New Beginnings ♡

So anybody who knows me knows I never know when to shut up!
I clearly don't understand the term "Think before you Speak"
or
"Too much information"
I swear I have brain vomit & sometimes I even shout at myself (in my head of course) to shut up when i'm rambling and still cant stop myself!
I tell EVERYONE my life story & I have no idea why!
So I thought it only fitting I update my blog with a recent update with my life!
Things seem to be going right for me lately, my future seems set in place...well almost
♡ I have an interview for college to start my Mental Health Nursing
♡ I should hopefully be in my own shiny new home by Easter
♡ I have seen so many of my friends, reconnected with old friends & became a hell of a lot closer to the ones I love most
♡ I'm far more positive - which has been noted in work **Brownie Points**
♡  & I wont say too much but there is a new man in my life

if the past few months have taught me anything it is that no matter what your situation is you will always get to where you want to be no matter what!
fight for what you want!
believe in yourself
dream it and make it happen
♡

The End of the Road ♡

It is always this time of year when our emotions seem to get deeper. We think about loved ones, present & past, those who are no longer with us today & how much we miss them.

So much can happen in a day, a week, a month or a year. We enter every new year with people we didn't know before & we leave people behind that are no longer part of our lives.

Im not a christmas person & as much as I love buying people gifts & of course I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy receiving them too but christmas has become so commercialised. We should use the occasion to celebrate the memories of those closest to us, to spend time with our loved ones or even use the holiday to make somebody else's life that little but better. Im not saying im this huge charitably person that goes around making peoples lives amazing but taking the time to speak to somebody who has noone left, taking 5 minutes of your day to converse with someone who is lonely can make such a big difference in their life. I would love to be able to do more to contribute to the world but really im useless & like right now spend most my life feeling poorly & unable to move. But in working life im a Mental Health Support Worker & when I spend christmas day with my residents & seeing them enjoy their day & hopefully feeling like im somehow part of that reason for their joy makes me feel better! 

It gets to stupid times at night where my head gets so overloaded with words & I just need to get them out, im dosed up with painkillers & bedbound with a kidney & pelvis infection feeling well & truly sorry for myself that my mind desides to drag up the past! Anyone who has the "Timehop" app will get a daily reminder of stupid things they did this time last year or mine goes back 7years, following a recent breakup most of my "memories" involve my ex, dont get me wrong some of them make me smile, others make me laugh & think what the hell was I thinking & then others make me think of all the "what ifs" "what went wrong" "i wish things were different" but thankfully i snap out of that stage & decide to (& fail) write a meaningful blog which turns into me rambling & talking crap till I feel better about myself! But hey who knows there could be one person reading this (if anyone reads this) that feels the same & can relate then my jobs done! If not ive made a public "Dear Diary" entry for you all to ignore!

I must take some more painkillers & try sleep

Goodnight

E  ♡ 

Don't Look Back in Anger....

We learn alot when we break up from a relationship, lose a job, fall out with a friend, it's hard, it hurts like hell & we all believe we have hit rockbottom, but the truth is everything happens for a reason! Pick yourself up, take a deep breath, clear your mind & just look to the future & i guarantee everything will be ok! It just takes time.

This past couple of weeks have been hard but with great support from family, friends and even work collegues i have found my feet, hell i have even found my smile. Last night was a huge stepping stone from me & i finally let go of the past

Onwards & Upwards

Upcycle

                                     

I love keeping myself busy & giving myself wee projects so I decided to spruce up my bedroom!

I couldnt afford new furniture so I gave my stuff a makeover!

I sanded down my 

Wardrobe

Chest of drawers

Bed side cabinet

Mirror

& even my bed

Then painted them with chalk based paint, finished off with some wax & even added a few stickers & some sparkly new handles! 

It was bloody hard work & took about week inbetween work & appointments & alsorts but I love it! 

             

Halle

I had the pleasure of being able to photograph my perfect little cousin!

How cute does she look as a bunny?

I found my smile again...

It's amazing how and where we all find our happiness. For some people its seeing their loved ones smile, a nee pair of shoes, getting that nee job, losing another pound on the scales but for some of us happiness is waking up on a day without the dark cloud, without that anxiety, that fear, that demon! Waking up and actually feeling good and without a care in the world, with a huge in the smile & saying a hugeeee

"Fuck You!!"

To the world! 

