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Food & Drink Life + Style Sponsored

Drinks / Wimbledon-Inspired Strawberry & Ice Cream Creamy Milkshake

posted on June 27, 2016

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias

Strawberry Ice Cream Drink / lixhewett.com

There’s a lot about this post I don’t do often, from caring about sports to sharing recipes to trying to style a glass in a way that’s not massively boring. Low end of the learning curve here, for sure, on all accounts. But I do like tennis — along with gymnastics, it’s the only sport I ever make an effort to watch, and pay attention to — and Wimbledon has always been my favorite grand slam, probably due to the movie Wimbledon, it being played on grass (truly the best look for tennis, all right #shallow), and also the fact that my love of London goes way back and extends to most things even remotely within its borders.

I’m only vaguely aware of the strawberries & cream tradition for Wimbledon snacking, and mainly surprised y’all have strawberries in season that late in June; it was a quest and a half finding them now, which saddens me because I’m not ready to start making cold drinks until June, so I missed most of strawberry season this year. This has not always been the case, though, which is how this drink came to be one of the years I followed Wimbledon religiously.

This shoppertunity for SocialFabric seemed like a fantastic way to share the recipe with you, though, and I’m very glad I got to do so — all of two years after first mentioning it on a iced caramel coffee post.

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Advice Blogging Business Sponsored

A Flash Workshop On Time-Saving For Bloggers & Creative Entrepreneurs (+ Free Printable Worksheets!)

posted on October 12, 2015
A Flash Workshop On Saving Time & Energy

with worksheets… again.

Time management is a super popular topic in freelance and business blogs, presumably because nearly everyone struggles with it. There’s a lot to do, and it’s hard to snap out of the society-backed idea that we are what we accomplish, and that success doesn’t have to involve being busy all the time.

This is something I’ve thought about a lot with my business, particularly since I was able to catch my breath financially speaking by moving back in with my parents. I spent a year where I was perpetually behind, and my mental health was suffering, really suffering for it.

I wrote a post on how to relieve anxiety with various methods and how to get started with each of them. One of my recommendations was simply to quit. Quit what was giving you more grief than joy. Delegate it, automate it, or simply cut it out of your life or process. It sounds drastic, and it can be; I arrived at it through burnout, after all.

Now, however, I’m practicing ‘quitting’ in much lower-key, consistent, sustainable ways. There are many ways to save time when you’re a blogger or small business owner, and you don’t have to wait until you’ve been crushed by stress to implement them.

In becoming more intentional about my blogging and business and acknowledging the certain aspects of being a professional creative at which I particularly suck, I’ve been revising my habits and plans to be tailored to me — me and all the weaknesses it’s more effective to work with than against. And I wanted to share some of the ideas that work for me with you.

Disclosure: This post was written in collaboration with Avirtual.co.uk.

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Home & Living Life + Style Sponsored

Home / I Wish I Had A Living Room, and What It Looks Like

posted on July 30, 2015

There are things you can get used to lacking if you go without them long enough, or have never had them. For me, living rooms are one of them.

Home / I Wish I Had A Living Room, and What It Looks Like
1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Get the look: engineered wood flooring / moss stitch throw (more throws) / door curtains / diamond brocade cushion / pebble grey sofa / coffee table / shelving unit / abstract painting

I stopped spending time in the living room in my flat — my family’s flat — when I was eighteen. I only held out that long because the only computer I had access to was a desktop and it was there. As soon as I had a laptop I was out of there. There are several reasons, the main two of which can be summed up as “my parents refuse to not smoke in my presence even though it makes me sick” and “my father exists.”

So I lived and now again live in my bedroom. There was a three-month stint at a dorm, which also had nothing comparable to a living room.

Last year, I moved to London. London: where housing is so expensive people turn living rooms into bedrooms so they can get another flatmate in to share the rent! I went through some places with no living room, or where the only room I could work in was the living room, or where I stupidly didn’t make the most of the living room.

