- there’s a post for everyone! This month, Jennie visited the infamous cereal cafe on Brick Lane, and convinced my 100% that I need to visit next time I’m in town. I mean, she ate a bowl of cereal called Unicorn Poop, which contained crushed Party Rings and had strawberry milk poured over it. If that’s not enough convincing, I don’t know what is? ;)
Favourite post of the past month? The Best Breakfast in London? The Cereal Killer Cafe.

Daydreams of Summertime
Daydreams of Summertime become a regular read of mine a good long time ago now, and it’s been yet another lovely month of posts this March! Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her boyfriend, and shares stories of their lives, happinesses, and adventures via her blog. On Daydreams of Summertime, you can expect to find ‘happy lists’, posts about Sarah’s favourite things (we have the exact same taste in pretty much everything, FYI!) and photos and stories from her adventures in Australia and other such far flung parts of the world. There’s something so very charming about Sarah’s blog, and I can’t recommend you have a read of it highly enough. You’ll love it, I know :)
Favourite post of the past month? Life || Happiness is…

The What Now Blog
If you don’t already follow along with Louise, you’re in for a real treat. The What Now Blog is a site I’ve been reading religiously for a good few months now, and won’t be stopping any time soon. On her blog, Louise shares positive thinking posts about work, personal growth, and mental wellbeing, and manages to tread the line between being friendly and warm, and trust-inspiring and authoritative with absolute precision. I find her posts inspire and challenge the way I think about my life, and make me feel empowered and in charge of the direction my life is heading. I truly can’t recommend you add The What Now Blog to your reading list enough- it’s the most inspiring blog going!
Favourite post of the past month? Stop Saying Sorry in the Office.

Lush to Blush
I am SO excited to be introducing you to Meghan’s beautiful blog today- it’s such a gorgeous one! Lush to Blush was a new read for me this month, and I’ve found myself reading back through the archives many a time. Meghan’s blog is focused mainly on fashion and personal style, and everything she produces, from her outfits themselves to her photography, Instagram feed and styling, is just gorgeous. This month Meghan’s been sharing photos and outfits from Charleston Fashion Week, and making me insanely envious of the glorious weather she’s been experiencing! And also envious of the fact that she has the hair of a Disney princess…
Favourite post of the past month? Charleston Fashion Week.

A few more blogs & sites to discover ::
Get the Skinny || Favourite post? Pistachio & Basil Pesto
Life in a Break Down || Favourite post? 10 travel hacks.
Cheeky Boo Emporium || Favourite item? ‘Sweet Heart’ greeting card.
Michael 84 || Favourite post of the past month? Newcastle dress code on a night out.

To see you own blog featured here, head over to the Sponsor page and take up an advert! It’d be a pleasure to get to know you and your blog better :)

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