Week in Words

This, my friends, shall be short and sweet! I've had a crazy week and genuinely cannot remember most of it haha! Here's what I do remember..

• Taking a well deserved day off work.
• Day trippin' with the husband.
• Having to carry a massive bloody bag of dog food - I had dead arms afterwards!
• Tasting some chicken curry and rice soup, it was absolutely dilicious but basically left over curry without the meat haha.
• Recieving some exciting news!
• Making a funny treasure trail for the husband.
• Deciding to have a lovely chilled out night which actually turned out to be an amazing night with my gorgeous best friend.  I just love her.
• Googling, googling, and more googling!
• Saying goodbye to the bestie as she's heading off for a week down south.
• Having a lovely evening with my parents and my friends.
• Shedding a tear or too... they were happy ones.
• Having a busy day at work.
• Going out for a lovely long forest walk with the dog.  She had a right good time!
• Looking forward to FINALLY having a day off tomorrow with absolutely no plans and no one to see.  Think I'm possibly going to have the laziest day of my life!

Secret Corner - Country Cream

Country Cream is a beautiful, 10 year old family run business.  They have some exclusive items that are handmade and handpainted by various people.  I love this companies ethics - they aim to use mums at home, retired, elderly, disadvantaged and disabled people to help make some of their items.  The bonus being that for some of the items you can actually choose what colour you would like it painted in.  I wish more companies were able to offer this service!

Country Cream offer a wide range of items from ribbon to furniture and it's all beautiful!

I absolutely love this cute little card/photo holder.  I always wish I had somewhere to put my cards! I have a fireplace but it it fills up pretty quickly and I don't really like putting them in the window so this is perfect and when we don't have an "occasion" happening in our lives we can just pop some photos in but there are thinks like thank you cards or whatever that I would probably just keep in it forever.  I quite frankly think it's superb!

Check out these cute little cat shaped peg blackboards - what a genius invention this is! Not entirely sure how practical they are because they seem quite small but I still think they're cute and I'd still probably buy them.

Lastly, I just adore these beautiful heart boxes.  I can think of all sorts of things to do with them and places to put them but I have Christmas at the forefront of my mind right now and I think they'd be fab filled with some decadent chocolates or I'm actually considering filling one with some make-up bits and giving it to my bestie. There is a whole tonne of uses for them and they would look gorgeous on the dressing table.

Have you spotted anything you like? Share them with me!

The Ten List

Introducing a new fortnightly series I'm going to be bringing you lists of 10 things.... I'll kick off with 10 random facts about me.

1. I am 26 years old and this is probably the first year where I've actually started to feel like I'm getting old!
2. I have one sister.  She is slightly autistic and has various other neurological disabilities as well as some physical disabilities too.  It's pretty heartbreaking to see and I can't imagine how tough it must be on my parents.
3. I am a country girl through and through.  I lived the city life for 4 years and at first I completely loved it but as time went on I really started to appreciate what I had left behind and to be honest I love my super safe little haven - the city is scary!
4. I have one husband and one Dalmatian.
5. I can't stand clutter.
6. I'm left handed.  Lefties are all right. Ha!
7. I love my own company.  Don't get me wrong, I love hanging out with my friends and spending time with people and being sociable, but every so often I crave that alone time!
8. I don't feel like I have a talent for anything.
9. I'm an obsessive list maker.
10. There are only 3 people that I trust wholeheartedly - my mum, my dad and my husband.  I'm just too cynical to 100% trust anybody else.

The Place I call Home

... is beautiful.

I could just stop there, because that is what I truly appreciate about this place.  The beauty.   I know that nowhere else can compare to it, because this is home and I know it always will be.

I have rolling mountains, fresh sea air, white sandy beaches, secret spots, caves, waterfalls, giant waves crashing into rocks, wide open spaces, the best views for miles and miles, a quiet little street that looks perfect even when lit up by street lights.  I have lived in other places... and I will always, always come back to here.  It's just where I belong.  Yes, it's small and lacks opportunities and some might say I don't have the freedom of a large city but I don't need that, I have the freedom to appreciate the creation of the world.  The mountains, the sea, the cliffs, the forests... the natural things.  I get to breathe fresh, sea air every single day and I am so grateful for that.  I get to see the stars twinkle every night when I look up into the sky.  I can walk outside at 3am and know I won't get mugged or attacked or witness something horrific.  I'm not scared here, I'm content and that is all I need.

Some day soon, I'll share some pictures.

Week in Words

Phewwwww, I have had thee busiest week ever! This is the first evening since Tuesday I've actually been able to spend at home and I'm trying to make the most of it by sipping on a hot chocolate and cuddling my poochy. Heres what I've been up to...