And then I was in Crouch End for two weeks. That flat was all kinds of gorgeous, and well-decorated, and the living room had the most comfortable couch in the whole entire world. I missed it the entire time I was in Hampstead Heath, and then I moved to a place where the living room was off limits, though I asked to use it a time or two. Briefly. No blanket permission.

Holy god, I miss having a living room. I miss curling up on the couch and still being upright with my laptop, and I miss the light, and I miss not being in my bedroom all the time. I miss watching mindless TV and I miss the dining table. I kind of miss socializing with people I actually find interesting.

As usual, I dream through Pinterest. According to my interiors board, which is by far the most populated on my account, my dream living room is apparently spacious, bright, with comfortable seating, with gorgeous wood flooring, and painted like a 20s film.

Sometimes a bit of teal or mustard pops up. It’s rare. I tried to do this with my branding and I got bored and I’ve been wanting to rebrand with actual color — multiple colors, even! A color wheel, if you will! — for a year. My room in Belsize Park was super white and felt mightily sterile, like a hospital ward, so I don’t want to go entirely in that direction.

But grays with pops of color are my interior design of choice, and one day I will get something like it, goddammit. I deserve to decorate a whole place. #dreamjob, tbh. Well, maybe #dreamhobby. There’s no room for any more career paths up in my brain.

6 Comments

Diaries Oxford the Cat Sponsored

Life / Oh, The Kitties You’ll Stroke

posted on April 26, 2015

ohthekittiesyoullstroke

This is a post about kittens. See, when I first moved to London, I said goodbye to my cat. It was — well, I kind of forgot to actually say goodbye, so the tearfulness came later, but I can assure you tears were shed. Many tears. Tears by the bucketful. When Oxford came into my life, a lovely morning in September in 2011, he was an elusive little ball that fit into my hand, and it took me about five days of living with the creature to start having anxiety over it — specifically, over the possibility of having to give it up due to my sister’s allergies — and my love has only become slightly more sensible since.

When I saw Oxford upon arriving home after a year out, you would have thought I was being reunited with a long-lost sister on a talk show, or whatever it is people who put their hands over their mouths and struggle not to scream on daytime television do.

In between, I ended up living with about a half dozen different cats and two honorary chihuahuas, and met another half dozen. After a life where I saw a cat maybe once every three years, this was intense and unexpected. For a while I felt like I was just going from cat to cat instead of place to place, which is a rather less stressful way of framing the absolute joy murderer that is flathunting in London on a budget.

Putting aside the time I met a jewellery maker’s cat and the poor thing was spooked and gave me a serious bloody clawing — totally my fault: I wasn’t used to being careful around cats yet — it’s been quite an adventure. Cats actually sort of maybe like me, and either strut up to me in five minutes or just hide less long than they normally would from other humans. I’m rather generous with my bed and love having pets snoozing where I can feel their warmth and their weight, so that probably helps.

And so: here’s an abridged list of cats I’ve had the chance to pet, based around which ones I had nicest pictures of.

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Fashion Home & Living Showcases Sponsored

Style / Wishlist / Spring Refresh With Very

posted on April 10, 2015

Anyone else look at their wardrobe and feel it’s particularly dreary when spring rolls around? I’m always aware of how overwhelmingly gray my clothes are, but now that it’s sunny, I want color so much more, and lighter tones; I’ve always found black really stifling in hot weather, and somehow, even though I’ve wanted one for years, I still don’t have the white sundress of my dreams. I haven’t even found it, really, but add a skirt to the white t-shirt on this board and you’re very, very close.

One day, I will rectify that awful oversight, and here’s some inspiration for future me and, hopefully, for you, from Very.co.uk.

wishlist-spring-very

Open Back Dress / Floppy Hat / Blossom Dress
Summer Blush Backpack / Ripped Skinny Jeans / Summertime Rope Bag
Duvet Cover and Pillowcase / Olivia Ballerinas / Chloe Ballerinas / Layered Crinkle Top

When I love a floral pattern, I really, really love it, but I’m awfully picky with them: if it looks like curtain, or the littlest bit frumpy, I can’t bring myself to like it. A while back — I mentioned this in my last outfit board; I don’t know why I keep thinking of it! — I had it in my mind to start a clothing line using fabric printed with my own photography, and it was really fun to see what made for a good floral print. Mine weren’t patterns, not seamless ones, but rather full-size, non-repeating photos — or repeating in a manual, edited way. Some seamless patterns are beautiful, but I generally look for the manually designed approach with florals.