We all go through dark times, hard times and times when we just want to give up, some of us can deal with it alot better than others and some well it depends what day it is!

Splitting up from a long serious relationship is never easy at first no matter what the circumstances are but we all find our way of coping.

They say there are 7 stages of a breakup grieving process

1. Desperate For Answers

The drive to know is consuming and can come at the expense of rational thoughts and behaviours. You must understand why this happened, maybe beyond anyone’s ability to explain it. You fixate on things your ex said at various times that you see as contradicting the breakup, and you hold onto them now as if they are gospel. Yet somewhere within, you have moments of clarity, too. You likely swing back and forth between foggy disbelief, the daily, moment by moment rediscovery of the magnitude of your loss, and flashes of painful clarity that of course it’s over. The pain, disorganisation, and confusion can become all you think about, or talk about. But initially, you remain driven to understand what happened, at any cost. The desperation to make sense of something so jarring compels you to debate friends, family, coworkers, even strangers, about why the relationship ended, while you justify to them the reasons it shouldn’t have, as if convincing them it is equal to convincing your ex.

2. Denial

It can’t be true. This isn’t happening! You just cannot be without your ex. It feels like you’ve put everything you are into this relationship. It’s been your world, your life. You cannot accept that it’s over. You funnel every last hope into saving it, even at the expense of your well-being. You postpone your need to grieve its end, because it’s just too painful to face. In so doing, you temporarily derail the grieving process by replacing it with unrealistically inflated hope that the relationship can still be salvaged.

3. Bargaining

You are willing to do anything to avoid accepting it’s over. You’ll be a better, more attentive partner. Everything that’s been wrong, you’ll make right. The thought of being without your ex is so intolerable that you will make your own pain go away by winning him or her back, at any cost. Of course, you’re not logical at this point (and probably shouldn't be operating heavy machinery). You are standing on the edge of what feels like an abyss, trying not to fall into the unknown. You cling to any hope you can, to prevent yourself from losing what you have come to depend on, for better or worse. However, during this phase, when you promise to fix all the problems between you, you are placing the entire burden of repairing, maintaining, and sustaining a relationship onto yourself. It's as if the responsibility is yours and yours alone to make it work this time. Try your hardest during this phase not to lose sight of the fact that both participants in the relationship contributed to its end. You can’t possibly take responsibility for everything. Somewhere inside, you know that.

Bargaining can only briefly distract from the experience of loss. Reality inevitably comes crashing down, over and over again. Further, when you bargain, you are trying to take responsibility for why the relationship doesn't work, which may give you the illusion that you have control over it, perpetuating the belief that it's salvageable as long as you can just keep performing superhuman acts.

4. Relapse

Because the pain is so intolerable, you may actually be able to convince your ex to try again (this may not be the first breakup with this partner). You will temporarily relieve the agony of withdrawal. However, despite your best efforts, you will not be able to carry the relationship solo. I'm sorry to say, it probably won’t end well this time, either. Unfortunately, you may need to go through this process of breaking up and reconciling more than once before you're absolutely convinced it's time to let go. 

5. Anger

Initially, you may not be able to connect with feelings of anger. Breaking up plummets you into the unknown, which can evoke immobilizing fear and dread. Fear, at that point, trumps anger. Therefore, when anger sets in, it's because you have let go of some of your fear, at least temporarily. When you’re able to access anger, the experience can actually be empowering—because at the very least there are shades of remembering you matter too, of feeling justified in realizing that you deserve more from a relationship. Depending on your specific temperament, life, and family experiences, as well as your unique breakup, your anger may be directed at your partner, the situation, or yourself. The good news is that your anger, no matter where it’s directed, is meant to empower you, whether you choose to see it that way or not. When anger becomes accessible to you, it can provide direction and create a feeling of aliveness in a world that’s become deadened by loss. It can also remind you that you deserve more. Even anger at yourself, as paralyzing and self-defeating as it may be, is still part of the grieving process. The fact that you are on the trajectory of grieving the loss is a sign that you are working through. It indicates that somewhere within, you are creating enough internal discomfort to help shift your perspective about how the relationship has actually been, and it can compel you to make proactive changes, if you are ready to let it.  

