It's the end of the year!

My last post of 2010...

Out with the old and in with the new... and off I go to London to celebrate - it's going to be very busy, but I'm hoping for fun!!

What a great holiday season I've had ~ catching up with friends, trips to the pub, plenty of mulled wine and LOTS of food!

I've had lots to be thankful for this year. I have a gorgeous finace, family and friends and have had a brilliant year. My wish for 2011 is to get a job.

Chrsitmas day was a family affair - 10 of us for a yummy dinner and lots of fun.

Here is my Christmas outfit:


The dress is from TopShop and I love it! It's so comfy and pretty and versatile. (I wore it again after Christmas it to a friends's party with a thicker black belt and different tights. It will also look good on holiday with bare legs and sandals, but Next time I will make it fancy with some red accessories...) Thanks again topshop! ;)

Christmas presents! Here the four of us are :)



I got a new coat:



(Topshop also funnily enough...but I have exchanged it...photo to follow later)

I Love Christmas Day Walks:

It was a beautiful day and the woods looked beautiful.
I kept super cosy in my new 'Saltwater' hat, scarf and gloves!

I have been thoroughly spoiled this Christmas and had the most wonderful time.

On 2nd I'm going to Morrocco, terribly excited. Photos to follow! Bring on the warmth :)

Happy New Year and lots of love, luck and laughter to everyone xox

...walking in a winter wonderland...

I am at home for Christmas!
We were so lucky to make it back from Portsmouth, a snow storm started when we were half an hour from home and I thought we wouldn't amke it, the roads were so slippery!

Today it has snowed even more: we are snowed in!

Mum, dad and I decided to go for an 'arctic' adventure to the village (for supplies) and I couldn't help but snap away at the beautiful countryside.. (excuse the incredible blurry photo of the 3 of us, mum's camera clearly does not like being balanced on a wall/using timed mode!

Here's to Happy Snow Days :)

today i heart...

I love these shoes, they're from TopShop.

They're just a *wish* because I cannot survive a day in high heels (&they make me taller than Tim!)...

Buuut, a girl can dream though, right?!

Also, found this image out there in the blogging world.

Just about sums up my Owl Love. ahhh



Happy Tuesday :)

~ I have to go and get myself ready to go look after some year 5/6s this afternoon! Everyone make a positive wish for me please!
xox

December wish list

Dear universe,

There's so much to think about! So far, I have enjoyed planning themes, colours and flowers (http://www.judithblacklock.com/ - it's even possible to have flower arranging classes, as of there wasn't enough to think about/do on 'the big day'!)

..Also, a particular highlight has been generally browsing magazines and blogs (particularly: http://www.leweddingparty.com/ and http://www.rocknrollbride.com/)



We still have to think budgets and Setting the Date (this involves creating some S-The-D cards) and I need to finalise a guest list by amalgamating mine and groom's and parents'.

I anticipate that by the new year there should be some solid plans. This will be fantastic, but who can deny that part of the fun is the dreaming..?

SO,
my December wish list:

-Finalise a guest list
-Confirm a budget
-Set the date (design and create Save the Date cards)
-Ask Tim's mum if she will grow our flowers in her new garden
-Engagement photos

♥

a snowy Thursday treat

well, what's a girl to do when there's suddenly a massive amount of snow over night and school is cancelled for the day?


(I love the old fashioned lamp posts that they have along the sea front here in Portsmouth)





..Try a new recipe of course! and here it is - it comes highly recommended!


Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients:

400g chocolate (I experimented and used half dark, half light which has worked really well)
1 can Condensed Milk
25g butter (or margarine)
100g Icing Sugar

bits & bobs that you want to fill it with - I've used marshmallows, crumbled digestives and chunks of white chocolate (I would have like to put in pecans, but my housemate is allergic!! You could also add in raisons, or glacee cherries.

This is such an easy recipe that its possible to be as creative as you feel! (In fact, I think that plain may be yummy too!)


First, Chop your chocolate:




















Pour into a non-stick saucepan with your condensed milk and butter:
























Stir! Be careful not to let the chocolate burn & stick to the bottom of the pan:






















Take off the heat and sift in your icing sugar.
Make sure you stir it in really well:






















Poke in all your extra bits and bobs:




















Put in the fridge for an hour:
















Yum yum, Chocolate overdose! :)

xox

Come take me to your secret bower

I'm planning engagement photos at the moment.