Another thing I want in spring is lighter fabrics for bags, fabrics that won’t make you sweat if you rub against them too long. I’m a sucker for a good leather bag, but when it’s warm, they can be quite unpleasant. I lean towards backpacks in warmer weather for that same reason: they stay away from my arms when I walk.

My ridiculous approach to bags applies to shoes, too.

In the vein of lighter fabrics and lighter colors, I also tend to put away the darker jeans when it’s warm. I like very tight jeans, and that doesn’t change when it’s warmer, but I want the denim to be a little bit rough and keep the heat out.

Finally, I get why people wear sunglasses, but they are so far out of my universe. They’re one of those things I just forget to wear, like jewelry and underwear. (That last one is a joke. But no judgment if you nodded along to it.) I don’t usually wear hats, either, because I’m lazy, but I love them and I’ve wanted a floppy one since Spencer wore a burgundy one on Pretty Little Liars. Possibly earlier. The one in this collection is available in navy blue, and also on sale! And it will keep the sun out of your eyes, too, probably.

I wrapped up my spring refresh with a set of bedding, because nothing screams fresh air and summer like the thought of a room with a big bed all done up in white sheets. And these are on sale too! God I want them. I’d probably get them if I weren’t broke and like, shopping for a new place to live.

And there you go: those are my incredibly specific thoughts on clothing for warmer weather. Do you have any preferences that you always thought too inane to share? Tell me! I promise I won’t judge. (Though if you say you like to wear black when the sun is shining hot on you, I may make a face. But it will be a funny one.)

Disclosure: This is a PR collaboration post.

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Diaries Expat Wannabe Freelancing London Oxford Sponsored Travel

Life / Expat / What Changes In Six Years

posted on April 9, 2015
me-by-annemari

Photo by Annemari S

 

In 2008, I spent three weeks in Oxford. I was going to say it’s well-documented on this blog, but that’s a lie, actually; I’d love to pull some travel posts out of the 2,000+ pictures I have from that time, many of which I still like. I do however mention it a fair bunch.

What I don’t think I’ve ever talked about is the two weeks I spent wondering if I could maybe — possibly — if it might be viable for me to find a job, and stay.

oxford-buses

At the time, I had a laptop, and I had my fandom corners and friends online, but I didn’t have a blog, or a shop, or anything resembling income. I didn’t have any work experience either, and I’d never in my life written a CV. I’m sure people used Skype at the time, but my mom and I talked by phone. Internationally. I’m pretty sure she ran up a three-digit bill.

Oxford wasn’t a perfect experience by any means; I had to attend an ESL course I didn’t feel I was getting anything out of, and I was put up with a host family that I got along with so poorly everyone was relieved when I was moved to a flatshare for my last week. That flatshare was in Jericho, which is a ten-minute walk to the very middle of Oxford — possibly the middle of Oxford itself; I’m not that familiar with what falls where geographically — and it was the biggest room I’ve ever been in, and maybe my favorite week of my life, perhaps second to the week my best friend was here in London last year, the first week I was here — and even then there were stressors because I had to flathunt and wasn’t exactly swimming in savings.

Oxford suited me in a way I’ve never felt any other place suit me before. I felt at peace there. I was on my own, but I didn’t feel it. I wanted to stay. I really did.

oxford-cobbles

I just didn’t know how to, so I moved back to Spain.

Fast-forward six years, or wait: let’s have a little montage of those six years first. Started an English degree in my hometown in Spain; dropped out as I couldn’t afford the tuition. Proceeded to spend five years at home, going out of the house maybe once a month, once every few months, to the library or when I had to buy something, which was rare because my family was pretty damn poor and I had the internet to keep me company. I wrote a lot of fanfic and I wallowed and my anxiety got so bad I eventually asked my GP for antidepressants. Those helped. In August 2012, I started paroxetine and quit writing. I tried to sell bits and bobs on eBay. Then in December, I opened a photography print shop on Etsy.

