Thursday 28 January 2016

On my Bedside Table

When I set my word this year, I knew GROWTH, had to include reading more.   So I rejoined or should I say reconnected on Goodreads and had a good look around. I've got my eye on a few books I'd like to read, but I thought the best way to get back on track was start with my favourite author, Nora Roberts.

Happy to say, I've already completed one of her books, and am now on the second in the trilogy. 

So here are the books at the moment on my bedside table. 

Other than the Nora Roberts book, I have my gratitude journal; The Life Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo, which I'm still reading, but flicking through at the same time.  I started her method last year and it will be continuing through this year. 

Then there is the book of Calm, was something I picked up at the weekend when I was in Waterstones 







I will say a lot of what drew me to it, was its simplicity ... its not rocket science or anything, but its a reminder of whats really important.  Plus, oh my gosh the photography is beautiful. 

Its even got some pages to colour

The last one is one, Simon got me for my birthday. 





Its got the most gorgeous photos too and with all my home changes I want to make, I'm getting lots of ideas. 

There you have it, a selection of what I'm reading at the moment.  I think I need to order the third book in the trilogy soon, and also visit the library.  Reading is such a simple pleasure, but one that easily gets pushed aside when we're rushing about.  

Monday 25 January 2016

The week that was .... week 4

As part of my one little word for 2016 which is "GROWTH", I want to share more on my blog and get more involved in the blogging community. So I've been having a think, and writing down lots of ideas, and one of those, was to share with you my past week.  This would also be a big help when it comes to project life and as a memory jog.  My friend Jo, shares her week on her blog, and I love seeing what she's been up to ... the good and the bad, so here is mine.

The week that was ... full of happy things


I'm not one of those people that has loads of friends. Maybe its because we never had children and I never got into the mummy groups, but those I have, accept me totally and are the best friends anyone could ever wish for. One of those, is Maria and I'm also incredible lucky to have her as my next door neighbour.  Maria or should I use her proper name, Aunty Maria adores the bears and they adore her ... as you can see.  Anyway, she popped in for a visit as guess what? she's going to do Project Life, (how great is that) anyhow, she came bearing gifts ...
She saw this fabulous vase in a charity shop, and knows I have a slight obsession with Emma Bridgewater ... how lucky am I. 

Also last week, the postman knocked and handed me my Cocoa Daisy parcel .... oh its truly a gorgeous kit and I can't wait to dive in.
My blog isn't all about me (or the bears) ... Simon is on instagram now and he takes lots of photos during the day for me, to add into Project Life.  I think I also mentioned he's joined Slimming World again, and just after 2 weeks, he is the proud owner of a certificate. 
And lastly we're looking at changing our big car ... I love the audi but it's time for a change, so we're testing driving a few, and last weekend we took this baby out for a drive ... oh my, what a beauty. 
There you have a round up of my week.  I'm looking forward to sharing with you my everyday happenings, but I now need to get back to my note books as I've still loads of ideas bouncing around in my head.


Wednesday 20 January 2016

Can't forget December

I've realised that I never put up my December round up, and I did pretty well with showing each month last year, so don't really want to fall at the last hurdle.

So here it is ... yes late, but better than never.

It makes me smile so much when I look at this, as it really was a great month. Lets see ... what happend.  I had a fabulous evening out with my neighbours, who have really become close friends.  The bears turned one.  I got some new Christmas china, we spent quite a bit of time at the little house, and well, most importantly ... it was Christmas :) ... oh and I got a super duper new iphone 6s plus phone, in the rose gold ... yes, I'm slightly in love with it lol.

January is shaping up to be another good month, and I really love this app, so I'll be sharing my months again this year.

Saturday 16 January 2016

Selfie Stick

Yup, Look who got a Selfie Stick!

Now, I'm certainly not one of selfies, no no no ... that's not me at all lol.  But I scrapbook and I actually don't have any of me in our photos and that's not good for project life either.  So this year, I will embrace the selfie (well, sometimes)

As you can guess, I got it for Christmas .... so at the crop last weekend, here's the layout I created.


As you can see, I need practice with the selfie stick, I've not quite got it figured out, I don't think you're meant to see the stick, are you lol

Thursday 14 January 2016

Project Life

I'm holding my hand up and saying "I will try harder" ... yup, I'm jumping into Project Life again this year, but really hoping that I do better than in previous years.

It wasn't until the other day, when I got a text from a friend saying she would be interested in maybe doing project life and would like to know a little more about it. That I realised the only album actually finished was 2013! How dreadful is that.

2014 goes up to week 48

2015 ... well, that was much much worse. I did up until week 8 then it went to pot. I managed the odd week in the middle but that was about it.  All the photos are printed and put into their pockets but nothing else.

So this year! ... As part of my growth year, I'm taking a stand against faffing.  And I pledge now to get my act together and finish those two past years and try and keep up with 2016.


I've been good at writing down what happens each day, so at least that's something.  I'm not going to over think it either, as I have a plan! ... I know laugh, but I'm going to try my hardest to print out each week the previous photos and then get them straight in their pockets with cards.  Which brings me up to what I'm going to do today.  Sort through my project life cards and keep only those that I really think I need.  I'll hopefully share with you next time (or in a few posts) how I'm getting on.

There you have it! Lets see how I get on, shall we? Positive thoughts I think will be needed.

Monday 11 January 2016

Me On a Monday

Happy Monday friends.

I know the lovely Sian, that started this fabulous idea has changed it slightly, but I do so love the original that I may just stick with it this year too ... I hope that's ok.

