JOY + JOSIE: BEGINNINGS

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address."

So says Tom Hanks in the romantic classic You've Got Mail, that nostalgic ode to New York's Upper West Side starring Meg Ryan. I love that quote, and it would indeed be wonderful to send all of you dear readers a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils, just to bask in the school-supply-scented newness of this time of year. As soon as September hits, I get itchy to start new crisp notebooks and make sure my hand-writing is as neat as possible. Even into October, I'm still into the 'beginnings' mode, that feeling of starting fresh, and so I thought that for the first proper JOY + JOSIE post I'd have the two lovely ladies share what's new in their lives.

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// JOY //

We all experience new beginnings: the first day back at school, or the start of a diet, or a change in hairstyle. I think change is good: it allows us to learn about different aspects of ourselves even if it is at first difficult to welcome. It's so easy to stay in our comfort zone, enjoying only what we are 'used' to. Staying the same, however, comes at a price: we might never discover THAT hidden talent, or THIS enjoyment of something - we simply float on stagnant water.

I've just recently finished four years studying Geography at University, including a placement year where I was able to dip into the working world to learn new skills and meet inspiring people. My husband Jonny and I decided a while ago that once I'd finished Uni we wanted to go travelling, to roam free a bit before we were tied down by mortgages and permanent jobs. We decided on South Africa, and we're currently spending two months here - I'm scribbling this entry while sat on the beach! We've had to work hard to get here though: scrimping and saving for a long time, even moving in with my parents. I've focused so much of my excitement and energy on this trip that suddenly I've found myself thinking: what's next?

 I've recently been offered a permanent job with the company I had worked for during my Uni placement. I'll be starting soon - my first full-time, permanent position - and I can't wait. This change is a good change, but it of course comes with all of the new-job-nerves and I'm already wondering about all of the new things I'll have to learn.

Jonny and I started a photography business three years ago, and when you're self-employed in a business venture change is the only constant. We're always learning and experimenting and, most importantly, we're excited. We're looking ahead into the future, wondering what we could do and be someday.

So, what is next? In my experience, the unknown is daunting and scary and can come crashing in on a wave of despair. But I'm trying to see it as an adventure: I'm grabbing my metaphorical surfboard and I'm going to ride that wave. I'm stepping of stagnant water and I'm watching the shore, waiting.

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// JOSIE //

 

October has arrived and - I can't quite believe I'm saying this - my baby girl is due this month. The last several months of my life have been full of firsts because when you're expecting your first baby, everything is new. Being pregnant is something I've dreamed about my whole life (I was the little girl who spent hours and hours dressing up and being 'Mummy' to a baby doll) and the actual reality of pregnancy has been both expected and completely unexpected. It's been a surreal experience to be at this stage in my life, to be discussing baby names and choosing a buggy with my husband Simon - in less than a month, we're going to be parents.

Over the past six or so weeks, my mission has been simple: baby prep! My lovely grandmother (Nan-Nan) took it upon herself to hand wash some of the baby clothes I've bought - she told me that the washing of these little outfits was one of her favourite things to do in the build up to a new little person coming into the world. I handed over several tiny vests and a beautiful white dress given to me by my Auntie who lives in Canada. I cannot even get over how small all of these baby clothes are, let alone the fact that very soon they'll be filled with a fresh little girl. A week or so after giving Nan-Nan the pile, I returned home to find the clothes neatly folded in a pink bag, alongside a bottle of washing detergent and a little note that I will treasure forever.

Being an unorganised, messy, up-in-the-air kinda gal when it comes to bedrooms, I decided to start as I mean to go on when it came to the baby's room. The first step in this plan: draw dividers! I found a set of boxes that specifically fit the set of drawers and I've enjoyed filling all of the little sections with baby essentials. I say 'essentials', but I am becoming so unbelievably distracted by the cute and fluffy bits displayed so alluringly in shop windows. Truth is, I'm a shopaholic and having a baby has been a wonderful excuse. I've held back well though, surprisingly, and haven't gone too mad on baby items... if only I could say the same about maternity clothes!

I expect these last few weeks to go insanely quickly and to be full of more new things, all in the lead up to the biggest, newest beginning of them all.

TORONTO ISLANDS

In the last eight weeks or so, I've been fortunate enough to be able to explore four of the world's iconic cities with four of the loveliest women: Cambridge with my cousin, London with my best friend, Paris with my aunt, and this past Saturday I went into Toronto with my sister. Compared with places like New York and London, Toronto has always seemed rather small to me. I've been in and around the city a fair bit in the time I've lived here but I've always felt that I was missing something. Toronto was nice, yes, but not fabulous - and surely a country's main cultural hub should be fabulous in some way or another? And so my attitude to Toronto has always been, quite simply, meh.

