How to do some (feasible) good in 2014

Oh hi 2014!

I'm not making New Year's resolutions. I hate people who only appreciate their lives at the start of a new year. In my mind, you should have a zest for life ALL YEAR ROUND and not just when you buy a new calendar (or get a new one for Christmas).

I try to do good deeds as much as possible. Just small ones, unexpected and not brag about them on Facebook or tell the world that you're a great person. You should like yourself, not do things to get other people to like you. I do feel that if you like the person you are, others will enjoy your company naturally.

I was thinking about good things to do the other day that can help others without costing you loads of money (which no one has these days...) and here's my good deed feed:

1. Foster a cat

Admittedly you have to like cats A LOT to do this one.

We're fostering this cat right here :)

We couldn't decide whether to commit and get another cat after our little cat was put to sleep earlier this year. We're away a lot and it was a big decision, until I came across Cat Fostering. You take a cat in to your home and the cat is displayed on the charity's website until a new potential owner comes forward.

The charity pays the vet bills, food and litter (although we just decided to pay for the food and litter ourselves you don't have to) and in return you give a cat a safe and loving home. There's no guarantee you'll have the cat forever, although our cat is almost ten years old so she's unlikely to be adopted at this age; which is good because I'm already attached to her!

Check out http://www.leedsfelinefriends.org.uk/page9.htm for more information.

2. Give blood

You have loads of blood you selfish beast and you're keeping it to yourself locked away in those veins!

I'm signed up to be a blood donor, and it's only for the fact that I'm currently on medication that I haven't yet given blood. I can't wait to do it though, although I'll probably pass out right away, I'm hoping to be excited about doing something to help others.

Find out more about becoming a donor here http://www.blood.co.uk/index.aspx

3. Shop at charity shops

I bloody love charity shops, I can't get enough of them. You find things you never knew you needed wanted in your life! Like for instance, that old chipped jug, or that book you were going to buy full price, or maybe a dress you've never seen anywhere else!

And the best part? It's a CHARITY shop. You can GIVE to charity and GET stuff in return! Everyone wins!

Plus, you can walk along the high street and decide which charity to support - Cancer Research, British Heart Foundation... Jackpot! Cats Protection League!

Help the cats, people.

Feeling the love on Padlock Bridge, Cologne

Here's some photos from Padlock Bridge in Cologne in case you're in need of a little love tonight:

I wonder how many of the couples who chose to add their padlock to this bridge are still together? I like to think that a large percentage are still happily in love, but then I am a romantic, deep down under my hard icy exterior. HA.

And out of the couples who didn't make it, did they try hard enough to make it work? It's not easy staying in love for ever, things change, real life gets in the way and most romance fades dramatically when you live together and walk into your fella on the toilet.

But you have to TRY. You have to remember why you loved each other in the first place and work at that. It's not all dates and dinners and anything else romantic beginning with the letter D. Sometimes it's arguing about doing the washing up, going food shopping then getting angry because you forgot the bloody Bags For Life again, paying the bills and just having a shitty day at work and sitting on the sofa in your pyjamas.

But it's also knowing he is there for you. He'll hold your hand while you do the food shop, giggle over Billy Bear ham and buy a spontaneous bottle of red wine on a Tuesday.

It's kisses on the lips, it's walks in the rain, it's playing music loudly in the kitchen, it's hugging, it's laughing at a crap joke. It's love. It's finding a groove and enjoying it. It's having independence and not relying solely on each other.

I write this as The Boy is in the pub and I've enjoyed a dinner of super noodles having been at another pub and then coming home to keep up with the Kardashians (guilty pleasure).

Goodnight and lots of LOVE. 

Positivity from Pinterest

When you're alone and life is making you lonely
You can always go - to PINTEREST.
When you've got worries all the noise and the hurry
Seems to help I know PINTEREST.

The lights are much brighter there
you can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares
so go - PINTEREST
Where all the lights are bright PINTEREST
waiting for you tonight PINTEREST
you're gonna be alright now
PINTEREST
PINTEREST
PINTEREST

OK I stole those lyrics from Downtown but they apply! If you're feeling down, head to Pinterest!