My laptop was on its last breath, and I couldn’t blog, or design, or do any of the things I was now realizing might be a viable career — the only career in a job market where the only available positions ever were door-to-door salesmen; a job market where a street-long queue waited to give in their CVs for a retail job that popped up behind my building once. I ran a crowdfunding campaign, one of the most stressful experiences of my life, bar having to pay rent and flathunt. New laptop led to this blog (with help from my friends, and with help from a specific friend for the hosting of this site as well), and then, on my birthday, I opened a design shop. November 2013. I was 24 at that time.

I started thinking about taking the leap to London. My laptop allowed me a movable source of income, a growing source of income, and my best friend started planning a trip to London to see her friend Ashley, who was doing a semester abroad here. My home life had been a toxic environment for a long time, and even though I could have saved up further, I knew if I waited, not only would I not see my best friend for god knows how long (we first met face to face in London in 2008, for one morning) but I’d never have the courage to jump on a plane on my own and book a hotel on my own and start flathunting on my own.

So I booked a flight, and I booked train tickets to Madrid. I bought a suitcase and got another from a friend of my mom’s. And I came here thinking, well, if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. I may only be here a week.

–london-regents-pink

It’s been eleven months, and sometimes I’m so proud of myself for having made it this far. Sometimes, however, there are weeks like this week, where I need to flathunt and I’m still broke and my anxiety isn’t triggered by my toxic living environment but my financial stressors, constantly. I keep breaking down.

But I don’t want to go home. I don’t want to move back to Spain; I don’t want to leave England. Not for long, and not for home, not when summer’s approaching — braincell-killer summer in Spain; so much nicer and more productive in the UK for a photographer and model! — and it’s my parents’ turn to host my grandma, so I wouldn’t even have a room of my own there.

For the first months I was here, I skyped my mom daily. I fell into a bit of a depression hole in October and it went down to several times a week, once a week, sometimes longer periods without. My wifi fails and it frustrates me when I’m already doing badly with my mental health. But we still communicate — through twitter DMs, of all places. No huge phone bill is run, and I get to see my darling cat up on the screen, sometimes, though I miss him most of all because I can’t exactly communicate with him.

I’ve thought about going to Europe, finding cheaper places and traveling a little, for blog content, because it may well be cheaper than living in London for much longer, because maybe I’d eventually be close enough to Spain to visit my back and do it all over again.

I don’t know if I have the strength, but I’m thinking about it. And after that, maybe I’d be making enough to live in Belsize Park again, or give up the London thing and go back to Oxford.

Either way, this entire thing couldn’t have happened six years ago, and if I didn’t have the Internet none of this would have worked. I’ll refer you to the contents of my bag on that train from Stansted to London, and the person who took that picture — someone I met online a full decade ago.

—

I wrote this post for the Second Time Lucky campaign with Ocean Finance. I’m hoping they can help me get back on my feet, and have a clearer head when I consider options like ‘move to Berlin for a month because it’s cheaper there and you’ve always wanted to go to Germany, self, don’t front, you’d swoon in the little towns and take all of the selfies.’

Also in partnership with Legal & General. My entire income comes from cameras, laptops, blogs — technology has basically changed my life for the better, and given me options where there would have been none otherwise.

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Fashion Photography Portfolio Pretty Things Showcases

Creative / Product Photography for Jewellery by EMS

posted on February 19, 2015

JEMS by Lix Hewett / London Product Photographer

A while ago — let’s not say how long — I met up with Emma from JEMS to have a chat and so I could return a memory locket of hers I’d previously photographed (and which she got published on a magazine!) and take some photos of her beautiful, quirky unique jewelry. (You really can’t take the American out of my English; I’m sorry. I tried. It felt wrong.) We had a little walk around Belsize Park — she was in London from Leeds, for an event — and picked a spot to get some photos.

