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!

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:

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

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!!

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 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

Weekend writers block...

Only 700 words left on my second course essay. This is without doubt the hardest essay I have ever written and that is saying something! Normally I can whip up a half-decent piece of writing in a few days but this course is really challenging. Not that it's a bad thing of course. It just means I am going to have to really plan ahead with the next one. Really think about what's needed before I even start the background reading. It might help to keep up with the reading too and not get behind!

I did manage to dump a lot of stuff yesterday, gradually clearing some of the clutter in my flat! Next weekend the Christmas decorations go up and I have just one pile of paper to send to be recycled and the floor will be as clear as it can be. My kitchen is done, the annoying bar stools that I never use have been dumped and the millions of carrier bags are being recycled so I can finally sweep the floor without having to move crap around! I have even bought some Christmas decorations to go up in the kitchen. Next up, the bathroom and my shoes! :-) xx 

The "Quarter-Life Crisis" and dating excitement.....

I have been sat at my parents house thinking of something to write about. Trawling through various websites for inspiration, I came across an article posted by Candace Sesi on Hello Giggles called the  The Quarter-Life Crisis and I can relate to it so much!

You can read the full article here but I have taken out some bits that are so relevent to my life and how I have been feeling over the past few months:

“The Quarter-Life Crisis”

Author Unknown

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are a lot of things about yourself that you didn’t know and may or may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

You look at your job. It is not even close to what you thought you would be doing or maybe you are looking for one and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and are scared.

You worry about loans and money and the future and making a life for yourself and while wining the race would be great, right now you’d just like to be a contender!

What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out

This article is so spot-on it's scary! It's so nice to know that I am definitely not the only one out there feeling this way.

Lately I have found myself thinking about my life and how it is turning out. I know I have so much more I want to do and time seems to be getting away from me a little bit. I feel like I have missed opportunities along the way and I also feel a little bit like I should be much more satisfied with my life than I am. I am almost 30 and it has taken practically all of my 20s for me to figure out what I want in life! By now I thought I would be married with children and be happy and settled. I am happy but not nearly as much as I should be.

When I split with my boyfriend of five years two years ago I became more independent, took control of my life, started living alone for the first time....and then got comfortable again. It took another year and a half to get moving on my next project, my teaching course, which I have finally started and am enjoying. Thinking back, I needed that time to adjust and settle myself so in a way I am glad that I took a bit of a step back.

I do think sometimes I am going to be 'left on the shelf' as it were! It's hard being single, not having someone there to share things with and to come home to after a hard day at work. I am starting to miss these things more and more and as I get older sometimes it feels like I am never going to find that special someone. I have been on dates but just haven't felt that connection with anybody. With one guy, I found myself hoping that I would feel something. We got on so well and had lots in common but I couldn't feel attracted to him....it's so frustrating. Am I destined to only fall for men whom I have no future with!!

Having said that, and I don't want to say too much in case I jinx it, I did go on a fantastic date the other night with a fabulous man I met at work! We have known each other for about a year now and recently we've been emailing a lot. Suddenly, he asked me out! I was quite shocked but pleased as he is such a nice guy but I was scared too. I thought it would be another case of, "nice guy...but I just don't like him that way"....how wrong was I??! It was fabulous! That is all I will say for now! :-)

'via Blog this'

Wining and Dining....

I am quite excited for this week....I have a date on Tuesday! I am going to watch the new Twilight film and then I am being taken for a meal at a posh Indian restaurant in town. It's been a while since I was treated to dinner and a movie and it's been even longer since I have met a person who really seems interested in me. 

Here's where I am going. I have never been before.

Anoukaa Menu

Isn't it weird how us girls always seem to want what we can't have. We don't want to know the ones who are interested but we can't get enough of the ones who aren't! It's almost like we live in a dream world where we will eventually win the heart of the man who ignores us and who seems too out of our league. We always hold on to a bit of hope that one day he will realise that what is right in front of him is what he has wanted all along. Or something like that anyway. Of course in reality, we either win his heart and realise the fantasy was better or we get bored and move on to someone who likes us back. In my case, I am bored! It's time I was chased for a change!

