Northern Italy

Last week we spent time in Milan, Monza, and the Italian alps visiting our friends Urte, Linas, and their two little girls.

Unfortunately the weather wasn't too cooperative so it rained most of the days but we managed to get outside a bit 

We went to an indoor water park which was a nice change to have some warmth! We loved being in a warm pool in the cold outside and Urte and Lina online tipped over out of the slides once :) 

Lina, Urte, and the girls made homemade tortellini.

We spent a day driving up to the alps for some beautiful views and some small hikes.

We got a bit of time walking around a wet Milan. We got a big red umbrella for €2.65 which helped us both stay dry and improved our mood. Also fell in love with a bookshop in the beautiful shopping halls which had a sofa made of books :) 

And had pizza at the new local pizzeria.

And spent some time playing as well :) 

Thanks for the great trip guys!!! 

A busy and mostly lovely day

Friday turned out to be a very eventful day in London :) We came to London on Thursday night and stayed with Siga through Saturday.

I was Lina's assistant while she filmed an event. There was an issue with one of the cameras which caused a lot of (unnecessary) stress but we got through it all quite well. It required a quick trip to East London and help from friends. I'm not sure I'm built for the filming business :) 

Wandering in Aldgate, East London

Behind the camera

Scooters Cafe on Lower March Street, Waterloo

After a nap back at Siga's house we met up with Erica at scooters cafe in Waterloo. It was a great quirky place with a metal staircase and a cat. It was great to catch up after so long! The interior is made up of vintage furniture and decorations and serves cocktails and beers as well as normal cafe hot drinks and cakes. 

Street art in the tunnels

We had a quick stop off at a landscape photography exhibition in the national theatre.

Landscape photography exhibition at the National theatre

Dessert at the Bonnington Cafe

Then dinner at Bonnington cafe I'm Vauxhall with Siga. I always like atmosphere and my main was really good as well. If you're looking for an interesting place for dinner in London you should definitely check it out. They have different chefs each night and you should bring your own drinks. You need to book so go to the website and get the chefs number. This is another interesting place that Erica and Katie showed us :) 

It was a busy day but it was really nice to catch up with friends, to see Lina in her work mode, and to find new interesting places in London. 

Devils dyke aka muddy hiking

We took advantage of the first sunny day in ages to visit a local Sussex overlook and hiking spot with our friends Bel and Ella. The day was beautiful! Although the hiking trails and fields we still very sodden with water and  mud. It was really great to get out if town, see the beautiful countryside, get some fresh air, catch up with friends, and warm up at a cozy pub with a fire :) 

beautiful views! 

People flock to the outdoors when we get a sunny day!!

Always the jumper!

Lina was so happy to be out in nature :) 

 

It may look like a small stream in the this picture but it felt much better having to walk across the log to continue on our path!

the British countryside 

my shoes were much muddier and wetter by the end :) 

January days

Welcoming January has been a bit difficult this time around as I'm struggling a little with the whole turning 30 thing. I love birthdays and usually even have a count down the previous 6 months, but this time has been the first time that I feel that time is moving too quickly. 

We welcomed in the new year with a couple of friends in a rainy Brighton :) and spent a stormy January 1st on the sofa relaxing and getting ready for regular life to start again. I've been thankful for getting back into the routine of work and am looking forward to catching up with friends. Last Friday a couple of our Lithuanian London friends came down and we had dinner and looked through pictures of their travels, it felt nice to have that comfortability and ease around people we've known for years. 

Also, the new year has brought with it new plans and as always changes that I would like to make. I haven't made any resolutions as I know myself enough to know that I'm terrible at keeping to big goals. Instead I've been thinking of other ways to keep moving forward and organize my thoughts. 

A few different blogs I've seen recently have the idea of choosing a word that you want to symbolize this year, something that you want to strive for and have a thread running through all of the areas of your life. I've been really gravitating towards this lately as I think it could be more helpful to me than lists and calendars. I've been thinking about this a lot and I keep getting drawn back to the word 'Connect'. I have lots of reasons for this which I will share in another post but I think this is the route I want to go. 

I also want to make a vision board. I attended a Creating 2013 workshop in December 2012 put on a by an amazing woman who I now call my friend. I really enjoyed being creative in my planning for the year and most enjoyed creating a vision board. It is something I had up on the wall at our old flat and something that I still hang on to. I want to make another for this year as well to have the time to be creative and reflect. 

