Sunday Night Inspiration

Merry Christmas to you all…

Wrap up warm today…

Put the lights on…

Eat cake…

Write, write, write…

Learn new things…

Feel the Christmas spirit…

Light some candles…

Drink hot chocolate, with all the trimmings…

Always keep your chin up…

Enjoy the little, quirky things…

It goes on…

See things in a different way…

Have a bake day…

Don’t worry…

Embrace growing old…

Danger: Adventure ahead…

Go to the library, or build your own…

Take chances…

Give gifts…

You are lovely, it’s true…

Love deeply, and never regret it…

Life’s an occasion. Rise to it.

Read this book…

Smile…

Go outside, even if only for a few minutes, just to breathe fresh air…

Saviour this day…

You will get there…

Have a very Merry Christmas…

I hope you’re all having a lovely day, and here’s to a great night. Smile, and enjoy the little things about Christmas. Appreciate the people you’re with. Live in the moment.

Not a creature was stirring…

…not even a mouse!

Yep…Christmas Eve has finally landed upon us. For me, it’s mainly been made up of wrapping presents, putting the finishing touches on the house and just basically a mad dash to get everything done in time for Christmas! The last few weeks have been a tad crazy, as the father has been making cupboard doors from scratch, for under the stairs, which has caused everything else to be put on hold, mostly the Christmas decorations. The only thing we had done was the Christmas tree/Living room decorations, but everything else was yet to be put up. Luckily, the cupboard doors are now complete, thus the Christmas decorations are (finally) all up!

 

How have/are you spending your Christmas Eve?

The rest of the night shall be spent either: in the pub with the boy or at home with the family. Since the boy is not yet here yet, I’m guessing that it will be the latter, which is perfectly fine with me. We have our Granny staying with us for Christmas, and this is always lovely. Maybe it’s just me, but it feels like when she’s here, everyone tries just a little bit harder to make Christmas sparkle.

This year, I’m attempting to make a makeshift Photobooth…for a couple of months, I’ve been collecting picture frames, and bits and bobs, and I want to round up a load of Christmas props – hats, reindeer head-pieces…and then just set the camera up on a tripod so that everyone can snap away. Hopefully it’ll work…fingers crossed.

Here’s to a great Christmas to you all, hope you have a very merry time and are full of Christmas cheer and spirit. With love and best wishes, Sarah x

Happy Days.

Happy days are here.

Hello December.

Well, we’re six days into December! It’s been good so far; the big sis’ birthday called for lovely celebrations – we went up to Cambridge to stay with our Granny, went into town for a wander, had a glorious meal at a pub in the evening (still can’t get over how great the food was…), and then the next day we went into London to Vivien of Holloway…where I got my very first dress, at long last! 1950s dresses have had a soft spot in my heart since I was a little girl, and I got a similar one when I was about 13/14, but this one, oh gosh, this one is perfect! I will have to post a picture or two of it another day… Then in the afternoon we took the big sis to a lovely tearoom, where we had cake galore… Not bad for a Saturday in London! It’s not even over yet…we then went on to Covent Garden, where we took in two bead shops…and then the sis and I went on to a Deaf pantomime in the evening, topped off with a late dinner at ASK. Phew.

So…what am I looking forward to this month?

♥ Creating a photobooth for Christmas photographs at home…

♥ Christmas shopping…

♥ Drinking copious amounts of mulled wine…

♥ Drinking copious amounts of hot chocolate…

♥ Catching up with friends…

♥ Ice-skating in London…

♥ Searching through markets for a good bargain with Mona…

♥ Relaunching the jewellery business…

♥ Putting up the Christmas decorations…

♥ Buying and making stocking fillers…

♥ Snuggling up and watching Christmas films…

♥ Snow…?

There are probably more things I could add to the list, but then it would be never-ending! What are you looking forward to this month? Share away

10 Things I Love

This week, I thought I’d do a post about 10 things I’m currently loving…whether that be things I’m using every day,  things I’m lusting after or things I’m finding inspirational. Enjoy!

1♥ Miniature pegs. I love these things! Above my desk, I have a little, self-made washing line, that I simply use to peg up notes, to-do lists, and the like. I found my pegs in John Lewis about a year ago, but I’ve seen them in other places now; yesterday I bought some more from Tiger, which is such a great shop for quirky small things for the home.

 

2 ♥ Chalk Boards. I’m loving them at the moment, so much so, that I actually went and bought a little chalk board in Tiger yesterday (I can get a bit carried away in that shop…). However, I really want to make a bigger, cooler one, with a funky picture frame boarder in a bright colour, and chalk board paint.

3 ♥ Zooey Deschanel. I’ve got a bit of an obsession with her at the moment (a healthy obsession, I’d say…). She’s so pretty, and cute, and the films she’s in rock (500 Days of Summer…?). She’s also in a band, She & Him. I adore her hair, and she was my inspiration behind my current hair cut. Basically, I could keep gushing, but I think I’ll shut up right about now.

