hang on in there!

my laptop hates me...

which is weird because i love my laptop. it's pink for flips sake!

i wanted to talk about my heathy eating goals today. alas on my iPhone i can't manage anything other than a short post.

hang on in there with me! worst case, this weekend will be for laptop shopping.

{em} x

the one where em's thrilled she won something!

yey - while doing my daily blog trawl, i just spotted on the bustle and sew blog that i won a giveaway i entered. i'm thrilled, i've never won anything like this before. but how could i not enter, just to be in with a chance of claiming one of those awesome little geese. i can't wait to get started!

in celebration of my bustle and sew victory (ok - i know it's more luck than skill - but hey - work with me here!) i thought i'd share an update on the pattern that i started last week. the pile of books now has rosie sitting on top. (please forgive the terrible lighting in the photo - sometimes you just can't wait around here!)

after some unpicking and re-stitching to get the little shoes just right, i thought it was coming along nicely. i showed the fella the latest work (though it may have been stretching it a bit to expect enthusiasm from him) and he exclaimed - "oh yes - now she's holding a present!". after explaining that it was supposed to be a book on her lap, not a box, i sent him back to watch top-gear and leave me in peace. so i guess at sometime that's going to need re-stitching too!

i plan to spend some more time on the sides of those books tomorrow. it takes all my concentration to get those lines nice and straight.

{em} x

this week i...

hello - welcome to another rainy weekend in lancashire. this week in my life...

trying to make jodhpurs look good!

i was loving this article at shabby blogs about saying no to blog envy.

i took my very first dressage test, and came away with a respectable 56% thanks to the best horse in the world - charlie.

i was thrilled to see a kath kidston shop open up down the street from my office - there goes my dinner money! love these pretty masking tape rolls.

i watched the new pirates of the caribbean film - you just gotta love captain jack sparrow!

that's all for now. what have you been upto this week?

{em} x

my {iced} tea party

today i wanted to join in with the wild olive tea party week by sharing my favourite recipe for lemon iced tea. here in lancashire, ice tea isn't a popular drink, and it's pretty difficult to buy in the shops. my relatives who recently visited from north america had a suitcase weighed down with lipton's mix for me, but sadly they can't stock me up as often as i would like!

today is a great example of english summer time, rain and more rain! a summery drink is perfect for cheering me up. through trial and error i have developed the following quick recipe for making my own lemon iced tea. 

this makes 2 tall glasses.

1} take one medium organic unwaxed lemon. grate the peel into a small pan. add 4 or 5 (depending on how sweet you are!) big spoons of sugar to the pan and the same amount of cold water.

2} bring the mixture to a boil, and stir for a few minutes until all the sugar is dissolved.

3} in a jug, add 3 regular teabags (english breakfast is my favourite but you can use whatever tea you love most!) to a couple of cups of boiling water. cover with a tea towel and leave for 5 minutes. You can use this time to find a mini umbrella or make some pinwheels to decorate your glasses!

4} remove the teabags from the jug, and add all the juice you can squeeze out of the lemon. add in the sugary mixture from the pan and give it all a good stir.

5} pop in the fridge for an hour then serve with some ice. 

then you can sit back and pretend your in the sunshine. this also makes a great base for a naughty cocktail if it's a friday night!

enjoy!

{em} x

3 unremarkable healthy eating goals

being a vegetarian living with a meat eater, finding a healthy balanced diet that makes us both happy is quite a task. in order to share the same food at mealtimes, we tend to have a handful of meals that we fall back on time and time again. 3 things i just love to supplement these meals with are:

- greek yogurt. i just can't get enough of it. it makes a great desert to cleanse the palette and settle the stomach.

- soup. i love to throw loads of veggies in a pot and mix it up. it's a great way to use up leftovers and sneak in those veggies you need every day.

- pancakes. throw some soft brown sugar and cinnamon into the batter for an extra yummy breakfast, lunch or dinner.

on the other hand, there are some things i love a bit too much. i love the meat substitute "quorn", and i believe it is low in fat, but i don't like the idea of relying on one manufacturer so highly. pizza is a favourite in my house, but the deliciousness is always followed by the guilt - all that cheese cannot be good for anyone! all in all - food is a struggle. the challenge of setting 3 goals for healthy eating (set over at sometimes sweet) is something i cannot allow myself to put off any longer. my goals are:

1} cook something new from my quorn cookbook to kick start my enjoyment of food. "meat" balls in a blue cheese sauce sound delish!

2} cut down on the pizza, maybe by having half a portion and using a side salad to fill up my plate.

3} have another look at organic. the benefits of eating fresh, chemical free food are obvious, but now i've heard that organic food can help you lose weight and live longer. the extra cost of organic produce is a big turn off when times are tight, however food that makes you feel better has got to be worth every penny.

check back to find out how i've got on with these goals next week.