Now, for the next few weeks I have many things to look forward to including celebrating my birthday with new friends and old, a visit from one of our closest friends and her crazy little girls, and then our first visit to Milan, Italy. Although I have some moments of feeling down about my birthday life is pretty good :) 

(a stormy Brighton)

Reflections on 2013

As the year draws to a close it's only natural to start looking forward to what 2014 will have in store for us and in the days before the New Year this is very much on my mind. I continually make resolutions that I cannot or do not follow through on so I'm thinking of some other ways to be mindful and grow. As I begin to think about what has happened this year it was full of adventures and exploration and I thought now is the best time to look back on 2013 and what a year we had :)

• We welcomed in the New Year in Panevezys, Lithuania visiting Lina's parents. Lithuanian new years come with huge amounts of fireworks set off wherever and whenever which is equally beautiful and terrifying. 
• I turned 29 in Brighton and surrounded by good friends. 
• Lina and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary on February 7th. 
• In March I left my job of 2 1/2 years with Refuge and started working with Rise in Brighton. Around the same time I started working part-time in a young people's homeless housing project and volunteering with Allsort's Youth Project supporting young LGBT people in a weekly drop-in. 
• We also went to Venice! it was a bit rainy but mostly beautiful :)
• Linas, Urte, and their girls came to visit us in Brighton for Easter. 
• In May we had our annual cycling trip with our friends and camped in the New Forest in the South of England. It was a great combination of cycling, exploring, and spending quality time with friends. 
• In June we moved from our first Brighton flat (which was very damp:( ) and moved into a unique flat in the center of Brighton, we are still really happy about the move and are making it more like us everyday!
• July was really busy for us and mother nature brought us a hot sunny month here in Brighton. We went to the Mumford and Sons Gentleman of the Road festival in Lewes. It was a great atmosphere full of folksy people and awesome music. We also spent some time in London including heading to London Pride and meeting up with some great friend we don't get to see too often!
• Then we went on a Cornish adventure! We went by train and bicycle to Cornwall for our friends', Belinda and Ella, outdoor Tipi wedding. The weather was beautiful as were the brides! We had lots of fun exploring the countryside and beaches by bike, camping, and meeting Bel and Ella's friends and family. 
• August brought us Lina's 30th birthday complete with a karaoke birthday party and a trip to the USA. We spent time with family and friend's in Wisconsin including hiking, canoeing, camping, cycling, a wedding shower, and my dad's birthday. Then we stopped in NYC on the way back and saw Ina and explored new bits of the city. August also brought us our first Pride in Brighton!
• In September Kristen and Mike came to stay for a few days on their European tour, it was great to catch up and get to show them Brighton and London. 
• October meant more travelling as we went to Rome with Lina's parents. We spent 5 days so had plenty of time to slow down and explore the city. This trip came with plenty of people watching and gelato. In October our good friends, Linas and Urte, made a big move to Milan, Italy which was definitely bittersweet for us!
• We celebrated Thanksgiving surrounded by friends at our place with everyone bringing delicious food. We basically ate a lot and were in a bit of a food coma :) We visited the World Aids Day 100 artist private viewing where Lina, our friend Sarah, and I were showing work and ended the day watching Fried Green Tomatoes. 
• December has been a whirlwind of lots of work, spending time with friends, and preparing for Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas with our friends Tautvydas and Asta and Asta's mom and it was again full of lots of foods, drinks, and games :)

There was lots of good and great things in our 2013 and I hope that we can continue to make time for what makes us happy and keep surrounded by loving and supportive family and friends. So far I know that 2014 will bring my 30th birthday, a trip to Milan, and my sister's wedding in Bermuda so I think we're on the right track! :) 

xBecky

A quiet Christmas

I have to admit that there was some sadness about this christmas as we weren't with our families but overall liked our quiet Christmas. We started some new traditions like buying new Christmas pajamas, baking Christmas goodies, and sharing our childhood holiday movies. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our friends and ate plenty of great food, had a few drinks, and as always played board games. I'm sure there wil be many busy and loud Christmases in our future... So today I'm grateful for the quiet moments cuddle up on the couch and walks along the beach :) 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin 

Happy holidays!!!

Much love this Christmas from a somewhat rainy Brighton :) 

( a cozy Christmas morning in our new Christmas Jammie's!)

Inspiration

Christmas inspiration

We spent this Saturday exploring the Christmas art and craft markets in town. Found lots of inspiration for working towards becoming an illustrator and selling my work. I'm excited about the holiday season and what the future may hold!

World aids day exhibition

Lina and I had the opportunity to fill a last minute spot in a 100 artists got world aids day exhibition here in Brighton. It was equal parts exciting and nerve-racking deciding what to draw and figuring out things such as framing and pricing. I still feel that I have so much to learn both creatively and practically but being pushed in the deep end did improve my confidence and increase my motivation to really give this artist thing a go. 

( Lina's photograph is in the top left corner) 

Last night was the private opening of the exhibition and there were many familiar faces from Brighton and a eclectic array of art pieces. I felt proud to be a part of this group for a great cause. 

No matter what happens from here I'm proud of what I accomplished and am inspired to move forward trying to become an artist.