6. Initial Acceptance

This is the kind of acceptance that, when it happens early in the process, can feel more like surrender. You are holding up your end of the breakup because you have to, not because you want to. Either you or your ex has developed enough awareness and control at this point to recognize that you are not meant to be. Over time, this initial, often tenuous acceptance becomes more substantive, as both of you begin to recognize, independently, that there are boundaries that at least one of you must maintain in order for the breakup to stick, because it has to. You are finally grasping that's it’s just not good for you to keep trying anymore.

7. Redirected Hope

You were leveled by the breakup and have had difficulty letting go, in part because it shattered your relationship with hope. As acceptance deepens, moving forward requires redirecting your feelings of hope—from the belief that you can singlehandedly save a failing relationship to the possibility that you just might be okay without your ex. It’s jarring when forced to redirect your hope from the known entity of the relationship into the abyss of the unknown. But this is an opportunity to redirect the life force of hope. Regardless, hope is somewhere in your reserves and you will access it again as you continue to allow some meaningful distance between you and your ex.

The stages of grief that follow any trauma, breakups included, can happen over the course of minutes or even seconds, across days, months, or years, and then switch around without warning, leaving you feeling without foundation, especially in the beginning. You feel alien to yourself or cut off from the world. However, like any emotional amputation, continuing on in life means learning to live without that part of yourself, and finding ways to compensate for its loss. Furthermore, recognize that there is a method, and a structure of sorts to this chaotic grieving process. Knowing that you are not alone can help you ride it out. Your grieving is part of the human condition—without it, we would not be wired the way we are to handle the many pains and losses that occur in our lives. As the grieving process progresses you will begin to see your way through to a point at which you can let go in a more proactive and self-protective way—a way that you may eventually come to understand as a new beginning.

Some people can take weeks, months, years to get through these stages but truthfully i managed all this in a day! Stupid i know especially when you love someone for 2years and your world is crushed in a matter of minutes but you find your way of coping.

I have had unreal amounts of support from friends, collegues, family and i have never felt better about myself in such a long time. Im smiling again, laughing, i have my spark back, people are noticing a difference.

Im happy!!

Some people may think ive moved on to fast, that it wasnt really love, that im just pretending but i feel free! Im back to the old me and i cant wait to see what the future holds!

At the end of the day we all deal with things differently, we all react differently but in all honesty we are all the same, we all hurt, we all grieve but we also all find the strength to carry on.

No matter what you stay strong

Your worth so much more

Until next time

E ♥

Resources https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/me-we/201406/the-7-stages-grieving-breakup

Life is a Journey

A guest post from the wonderful Debbie...

Thank you for the invitation to be a guest on your blog.

I can’t remember when I wasn’t writing a letter or waiting on the postman.  I have always had pen pals, as far back as I can remember, and have enjoyed writing snail mail for people across the globe. 

When I moved from the Midwestern state of Wisconsin, 2000 + miles from my family, to the Pacific Northwest, I started writing letters and postcards to stay in touch with family and friends, too.  I try to find just the right card or words to make someone’s day both in family letters and penpals.  

Wouldn’t you agree that words have so much power?  

My wise and wonderful mother, who was so amazing, said that I should never miss an opportunity to tell people what was unique and wondrous about them, or that they have given my life purpose, balance or joy.  My father, an educator and counselor, always says, that life is a journey – in the end, it will matter who and what you take with you, and equally, who and what you leave behind.  In the interim, you should be prepared for roadblocks, U-turns, side street, gravel roads, and paved roadways. What and who you have with you in the end will define you.

It is interesting to think of life as a journey, isn’t it?  

Sociologists say that people don’t say what is on their hearts until a door is closing.  You can live next to a neighbor for 20 years, and it isn’t until they are ready to move away, that you say what is on your heart.  You work with someone for several years and when you find out they are leaving, you talk about what made working with them special.  You can spend a whole week on vacation with your sister, and not until you are ready to board the plane, do you say what her influence has meant to you. You can raise a child, and when that child marries, goes away to school or moves out on their own, you worry that you have not talked about how wonderful and how hard it can be. 

So ….. just before I turned 50 years old, I wrote 50 gratitude letters to people who had influenced my life, and a few apology letters as well.  It sounded like such a wonderful project until I actually started to put the words on paper. In addition to English, I had 7 years of French and 3 years of college Spanish – and still, sometimes there are not words to express what people mean to you. The emotions, pain and gratitude run so deep.  Although it turned out to be a three year project, a wonderful thing came out of it, something I didn’t expect – people answered me with snail mail! 