{em} x

3 unRemarkable fitness goals - in review

as a motivator i promised myself i would revisit my goals a week after i make them to see how i've done. today i feel happy enough with my progress in my fitness goals. to recap:

1} find a great app on my phone to track my workouts. i tried out a few apps, and my favourite by far was Endomondo. the app has a nice clean interface which i use to enter my work outs as i do them. the website shows the stats on progress. just enough to be interesting, not too much to be overwhelming.

2} learn how to stretch and warm up properly. my feet and ankles have been a big hold back to my running this year. i've been feeling like if i knew how to warm them up better i could avoid such problems. on monday I joined in at a new class at the gym, WillPower & Grace (not a very clever name if you ask me!). this is all based on the idea of barefoot exercise and i really enjoyed my first session. i wonder if regularly using these techniques could strengthen my ankles.

3} aim to fit a swim into my workout routine every week. ok - i haven't managed any swimming this week, it's been so sad and rainy recently i haven't been able to face getting any wetter!

2 out of 3 ain't bad! tomorrow i hope to tackle the topic of healthy eating - eek! pizza is my weakspot!

{em} x

"project" project - embroidery

hiya. today i have that sunday night feeling, even though it's monday already. i'm so so sad i'm back to work tomorrow. these last few days have gone so quickly considering i've hardly left the house!

before i head off to bed, i wanted to share with you a quick snap of the progress i've made on the "rosie and bear" pattern from my bustle and sew magazine. at $2.50 a month i'd say the subscription is really worth it, even if you only make one thing.

so far i've only done the easy bits, choosing the colours was my favourite task. i hope you can make out the little girl and her bear sitting atop the pile of books. i'm a bit nervous about sewing bear's fur, the original is so cute and realistic, i hope my version can live upto it! i'm planning on finishing this off during the evenings this week, but we'll see how much life gets in the way.

i hope you are enjoying some projects of your own.

{em} x

"project" project - scrapbooking

i only really see myself as a dabbler in the scrapbooking world. i have all the supplies but lack the time or the space to be at all productive. the time and effort it takes getting out all the materials doesn't seem worth it for a free hour here or there. however for my long weekend, i have allowed myself the indulgence of getting supplies out and leaving them out. two days surrounded by lovely papers and glue sticks and i only managed to pop out 4 pages! i'm obviously not as fast as i used to be, but i like to think it's quality, not quantity that matters.

i hope you're enjoying your weekend too whether it is a long or a short one.

{em} x

fill in the blanks {on my "project" project} friday

part of my "project" project was to put some extra time into my blog. today's first task was no task at all. i love to play along with fill in the blanks friday, so here goes!

1} people always tell me i look like my sister. which i suppose isn't very unusual. however the fact that i look the same age as her is! at 26 i'm not supposed to need to carry my ID with me, or convince people that i'm really the older sister. i suppose when i'm 40 i'll be pleased to look 8 years younger, but at the moment it's just annoying!

2} friends don't let friends down. one of my pet hates is when people commit to things, and then drop out. it's lame!

3} a sunny day is perfect for sunbathing with a book, walking a rescue dog and having lunch in a pub beer garden.

4} my favourite accessory is my hat(s). my hat collection is starting to take over my flat, but i just can't get enough. there's no occasion that there isn't a perfect hat for.

5} if i could afford it i would dedicate my life to caring for abandoned rabbits. both my bunnies are rescued, but there are so many more that i could love if i had the time and the space.

6} the cure for boredom is the internet. honestly i could surf the web for hours. if you know where to look, it's jam packed with inspiration from things to make to places to go. with all these ideas there's never any time to be bored.

7} i am currently "in like" with the little bird's nest in the cigarette-butt-bin-thing by my building's front door. A little peek through the gap reveals half a dozen hungry beaks waiting to be fed. mummy blue-tit flies in and out every few minutes with some snacks to regurgitate! not the cleverest of places to build your heavily flammable home though. (note to self - do not google the word "tit" without preparing yourself for some shocking images)

prompts are from http://thelittlethingswedo.blogspot.com/

{em} x

my "project" project

thanks to the planets aligning or some such luck, i have a whole 5 day weekend now. with no plans whatsoever i have decided to delve into a "project" project. my plan is to indulge a few hours of every day to some of my favourite projects. some ideas i have are for:

• get out my sewing machine
• scrapbook some photos from my florida holiday
• finally use my bustle and sew subscription to do some embroidery
• plan and write some blog posts (and cross fingers for no more blogger meltdowns)
• cuddle up with a good book
• practice some yoga

the more it rains, the better excuse i will have to stay indoors and have fun. i do have a few chores to do as well, but that's not nearly as fun to plan or to blog about.

{em} x

3 unremarkable fitness goals

sometimes sweet is one of my favourite blogs. i love "tattoo tuesdays" posts and reading about sweet little henry. recently i've been really inspired by the "8 weeks to a better you" feature, although i'm kinda picking it up in the middle, this post really made me think. this year, fitness has been a big focus area for me. the fella and i agreed to try not to let ourselves go, just because we are "young and in love" and i could use a boost in both body and soul.

so here are my 3 goals to a fitter me:

1} find a great app on my phone to track my workouts.