This past weekend, however, I had an attitude adjustment. Saturday morning came around and my younger sister Ru and I had an age-old conversation beginning with the words "What shall we do today?",  a conversation that usually ends hours later at dinner time with the realisation that we've spent so long deferring a decision that the opportunity has gone. This time, remarkably, the conversation was a snappy one, leaving us plenty of time to actually do something. Ru mentioned that she'd always fancied having a look at the Toronto Islands. The city sits on the edge of Lake Ontario and there's a small cluster of land just off the shore, overlooked by the skyscrapers of downtown. I'd seen the islands from the top of the CN Tower (and was never intrigued by them) but Ru said that she'd heard they had a little amusement park bit in summer, and it might be interesting, and hey, what else are we going to do today anyway? So without further ado we hopped into the car and off we went, windows down and Sam Smith blaring from the speakers. 

The first amendment to my attitude came on the way into the city. We were a little overconfident with our sense of direction and promptly overshot our exit from the highway, meaning that we took the long way round going into Toronto and found ourselves driving through a part of the city I'd never seen. There were little restaurants and delicatessens and lots of leafy avenues with houses that I can only describe as Toronto-ish (google 'Toronto Houses' and you'll know what I mean). It was all rather lovely, and then when we parked on the corner of Queen and Simcoe I found myself happily in what I assume is the bohemian artsy part of the city. There was a certain vibe there, and I liked it.

45 minutes and a crowded walk to the lake shore later, Ru and I got on the ferry amongst a jostling gaggle of students, couples and young families carrying picnic baskets and even disposable BBQ trays. The holiday atmosphere intensified once we reached Ward's Island; this was obviously where city-dwellers come as a retreat, and why not? There are beaches, rivers, bridges, parks, bikes, quadricycles, row boats, dragon boats, canoes, fairground rides, food shacks - we even passed an outdoors wedding ceremony! We rented bikes and wound our way around the whole landmass. I kept thinking of those old illustrations you see from the 1890's, depicting ladies with wide-brimmed hats and parasols and gentlemen in straw hats and striped blazers as they row under bridges or picnic or ride the merry-go-round. I can just imagine the late 19th century Torontonians doing all of these things on the Islands: city bankers taking their young fiancés away from the brick and the heat of the city to have a day out by the water. I think that the Islands are to Toronto what Brighton is to London, or what Central Park is to New York.

I didn't just like this slice of Toronto, I loved it. It was amazing to be cycling down a forested path and to suddenly see the downtown Toronto skyline through a gap in the trees. You had that distinctly urban feeling that you were a part of something, yet you were so obviously removed from concrete and car fumes. The Toronto Islands are, in a word, fabulous.

Kitty xx

SKINCARE / BEAUTY ESSENTIALS: CAMPING / FESTIVAL

Around this time each year a large amount of blog posts crop up about styling yourself for Glastonbury and Coachella, and how to get the the ultra-cool, ultra-fashionable summer music festival vibe. I've read my fair share of these posts like any other female, but the only festival I've actually been to is Hard Rock Calling back in 2009 when I was 16 and was stung by a wasp and sprayed with beer - hardly the hipster/glam experience the internet promises. If we, however, descend a few rungs below festivals on the 'Ladder of Cool', we might find ourselves camping. Yes, camping, the word that sends we shower-and-hairdryer-lovers running for the nearest hotel. Yet it is a fact that while I'm unlikely to don a pair of Hunter wellies and head to Glastonbury any time soon, there's a much higher chance that I (and I suspect you) will be roughing it in a tent this summer. But, as a girl who spent a year trying (and failing) to be a tomboy when she was nine years old and has since cemented herself solidly in the realm of all things feminine, I'm not really a fan of 'roughing it'. And so, for girly-girls everywhere, here's a list of skincare and beauty products to help you rough it without really roughing it:

1 // Olay Complete All Day Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin. When camping I''m typically makeup free, but that doesn't mean that I allow my skincare routine to dwindle. Camping usually means being outdoors almost 24/7, so our skin should be protected and re-hydrated regularly. Using Olay is somewhat of a rite of passage in my family - my mum gave my sister and I bottles as a 'grown up present' years ago, just as my grandmother had given my mum a bottle when she was a teenager - and this particular moisturizer has SPF 15, a much-needed extra for we ladies with English complexions.