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/471118810990551739/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/302374562452692500/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/251286854181926045/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/329818372681081571/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/35606653277321905/

So we've fostered a cat...

I quite like cats, I don't know if I've mentioned that before...

I've really missed having a cat around the place ever since Catty was put to sleep back in March this year.

If it was up to me, I'd fill our house with cats. But it's not just my decision and we just weren't in the position to take a cat on forever, it seemed a big commitment at this stage of our lives.

So when we came across the cat fostering section of Leeds Feline Friends, a cat charity in Leeds, it seemed the perfect solution, we get a cat, the cat gets a home and the charity helps a cat but doesn't have to build a huge cat rescue centre they can't afford to run. Everyone wins!

We emailed them and a few days later had a home visit where we pretty much just chatted about cats for over an hour :) bonus!

A week later, Zuki arrived at our house:

She's 10 years old and has been living in a cattery for the last year after her previous owner lost his house. The poor thing lost her home and went from what I hope was a loving home to a strange small pen in a cattery surrounded by other miaowing cats. We're fostering her until a new owner wants to adopt her, but we'll probably have her for the rest of her life because there's a huge shortage of people who want to adopt older cats.

I personally love big, fat older cats. They're my weakness because they already have cat personalities and they're so stubborn that you know they won't change them. Zuki wakes up from her 18 hour catnap if we're talking too loudly and miaows at us in such a way you'd think she'd lived here forever. And we actually talk a little quieter. 

It makes me sad to think of Zuki living the rest of her days in a small unit with minimal human contact and not getting affection. I like to think we've helped one cat, but there are so many more that also need homes.

It's a nice feeling to know you're doing something to help, but to also know YOU get something out of it too :) A cuddly cat (that has very moody tendencies...) to come home to on a miserable weekday.

I think everyone should foster a cat Check out http://www.leedsfelinefriends.org.uk for details on how to foster a cat.

I'm buying a house...

Well technically, I'm not buying a house, The Boy and I are growing up a little and buying a pad of our own.

We love our little house right now but renting every month just feels like wasted money (except when it comes to changing the boiler, then it's GREAT to call your landlord and say 'Errr there's a problem).

So, most of my evenings are spent on Rightmove looking at places I can't afford. For some reason I like to put in the maximum price of £1,000,000 just for a laugh. Ha HA.

Consequently I find myself looking at:

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/329888741425733839/

When realistically I'll be buying something like this... *sigh* it looks quaint!

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/182606959860538862/

Going mad at the Garden Centre

You know you're getting old when you're HAPPY to spend a Sunday afternoon to stroll around a garden centre with your Bezzie.

What's more, we even got EXCITED about lavender, roses and terracotta plant pots.

We did a good job I think!

My little yard is looking lovely, non? Just a shame we might be moving in the next few months!

Do you love garden centres too? It's ok to admit it here, you're among friends...

Just saying...

Something has been playing on my mind recently and I feel like I need to get it out to see it in words...

I like myself.

Not in a conceited way, or an I-fancy-myself way. But for the first time in a looooooong time, I'm happy with the person I am and where I've come from and what I am now.

I have an amazing husband, I have amazing family, my friends are second to none and I'm in a job I seem to be good at.


I don't have a cat but I'm working on that.

I keep busy, I learn something every day, I notice the beauty in everyday things, I like meeting interesting people, I still hate going to the gym, I'm always going to be cuddly, I tell jokes, I have an annoying laugh, I have plans in the pipeline, I'm going on holiday on Saturday.

That's me right now.

I'm more patient, less stressed, calmer and generally more level headed since coming back from Kenya. Possibly because I have more of a sense of perspective and priority.

But let me just say this. 

I get along with everyone. I don't care what your age is, what gender you are, what colour your skin might be, what religion you choose to follow... but if you choose to put me down or make me feel less than the person I am, I don't want to know you. I have no reason to try and get along with you or try and make you a better person.

There are so many other people in the world who have it harder than you, you're just making your life harder than it needs to be and you know what? LIFE IS TOO SHORT FOR THAT.

