STYLE // COLD PICNIC

What's not to love about Brooklyn-based accessories and homeware brand, Cold Picnic? They make super-cool rugs featuring naughty body parts (way to get around Instagram's no-boobs policy?). They take macrame to a whole new level with their furry and fabulous wall hangings. Their jewellery line perfectly fuses contemporary and ancient influences. Oh, and their leather bags are both practical and sleekly stylish. Their latest look-book doesn't look half bad either (it's actually completely inspiring).

Inspirations? Seventies movie colour palettes, traditional crafts, and the natural landscapes of America. It's a recipe for success.

GIRLFOLK

Kisses and Cross Stitches isn't going anywhere - but I've decided to start up a new side project blog, purely dedicated to travel, getting off the beaten path, and inspiring adventures.

Read Girl Folk now

THE TRAVELLING LIGHT

I love a good travel blog. It's been a while since this space could really be called a 'fashion blog', as travel and photography have been my primary sources of inspiration for some time. So much so, that I've decided to branch out and start another blog based entirely on travel (but more about that in an upcoming post).

Travel blogs can be pretty hit and miss. It's relatively hard to find one that goes beyond the obvious and details places that I would actually want to visit. The Travelling Light does just that.

Scrolling through the feed of recent posts, I naturally chose to read about places that I have visited myself, before skipping to new and intriguing destinations. As soon as I had covered Paris and Berlin, I knew that I was on to a winner. Not only had Katie wrote about one of my favourite ever bars (Le Comptoir General in Paris), but she'd ventured into Grunewald Forest in the outskirts of Berlin and broken into Teufelsberg. My kind of gal.

If you're into reading interesting posts about travel, are looking for inspiration for the next place to visit, or just fancy discovering a selection of great photography - I couldn't give you a better recommendation than The Travelling Light.

TRIPPIN'

I stumbled across Shop Dawn yesterday and immediately felt the urge to share. California native, Christy Dawn designs the kind of dresses that I dream of spending entire summers wearing, all inspired by her love of vintage garments. The best bit? Christy is super inventive when it comes to look-books - the three shoots currently featured on the site all revolve around a gaggle of her gorgeous friends jumping in a car (along with a stylist and photographer, both of whom are also total babes) and heading off into the wilderness. What better way to showcase your dresses than clothing your mates in them and frolicking in meadows, on beaches and down highways en route to Big Sur?

THAT SUMMER FEELING

I'm thinking of summer already. Warmer temperatures naturally mean more time spent outdoors, after all. Every spare minute will hopefully be spent hiking, dining alfresco, taking road trips, wandering through forests and picnicking in meadows. Clothing wise, I'm searching for the perfect denim pinafore that I'll wear with bare legs, comfy sandals and air-dried hair. Travel wise, I'm planning trips abroad and within the UK; thinking about discovering places that I have yet to step foot in. I'm counting down the days until the air warms up and the crisp white landscapes turn to fresh green.