I will report back on my date on Wednesday! xx

Organisation is the key....

Finally I have some time to sit and write! These last few weeks have been hectic to say the least but will pretty much be the pattern of my life for the next few months. At least I am now starting to settle down and start using my time a little better. Organisation is key to success! Where have I heard that before?

Anyway, I thought I would go back to basics today, a little journal entry to catch up on what has been going on in my life the past few months. Since starting at the school a few weeks ago I have been so much happier at work. I am getting closer to my goal and doing what I want to do so it's a lot easier to deal with the stuff I have to do...if that makes sense.

The children are great, a proper mixture of characters. I am still finding my feet there so I am not quite sure exactly what my role is but I am really enjoying getting stuck in and doing a bit of everything. My favourite thing so far is working with little groups of children on an activity. I really want to work with individual children, maybe listen to them read or something. It would also help with my relationship with the children. Right now, my course is looking at how relationships between children and adults in schools are so important. It helps a child if they know that the adults in their life respect their learning and their abilities. Also, it helps teach them how to communicate with each other and form their own way of learning.

There is so much to learn and think about it's no wonder it's taken me so long to organise myself. I have taken to writing a log of my time in the school alongside my course notes so I can put all my thoughts down when the school day is over. My head would explode otherwise and I would forget everything! Now my daily work life is fairly well organised, I can look at getting my flat organised and finishing my Christmas pressies. Yes, I do have the time! Only today, I sorted out all the plastic bags I have in my kitchen and cleared a load of space after cleaning my sink and putting away the dishes! I still had time to do some reading before writing this entry. And I will still be in bed by 10.30! Brilliant! I think I might be getting the hang of this! xx

Can it really be...

I cannot believe it has been over a week since my last entry. I have been so busy with work, school and studying. Right now it seems I have no down time at all!

I will be back tomorrow with a decent entry I promise! xx

Remember, remember....

...the 5th of November. Gunpowder, Treason and Plot!

I love Bonfire Night, the fireworks and the fires. It's so much fun; almost an extension of Halloween celebrations with a slightly different twist to it.

As a English girl born and raised I have to admit that the story behind today is odd, if not gruesome if you really think about it. On the one hand, it is an old thanksgiving celebration. Guy Fawkes and a group of Catholic followers attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I, on the 5th November 1605. The idea was to replace King James with a Catholic monarch. Following the failed attempt, the day was marked as a day of Thanksgiving for the Kings survival and bonfires were allowed to be lit in celebration, hence Bonfire night. As you can imagine, Catholics suffered heavily for this and anti-Catholic laws were made even tighter. This was an England that was torn by religion. For years, Catholics and Protestants fought for control over the country.

The conspirators

On another hand, we celebrate the death of the ring-leader of the group of wanna-be assassins, Guy Fawkes. Convicted of high treason, he and 3 of his fellow conspirators were sentenced to death by being hung, drawn and quartered outside the very buildings they planned to blow up. They were hung until nearly dead then disembolwed while still alive, castrated, beheaded and chopped into pieces, their body parts displayed on spikes around London as a warning to other would-be trouble makers! Guy managed to escape the 'drawing' part of the execution as he jumped from the Gallows and broke his neck....some would say he was lucky! 

To this day, children and families build 'Guys', effigies of Guy Fawkes, to burn on the bonfire to mark the occasion. Over the next few weeks, fireworks will be heard and fires will be built and watched in commemoration of this day. I am going to the display in Whiteparish where my parents live next Saturday to eat hot dogs, jacket spuds and toffee apples and watch some amazing fireworks.  Thankfully the negative connotations of this day are gone now and it's a chance to get together with friends and family, wrap up warm and have some good old-fashioned fun.

So tired....

This was me this morning!

I have been slowly getting back in to work, the gym and everything else and I am shattered this week already! I have had no time to unwind at all least of all post anything interesting! I am back in school tomorrow so I have a shorter day, more time to play and study of course. Hopefully after an early night I will be able to post something more exciting tomorrow!