Card Making Craze

Well I have now begun my journey on the card making wagon! I have always liked the idea of crafty hobbies and being to make something that would give that lovely homemade touch for gifts and cards, so after being inspired by some lovely card makers blogs I went out today and bought some things to get me started on my hobby, I have also purchased a card kit and 2x packs of paper.

I have now added some books about card making to my Birthday list and also a set off Amazon of coloured ink pads and embellishments, that will definitely get me started. I have some stamps on order too. So watch this space I will post my first attempts on here soon!

Show & Tell...

I know it is my third post today (a little keen!), but I have just found this fab blog via The Serendipity Factory (also another lovely bog). Show and Tell, is the blog of Janella, she has some great ideas, and makes some really lovely cards. I really want to take up a new crafty hobby and at the moment I am considering felting and card making, maybe I might take up both!

It's so inspriring to find such lovely creative blogs, it really makes me want to learn more crafts and skills and inspires me to write more on my own blog.

I Love...Autumn Clothes

1. Oli- Miss Real Belted Coat
2. Boden- Ruffle Cardigan
3. Topshop- Knot Stitch Beanie
4. My Tights- Pamela Mann 3D Coloured Tights
5. Boden- Colourblock Shift Dress

Autumns nearly here

Autumn is most definitely my favourite time of year. I get so fed up of the summer, don't get me wrong I love the sunshine and the festivities, but I can't cope with heat unless I can just lie by a pool all day and read a book, heat is just so impractical when you have things to do! Plus I always feel that the clothes for summer are a little to exposing and unflattering for the more curvy girl, I can never seem to get together a classy and flattering wardrobe for summer.

Autumn clothes are fab, I love the colours, textures, jumpers, dresses, scarves, coats, tights.

I also love the outdoors in Autumn, fresh crisp air, and sometimes some lovely sunshine to go with it. Brown, brunt orange falling leaves everywhere, so pretty. Walks are fab in Autumn.

I also love being in doors in Autumn, when it is getting colder outside and the wind is blowing, and you're inside cosy and warm, curled up with a good book.

Plus it's my birthday in the Autumn and that is always a cause for celebration!

I Love... Wilbur & Gussie

Wilbur & Gussie handbags...if only I had the money. One day.

Digby Bag

J W Waterhouse...A new discovery

The Lady of Shallot

I am constantly on the look out for new artists, poets, writers etc that I have not yet come across. I was having a read of a few blogs this morning and found a lovely blog called Hens Teeth, in the latest post the blogger talks about visiting an art exhibition of J W Waterhouse's work at the Royal Achademy in London, on until 13th September. I wish I could go! Until now I had never experienced his talent and I am in awe. I love it. So romantic and dramatic. I will definitely buy a few prints, buy them from all posters.com.

Orphelia & Cleopatra

B.E.A.Utiful

Bye Bye Rambo

Again another tragedy has struck in August. This is not shaping up to be a good month for me.

For the past six months I have had the pleasure of owning a lovely Russian Dwarf hamster called Rambo. We adopted him from Pets At Home, he was six months old and had never been homed so we decided to give him a nice home... and a nice home he did have. He had a lovely cage, and then we upgraded to an even bigger one, he loved his wheel and his wooden climbing frame. He was such a little character, he had a huge personality despite being such a little creature.

Anyway, he had been extremely healthy even up to yesterday morning. They when I came home from work last night, I called him and he didn't appear, then I filled his bowl and rattled it (normally a sure fire way to get his attention). He still didn't appear. I found him in his bed, all stiff and not moving, at first I though he was dead, but he was just very ill. So I called the vet for advice and then kept him warm and tried to coax him to drink and eat to no avail. Then his breathing got shallower and he slipped away.

I know he is only a little hamster, but I did love him, he made me happy and kept me company and he will be missed.

He will be buried tonight in with a nice pot plant so that he can come with us when we eventually get our own house.

For those of you that love hamsters as much as me, here is a lovely group of hamster lovers photo's on flicker.

RIP Rambo. x

New Outlook

Let's say at the moment I am carrying a little more weight than I would like and am a little less than as healthy as I would like to be.

I am at the moment the heaviest that I have ever been....it isn't necessarily because I am lazy or that I eat too much. More like that unfortunately I never seem to be able to muster up enough enthusiasm and energy to do both the healthy eating and exercise thing at the same time. I can do each simultaneously but never together.

I was a regular runner for about two years, even though I always was adment that I was not able to run and couldn't even run for a minute at the start. I have bad knees though and now that I have put on weight that adds even more strain, so running is temporarily out out of the question. I have done months and months of regular exercise classes from spinning to pilates, I have done the gym, swimming, bike rides etc all at various different times, but yet no weight loss.

I have done diets, weight watchers etc to try and shift the pounds, but still nothing more than 5lbs lost! Mucho frustrating.

