Lace and peonies

 

Dress and hat: Asos

Wedges: Kate Spade

Jewelry: vintage

 

I know it will sound obscene after scrolling through 15 photos, but it was very hard to limit myself to ONLY fifteen. And if I’m being honest, the whole shooting consisted of over 850 photos. Brain damage? No, not really. I just very much liked the outcome of this shooting.

I love peonies, I love dresses, and I won’t even start with hats… (the collection video I posted on YouTube is my witness). Feminine to the core, this is how I see today’s post, and also, this is how I feel ever since spring has sprung. Seasons play an important part in my mood, whether we are talking about productivity, ease of waking up in the mornings, appetite for food (or candy colors!), or my desire to change. I can tell you that I already reorganized the bedroom and living room, in case you haven’t noticed, the blog has some new frocks as well (what do you know? pink and feminine as well), and on top of that, I’m thinking about some physical changes as well. No, not the “serious”  kind (I’m not injecting anything in my face, calm down), but I might try a new hair color, or better yet, move more. A sport of some kind…

I think spring is the perfect time to reinvent, revamp, refresh or update yourself (or whatever fancy thing you wanna call it), and it even though it feels like summer here although it’s May every day, my mood is set on the flower season. And not just any kind of flowers…

Furthermore, I’ve gathered a small list of spring pleasures for those of you which like me, are keen on making the most of this wonderful season:

1) Flowers, of course. No matter how cliche or redundant it may sound, nothing says spring more than flowers. It’s their moment and my advice would be to enjoy the season ones, like hyacinths, lilac or peonies. Not only do they cheer up and brighten a room but the fragrance will flood your entire house.

[I can confirm that the local markets are bursting at the seams with such flowers and the prices are considerably lower than overrated roses. A bouquet of 25 peonies is around $10, even less. I got pink ones this time. My next batch will be white.]

2) How about a picnic? You don’t need a fancy picnic basket (although I must admit having everything organized makes things much easier), but you can successfully use a plain old flower basket like the one in my photos. A few sandwiches, lemonade, maybe some fruit or prosecco, a blanket and a good book to read is all you need.

Blanket hack: I have a skirt that looks just like a tablecloth…

3) Staying with the food theme I got going on here, I can’t save a special spot for my favorite fruit of the season: strawberries. I bought strawberries 3 or 4 times this year and each time they tasted like cardboard. No surprise here, what could one expect when buying strawberries in February, but May, May is their time.

As a child, I used to eat industrial quantities of strawberries and I’ve always associated their taste with my birthday (also in May). Therefore, no spring without sugared strawberries!

4) Probably the most springy of my spring pleasures (as far as I’m concerned), dresses. For me, it’s not a matter of season. I wear dresses all year round – regardless of the time of the year – but since not everyone is like me, I’m thinking that spring would be the most appropriate time to wear them. I propose, therefore, to get out of our jeans as much as possible, cover ourselves in lace, tie ribbons in our hair, wear sandals and take that picnic basket that goes with our tablecloth skirt… Or dress, you caught my drift  🙂

5) Spend as much time outdoors as possible.

Last weekend, I was out and about around town searching for new places for photo shoots and went to the park afterward. Being the weekend in broad daylight, the park was crowded, but you can find green corners everywhere, and given your personal preference, this can be replaced by brunch outside, a movie outdoors, a teahouse or a visit to a museum. And for those of you with more time and means on their hands, a quick getaway to the seaside/mountains could be the perfect weekend. #gooutside!

6) How about a physical change? Like I’ve mentioned above, it doesn’t have to be something major like losing 100 pounds in 3 days and a half, neither getting a pixie cut after being Rapunzel most of your life, but maybe you’d like to try a new lipstick. Or a different hairdo. Maybe you’ll change your perfume. Maybe you’ll start wearing colored tassel earrings or tie silky scarves around your neck or even start working out. Maybe you’ll stop wearing so much black. Maybe you’ll exchange office heels with white fabric trainers, or on the contrary, add some extra inches to your height with some cute wedges…

7) A new hobby, a new activity or maybe a new DIY project.

Stamp collections are certainly passé (I was an early adopter on this front and kept myself busy with cutting up my father’s stamp album ever since I was 5 years old; #youarewelcomedad) and I don’t think napkin collectors are easy to come across either, but maybe you’d be tempted by some photography or dance lessons. Still counts as a hobby. Or maybe you just take your camera or phone, go to the park and take pictures of whatever you find: ladybugs, bikes, kids. It doesn’t have to be fancy schmancy Louvre material, you just have to enjoy playing and unwind a bit. This was my ultimate thing a while ago (whether it was winter or summer), “playing” with the camera. Ever since I switched over to mostly video and blogs have become less and less popular, I haven’t invested that much time in this endeavor but I like it, and when I find the time, I take pictures of… whatever I have on hand. And I don’t necessarily have to be in them.

What do you like to do in the spring? 🙂