Yay Friday! + A little update

Hey guys! How's your August going so far? I can't believe how time is going by so fast lately. We came back from our much needed holiday on the 8th, and although we've only been working three days this week, we're quite happy to welcome the end of Friday!

Dordogne was so beautiful, sunny and hot (most of the time!), and I have so many photos I'd like to share with you! I think I'll have to separate them in two or three posts. Just thought I'd warn you now! I haven't had the time to sort through them yet though, but I know we took loads and I think that'll be my task for Sunday.

I've been to Dordogne a few times when I was younger, and I absolutely love this part of France, so it was extra special to bring Jason this time and visit beautiful sites with him. I think he enjoyed it ;)

Anyhow, life has been a bit full on for me lately, and I've had to deal with a lot of self-doubt and anxiety in the past months. During this holiday, I've had time to properly switch off, relax, and let go of any negative thoughts. It was exactly what I needed. I've come back more motivated than ever to do great work and create more for fun. There are so many personal projects I'd like to get on with and that I feel I never have the time for, but it's all up to me to make room for them, and I'm determined to do it.

I'm still battling with the whole thing of putting too much pressure on myself sometimes (see previous post here), and I feel that I'm getting better at it now. I still get overwhelmed with different situations and projects I've been working on, but since May, I'm really trying to step back and look at the situation a different way instead of letting it overwhelm me too much. It doesn't help when you get an email from somebody criticising your work just for the hell of it when you're back from your holiday! But you know what, it's not worth taking time to think about it too much and I'd rather concentrate on the good stuff.

I would be curious to know if you're a creative too and have been struggling with similar issues? How do you deal with it? I would love to discuss it with you guys. To be honest, without my boyfriend Jason, I don't think I would manage really well sometimes :)

Right, I think I've talked enough for today, so I'll let you enjoy your weekend! We're going to the cinema tonight and tomorrow we have an amazing light and sound show at the Abbaye de Bon Repos. Can't wait!

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Birthday weekend in l'Île aux Moines!

As my birthday this year was on a Wednesday, we decided to celebrate it early during a little weekend getaway in l'Île aux Moines. I've explored parts of the island before but it was a long time ago and even though I knew it's a nice place to visit, I forgot how beautiful it was! Well, I guess the fact that it was hot and sunny during the whole weekend helped a lot ;)

Looking at hotels on the island, we realised how super expensive it was to stay for the night there, so we booked a lovely AirBnB only 10mins away from Port Blanc (the main port where you can get a really quick boat ride to the island). There's a massive free car park close to the port, and with a return ticket only costing 5€ per person, we knew it was the cheapest option!

We found it quite nice to get there by boat. It really felt like an adventure! We spent all Saturday on the island, with a picnic in hand for lunch, and we had a really nice birthday meal at La Ptite Souris in Vannes in the evening (20mins away from our AirBnB). It felt like such a long day!

We came back on Sunday quite early in the morning to beat the crowd and it was just SO lovely. We decided not to rent bikes as we like to just walk around at our own pace, taking as many photos as we feel like.

One thing I couldn't get over with is how beautiful and unique the houses are on the island and I couldn't help but dream about buying one of them one day! Also, there were colourful flowers everywhere and I just went a bit crazy with the photos. Don't worry, I'm not sharing even half of them with you :)

We walked a lot to get to different points of the island and we enjoyed every minute! We really liked stopping by the Pointe du Trec'h (far north) and we couldn't miss the Cromlech (neolithic site with remaining standing stones). We were helped with plenty of water and of course, a delicious meal at La Chaumière for lunch. My goodness, I could plan another trip to l'Île aux Moines JUST to eat more of their galettes and crêpes!

We used the coastal paths as much as we could and it's the best way to get around the island if you're looking for the best views!

Although we didn't have our swimsuits with us, the water was too inviting not to put our feet in to refresh ourselves a bit. We found a small beach that felt really private even though it was a bit crowded, but unfortunately, I can't remember its name!

Also, I had to include a photo of one of the painted mailboxes. So many people seem to paint theirs on the island and this one was the prettiest we found.

We've been quite stressed lately and this short weekend away was really needed. I felt relaxed and I was just enjoying the moment and going with the flow for once. And we're now getting ready for a week off in Dordogne with my family and I CANNOT wait! A weekend away was great but a week away, well, let's say it will be really really appreciated. Make sure to follow our adventures on my Instagram account!

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Portfolio Update - Marlow's Map of Mallorca

Hey guys! Hope you're all having an amazing Summer so far :)

Today I'm sharing with you one of my favourite projects I've worked on with Charles Marlow & Bros. Their aim was to create a unique guide for new customers and visitors to show them a different side of the beautiful island of Mallorca. The whole team put together a list of their favourite experiences and places to go and we all worked hard to make it as interesting as possible.

I always enjoy working on maps but this one was such a fun and rewarding project! I love the style and overall feel we went for and I can't wait to visit Mallorca myself, map in hand!

More THIS WAY :)

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Picnic by the lake & Village de l'An Mil

On the second weekend of July, we picked up my brother Thomas at my parents to spend a bit of quality time with him. Lucky for us, the weather was absolutely gorgeous all weekend and we made the most of it!

We planned to visit the Village de l'An Mil, which is only 20mins away from our house, and after a bit of research, I realised that there was a beautiful lake nearby where we could stop for a picnic beforehand. And so we did!

We were glad to find a spot in the shade because it was already starting to be hot, and although I like the heat, when you're eating under the sun with no breeze whatsoever, you start to feel like you're going to melt at one point! The view was beautiful though and after eating, I think we were all ready for a nap ;)

There wasn't a lot of people when we arrived so it was nice and quiet. We met a cute cat sleeping away under a table and as we're all cat people, we couldn't resist coming back to him (or her?) all the time!

The site is very interesting, although it would have probably been best to wait for the next guided tour as it would have been a bit more lively. But we like roaming around at our own pace so it didn't bother us too much. I always like discovering how people used to live and these middle-age reconstructions that were built on real remains were really well done.

Jason and Thomas were messing around with the props and I still can't get over Jason's face in the "Face-in-the-Hole" board! It makes it extra funny that it's usually made for kids.

We could go around the ruins of the rest of the village and we found them so beautiful with all these purple flowers growing on them. Archeologists are still searching for some more elements that would help them figure out how these people were living and they still haven't found where they were burying their dead.

One thing that was quite impressive was the garden that they put together based on discoveries all around Brittany of the kind of plants and vegetables middle-age people would be planting and cultivating. The garden was absolutely massive! We even spotted some goats :)

Even though we would have loved to see and learn more, we were very pleased with our day out with my brother and we were glad to finish the day with our feet in the river's cool water down the road!

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