I photographed the pieces she was carrying on her, and took a few more portrait-like shots as well. I’m sharing them with you all here on the blog today. I hope you love her work as much as I do. And if you’re interested in hiring a photographer, go here or here!

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Home & Living Pretty Things

Etsy Picks #3: Fantasy In Your Footsteps

posted on February 7, 2015

etsy-picks-3-fantasy

1. New York Photo Print by Lisa Russo / 2. Wildflower Necklace by Ines Rocio
3. Emerald Oversized Cardigan by BVLifeStyle / 4. Felted Woodland Collar by filcAlki
5. Wooden Leaf Stud Earrings by vadjutka / 6. Fairy Wishing Candle by the Evergreen Nest

2 Comments

Pretty Things

Etsy Picks #2: Play It Again + Link-up!

posted on January 31, 2015

As I mentioned a while back, my Etsy Picks post are going to be link-ups from now on — that means you’re welcome to submit your own posts featuring Etsy shops and products, or other handmade designers, to the InLinkz widget below. I’m thinking about having themes every now and again; let me know how you feel about that. And feel free to share the link-ups with anyone you know who does Etsy posts, or sells on Etsy, or would be interested in participating for any other reason!

These are my picks this week:

etsy-finds-2-music

1. Abstract Guitar Painting by Art by Asta / 2. Skeleton Key Necklace by Jaros Designs
3. Purple Pearl Stud Earrings by sianykitty / 4. Custom Mini Guitar Pick Pendant by Greenleaf Pick Company (photo by me)
5. French Quarter Photograph by Eye Poetry Photography / 6. Leather Wrap Cuff by tline

And now it’s your turn!

Etsy Picks Link-Up Rules

1. Share your posts about Etsy! Wishlists, guides, interviews with shop owners, features — as long as it highlights an Etsy or handmade shop or product, it’s fair game. Please link to your post and not to your main blog. Links unrelated to Etsy or handmade crafts will be deleted.

2. Link back here from your post so everyone can join in and look at the awesome stuff everyone else has found.

3. You can link up any time from Saturday (the day the post goes up) to Friday.

4. Visit at least one other blog and leave a comment. This is the only rule that asks anything of you, and it’s a very small requirement, so please don’t just link-drop.

5. Optional: Follow me on Bloglovin to keep track of these posts. ;)

[inlinkz_linkup id=490761 mode=1]

1 Comment

Home & Living Pretty Things

Etsy Picks #1: The Pink Rose Palette

posted on December 25, 2014

I’ve been selling on Etsy for some time now — two years this month with my photography shop, a little over a year with the branding and design one. Before I started this blog, I was really active in the Etsy community, the teams and forums. That fell by the wayside over time for various reasons, but that time getting to know the site and the amazing creative people that sell on it instilled in me a love for carefully, lovingly handcrafted quality, and a desire to support fellow small business owners who are doing their best to live off what they love.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to bring back an old feature on this blog, Friday Loves – which later turned into Pretty Things, and which is now going to be called Etsy Picks, except for the times I include things from other platforms. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. The subcategory will still be Pretty Things, because it’s a good umbrella term for all of it.

Etsy Picks / by Lix Hewett

1. Hand Knit Beanie from Plexida / 2. Lace Ceramic Plate from Ceraminic
3. “Melody” Shirt (Magenta) from jekyllundkleid / 4. Statement Twig Necklace from BijuBrill
5. Abstract Floral Painting from lanasfineart / 6. Zipper Pouch from TheBlueRabbitHouse
7. Green Rose Gold Earrings from PoleStar / 8. Felted Acorn & Mouse from TheYarnKitchen
9. Ceramic Pottery Cups from juliapaulpottery

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Meet Lix

Welcome to my blog! I'm Lix: full-time graphic designer for bloggers and freelancers, and part-time photographer. I'm an unapologetic cat lady and perpetually angry feminist nightmare. I like attention and pretty things, and that's why I run a lifestyle blog. Learn more.
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