I would like to have them taken over Christmas holidays with the idea that one can be used for 'save the date' invites. (Of course, this means we will have to come up with a date!)

I'm hoping my very lovely sister will take them for us...

Nothing cheesey, just cute. Something that reflects both our personalities.

Mostly, everything is rolling around my head at the moment ~ will have to consult Alice and her creative genious to see if they're silly / possible!

wisdom

be not inhospitible to strangers lest they be angels

bel far niente

bel far niente - Italian for - the beauty of doing nothing

Today I'm listening to: Ólafur Arnalds – Ljósið. It's really beautiful, have a listen and tell me what you think :)

This weekend was spent back with the family: all together again to celebrate my little, little sister's 18th birthday.

I had a lovely time. It was great that the whole family were back together again. Roll on Christmas hols I say!


The motley crew together at lunch.

As we were all together, I thought this would be the right time to ask my sisters if they would be my bridesmaids...
I'm asking four of my best friends: Alice (sister), Sarah (friend from birth), Phoebe (sister) and Becca (uni friend).
They are each unique and special in their own ways and I'm sure they'll all be lovely and supportive.

I decided it would be fun to make little packages for them to open. I enjoyed getting creative: I havn't had time to in a while and I was pleased with the outcome:






Ingredients: ribbons (a sneak peak at my first thoughts on a colour scheme - pink and green), feathers, diamante stickers and brown paper packaging, all surrounding mini note-pads for great ideas, and a wallet for any images/ideas/inspiration they collect! "Will you be my bridesmaid?" notes were written on 'juicy Lucy' cards (http://www.juicylucydesigns.com/) which are so girly and I love!

Even more than enjoying the creativity, I enjoyed asking the girls (luckily Sarah was back in Kent this weekend so I could ask her..Popping to Salisbury to ask Becca next week - desperate to do it in person rather than by post!)
Alice, Phoebe and Sarah have said yes, so I thank you girls and send all my love :)

xox







Here we are - With Sarah, by a bush ;) and in Costa Coffee,
and sisters: Alice and Phoebe x




Happy Tuesday to you xox

for holding on

A royal wedding has been announced!
My housemate declares that this is not at all exciting news and is, in fact, a waste of public money: 'why would anyone care?' he asked me...

Well, I myself think it's rather exciting (although would prefer not to have to compete with my own plans ;) !). Why not have some good news in the News? (Kate has, after all, been waiting long enough to bag the Prince - especially if stories of her having a picture of him on her wall as a teenager are to be believed..?!)
I replied that maybe I was pleased because of just getting engaged myself ~ he nodded, as though the whole wedding-day event is just some weak feminine obsession that we get swept along with. Well, maybe we do, but surely that's because most girls dream of a fairy tale wedding, and now we can experience one with a big budget.
And, fingers crossed, the whole country may get a day off. !

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11765422

Listening to Dallas Green- Like Knives

friends are like rainbows

I had a couple of pals come to stay, so we dressed up and went out for cocktails. The age old tradition that never gets boring.

Here's what we wore:




my dress is H&M
my tights are M&S (love them!)
my shoes are Wallis
my bag is vintage leather

when the heart is full it may run over

Once again, disasterours me - terribly lazy with the blog. I think I've been enjoying everything in my head, but it is now time to write it down... (apologies)

I'm engaged! totally crazy news and really exciting!

Tim took me to Paris for my birthday and we had the most romantic time.
Sunday evening (Halloween!) was such a suprise. we went out for a super romantic supper in a gorgeous little French restaurant (had bubbly and everything - would you believe I had no idea of what was to come...?!) I'm so glad he waited until we got back to our hotel room (may have died of embarrassment if he had asked me with all the other people around us!). For the romantics out there - he lit candles and got down on one knee :)
Please prepare for future blogs of bridal panics and meltdowns. there's SO much to think about and plan! and it's exciting and excruciating all at once!

Anyway, Paris was decked out in the most beautiful autumnal colours, so here are some photos....














lots of love xo

Raising the roof in a calamity way

What a lazy blogger I've been recently!
Lots to talk about.
Listening to a random selection of 'Placebo' songs, this is the type of mood that I'm in!