So I think I can see from this that I need a balance of both, unfortunately my current lack of money and living situation (living with Boyf, phil's parents and eating what they buy and cook) is a little tricky. Unfortunately they are very fond of frozen, not much veg and extra helpings of chips. So the lack of money means that also I am not able to buy and cook my own food.

After reading CUP OF JO today and clicked through to a link of a beautiful photograph of a young couples wedding on flicker, I felt a certain amount of renewed enthusiasm to get my life back on track and begin looking after myself better. I want nothing more than to look this good all the time but of course on my wedding day I want to look the best. To wear clothes rather than fill them and wear them to cover up.

I was always very thin at school, could eat anything and never put on weight and then puberty hit and the weight crept up, but not too far, just enough to make me nicely curvy and feminine. The trick then was that I never thought about exercising I just did it in my everyday life, playing in the park, riding my bike, walking to school etc, it was automatic. Where as now, execise has to be diliberate, I have to drive to work, I do walk to the shops on my lunch break when the weather is nice, I sit at a desk all day but do try to walk up and down the office when possible without neglecting my work, but now exercise has become, going to the gym or doing a class after work and lets face it sometimes we don't always feel like it after a hard day. But I do enjoy it when I actually go.

I am going to try my best to find more inspiration and motivation from the world around me to try and change my out look, lose some weight and get healthy.

Plus I am due to be a bridesmaid twice next year and how nice would it be to wear a size 10 or 12 dress rather than a 16 or an 18 (UK sizes). If that isn't motivation I don't know what is!

Whatch this dress space!

Un-wavered love

Storms Make Oaks Take Deeper Roots

I discovered this lovely and very fitting quote a few weeks back. It was penned by George Herbert and I think fully sums up life, a nicer way of saying, 'What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger'.

"Storms make oaks take deeper roots"

I discovered the quote on a lovely web site called Pale & Interesting, an on-line boutique of some lovely furniture and accessories. They also sell some vintage jewellery and 'quote dog tags' check them out.

Now your gone.....

It is now 2 & 1/2 weeks since my beloved Grandad has been gone. He passed away. I am still needless to say very sad. Unfortunately my Grandad, William James Owen Lawley (mainly know as Owen or Oaker) had been ill for over a month with chest infections and kidney troubles and spent the last month both in and out of hospital. Regrettably his last few minutes were in hospital, I know he would have so loved to pass away peacefully in his home town, Cleaobury Mortimer in Shropshire where he spent the almost all of his life from birth. It was pneumonia that took him in the end. Although I'm sad and will miss him everyday going forward, I am relieved that he is now peaceful and I am sure, he is WD40'ing the pearly gates as we speak!

So my first post is dedicated to the man that was liked by so many. A loving, strong and great husband, devoted, firm but fair Father, a guiding, supportive, knowledgeable and kind Grandad and a fabulous, fun and giving friend. The turn up to his funeral confirmed his popularity. The church was full of all his family and oldest friends, even acquaintances who he had met over the years, who knew him by reputation (always good of course).

My Grandad was a great man, and will stay that way in all of hearts and minds forever. Always willing to give everything to help others, and had strong opinions on right and wrong. He had a smashing sense of humour and never took life too seriously. So I am told, he was a fantastic footballer, even in later life he could give the younger generations a run for their money in a kick around.

He was very much a man of resources, never able to sit still, he loved working with his hands and never would shy away from a bit of hard work, ensuring a stable upbringing for my Father and his Brother. He will mostly be remembered tinkering in his shed, making and mending. He was a man of simple ways, never extravagant, just enjoyed the simple things in life...growing your own veg and salad, making furniture, making good use of what those had discarded, if you needed something no matter how obscure he would have one saved away somewhere!

He would always be the man to go to for advise, whether it be DIY, money or general life...he would always have an opinion!

Most of all to me he was the best Grandad and friend a grandchild could have and I am sure my Brothers and Cousins would firmly agree. He was like a second Dad to us, raising us along with our lovely Nan when our parents were working (which was most of the time to bring in the money). Me and my brothers lived next door to them and spent all of our summers, weekends and after school with them and our cousins. We have many happy memories of this time.

For me it is still hard to believe that he is gone. I live in the south of England and my family live in the Midlands, so for me it seems like a bad dream. Though in my mind I know he is no longer with us, sometimes my heart still imagines him alive and sitting in his arm chair with a cup of tea in hand. On occasion reality hits me and I cry. I cry because I will never see him again. I cry because I never truly got to say goodbye and sometimes worry that he would think that I didn't love him, because I respected my Nan's wishes and didn't visit him as he was dieing in hospital. ...

....But deep down I know. I know he was proud of all of us, loved all of us and knew how much we appreciated him and loved him in return.

I know that he is watching over us, in the wind, trees, every cloud, every rain drop and every falling leaf. Rest in peace Grandad.