La Bernerie-en-Retz

Lately it's been very cold but really sunny around here! One Saturday, we borrowed my parents' car (yeah I know, we desperately need to buy a new car!) and we drove to the coast, only about 30mins from where we live. Instead of getting to Pornic like we usually do, my dad advised us to stop at La Bernerie where it's less busy and there's a lovely walk to do along the coast. Well, he was definitely right!

We were almost on our own on the beach and the path looked like it had been freshly finished, with areas especially made for wheelchairs. There was a nice private space for swimming, but obviously we just looked at it and didn't even think of putting a toe in the water as it was so so cold (you can tell with the big scarf I had wrapped around my neck!).

As we're settling further in France, we're planning on discovering way more places in the next months so stay tuned!

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Who Can? Toucan! Children's Book

Happy Friday!! So yes, this is very BIG for me: my first ever illustrations for a children's book! When I decided to go freelance full-time, apart from wanting so badly to be my own boss, the one goal I had was to start working on illustrations for children's books (and one day maybe creating my own!).

After many rejections when sending proposals, Jenne, who wrote the book, gave me the opportunity to work on the book's illustrations and its characters. I was over the moon! Although she sent me a proper brief of what she wanted to show on each page, once we agreed on a style, I had total freedom on the illustrations and I had so much fun because of that. We changed a few things here and there along the way, but the process was overall very smooth and I CANNOT WAIT to work on more books.

I definitely realised whilst working on it that this is the kind of project I'm passionate about and I felt like I was concentrating on the right thing.

If you'd like to see more, feel free to have a look on my website, and if you'd like to purchase the Kindle version, you can now find it on Amazon!

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Getting a Grip on my Goals

Happy Monday guys! Apparently it's Blue Monday, but to be honest, I just feel like it's a regular Monday, getting organised for the week and working hard on various projects. And anyway, I decided a while ago that I would stay as positive as possible, so I don't want to think about a depressive Monday, I want to start the week on the right foot!

With the beginning of January being a bit hectic, I didn't get around to doing my board full of goals for the next three months until yesterday. And although some of them are personal and just little details in my everyday life, I thought that if I share them with you today, that would make them even more official. This way, I have to work towards them right?!

So here's a little list of what I have planned for the next three months and goals that I need to reach (I know you're all super curious and dying to know!)

- I definitely need to drink more water.
- I have to give myself at least 1 day off every month outside of weekends!
- There's a budget I need to reach to be able to live comfortably so I've decided it's time to value my work better and to stop saying yes to underpaid jobs, or charging less hours for a job.
- I definitely need to get more French clients so in the next three months I want to be going to good networking events.
- Discover at least two new places per month.
- Well, we need to get a car first.
- Allow ourselves at least one dinner at a restaurant per month (if we had more money it would be every week haha)
- Collaborate more!
- Show more design on my Instagram feed
- I know I don't need to lose weight but god my muscles are like marshmallows so I NEED to get back to a workout routine!
- AND I want to introduce at least 6 new Etsy cards in my shop! I definitely need to sell some French ones now that I'm in France ;)

That's a few of my goals but my list is definitely longer. What are yours for the next couple of months?

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Cold & Crisp

One day, a couple of weeks ago, we woke up with -2°C and the whole day stayed REALLY cold. I think we managed to get 1°C in the afternoon but we were basically frozen the second we stepped outside.

It didn't stop us from going out for a walk around the village we live in and I made sure to get out our camera to take a few snaps of details here and there. I already shared a photo of the frozen spiderweb and I think it's so beautiful! It almost looks like delicate crystal. I was strolling around, saying hi to the sheep (they were not happy that we didn't have any bread for them) and looking for bright berries to contrast with the dull colours all around.

So today, with the news of a snow storm heading our way, I'm hoping that we'll be able to walk in the snow and take plenty of photos tomorrow :)

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The Babetown Collective

Morning guys! A couple of weeks ago, I shared this project on my website but didn't have the occasion to share it on my blog. So here it is! I've talked so much about The Babetown Collective already on social media and I'm so pleased to be sharing more about it now! I've loved working on the brand update with Lola as well as the sub-brand for the E-retreat happening in March this year. Have you checked it out yet? Link is right here :) and if you're a photographer and super interested about it, you can now get $200 off at the checkout with the exclusive code carole200 so what are you waiting for?!

There still is so much to do so keep an eye out as we will be adding more elements to the branding very soon!

Not only have I had the pleasure to work with Lola on the design side of the project, but she also invited me to be one of the speakers! It'll be a challenge for me as I've never done anything like this before, but I'm actually really excited about it. I'll obviously keep you all updated when I've got more details! For now, if you'd like to see more, have a look on my website.

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Winter Day in Noirmoutier

Just after Christmas, we were aching to go for a walk and get some fresh air after a few crazy days with the whole family and way too much food. We decided to go to Noirmoutier (only my sister was missing because she was working) and even though the wind was bloody cold, we definitely needed this!

Told you about the wind! Love this photo of the both of us though :)

After a few gloomy days, it was nice to finally enjoy a bit of sun and just relax. The sea was so tempting that you almost felt like jumping into it! I think I would have been frozen to the bone though, ha!

I didn't have the chance to explore Noirmoutier the past few years and I forgot how beautiful it was. I only took photos of the coast but we did wander around the town centre by the end of the afternoon and had a well deserved crêpe with a bit of cider before leaving for home.

Hope you're all having a great start to your January :)

PS: Aren't my parents the cutest ever?!

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Happy New Year + a Giveaway!

Happy New Year guys! Have you enjoyed your Christmas holiday? We've had a brilliant time and I finally managed to have a break from work, which was much needed. Thanks for sticking around whilst I get use to the whole move!

2016 has been tough and amazing at the same time, and I still can't quite believe that Jason and I managed to go freelance full time 6 months ago! Let's make 2017 an incredible year full of positive changes, growth in our businesses and of course full of love too because we definitely need it lately.

You might have recognised this illustration from the printable calendar I created as a freebie last month (if you didn't download it yet, you can find it right here!). Because I'm getting so busy with work and everything else that's going on in my life, I thought it would be such a good idea to use my illustrations from the calendar to create some unique wallpapers for you every month. I truly hope you'll like them!

Download:
WHOLE SET // PHONE 1 // PHONE 2

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