• Starting the week off with a 5am wake up call from my dog who needed to be sick, just as I was heading to bed again she spewed up blood so I brought her in to my bed for some sneaky cuddles! She is fine now, by the way, she had just eaten a bit of wood, which I think may have been a bark chipping!
• Arranging for someone to come and look at our rental property which has taken us AGES to finish.
• Lighting our first fire of the season and getting cosy warm.
• Getting to finish work an hour early every day, woohoo!
• Spending 3 nights down at the rental property trying to get as much as possible done.  Unfortunately for me the only non "manly" job that was left was glossing doors and skirting boards - verrrryy tedious.
• Finishing work, painting, rolling into bed, getting up for work and repeating.
• Missing my usual Friday post because I literally had no time at home and on Friday I didn't get back until 1am :(
• Dinner at my mum's for my sister's birthday.
• Starting to look for Christmas presents.  I'm determined to get started this month and hopefully have it all done by the beginning of December!
• Making a delicious roast for us and a friend.
• Watching X Factor with my mama bear.
• Falling asleep on the couch.
• Making plans
• Wondering and waiting....
• Wearing my onesie to bed... it seems it's not cold enough for that yet as I was too warm in it.

What have you all been up to? I'll probably have another busy week next week but I've got lots of new posts to get up!

Amazing Blog

Remember when I blogged about a super fab blog called Sawdust and Embryos? Well here's another super fab blog.

You may recognise this as it's gone viral and the world is going blooming mad for it.  There's even talk of a film and I for one would definitely be running to the cinema to see it.  40 Days of Dating is pretty self explanatory but it is absolutely amazing to read.  It's basically about two friends who haven't found the right person yet, Timothy is a complete commitment phobe and Jessica falls in love too fast.  They are both designers who live in New York City and have been friends for 4 years.  They decided to enter into an experiment, to date for 40 days in a bid to see if they can help each other with their seperate issues regarding relationships. Each day they completed a survey which questioned what they did and how the were feeling - it is such an addictive read.  I actually read the entire blog in one day because I was so enthralled by it and the outcome was not what I expected at all - I immediately had to google what happened next! They actually started this experiment in March but didn't upload their daily accounts until a few months later so I love that I can actually find out what happened after day 40.

I won't give anything away, you really need to read it, it's interesting to see how they interpret things as individuals and how intense the experiment was.  I don't think I could do it! Also, the blog is full of designer bits too and a couple of videos to mix it up a little.  It is truly genius.

Week in Words

The week is coming to an end and I've had a super lazy day today... so much so that I almost forgot all about this post! Here's a recap of my week:

• Working on my usual day off... what a bore.
• Suffering from my lack of sleep.  I always plan to go to bed earlier but then I start faffing about and I just never seem to get there.
• Catching up with the bestie and the baby.
• Getting very annoyed and defensive... I don't like people who feel the need to voice their negative opinions about my friends to me.  There's just no reason for it.
• Eating ice cream.  Probably the last of the year.
• Playing hide and seek with the dog.
• Heading to my besties with the husband for a fabulous feast, couple of drinks and a good old laugh.  Was such a fantastic night.
• Buying food for dinner and leaving it at work.
• Going for a meander to get lunch with the husband.  That's the best bit about working on a Saturday!
• Having a chilled out evening, relaxing bath and enjoying having an evening to myself.
• Having a nice little lie in.
• Waking up to gale force winds and heavy rain.
• Snoozing on the couch.
• Reading the entire 40 Days of Dating blog.  I'll be posting about this later in the week!
• Starting a new book.  I'm not sure if I like it enough to continue.
• Not feeling very motivated to work tomorrow....

How's your week been? Mine has been very 'blah'.  I'm looking forward to next week when my work shifts go back to normal and I can enjoy being in my usual routine again.

Secret Corner - Rockett St George

I have an absolute BEAUTY of a homeware store for you today.  If you haven't already heard of Rockett St George then check them out.  PRONTO.  I am so so excited to be doing a feature on this store.

They've been running for 6 fabulous years and decided to set up Rockett St George because of their shared love of shopping.  They know that not everyone has time to be rushing around the shops so they choose to set up an online store with the knowledge that it would be easy and accessible for people.  I've had a tough time trying to narrow down my favourites! This place really does have something for everyone - with things as cheap as chips to items running right into the thousands, there's something to suit every budget and every style.  From gift wrap to wallpaper, you'd be bloody mad not to take a peek.

So, my favourites.  This is just a small portion of my picks! First up, I love this simple feather print. I love feathers, I do. I've always said if I was ever to get a tattoo (I wont, I'm far too fickle) I'd get a feather down my ribs.  I like seeing feathers just floating about in the wind and landing at someone's feet and I feel like I could place this print in either my bedroom or my living room and it'd look perfectly in place.

