Sunday 28 July 2013

What I Wore...

I'm not what you'd call a fashionista and I'm not really interested in designer duds but I have taken a recent liking to clothes, what I like and how they make me feel.

This may sound strange, but I've always wanted to be the kind of girl to wear hats, scarves, belts, rings and other cute accessories. But, I've just never had the courage.

But that's something that I hope to change by being more confident in what I wear. I like them, so I shouldn't care if others don't. It's all about believing in myself.

So, here's what I wore this week.



Monday
I was off work on Monday and it was a hot day. My mum and I went shopping and this maxi dress is both cool and pretty. It's from Tu at Sainsbury and one of the few dresses I actually paid full price for!!

Tuesday
My first day back at work after my holiday and I wanted to look smart. I also wanted to wear this lovely new dress that I got for half price from Asda at only £10. It was really comfortable although I did forget just how hot it is in my office which is why...

Wednesday
... On Wednesday I decided to go for a cool linen button through dress and blue cardi (which came off fairly quickly upon arriving at work)! I even wore blue pumps with this outfit so it really was rather casual for work! I got the dress from ebay and the cardigan has been a wardrobe staple of mine for a while now.

Thursday
On Thursday I wore one of my favourite dresses in my wardrobe. I got it on my spending spree when I first got the job I'm currently in. It cost me the princely sum of £7 in the Peacocks sale and has teeny tiny zebras on it. Cute!

Friday
Friday is dress down day at work and I wanted to wear something that would keep me cool, was casual but also pretty enough for any Friday meetings that might have cropped up. The t-shirt has bicycles and hearts on it and is from Sainsbury while the skirt is a purchase from Monday's shopping trip and was just £3 from the charity shop.

So, as you can see - I like my clothes from supermarkets, ebay and charity shops. The reason for this, despite liking the clothes, is that I love a bargain. The cheaper the outfit, the more I like it. And if I accidentally spill something on it - I'm okay with it. Sort of.

B xx

Saturday 27 July 2013

Movie Night

The first week is all but over and I have to say that I think I've done quite well with my resolutions.

Nothing major, and possibly nobody will notice a difference but, if that's not the point then I don't know what is!

The epic summer has continued and has even improved, if you ask me. Not only have we got scorching days but we've had some fantastic storms on top of that. "Why is that good?," you ask. Well, these last few days, with the fabulous heat, it's been taking me a good, long while to give all the plants, veggies and hanging baskets in the garden a nice, cool drink of water. With the torrential downpours, I'm saving myself some precious time in the evenings. As an added bonus, I get to listen to the rhythm of the raindrops as I fall off to sleep most nights. Bliss.

A couple of new things have ended up in my house this week. All bargains - naturally!

I got an adorable pair of pyjama bottoms that are very autumnal with cute little foxes. As well as all that, they were cheap at only £6 from a local supermarket. Bargain!


My second new thing is I got my new Sky box this week. It took a circuitous route to my house (I hate it when Royal Mail give my parcels to my icky neighbours who keep it hostage for an eternity) but it's here now. Still in the box, mind you, but here nonetheless.


And finally, I got a really cute pair of stripy espadrilles when I went to get my pizza for movie night. They are a peachy red colour and, more importantly, they only cost me £4 (or £2 per shoe)!


(Why is it that you don't use 'movy' for one film and 'movies' for two or more? I've never pondered that before!)

So, onto movie and pizza night. Molly is staying at her auntie's house tonight (that's me!) so we decided to get up to mischief have a pizza and movie night. I got a Hawaiian pizza and a movie that I found at the charity shop on Monday. Another bargain! We've just eaten some of the pizza and soon it's time to watch the movie. Bring on the romcom!


Have a great evening, everyone!


B x

Monday 22 July 2013

A Fresh Start...

It's Monday today and also the last day of my holiday.

I have also decided that it's the last day of my old life and that tomorrow begins a fresh start for me.

I'll admit that this is a vow that I've made on numerous occasions before but, never before in a public setting.

So, this new start has two elements that, as a whole, come back to one goal.

The first element is to be healthy, eat healthily, lose weight and tone up. However, the main thing behind this 'resolution' is to be comfortable in my own skin. I have purchased a bikini as a motivator. I want to be able to wear it (just in my garden but still...) and feel confident with how I look.

Spotty dreams

The second element is to get myself on track. On a personal level, I can't carry on feeling like I have been. I feel doubly bad for how my depression must be, or more accurately, is affecting my parents. I've come so far but I've still got a long way to go and I must keep going. On a professional level, I need to find my purpose in life and start a plan to go out and make it happen. It doesn't matter how fast or slow I go, I just want to know I'm on my way.

