Brainstorming

I haven't posted for a few weeks, mostly because I have been thinking long and hard about my plans for a new blog.  I have come to a decision on a few things.

I really love posting on this blog about my life and the things I get up to. I also have my inspiration blog on Tumblr where I can post bits and pieces and inspirational links. The next step is to set up my domestic blog.

I want a place where I can share my domestic adventures in a more practical way, a place where I can post hints and tips, recipes, craft projects, DIY and other household related bits and pieces that others may find helpful. I have said before that the net is flooded with US-based homemaking sites which are all great (see some inspiration below). I think it's time I made a UK version.

For inspiration, the following websites are great:

I'm an Organizing Junkie

Domestic Adventure

Simple Mom

Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking

I am really excited to get started.....the only thing missing is a blog title!

I'm de-cluttering....

This couldn't have come around at a better time! Just when I was starting to think about sorting out my junk and stuff I am not taking with me when I move. I might not have the time to do a whole room in a week (or in my case, a weekend) but I can at least use it as a starting point. :-) xx

Home organisation....

I am not a naturally organised person, if such a thing exists at all. I love the idea of being organised but it isn't something that just happens. It's something I really have to work on. As I start to plan my upcoming move, I have been thinking about making a household management book so I can keep on track of my life and my home and, eventually, my family. I did try and start one a few years back but it failed miserably and when I moved out to live on my own again I found I didn't really need one so much.

I have a small collection of home making books that I peruse occasionally for home ideas, etc. One of my favourites is "Cut the Clutter" by Cynthia Townley Ewer of OrganizedHome.com. This book gave me the idea of having a household notebook in the first place and the website has a wealth of great printable templates and forms to use.

A quick search on the internet leads to so much more, including You Tube videos of various homemaking blogger's own household planners.....all very American of course. I don't think I have found a single British one! I think we Brits can learn a lot from our friends across the pond. Yes, there can be a lot of Christian influences which might be off-putting to us non-religious types but, to be brutally honest, maybe   a few Christian values are exactly what this country needs. I'm not saying we should all start going to church every Sunday, just bring back a little more emphasis on the importance of family and community.

Anyway, getting back to the subject of this post. I have a general idea of how I want to organise my notebook:

1. Calendar/Schedule:  daily to do list, whole year planner and monthly pages, probably two months at a time.

2. Home:  cleaning checklists, supply lists, homemade cleaning recipes, etc.

3. Food:  larder and freezer inventories, menu planner and shopping lists, recipes to try and coupons

4. Bills and Finance:  receipts, master list of bills and when they are paid, list of other outgoings that are due such as car tax or MOT, insurance renewals, etc.

5. Contacts:  family phone numbers, utilities, emergency contacts, etc

6. Seasonal:  christmas planning, holiday plans, etc

7. Projects:  details of current home projects. My house move would be the first entry here!

I have been looking around for a folder to use but nothing has caught my eye yet. I really want dividers with pockets....is that so hard??!

The idea is that I will have three calendars: a general scheduling calendar in section one, a menu planning one in section 3 and a finance one in section 4. Every evening I will fill in my to-do list for the next day using these calendars and the cleaning checklists. The bills/finance calendar will be used for irregular expenses like birthday presents and car tax.

Hopefully this won't be too complicated! I can just imagine that a single calendar will get so full that I won't know where I am.

This video from Life.Yourway.net has some more great ideas. I especially like the ideas folder.

A slightly new direction....

I have been thinking for the last few days about a number of things to do with my life, moving house and blogging. Right now they all seem to be connected.

I started this blog purely as a way of writing down my comings and goings, charting my life in words and pictures. I wasn't really bothered if anyone read it, I just wanted a little place in cyberspace where I could write about whatever I wanted which included charity work, everyday stuff, baking and making. I know the last two have kind of been left out recently but that's another story!

Anyway, ever since Em and I started talking about moving in together, my life up until now has suddenly seemed a little meaningless. This probably sounds more dramatic than I intend. Basically I can see a real future now and I want everything else that I do to be worthwhile and have meaning too. I don't want to be stuck writing this blog for the next 40 years with little to show for it. I want people to enjoy what I write and maybe, just maybe, be inspired a little too.

