'My new coat' by Me

My new coat, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

Well for all those of you in the UK who've been experiencing the return of summer you may form an orderly queue to thank me. You see it's all down to me that the sun has come out again. This weekend I bought a new pair of boots, some new jeans and a new jacket all of which I am dying to wear out. I thought that with the weather being all rubbish I'd get that opportunity this week but unforunately it's got all hot again! Oh well, I suppose I'd better get on with enjoying the nice weather. Sigh.....

Oh and instead of wearing my new clothes today I thought I'd photograph them. This is the button detail of my new coat. I love how the light shining on it makes it look really, for want of a better word, swirly. Oh and of course bright purple is always fabulous!

'pink sky deligh' by RebeccaVC1

pink sky delight, originally uploaded by RebeccaVC1.

I won't say much tonight but just thought I'd show you this beautiful photo of a stunning sky. We've all had moments like this where we look out the window and think "Wow, what a sky! I should photograph it!". Sometimes we do but I reckon more often than not we don't. Therefore, I say in future when you look out of the window and see a stunning sky just grab the nearest camera and take that photo. I am pleased the photographer here did because it was a gorgeous shot.

'fairy light whisky ~ 078/365' by yellobagman

fairy light whisky ~ 078/365, originally uploaded by yellobagman.

I am always searching for vibrant party style photos to post here on a Friday to celebrate the weekend but they've not been as easy to find as I'd imagined. I guess because the lighting needs to be just perfect it's not such an easy shot to take on an actual night out. I have, however, found one hits the spot. It's so clear and crisp and I love the colours and the glow of the lights. The photographer has managed to make it feel like it was taken on a real night out. A quick drink then off to the dancefloor!

So happy weekend to you all. I hope you have lots of lovely things planned - especially those of you who have a long Bank Holiday weekend ahead of you.

'vintaged London !' by fiedua

vintaged London !, originally uploaded by fiedua.

There are so many places in London that I think are really cool and Neal's Yard in Covent Garden is one of them. The buildings are so colourful and make a fantastic photo. Here is one I particularly like. It makes the place look really interesting and inviting and I think the vintage tones work so well. It really could have been taken in any of the past few decades.

'Barbecue in the rain' by Me

Barbecue in the rain, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

I'm getting a little bored of the rain now. It's been really heavy today. I just hope it rains so much tonight it can't rain any more tomorrow. But then again we have a bank holiday weekend coming up here in the UK, and we all know that usually means rain! Although it never usually stops the Brits enjoying themselves.

This weekend we went to see friends who were on holiday at a campsite. The plan was to end the day with a barbecue but unfortunately by then it was pouring with rain. Well did that stop us? Of course not we cracked on and had a fantastic barbecue. Well I say 'we' but really it was the men that braved the rain. The women and children were rather more sensible and stayed in the caravan! Here is a photo of the fellas cooking meat in the rain!

'silk floss' by Me the wanderer

silk floss, originally uploaded by Me the wanderer.

Today I learned that orange Bacardi Breezer does not come out of silk after dry cleaning! It's unlucky really because I never usually wear silk or drink Bacardi Breezers.

Anyway, to bring this randomness back to photography I searched for 'Bacardi Breezer' on Flickr and got lots of perfectly nice pictures of drink bottles. But when I searched for 'silk' I found this stunning photo and just had to share it. It's apparently a flower from the silk floss tree. I shall leave it to you to google for more information on that should you be intereted. The photo is amazing though. It looks like a huge flower doesn't it, with the little birds flying around it? I love the brightness of the flower and the changing shades of the sky.

Just think, if I hadn't spilled drink on my top on Friday night then I would never have found this gorgeous photo. Every cloud has a silver lining eh!

'Pink-aholic' by mickiky

Pink-aholic, originally uploaded by mickiky.

Well it's been a busy few days. I've not been away, just been busy doing lots of fun things with friends, my hubby and my little girl. I've done a lot of dancing, nice food has been eaten, a wedding has been celebrated and a barbecue in the rain has been thoroughly enjoyed. I hardly saw the internet all weekend which was actually quite nice! Good to be back though and catching up on what feels like thousands of blog posts.

There's no connection between this photo and my weekend. I just found it, liked it and wanted to share it with you. It manages to be terribly cool and really pretty at the same time. And I've also had my head right up close to the screen for ages trying to work out what the reflections in the shiny bits are!

Hope you had a great weekend and your week has got off to fantastic start. And if it hasn't then no need to worry - only four days until the weekend!

