At any given time the number of ideas and ponderings floating around my mind goes well into double figures.

On Sunday I sat at my desk (to do some work) but instantly got lost in Pinterest.

To start with my thoughts where to just look at some pretty pictures for a short while and then start work. I whizzed down my feed randomly liking pins.

Here are some examples of my pinspired thoughts:

I can style my next day dress like this - add a black waistband, petticoat and accessories. I should wear more dresses. Who is this? Ulyana Sergeenko, I love her style.


I should have a tea party for my birthday invite all my female friends and wear a pretty dress. How old is this lady? About 70? I want a party with a cake on my 70th, I'll invite all my female friends and wear a pretty dress. I should wear more dresses.



This is a nice length. Will show this to my stylist at my next hair appointment.


Perfect to wear with my white lace maxi dress... maybe in sage green? Love the brooch. I should wear more dresses. And brooches.


Chefchaouen, Morocco. Wow! This looks gorgeous, I want to go.



This looks tasty. I should eat avocados. Avocados are good for you.

And just like every other time I sit down and waste time on Pinterest I doubt any of these thoughts will make it into reality. But it's nice to look at pretty pictures and lose myself in my thoughts for a while.

Do you Pin?

Style - A distinctive appearance

A few years ago, I spent some time pondering three words that would describe my style. I came up with classic, casual and versatile.

Classic - because I like classic shapes. I stick to clean outlines and avoid fussy styles and fabrics, and anything too 'on trend'.

Relaxed - because I can't stand wearing something I feel button up and rigid in. Even when dressed up I have to feel comfortable (one of the things I loved about my wedding dress was that it was so comfortable to wear - I could breathe, move, sit, and dance with ease).

Versatile - because I feel I can style a lot of the items in my wardrobe to suit different occasions.

Looking through my Looks I Love Pinterest board my love of jeans is obvious, chunky knitwear and scarves feature highly and stripes, lots of stripes. It's peppered with floaty maxi dresses and pretty floral pieces, statement necklaces and an occasional pop of colour - and this pretty much sums up my wardrobe.

I think that my wardrobe lacks a few items - a black fitted jacket, classic black court shoes (Louboutin I'm looking at you), and a winter coat that makes me want to snuggle into it and never take it off, but all-in-all I'm happy with my lot.

I have a few dream pieces that I would love to find. I should happen across a cute jacket like this one...


or a sequin jacket like this one, I'd be one happy little blogger.



What three words would you use to describe your style?

Day 9 of Blogging Every Day In November with Rosalilium

When it comes to resolutions I find that by mid February I've pretty much forgotten all about them, but I always make them none-the-less, hoping that this year will be the year they stick.

Last year I tried to do different things to the normal eat better / move more type of thing. I think they were more successful but this could have everything to do with the fact that they were about enjoying things rather than eating celery.

Do something cultural once a month
I was inspired by Harriet for this resolution and I think I did pretty well, although I didn't manage it every month. My most memorable are as follows...

In February I spent an age gazing at a photographic exhibition 1,000 Faces and went with a car full of bloggers to the Harry Potter Studio Tour. I think this could've been my favourite trip of them all, I'm hoping to go back very soon!

I had a very enjoyable time at The Eden Project in September (my friends got married there but we did have some time to explore the next day) and took to the skies on the SkyWire.

In October saw two exhibitions at the V&A - Horst: Photographer of Style and Wedding Dress 1775 - 2014. Photography wasn't permitted in the wedding dress exhibition and I was too much of a chicken to try and take a sneaky one but it was really lovely. Horst was great too - proof that it's possible to take a stunning photograph without all the retouching!

In early November Andy and I hopped on a train for a flying visit to see the poppies. It was beautiful and thought provoking and very humbling.

My last cultural excursion was to see The Play That Goes Wrong with Andy at The Duchess Theatre, London. Very funny, especially when you run out of time for food and go straight to the bar instead!

Make more of an effort
This idea came from Jenny (I had no original resolution ideas of my own last year). I'd like to say that I did this everyday but sometimes I just wanted to pull on a pair of jeans, pop my hair in a ponytail and go bare faced. So that's exactly what I did. However, thanks to a mild beauty obsession over the summer I found that I was trying more products and wearing make up more often, which I kinda liked, I feel so much better when I don't look in the mirror and think 'urgh!'.

Do nice things
This was about doing something once a month that took me away from everyday stuff, if only for a few hours.

First up I decided to take myself off to the cinema one afternoon to see Philomena. I also spent a morning painting pots, spent a number of afternoons crafting with Mum and we went on a little girlie road trip to the NEC to go to the Craft Show.

