Miss Austen

You may remember a few weeks ago my illustration of the beautiful Austen dress by Miss Patina was picked as the winner of the artist within competition. I was so excited when I found out and even more excited when a box landed on my doormat containing the actual dress. The Austen dress. A very beautiful creation, its loose fit is ideal for hot summer days and it has a lovely swish to the fabric when you move around. Great if you're easily amused by twirling around like I am! The dress has been beautifully made, even my mum who has made many dresses and is very accomplished at doing so, is impresssed.
I thought it would be nice to style my dress as close to my illustration as possible, so I took to the internet to find the perfect flower crown and cowgirl boots. I found the most perfect flower crown by Crown and Glory in their sample sale on Depop. Not only is it a beautiful piece and a bargain, it's also not mass produced, I like very much knowing this crown is most likely a one off. Sadly I didn't have any luck with the boots and even though I had tan pixie boots, in the end I opted for barefeet. If I can get away with it, I love not wearing shoes in summer. Cornwall provided me with the most amazing backdrop for this outfit, however the sun was so bright it wasn't easy to get nice photos in the cornfield, so instead we headed to Prideaux Place, near Padstow, to take the rest of the photos.

 

 

 

 

 

Dress - c/o Miss Patina 

Flower crown - Crown and Glory via Depop £15

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and beautiful sunshine. I hope it will last as I have so much more to share with you.

Emma Xx

Zakynthos

The other week I found myself sitting on a 747 surrounded by smiley faces I had just met and one reassuring, excited, yet nervous face I've known for a few years. My friend Danniella. Danni,who is also a ME fighter, invited me on this holiday months ago on a miserable winter day. It was an offer I couldn't refuse, knowing I would be staying with Danni, who completely understands what I'm going though, as well as her mum, who is also a nurse, made me feel confident to go abroad which is a huge step for anyone with chronic illness. It felt slightly bizarre and very exciting sitting on the plane waiting for our adventure to begin. You see, I've not been on a plane since I was 8 years old, a good 15 years ago (unless you count a tour of Concorde at brooklands museum, which stayed firmly on the ground.) I held Danni's hand as we took off and was surprised to find how much I enjoy flying! Hights normally make me feel weak at the knees but somehow flying was different. The flight to Zakynthos is a little over three hours so we soon found ourselves in Greek paradise. A place where the sun shines all day, hot and bright.

We stayed at the Zante Star Hotel in Tsilivi, a lovely family run hotel in a quiet area but close enough to the town and beach. Most of the week was spent lounging around the pool or beach and taking a quick dip when it got too hot. After spending the days resting and laughing, we spent the nights eating and laughing some more. So much laughter. I saw floors on fire, learnt a few rude Greek words and ate enough Greek salad to feed an army, not sure how I'm not sick of tomatoes yet! Our little group went on a boat trip to see the shipwreck cove and turtles which I really wanted to do, an all day trip is way out of my limits though and Danni couldn't manage too, so we stayed behind and had a quiet day at the poolside. Knowing our limits is important, especially on holiday. It was nice not to have any pressure to join in or explain why I couldn't manage. I seriously would feel so alone with this illness without Danni in my life. We both agreed while sipping our first cocktail by the quiet pool, how funny life is, this illness is something we both wish we didn't have, yet if we didn't have it we probably wouldn't have met. Anyway this post is about my holiday not my illness! Here are a few of the 300 odd photos that were taken, I hope you enjoy them.

 

I really did have a fantastic time away, I didn't want to leave at all. I loved spending more time with Danni, her lovely mum, Sarah (my holiday mum!) and everyone else in our group. I can't wait to go back to Greece and explore different islands, and maybe next time I'll get to see more of Zakynthos. I'd love to island hop someday, maybe something to add to my forever growing bucket list. 

I'd love to hear from you, have you got any holiday plans? Have you been to zante? 

Emma Xx