Party preparations

I’m loving my resolution of making more time for crafts – everyday at work I’m counting down the hours until I can go home and carry on with one of my projects. For some reason, having a specific timeframe makes me do more during the week. I used to think I should relax in front of the TV after work and leave crafting until the weekend – but why?

For the housewarming on Saturday I’ve decided to make a few different things:

• Colourful bunting;
• Paper pom poms in various sizes;
• Balloon string ornaments (maybe – we’ll see if I have enough time);
• Decorated jam jars for drinks;
• Small banners to show people what’s in each drink or plate of food.

None of these are very ambitious, but I’m having a great time.

Last night I made paper bunting – really easy but really satisfying. I had a big pack of pastel coloured paper (I chose pink, green, yellow and blue), an ancient hole puncher that I never use, scissors, colourful thread, good old pritt stick and some random flower cut outs – I have no idea where they came from.

I basically folded the paper into a square and then folded the square in half so I had two triangles. Then, I made two holes in each triangle, making sure that they weren’t too close to the edge of the paper. I cut out some letters from contrasting coloured paper (I chose to spell CROESO – the Welsh word for WELCOME) before gluing them onto the triangles, along with the random flowers. I placed the thread through the holes and voila – I had colourful paper bunting.

I’m sure there are some stunning pieces out there that are wonderfully decorated, but I kind of like my simple but cute version. Also, this is way quicker – and cheaper!

However, this has given me some confidence to know that I can make pretty things, and I hope to make some more.

I’ve also already made a couple of the paper pom poms which I’d like to show you (two are already on Instagram) and I’ll make a few more things this week and keep you updated with my party planning.

I hope I enjoy the party as much as the planning…

Making time for crafts

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?

The Happiness Project

Recently, I haven't been feeling at my best. Everything's been annoying me more than it should. I've been feeling very tired. And even though I wouldn't say I'm 'sad' as such, I definitely haven't been 'happy'.

I can hear you all saying now - you've just bought a house! I know, I know.

I think it's a combination of the stresses and strains of the last few months, having 3 weeks off work to unpack and not really having much time for me, and then thinking I have nothing much to look forward to now.

I'm sure you've all had this feeling at some point. I'm certainly not depressed, just feeling a bit blue, and miss my days of waking up and feeling happy.

All this changed last week. I was on my way to meet the Other Half to go see a film, but was a little early, so I popped into the local library for half an hour. A good book always cheers me up. But, as I was on my way to the fiction section, I saw the self-help books from the corner of my eye. I've read a few pages of a couple of books in the past, but I've never really been convinced that they actually work. However, after browsing the shelves for a couple of minutes, I came across Gretchen Rubin's book - The Happiness Project.

After 10 minutes of reading, I was hooked. It. Was. Brilliant.

It wasn't one of those condescending "wake up with a smile on your face and you'll feel better" sort of books, it was Gretchen's funny story of how she became a happier person just by changing a few simple things in her life. She doesn't make out that it's easy, just doable.

She discusses energy, relationships, work, spare time - everything I felt that needed sorting out in my own life. And I already feel better for reading the first couple of chapters - thanks Gretchen!

A few of the best tips I've come across (you might already be doing these things):

• Let it go. If the Other Half (or anyone) is annoying me, take a second to think - is it really that important he puts the bins out right now?
• See friends more often. I know this sounds so obvious, but I always seem to put things like this off and love my own company. However, after pushing myself a bit, I've been enjoying these new girly lunches and nights out.
• What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while. Make time for a kiss every morning, enjoy the ordinary every day, if you love reading, read every day - that sort of thing.
• Don't snap or nag - as much. I realised that I was doing this all the time and it didn't accomplish anything. And, most importantly, after snapping at my Other Half - usually for no real reason - I felt awful (and guilty) for the rest of the day. If I just let the little things go and don't nag - I'm much happier that day.
• If I want it done, I should do it - most of the time. If I want the carpets to look good, but the Other Half isn't bothered - I shouldn't nag the Other Half to do it, I should just do it myself. Within reason of course, he still does his fare share. ;-)

There are loads of tips like this in the book, but I won't bore you with all of them - but I'd definitely recommend you have a read - I'm almost done now and already looking forward to her next book!


Photos from:
SandyGrason
Natnanton
EmilyLey

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday everyone!

This weekend I'm going home to North Wales for a couple of days. My parents have been over to see me and the Other Half a few times this year, but I haven't seen my grandparents since May so I'm in need of an afternoon of tea, cake and repeat.

My train goes this afternoon, and even though I'm normally dreading the 4 hour journey, today, I'm actually quite looking forward to it. Some time to myself to read, do some crafts (possibly cross stitch) and not unpack any more boxes. Bliss.

So, have a wonderful weekend people!


Photo of Abererch beach from cloudinary

It's me again!

Well, it’s been a while since my last post – sorry. BT and Sky finally got together and installed the internet in our new home – so I can finally spend my evenings looking at wardrobes, washing machines and curtains – all sorts of exciting things!

We’ve been in our new home now for just over a month and even though it’s been stressful (John Lewis made a right mess of our fridge freezer order which took a month to arrive…count to ten…) and tiring (days and days of cleaning the new house and scrubbing the old rental so we could get our full deposit back) – we’re in. And that’s really all that matters at the moment.

It’s just so nice having our own place where we can do what we want, unlike living in a rental. The kitchen lino was horribly stained, so up it came – to reveal beautiful black tiles. The curtain rails had been put up wrong, so the Other Half’s dad took them down and sorted them out. It’s just so nice being responsible for it all. Until the boiler breaks or the windows need replacing…

Anyway, if you’re interested, here are a few pics of the house from day 1 – it’s still a work in progress, but you get the idea.

We' had a lot of stuff...

Such a classy way to celebrate our new home!

Some serious unpacking to be done...

...and some more!

Our dining room screaming out for a table...

...and our living room starting to take shape.

Our 'cosy' kitchen...

...and our 'low maintenance' garden.

The huge bathroom...

...and the spare room that's finally been cleared - sort of.

And last but not least, my favourite room at the moment - our bedroom - with my gorgeous new curtains from Dunelm.

Wish me luck with the rest of the painting, unpacking and stressing!

Instagram

So, as it seems that our internet provider won't budge with the internet installation date (Me? Annoyed? Nooo...!) I've decided that this little thing called Instagram might be worth looking into.

I've known about Instagram but never really used it. So, in order to try and expand my limited technical knowledge, I though I'd give it a go.

It seems pretty simple, but bear with me if I end up making a few mistakes along the way.

You can keep an eye on my rainonmyeyelashes Instagram on the side here >>

Wish me luck!

No internet

We've moved in. Yay!

 

We have no internet. Boo!

 

 

 

 

Apologies for the lack of posts recently - we moved house over the weekend and it was eventful to say the least. The new house was left in a filthy state, the removal van didn't turn up and the internet that was meant to be connected this week, won't be ready to go until the end of the month. So, all in all, a very fun weekend! ;-)

 

Ah well, people always say that moving house is one of the most stressful things you'll ever do. I just didn't expect it to be quite this hard.

 

I shouldn't complain really. This week is a little difficult - stressing out in the mornings trying to find decent clothes for work amidst the piles of bags and boxes, and living on omelettes and pasta as we have no fridge freezer. However, next week I'm off. I'm off for 3 whole weeks and I. Cannot. Wait.

 

So, more news and more posts in the coming weeks, I hope.

 

 



Image from ShutUpImTalking