Best weekend ever? ♥ {Monday Musings}

What an amazing weekend!

As you may have heard, I went to Brighton with Ali Lovegrove (check out my behind the scenes holiday snaps here and some sneak previews of the shoot on Ali's blog here) and we had the most incredible time!

Although it was SUCH hard work it really was like a holiday and I had so much fun!



♥ My holiday highlights ♥

♥ The drive there - finally getting to speak to Ali in person and getting along like a house on fire!

♥ Not being able to find Louise's house and being absolutely terrified, which whilst scary at the time is really funny to look back on now!

♥ First setting eyes on the beautiful Oh My Honey creation and feeling butterflies that I was the lucky person who would be wearing it that very next day! (You can't see it in it's entirety yet, but there is a little preview on Ali's blog and I can tell you that it has a petticoat made from layers and layers of soft tulle in shades of pink and ivory and is made from the softest matt ivory duchess satin - to die for!)

♥ Getting up at 5.45am to get to the beach for sunrise, which was SO worth it.

♥ Being congratulated by passers by in the street who thought I was actually getting married!

♥ Thinking I could see a man praying at the water's edge (i didn't have my glasses on!) and being told it was just a rock, and then later finding out that is WAS a man praying!

♥ Seeing how excited and passionate Ali is about her work - she's amazing!

♥ Being given permission to take photographs on the carousel by the scary looking man who turned out to be lovely!

♥ Eating candyfloss

♥ Getting changed in the oh so glamorous multi story carpark!

♥ Hearing a little girl cry"It's a Princess!!"

♥ Going into the sea in a massive wedding dress!

♥ Finally changing out of the dress into normal clothes after a mammoth 8 hour shoot in the sweltering heat!

♥ Buying souvenir necklaces with Ali - I chose a carousel and she a lovely little camera, perfect!

♥ Eating the most delicious sausage and chips on the beach

♥ Buying ice cream from the funny man on the pier "Ice cream for you laaady?"

♥ Laughing at Ali struggling to eat the monstrous ice cream

♥ More lovely chat on the way home

♥ And finally... slumping down onto my sofa after the busiest, most fun packed, exciting day!

I hope your weekend was as good as mine! :)


























♥ This Week ♥

Now back to reality, and as you can imagine my to do list is humongous!

This week i will mostly be...
♥ Preparing samples for some fantastic product shots with SMD Photography
♥ Designing some logos
♥ Sending out sample packs to brides and suppliers alike!
♥ Rejigging my logo and blog design packages
♥ Preparing for Sunday's shoot with Lucy Stendall
♥ Finishing off some invitation orders
♥ Designing some stationery for an Autumn themed wedding

For now though, i'm enjoying a well deserved day off (well, after this blog post!) so i will see you tomorrow!

Lots of love!

Leah x
twitter: @leahgoldenapple

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

{monday musings} 500 Days of Summer

Good Morning!

So I know it isn't monday but as I dont work mondays anymore (yes, i'm giving myself an actual set day off every week!) i've moved it to Tuesdays and am yet to think of a catchy name for it on a Tuesday. Can you?!

Anyway. Last night me and Joe watched 500 Days of Summer, which we both loved. (Yes, even Joe!) I loved everything about it - the soundtrack, (so many of my favourite songs!) the gorgeous illustrations throughout and Zooey Dechanel's lovely outfits!



I'm going to have it on again in the background whilst I work today :)

Lots to do this week, including launching my Christmas collection - cards, tags and decorations!

On Thursday i'll be sending out sample packs to planners, bloggers, venues and stylists - if you would like one then email me on leah@goldenappledesigns.co.uk and i'll add you to the list!

Hope you have a lovely week ahead :)

Leah x
twitter: @leahgoldenapple

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

{monday musings} AUGUST!

Pinch, punch, first day of the month, NO RETURN!

It's August, how exciting! August is one of my favourite months, and this year with added awesomeness as there is so much fabulous stuff going on!



♥ Today
MY DRESS IS ARRIVING for the Love My Dress Soiree! I might die with excitement!
*update* IT'S HERE!! Click here to read more :)



















♥ 3rd August
It's the LOVE MY DRESS SOIREE! Argh - I am stupidly excited!

