This weekend, I am in Norfolk. Currently, I am sat by myself, on a beautiful, sandy beach, enjoying the moment. “10 Things I Love” might be a little late this week; if I get a chance, I’ll do it over the weekend, or it might have to wait until I’m home on Sunday night. Wherever you are, I hope you have a lovely weekend; I am sure that I will.
This week has been lovely; it was full of happy moments, curiosity, treats for our eyes, new experiences, different sights and the joy of each other’s company. Although the boy and I had been to Amsterdam before, it was during a time when I wasn’t very happy (I was studying a course I didn’t like, at a university I didn’t like, in a town I didn’t like, away from home and all those I love, not the best of situations!) This time, I was able to be fully happy, without the looming unhappiness of knowing I had to go back to university for another term. It was good. It was lovely. It really was.
I truly believe that it is good for the soul to take short trips every now and then, whenever you think you need it. There are times when you need the break, when you need some inspiration and a little adventure. We did a few things, amongst them: the Van Gogh Museum, Ajax Arena, the Anne Frank House and a boat trip through the canals…as well as a lot of walking and wandering around. Every day, I had hot chocolate, it was like I was on a quest to find the best hot chocolate in the city! Good times…
Although we did have a great time, there were a couple of times when things went a bit wrong; that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. However, those moments only made me more determined, more determined to make sure that those things don’t repeat this year and that the things I want to achieve really do come true. Adversity makes you strong, and sometimes it is in adversity that some people prosper. Whilst the first few months of this year might be a bit hard-knock, it will get better. That is a promise that I’m making to myself.
So, now, I am sitting with my cup of tea, looking back at good memories, looking forward to exciting plans, and just enjoying this moment, right here, right now. I hope you have all had a good week, and are getting into the weekend mood. Here’s to you, the things you’ll achieve this year, and the little breaks you take…just to keep yourself sane! (not that being insane is a bad thing…)
(Took this picture after we had been around the Anne Frank House, and we were sat in the cafe, reflecting and savouring the moment.)
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…
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…
…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
The usual mash-up of 10 things I’m loving this week…
1 ♥ Street art/graffiti. Bristol has bags full of it, but more of the cool stuff, rather than just tags.
2 ♥ Starbucks’ Toffee Nut Latte. Now, see, for the last few years, around Christmas time, I’ve been a Gingerbread Latte kinda gal. This year? I’ve been more adventurous (!) and tried a Toffee Nut one, and I’m hooked.
3 ♥ Christmas shows. They really get you into the Christmas spirit. The one at the beloved theatre company is SO cool this year, and it really deviates from the shows they normally put on at Christmas, I was pleasantly surprised and entertained!
4 ♥ Leg warmers. I think, deep down, there’s a little part of me that will always be that little girl who wanted to be a dancer, and leg warmers, although they’re for keeping my ankles and lower legs warm, well, they do bring to mind a picture of ballet dancers…or, Fame/Flashdance/take your pick!
5 ♥ Petticoats. I am now the proud owner of a Vivien of Holloway dress, which was my birthday present from my parents (they got me a voucher for my birthday, back in June, but I didn’t actually get the dress until early this month!). With these kind of dresses, a petticoat is essential, as it gives the dress a bit more of a va-va-vroom factor! I am so looking forward to wearing my dress over Christmas/New Year!
6 ♥ Christmas Markets. They’re magical. Really, truly. Definitely one of the things that puts my mind and heart in the right place, all ready for Christmas.
7 ♥ Crafty Christmas present ideas. I’ve got a few in the pipeline that I’m going to set about making tomorrow and Saturday, sure, a little last minute, but the last week or so have been a lot more busy than I had expected, so now I’ve got to cram it all into the next couple of days. Fun times!
8 ♥ Train journeys. Over the last week, I’ve been on trains to places that I’ve not been to before – Bristol and Oxford. The journey is fun, especially when it’s to the unknown. I managed to get some pretty snazzy train pictures too…
9 ♥ Chunky cardigans. I recently got a pretty, chunky knitted cardigan, and I love it. These cold days were made for chunky cardigans and jumpers.
10 ♥ Wrapping everything up with a bow on top. Enough said!
(All pictures from WeHeartIt, the links are found by clicking on the pictures.)
This past month I’ve stumbled upon many inspiring blogs and websites, and I’m so glad. At the end of October I finally got going with the business plan for the Jewellery business – watch this space – and so some of these sites have been a huge help in inspiring me and spurring me on. There are so many sites that I’ve started to collect them, and when I feel a bit lost, I just click on over and I find my ropes again. It’s good to collect.
Making some good progress with the planning, and I’m determined to get it done by at least the middle of this month so that we can then start cracking on with the fun stuff – creating! I may even do a couple of blog posts about business planning etc later on down the line…
On Sunday night, me and the boy went to a lovely pub near his house, and we spent most of the time talking about travel plans, which was really nice. I think he’s finally starting to want to venture out of this country a bit, and explore more of the world, which is great, as I’ve always been one to love travel, so it’s been a bit of a struggle to get him to budge! We’re hoping that next summer we’ll be able to go aboard at least once, on a big-ish trip; possible contenders at the moment are America or Italy… And the boy wants to do a return trip to Amsterdam (I wonder why…), but with friends, so I may tag along and drag one of my friends with me so we can get a dose of culture, whilst the boys, erm, do what they like! It’s nice to look ahead and plan, but I’m also trying to be aware of the NOW, and do things now. Plan things for now.
So, some of the websites I’ve been collecting are:
These are just a few, and some of them are business owners themselves, others simply have inspiring blogs, but I love them all. Do you have any blogs you love right now? I’m always on the look out for blogs of creative business owners, especially now that we’re trying to relaunch the jewellery business, so if you have any good links, send them on over!
