So, another big gap between posts - sorry about that.
Last time I was here I was on my way to Thailand, and boy did we have a great time! The Other Half and I, my Dad and his Partner spent 2 weeks in the sun, eating Massaman Curries, having massages, drinking cheap beers, going on boat trips and reading.
Oh yeah, the Other Half also proposed!
I honestly couldn't believe it. We've been together for just over 6 years and I'd almost given up. He's romantic but very very subtle. I've hinted and hinted. But the Boy did good. He chose my ring, made sure it was the right size, hid it for half the holiday and...went down on one knee. He's a keeper!
And now we're home and on a mission to (not plan a wedding as everyone wants us to!) sort the house out. We need wardrobes, a sofa bed for guests, a bathroom cabinet, wall hangings and...we need to sort out the rising damp. Boo. We've had a couple of people in and it's going to cost us upwards of £2,000...for something that needs doing, but that we can't actually see. Oh the joys of being a homeowner.
Anyway, this is a bit of a rambling post. To be honest, after getting home from our holiday and getting back into the swing of things, I intentionally didn't blog or use Instagram for a while. I was worried that I was developing a serious case of Instagram Jealousy. Admiring everyone's perfectly decorated houses and staring longingly at illustrations or crafts they'd created, wishing I had the time to invest in these things. It was getting me down.
So, on holiday, aside from texting my mum and brother about the engagement, I switched my phone off. It was bliss. I wasn't constantly checking for emails or updates, and cursing that I had no time to do the things I wanted to do.
And it's been great, for a while.
It's given me the time to realise that my life is pretty great and I don't need a blog or Instagram. However, last night I was curious, and had a sneaky peek at my last post. And it was good. I enjoyed reading it. And I enjoyed writing it last month.
So, I'm never going to be a big successful blogger, but this is a good way for me to ramble on about things, express my opinions and have a good old rant.
And as for Instagram, I've resistsed the urge to post anything since returning to the country, but I do love to look at all the pretty photographs. I'm not 100% convinced it's a good idea for me to keep looking through the photos, but I do love the ideas I get from certain posts with regards to baking, crafts and illustration. Maybe I just need to sieve through the people I follow, and use Instagram as a very useful and inspirational tool, not an app that turns me into a big green eyed monster.
Anyway, rant/ramble over - enjoy the rest of your week everyone! xx
Photos:
The Thailand ones are my own
Comparison is the thief of joy
Comic strip
Niki Pilkington
Apologies everyone, I've been rather quiet on the blogging front lately.
Between going to north Wales to celebrate Christmas with my family at the beginning of the month, travelling to west Wales to celebrate the Other Half's mum's 70th, being ill with a terrible cold and throat infection and preparing everything for the festivities, it's been pretty hectic.
One more day (well, 7 hours 24 minutes) left in work and then relaaaax. I am so ready this year.
I think I'm ready for Christmas as well. Considering the manic last few weeks I've done pretty well. All the gifts are bought, wrapped and sent. All the cards are written and sent. Turkey is bought. Really, everything else is optional.
I didn't have much time for crafts this year, which is a real shame. But I did love my brown and red theme wrapping, my shop-bought paper snowflake decorations and the black and turquoise glitter nails for my work do - they count as something homemade right?
Anyway, just a few more things to do this week - making salmon mousse tonight, cheesecake tomorrow night and then I'm off work on Wednesday (woo!) so I can make some yummy cheese straws (that probably won't even make it to Christmas day) and chop all the veggies. Oh, and defrost the turkey. Now that would be a disaster.
I hope all you lovely people have lovely plans for the holidays and that you get to where you need to get to without any horror train delay / traffic jam stories.
Have a great time and see you in the New Year. xx
In keeping with my own Happiness Project, I'm trying to make more time for the things that are important to me - the Other Half, family, friends, and my hobbies - crafts and baking in particular.
I've tried to do this for years, but work or other commitments always seem to get in the way - it's so difficult to get the right balance.
However, last Tuesday, the Other Half came home from work and told me that they were having a competition at work to raise money for charity. All the teams had to choose a film and dress up - the team that made the best effort, would win a free meal. And where exactly do I come into this? Well, the Other Half thought that Ghostbusters would be fun and easy - you know, cheap white boiler suits, a few Ghostbusters stickers and you're done. Nope.
He asked me to make a ghost catcher. Yep, the black box the Ghostbusting team use to catch the green ghost - which I found out this week is called Slimer.
At first I was annoyed that he thought this would be really easy to make and wouldn't take up much time. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it. And as it needed to be done by Friday just gone, I had a deadline I had to keep to. This meant that I happily spent most evenings last week rummaging through drawers and cupboards, spraypainting, gluing and getting frustrated - in a good way.
I'm not saying this is perfect, and if you look online there are some awesome creations out there, but I was pretty damn proud of myself, considering I only had a few nights and limited supplies. What do you think?
And fair play to the Other Half, if he hadn't asked me to do this, I would've spent every evening after work slumped in front of the TV instead of 'making' something - I had so much fun! So now, as our housewarming is next week, I'm determined to have a go at making a few decorations, in the hope that I'll get into more of a routine and do some more crafting. It's a start right?
