Free Shipping for my South African Readers Ordering between now and Dec 26th!

For all my South African readers, I will be home for 3 week visit from the end of December until the middle of January and I wanted to offer you all free shipping on items in my stationery store! I will be in Johannesburg for a few days and then the majority of my time will be spent in KZN (Pietermaritzburg). If we can arrange a convenient meeting place during that time then I will simply pop your order into my suitcase and bring it along with me, saving you the hassle of worrying about items not arriving in SA.

All you have to do is go to my store (click here) select your items, and then choose the 'Pick up/Local delivery option' for shipping. Payment is done using your credit card through Paypal, which is very safe and secure. 

I have also made up a few custom packages for customers who have emailed me items they would like and then I have given them my South African banking details to make payment. Let me know if you want to do something similar, but hurry as time is running out! 

Happy hopping everyone!

New stock in my stationery store

I've just updated my stationery store (click here to start shopping) with lots of pretty new things. I've added new notebooks, pens, gift bags and tippex tape. For my South African readers I am no longer shipping to South Africa, as the postal service in SA is just too unreliable. If you would like to place an order, I will be home in January for 3 weeks and can bring your items with me in my suitcase. If we can arrange a convenient pick up place in Jhb or Durban/Pietermaritzburg then there will be no delivery costs whatsoever. 

For the rest of my readers shipping is as usual and your package will arrive within 2 weeks (I've already had happy customers receive their goodies in Australia, Canada, China and the US!).

Happy Shopping!

Disney's Frozen inspired Wedding shoot by Nadia Meli

Disney's recent release, Frozen, has taken over South Korea by storm. I still can't walk through the halls of my school without hearing at least 10 different voices screaming 'Let it Go'. No one really knows why this particular animation has has became so popular here in Korea, but, regardless of the why, I can't help joining in, no matter how fed up I am of hearing the same song over and over again. And there really is no denying that Frozen was a fantastic film, with subtle (and not so subtle) changes to the traditional fairytale story that make all of us ladies feel some kind of connection with Elsa.

While planning a Frozen inspired lesson for my middle school girls I came across this beautiful styled shoot by the talented Nadia Meli. Nadia lives in Germany and has such a beautiful portfolio of images ranging from romantic weddings to soft lit lifestyle photography. She was very sweet in allowing me to showcase this styled shoot here. Isn't it lovely?!

It was Nadia's work that inspired me to really dip my toes into the world of styled photoshoots (I started off with a flower crown shoot with a Korean friend, then captured a South African friend at a temple here in my town, complete with red roses and full red lips. And yesterday I finished a fun filled picnic inspired shoot on the beach...photographs to come soon).

Thank you for making such pretty pictures Nadia, I hope my travels bring me to Germany one day so I can meet up with you over a cup of coffee or attend one of your incredible workshops.

x

You can find Nadia at the following places:

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Yangjae Flower Market, Seoul (양재동꽃시장)

Yangjae Flower Market in Seoul is one of the largest in Korea. It is divided into several different zones, from whole sale to retail, it also has auction house and a whole floor of silk flowers, ribbons and other flower arranging items. The whole sale section of the market is open from 1am and closes at 1pm while the rest of the green houses and artificial sections are open until about 3pm. I headed there with a friend a few weeks ago, and even though I did't think I was mad about flowers, we spent a good number of hours wondering around, purchasing greenery and snapping photographs. It is well worth the trip, and I'm sure you won't leave empty handed. And succulents like these ones (click here) were only W1000 a pop...win!

Directions

Take the Sin Bundang Line to Yangjae Citizen's Forest Station (Exit 4). 
Continue walking for 200 meters to reach the market on the right.

Opening Hours

Wholesale Area : 1h00-13h00
Retail Area : 7h00-20:00
Potted Flower Area : 7h00-19h00

The Wholesale Area is closed on Sundays.

Some stores in the Retail Area and Potted Flower Area are closed on Sundays.

A little letter love...