2} learn how to stretch and warm up properly.

3} aim to fit a swim into my workout routine every week.

wow - i feel like a better me already!

{em} x

iphone app-reciation

(did i really promise to stay away from puns? whoops!) since my lovely iphone is now 2 weeks old, i thought i'd share a little bit of what i've been reading about some of the apps available for my new toy.

my first stop was shimelle's blog, to dig out this post i remembered reading about the using the hipstamatic app for crafty purposes. i can't wait to try out some of these ideas.

at sometimes sweet i found this old post followed by this and this, about a variety of cool apps for photography and lifestyle. i couldn't resist checking out the diptic app for myself.

at a beautiful mess, elsie shared her list of favourite camera apps, with some really inspirational ideas.

at the moment i'm really not looking forward to my app store bill coming in! any more recommendations for me?

{em} x

why do i blog?

why do i blog?

i think i have written and rewritten the answer to this question four or five times now. in the end, (and i'm a little bit ashamed to admit it) i probably blog for mostly selfish reasons.

i blog because sometimes, until i've put it in writing, i don't know what i think.

i blog because i want to contribute a little something to this community that i love.

i blog because sometimes, until i've shared some inspiration, i don't know what inspires me.

i blog because being unRemarkable might just make me a little bit more remarkable.

i blog sharing this little corner of my life means something to me. maybe just me.

{em} x

see other answers to this question at the curious pug

quilty goodness

this weekend i finished sewing up my quilt top following the guidelines from that quilt along.

its not perfect, but i'm proud of it. this is the first quilt i've ever made (or started to make). i love the idea of taking a bunch of mismatched scraps and turning it into something beautiful and practical. i opted for the non-wonky version, but it still came out a bit wonky in places. i guess it's the kind of thing you should only look at from a distance.  

unfortunately the fabric i used doesn't match a single room in our flat, so it will probably be saved for a future home, in which, if i ever finish this quilt off, i promise to decorate a whole room around its colour scheme.

{em} x

quote lovely - unknown

so, so true.

{em} x

fill in the blanks friday

1. what i love most about my home is my wallpaper. in fact i must share some photos one day. in my bedroom i have louise body hand printed - called erotica (!). my study feature wall is covered with sanderson toile paper, which has been nibbled in places by some tiny bunny teeth.

2. i'm excited because today is friday which is infintely the best day of the week because the weekend is so close i can almost smell it. oh yeah - and also because i'm going to a take that concert one month tomorrow!

3. my preferred method for blowing off steam when i'm frustrated is going to the gym. the body combat class allows you to legitimately imagine punching someone in the face, and burn calories while you do it!

4. currently i am craving chips with lots of vinegar, because i can for some reason smell it wafting in through my open window!

5. the thing i love most about my mum is everything! seriously, i cannot choose just one thing. she is always there for me and even though i consider myself a grown-up, she knows just the time when i feel i need a little extra mothering.

6. if i was going to write a book about my life the title would be "don't scratch your legs too much - it makes them bleed". oh really i need like a year to think of a good answer to that question! however i would love to write a book about my life but i'm pretty sure i've forgotten all the best bits.

7. if i were to eat one thing for the rest of eternity it would be food - duh!

prompts taken from http://thelittlethingswedo.blogspot.com/

{em} x

i-mpulse buy

thinking about it, i'm pretty sure you're supposed to buy a case for a phone, and not a phone just because you want a pretty cath kidston case. oops, oh well i never was one to follow the crowd!

ok - i'm exaggerating, part of my motivation for treating myself to an iphone was that i also really wanted to get my hands on apps like instagram and hipstamatic. here are a few of my very first iphone snaps, me modelling my new phone candy. i'm sure there will be plenty more to come once i get the hang of it!

{em} x

yet more lists

ok, ok - this is my last "30 days of lists" post. i finally finished the project, and have another cute little book to add to my shelf.

list 20 was about celebrity crushes. I listed 3 (Leonardo DiCaprio, Jason Orange and Clive Owen - i mean, who wouldn't!) and the rest will have to stay on a mental list. I don't want to give my fella a complex!

list 27 was an interesting one: lessons learnt. this took some thinking about. i threw in some light hearted ones:

high heels hurt - don't even bother!

&

snow sports are not for me.

and some more serious ones:

life isn't like the movies

&

karma is real

these are all things that have been especially close to my heart over the last few years, but i wonder if i'll remember what i had in mind if i look back on this book a few years from now.

now that's all wrapped up, i have my eye out for other {preferably free} bits of inspiration out there. i've had fun playing with my papers and glue stick, and would love an excuse not to put them away yet! if you're participating in any fun on-line projects, i'd love to know about it.

{em}