New Year's Resolutions

Hi Ay, Peeps,

This may well be my last post for about two weeks as I'm travelling to the icy North, where apparently internet ceases to exist. Or at least my parents don't understand why anyone would want such as thing. I wish I had the willpower to live without it and do far more constructive things with my time. Like do assignments. And find the bloody battery charger for my camera!!

Anyhoo, I thought I'd let you know my New Year's resolutions and some plans for the blog when I get back. In no particular order...

• I will take more photos of what I'm doing
• Spend less time on the internet
• Lose 2 stone
• Start listing items on my Etsy page, just waiting for me
• Hoover the house more than once a week!
• Get a spare battery charger
• Learn a new skill

I also need to find a job after I finish Uni.

So, that's actually quite a scary list but hopefully I'll be ticking things off along the way.

I might catch you tomorrow night before I'm upping and leaving!!

Much love,

J xx

X Factor

So did anyone see this? I couldn't help but get caught up in it about half way through. I absolutely adore the winning song, one of my all time favourites and I think the winner did a nice job of it. Heard worse.

If you haven't heard, the song is Hallelujah, originally written by Leonard Cohen. Apparently he had a nightmare writing the song and has 15 verses for it. My favourite lyric is

"Well, maybe there's a god above,
but all I've ever learned from love,
was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you."

I prefer versions of this song that are more "pure" in sound, a simple piano backing and a nice voice that doesn't warble too much; sticking to its near-religious type roots. Mmmm, small pleasures I guess.

Catch you later,

J xx

Jacket

I was just having a look on the internet for a winter coat. Originally hailing from North Scotland, I don't find the south of England too cold but walking around in a t-shirt at this time of year yields several looks of confusion. Here is my find. I'm not sure how it will look with a long sleeve top underneath but I'm willing to suck it and see.

You can find it here, if you're interested. http://www.oliverbonas.com/p/CLOTHING_WOMENSCLOTHING_NEW+SEASON/578509.htm

Little Treats

Firstly, sorry for being a bit miserable before. The good news is I finished the aforementioned assignment and have had an evening in peace. Profiteroles for dessert did help.

So I've been thinking about Christmas coming up and the various pressies I'll be purchasing for family members. I only have to buy four main presents but I'm going for a bit of a theme this year. Everyone will be recieving either something to do/make or something I've made or thrifted for them.

First on the list is my Mam. She's mid-forties and has spent most of her life bringing up her kids and working as a tailor from home when said children allowed. Her standard day consists of getting up at 6.30am with my Dad, breakfast, then cleans the house and does the hoovering before starting work at 9am. Twenty minutes for lunch, a mid afternoon cup of tea and she begins to prepare supper at 4pm so it is ready on the table when Dad comes in at 5.30. She will work for a further two hours in the evening.

This has been her routine since forever so she has little time for niceties of even much time to relax. So, for Mam, I purchased a gorgeous pattern for a new apron from a site I found through Etsy.

I was delighted when this beautiful package arrived through my letterbox today. My photo doesn't quite do it justice so please have a look at http://www.sewliberated.com/index.html

I really need to find my battery charger for my camera battery. It's not a standard issue so I can't just plug in some AA's. Ho hum.

So, next on my list was to buy suitable fabric. The apron is fully reversible so I wanted two, cute fabrics that could be brought together by one coordinating fabric for the ties. Have a look at my purchases below! Hopefully this will be a nice little something she can use daily and put a smile on her face.

Personally, I love the cute spotty fabric and am hoping I will have enough leftover for something else. But this is my start at pressies.

On a slightly random note, I've just found my favourite lipstick that I had lost whilst moving flat recently. When I say favourite, I mean only. I generally hate lipsticks as they feel yucky but I stumbled upon MAC's last year whilst shopping for a new eye colour and fell in love. I have the shade Faux, which is pretty close to my actual lip colour but more so and is great for every day use. I'll try and get a decent pic tomorrow of a "before and after".

http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/templates/products/sp.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CAT4728&PRODUCT_ID=PROD66092

Anyway, I think that's long enough for just now. Speak soon!

J xx

Hmmmm

It was a bit of a rubbish day yesterday. I woke up in the morning to find that Missy, our super hamster, was on the chilly side and not walking great. Despite coming out for a nose around and a cuddle, she just went to sleep when put back in her bad and died later on. But here's a picture of her in cheekier times!

Is that a bit weird putting that pic up? I hope not. She was super cute but alas, keeping those big ears up just got too much. She was an old wifey!

To add to the upset, Honda are pulling out of F1 which is pretty horrendous news as far as I'm concerned.

Ho hum, I'll catch you later.

Meh...

You know, it's funny that when there is an assignment to be done, the bath becomes the single most important thing in the world and needs to be cleaned NOW!

I have a distinct lack of motivation for a certain module. But my flat is spotless.

I hope normal service will resume soon and I can show you lots of wonderful pictures of my creations/projects/cooking etc.

Much love.

J xx

Top Ten Websites

In quick succession to the first... here comes my second post whilst I'm still keen and eager.

I'd like to share my favourite ten websites in the whole world. Some you will have heard of, some not, and some deserve some extra publicity for being what keeps me going through a boring lunch hour (or lecture!).

www.etsy.com
The home of everything handmade, sure there is a lot of things I wouldn't buy, but there are so many gems on here and genuine talent. A favourite of mine is here... http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5868

www.autosport.com

At heart I'm a confused girl who enjoys makeup and Meccano in equal measures. As such, I ended up being an Engineer, and have had the pleasure of working in high end motor racing, but make sure I have a little bit of time every day to luxuriate in playing with some beautiful colours. Autosport is the best website for all things motorsport, including weekly updated jobs that I wait for in anticipation. (I'm doing a Masters year at the moment and can't wait to get back into working life!).

www.bobbibrown.co.uk

For my day to day makeup, Bobbi Brown is beautiful and doesn't wreak havoc with my sensitive skin. I love how the lady herself gives confidence to women of whatever age though should ease of the blush in some cases.

www.sniffpetrol.com
If you like Formula One, you will love SniffPetrol. It takes the mick of all that is good and bad in the sport and will leave you laughing to yourself whilst friends question your sanity.

www.MACcosmetics.co.uk

No words can do this justice; beautiful, performance makeup with an unparalled edginess. Yes, I am a geek for MAC.

www.bbc.co.uk

Whether you're keeping on top of the news, or learning something new, the Beeb does it well.

www.annsummers.com

If this offends anyone, then I apologise in advance. But this is my favourite place for bras (not anything else, cheeky!).

www.youtube.com

Mainly for music videos and the awesome makeup tutorials available.

www.sewingpatterns.com

The answer to my prayers, a site that lets me print of sewing patterns at a reduced rate that I can access online whenever I want. With brands such as Vogue, Simplicity and McCalls there are not many better pattern shops online.

www.ebay.co.uk

This appeals to my thrifty side, bargains are out there if you put the work in.

Until next time....

Introductions

Well hello there.

It's a rare night in on my own so I thought I'd write the first post of my spanking new blog.

Like most people, I have more than one blog but I wanted to start afresh with a bit more structure, thought and ideas!

I'm not sure how this will unfold. At the moment there are so many things I want to talk about; fashion, beauty, new recipes and all my crafty goings on for a credit crunching Christmas.

So, if we're all sitting comfortably.... I'll begin.

J xx