Another piece of wall art.  I really want this 'what is love' natural limestone wall art (click and read, it's wonderful) .  In complete contrast to the feather print, I actually really like having things on the wall that people can stop and take the time to read and then leave my house full of thoughts and questions and answers.  There are various different options and to be honest I'm not 100% sure if I would necessarily choose the 'what is love' one... they all give me a bit of food for thought.  Hmm.

I'm not entirely selfish when it comes to my shopping habits... I think this adorable shaving mirror might just be going in the husband's Christmas stocking.  You can actually write whatever you want on it but I love the wording they hsve chosen... aw.

Next is another print.  I just blummin' love all that arty wall stuff don't I? I would just sit this pretty little lipstick print on my dressing table though, propped up against the wall, unframed.  I also think it would be the perfect gift for any beauty queens in the family... plus it's ONLY £10, wowza!

Now I know this Secret Corner series is all about homeware, but this homeware site have only gone and included a sneaky bonus of jewellery items and they are all lovely.  My favourites are the angel wing bangles and this gorgeous spike necklace which would look perfect under a blouse or a nice structured collar.  I think I'm going to have to put these on my Christmas list actually!

And finally... check THIS out.  A caravan.  A caravan! Rockett St George, I salute you.

Bag It

I've been on the hunt for a new handbag for quite some time now.  I fell in love with a few in Zara but I didn't order any because I knew I had to whittle it down to at least 2 but then I knocked myself out and got hospitalised and instructed to take it easy for 2 weeks so I kinda forgot all about them until a few days ago, and now they are ALL GONE.  So the moral of the story is, life's too short, buy all the bags as soon as you see them!

When starting up my bag search again I only had a couple of specifications: it must be big... I have tried time and time again to have a smallish bag and only take with me the essentials but who knows when I might need a phone charger, paracetamol, an umberella, a pair of sunglasses, a notebook, the spare car key, some mascara, a mirror, a squirt of perfume or various timetables?! Exactly. Ideally I would like it to have a longer strap as well as normal shoulder handles but it doesn't really matter too much.  I also wanted a fairly neutral colour as I want one for every day use and lastly, I just want it to be fairly simple and fuss free.

1.  This little sale beauty is from Miss Selfridge and is currently reduced from £42 down to £32..  I love pretty much everything about it right down to the cute little tassle! It also comes in a tan colour aswell which is lovely too but I feel like it looks a bit more like an overnight bag in that colour... weird.

2.  A beautiful beautiful bargain from New Look! Only £19.99! It's so nice and simple and I love grey but I can't help worrying that it might get a bit dirty... not to worry though as it also comes in black which is probably what I will opt for if this is the bag I decide to go for. Or maybe I'll just push the boat out and get both colours!

3.  Now this Zara bag looks classic and expensive.  Coming in at £99 though, it's no wonder, but since it's real leather I think that's a fair price.  Zara always get it spot on with bags but for me, I think this is a tad on the small side and perhaps not quite the shape I'm looking for either.... but it's so so beauitful that I can't help but want it!

4.  Next up is this bowling bag from Warehouse.  I love the simplicity of it the most and it's a gorgeous colour! It's priced at £36. and has that bonus strap too.  Is it a tiny bit boring though?!

5.  This absolutely gorgeous slouchy number can be found on ASOS.  It's actually another Warehouse gem but I couldn't find it on their own site.  It looks like the perfect size and has the perfect amount of simple detailing on it, plus it's only £38 which I think is pretty darn good.  It might just edge it as being my absolute favourite....

What one do you like best? Should choosing a bag really be this hard?! And how do you manage to decide what your essentials are, I think I'm getting worse, soon I'll be taking my whole house along with me everywhere.

Week in Words

Oh my goodness I am shattered after a weekend of painting and grouting tiles - not fun! Here's what else I got up to...

• Enduring some epic sneezing fits.
• Suffering with toothache..
• Having some lazy days at work.
• Doing a tonne of washing and drying.
• Finally getting round to clearing out the bedroom.  The next stage will be painting it. woohoo!
• Having evening coffee and chats.
• Googling Hallowe'en inspiration!
• Somehow developing a cold overnight.  It was pretty extreme.
• Waking uo to nose bleeds, yuck.
• Getting through the day at work by drinking lemsip - it's horrible, I just like the smell and only manage to drink half a cup.
• Doing an expensive food shop.  here's only 2 of us, I don't know why it costs so much.
• Taking an extra day off from work so only having to do 4 days.  It flew by.
• Having a homemade nando's and movie night with one of my besties.  We watched This is 40 and it was pretty darn good!
• Late night tea and chats.
• Clearing out the car.... I wish we didn't let it get so messy and full of "stuff".
• Heading for a snooze at 5pm and not wakening until 10pm....
• Coming home to a naughty dog and a chewed (new) clutch bag.
• Catching up on xfactor.
• Sending the hubby out for  box of chocs and a bottle of wine!
• Having a chilled, lazy end to the eekend before a long week at work, booo.