With that in mind I felt I had a light dilemma. I am really enjoying reading and posting about home decorating ideas and everything that goes with home making; recipes, crafts, DIY, all that stuff. I really think if I keep at it I can even make it successful. But, I also love posting about my life, especially as it changes and Em and I start our little family. I can't wait to post photos and write about the things we do as we build our life together. So, the question is, do I start a new blog or keep everything in one place?

My instincts told me I should set up a blog specifically for my more professional interests and keep it separate from my personal one. Something like a notepad or ideas board where I can post about my projects and other stuff. Watch this space for the link when it's up and running. xx

A little bit of down time...

You can tell when I have my nose stuck in my coursework....no blog posts appear for a week.

I'm still looking for inspiration whenever I get a little break. I found this lovely photo on the Inspired Home which reminded me it's so nearly springtime...

My essay is all done so I'll be back on track tomorrow. :-) xx

Finding my style....

This isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. I  know what I  like and what I  don't, but as far as knowing what my actual design style is....that's a little more tricky. But is it really all that important to know your exact style? Surely if you like something, you incorporate it into your existing surroundings or use it a inspiration for producing a room you love.

The Inspired Room has some lovely words here on finding your style: Inspired By Life: Finding Your Style - The Inspired Room. I especially like the part about creating rooms to "inspire and accommodate your life". This is great advice and something I will definitely use when it comes to creating a space that is not only for me but for Em too as we build our life together.

I like simplicity too. Our homes should be a reflection of our lives and not look like it was contrived to look that way.

Just for fun, I  took a What's Your Design Style Quiz from HomeGoods and the outcome was fairly standard. I  do want a welcoming home that is comfy and cosy. I  also love bright early colours like greens and yellow.

HomeGoods StyleScope - Earthy Casual: "

EARTHY CASUAL

You're interested in creating a welcoming home where people feel comfortable and happiness flourishes. You appreciate the warmth and individuality of natural materials and handcrafted things and are inspired by colors and forms from nature. You love mixing up different textures and are sensitive to the tactile qualities of objects. Your style is grounded and solid, not flighty or frilly. And you are never taken in by the trend of the moment.

You value serenity. While there are probably a lot of interesting things in your home, they are joined by your taste or a certain palette that keeps them in harmony. You appreciate the beauty in simple forms. Whether fancy or plain, you appreciate things that are well made and function as well as they look. You also have a strong respect for the environment and craftsmanship. You care about how things are made, and how they are used."

'via Blog this'

Finally, here is some colour inspiration:

Decorating ideas....

Some of my favourites. The rest are on Pinterest.

This is from The Inspired Room

These two are from the Dulux website

I especially love the colour scheme of the last picture. It would be good in a small room.

Being inspired....

Two posts in one day! I'm on a roll tonight!

I am still looking for homemaking/DIY/crafty-type blogs and I can't help thinking that there appear to be a severe lack of UK-based bloggers out there. All the best ones are based in the USA. Not that this is a bad thing! I know from experience that the Americans love their homey crafts and I remember my Mum loved visiting the craft shops out there and made some lovely things. That being said, the UK needs to start representing!

I don't want to start getting too ahead of myself but I think I may have finally found a focus for my blog. I say this with some hesitation because I don't quite have the time to focus on my crafts and home stuff right now. This will all change when I move of course but I don't want to start making any definite decisions right now in case I can't stick to them. Nothing wrong with having a goal though!

In related news, I have found another lovely website:

The Inspired Room

This site has some lovely DIY and decorating ideas as well as home-making bits and pieces.

Jessica the housewife???

I am starting to make plans for the future.

In June, the plan is to move in with the boyfriend so I will be leaving my lovely flat and moving to his house in the village of Durrington around 10 miles away. I am really excited but nervous at the same time to be effectively starting a new life. I have to say, I am getting to the stage where I don't look forward to being in the flat on my own any more.  I used to love coming home, having dinner and chilling out in my flat, just me and my little space. Now, I get home and miss being around Em and I am starting to think about all the things I can do more of when I move. I'll have more room to bake and more reason to cook lovely things; more time to concentrate on my coursework.