So there. *Sticks tongue out*

5 City Breaks I Want To Do

I'm coming around to the idea of a weekend city break. I want to cram in as much travel in my life but sadly the whole full-time-job thing doesn't allow as many opportunities for travel as I'd like (or my bank balance allows)...

Having popped to Barcelona for a weekend a few months ago, I loved how you could be sat in an airport freezing your socks off, then be sitting at a bar sipping sangria a few hours later! I felt so smug at work on Monday when my colleagues asked what I did at the weekend... they hate me.

Here's a few destinations I've got my eye on for a weekend break:

1. Paris

Pinned from http://pinterest.com/pin/564849978234850759/

Slightly cliched perhaps, but I can't believe I've never been to Paris and it's so close! I've been to Disneyland Paris twice but I guess that doesn't count because you can't see the Eiffel Tower from Davy Crockett's Ranch...

I'd love to wander around the streets of Paris, stopping for a chocolat chaud or a macaroon or just to hear a man playing an accordion... I'm all out of stereotypes.

Naturally I would spend the entire weekend riding a bicycle wearing a stripey jumper with a beret atop my head.





2. Prague

Pinned from http://pinterest.com/pin/432627107924648114/

How have I not been to Prague yet?? Surely I'm the only person left who hasn't been.

I know it's got a bit of a reputation now for lads and stags, but it's still a beautiful place and I'd love to visit on a cold winter and be all bundled up and popping in to warm bars (you're getting an idea of how I behave on weekend breaks...)

Plus, while the beer is super cheap I've GOT to get myself over there!








3. Iceland

Pinned from http://pinterest.com/pin/549861435724921060/

I know Iceland isn't a city by the way. I'm so fascinated by Iceland. I'm desperate to go and visit for a weekend. I'd take a dip in one of the lagoons, I'd go and visit the geysers, party all night, trek on a glacier...

Best of all... I WANT TO SEE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS! I remember reading about them in a book when I was little and being so in awe of them. I was also in awe of the book as it was personalised about me and had my name in it and everything, I was Santa's helper!

So yeah, Iceland is on the list.





4. Cities and towns in Ireland

Pinned from http://pinterest.com/pin/84161086756052982/

One thing I've wanted to do for a while is travel to Ireland, hire a car and road trip around a few places along the coast and inland.

Maybe I've watched too many chick flicks that involve road trips around Ireland, but I want to dance Irish jigs in bars and have the craic and listen to live music!

You won't catch me drinking Guinness though, I just cannot stomach it, it HATES me.

5. Dusseldorf

OK I'll admit that I'd never really considered Dusseldorf as a weekend destination before... but browsing online showed that weekend flights were going cheap, so we're giving it a try in October! Watch this space! I'm off to my favourite website www.airbnb.com and find a nice apartment!

You Can Grow Your Own Wayyyyyyy

I'm still growing things in the garden and I'm managing to not kill them!

My little garden patch is coming along nicely, pretty soon I'll have things to pick that I can eat... and that makes me VERY happy. Last year's garden attempt was a complete failure, but it seems to be a different story this year. Maybe I'm growing up?!

Growing strawberries! Get the cream!

Growing yellow African carnations (I think) Blatantly purchased because they were called African something...

Growing courgettes! Oh my!

Attempting to grow blackberries! Mmmm crumble...

Growing teacups!

 So there we are. I was thinking about why last year might have been such a garden disaster and here's my list of how to grow plants in a small garden without killing them:

1. Don't scrimp on the compost, yo. If like me, you have bad soil - mine is almost clay in places, I dug up a small paving slab the other day - then you NEED compost. Take advantage of multi-buy offers. Dig a hole twice the size of the plant (twice as deep, twice as wide) and fill with compost so it's level with the surrounding soil...

2. Wiggle the plant pot container in to the compost to make the shape of the plant. This saves throwing compost around the plant like a crazy woman and getting compost down your nails, ladies! HA! Like I care about that, I'm just lazy.

