{Post Circle}

I am so excited to be taking part in #PostCircle, as set up by Anna from Miss Beatrix blog. As the name suggests, #PostCircle is a group where we send and receive lovely post.

Miss Beatrix #PostCircle 

I've always loved snail mail - I'm a big fan of sending and receiving mail the old fashioned way but lately with everything that's been on my plate I've been lacking in my thoughtfulness...what better way to get back into the swing of things than join this group. I'm also a stationery geek so I'm looking forward to purchasing some more pretty envelopes, paper, pens etc for the project if my budget will allow.

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Anna has a drawer dedicated to her stationery, whereas I have a cupboard of craft items (glitter, rubber stamps, coloured paper, embellishments, beads...) then a chest of drawers for 'gifts' which includes an assortment of wrapping paper, ribbons, raffia, scissors, sellotape and finally a wicker basket full of greetings cards (then of course there is the kids craft selection of paints, pens, stickers, paper....). I also make the effort to design personalised Christmas cards and also have stickers from Moo.com that have been personalised with the kids names for sticking onto envelopes, gifts etc - when attending busy birthday parties, gift tags can get lost! Oh, and then there are the personalised labels from Tiny Me that I just *had* to buy for the kids clothes and belongings, so they don't get lost at nursery, you know! I secretly wanted a pack for myself too!!

*whispers* I may have a problem...!!

Anyway, we were asked by Anna to complete a short questionnaire, which included a list of 10 things we liked, and I thought I would share my response here with you today...

1. Sparkles (glitter, sequins...)
2. Owls
3. Chocolate, cake & pick n'mix (seriously addicted to sugar...)
4. Running, or at least the way I feel after a run
5. Cheesy pop music
6. Living etc magazine
7. Making pancakes on a lazy weekend morning with my two toddlers
8. Stationery (pens, notebooks, stickers...)
9. Shopping 
10. Me-time (reading a magazine with a cup of tea and chocolate biscuit without interruptions of little children, or a long, hot bubble bath without an audience!)

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What would be on your list of 10 likes?

{Things I'm Loving Right Now}

Here's a quick lowdown on the things I'm loving right now...

Sequins

I've always been a fan of stationery, crafting and pretty things! I've a few boxes of craft stuff that are in my home office - beads, sequins, glitter, rubber stamps etc. As you can see from the photographs above my daughter has discovered my stash and would appear to have the same tendency for all things sparkly! Going to have to re-think my hiding spot!!

I'm also a big fan of sequin clothing still, despite the festive season having passed already and I managed to include a few sparkly items in my Project 333 list.

Gardening

This morning the kids and I hit Dobbie's Garden Centre. We had a spot of lunch, browsed the pet section, had a walk round all the sheds and wooden summer houses and came away with a few purple flowers to plant. Here's our group effort:

The blue skies and sun has helped immensely of course!

View from the trampoline the other afternoon - I was lying down!!

Cake

As always, cake, chocolate and all things sugary are a bit hit with me! I was lucky enough to review a Baker Days cake this week and I'm also offering a reader to try it for free too. Check out the giveaway here. I ended up baking a banana loaf the other night as I was craving cake so much! Really need to get this addiction under control... if anyone wants me to review hypnotherapy or something then please give me a shout - I think I need some drastic intervention!

Flowers

I'm not really a fan of flowers... I can never get them to look nice in the vase, they're such a faff and then they never last very long. However, with my selling house and having photographs taken by the agent this week - I bought some fresh flowers to fill the house... and I have to say I'm rather taken with them. They're such pretty colours - make the place look a bit brighter and happier (even if it's just for a week!).

So tell me, what are you loving right now?

By the way... I don't want you to think that I'm giving a false impression of how things are right now. Yes, I have great days - the kids and I bake, craft, potter about in the garden, meet friends for coffee, watch Disney... then I have my days without them and when I'm not keeping myself busy I end up feeling sad. I'm also stressed, tired, fed up at times, bored of the same routine... Yes, it's getting easier - but the kids are still hard work, and it's tough. Last night my son was awake from about 2-5am and I have absolutely no reason why. Needless to say I didn't have a good sleep and now I'm feeling it. Neither of them nap during the day... so the days are looooong! That's 7.20pm according to my clock and they're both in bed fast asleep. Time for this mummy to have a well deserved rest and perhaps a small glass of wine (I'm already in my pyjamas - rock n'roll for a Saturday night!!).  

{Things I'm Loving Right Now}

It's been ages since I did a 'Things I'm Loving Right Now' post, so here goes...

Ice Cream

Ice cream appeared in my Things I'm Loving Right Now post during the summer, when the kids and I used to pop to the local cafe after dinner on the odd occasion and get ice cream cones for dessert. I tend not to buy ice cream, as I demolish it really quickly. However, at Christmas I bought a tub of Carte D'Or caramel cinnamon waffle which we had with an M&S chocolate pudding (over indulgence or what!?) and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Need to get back into healthy eating now though I think!! (btw isn't this spoon just adorable?)

