Happiness is...

... Rounding up your friends in the park 
For a spontaneous picnic and game of rounders. One round robin text of "Grab a blanket, a bag of crisps, and a bottle of suncream*", and there we were running around the park like dogs let off their leashes. It was all fun and literal games until I full-on collided with one of them (we both dodged the same way while running at full speed. It was NOT pretty). Then it got serious for a minute because they thought I was dead. Then it went back to fun again. 

Oh, and my friend taught me how to hulahoop, at the grand old age of 28. Woop!

.... Stew in a storm
When the weather subsequently decided not to play ball, we chose not to either. Instead, we de-camped to a local pub to devour big bowls of steaming Polish stew and dumplings, curled up on Chesterfield sofas (us, not the dumplings. That would be weird). Thunderstorms don't get better than that.

... Ridiculous makeovers
I inherited a plastic bin from the previous inhabitant of my room, which was rather handy as I didn't own one at the time (ice-cream maker: yes. Bin: no. Priorities, people). After realising it was pretty much the only non-DIY-d thing on display, I decided that need to be rectified STAT...

The "before" bin. Snore.

One trip to Homesense later, and my bin was looking 18 kinds of fabulous. Ta da!

It's so ridiculous, throwing rubbish away has become instantly hilarious.

... It's pronounced "freet-za"
AKA, FREE PIZZA. Yes, that's right. FREE. PIZZA. A friend of mine somehow managed to get his jammy hands (not literally- I don't think he even likes jam that much) on 8 tickets to the opening party for Franco Manca's new Brighton restaurant. When he asked me if I wanted to go to a sourdough pizza restaurant for dinner where everything would be LITERALLY FREE, I nearly offered him my first born child. Ok, ok, I also offered to carry his. FREE. PIZZA. 

... NEON DINOSAUR THEMED CRAZY GOLF
And I thought my life had peaked at freeza.... There are no words. Thank you, thank you, Globalls (snigger) for bringing your magical presence into my life.

... Double mate dates at an ice-cream parlour
Like teenagers from the 1950's. Giggling and straw-sharing mandatory. 

So tell me - what have I missed? 

Katie xxx

*Oh, and a P.S. assuring them my phone hadn't been stolen, seeing as I was apparently texting them about sport... EURGH.

For my homies

I've been feeling extra warm and fuzzy of late, like my insides are wearing a fleecy onesie; a sensation caused by being infinitely grateful for my very own set of special snowflakes who...

1. Cook me dinner
If it wasn't for them, I'd probably forget what a kitchen even looks like. Their grub is better than any restaurant's; not just because it tastes of love (the most important ingredient of all, obvs) but due to the fantastic company I get to share it with. Putting the world to rights over homemade pesto is my idea of bliss. We don't do a bad brunch either: 

2. Make sure I don't miss YMCA
By smuggling me into the men's toilets because the women's queue is crazy long and we need to get back to the dancefloor STAT.

3. Provide the perfect hangover cure
Combining country walks (massive sunglasses a must)...

... Easter egg rolling and graveyard exploring...

...and a bunny biscuit from the local farmhouse, to be eaten while sitting on the Long Man of Wilmington's face....

Which still makes you snort-laugh, despite being the age of almost eight and twenty. 

4. Got me one step closer to completing my Bucket List
Which has only contained one item since I was 13: Go on The Crystal Maze. I have yet to buy tickets for the London one, but Handmade Mysteries' Exit Game was a fantastic replacement! I can think of much worse ways to spend a Wednesday night than with 5 of my favourite people, using torches, blacklights and our smarts to solving a series of clues to get a bottle of magic wine out of a wardrobe... 

5. Share those life-changing moments
Like the time you find The One(!!) in the chiller cabinet at the Co-op (who knew?!) and end up laughing so hysterically your face turns inside out and you literally cannot stop crying. 

6. Nurture my (not so) inner nerd
By inviting me to three-day-long role-playing festivals, breaking out card games in the pub, and hosting house parties with entertainment provided by their very own apps(!). Humdingers has improved my Friday nights for ever more. I truly adore my gang of charades-playing, dice-rolling, logic-puzzling people; even if they mercilessly force me to act out phrases like "Julia Roberts eating a hot dog". 

Katie xxx

Three Things Thursday

Hello lovelies!

How's your week going? 

Mine's been many types of delicious; two of which I'm sharing with you today. Along with one other thing, because my Alliterative OCD demands it*. Here we go.