2 // Olay Complete Night Fortifying Moisture Cream. Again, moisture is good. Don't forget to slap on some night cream before burrowing down in that sleeping bag.

3 // Baby Wipes. Yes, the old staple. No make up doesn't mean we should give up cleansing, and we all know that the uses for baby wipes are endless. Wiping dirty knees? Check. Mopping up the ketchup that's dribbled onto your foot? Check. Cleaning underarms and other regions because there's no shower and this is the only way to feel somewhat human? Not enjoyable, but check.

4 // Sun Cream. An absolute must have. It shouldn't matter if you're off camping to the Scottish highlands and won't see the sun for a week because of the freezing, driving rain - don't forget the suncream! I'm pretty rubbish at science and always have been, but I know enough to understand that we don't have to see the sun and feel the sun's heat for our skin to be damaged. I like using the sun cream designed for babies because my skin is extra sensitive, and the kid's stuff usually smells rather lush too.

5 // OFF! Deep Woods Insect Repellent. Camping in Canada is a wonderful thing. There are lakes, forests, chipmunks ... and mosquitoes. The Canadian mozzies love me and I swell up like a balloon when bitten, so I literally hose myself down with insect repellent whenever I go into wooded areas. They like moist, grassy places and their numbers explode come night time, so if you're going camping this year - wherever you are - grab some insect spray.

6 // Homeoplasmine. This is some rather fabulous French pharmacy stuff that I picked up in Paris after hearing rave reviews. Beauty bloggers recommend it for pre-lipstick-prep, but it's great for patches of dry skin and is also an antiseptic. You might not be planning on trying the latest lipstick trends in your tent, but a product like Homeoplasmine is always useful. You can order it online if you live outside of mainland Europe and you're prepared to pay a high price, but Vaseline would do a similar job.

7 // Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil. Once again: moisture! We protect our skin with sun cream, but how many of us are guilty of neglecting our lips? I love Burt's Bees products, and this particular balm is tinted and works as a lovely stain for low-key days.

8 // Benefit Posietint Stain. This isn't a must-have for roughing it, but if the whole 'no-makeup' thing feels like too much of a hardship then I like to use a lips and cheek stain to give my face some colour. I've had this Benefit Posietint for ages - hence the scruffy bottle - and it applies almost like a nail varnish. Put a drop on your lips and on each of your cheeks, rub each drop in with your ring finger, and you get a very subtle, summery result. A nice way to feel pretty when walking around in crumpled clothes and dirty hair.

9 // Batiste Dry Shampoo.  Speaking of dirty hair, who wants it? Anyone? I didn't think so. I have very thin, fine hair that quickly gets greasy and I swear by dry shampoo. It's pretty much one of my daily staples as it adds body and a feeling of freshness to my hair. I don't travel anywhere without it - especially camping trips.

10 // KMS California Hair Play Dry Wax. A really good solution to the no styling rule that often comes with camping, this dry wax adds a bit of instant texture and movement to natural hair.

11 // Charlotte Ronson A Perfect Mess Beach Hair. Surf spray is another great hair option when you're roughing it. Spray onto damp hair for an off-duty-model look.

12 // Nail Varnish (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in 'Jade Jump' & Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in 'Commander in Chic'). Nail varnish is just a feel good beauty product. I can look like I was dragged through a bush backwards (and when camping that might actually happen, you never know) but if my toes are a nice colour I feel just about okay. These two colours are my faves this summer - I love a minty green on my toes with a subtle neutral on my fingers.

13 // Hair Grips. These don't need any introduction (I hope). Camping + females = copious amounts of hair plaiting/braiding. Throw some hair grips in your bag so you can finally try out all those summer hairstyle ideas you've been gathering on Pinterest.

14 // Hair Ties. Or 'bunchies', as my sister and I used to call them. Stash these with the hair grips - you can never have too many.

15 // Ukulele (or Guitar/Recorder/Harmonica/ Triangle/Singing Voice).  The beauty product for the soul. I can't think of a less cheesy way to phrase that, but you know what I mean. Camping is for bonding and unwinding, and I can't think of a better way to do that than music round the campfire. Or, at the very least, you can wind everyone up by singing "one man went to mow" and "ten green bottles" in the car on the way back.

Happy Camping!

Kitty xx

NOTTING HILL

// dress: Banana Republic // bag: Fossil // sandals: New Look // 

// lipstick: Revlon Matt Balm in Complex //

I've only been to Notting Hill - the pastel-coloured district in London frequented by Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts - once before, one Saturday in the middle of my GCSE's. I went with a friend and her mum to Portobello Road Market and the streets were thronging with people out to buy knick-knacks and flowers, or to dig a bit deeper for some statement antique jewellery. If I tell you that a Notting Hill Oxfam charity shop was selling designer dresses for £500, I think that create a rather accurate idea of what this corner of London is like.