Those who never write letters took a moment from their daily routine to tell me something that they had never told me about our relationship.  It was overwhelming emotionally at first.  In addition, people didn’t remember the things that I have been feeling guilty about all these years and have been carrying around. Instead, they shared the things about how our lives had intersected that were meaningful to them.

One of my favorite things to do is write a series or cards with a theme or set of quotes.  With coffee cup images, or a set of different cards with a theme, mailed one by one.  I also love to write a letter each day for 18 days, when a niece or nephew turns 18 years old.  In April, I always join the 30 letters in 30 days fun.  This year I wrote 30 letters to one person, each letter describing what she means to the world and what her friendship with me has meant for my life.  The funny thing is, although she too is a snail mailer, she only lives about 15 miles from me.  

People don’t tell the loves of their lives what they appreciate, respect and enjoy about them, or how they have affected their journey.  Snail mail gives you a chance to say what needs to be said and to find ways to bring joy to the lives of others – which comes back to you in wonderful ways.

Such inspiring words from a lovely lady

Thankyou 

E

If You Go Down To The Woods Today

I love any excuse to get my camera out so when Abbie invited me down to the Nature Reserve with her & my Beautiful little cousins Ghianna & Kai I just couldn't resist! With models like these who could!

Nev The Leopard Gecko

Meet Nevara or Nev as she likes to be called! This is my Leopard Gecko! We were given her for free & i'd never owned a reptile before but after reading up about how easy they are to look after (and lots of persuasion to the grandparents to let me have her) she joined the family.

Nevara means snow in latin i think 

So i thought id let you see some fun facts! Geckos are reptiles that live in Asia in the wild. They live in rocky deserts and sparse grasslands.

• They are nocturnal in the wild, hiding from fierce daytime heat in burrows and under rocks. In captivity they will burrow when overheated and shy away sometimes from bright lights. 
• They usually grow to about 10 inches long, although half of this is tail. 
• They can break their tails off like most other lizards. This is usually caused by poor handling or by fighting with other geckos. The tails will grow back, but they will be shorter, thicker, smoother and less colorful. 
• Geckos store fat and metabolic water in their tails. 
• The temperature of their eggs determines the gender of the hatchlings. At 80 degrees, most will be females; at 91 degrees most will be males. At 86 degrees Fahrenheit, there will be an even mix. 
• They will clean their eyes with their tongues! 
• They also have moveable eyelids, allowing them to blink and close their eyes during sleep. 
• They are carnivorous and will stalk prey like a cat.

She also loves watching TV, exploring my bedroom & teasing crickets before she eats them haha!

Anyway meet Nev!

Wish Upon A Star

Theres one thing i really appreciate about living in a small town in scotland is the fact skys can be so clear at night! Without all the bright city lights and air polution you can see 100's of stars

I luckily got to witness at lesast 6 shooting stars as part of the meteor shower whilst on nightshift & it was just perfect!

This is not my photo but for people who weren't lucky enough to see it this is just a snipet of the event i got to witness.

The Dying Art of Mail

My amazing Penpal & friend Emma kindly wrote a piece for me! Enjoy...

The Dying Art Of Mail.

“ I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead” - Mark Twain

Hello All,

My names Emma and I’m an Illustrator & Designer. Erin asked me to write a post for her blog and it took me a while to think of what I could write, but then it came to me. I decided that the best thing for me to talk about is what we have in common…..Pen pals. 

We have been writing for around 2 years now. I can’t remember who approached who with becoming pen pals but I’m glad we are because I’ve made a friend for life. Not everyone see’s what pen paling is all about and why should they. Majority of people are now looking for the next best technological object to take them into the future or to maybe even write there emails and correspondence for them. I think that to many people are getting stuck with there heads in there phones, computers and tablets to see the joy and gratification that you get when writing a letter and putting mail together by hand instead of typing it out on a blank screen and pressing the send button. Yes emails are quicker and you get a much faster response which is good but the art of writing a letter is quickly declining. 