1. What you call cheese that isn't yours
NACHO CHEESE!

That, my friends is a Giant Thai Nacho platter. Looking at all that melty goodness genuinely makes my heart hurt (with love and nostalgia. Not because my arteries are screaming). 

2. That's a wrap
What do you do when you've run out of wrapping paper and there's a present-related emergency? Praise Kirsty Allsopp that you didn't throw away the fabric scraps left over from your dressing gown project, that's what. 

I've just realised the present now reads "large bony frill" right across the top. Haha. Luckily, I know the recipient will appreciate it.

3. *hums the wedding march*
I would've come up with a pun, but I'm too busy doodling Mrs Deadpool on all my notebook. The o's in Deadpool are heart-shaped... I went to see it on Monday night, and I honest to blog cannot remember the time I laughed that much in the cinema. Pre-Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds hadn't even featured on my radar of People What I Think Look Well Lush. But now I'm genuinely considering changing my dating profiles to read "Only Deadpool need apply". Especially now Joe's gone and broken my heart by getting all married and stuff... 

Let's all just take a moment to appreciate this: 

Although, to be honest, I am also a bit in love with in-the-movie Mrs Deadpool too:

It's almost too much pretty to take in.

What've you been up to this week? 

Katie xxx

* Yes, I know Two also starts with T; but who wants to read a list with other two things in it?!

Three Things Tuesday

S'up homies!

I was about to say "Happy Tuesday" but we all know Tuesdays are THE WORST so I'm going to go with "Hang on in there guys- it's almost ruddy Wednesday!". Thankfully, all is not lost, because the world is full of beautiful things and today I'm sharing three of them with you. Ready? 

1. Escargo-go-GO
The lovely Bex over at the Pigeon's Nest (she of the incredible unicorn hoop) is only having a bloody GIVEAWAY to win one of her super adorbs crochet snails. You can find Bex here on Facebook to do the competition-y rules. Please note, there is a catch - you have to decide on a favourite colour. She's an evil vixen that girl. 

I'm off to stare at a rainbow and start making a shortlist. I've only got til Saturday after all!

2. Bramances for ever
Who needs a date* when your BFF brings you surprise Valentine's gifts!? Especially ones involving faux-snakeskin boxes. 

3. Myth Bust-ing
*boob-related warning klaxon*
Don't panic, guys- there's no nudity here. But I AM going to (briefly) talk about my lady-lumps**. 

Is it just me, or are bras really secret evil boob cages and the most uncomfortable things on the entire planet?! I've actually considered installing a bra hook next to my coat hook, so I can banish them the minute I get home. Well, my friends, let me tell you - this bra has totally changed my life. It's as if your boobs are being hugged (in a totally friends-only way, obvs) by the softest material known to man. I don't know what that material is, but then I'm not a man (hence why I need to own lady-lump holders). Seriously, ladies - treat yo' self (and your boobs) to one of these. 

Finally, in other news, I've decided I probably shouldn't be allowed near the internet this early in the morning. Apparently my discussing-boobs-online filter has yet to activate. Sorry.

Katie xxx

* OK, I also had a date. Which involved alcoholic milkshakes and the phrase "I breakfast on the screams of tiny plastic men". BEST. VALENTINE'S. EVER. 

**That is the worst thing anyone has ever called boobs. I do apologise. It will never happen again.

Meetups and marvellous museums

Hello lovelies!

How are you?

Today I'm writing to you from a cosy corner of one of my favourite public houses (thanks for the speedy WiFi, guys!), accompanied by a large lime and soda and an unwavering smile. The smile is thanks to my new favourite website which, strangely, has absolutely nothing to do with cake or curious homewares. I know.

I've described it to my friends as a cross between Facebook and a dating site, but without the dating part. Which they were rather relieved about, after being exposed to some of my more colourful dating stories (The Guy Who Bit My Face remains top of the Worst Date leader board. He's had some very stiff competition).

Anyway, face-biting aside (now there's a sentence I never thought I'd have to write!) I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy from a weekend spent making friends with several groups of total strangers, and it's all thanks to Meetup. Meetup suggests local groups you can join (all free) based on your hobbies and interests. Naturally, my profile lists "Extreme Sports", "Healthy Living", and "Political Debates", because that's the kind of person I am. Ahem. 

Two weeks ago, I dipped my toe into the socialising-with-strangers thing by going for breakfast with a few people who had declared themselves to be fans of tea. I figured anyone who loves breakfast has to be a pretty good egg, and meeting before midday reduced the chance of any murder-by-internet-weirdo scenarios. I mean, whoever heard of someone getting stabbed over a stack of pancakes*?!