4 ♥ Fairy lights. They’re the best. I have three sets of fairy lights in my room, and most nights, they are on, and the room is cast in a lovely glow. The twinkly effect they give off is what I love about them the most; and I might put some more up for Christmas!

5 ♥ Big beaded bracelets. I’m much more of a bracelet person, although I am trying to be more adventurous and throw a necklace into the mix every now and then. But most days? Most days I’ll just reach for my bracelets.

6 ♥ Flowers. I’m a little jealous right now, though, as my friend‘s boyfriend got her some flowers the other day, and it just made me nostalgic for the days when the boy would randomly turn up at my house with a bunch of flowers. He doesn’t do it much at all anymore…hint hint! But seriously, flowers are lovely, and they give a room a fresh breath of air. Lovely jubbley.

7 ♥ Bright coloured pens. Another buy from Tiger! If you’ve followed this blog for a while, then you’ll know that I have a bit of a penchant for brightly coloured…anything! Rainbows, cakes, walls, clothes…anything goes. So when I came across a pack of bright pens for £1, well, I couldn’t turn that offer down!

8 ♥ Picture frames. Right, got a bit of a thing for them at the moment, especially since I’m trying to find photography props. I love the idea of photographs with empty picture frames in them; they work well for quirky portraits, and even for fun landscape photographs if you hold the frame up in front of the landscape scene. On the lookout for some good, cheap frames. I found one for £4 in Tiger, but thought I’d keep looking for now. Do post in the comments if you know of any good places to get picture frames.

9 ♥ Pizza! My go-to-food at the moment. Really, really love Papa John’s pizzas…and, of course, the pizzas at Italian restaurants…can’t go wrong.

10 ♥ Crafty Christmas present ideas. So, my friend has been posting lots of inspiration for Christmas ideas, and they’re really good. May try a few myself, and it’s certainly a good way to make a personalised gift, without blowing your bank fund.

Hello November

Pinch, punch, first of the month! What will November bring? There’s a couple of things I’m looking forward to in the coming weeks, and I have lots of ideas of things to do – need to remember to write them all down otherwise I’ll just forget…but they’re exciting things! I’m also (already?!) looking forward to things that will happen in December, and I’m determined to make this Christmas, and the lead up to it, a good one. Do you feel energized at the beginning of the month? Or does it just feel like any other day?

Generally, I think my outlook on things has improved again; I feel inspired and excited about things on the horizon. Of course, there will be bad days, there always are, but after all I’ve been through this year I feel a bit stronger, and I’m only now realising it. It’s strange how when you’re in the midst of something bad, you get so caught up in it all that you forget your bearings, and if you get swallowed up by whatever it is you’re going through, well, it’s pretty hard to come up for air again. I know I always say that you have to remember all that you’ve been through and let it help you, but sometimes, just sometimes, it’s hard. At the same time, everyone is going through something, so it’s never a competition (unless you make it into one!) and it’s important to remember to be considerate. I hate it when you tell someone about things you’re going through, and then it kind of turns into a battle, they feel like they have to top you – “Oh, you think that’s bad…listen to my problems…” Come on, it’s not a competition, as I said… However, after getting through things, you can look back with a sense of clarity and calm, and look forward feeling a bit better, don’t you think?

So, November. Here’s what I’m looking forward to this month:

♥ Lots of hot chocolate – both at home and out and about
♥ Mamma Mia – my lovely mum managed to get us tickets, and it’s captioned, wahay!
♥ A trip to the cinema – don’t know what we’ll see, but I’ve not been since May, so it’s definitely got to be on the cards!
♥ Researching and planning future travels…
♥ Relaunching the jewellery business – hopefully by the end of the month, exciting times
♥ Dinner with friends – had a lovely meal last Wednesday, we definitely need to do it again soon
♥ Christmas shopping…can start now, and save the last minute dash!
♥ Photographic adventures

What are you looking forward to this month? Leave a comment, I love hearing from you Happy Tuesday, and happy first day of the month, make it a good one.

Lights down…

…for another 11 months! Yep. The Christmas decorations, lights and anything Christmassy are coming down today. Oh, bah humbug. Since New Year’s Day, I’ve been ill…and the lovely lights all around the house have been a comfort. And now it’s just going to be dark and dull again. Boo. Oh well, guess they have to come down eventually. And I’m feeling quite optimistic about this year too, so hopefully by the time that December comes around again…it’ll be happiness all around.