There are those who are trying to keep this dying tradition alive and in an extremely creative way. More and more blogs and Instagramers are jumping on the Mail Art bandwagon and sending pretty mail all around the world. I’ve been pen paling for around 3 - 4 years now and I love sitting down and writing letters. Putting your thoughts and interests on paper and sending it to someone who you know is going to take the time to open it and read it then reply makes me happy. And yes I know that writing a letter is not for everyone because they like what they have now but for those of you who didn’t know that this was a thing then read on. If you are maybe looking to start this addictive past time then hopefully with this post I’ll be able to help with a few key points in where to find a pen pal, where to get stationery from, what to write and how to start.  

Many of you will have had the chance to have pen pals when you was younger usually with people either in other parts of the country or within Europe. I never got to do something like that when I was in school and I luckily stumbled apon this when I was going through my news feed on Tumblr one day. I was shocked to see the huge community that there was on there and even more so on Instagram when I branched out a little further. I have had some fabulous people as pen pals and some that really where just on there to get some free shit. 

So if you want to get yourself a pen pal then there are a few options on where to start. You can go over to Tumblr if you have an account or if not then there is the option of Instagram. On there you will be able to search either for tags or just subjects in general. For both you can use : pen pals, pen pal, snail mail, snail mail revolution or mail art as a few examples of where you could find out whats going on in our little community and you’ll probably find quite a few people that post pictures or ad’s for new pen pals. 

Once you establish a pen pal and exchange your address then thats where you can start thinking about stationery. If your a creative like me you may want to create your own stationery and print it but if you would like to go out and buy it there are some great places to find it. Paper chase is one place I know a lot of my pen pals adore. Me included. I could probably open my own Paperchase shop with the amount of things I buy from there. The Works and Range are a few more places you can go to. If you are maybe hoping to get some stuff cheap to start off with then I use a wonderful lady over at www.theideaowl.com I buy pretty much every month from her. She has some fabulous products and at a brilliant price. There are other people who sell on Instagram but she’s the best person in my opinion. If you are looking for envelopes, plain ones or coloured I go to the Supermarkets or to Poundland. Both good for the price.

Once you have your supplies then your ready to sit down and get started. If you have been asked to introduce yourself first and write about yourself in the first letter then please don’t stress. I know a lot of people don’t like talking about themselves but it’s easy and pain free. I usually start with saying ‘Hello, Thank you for wanting to be pen pals with me’ and then you can go into introducing yourself with your name, age, where your from, if you have a job or if your studying what it is your studying and where. Your interests and hobbies. What you love and like. Usually introduction letters don’t go on for to long I usually get them to about an A4 page. You could add questions to your letter for your pen friend such as ‘ Do you read? What’s your favourite book ?’ Simple questions to establish friendship. Once you get a reply back from your pen friend you’ll soon find common ground and the conversation should just flow naturally. 

Once you have written your letter and you’ve wrote there address on the front you’ll then be ready to post it. I know your probably thinking ‘ why is she even talking about this how hard is it to go to the post office and get a stamp’ It’s not hard at all but when you start to get more established and your looking to branch out more with your letters and send things to your partner with your letter or your looking to maybe get international pen pals then thats when things get a little more complicated in a way.

It’s good to know how much your post is going to cost before you get to the post office. I know I do as I send quite a lot. It turns out as less of a surprise when it comes to £20 - £30. Normal First and Second Class stamps are easy to remember the price of and easy to ask for. It’s up to you how you send your letter. But if you are looking to go further with your post then Royal Mail have a price guide on the website which tells you the price of the postage up to a certain amount of grams and what the cost covers. There are soon many different sized parcels and letters going to different places both International and UK. It’s crazy.

So I think I’ve rambled on enough about pen paling and everything you may need to know if your thinking of starting. It an open community of wonderful people.

Thanks for reading.

Emma Louise

Instagram - @patternandpaper

Tumblr - www.emmalouiseszostok.tumblr.com

Mr & Mrs Rae

Grace put a lot of effort & hard work into the planning of her special day & it was so worth it, the favours, the decorations, everything about it was just perfect and
so well thought out & I'm so glad we all got our own piece of the wedding in our favours to treasure forever ♥

                                

Saturday 25th July I got the pleasure of seeing 2 of my very close friends make the biggest step of their lives & make the most important commitment of their lives in saying "I Do"  When the Beautiful bride walked into the church of course I cried! The ceremony was beautiful yet full of laughter & I am so honoured to of been involved in that.

