PHOTOGRAPHY // HOLLY FERNANDO

Seafood, live music and the coastline of Brittany make for the perfect ingredients for a quick trip away.

INSTA INSPIRE // @ASHLEYTKIM

They say a picture speaks a thousand words.

Whilst I adore reading, and remain loyal to both quality blogs and print publications, I love a good scroll through Instagram. @Ashleytkim is one of my favourite new finds, sharing images of herself predominantly taken by her husband against a backdrop of great American scenery.

TRAVEL // THE HIGHLANDS

It's funny how people crave to travel to the far flung corners of the globe, yet dismiss what is right there on their doorstep.

INSPIRE // SUMMER

Wild swimming in cold reedy lakes; sitting outside pubs with friends as lightning strikes across the moody sky and big, fat rain droplets cool down my sweaty skin; lazing in parks and contemplating life; cycling everywhere with my hair drying in the sun - the past few days have been absolute perfection.

STYLE // NADINOO

Apologies for my unexplained absence - I'm aware that I've been AWOL for over a month now! I'm still here, just somewhat sporadically. I've lots of content to share, including an Off the Beaten Track guide to my favourite place on the planet, Berlin. But first things first - I've been meaning to share the new Nadinoo lookbook with you for some time now.

PHOTOGRAPHY // COLOUR PALETTE

I'm a sucker for colour. Vibrant pops of tangerine, candy pink and sky blue are guaranteed to make me stop in my tracks when scrolling through my Instagram feed. I also love nothing better than discovering a carefully curated feed with an exquisite balance of colour and composition, with a distinctive theme.

PHOTOGRAPHY // CASEY LIU

I can't get enough of the work of Hawaiian photographer, Casey Liu. I want to visit every single location that she shoots.

STYLE // SAMANTHA PLEET

Gosh, I was away for a long time! I think that's the longest I have neglected my blog since I first started out blogging. My only excuse is that things have been a bit crazy recently - I left my job that I had been in for four-and-a-half years, started a new job that's going really well, and I've had a few weekends away - a countryside retreat with a group of friends and a trip to Brighton to visit my best friend.

I'm going to continue the look-book love I started with my last post, and show you the latest collection from one of my favourite independent designers, Samantha Pleet. Scalloped hems, pretty pastel hues, clean lines, and lots of gorgeous prints. Samantha's collections always catch my eye: if I lived in the States, I'd snap one of her printed dresses up in a heartbeat.

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.

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.

INSTAGRAM FAVOURITES: JANUARY 2015

@ajclementine

It's been a while since I last shared my favourite Instagrammers with you. It's no secret that I love scrolling through people's feeds, double-tapping and adding new accounts to follow as I go. As my 'following' list threatened to reach 900 this week, I've had to go through and sift out the accounts that I really want to follow - it was becoming overwhelming! 

I look to Instagram to discover new photography talent that I can then blog about, to increase my wanderlust for certain destinations that I'm aching to travel to, to look for inspiration for healthy eating, to look for inspiration for what to wear when I'm getting bored of my wardrobe, and simply just to escape whilst stuck on a long commute.

Here is a selection of my current favourite accounts. If you have any recommendations I would love to read them in the comments.

ARDEN WRAY: FAMILY

Arden Wray has just added a ton of new work to her website, including this magical shoot entitled Family. The creepy vibes (in an incredibly good way) are reminiscent of a coven of modern-day witches meeting up in the woods. Arden describes the shoot as 'scenes from an imaginary film' - I'd love to view the film! 

MY TRAVEL WISHLIST 2015

2014 was a good year for travelling; I broke away from my standard retreat of skipping off to Berlin for a few days and managed to tick off several previous wish-list destinations. I briefly revisited Paris; drinking on the bank of Canal Saint Martins and in the eclectic surroundings of Le Comptoir General at night, and exploring side streets by day. We then took the TGV to Aix-en-Provence where we ate the best pizza by candlelight when subjected to a power-cut, drove around the surrounding villages and took a day trip to Gorge du Verdon, where we peeked over the edge of the precipice to take in the views and swam in a crystal clear yet freezing cold lake. Next, we headed to Barcelona for four days of debauchery, music and drinking plenty of cava at Primavera festival. Barely a month later, I flew to Budapest where I discovered a collection of down-to-earth bars that fused art and music, and an array of interesting architecture. We then jumped aboard yet another train and headed for Zagreb, where the stifling temperatures saw us retreat to the shore of Lake Jarun; also taking in a day trip to the splendorous Plitvice Lakes. Jump forward four months (dashing through a series of UK-based festivals scattered in diversely stunning locations), and I finally made it to Scandinavia. A short break was just what I needed prior to Christmas, taking in the scenery, architecture, culture, nightlife and food of Copenhagen and Malmo.

Now, I'm making lists of where I would like to visit in 2015. Several of the locations I'm dreaming of stretch far beyond my bank balance, so bear with me as I fuse the realistic with the if-only. 

2014: THE ROUND-UP

2014 was a great year; packed to the brim with exploring new places, enjoying festivals and hiking in the countryside. Read on for my round-up of some of my highlights from the past year. All photographs are my own.

RUST AND GREEN

There's nothing more pleasing on the eye than a landscape of rust and green hues. This is my favourite time of year to get out and explore.

Scandi Stories

Everything about & Other Stories is aesthetically pleasing, right down to the behind the scenes goings on in their Stockholm-based Atelier. Mood-boards, colour charts and easels hang on huge white walls whilst packaging prototypes litter wooden desks. 

I have to confess, one of the places that I am most looking forward to visiting during my upcoming trip to Copenhagen is the & Other Stories store.

GIRL CRUSH: ANA KRAS

Serbian photographer, artist and general babe, Ana Kras has got to be one of the coolest gals on the planet right now. She's got that nonchalant Parisian-meets-LA style absolutely nailed, she's uber talented (photographer, artist, furniture designer - what can't she do?) and her relationship with Devendra Banhart is the stuff of contemporary fairy tales. She flies to LA to take photos of Devendra for a magazine, after 5 minutes of knowing her he asks her to marry him. She declines his offer, but stays in LA for their happy ever after. Too cool.

Inspired: Zaria Forman

I'm in awe of Zaria Forman's work.Imagine having one of her paintings hung up in your lounge; watching the waves crash and tasting the salt water on the tip of your tongue. Gazing at her art, it's almost as if you are sat on the beach, your toes getting wet as the breakwater washes up to tickle them.