These two elements all come back to one thing - one goal: be happy.

Wish me luck.

B x


Sunday 21 July 2013

A Sting in the Tail...

It's difficult to write of normal, everyday things after my last entry. Things will never be the same again but we must go on...

So... this weekend I have been working in my garden. The blistering heat of the UK wide heat wave wasn't as stifling today or yesterday which was a blessing but didn't stop me showering with suntan lotion before even thinking of stepping outside. Since I am a pale sort, I usually just need to think the word 'sun' and I'm burnt. However, this time I've been blessed with, well, if not a glowing tan, then at least some cute freckles across my nose!

My first gardening escapade also involves shopping which gave me an extra bit of yay in my day! Yesterday morning I enjoyed a trip to our local Dobbies Garden Centre for a coffee. Well, I had a cream scone and a strawberry frappe, but more about that later. When in any garden centre, my eyes and feet are always drawn to the dead or dying plant section. You can usually get some bargains on plants that are perfectly fine if perhaps just a little unloved or unwatered!

My foray into the section was very fruitful as I got a pink patio rose and four healthy herbs - all for the bargain price of £10. I don't know how much the herbs should have been but the rose was originally priced at £15.99 and I got it for a fiver. Bargain!

Pretty pink patio rose.
The box of cheap herbs (£1 each!).




The rest of my garden is looking fab if I do say so myself.

Patio area.
Veggies coming along nicely (carrots, onions and spinach).



















Spanish and English Lavender along the stone path.
Pretty daisies in the wild garden.







I have an apple!!!

Unfortunately, I have a tale of woe that accompanies my days of gardening. The sting in my tale. Or, more accurately, tail.

The way my garden is set up, I have the grass in the centre and the flower beds, paths and kitchen garden (my fancy way of saying vegetable patches!) around the outside. That way, I can usually sit on the grass and weed the closer edges of the garden. As I was nearing the end of the day and with the exceptionally hot weather, I was sitting on my grass, pulling weeds and just shuffling along on the grass. I wasn't even bothering to use my pretty pink garden kneeling cushion - probably because by this time I was too tired to actually kneel.

I was certainly a lot more awake with what happened next.

I should probably note two things that are pertinent to my story.

1) Because of the weather, I was wearing a vest top and some indecently inappropriate boxer shorts.
2) My grass is covered in clover and daisies.

As I shuffled along, I appeared to sit on a pretty patch of clover. I felt a small, shall we say, nip, to my, shall we say, derriere. I quickly moved, thinking I had perched on a thistle amongst the clovers. Alas, the angry buzzing noise quickly dispelled me of that notion!

Pretending a maturity that's actually quite laughable, I decided to journey inside and phone my mum to ascertain the correct remedy for a likely sting.

The likely sting became pretty damn real by the time I'd reached the phone as I was writhing on the floor in gathering pain. My phone call to my mum was slightly fraught especially since my dad was nice and chatty when he answered. I felt quite mean as I practically screamed and cried for him to get my mummy. Yes, I am 31 years old! My only saving grace is that I wasn't on a video phone as I writhed around the floor, trying to clutch both a phone and my right buttock while trying to hold down a normal conversation.

The hysteria continued until mum asked the question that caused silence to descend - "have you got the sting out?".

Tumbleweed.

And then more fraught screams as I demanded to know how on earth I could know - I can't see my bum! I dread to think what my neighbours and passersby thought of this rather loud proclamation. Luckily, I was too occupied to care!

Long story short, my mum had to come round and check the sting was gone. She then had to administer the TCP (as I couldn't be sure if it was a bee or a wasp) and tuck me in to bed with my teddy and a cup of milk. The last part is obviously false. The first part, sadly, is not!

I am now left with a massive welt and bruise on my tush and a story to tell.


After that humiliation, back to more appealing things. Here is a picture of my delicious cream cherry scone and strawberry frappe. My favourite part about the frappe was that it was a portion of fruit for the day as well as being loaded with cream and marshmallows. Yum!


Be happy.

B x


Friday 12 July 2013

My heart breaks...

On Wednesday, I started to write a blog post about something - I barely remember what. I had typed the header when my doorbell rang.

As is my norm, I ignored it.

It rang again so I got up to answer it... and subsequently my heart broke.

My beautiful little dog, Rosie, had passed away.

It seems so unreal and I can barely believe it despite my heart knowing it's true.

I have had Rosie for a third of my life and she really was such a special dog. I will miss her with all my heart and I will love her forever.

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