3. Before you wiggle the plant out of the pot and into its new home, dunk the plant base in water for ten seconds at the roots. This way I like to think that the plant is going into the soil satisfied and not feeling thirsty. It works for me.

4. Plant the plant in the ready made perfectly shaped hole in the compost and pat down then cover over with MORE COMPOST.

5. Throw slug pellets down to stop the little sluggy blighters munching on your new planty friends.

5. Water daily then after a week add some plant food to your watering can.

Ta daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Compost and teacups...

Look at my little garden! I've got flowers! I've got a palm tree! I'm growing blackberries, strawberries, courgettes and chillis! I've even got little teacups on sticks and a solar powered hedgehog!

I've got a new obsession. I'm in the garden as much as possible while the sun is out. My neighbours are getting worried because I was still out there at 9.15pm tonight.

Still, I guess there are worse hobbies, right?

How To Make Lemon Curd Biscuits

Ahhhh biscuits. Such a naughty treat.

I had some time on my hands on Sunday afternoon and I was home alone with ingredients. So I decided to make biscuits.

Lemon curd biscuits.

Do you know, I really struggle with lemon curd, I never know what to have it with, so I usually end up eating it from a teaspoon straight from the jar. How uncouth.

So, if you've never made biscuits before, here's an easy biscuit recipe to get you started.

You'll need:

An oven, preheated to around 190 degrees
150g plain flour
110g butter - unsalted or whatever you've got
55g caster sugar
A tiny bit of water
Lemon curd - don't be silly, shop bought is just fine

You'll do:

Mix the dry ingredients together - flour and sugar. Sieve the flout if you can be arsed, I didn't

Add in the butter - ah ah ah put the wooden spoon down, get your hands in that bowl and mix it all together

Sprinkle some flour over the worktop or chopping board

Roll out the dough to a thin consistency, around 5mm - 1cm is fine. I didn't have a rolling pin so I used a tin foil tube, What?!

Use a cutter, or an egg cup to cut into shapes

Press your thumb into the middle of the biscuit before going in the oven to create a dip

Bake in the oven for around 12 minutes. Turn tray halfway and remove as they start to go brown

Spoon a little lemon curd into the dip created by your thumb

Pop back in the oven for a few minutes

Leave to cool before sampling as the lemon curd will scald your tongue (ahem, not spoken from experience...)

Enjoy!

Now, I admit, I didn't take a photo but they are DELICIOUS! Ok ok if you insist, I'll make some more and take photos. Just for YOU of course!

Welcome to the biscuit club!

Something of a film review: The Great Gatsby

Last night I was completely swept away into a glamorous night of glitz, high fashion, pure wealth, fast cars and loud music.

Yep, that's right, I went to watch The Great Gatsby. At the cinema. In Bradford. In 3D.

My life is craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazy right now.

It struck me during the film *spoiler alert* that I haven't yet seen a film where Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't die. Seriously, Titanic, Romeo & Juliet, Django Unchained (which I saw on the flight home from Kenya while sitting next to an Amish lady - I felt like a bad person).

Do you think he is becoming typecast? Still, he does it for me and while I didn't cry like I did at Titanic, I REALLY enjoyed the film and just love anything Baz Lurhmann gets his hands on. Maybe he should have directed Titanic? The soundtrack on that would have been killer.

Anyway, I left the cinema feeling so underdressed compared to the dresses in that film. I want every single drop waist, feathered, beaded dress I can get my hands on. I also need a cigarette holder and a headpiece.

Everyone was fantastic in the film and the houses they used...*sigh* I want to go to New York more than ever right now, but I want to go fifty years ago - SOMEONE MAKE THAT HAPPEN.

Anyway, today I wore my sparkly headband in a nod to Gatsby-esque fashion... now for the drop waisted dress to arrive...

Hey there, Old Sport.

My mission to reclaim my weekdays continues. I just have to remember that it's ok to stay up a little past 11 and feel a little snoozy at my desk the next day in exchange for not becoming so acquainted with my sofa and GETTING OUTSIDE.