Here are a few photographs of letter sets that made their way into my every expanding stationery collection yesterday. I will be adding a few of these to my stationery store soon. Are there any that catch your eye?

Spring Blooms in Korea

Todays post is a little Instagram round up of all the pretty Spring blossoms and blooms I've seen so far here in South Korea. I'm not sure if I've ever seen such pretty flowers, or whether I am appreciating spring a lot more since having just been through such a cold winter. Spring is quite possibly my favourite month of the year, there is a buzz in the air, and the world seems full of endless possibilities for dreams to come true and for adventures to be had. Wishing you all a very happy Friday and a lovely start to your weekend, wherever in the world you may be.

P.S. Today is your last chance to enter my #Motex labeler Giveaway! Click here to enter <3

Motex giveaway in celebration of National Stationery Week!

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend! Monday marks the start of National Stationery Week in the UK and to celebrate this wonderful occasion, (and because I have a love for all things stationery!) I'm going to be giving away a pretty pink Motex labeler, as well as an extra roll of lime green tape. I have loved my labeler and have gone a little crazy labeling everything I can get my hands on (all in the name if organizing...or so I tell Farmboy). If you're not sure what a Motex labeler is, it's basically a label embosser which uses a click wheel to  literally 'punch' your desired letters or symbols onto sticky backed label paper. You can click here for some pretty pictures of what people have used their labelers to decorate. They have been around for years, but have started gaining popularity again especially within the crafty, snail mail circles of people who use them to make their packages look extra special.

This pink labeler comes with 4 text disks (English uppercase, English lowercase, Korean and another one with symbols I'n not sure the origins of) as well as two rolls of sticky backed tape (one pink and one lime green). The reason for the Korean disk is that the Motex labeler is made right here in Korea.

If you would like to win simply use the giveaway entry system below. I'd also love to know what you plan on labeling first if you win, let me know in the comments section below.

Give me a shout if you have any problems with the entry system (it sometimes acts up in certain internet browsers). You can get multiple entries by doing different things, so just follow the instructions for more info. 

You can also gain another entry by sharing the top image on Instagram and using the following hashtag (so I can track your entry) #citygirlsearching and my username @roxyhutton.

This giveaway is open to everyone (local and international) and the winner will be drawn on Friday evening.

Good luck everyone! 

X

Maehwa Spring Flower Festival in Gwangyang, South Korea

Traditionally one of Korea’s first spring flower festivals, Maehwa Village’s 83 acres of apricot trees cover the Baegunsan mountains with their white blossoms - Discover Korea

This past weekend marked the start of the spring blossoms here in South Korea. One of the first festivals is in Gwangyang (South Jeolla Province) about a 1.5 hour bus ride from Gwangju in Seomjin Village. Farmboy and I headed there last minute on Sunday to catch a glimpse of the pretty blossoms. As with most Korean festivals, we were left disappointed. Not disappointed with the actual blossoms (they were gorgeous!) but with the festival in general. There were so many people. The buses were delayed. The food on offer left a lot to be desired, and everything was over priced. I mean W3000 ($3 for a small can of Sprite?!). But, I'm glad we went along, even if just to remind ourselves of why we visit the beauty that South Korea has to offer on days before and after the designated festival dates.

It took us over 6 bus rides in total to get to Gwangyang, but that's only because we live in the sticks. From the Gwangyang Bus Terminal there is a shuttle bus to Maewwa that goes around the hour which costs W3600 a person. The timetable for the shuttle is on the hour every hour for the festival weekends, but we were able to get standing spots for the 30 minute journey at random intervals between the allocated shuttle times. From the festival grounds, we were able to buy return tickets all the way back to Gwangju. As the weather was so nice it turned out to be a great day. If you are thinking about going, make sure to pack a picnic and try to get there early, before the rest of Korea!

Address

33, Sicheong-ro, Gwangyang-si, Jeollanam-do

전라남도 광양시 다압면 지막1길 55

For more detailed info visit www.gwangyang.co.kr