I have been starting to look at more home-making blogs and design stuff (Em wants me to have some input into decorating the place...yay!). To be honest, I always do when I move house, hence the various home-making books dotted about my bookshelf, but this time it feels different.

I've found a few websites today:

Homemaking Cottage Blog

Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking

I would have found more but all I seem to be able to find on the net are blogs by and for Christian housewives in the USA, of which I am neither! Maybe I have found a gap in the blogging 'market'! xxx

Of bad knees and catch-up TV.....

I have been off work for the last few days because of my knee. I could hardly get out of bed yesterday morning and just about made it home from Em's house today. Off to the doctors today again to see if I can get something sorted out.

I hate being stuck inside with nothing to do. Catch up TV has become my friend! Missed episodes of the Walking Dead, True Blood and Hawaii 5-0 have all been watched!

New hair....

I am getting some highlights put in my hair on Friday night. Very excited!!

I am inspired by Jennifer Aniston's honey colours do hopefully it will look fabulous! Xx

Happy Valentines....

I love Valentines Day. With the exception of the fact that it is blatantly an excuse for mass marketing and spending money, any excuse to spread some love is fine by me!

 I got a lovely card from Em. Please excuse the quality of the photo!

He, however, was having carpets fitted this evening. The plan is to have our own valentines next Friday. We are going to have a lovely dinner and a lovely romantic evening together.

I might make some seasonal biscuits this weekend too as a treat. xx

A little bit of snow....

It's started to snow in the last few minutes. Apparently we are due around 5 cm tonight.

I love the snow! It's a shame I have to walk in it to work tomorrow morning at 6.30. I wish I had stayed at the boyfriends house tonight. He lives in a village 10 miles outside the city and if the weather goes the way it's supposed to, he won't be able to get out to work tomorrow! Jammy sod!!

Oh well, here's hoping the snow stays around long enough for me to play this weekend!! :) xx

How time flies....

I cannot believe it has been nearly two weeks since I posted last!

Actually, I can. I have been so busy I just haven't been able to sit a type up anything other than an essay for my course. As much as I enjoy my studies, writing an essay is just not as fun as writing a blog post or taking pictures to share. It doesn't help that E doesn't have broadband at his house either! I just don't understand how someone can live without the internet!!

Ho hum....c'est la vie! I should have my latest essay finished by tomorrow night so more posts will follow later this week, I promise. xx

I just had to share these images. They are from Jennifer Collier's website, jennifercollier.co.uk

Jennifer makes her items completely out of paper using different techniques.    I love how she has made everyday objects  and the detail is amazing.

Check out Jennifer's website for more lovely things :) xx

Today I am Loving....

funky nails!!

The Beauty Department: Your Daily Dose of Pretty.

If only I had the patience and the steady hand!

The above come courtesy of thebeautydepartment.com a fab website I discovered today. :) xx

Paper planes and kites....

I spent most of today with Emelyn and his daughter Caitlin. We made paper aeroplanes out of Emelyn's calendar, one that has an aeroplane to make for everyday of the year. He hadn't made any for the last week so we made a few this morning.

It's been a windy old day so we took Caitlin's kite to the park. She is really good at flying it and she also let me have a go. Some of the photos are courtesy of Caitlin and my phone!

On a different note, it has been two months since mine and Emelyn's first date. Very happy! :) xx

Centre Parcs 2012....

I had a lovely weekend at Centre Parcs, Longleat. We went for my friends birthday for the second year running and I can't wait to go back. Here are a few photos from the weekend. I didn't get to take nearly as many as I wanted...as usual!

The Plaza

The pool is fabulous and we had so much fun on the slides. The outdoor pool is heated and the rapids are brilliant fun!

The pool from the outside

From the cabin

Mini Golf!!

My destination this weekend...

I can't wait. It'll be my second time going and hopefully the first of a few visits this year! xx

A new way of life.....

 I so want to clean up my diet. I'm not generally unhealthy. I don't always eat fast food and I rarely buy crisps and sugary snacks but I really want to clean it up properly.