Are you a collector? Are you planning anything exciting? What are you currently dreaming of? I love hearing from you all, don’t be shy 
Hope you’re having a lovely Thursday afternoon – I made some cupcakes this morning, so I’m currently sipping a tea and nibbling a cupcake, yum.
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.
Last week I flew out to Barcelona for a few days to join my parents on the last leg of their Spanish holiday. It was a bit of a last minute thing, and involved me going on my first lone plane journey, which I can happily say I survived! Had a lovely few days, it wasn’t too hot (I don’t do too well in heat…) and was just nice to get away for a bit. As much as I love camping holidays in the UK, there is still a part of me that wants to go somewhere aboard, to experience different cultures and climates…and so the restless wanderer in me was crying out to be released! That’s where the boy and I differ a little; he does like to go aboard, but he is quite content to go on holiday in the UK, whereas I like to go aboard more I think, even if it is only for a few days.
The only downside was that on the last day, I fell ill; it was either something I ate the night before, or a nasty stomach bug. So the last day (Saturday) was spent in close proximity to a toilet, even though we were still out and about in Barcelona! After we had left our luggage in lockers, we found a Starbucks, where I had little naps on the comfy armchair and duly took some medicine to try and curb the sickness. It seemed to help a bit, so we set off down La Rambla, stopping at a beautiful cafe that was in one of the guidebooks. Unfortunately, the sickness didn’t want to behave…and it all began again! We continued down La Rambla to the port, where I fell asleep on the floor near the toilets in a shopping centre – not exactly the best end to the trip, but what can ya do? These things happen. We didn’t get home until past 4am on Sunday morning due to train disruptions, and when we did get home, my bed greeted me like an old friend!
Apart from that, the rest of the trip was lovely. We didn’t rush around, so even though it was a city break, it was still relaxing. My sister gave me a book to read whilst I was there: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and I’m just finishing it now. Was quite fitting as it’s set in Barcelona. Now that I’m getting to the end of it, I’m started to feel slightly unnerved by it; don’t want to give anything away, as it is a good book, so well worth reading. A few things we did whilst in Barcelona: Casa Batllo – a beautiful house by Antoni Gaudi, Parc Guell – another Gaudi creation, a walk along La Rambla and then along to Barcelonetta. Did a few others things whilst we were out and about, including a stop in a church and a spot of shopping, and we also ate at the Hard Rock Cafe – I’m one of those who tries to eat there if there is one in a place I’m visiting!
Haven’t done much since we’ve been back, just resting and nibbling at food but have yet to eat a full meal yet. Hoping it’ll clear up soon! In the meantime, it looks like we’re going to get a late summer here in London, the weather forecast is predicting 27 °C this week – not sure which day but I’m pretty sure that’s what I saw on the news yesterday. Looks like the sun has followed us home! Now I’m off to carry on reading and sipping water; hope you’re all having a Happy Monday
…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
For me, there’s nothing better than travelling. I love to visit new places and discover new things; there’s a whole world of experiences out there… Last night, the boy and I were talking about travelling and some of the places we’d like to go.
I’d love to go to New Zealand, but obviously this one will have to wait for a while, a few years at least, as it’ll be quite an expensive trip and it’d have to be about 2, 3 or even 4 weeks to make it worth it! I think the flights alone will probably be around £1000 or £2000, so yeah, this one will definitely have to wait…but when it does happen, I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait! Another travel plan is a cross-country trip of America; I’m quite envious of people who have done this! And after reading a bit of Stephen Fry in America, I feel even more curious about the vast country – as the boy said last night: “It’s strange to think that it’s hot on one side of the country and cold on the other, and whilst one side of the country is having their lunch, the other side is only just waking up.” In the UK, we have the same time zone…and the differences in temperature isn’t as wide as the difference in America! In London, it’s normally warmer than, say, Scotland… I’d really like to visit Salem, Washington DC, Seattle, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Baltimore…amongst more…and the trip will have to end in New York, of course! However, this trip will probably have to wait a few more years as well, probably at least 4 or 5 years yet…and there will be a LOT of research first so that we visit all the places we want to…I’m keen on making it a musical trip as well, as so many bands/musicians I love come from America, so it would be interesting to visit the places they come from… Also, after flicking through a magazine last night, I thought about Norway…that would be an interesting one…! So we may do Norway next year…and possibly Sweden too, we’ll see.
This year though, it’s hopefully going to be Barcelona and New York… At the moment, Barcelona is looking a bit 50:50 to be honest, due to money issues…so hopefully if we tighten our purse strings a bit more, we’ll be able to afford it! Originally, we were hoping to book the flights in January, but this didn’t happen…and now it looks as if we’ll be booking it all in April – flights and accommodation. 2 months before the trip should be okay, I hope! New York will be in December and I’m DETERMINED to make that one happen, as I’ve missed it ever since 2005 and it’ll be a big one for my Mum. This time, I WILL eat New York Cheesecake…oh yes…yum yum yum in my tum tum tum!
I don’t think I’m someone who needs too much materialistic stuff…I’d like to think I’m someone who prefers memories and experiences, hence why I love travelling so much I think. I have my parents to thank for this, as they are keen travellers too and they used to take my sister and I on family holidays in Europe from the word go…and in the UK too, normally Norfolk, which is why I love the place so much… I just feel lucky that I was exposed to other countries when I was young; it’s given me a big appreciation of other cultures and places now, as a young adult…
I’m yearning to be in another place right now…I think the next trip I’ll do is a day-trip to France…away we go…
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