After the success of the breakfast meet-up, I decided to (literally) up my game and spend the entirety of last weekend meeting new people. On Saturday, I went on a tour of several Brighton museums, followed by a spontaneous pub crawl, and I spent Sunday afternoon learning some new games (and pretending to be a giant. The mermaid option was already taken) thanks to some fellow exercise-shirking boardgame enthusiasts.  

Saturday's museum tour began at the Old Police Cells Museum, where we learned about gruesome murderesses and were allowed to try on police helmets. Our tour group reached unanimous agreement to refrain from becoming 19th Century policemen, despite the fact you could keep snacks under your hat.

I raised some questions about whether they'd considered using metal-based security systems for their cells...

And we discovered some nice fonts, a half-fancy doll's house, and PC Otter. Obviously. 

Our next stop was Preston Manor, where we discovered that there's no such thing as too many Chinese Buddist Lions...

... that the people at Doulton's really upped their game after their original footwarmer...

... and that Edwardian fire extinguishers were a damn sight fancier than ours...

... even if they did only cater to people whose hands decided to self-combust. 

Our third stop was Brighton Museum, which I wasn't that fussed about as I'd been several times before. Wasn't that fussed about, I should say, until I discovered they had AN ACTUAL REAL LIFE BATSUIT ON DISPLAY!!!!

Holy fan-girling, Batman!

Brighton Museum's also currently playing host to the Natural History Museum's Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014 exhibition, which I was sad to have missed during a recent trip to London. I'm so, so pleased I finally got to see them, as it was, without doubt, the most astounding group of photographs I've ever seen. They practically rendered me speechless. ME. I wasn't allowed to take photos, but you can view (and buy) some of the prints on the NHM's website.

In lieu of a cheeky screenshot of my favourite photo from the exhibition, here's a picture of a super fancy dress:

I honestly cannot recommend Meetup enough; it's already given my social life a complete overhaul, and my diary is practically overflowing with fun days out. And, if you can't find a group covering your favourite hobby, you can even start your own. Anyone fancy joining my Brownie Eating and Nicolas Cage Movie Watching Club?

Katie xxx

* Except, of course, if someone should try to steal someone else's pancakes. In that case, I say stab away.

P.S. This isn't a sponsored post or anything like that- I just bloody love that website.

Three Things Thursday

Howdy, Guvnors*! 

How's tricks?

Today's contributions to the ever-growing list of weirdness (aka this blog) are all, happily, free. I'd like to think it's a sign of me becoming less materialistic, but yesterday's response to finding the two Gilmore Girls box-sets missing from my collection would insist otherwise. I might have yelled "YAAAY!" and punched the air a bit. Sorry again for making you jump, Game Shop Geeks...

1. Chalk it up

I know lots of people find sitting on a beach incredibly relaxing, but my fidgety fingers just never stop itching for something to do. On my last visit, Mother Nature was kind enough to provide gratis entertainment in the form of a smattering of chalk chunks mixed in amongst the stones. 

I was secretly hoping that someone might find them before the tide washed my scribbles away...

2. Suspended Sofas

I've decided that all Wednesday afternoons should be spent with friends eating Mexican food, baking cakes, and watching trashy Netflix movies (Burlesque, anyone?). Unfortunately, I don't think my annual leave quota would cover it- but it did make yesterday feel all the more special. It also had just a hint of the surreal, thanks to the décor in my friend's local Paperchase (a shop I find rather enchanting anyway...). 

Apparently, the floor was rotting away in the first floor of the building; so they came up with a rather ingenious way of decorating the empty space. 

I filmed a speedy video too, to show you all how it's suspended within the space. Pretty cool, huh?

3. Fat Flap

My favourite part of yesterday's adventures surpassed even the magical floating furniture, after my friend's pug (who apparently loves food even more than I do) realised he could no longer fit through the cat-flap...

That face!!

I'll admit, I used his pu(d)giness as an excuse not to give him any of my banana loaf. Cruel wench, I am.

What have you been up to this week? 

Katie xxx

* I thought I'd try a new greeting, but I think I pulled it off about as well as a rapping grandmother. And not a cool, Betty White-style grandma either. "Hello lovelies!" service will resume as normal from my next post.

Recently I've been...

... Dating
Skye, after she made me her +1 at Present in the Laine's first birthday party. OK, OK, so technically it wasn't an actual date (I could never get a babe like Skye) but I was still very tempted to wear my tuxedo jumpsuit. 

Bubbles and beauty products. Best first birthday ever!