(Image from WeHeartIt.com)

Closer and closer…

…Christmas is on it’s way! Yikes! The last few days can be likened to a hectic mess of chaos…! The carpet in the living room was ripped up…new carpet gone in…went to get new earmold impressions (which will be with me in two weeks)…came home…and shot out again for an evening of fun times with the new theatre group – and all that was just yesterday! Over the weekend I was shopping like mad! And I’m happy to say that it was not for me, otherwise I’d be having an extremely bad case of guiltiness. Yep, all the shopping was for Christmas…and I’ve still got a lot to do. However, I’m being even more crafty than last year. (Last year, I made jewellery pieces as part of friends’ presents…)

There’s a lovely programme on TV at the moment (or it could be finished now…not sure) called Kirstie’s Homemade Home, and there’s some lovely, innovative ideas for things to make for your home. I watched one episode of it…and I fell in love with pretty much everything she made! One thing I’m definitely going to be making is some Vinyl bowls… Basically (and I was shocked when she did this, as I love music so much) you take a Vinyl record…place it over a mug…and bung it in the oven for however long (you’ll have to check on Channel 4′s website for the exact instructions, as I can’t remember)…and ta da, you have your very own Vinyl bowl. You can imagine my shock at the fact that she melted the poor Vinyl!! But after a while I realised that it’s pretty cool I’m going to browse through some cheap records in Camden and make a few bowls for my Dad and my smelly boy. Another thing she made in that episode was a beanbag…with pockets for things like the TV remote, gaming consols, magazines etc. I seem to be getting obsessed with crafty things to make at the moment! I’ve gone and brought a few books to do with homemade ideas 2011 definitely looks like it’ll be an extremely crafty year.

We got the decorations out tonight…but I was the only one bothering to get it started! I’ve built the tree…but everyone else was more content to sit and watch TV…so I’m going to resume tomorrow morning! Oh, I absolutely love putting the decorations up – one of the best things about the festive season for me. I also really like thinking about presents and buying things that I think they’ll really love! Christmas isn’t necessarily about how much you spend, I feel it’s more about the thoughtfulness of the presents and making Christmas magical. It’s probably true that it’s better when there are children around, as they lend that magical feel to the holiday, but you can still create it yourself. It’s going to be an interesting one this year, as the big sis is off to Edinburgh with her man…making this year the first Christmas without her. However, the smelly boy is coming round on Christmas Eve and will be here for Christmas morning…then he’s going home to his family, whilst we have one of my Mum’s sisters and her children (big children, 18 and 20 year olds) coming round for the afternoon/evening. It’ll certainly be different but it’s sure to be fun.

It doesn’t matter how much money you have, I just feel that Christmas is about surrounding yourself with the people you love and celebrating in a jolly good way Hope you’re all getting excited in the run up…and remember, don’t get stressed – life is too short! Just enjoy it

Absence makes the heart grow fonder…

Hello…once again, it’s been a while! I don’t know why I keep neglecting this poor blog, it’s done nothing to deserve this treatment from me! I keep thinking of a good blog post…and it’s normally as I’m drifting off to sleep at night, and I tell myself: “I must remember to post that tomorrow…” and lo and behold, tomorrow comes and I’ve forgotten about it all! I’ve said this before, but I’m gonna try and break this non-blogging habit I’ve got myself into! Uh huh. Yes I am. (Let’s see how long I last for this time.)

Right, so…what’s happened in this absence? To summarise it all:

• I’ve joined a small theatre group, voluntary…and they’re really cool! C-O-O-L! Yep. They’re a theatre company aimed at a mixed audience of deaf AND hearing people, young and old. This means that they combine the use of sign-language, speech, physical theatre, mime, puppetery…and make theatre that has a punch. At the moment I’m just learning the ropes but in the new year I’ll be getting involved in the performance side of things…it looks pretty exciting at the moment!
• BSL Level-2 classes… It’s going well, today was the last class before our first exam next Thursday – eeeeek! But I feel that my signing has vastly improved, probably because my confidence in my signing has improved. I’ve also noticed that I’m increasingly switching to the BSL word order, rather than using SSE (when you follow the word order of English…BSL requires you to change the word order and omits a lot of small words, such as “it”, “to”, “and”…) So this is quite good, as it means I’m learning to sign “properly” in a way – not that SSE is bad, it just follows the wrong word order really (SSE means Sign-Supported-English).
• I’ve started the shows at Chickenshed…so far, so good
• The jewellery business is slowly getting back on track! I think we’ve managed to re-ignite the passion there – we lost it for a while…and now it’s BACK. Good times.

Generally, I think things are going fairly well at the moment Although, on a bad note, I had my first car accident yesterday! Whoops! It was only a minor accident…but it was the first one I’ve had (touch wood no more) and it just shocked me, more than anything. It’s so true that just a split second is all it takes. Just one little look out of the side window, then you look back at the road…BAM! Too late. It just served to remind me that I need to concentrate ALL-THE-TIME! There’s not really any room for errors on the road :s nope. Oh dear, at least it was minor, no injuries, just knocked the bumper of the car in front…

Hope everyone is getting into the festive spirit…tis the season to be jolly! (And I promise, I’ll try not to be absent for so long again.)

Tis the season of…

…thick socks;
hot chocolate;
sparkle;
parties;
love;
joy;
fun;
blankets;
plentiful chocolate;
terry’s chocolate orange;
stockings;
mulled wine – yuk;
ROSE wine – yum;
cakes;
CUPcakes;
presents;
Christmas trees;
baubles;
wrapping up warm;
walking in a Christmas Wonderland;

SNOW!