I find it so frustrating that there are no healthy eating plans out there for girls like me who don't really want to lose weight but just want to be healthy. All I want is to maybe tone up some muscles and lose a little bit of fat that lingers right where it isn't wanted! I already have a gym plan and weight training....more on that another day. I just want a back-to-basics eating plan that I can keep up for life!

The other day I discovered the Clean and Lean plan by James Duigan. It goes back to basics and, yes it is mostly common-sense, but it lays everything out. What not to eat and drink and why....just what I wanted.

It starts with a 14 day kick-start where you cut out the CRAP (Caffeine, Refined Sugar, Alcohol and Processed food). I can have a cup of good quality, organic coffee a day but everything else is lean protein and complex carbohydrates.

For a while now I have known that certain foods have an affect on me, and not in a good way. Pasta and bread tend to make me feel bloated and uncomfortably full. I always figured I had a slight wheat intolerance but I thought it was fairly normal as I tend to eat quite large portions, especially at dinner. The Clean and Lean diet means that I will cut out all wheat-based foods so I am hoping that will put an end to that uncomfortable feeling.

Deciding when to start this is the tough part! I am going away this weekend and in a fortnights time. Although there won't be anything too heavy, I can guarantee there will be alcohol and bad food galore so there isn't much point starting the kick-start plan only to be interrupted half-way through. I don't want to delay too much but I also want to do it properly so I have decided to start by slowly cutting out the rubbish over the next week and starting the 14 day plan next Saturday.

I will post an update each day of the plan so I can share how it's going....wish me luck! xx

A weekend in Bristol...

I had a lovely weekend in Bristol meeting the boyfriend's family. I saw his Dad's band play which was brilliant and had a family meal. It was not at all scary and to be honest I don't know what I was worrying about.

We stayed at his parent's house which has a lovely view of the building below. I tried to find some information about it but all I have found is that it is a listed building converted into flats and that it was a stable. Not much but I thought it was a lovely building so I wanted to share it. :)

A trip to Bristol would not be complete without acknowledging the work of Banksy. I found the below picture online.

A night in...

I am having a night in on my own tonight. The last one before the Christmas decorations come down. It's actually quite nice really.  I am all cosy on the sofa in my slippers with a blanket around my shoulders. The TV is on and I have a glass on Malibu and Coke on the go (soon to be followed by a cup of tea no doubt!).

The next few weeks are going to be pretty busy starting with a trip to Bristol this weekend to see the boyfriend's parents for the first time (eeek!!). Why is meeting a partners family so scary? I guess there is always the fear that they won't like me or that I will make a fool out of myself, slightly juvenile fears I know but there it is. Anyway, we are going to see Emelyn's dad's band play tomorrow night which I am really looking forward to. It'd be good to get out for a few drinks and listen to some live music.

Time for a cup of tea! xx

This new year....

2012 has begun and for the first time I really have high hopes for this year. I have a feeling this is going to be a good year.

I am not usually one to make resolutions if only because it seems a little pointless. They are never kept, even with the best intentions. Having said that, I do have a few things I really want to do over the next year and it only seems fitting that I write them down here. Maybe it will mean I actually stick to them this time....

(By the way, these are in no particular order)

1. To get back to my healthy eating and exercise. Yes I know this is a cliche and everyone puts fitness on their resolution list but I really want to keep up with my fitness and get my weight training back on track.

2. My coursework is going to take up so much of my time and I really want to make sure I can get the best mark possible. I have neglected it over Christmas and I know it's going to be hard going over the next few weeks while I catch up and get my next assignment in. I have so many more distractions now but I really want to make sure I can knuckle down properly.

3. This year I want to put more effort into my crafts and baking. Its something I really enjoy doing and I really believe that we should put just as much effort into the things we enjoy as we do in our work.

4. Finally, I want to get some of my debt cleared. I dont have a lot but I have neglected it. I have a few credit cards that could so easily be cleared in a few months if I start putting some money aside. I could save myself a lot of money a month in the long term. It's one of those things I should have done years ago but could never be bothered!!

I think thats everything. I am sure I will think of some more but I have listed the most important for now. Al that is left is to wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2012!! Xx