... Tim's been at his volunteering job all day, so it's been a quiet day - bit odd hanging around the apartment, not used to this nothingness already, forget how much I love to just potter sometimes!
My day: It was a sunny morning so i went for a cycle to town, collected a stray birthday present (fun!) browsed the shops (lots of good books available in Waterstone's and plenty to wear in Topshop, but managed to come home empty handed, phew!)
I came home and began writing my birthday thank you notes and watched some 'Downton Abbey' with a lovely mug of tea. Now the evening is drawing in and I can hear the radiators coming on, they're the most beautiful old radiators and they fit in perfectly with the age of the building and its history. The sound they make is warmth personified!

Anyway.
1st thing to share are two pictures of some of the little cuties I often visit - there's a caged area in the middle of Victoria Park, and seeing as I can't have my own pets, I have to make do with going and chatting to these little lovlies - if only I could pick them up for a cuddle!





2nd thing is a picture of (part of) the family - motley crew that we are (forgive the lack of editing here-not on my laptop!!)
I had a lovely birthday with them all :)



we went to look at the dockyard and then went for a poke round the shops and for supper, followed by cup cakes - a splendid effort by mum! My birthdays often end up with a pink theme!



Here I am (looking rather happy...and also a little hump-backed (!!) due to the other chair........still, thought Alice would like to see!!)



Finally,
My friends from my teacher training course came to visit on Monday, and what a lot of fun we had!
...Including playing in the park - even at 24 we're not too old (&it was late enough that kids and disapproving mothers were safe at home!)



I bought myself a lovely new dress in French Connection for £20!! Hoping it may make an appearance on the magical mystery tour Tim's taking me on for my birthday...wherever that may be?!

When we got home we spent the evening drinking wine, playing games making-and-eating fajitas and eating cupcakes - it was lovely!

On Tuesday we went to Southsea for lunch and had a charity-shop-browse, I bought myself the most beautiful cut-glass vintage champagne glass



I'm desperate to find a set, but there was only 1, so, as you can see I'm using it as a candle holder which works really nicely - I love the reflections it casts on the walls. beautiful. I will continue my search!

I also bought a new book: 'Revolutionary Road' by Richard Yates, I enjoyed the film, and it's been long enough since I watched it that I will enjoy the novel - they're usually better anyway!

I think that's enough chatter for now! I can hear Tim's keys in the front door!

Much love xox

i scream, u scream, we all scream for ice cream

another post about the lovely weather we're having on the south coast.

Had a rather 'shock' phone call this morning, having spent Monday in Brighton with friends and wine = late night. I rather blearily answered a call for a job, good news as it means earning, but - one of the worst things about it was I thought that it seemed such a shame to have to go and spend the day indoors when the weather was so lovely! (if it had been my very own class, i would have suggested a classroom hiatus and ventured outside to investigate 'shape' in numeracy rather than looking at pictures on the interactive white board.)

However, being merely a supply does not give me this type of liberty..and i wished that i could have kept the day off, as planned, and gone and enjoyed another mr whippy!

Luckily, my day turned out well, with some lovely kids. In the afternoon we had a music lesson - my first ever attempt at playing a TUBA! what good fun!! the teacher even gave me a sticker for my good effort! haha! Don't worry, thought, I am certainly not going to continue that skill...!

So, all in all, despite not getting a mr whippy, i survived!

..and i came home to some interesting mail - hurrah!

An esplanade allows people to promenade along the sea front

Portsmouth as a city is really beginning to make me love it.. It's got lots of little quirks, such as the amusement arcades on Clarence Peir and random little ornate bandstands in the middle of a patch of grass right by the sea front [see images]. Yesterday we went for quite a long walk (partly to browse charity shops -raided their books: 3 for £5, bargain! &donated one back! unfortunately no cute tea cups/pictures/clothes to be found...next time?!) On the way back we walked along the prom and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine...

...Today Tim & I went and sat on the beach~there's this little enclosed area with two large sea walls that totally shelter you from the breeze, and here the 20degree heat (totally unexpected in October!) felt more like 25, it was absolutely the best place to spend a Sunday afternoon relaxing with a book. And..of course I was tempted by an ice cream, hurrah for the conveniently placed van on the esplanade just 20paces behind the wall! If only the sunshine would stay warm throughout winter I really would think this was the best place I could be in the world for this year! (image of T & I: We may have been Lizards in a past life)

Anyone got any thoughts on the best place in the world?