 

{Ice Cream Sundae}

Nigella Lawson's Fairy Lights in the Kitchen

As we all know, I'm a big fan of fairy lights. There's just something magical about loads of twinkly little lights. All the Christmas decorations are down, but I have kept the fairy lights in my kitchen... Not as many as Nigella, but I have some hanging at the window and a few on the open shelving. Plan is to keep them there until the nights start getting brighter... or should I be taking them down now? (Pleads -  they're just so pretty!!)

 

{Nigella Lawson}

Cookery Books 

Now that I've started meal planning and cooking from scratch I am rather enjoying reading my cookery books again for ideas and inspiration. I have a massive selection of recipes that I've pulled out of magazines and I have a system, of sorts, whereby I have been sticking them all into A4 bound notebooks. More lately I've just been keeping every magazine, but I should really get back into the way of being selective and keeping the ones that I intend on actually making. I've always found that the recipes in the Sainsbury's magazine work well and I buy the woman&home Feel Good Food every so often.

Pipii

I'm loving this online shop for party supplies. I bought some red heart paper straws recently which are going to be used for Valentine's Day favours for my kids to give to their little friends at nursery. Watch this space!! I also got some coloured twine for wrapping gifts... I couldn't help myself!

{Red Heart Straw} 

Tanya Burr

My sister introduced me to make-up-artist Tanya Burr's vlogs and I'm seriously loving them! She comes across as such a nice person and I'd highly recommend you take a peek. I'm learning loads!

{Tanya Burr}

So there you have it... what are you loving right now?

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{Things I'm Loving Right Now}

Here are some of the things I'm loving right now...

The cold weather...

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Ok, so it's not quite snowing yet, but I do rather like the cold weather. Just as well I hear you say seeing as we live in Scotland!! I love wrapping up warm in lots of layers to keep cosy, I love thick warm knitwear and love making the switch from my summer duvet to my 15 tog winter one! I think as long as you are prepared for the cold weather, then it's fine. What's not great is if you're stuck in the cold, wet weather wearing inappropriate clothing (which is what I did the other week...oops!). And I also don't like the rain... bleugh... and there's been plenty of it this week that's for sure!

Gold jewellery...

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I've always been a wearer of silver jewellery, but recently I've found myself accessorising with gold. I've got a gold watch that was my mum's (it's engraved on the back from her mum and dad) and a gold necklace and bracelet that were also my mum's (my sister and I nearly sold the necklace and bracelet as we thought we'd never wear them). I never thought I'd wear gold, but I have to say I'm really liking it. The only thing I'm missing is a funky gold ring... it's on my wish list :-)

Dexter...

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My sister let me borrow her Dexter box set and it's taken me ages to get around to watching it. I did start a while back, but got a few episodes in and gave up. I've persevered this time and I'm glad I stuck with it. It's gotten really interesting and I'm now hooked. I'm just on Series 2, so have a lot of catching up to do (and I've still not finished ER yet either!).

And on that note, I'm going to get snuggled up in bed and watch another Dexter episode!

{Things I'm Loving Right Now}

It's been a loooong time since my last 'Things I'm Loving Right Now' post, but I had to share this with you...

I was at Wholefoods Market in Giffnock at picked up a bottle of Belvoir fruit farms Spiced Winter Berries Cordial and it's yum! I normally treat myself to a bag of handmade fudge from the Wee Fudge Company (delicious fudge & I'd highly recommend it), but in an attempt at being healthier I thought I would buy this instead. I'm not feeling particularly great at the minute, and have a bit of a cough. When I'm ill I love nothing more than a hot Ribena (yes, childish I know, but to me it's just lovely!!) and this is my new grown up version of a hot Ribena!! It's also got me feeling very festive... that and the cold, dark mornings of late :-/

It's also on offer at the moment - bonus!

{Things I'm Loving Right Now}

It's been a while since I've done a 'Things I'm Loving Right Now' post, so here goes....

Ice Cream:

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My kids and I all love ice cream. Sometimes we'll skip bathtime and head out in the pram to the shops nearby and get ice cream cones for dessert - yum!

Shopping:

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Last week I was at House of Fraser to see their personal shopper with my sister. We were there last year and had such a great experience that we decided to do it again. The only thing I'm not loving right now is my bank balance!