... Running. Voluntarily.
Yes, you read that right. Sorry- I should've made sure you were sitting down first. Admittedly, I've only been three times, but I'm rather freaked out to admit that I'm weirdly enjoying it. 

My "What's happening to me?!" Face of Fear.

My 80's power ballad playlist is probably helping with the enjoyment factor. I'm also hoping that, seeing as power ballads are played over all "learns to do a sport well" montages in every movie ever made, listening to them while running will make me Run Good More Faster too. 

...Eating
ALL THE THINGS. Hence the running. Recent discoveries have included:

A seriously wholesome box of vegetarian Lebanese food from Brighton's Street Food Market, which tasted all the better for being eaten outdoors, perched on a tombstone in my favourite graveyard. What do you mean, you don't have a favourite graveyard?!

Weird tinned fake meat from the Asian supermarket. I've yet to try the fake pork (or "fork") as I call it, but managed to transform the fricken into a reasonable veggie homage to shredded duck pancakes. 

It's something of an understatement to say I was rather excited about finding these chocolate button dispensers in hisbe; a new, independent supermarket in Brighton which only sells local produce. The premise is customers serve themselves by pulling the handle to fill up a paper bag. Essentially, they're arm-bandit arcade machines for sweet-toothed grown-ups; and YOU ALWAYS WIN. 

... Coveting
All the pretty things at the aforementioned PITL birthday party. 

Yes, that's a miniature lucky cat made of gold-coloured chocolate. Of course. 

... Feeling 

So proud of Emma Kate for launching her very own business selling vintage-style kitchen splashbacks; she's one seriously talented lady, and bloody lovely to boot. 

... Drinking
The most viscos milkshake I've ever attempted to suck through a straw, in the toddler-sized form of the Oreo Milkshake at Burgers and Cocktails. Yes, that's my third visit to B&C in under a month. No, I'm not sorry. 

The gorgeous Lauren snapping a shot of her salted caramel milkshake.
Blogger dinner dates rule.

... Plotting
A brand new project. It's a sort-of secret right now, but I'll be revealing all as soon as I can. Sorry- I'm being that annoying "I've got a secret I can't tell you" blogger, aren't I? *proffers packet of biscuits apologetically*

... Finding
The love of my life, thanks to Present in the Laine stocking products from the Brighton Beard Company. Fingers crossed this guy's on tinder!

... Smelling 
Like a Terry's Chocolate Orange, thanks to the Mocha Orange Figs & Rouge hand cream in my PITL birthday party goodie bag. Which was, rather serendipitously, also my favourite product in the shop! :)

... Completing
What will probably be my greatest achievement of 2015. 

My parents are so proud. I've told them to stick the empty jar on the front of the fridge.

What have you been up to recently? 

Katie xxx

P.S. I'm linking up to the fabulous Hannah's #TWTWC

Three Things Thursday

Hey you guys!! Guess what?! I've found out how I want to die!! 

I mean, obviously, I would rather live forever and grow older and wrinklier every day until I eventually look like this (the dog, not the baby - that would be weird). But if I absolutely HAVE to die, I want this to be the thing that kills me:

[image source]

It's SO DAMN GOOD that I'm pretty sure I'd trade my own grandmother for a lifetime supply if I had the option. Luckily for my Nan, the grannies-for-ice-cream black market is pretty poor round here.

You'd think that discovering something so delicious it should probably be illegal would be enough awesome for one week, but over the few days I've also been the lucky/gleeful recipient of multiple surprise presents. Eep! 

Tom bought me the beautiful notebook (currently 25% off in the Debenhams sale), and the Easter egg was in a whole bag(!) of hostess gifts from friends who came over for dinner last weekend. It's a kitsch-lovers dream (check out the reverse side below), and filled with chocolate eggs too. Double win. 

The hostess presents also included The World's Tiniest Cookie Cutter. You probably missed it in the first photo; I'll just wait here while you go back and have another look... 

I'm very excited about baking hundreds of tiny biscuits, and cutting miniature Christmas trees out of toast. 

Finally, my bestie made the most of Tom being bed-bound and therefore unable to police the Stag Ban (the fourth House Rule I accidentally missed from the original list) to smuggle in the plate and matching bowl that she'd snatched up on a trip to Ikea. 

The third thing floating my boat this week is stumbling across a brilliant collection of Schmidt quotes made into motivational posters. These ones are my favourites (but it was REALLY hard to choose):

All images from here.

How are your weeks going? And have you ever eaten anything better than Peanut Butter Cup ice-cream*?

Katie xxx

* Trick question; the answer is no.