I'll be travelling up there with lovely ladies Chloe Adlington and Ali Lovegrove. Bring on the girly road trip - i'll bring the sweeties :)

Then on to the party where i'll get to meet SO many lovely people for the very first time, as well as catching up with others...

Emma from The Wedding Reporter
Elle from Elle Stationery
Anna from Anna and the Ring
Debs from Ruffles & Pearls
Abby from Tattybojangles Vintage Hen House
Lucy Stendall Photography
Alexandre from The Bijoux Bride
Loads of others that I can't remember right now!

...and not forgetting the lovely Annabel from Love my Dress, who has planned the fabulous event! Hooray for Annabel!! :)

♥ 12th August
We're MOVING HOUSE!
Finally, after almost 2 years of living in the teeniest tiniest 1 bedroom flat known to man, we are moving into a HOUSE! A real proper house with rooms and stairs everything. And an OVEN. Believe it or not, my flat has no oven. It's not the kind of thing you think to check for when you're looking at flats but alas, when i has moved in I realised there wasn't one! Crazy! I can't wait to make a big fat roast dinner as soon as we move! :)



















I'm turning the dining room into my studio, so that my lovely customers will be able to come and see me, rather than lugging all of my stuff to a cafe or bar. HOORAY!

♥ Thursday 18th
It's my birthday! I'll be planning some drinks on the Saturday so local people would be more than welcome to come along - i'll keep you posted! :)



















The last week of August is a bit boring, but I think i'll need it after all the excitement, before moving on to a month full of Wedding fairs and of course the Leicester Wedding Club Summer Garden Party in September!

Happy August!

Leah x
twitter: @leahgoldenapple

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

One Big Family {monday musings}

Morning all :)

So it's Monday again, and after a hectic weekend (without a day off since 25th June!) I have just treated myself to a very naughty breakfast from McDonald's. I'm now sitting at my desk in the sunshine enjoying a nice glass of orange juice, with the breeze billowing through the viole curtain, listening to this...



..I hope you're having a lovely Monday morning too!

It was an eventful weekend - I spent Friday night drinking delicious Prosecco in the garden with the best mate before going on to a party to watch my boyfriend DJ - the first booking through his new company, Scratch Wedding & Event DJs.

I then had two consulations on Saturday before working Saturday night, which was completely fully booked! Yesterday was more of a quiet day, with a relaxed brunch shift followed by an amazing Sunday lunch.

It's a bit of a short blog post today, as I have a big chunk of my TO DO list to tackle today, including 3 logos to design, typewriter wedding invitations to create and a website to complete. I am then off to my second job at 7pm!

Speak to you later!

Leah x
twitter: @leahgoldenapple

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

At the River {monday musings}

Urgh, it's a bit grim and grey today isn't it?!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend and took advantage of the sun whilst it was around :)

I started a part time job this weekend to help me save some pennies - I am determined to go on holiday this year! It's at a gorgeous restaurant in Leicester, Entropy, and I've loved it so far. The food is amazing and I was also really excited to see that they stock Teapigs tea, as I've been mad about Teapigs for ages! You might remember that I came runner up in their Drink Real Tea poster competition last year. Find out a bit more about Entropy here.

To encourage the sun to make an appearance my song choice for today is Groove Armada, At the River, which also coincides well with my dreams of a lovely holiday. It was also playing at work yesterday whilst I was serving up amazing Sunday lunches and mouthwatering breakfasts!



I have an eeeenormous To Do list this week, which as well as some invitations and stationery orders includes creating report samples and an exciting project for the Wedding Reporter, planning & promoting the Leicester Wedding Club summer Garden Party, finishing a website and also finishing a couple of other logo design orders.

I'm also attending the Creative Coffee networking event on Wednesday (sticking to mid years resolution number 3) followed by coffee with my old boss which should be nice!

Look out for my very first real wedding on the blog later on, a really lovely Leicester City Centre wedding from the fantastic SMD Photography.

Hope you have a lovely week planned too! :)

Leah x
twitter: @leahgoldenapple

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

Talking Heads {monday musings}

I watched Julie & Julia on Saturday night, and it was so awesome. I now want to cook everything in the Julia Child cookbook and blog about it, like Julie did. But it's been done. Oh well! But anyway, if you like food (and blogging!) you should definitely watch it!

