New York; although I have only been once in my life, it’s one of my favourite places. Today, during our workshops, we asked the children where they would like to travel in the world, whether it be imaginary or real…and then we asked them to draw those places. Well, surprise, surprise, I drew New York…
On Wednesday, the boy and I went on a mini-road-trip. I had to get out of London, to go to a big event that the theatre group was involved with, and there was a mix up with cars (oh, the joys of car sharing with your mother), and I was left car-less. So, the boy, being an absolute sweetheart, decided that he would drive me there… The bonus of this, for both of us, was that along the way, we stopped off for food, and it just happened to be a Mac Donald’s! Fillet o’ Fish…come to meee…
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.)
At about 6am, the boy and I will be flying to Amsterdam, but currently we are sitting in the airport, waiting to check in at 4am! In the meantime, I have done my 10 Things I Love post and it is scheduled for Wednesday (oh, I love you, scheduler!)…and I may post some pretty pictures…if I don’t fall asleep in the process!
Anyway, I hope you all have a lovely week; make the first week of 2012 sparkle in the way that only you know how. Whether that means seeing some of your favourite people (check), doing some of your favourite things (check) or following some of your dreams (check); just do the things that put the sparkle into your life. This year is yours to do what you want with…so go forth! Go wild. Just be.
Find the things that make you happy, and live those things.
This year has started well; when the clock struck 12, I was on the top of Primrose Hill, with the boy and some of my closest friends, and it was simply lovely! We spent a few hours beforehand sitting in my garden, with fairy lights, candles, music, cupcakes, mulled wine, food and many happy moments. It was definitely a New Year’s Eve that is up there with the best! I hope you all started the year well, and with people you love.
I’ve started to become a little wary of New Year Resolutions; they often seem to be things that unravel in the first month or few, and generally not things that stick. However, there are a few things I am looking forward to this year, so I’d rather focus on them instead. There are a few things I’m going to do, that will hopefully bring positive changes into my life, but I’d like to call them that, rather than Resolutions; but, hey, diddle, dum, without further ado…
Positive Changes:
♥ Keep a notebook, to fill with happy things, self-love, esteem-boosters, favourite photographs, good memories…
♥ Keep a note of affirmations, and have a long list by the end of the year…
♥ Do at least one of my happy things at least once a day – drink a cup of tea, read, take some photographs…
♥ Keep in touch with friends, near and far…
♥ Take steps to achieve all my goals this year…
♥ Smile every day…
These things will basically build upon all the things I currently do, and I’m sure that I’ll be even more happy for doing it all. Back in 2005, I went through a (late, since they were around in the 90s!) phase of loving Savage Garden, and one of their songs is called Affirmation; it’s a beautiful song, and the lyrics are well worth a read/listen. It is what has given me the idea to create a year long affirmation list though, and it’s bound to be a good thing. It was a little late, but I started my 365 Project today, which means that I’ll be taking at least one photograph every day this year, and posting them online. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, and I blogged about it back in October…and the beginning of the year seemed like a good time to start. The road is probably going to be bumpy, and I’m sure that the inspiration might run dry at times, but I’m determined to do this…wish me luck!
This year, I’m really hoping to get some more travelling under my belt. The boy and I are off on a slight spur of the moment trip on Tuesday; for Christmas, I decided to book us a mini holiday to Amsterdam! The flights were cheap, and I found a good, cheap-ish hotel, so on a whim, I just went for it. Eeek! It’ll be fun…and I’m looking forward to the photography adventures! In April, we’ll be celebrating 5 years together, and a possible celebration could be a trip to Paris, which would be lovely. We’ve both been with family, but never with each other, and I’ve been daydreaming of walks along the Seine, squirming on top of the Eiffel Tower and people-watching the sophisticated Parisians… We’ll see…it might not even happen! In the summer, I am determined to do InterRail, at last. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was 16, yet it’s never happened…and this year, along with one of my closest friends, I will make it happen. The boy is up for this, and possibly a few other friends, so it’s looking good baby. InterRail is basically like an unlimited ticket for the rail networks across Europe, so you can hop onto (almost) any train, and go between the countries by rail for a certain period of time. We’d be backpacking, and attempting to take in as much as we possibly can. It’s one of my dream trips. The next few months will be full of planning, and saving; all for a good cause!
Of course, I will be continuing to blog as much as I can this year. I’m loving the little routine of doing a weekly post of 10 Things I Love, and my Sunday Night Inspiration posts, they make me smile. It’s all about the little things; find the things that make you happy, notice them and appreciate them. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but it’s the little things that string together to make up one big thing, and that big thing goes by the name of life. Life is made up of lots and lots of little things; so forget about the bad things, and focus on all the small things that make you smile. Honest, it works. I love that this blog has morphed into such a happy place; when I began, I did it just for the sake of blogging, and now I feel like I have finally got my flow going, I’ve finally got a little routine that I can stick to, and I’m so glad. Writing is extremely therapeutic, I recommend it to anyone who is having a tough spot, it sure does help you to reflect on things. It is through blogging that I have learnt how to string together words and photographs – this is something I want to build upon this year, by making a book (via Blurb) of my favourite photographs and inspirational words to go with them.
So, whilst I’m not making New Year Resolutions this year, I think the start of a year is a good time to make goals and small changes. What are you looking forward to this year? And if you’ve made some Resolutions, what are they? Happy blogging, and reading…and here’s to another year full of blog posts! Thank you for reading and sticking with me, I’ve met some truly lovely people through blogging this year, and I couldn’t be any more grateful, for you are all lovely. Looking forward to reading more great blog posts from you all. Happy, happy, happy New Year x
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.
This video always puts a smile on my face. I love those moments at airports, train stations etc. when you’re greeting someone; if it’s someone close to you, there’s always a surge of emotions and happiness. Are some of your happy moments when you meet someone coming home?
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
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…
|