'Caswell Bay' by Me

Caswell Bay, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

I realise I told you about my recent trip to Wales but all you got from me was a picture of the Millennium Centre in Cardiff. I should probably share with you a beach photo. This was taken at Caswell Bay in Gower. It was a fantastic beach. We weren't expecting it to be a particular sunny day so we went out in jeans but by the time we got there it was a lovely hot and sunny day. I took my girl in the sea with my jeans rolled up and her in her dress. Luckily I had a change of clothes for her and I soon dried off in the sun. Holding her hand and jumping over the waves was just one of those magical parenting moments. It really is the little things that get you isn't it?

After all the fun on the beach we went for a walk along cliffs and this was one of the views. I wondered why this part of the beach was deserted when it was really busy round the corner. I learned though that the tide comes right up high here so if you were sunbathing on this part of the beach and the tide came in you'd be pretty stranded.

So, here's one of my photos. I hope you like it. My favourite bit is the seagull in the sky. I think it finishes of the picture perfectly.

'colour me yellow' by Lulu & the Locket

colour me yellow, originally uploaded by Lulu & the Locket -------(*).

I'm going to have to be quick tonight as I appear to have sprained my hand. It's been agony all day but it seems to be easing a little tonight. I am therefore going to be sensible and get off the computer in a minute as typing really isn't helping my recovery.

My husband bought me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers earlier this week just to cheer me up as it'd been a bit of a stressful weekend. Annoyingly, I've not actually had the chance or any good light to take any photos using them which is a real shame. Fingers crossed they'll still look nice tomorrow.

Therefore, I'm going to post this wonderful flower photo instead as it would also really cheer me up if I was feeling blue. It's amazing how the tones in this photo are really soft but the yellow is still to bright and vibrant. I'm smiling right now you know!

'Entering Hyperspace' by Éole Wind

Entering Hyperspace, originally uploaded by Éole.

I must admit that I've been feeling a bit unmotivated with my blog for the last few days. I just kind of haven't had much to say and a grumpy teething toddler left me feeling rather exhuasted this weekend. Thank goodness I took that butterfly photo that I just had to share with you.

Anyway, time to snap out of it and get a whole selection of fabulous photos ready to show you. And I'll think of some random things to waffle on about too if you're lucky.

I picked this photo tonight simply because it made me go 'Ooooo'. How cool is this? It was taken from a Metro Line train in Toulouse. The photographer has managed to make the train look super fast and also rather shiny! Fantastic work. Now I wonder what I'll share with you tomorrow.

'August butterfly' by Me

August butterfly, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

You may remember in a previous post that I was desperately after a butterfly to pose for a picture for me. Well, whilst walking around Wakehurst Place in Sussex today I finally found one and here is the result! What do you think? I reckon it turned out OK and I wasn't even meant to be taking any photos today. Hope you've all had a great weekend and that those of you who had your cameras out got some great shots!

'Wind - farm' by Wabberjocky [Anthony Thomas]

Wind - farm, originally uploaded by wabberjocky [Anthony Thomas].

Happy Friday everyone. Thought I'd post a rather random photo tonight. Well it's not so random for me as I have a rather bizarre fascination with wind turbines like this. I just think they look so majestic towering above everything but also kind of graceful. I didn't think you'd be that interested in a photo of a wind turbine but I thought this was actually rather cute! It must have been taken at the top of a very high hill and I love the bewildered expression on the sheep's face!

'Descent' by Tyler Hoffman

Descent, originally uploaded by Ty Ho.

There are so many places I'd like to visit and San Francisco is one of them. I can't really say why, it just looks like a really cool place. The hills look a little daunting though! Probably not a great place to take a little one in a pushchair!

This photo of San Francisco is fantastic for many reasons. I think the angle it was taken at is really cool. Looks like someone is lying on a skateboard about to roll down the hill! And I love night time shots taken without a flash like this. The contrast between the yellow lights and the blue sky is just so striking.

Have you ever been to San Francisco? Is it as fab as I think it would be?

'Light Rain' by petecarr

Light Rain, originally uploaded by petecarr.

Well summer has definitely gone AWOL. Today it just rained and rained but you know what... it was a good day. We went out in the morning and got a bit soggy but once we got home we had an arts and crafts afternoon. We did lots of cutting, sticking, painting, colouring and generally making a mess! I have realised that sunshine and hot weather may be gone for a while but never mind, it'll be back. And rain is only water and the temperature is hardly arctic. Let's go outside and splash in puddles!

That's why I picked this fabulous photo. These girls are totally unprepared for the rain but they don't seem to mind! The mood of this image is great and I love how bright it is even thought it's a night-time shot. It really is a positive and happy rainy day photo!

