All Pretty Things

Loving...

...summer candles.

2 things (part two)

2 things I am liking at the moment:

1. Presents from friends

2. Playing with my camera

Happy weekend!

2 things

2 things I am disliking at the moment:

1. My messy studio (I call it studio, but it's just a study-room)

2. The sun waking me up at 6:30

oh how I love this look

{via All Things Lovely}

Dream jobs, future, etc.

Last Monday I had to present my last two projects at school. I have no grades yet, but from what I can guess, it went fine. Which basically means I passed and that I am now on summer holiday. Except it's not really like when I was a University student, cause now I still have to work during the summer.

I have not spoken much about my course here, but now that the first year is behind, I feel I can talk a little of how it went. Studying again was a hard decision for me. Last year I left my job and jumped into this unknown phase in my life because I needed to know what I wanted to do with my life. See, when I was a teenager I wanted to be an actress (yeah, ha ha, I know). My cousin, very practical person herself, was decided to study medicine (which she did eventually) and one day asked me what I wanted to become when I grew older. I said: 'I want to study drama'. To which she answered that maybe that was not the best choice cause it was so hard to find a job being an actress. I answered: 'maybe, but you need to do your job 40 hours a week, and I want to spend that time doing something I like'. I never studied drama of course, but I always maintained that same philosophy about work. But life being life, I ended up with a boring job. So in a way, the decision of doing some studies I liked was sort of natural, but at the same time, I felt I was giving up many things too, many other projects on a more personal level like buying a house, a wedding, children even. All this created a bit of anxiety I must admit. But it also pushed me further.

When my course started I was so nervous!! Because I needed to succeed. All that hard decision making had to pay off! Well, it did. I think that for the first time, I am proud to belong to a proffession (not finished yet with studies, but still). I studied English at Univeristy and I really love linguistics, but I never felt I belonged in that world. And now I feel like a fish in the water. Granted, I need to know and learn and practice soooo much more, but the feeling is there. And you cannot imagine how happy I am! 

All the above make me consider many things, the future, what job I'd like, this blog's future...everything. And I am not sure what is going to happen really, but it doesn't matter, i'm on the right track, finally.

Woah, long post. Right. So now I keep fantasizing about what I want to do after I finish school, what I want to work on as a stylist. While I was searching for inspiration last week I ran into Mash. Their work has that fantasy element I am always looking for in my own projects, but at the same time it's simplifying and it's ingenious. Choosing favourites to post was hard, you better go check their website and check it all!

 Mash is now high on my fantasy jobs list ;)

no title

No title cause I can't think of one. These past three weeks have been so crazy. I worked with two wonderful photographers, did my very first interior photoshoot, now I'm photoshoping and indesigning and all the rest. I also need to draw and create six, or where there more?...moodborads and take care of other uncountable little to-do lists hanging around my study room. My house is a mess, I don't take away my make-up when I go to sleep and I've eaten my yearly junk food portion, in a week. My last exams are coming Monday.

So, no pretty things to show from me to you. But, June will be interesting for this little blog, as I will tell you all about these photoshoots I did, show you some new corners of my home and much more! (ok, maybe not sooo much more, hehe).

Wish me good luck!

xx

Dear H&M,

Dear H&M,

I have just come back from your store, two of them actually. I needed black leggings so I went to the nearest H&M I found. It was the 'teenage H&M', the one for 15 year old people. But leggings, you can find them in there too. So in I went, feeling very adult once inside. Found no leggings. But hey, jeans, I need them too. Oh, and denim jacket, been looking for you! Took both and went to the fitting room. In the fitting room there was a girl, who with no words (for real) made a super secret sign with her head allowing me to go in. I went in, looked around trying to find an empty room until another adult (me not alone!) told me she was waiting too 'Oh, sorry! But that girl told me...oh sorry'. While waiting, this same woman tells me that there are 4 girls in one of those, quote, "tiny" fitting rooms. I give her a smile and the phrase "things you do when you are 15" goes through my head, makes it to my throat and then I consciously stop it 'cause somehow, it makes me feel older. Ah well. 