Secret Corner - Mocha

Mocha is another online store that's run by a husband and wife team, Samuel and Sarah. It's jam packed with quirky, useful and unique bits and bobs! If you want a fun wedding gift or new home prezzie then this is definitely the right place to go.  They especially love working with up and coming designers and small businesses so it's no wonder that there's so many things here that you'll never have seen before... how cool!

I especially love this eco cup with it's classic print and it's cute little teapot button to hold your teabag in place.  I think I might just have to pop this on my Christmas list, although not sure I can last that long without it! I also adore this AWESOME vase! It's out of stock at the moment but I just think it's amazing! I'm not sure I can justify the price at the moment but I keep thinking about how amazing it would look in one of my windows.

Right.  There's a lotta love out there for stationary, isn't there? Well check these cute rainbow highlighters out.  I think they would be the perfect gift for any teacher friends or stationary lovers in your life!

Lastly, I love love love these tea towels.  I don't even think I'd use them as tea towels, I'd probably just frame them instead because they are far too nice to get dirty!

Tell me your favourites pieces.  I hope you'll be adding this to the list of places to do your Christmas shopping!!

Autumn

It seems that Autumn is creeping closer and closer.  I don't think the weather quite knows what it's doing with itself lately.  It seems very indecisive... I don't like this uncertainty.  I would like it to be either Summer or Autumn.  No inbetweenyness please.  I could do with a few more warm, dry days so we can finish clearing the garden but we have a lot of trees and branches to chop down and I guess being leave-less would make it slightly easier.  I love every single season for different reasons.  And the reason I love Autumn? The colours.  It's not so nice towards the end when everything is bare, brown, sad looking and a bit sludgy. I love how crisp the air is too, it just feels refreshing and clear and the chill in the air brings with it a justification for drinking so many cups of tea.

I know it's a typical Brit thing to moan about the weather but I sometimes think we're pretty lucky getting to experience four very different seasons in one year... there's some countries that don't have much of a distinction between their seasons and I love how each one will bring a new wardrobe, new flowers, new scenes, new vibes, new weather and whatnot. It would be kinda boring if every season merged into the next one with no real difference, would it not?

I'm excited for Autumn to come.  I feel motivated and positive that it's going to bring new things our way and I'm feeling really ready for it!

Week in Words

I have had a pretty jam packed week this week!

• Monday was spent feeling the affects of gardening.  I was like some old biddy everytime I moved, the backs of my thighs were so sore but at least I know I definintely put some effort in!
• Being super lazy on my day off and literallly chilling on the couch all day.
• Having a lovely pub dinner with a friend.  It was cheap and cheerful and I would genuinely eat there every night if I could afford it.
• Having far too many late nights,
• Experiencing dress drama.  I ordered a total of 5 dresses for a 21st birthday party and only one of them fitted me properly and it was my least favourite one.
• Buying some new black heels and finding them pretty comfy.  Bonus!
• Prepping my body for a fake tanning session only to discover that my mitt had disappeared and was nowhere to be found.  I also didn't manage to locate one in any of my local stores so I had to remain pale.
• Dog and cat sitting for our friends whilst they have a weekend away.
• Babysitting for our friends.  They have 3 children who are all superstars when it comes to bedtime but the youngest was a right little monkey this time and was up every 10 minutes wanting to play!
• Doing an epic amount of washing.  I don't understand how it piles up so quickly! There are only two of us!
• Giving my kitchen a good scrub down.
• Taking my dog for a late night walk.  It was so so peaceful.
• Finding a hedgehog visitor in my garden. It was massive and my dog was rather confused but really wanted to play.
• Enjoying my extra day off work.
• Taking 3 dogs and a baby to the park - it was interesting haha!
• Going out for a lovely pub dinner with my friend and her little sister.
• Hosting pre pub cocktails at our house before hitting the pub.  They were sooooo good.
• Partying it up for my friend's 21st birthday.
• Having a major lay in.
• Being excited with the husband for our secret mission!
• Having a lovely cuppa whilst going over the previous night's events.
• Having a chilled out day catching up on blogs and X Factor.
• Cooking a glorious roast whilst my hubby is out at the pub watching the football.

What have you all been up to this week? I've enjoyed having lots of plans but I think I'll try and have a quiet one this week!