'honey child' by jamesgalpin

honey child, originally uploaded by jamesgalpin.

I don't there's really much I can say about this amazing image as it pretty much speaks for itself. The detail in it is just amazing. It almost feels like you are inside that flower yourself. And of course I love the colour. Yellow really is the happiest colour of all! Anyway, I'll shut up now and let you sit back and enjoy the photo.

'These are a few of my favourite things!' by Me

These are a few of my favourite things!, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

I have called this photo "These are a few of my favourite things!" because these really are a few of my favourite things.

I love the beach, I love the summer, I love beach buts, I love my camera and I love my little girl. I also love the fact that she is always running off with my camera saying it's hers - cheeky thing. When I took this she'd only managed to make off with the camera bag! I think when she's a little older I'll have to get her a camera of her own.

As well as being full of lots of things that make me smile I also like how this photos looks. I think the sky and the angle give this photo movement. The sky was just luck of course (including the well placed heart shaped cloud) but the angle was cleverly done by sitting in a big hole that had been dug in the sand. I'd complain about the lengths I go to in order to capture the perfect shot but I actually rather enjoyed sitting in that hole!

'French Shutters' by baby, picture this

French Shutters, originally uploaded by baby, picture this.

It is still August isn't it? I haven't majorly overslept and it's now November? I ask because I'm wondering where the summer has gone. It's all miserable outside. I'm sure it didn't used to be cold and wet in August. Or maybe I am just deleting the rain from my memory right now. It feels like summer's nearly gone and autumn is on it's way.

Although..... looking back we have had a pretty long and rather fantastic summer! And it really isn't over yet. There's still about three weeks left of August and then September is often a lovely warm month - especially when August has been a bit soggy. And anyway, who cares about the rain - it's not really that cold and there's still plenty to do. After all today we went swimming so spent a lot of time rather wet anyway!

Ooops, I got so caught up chatting about the weather (can you tell I'm British?) I nearly posted this without actually talking about this lovely summery photo I wanted to show you. Now if this doesn't remind you of hot weather and summer holidays I don't know what will. And I can't help but wish my house had gorgeous windows like these! I love the soft colours, I love the flowers but most of all I love the shadows as you just know that window has a beautiful view.

'Dandelion' by Vermin Inc

Dandelion, originally uploaded by Vermin Inc.

How's this for a photo to start the weekend with? Isn't it just awesome? When I first saw it I thought it was a snowflake. The detail is amazing. I swear if you look close enough at the water droplets you can see reflections in them and if not reflections then you can definitely see how it's magnifying what's behind them. The colour is so striking too. I wonder if that blue is the sky. Whatever it is, it works really well. I really like taking macro photos and think they turn out pretty well. But then I see a photo like this and realise it's in a whole other league!

'Wales Millennium Centre' by Me

Wales Millennium Centre, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

I promised you a picture from my trip to Wales so what do you reckon to this one? I was going to be obvious and post a pretty one I took on the beach but I actually thought this one was rather striking. It's of the Wales Millennium Centre which is situated in Cardiff Bay. In case you were wondering the words say: Creu Gwir Fel Gwydr O Ffwrnais Awen (Welsh) and In These Stones Horizons Sing (English).

I shall no doubt post some lovely beach photos at some point too as we had such a time playing on the sand and in the water. And I'll definitely want to talk about that with you as it made me so smiley!

'canal barges' by david1230

canal barges, originally uploaded by david1230.

Hello all. I've just got back from a holiday in Wales and have literally hundreds of photos to sort through so I won't share any of them with you tonight. Instead I thought I'd post this rather lovely image I found which made me smile as it really does symbolise a lovely peaceful British holiday. The composition of this is just perfect it feels quite calming just to look at it. The colours are great too. In fact when I first saw it I thought it almost looked like a painting. Anyway, enjoy this one and I'll see you again tomorrow for a holiday snap of mine!

'il peso della valigia' by JoX1989

il peso della valigia, originally uploaded by JoX1989.

Since I posted my photo of windows in Paris a couple of days ago I've been thinking about travelling and photography a lot. Thinking about all the different places in the world I've been and wondering what those trips would be like if I took them now with my photographer head on. My husband and I used to travel abroad quite a lot but I've not used my passport since my daughter was born. Hopefully we'll all jet off somewhere soon and give my little girl her first foreign holiday.

Anyway, I saw this photo and thought it would illustrate this post perfectly. To me it looks like someone has just arrived in their hotel thrown their luggage on the bed and is getting ready to explore the town! I love the colours as well. Gives the who photo a rather vintage feel.