I've found this one a little hard to record as anything from lunch and a movie with a friend to spending an afternoon pottering I see as a 'nice thing'.

Don't just pin, do
This was to put to good use some of the hundreds of pins I've amassed on Pinterest. I think I did pretty well.




Learn a new skill
Early on in the year I took a short course in patchwork quilting and I'm still working on a king size quilt.

And what of 2015?
I already have my Wonderful Winter list of things to do and a list of things I want to do before my next birthday so I'm not going to make many new resolutions. I would like to get fit (and there's nothing like an upcoming wedding to get you motivated!), see more of my friends and family and do something every month to improve the house, even if it's just something simple like hang a mirror.

I'd like to learn a new skill, try something I've never done before and cook from scratch more often. And I'm going to try not to become a wedding bore, but I do spend an awful lot of time thinking about it, doing research and just generally day dreaming... slap me if it all gets a bit much.

Hiya! How have you been? I didn't realise it'd been so long since my last post until Kezzie left a comment ending "New blog post please!!!??!?!x" How can I ignore that many exclamation marks and question marks?

I wondered what I could write about for a new post and decided to write about something I'd found myself pondering a few days ago. Which is that I often 'like' posts on Bloglovin, pins on Pinterest, and 'favourite' tweets on Twitter, with every intention of going back to them to find out a little more. And then I never do.

So, I decided to do just that, and here is what I found from my most recent online activity.

From Pinterest

Personalised laser cut bauble from Not On The High Street, which has given me an excellent idea for a Christmas present. I'll keep you posted...


A new way to tie a scarf, you know me and scarves.


Classic cornflake wreaths - sound delicious and will be made before the new week begins. Expect a post soon with all the sticky gooey details.



From Twitter

Excuse my language but I can be heard saying this repeatedly over the winter months and I know more than a few people who will appreciate it, most of whom also love penguins. 


Selfies through a toilet roll (hey, I never said this was going to be a high brow post). This especially made me laugh as it reminded me of seeing Noel Fielding at our local theatre recently. I had to give it a go.


...it's not as easy as it looks but I had fun. As much fun as you can have at home, alone, with a toilet roll, at 3.50 in the afternoon...

I caught up with a few words from Jenny, I started to read the post but didn't get to finish it, so favourited the tweet and thanks to this post got to finish it. I had to chuckle that she calls their spare room her office, as I do exactly that. 

However the post put me to shame by reminding me of how many plans I had for my office that are still yet to be fullfilled. But it did remind me of this awesome print that I NEED for my walls - utterly perfect for any graphic designer.



And this from @finanddandy for making me nostalgic and want to return to Hogwarts...

Hogwarts at Christmas, can you imagine! *sigh*


Love

I've long given up on the idea of neat, not-a-hair-out-of-place hair. I was forced to embrace messy hair years ago out of exasperation, it rarely looked anything but a bit of a mess! Normally, I wear my hair down but I fancied trying something a little different, so when I came across this super simple tutorial on Pinterest I was smitten and keen to try it out. I plaited, pinned, and popped in a pretty comb.


Despite being on the messy side, it felt really quite elegant. Inevitably I'm now on the hunt for more interesting, but easy, hair tutorials. This Braided Tuck tutorial has been added to the list of styles to try, it looks pretty easy and a nice one to just do-and-go, but more interesting than your average ponytail.

Do you have a go to up-do?

Love

Not only did August go by in a rush but I also stumbled across and watched August Rush on TV. Such a great film, guaranteed to make me cry, no matter how many times I watch it. And of course it stars the late, great Robin Williams. A wonderful man and a truly talented actor.

This month I started to prepare for a charity Christmas bazaar, making things to sell. I promised to show you what I made with all the buttons in my button drawer and here they are. I nicked the idea from Inspired by Pinterest, they're ridiculously simple - I made a dozen of each in no time at all.

Having bought some eyelet curtains ages ago I was left with a number of curtain rings that I wanted to find a use for. It took me ages to figure out what now seems like the most obvious thing ever! Mini wreaths. Sewing on the beads becomes hypnotic after a while.

I simply wrapped with wool, secured the ends and decorated with beads and bells. I wouldn't be surprised if a few buttons and sequins don't make their way onto a few of these at some point soon.

This month's Birchbox was a triumph. I normally like a few of the items sent but this time I love each and every single one. This only further fuels my current beauty obsession, but I'm not complaining (even if my bank balance is).

