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I have a post up on Lauren McGlynn's blog today as part of her advent fundraising project. If you've been missing my witty banter and exquisite taste (I know you have, don't try to pretend) then you should head over there for my round-up of lovely things that might make nice presents, all by independent Scottish artists and designers.

But enough about me - how are YOU? How's December treating you?

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Three Wise Men Russian Nesting Dolls by Hole In My Pocket, £185

If you're looking for a new daily blog fix, my friend Lauren is going to be blogging every day of Advent to raise money for Syrian refugees, and giving away some pretty amazing prizes in the process (including a two-hour photo shoot with her.) You might see me popping up over there too. Go, join the fun.

Image from Nasty Girl August Lookbook, photographed by Paul Trapani and styled by Ashley Glorioso via Spell

Life has been a little overwhelming lately. My thoughts, and my words, have been elsewhere. I'm trying to find space to write something for you that's not related to poetry or chocolate, and in the meantime you can find me in one of two places:

LOVE MY DRESS

First, the lovely Annabel has been plastering me and my nonsense all over Love My Dress in the last few weeks.

A couple of months ago (alright, it was April, I've been busy) she was kind enough to invite me to a party celebrating the launch of her new(ish) book, Style Me Vintage: Weddings. I basically spent the entire evening in a corner talking to the three people I already knew and drinking rum, but that's my idea of a good time, so I thought it was fabulous. Annabel shared a film of the event here, in which the eagle-eyed among you might spy me, my amazing skirt and my terrible posture. Really should work on that.

Then a couple of weeks ago, Blonde Bridesmaid's wedding was featured in all its glowy, wintery magnificence. Those of you who followed my obsessive pinning sprees might recognise a few of the details. I'm especially proud of the purple cows. (There are actual purple cows, that is not a description of the bridesmaids, JUST TO BE CLEAR.)

And remember this sneaky peek? Well, you can see the whole shebang on Love My Dress right here, along with an extremely waffly description from me of every tiny detail. I'm nothing if not an overthinker. In case you can't tell from the post, I'm ridiculously glad to have been a part of it. Everyone involved put so much effort into making the shoot something really special. Yay Edinburgh.

A PRACTICAL WEDDING

And now, APW UK is happening, and I'm in charge. Which might be why I'm so tired. And have so few words to spare.

For those who don't know, APW is A Practical Wedding, a huge American indie wedding blog. I may have mentioned it once or twice. While everyone stateside is doing whatever it is they do to celebrate Independence Day - fireworks? Aliens? Who the hell knows - I'll be making sweeping generalisations about British people and quietly panicking. The party starts on Thursday at 7.30am.

Send help.


Images: 1. Golden geometric hearts papercuts card by Owly Shadow Puppets 2. Lauren McGlynn Photography 3. Hart & Sol West, taken on the Brooklyn stop of the APW Book Tour

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I went to a wedding industry event in London last week, as one does. It was glamorous, gorgeous and very full-on. It's tempting, when you live in Edinburgh, to think that only the dregs are left behind here; that all the truly creative, talented, exciting people skip off to London at the first opportunity. (In fairness, that's because lots of them do.)

But yesterday, that theory was disproved. In fact, it was so thoroughly crushed beneath the weight of Edinburghian awesomeness that there is nothing but a sad heap of tiny theoretical crumbs left.

This is just a wee sneak peek into a shoot that I styled this weekend, in collaboration with a whole troupe of talented local folk. It was ace. Forgive me if I jump up and down and squeal for a while. Lots more coming soon, if you can bear it.

How was your weekend?


(On a tenuously related note, every time I see the words "sneak peek" I think of the bot tirelessly roving Twitter and correcting every person who spells it "sneak peak". It's called Stealth Mountain, because it's a sneaky peak.)


Photography: Lauren McGlynn Photography | Floral magic: I Heart Flowers | Dresses: Rowanjoy | Jewellery: Black Box |Venue: Timberyard | Hair: Milk | Makeup: Amy Irving | Design layout inspired by Breanna Rose

I have to apologise. I realised last week, when I wrote about my mum having chemo many years ago, that I haven’t been keeping you in the loop. In fact, I haven’t really given you any update at all since we had bad news last April. So in return for all of your kindness about the new blog design, here is, erm, a nice depressing post about cancer. My thank you notes really leave something to be desired, don't they? Sorry. At least the pictures are pretty.





Last year came and went. There was treatment, there were scans. My mum lost her hair for the third time in her life. I sought some meaning and purpose in all this mess by swapping work for volunteering for a while. Slowly, very slowly, the hair grew back. The scans proved hopeful. We breathed out.

Then on Christmas Eve, of all days, I got a call to tell me she was in hospital with the same symptoms that had us worried last time. Thankfully she wasn't kept overnight into Christmas Day, and it turns out the side effects of steroids (eating constantly, putting on weight) are exactly the same as the side effects of Christmas, so no problems there.


The new year came, and with it a new treatment plan. More chemo. Hurrah. In an exciting new twist, this stuff doesn't make you bald, but it does leave your mouth bubbling with blisters and your feet in perpetual cramping agony, which is quite enough to be getting on with thank you very much.

And here we are still. Chemo, blisters, waiting, caring, hoping.


It’s funny how it gets both easier and harder to deal with bad news. Easier, because you've been through it before and know roughly what to expect. Harder, for the same reasons.

This time around, I've decided to cope by burying myself in creative projects. As well as the blog makeover, I designed and styled a display for my friend Lauren at the Glasgow Wedding Collective fair a couple of weeks ago, and in return she took these beautiful pictures of me with my mum and aunt. I can't thank her enough.

(Pictures of her stand in all its woody, scrabbly, flowery glory coming soon, because I know you're waiting with baited breath.)





And even more exciting than blog makeovers and pretty flowers, Fin and I are going on holiday tomorrow. TOMORROW. I can't wait. It's been a hard start to 2013 in many ways, not just because of the crap that my mum's going through. I'm still building up to telling you about all of it. But in the meantime, I plan on doing nothing in the next week but skiing, sleeping, drinking wine, reading actual printed books, and eating my body weight in unpasteurised cheese. (In case you can't tell from that description, we're going to France, a country where they store their cheese in the basement instead of the fridge. Bring it on.)

So that's where we are. I don't know why I've taken so long to get round to writing about this. You've always been so kind and supportive whenever I've talked about what we're going through, and hitting publish on posts like this always feels like a sigh of relief. Thank you for that.



While we're on this topic, forgive me if I take a moment to plug Breast Cancer Care's Big Pink Bucket Shake. They're holding collections all over the UK around Mother's Day (the UK version, which falls on 10th March this year) and need volunteers who are willing to shake buckets and exude cheer for an hour or two. If you live in the UK, I'd encourage you to check out the collections in your area and sign up if you can, or even organise your own. Pink wigs optional, smiles welcome.

See you on the other side.


Images: Lauren McGlynn Photography, taken in the Palm Court at the Balmoral Hotel, because we're posh.

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1. That poetry can be funny.

Image by Lauren McGlynn Photography

The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh

Image by Joyelle West Photography, flowers by Jessica's Country Flowers, via Style Me Pretty

Lauren McGlynn Photography

Lucy Stendall Photography

Peonies and Polaroids