I'm not saying I won't also join in her new one, which is called Memorandum Monday, and it's all about what you've learnt that's new, so do pop over and check it out, in fact .... I do have a little something new to share with you ... but first!

You'll find me this Monday getting back into my normal routine as Simon has gone back to work after 3 weeks off.

So how was our weekend? Well it was Social.  On Saturday I attended my local crop and had a lovely day catching up with friends. Its been ages since I went, so hoping to attend more this year, and I even managed a layout.
That empty spot with nothing on the desk other than my cutting board and a Starbucks is, is where I was sitting lol.

Then Sunday saw us celebrating at my friend Jackies 40th birthday party.  She had a vintage afternoon tea theme and it was just lovely. You can tell she's a crafter by how beautiful it all looked, and the attention she gave to the small details.



So here comes the bit where I've learnt something new this weekend! 

All that bunting you see, that was made by Jackie herself. It was gorgeous and of course, we got talking about it, and it turns out that its all made from buying cheap duvet covers.  That way when you cut the triangles you can cut two at a time for being double sided. Plus its more economical ... how brilliant is she? What a clever idea. 

So that brings me straight back to today, and of course back into my old routine, which means coffee and cake with Emma. 
Have a lovely week friends, and I'll be back to share with you my layout and, (shines halo) my 2016 project life pages, so far. 

Thursday 7 January 2016

One Little Word

Although I don't follow Ali Edwards one little word fully, I love the concept behind it.  Plus, I'm a list girl and always planning and making goals, so this year, I've picked a word.


Yes, Growth .... no, I'm not expecting to get taller, although, I wouldn't turn that down!!

Let me explain the reason I've picked this word.  Last year I felt ever so slightly lost.  My world became the bears, the bears and the bears again.  Those that know me, know I'm slightly ever so obsessed with my home.  I like it clean and in order .... but that never happened last year. In fact my world was turned upside down.  Don't get me wrong, I love them to bits and I honestly wouldn't change them for anything, but I lost a bit of me as I was so caught up with them.  I didn't scrapbook much, I didn't do the home projects I had planned. I didn't read much, I didn't go out very much either.  I just stopped being me, if you like.

So I need to completely change my attitude and gain more confidence, so this word just seemed perfect for me.

So here's the breakdown of my word

G - GAIN KNOWLEDGE : I want to learn new crafts; and crochet is on top of that list. Other crafts include illustrated faith, interior design, felting, knitting, doll house building and sewing.  My love is still scrapbooking, and again this year I will be doing Project Life (and finishing 2015's)

R - READ ; Last year I hardly read much at all. I did start the Marie Kondo decluttering book but never finished it completely ( I will this year).  I tend not to read the classics or anything deep and meaningful. I'm a fluff girl, and I'm happy with that, but even that didn't happen last year. So I got back onto the Goodreads site and although I'm not setting the bar high, if I can at least read 6 books (minimum) this year, I'll be happy.

O - ORGANISE & DECLUTTER : I actually didn't do too badly last year with my decluttering, but I need to up my game this year.  I'll share with you in another post how I did with my 80 day declutter list. I also need to organise our files, our finances and all our paperwork.  I want to be ready with cards, and although its a way off, I want to be ready for all the holidays, Christmas included.

W - WELLBEING : Last year I reached my target weight in Slimming World and I'm happy to say I've stayed at it. Simon sadly, didn't do so well, but he's rejoined, so my focus is to help him achieve his. So healthy eating is on the cards for us, which for me, means trying to cut down on my sugar intake!  I'm also including my confidence, style, skincare and makeup in this category.  More importantly, I include my faith, I need to reconnect with it and get back to who I am and what it means to me.

T - TECHNOLOGY : I want to blog more, get to grips with Facebook, photography, instagram, twitter and my computer appliances. I adore Instagram the people are just so friendly and I've actually made lots of friends on it, and some I'm meeting up with this year.  Facebook has always been a bit of a mystery to me. I don't play the games on it, but I know there is so much more to it. So I will try to get on there more. As for computers, well I'm still trying to get to grips with my mac book. I've always been a pc girl, so its taking a bit of time, but I'll get there.

H - HOME : Home truly is where my heart is, and I need to give it a make-over.  I have a list of projects that I had planned to do last year, which included the kitchen being given a major face lift. I really need to make new blinds and soft furnishings too.  Plus, the little house still needs a lot of work done on it too.  All in all, paint brushes will be needed in abundance.

There you have it ... my word. I will be blogging my progress on each of these issues and also how my word is helping me through the year.  So, lets do this



Tuesday 5 January 2016

So Lucky

To have friends that know me so well.  Emma got me just the most amazing Advent goodies. Honestly, every day when I opened a present, I almost squealed with delight.  So here you are ... just look at all the gorgeous scrapbooking papers; I can't wait to start using them! ... oh and that Chocolate! ... Gone, well it would be rude not to have started on it.




She even wrapped a book for Simon and presents for the bears.  Thanks Emma, you're the best xx

I also woke on Christmas morning to a surprise gift .... apparently a certain friend,  (Jo) sneakily spoke to Simon, and then dropped around a gift to my neighbour while I was out. So this came as a huge shock and bought tears to my eyes.  I won't share with you the beautiful message that she wrote on a card, but lets just say it's being kept forever, and I'm truly blessed to have her in my life.

I can honestly say, I have the BEST friends in the world. Thank you guys xxx


Friday 1 January 2016

Happy New Year

I would just like to wish you all friends a very happy new year, may 2016 bring you much happiness.

I have lot of new ideas and challenges I want to take part in, but more about that tomorrow, for now I just wanted to wish you and your families all the best ... So from mine to yours, heres to 2016 being awesome