Wild About Beauty Crème Eyeshadow
I got the shade Olivia which is a neutral creamy shade. It's so pretty! It can be worn alone for a subtle sheen or over eyeshadow. It blends nicely and stays put. 

Nude ProGenius Omega Treatment Oil
I love this. It's the first time I have tried a facial oil and this totally won me over. The sample lasted a week, using morning and night and left my face feeling soft and hydrated. It is a little expensive so I won't be repurchasing but it has opened my eyes to the benefits of a facial oil. I'm now using B. Replenish Oil, available in Superdrug, and it seems every bit as good for a much smaller price tag.

Vasanti Brighten Up! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator
This is a lovely alternative to my current face scrub. It leaves my skin feeling really soft, looking plump and hydrated. Seriously, my skin must think all it's birthdays have come at once with all these new treats. To be honest it was about time that I had a re-think when it came to my skincare routine so this Birchbox was perfectly timed.

Supergoop Daily Correct CC Cream
I received the light / medium shade which looked a bit scary for some one as pale as me but I tried it anyway and it blended with my skin really nicely. It has a broad spectrum SPF of 35 which I love and covers blemishes and marks without looking (or feeling) too heavy. This is going to give my normal Oil of Olay Total Effects a run for it's money.

Number 4 Lumiere d'Hiver Super Comb Prep & Protect
A great hair treat. The ends of my hair are dry so I've been spritzing this on after washing and it helps to keep the ends frizz free and detangled. It by no means solves the problem entirely but it helps and it smells lovely.


I can't wait for September's Birchbox to arrive. And I might have ordered the new My Little Box too, the latest of the beauty-in-your-letterbox offerings, although this one contains fashion and lifestyle items too. No doubt I'll tell you all about that one soon enough.

Just one last beauty item and then I'll move on. This is my first The Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint. It lasts for ages and is glossy even without a top coat, goes on well and only needs two coats. Highly recommended for the quality and a really good price - £3.99.

The other exciting occurrence during August was the start of a fireplace renovation. We needed to make the fireplace bigger in order to put in a woodburner. This is a 'during' shot. I can't wait to show you the result, but I need to decorate first.

I hope August was good for you, what did you get up to?

Love

It's a good thing that Andy and I don't make a big deal out of Valentine's Day because I forgot all about it when I decided that February would be a month of frugality. I normally make him a card and get him a silly little gift, just a token thing to tip a nod to the occasion but I refuse to give into the hype. It irritates me that the price of flowers goes through the roof and that there is so much pressure to be as romantic as possible and have the Best. Date. Ever. Pfft! Stuff that. The best nights out are always the most unexpected ones.

For our first Valentine's Day together I banned Andy from buying me flowers. He often used to buy me flowers, just because, and that was lovelier than any bunch of over priced valentines roses could ever be.

So, on February 15th 2009, I was surprised when Andy turned up with a bunch of Not-Valentine's-Day flowers, and then again the next day... and again the next. He then told me if he wanted to buy me flowers he damn well would, no matter what day it was. Awww.


But anyway, I've gone off the point entirely. This year I decided to make him a card of a different kind. I pinned this envelope card to my Pinterest projects board some time ago and happily downloaded the template (from here), but, putting my designer hat on, I changed it because a) I wanted to personalise it and b) because I can (it's a designer thing, I just can't help myself).

For a gift I decided to make some coconut ice, I found a recipe ages ago and normally make it for a treat to share at Christmas but I forgot last year. Knowing how much Andy likes it, I decided to make him a batch all of his own (the bonus being that I already had all the ingredients so I didn't have to spend a single penny - oh the romance!).

Hope you've had a lovely day however you've celebrated (or not).

I got my craft on today and made the first, of what I hope will be many, of the pins I've added to my  projects board on Pinterest. I hope to do at least one a month and today I chose to paint this cloth bag DIY. I'd normally link to the original website but it has been blocked by Pinterest because 'it may lead to spam, nudity or other inappropriate stuff' - you might like nudity or inappropriate stuff on your interwebs (who am I to judge?) - but I know that nobody likes spam, so no direct link.

Luckily, the photos are self explanatory, which is just as well as I bought the paint ages ago, at around the same time I made this neon necklace (July 2012). I was a little worried that the paint might have dried up but it was fine.


It took me about half an hour to paint and then, after leaving it to dry, a further 10 minutes blasting it with the hairdryer to set the paint (I could've done it with an iron but if I can avoid contact with such things I do).

It was really nice to switch off and lose myself in something for a while and I'm pleased with how it turned out. I'll be taking this with me next time I go shopping.

Have you made anything recently?

Love