My turn! The door opens, I go in and...oh no!...what is..? what..? how can that be...? ..me? ...is that..?huge head...? what? Yes, H&M, your fitting rooms are like walking straight into the House of Horrors. I looked deformed. Totally, had a huge head, tiny legs and if you walk away from the mirror you become taller and skinnier, taller and skinnier. It's scary, really. I tried the denim jacket, was too big, or so I thought. Then the jeans, felt slightly tight but because of disfiguration could not decide if it was good tight or bad tight.  I was blind! Do I look ok, or like a sausage?

I went out with an aloud 'ridiculous' and left it all. Couldn't buy it as I didn't know whether it fitted me. And then I started thinking. This is absolutely...absolutely what? ridiculous? no...criminal? yes, criminal. But I just can't stop thinking that it probably works, cause you wouldn't have it otherwise, would you? and these 15 year poor girls spending their allowance money on t-shirts, don't they have a mirror at home?? surely the one at home is not a House of Horrors mirror!!!

Then I went into another H&M and this one was a normal one. Mind you, I wasn't sure what to find in the 'adult' H&M version. If you think you need to deform 15 year olds, what do you think of me, age 30? The thing is, I think this is greedy. You are so rich, H&M, do you really need to fool girls into buying jeans? I want to think that the person behind this idea has a body issue him/herself, because if (s)he doesn't, then I have to think you are playing a nasty game, and just for money. It is highly disrespectful to think that we are stupid, no matter the age. We know what our bodies look like, and how dare you deform them anyway? But really, that is not the worst, is it? what is worse is that you are feeding the insecurities and body image issues with those silly deforming mirrors of yours, and you are targeting teenage kids. And that, in my opinion, is criminal.

I am a big consumer of yours, H&M, and I am highly disappointed. I thought about asking for a Complaint Form in the shop but I was scared of not understanding the super secret code language from your employees. By the time I got to the 'adult H&M" I thought writing this post was a better option. I hope you take this into consideration. You really should.

Regards,

Andrea Ibargutxi from All Pretty Things.

That feeling, that feeling.

Ah. That feeling of clicking through blogs and webpages and loosing track of where you started. I love it. From time to time I get nervous as I click. It happens when I see something I truly really like. Or when I see something and I think it's so clever. Or when I think: 'I should have thought of that!'. Envy, funny feeling.

And that is precisely what happened when I clicked on Blue Pool Road, a sponsor at {frolic} and saw these marvellous birthday cards. It's so clever! Clever ideas are always simple, I find. Sometimes when I'm thinking of a concept for a styling project and it gets tangled in all different thinking processes I need to remind myself of how clever simplicity is. This cards will now be part of that visual image of clever simplicity.

I can only dream of one day creating such beauties, but who knows, right? right?

What time is it?

I've been away on holiday and came back yesterday. One of my best friends got married on Saturday and I still feel like being slow today, seeing the pictures again, enjoying those moments, again. My to-do-list about to explode, reports to write, moodboards to start, pictures to sort-out...could it all wait until tomorrow?

Spring has hit my house and I feel like cleaning and tidying, and cleaning again. Getting some new pieces of furniture to put everything away behind doors would be great too. That will have to wait, I tell myself, first homework, then cleaning. I also feel like baking, something with rasperries or strawberries, summery stuff. I've been eating toast all day, too lazy to go to the supermarket...

Is today a slow-motion day for you too?

i.heart.work

I would certainly heart working if my working space had this wonderful Bertjan Pot table and accessories. It so simple and clever! I have just read that it was actually created as a dining table but since many people had bought it as an office table, that they have now created accessories (forArco) that turn it into this superb office desk.

I wish I had it in my office; I also wish I had an office. hehe.