The food was fantastic!
♥ Melon & Strawberries with Rose wine
♥ Chicken with Haggis in a creamy sauce
♥ Profiteroles & Cream

& of course the beauty of being the only 2 wine drinkers on the table meant we got endless amounts of free wine (yes we really did suffer the next day)

Cant have a wedding in Scotland without men in kilts ♥



Cheeky Garter ♥

Pamper me

The picture really doesn't do my nails any justice but once again Vikki excelled herself & came up with my girly yet elegant nails for the wedding! I love them ♥

Homemade

These are far from great pictures but I had my girl staying with me for a week & we all know there is 

nothing worse than finding things to do a week before payday!

no funds = no fun

We made homemade Toleberone Ice-Cream & I made my first ever Cheese, Onion & Potato Pie!

The pictures are rubbish but believe me they both tasted amazing

E ♥

Auntie Marion

RIP Auntie Marion ♥

& A Baby Was Born

Meet my Perfect new Baby cousin

Halle Georgia Henry

Arrived 8th July weighing 7lb 6 ♥

The Traces of My Thoughts...

Hello! I'm Aim from The Traces of my Thoughts. I generally blog about beauty and sometimes fashion and lifestyle. If you'd like to see more from me you can find me at www.thetracesofmythoughts.blogspot.co.uk. I was asked by the lovely Erin, here on the blog you're reading to do a guest post so here I am. I thought I'd enlighten you with 5 things that make me happy so that you can learn a little more about me and hopefully relate too.

5 Things That Make Me Happy💛

♥ Spending time with family and friends.

♥ Eating out. I love food😂

♥ Being out. As bad as it sounds, I don't really walk many places as I live a little while away from town and there's not much to do here but I'm hoping I'll explore more and just enjoy being out and about.

♥ Cooking. Another food related one but I equally enjoy making my own meals as I do eating out. I particularly like to bake and make smoothies/juices, definitely the opposite ends of the sweet scale.

♥ Visiting new places. I love being out of my hometown for a day or even a week. I wish I could do it more often but I've really enjoyed staying overnight in different cities including Bristol and London. I think I'm off down South near Plymouth again this Summer which is exciting!

Thank you very much to Erin for allowing me to guest post on her blog. I'm sure Erin will have others writing for her in the not too distance future so keep your eyes peeled here on Erin's space of the internet!

What a lovely girl & an amazing blogger! Go check her out! 

E ♥

Lip Licking Good....

My wonderful colleague is just like me and always glued to her camera but living in the good old country side she gets some of the most amazing shots ever and alot of them on her phone! Honestly shes just bloody amazing (bakes amazing goodies too)

Well anyway she has set up a page and is now selling her prints! I think you should all go check it out

http://www.photo4me.com/profile/16819#sthash.uoxlri2r.gbpl&st_refdomain=m.facebook.com&st_refquery=

This is my favourite

Who doesnt love cows?

Anyway let me know what you think and check out her site

E ♥

Minty Fresh

Who doesn't love icecream?

Well i decided id try make my own! I dont own an icecream maker so had to make it by hand which was far easier than i thought and tastes just like shop bought!

I made mint chocolate chip and o my was it yummy! So heres how i made it!

Ingredients (Serves 8 supposably)

♥ 500ml double cream

♥ 500ml full fat or semi skimmed milk

♥ 200g chocolate chips

♥ 200g caster sugar

♥ teaspoon vanilla extract

♥ teaspoon mint extract (i used peppermint)

♥ green food colouring (optional and anount depends on how green you want it)

Method

♥ first find a freezer proof dish preferably with a sealable lid! Rinse with cold water and put into freezer (water drops help it to freeze faster)

♥ now theres 2 ways you can do the next bit either mix all the ingredients together at once or whisk the cream till thick and add the rest in bit by bit either way works perfectly 

♥ poor cold water and ice into a bigger bowl or pan than the one your mixture is in and sit rhe bowl in the "ice bath" for about half an hour to cool the mixture

♥ poor the mixture into the frozen dish and put into the freezer make sure the lids closed or it spills everywhere

♥ take the mixture out and stir every half hour to an hour npt only does it get air into the mix but also helps all the choc chips from sinking to the bottom

♥ should take a good few hours till its ready but if your impatient like me it tastes nice after 2hours just not as solid

Bon appetite

E  ♥

Things that sparkle

Another lovely little "Guest" and im already in love with her shop.....