Things I Want

As I sit here patiently WAITING for my first monthly wage of 2013 (come on May 24th, I'm waiting for you!) I'm mentally compiling a list of things I want to buy... I do have a credit card but I'm being kind of good and refraining from spending what I don't have:

• Flights to Pisa - they're only £16 each way in June for a weekend break with Ryanair!
• A princess bed for the spare room - I want to invest in making our home EVEN nicer
• A cat. Pretty self-explanatory
• This lighthouse lamp. I don't even know where it would go, I WANT IT
• Same goes for this Eiffel Tower lamp... 
• 
  

Happy Second Wedding Anniversary - A Few Wedding Tips...

I haven't talked about weddings on here for a while... it's been all Kenya, Kenya and a bit more Kenya... and the fact that our two year wedding anniversary has arrived is NOT allowed to be overshadowed :)

I love being married. A LOT of people ask you after the big event 'How is married life?' and I'm here to tell you that once you emerge, dazed and a little honeymoon tanned from the wedding bubble... the truth is... it really isn't any different to life before marriage. Sorry. That's not a bad thing though!

There is more of a connection between you for a few weeks/months due to the experience you've just shared (standing up in front of your friends and family saying your vows such a wonderfully bizarre romantic experience) but soon enough Real Life kicks in and before you know it you're heading out to work of a morning, cooking dinner, watching TV and you get used to wearing your second ring and people (me) kinda stop talking about WEDDING THIS WEDDING THAT in every sentence.

I now have the pleasure of three of my friends (including one of those as my little sister, Beth) getting wed within the next year or so and it's so great to watch them go through the build up, the prep, the STRESS, the excitement and anticipation. I know each of their weddings will be fab and totally different from each other and I can't WAIT.

I wanted to share a few tips and reassurances in the build up to your wedding:

* At some point, you WILL dislike your wedding dress. It's true! You go through all the rigmarole of choosing the perfect dress, finding it, buying it (ouch) and then.... nothing. It takes a few months to have it made and delivered and by that time you've only got memories of what it looked like (and that was a sample you tried on). When YOUR dress comes and you try it on, don't be surprised if it doesn't live up to what you remembered. After all, you paid so much for it and it seemed like the perfect dress for you a few months ago but it's more real now you've paid for it and only have this one dress. Remember WHY you loved it and try it on with a gorgeous necklace and shoes to bring back the love :)

* Hen do - it's ok to have a small one. I'm not sure where this idea has come from that you need to have a hen do with at least 30 people on and it needs to be abroad and it needs to be expensive, that's not what most nights out with your friends are like are they and you still have fun don't you? Why can't a hen do just be a night out? It has all this pressure on it to be amazing and the more you plan, the less fun it will be!

* Your husband-to-be will not be bothered, it doesn't mean he doesn't want to marry you :) I remember asking Josh at one point in the run up to our wedding, what colour napkins he wanted on the tables... the look on his face was 'basically, I couldn't give a shit babe'. I MAY have over reacted at the time thinking he didn't care about the wedding. The truth is, men DO want to get married, but they're just not bothered about the detail and you can actually learn something from their attitude. Don't lose sight of the important thing; it's about you two marrying, not about matching tableware together...

* Your wedding photographer IS worth the expense. My photographer (http://www.sarahjanesphotography.co.uk/) was amazing and completely worth the fee we paid. She even helped me put on my wedding dress which I so appreciated. A good wedding photographer will be a huge help, have loads of experience and add to the excitement of the day without making you feel you're missing most of it by standing in front of a camera. Some of the best shots she took were us all getting on with the day and enjoying ourselves!

*Your husband to be will probably go to a strip club on his stag do. It's so cliche and predictable, but it will probably happen and you might never know about it.

* It's not all about wedding photo albums. We just couldn't afford an album having returned from honeymoon a little bit broke, financially. In hindsight maybe we should have put money aside before we got married to pay for the album, but I'm not sure how much I'd sit and look at the album anyway. I had our favourite picture made into a big canvas and it's hanging on the wall of our bedroom. I see it every morning and I LOVE it. Other images are dotted around our house in frames and we're constantly reminded of our wedding day, I think I prefer it that way.

Do you have any tips to share?