Our very own island paradise…

I have finally managed to sort out the millions of photos we took on honeymoon in the Maldives (I might have to do this in 2 posts so I hope you enjoy looking at azure blue water and pale white beaches??) It’s difficult for me to articulate just how beautiful and special the Maldives really is but I will try my best to explain it. After a 10+ hour flight from London, the scenery starts to change from the arid desserts of the Middle East to the clear blue water of the Indian Ocean, with hundreds of islands dotted around as far as the eye can see - it’s probably one of the most breath-taking sights I have ever seen. After a rather hairy landing in the manic, hot, crazy capital city of Male - the smallest capital in the world  (it’s only 6 km² or 2 sq mi), we took a 30 min speedboat to our resort island. We spent the week eating the most delicious fresh fish and curries, exploring the diverse coral reefs and generally soaking up the hot equatorial sun. Each island is as self-sufficient as they can be with their own desalination plants and electricity run from generators. As much food as possible is cooked on the island (our hotel had it’s own bakery which was AMAZING) and that which can’t be produced is imported from neighbouring India or Sri Lanka – this means that the Maldives is a fairly expensive destination but understandably so.

I am already missing the lazy afternoons spent lounging around on the beach, watching the rays and sharks and listening to the eerie afternoon call to prayer over the water…. pure bliss!

All images via Wishful Thinking

Annabel’s House…

You’ve probably guessed that I am going through a bit of an obsession with all things pure and white at the moment. I’ve been dreaming of crisp white linen, painted distressed white floorboards and fluffy white peonies the size of my head. I’m sure there is probably some sort of psychological explanation but my guess is that it has to do a lot with the grey and rainy weather that reared it’s ugly head over the weekend (yes, I know I spoke too soon on Friday)! I was indulging this obsession over the weekend when I came across a house (incidentally in the same neighbourhood as mine) that melted my heart into a big sloppy puddle. Not only does it have the white painted floors I covet so much, but it has white-painted panelled walls and ceilings! Instead of looking stark and cold, the house looks really warm and inviting! Old Victorian houses tend to be quite dark but the owners have combatted this by installing larger windows, skylights and by using half-glazed partitions instead of walls. Even the garage is beautiful!

What do you think? Any favourite features?

Images via

White-on-White…

Now here is something you won’t hear from me very often: London is hot people! And I mean scorching! FINALLY! (Cue: falling on the floor and weeping hysterically for joy)! It was so hot yesterday that I had to make an emergency dash to the shops at lunchtime to do an ice-cream run… for medicinal purposes of course. I am loving it! I have worn dresses, skirts and shorts all week but what I really want is a fresh, crisp summer outfit to swan around in this weekend and look uber stylish and chic! I’ve never really considered doing an all white-on-white outfit fearing it would look too stark but these pictures prove otherwise.

What do you think of same-colour outfits? Hope you all have wonderful weekends!

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