Hi, my name is Megan Thompson and I have an Etsy shop called Gamine + Gray. Let me tell you a bit about what I do and why I do it. The shop is a selection of my jewelry, art prints, and note cards. Every piece I offer is a labor of love. Everything is designed, created, photographed, packed and shipped by me to you, from my home in Sonoma, California, USA.

My works are for everyday life, to make a happy moment in your day. I love the mix of old and new, contrasting textures, colors and materials. I love using vintage, unusual elements in my jewelry. I love the tarnished or imperfect, objects that tell a story, pieces that evoke a time, a place, a memory. None of my jewelry pieces are identical, though I do have some recurring motifs in my work. I love the play of mixed metals and intricate chain work, asymmetric design, beading. I am inspired by nature, interior design, fashion, art, dreams and feelings. In all my work I strive to have a simplicity and balance.

I have a background in art and design, having graduated from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA. I have a degree in New Media. But there is something about creating with your hands that is so compelling and which I continue to return to. You have a wonderful connection with the people who own the works you create. I love hearing from people that they are loving their pieces and that they feel a special connection to them too.

I'd love it if you checked out my shop and let me know what you think of it. It's gamineandgray.etsy.com. 

You can also find me on Instagram at 

instagram.com/gamineandgray.

When the landslide brings you down

We all have triggers, things that trigger all our emotions, our smiles, our laughter, things that make us happy, but thanks to our messed up brains we also have them bad triggers! Things that trigger our anger, our upsets and like me our anxiety.

One minute everything can be perfect! Things finally going your way! Great you feel on top of the world then something so tiny can make you explode! Send your anxiety rocketing through the roof to the point you cant leave the house, you shut your curtains, shut out the world, scream, shout, cry anything that you think will help! When really its your anxiety telling you thats whats right!

I can sit now and laugh and think why the hell am i getting so upset and angry over something so small, yet something that shouldn't even have to cause such problems yet my anxiety is telling me the complete opposite.

Im really struggling today and all I want to do is run away and hide from the world! I have had the most perfect weekend with my amazing girl and within a matter of hours of her leaving my head has shartered! I just want to rewind back to coming home from work to a nice hot bath, a glass of wine and food and cuddles watching a film with Sammii on the sofa instead of this horrible dark feeling eating away at me! I know as soon as she finishes work and calls me i'll feel so much better but not knowing when that will be or how long i have to wait to feel calm again is only making things worse

Until then

E  ♥

Just what the Dr ordered ...

So like I said heres my first "guest" my beautiful Penpal & lovely friend!

I'm Charlie, I just turned 28 and I'm just about to graduate as a doctor and start working in a hospital near Liverpool. 

I met my now husband 5 years ago through friends. 

We knew straight away we were made for each other. 

The funny thing is, we were friends at first, but his friend hijacked his Facebook, and said he was in a relationship. I was outraged! I couldn't work out why! Then I realised, I liked him.... Definitely, we could be more than just friends! 

It was hard at first, he lived in Leeds and I lived on London. Back and forth, back and forth, as he worked shifts, I did most of the travelling. 

Then he moved to London to be with me. 

I doubt I'd have got through medical school without him, as well as that stress, and other health problems, my migraines went chronic and I barely had a life other than uni and sleeping. We stuck together through it, and decided to get married in Las Vegas this year, just the two of us. 

We had the trip of a lifetime through the West coast of the USA. Rented a mustang, stayed at the mgm grand. Got married, hired a camper van and explored. 

It's been amazing. 

We got married (our friends and family watched via video link) , went and shot guns at the shooting range in our finery, and ate steak. 

I couldn't have asked for more. 

Next week we celebrate with our friends and family at a weekend long festival style party in Cornwall. 

We called it the aisle of white festival,..... I'm Mrs White now!

Who will be next .....

So from me to you, until next time

E  ♥

& all the King's horse's

....& all The King's Men...

Just watched the film "The Kings Men", I watched it whilst it was on at the cinema & loved it then! If you love comedy action films and British ones at that then it's defiantly one to watch!

Staring the likes of

Colin Firth

Michael Caine

Samuel L. Jackson

Based upon the acclaimed comic book and directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick Ass, X-Men First Class), Kingsman: The Secret Service tells the story of a super-secret spy organization that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency's ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius. 

I would defiantly recommend 

So from me to you, until next time

E  ♥