Reading:

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It's been a while since I've read a book. The last book I read cover to cover was Eat Pray Love, and that was a few months ago now. However, with all the talk on Twitter and the like about 50 Shades of Grey I thought I would read it to see what everyone is talking about. I had read a few blog posts about the terrible English and the repetition prior to picking up the book (like this one here by The Girl From Clapham) and despite this I still purchased the series. I'm now on the final book and I totally agree, the writing isn't great at all. There is so much repetition and the all the head cocking and breath hitching is getting rather annoying. But I find I'm still drawn to the book and want to know what happens to the characters. And with the lack of excitement in my own life, it's a bit of escapism!!

What are you loving right now?

{Things I'm Loving Right Now}

It's been a while since I've done a 'Things I'm Loving Right Now' post... I had originally thought I'd make this a weekly feature, but it's more a sporadic post here and there when I find the time! I could probably repeat the same things each week too... sleep & cake!! I'm so predictable!!

Anyway, other than sleep & cake (!!), here are some other things that I'm loving right now...

Laughter... 

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My son has the most infectious laugh ever and love it. His laugh always cheers me up. I've also been enjoying having a laugh with good friends, like at the Scottish Fashion Awards the other week!

The Lion King...

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This is my little ones favourite movie just now. My daughter has the most hilarious reaction when she sees the Disney castle appear on the screen and she gets so excited it's unreal. Very cute!

Compliments...

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My confidence is slowly improving, and I'm starting to notice more and more compliments from strangers which is lovely. I left work the other day and was walking back to my car when I heard someone shouting, rather loudly. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I turned round to see that it was a man in a white van and I caught the last thing he shouted which was 'you're gorgeous'. Made me smile :-)

I don't have a Sexy Saturday post as such this week, but I thought this last bit about compliments might count?

{Home Inspiration}

I'm starting to run out of home projects for Cat's Making It Home linky as I've already posted about my garden, my dining room and my kitchen. This week, I thought I'd share a few items that I love that I've 'stuck' to my pinboards in Pinterest. I'm a major fan of grey at the moment, and last year I posted some inspiration photographs from Pinterest here. I'd love for my house to look like these pics!

Anyway, here are the home accessories and pieces of furniture that I'm loving right now. Perhaps one day I'll be able to buy some of them and continue my home transformation....

Mayfair Console Table, £349.00 from Marks and Spencer (for the hallway):

Classic black console table

Sandringham mirror, £179.95 from Home Accessories by Lauren (for above the console table!):

Contemporary mirror in silver

Mathilde chest of drawers, £525 from Loaf (for my bedroom):

Ornate chest of drawers in French grey paint

Mirrored side table, £70 from Next (for my bedroom):

Side table, far left

Tripod floor lamp, £179 from Graham & Green (for the living room):

Impressive floor lamp for some mood lighting

Abingdon Modular Corner Sofa Group, £1249 from made.com (for the living room):

Versatile sofa made up of units that can be swapped around as the mood suits. In grey of course!

{Things I'm Loving Right Now}

Running

I'm finding that I'm getting back into running. The nice weather is helping lots, as is some better music on my playlist. What a difference in my pace when I have some upbeat tunes to listen to! This week I ran 4 miles on Wednesday evening, 5 miles on Friday evening and then on Sunday morning, even after getting in at 3am from a girl's night out on Saturday, I managed 5.35 miles at running club! My fitness levels are improving and I'm hoping that I will be able to achieve a good time when I run the Half Marathon in May.

Painted Nails

As per my 35 at 35 list, I've continued to keep my nails looking nice. My mum always swore by the mantra 'look good, feel good' and I do find that if my hair is nice, my nails are painted and I've got a bit of make-up on I feel much better about myself and feel more confident. Yesterday I treated myself to a new nail polish, and I'll be doing my nails this week in preparation for my daughter's first birthday party at the weekend.

Gardening

I'm rather enjoying a spot of gardening! I headed off to B&Q the other week and got some helpful advice from one of their members of staff about planting shrubs in pots. I bought a couple of troughs and a few square pots which I have now filled with some plants (I can't remember the name of them though, memory like a sieve!). My son and I also potted some herbs in one of the troughs, and he had fun throwing about the compost! I also had a paintbrush out again and have started to give my fence a lick of paint in preparation for the summer months.

{Things I'm Loving Right Now}

Here's a very short post on some of the things I'm loving right now....

Sunshine

I am majorly loving the recent sunshine... problems somehow seem a lot better when the sun is shining. I was out in the garden with my son & daughter yesterday. Toddler & I planted some herbs in a trough... we'll have to wait and see if they survive! I'm not great with indoor plants but here's hoping I can get to grips with the garden!

Amy Butler fabric

I bought some Amy Butler fabric a wee while ago which I had planned to make into a dress for my daughter's first birthday party (next month!), but I'm fast running out of time. I'm sure I'll make it eventually... All the Amy Butler fabric is so gorgeous.

Peonies

My new favourite flower... what's not to love.

Friends

Don't need to say much on this apart from my friends have been amazing... I love you all :-)