At one point in the film, Julie has to kill a lobster for Lobster Thermidor, which leads to her husband teasing her for being a 'lobster killer' to the soundtrack of Talking Heads 'Psycho Killer' which will be my Monday Morning tune today! I love the song as it reminds me of being in the car on one of the many camping holidays with my family when I was younger and I would sing along to the "fa fa fa fa" part!



"Fa fa fa fa, fa fa fa fa fa fa, fafa! Run run run, run run run awaaaay!"

Anyway, onto my 'to do' list, which I'm kind of struggling with this week as i have no internet. And no idea when it will come back on as i've been without it since Friday now and a certain internet provider who we shall call Shmirgin Pedia are useless!

So I'm at my boyfriend's parents now replying to as many emails as possible, as although i do get them on my phone I can't attach anything so can't send out proofs or invoices or receipts! boo! I think I may have to move into Starbucks for the foreseeable future. So for now I'd like to say "SORRY!" to anybody who is awaiting work or replies for me and "THANK YOU!" for your patience!

I do, however have some things that don't require the internet, such as preparing for the oh so exciting super duper Midlands Vintage Chic Wedding Fair which is taking place next Sunday! I have lots of bits and bobs to prepare for it so that should keep me busy.

I'm so looking forward to seeting lots of lovely people there - such as Nicola from Eve Lily, Ali Lovegrove, The Butterworths, Lucy Stendall Photography, Yummy Little Cakes, Chloe Adlington from Adore by Chloe and I can't remember who else but let's just say i'm super excited! I'm also looking forward to meeting lots of lovely brides and grooms on the day!

I'm only here for another 2 hours so must leave it at that as I need to cram in as much online work as possible before going back home to the internetless flat! Boooooo!

Leah x

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site

Dance dance dance {monday musings}

It's Monday again - how did that happen?!

Hope you had a funtastic weekend :)
Fajito night was awesome as always on Friday, and Saturday was spent walking around the Thurlaston Carnival: eating Hog Roast, watching the dog show, buying chutney and browsing the craft fair, followed by pints of ale in the pub and dinner with the 'in-laws'.

Yesterday I went to Lazerquest for the BF's little brother's birthday, where I was terrorised by eight 13 year old boys, and sat around the party table on a teeny tiny stool consuming chicken nuggets and chips!

Another of my 'happy songs' for you below - 'Dance Dance Dance' by Lykke Li, which I like to twirl around the living room to when things get a bit too stressful :)



I've got lots of fun bits and bobs to do and share with you this week!

I'm MOST excited about appearing super awesome wedding blog Rock n Roll bride tomorrow, but more about that then!

I'll also be sticking a few new Greetings Card designs on the website in the next few days, as well as doing some bits for the Wedding Reporter (who is back from her holibobs now, hooray!) and discussing more super awesomeness with Ali Lovegrove.

Other stuff...
♥ Catch up with emails - very important, must do this first!!
♥ Share photos from the Wedding Reporter shoot
♥ Meet with venue to finalise details for the next Leicester Wedding Club and plan the Summer BBQ!
♥ Start illustrations for a 1950's travel inspired bespoke wedding invitation
♥ Create a print for a 1st wedding anniversary, with paper origami heart
♥ Do some work on the handmade jewelery website that i've been working on
♥ Logo & banner design for a lovely wedding blog
♥ Finish create the Byron James Photography blog design
♥ Create heart bunting, a banner and tissue paper pom poms for a 70th birthday party
♥ Prepare for the Vintage Chic Wedding Fair (SO excited about this!!)
♥ Go to the gym at least twice a week until the wedding fair, or have no hope of wearing fave vintage dress
♥ Make my Dad a Father's Day card :)
♥ Take Scratch to the vets for his second jab (hooray, two weeks until i can take him for walkies!)
♥ Boring stuff - admin, clean my desk, chase invoices... blah!

What are you up to this week?
Have a lovely Monday!

Leah x

Golden Apple
Creative design, Stationery & Wedding Invitations Leicester
Click here to visit the site