I finally went back a few weeks ago with a different friend, the lovely Hannah from Verman Photography. I was back in England for the month of May and asked Hannah to pop into London with me to visit some much-missed art galleries and museums. We finished up early and so for the rest of the afternoon decided to head over to Notting Hill as Hannah had never been I fancied going back. It was midweek and not a market day (does anyone else have to sing that song from the old Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks when I say Portobello Road?), but the quiet streets gave us the chance to have a wee amble amongst the sweetie coloured terraces. 

We shared a late lunch at Gail's Artisan Bakery - including a fantastic-looking dark chocolate cookie that we shamelessly forgot to photograph - and then we just wandered up and down streets, peeking surreptitiously through victorian bay windows and speculating on the price of flats (£1 million at least, according to Rightmove UK). We even thought we spied a genuine Banksy graffiti piece thrown in amongst all the colour - really, is there a more picturesque place in London?

Kitty xx

CARROUSEL

Every time I hear the word 'carousel', the words to my favourite Joni Mitchell song come floating to the surface of my mind...

And the seasons, they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down.
We're captive on the carousel of time.
We can't return, we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game.

Quoting these lyrics makes this post suddenly seem rather deep and philosophical, but there's been good reason for the song to be going 'round and round and round' in my head for the last week or so. Every day as a Production Assistant at The Works International Art Festival in Edmonton, Alberta, I've been passing Carrousel, the creation of a Montreal-based trio of artists known as BGL. Made of shopping trolleys and crowd barriers, Carrousel is a fully-functioning carousel available for the public to ride for free. After days of watching it being set up and then having to walk around it, curiosity finally got the better of me and I found myself lining up with a gaggle of excited children to try Carrousel for myself.

The ride on Carrousel, however simple the concept might seem, was rather magical in its own way. Carrousel touches upon one of the things I engage with most as both an art lover and as an artist: taking the everyday or the mundane and transforming it into something beautiful.

I think that there really is loveliness to be found in everything, even in a shopping trolley spinning round in circles.

Kitty x

Two of the artists from the BGL trio admire their work

A BRITT IN THE BIG APPLE

THAT skyline!

Confession: I'm a bit of a last-minute person.

I am. I've been known to decide on a whim to dye my blonde hair back to its natural mousy-brown two days before going to a nation-wide Church Youth conference (note to self and whoever else might be reading this: never dye your locks on an impulse - months of frantically scrubbing red hair with washing up liquid will ensue). I'll admit it was only last week that I stayed up until the wee hours writing an essay due in the morning. I've lost count of the amount of impulse purchases I've later to come to regret. Point made, I think: last-minute is my middle name.

I have never, however, been so drastic in my last-minute decision-making as I was a few weeks ago. I decided literally a day before the payment was due to go on a weekend trip to New York City with my Fine Arts program. I had the money. I had the time. Goodness knows I had enough friends encouraging me. So I said 'why not?' and just over a week later I found myself, for the third time in my life, strolling through the streets of NYC. 

I first fell in love with that city when I was 13 years old, taking in with wide eyes the yellow taxis swinging round those street corners, the suffocating humidity of the August heat, the morning commuters grabbing their bagels on the way to work (I have NYC to thank for my appreciation for a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel). My family loved it so much we went again a couple of years later, skipping out all the tourist stuff we'd already done and just basking in the buzz of the place. 

This time was different: it was winter for a start (the cold wind really blows around those corners... brrrrr), and also it was the first time I'd been since living in Canada. I grew up living so close to the loveliness that is London, England that I've really pined for it. Going back to NYC was like getting homesick for London all over again - it has a similar energy and life that made me at once love being there and feel a sad longing for London. Lots of things in life are bittersweet, I suppose. 

Homesickness aside - it was an amazing few days. I've made a new promise to myself: I would like to live right in the heart of a big city for at least one year in my life. Just to be in the thick of it all, y'know?

Of course one of the highlights was my beloved Metropolitan Museum - yet another reminder of all that I miss about London. I could have stayed in The Met for days on end...

We hit the High Line and Chelsea Markets on the most gorgeous morning, and shall we say I got a little bit snap-happy with the camera.

On the High Line

The 5kg jar of deliciousness

We all had matching bows... what can you do?

Meanwhile, on the subway...

New York, I hope to see you soon! You owe me a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel!

Ciao!

Kitty x