Hundreds and Thousands

Hello lovelies!

How are you?! Eaten any good cakes recently? 

My last few weeks have been sprinkled with more happy things than I can recall (possibly because some of them happened after multiple cocktails...) but I'm going to try my best to do them justice. Here we go...

New friends
Mostly thanks to Meet Up, my phone contacts have tripled in the last few months. And it's definitely not a quantity over quality thing - I've just been lucky enough to meet a smorgasboard of absolutely fantastic people. I've gained brunch buddies, adopted new siblings, and even had a bramance*.

Pre-charity shopping waffles. Can Saturdays get any better?!

I also had the time of my life at my best friend's wedding on the Isle of Wight. It involved five kinds of cake, a jukebox of Michael Jackson's finest, and ending the night dancing to 90's grunge whilst wearing a tie like Rambo. Kind of wish she could get married again.

And don't even get me started on my amazing Book Club mates. I co-founded it with two friends in April, and five of us bright young things now meet once a month to spend four minutes discussing a book we've half-read, then spend the rest of the night demolishing cocktails, carbs, and ice-cream sundaes. I can't imagine many people end up hungover from partying too hard at book club...

You guys really are the best.

Cocktail Crawls
I've decided that cocktail bar crawls are way more sophisticated than pub crawls, and a much classier reason to be tipsy (and then some. ahem) at 6pm on a Friday... I've (literally) stumbled on several new-to-me establishments of late; one of which has a candy floss machine BEHIND THE BAR. I've also refined my choice of wine - I'm pretty sure only the fanciest vintages come in their own gold cage.

Getting my geek on
I can't deny it any more; I'm a fully fledged boardgames geek. Been there, done that, wishing I had the t-shirt (I'm seriously considering starting a geeky t-shirts wishlist...). I've become a regular fixture at my local Boardgames Club and despite dying of thirst, being eaten by sharks, and being called a werewolf (and that was just on Wednesday!) I'm having a fabulous time.

The Perfect Email
What's that, Natural History Museum? Would I be interested in perusing your new "Kitsch Dinosaur" collection? Hmmm... let me just think abo... OF COURSE I BLOODY WOULD. 

I wish they'd make a suit in this print. I'd TOTALLY wear it to work. 

Embracing the spontaneous
Thanks to a bunch of lads from Wokingham, I no longer have to wonder "What would I do if a stag do of complete strangers invited me out dancing?". The answer to that mystery is apparently "Getting home at midday with arms covered in VIP club stamps, Jaegermeister in my hair, and the nickname Shark Eyes"... 


Lazy Sundays
I'm currently cat-sitting and flat-sitting for some lovely folks who are off on their honeymoon, and we've decided to spend the day on the sofa catching up on bad TV. 

Photo taken immediately after asking Cat if she wanted to watch MIC.
Didn't know kittens could facepalm...

Katie xxx

*Like a bromance, but for girls. I've copywrited that.

Three Things Thursday

Today I'm feeling especially grateful for...

1. The lovely bods at the AA
Who had to come to my rescue TWICE over the weekend. Steve bravely suffered through a cup of totally awful tea on Saturday morning, and taught me that my car speaks in Morse Code. Who knew?! 

"Dave" (he didn't actually introduce himself, but he totally looked like a Dave) came to my aid at God Awful O'Clock on Monday night, after my car made a weird ker-chunk noise and the battery light came on. Followed by a whole bunch of other lights, which made my dashboard look like an angry Christmas tree. Despite the angry engine noises, I felt almost overwhelming lucky by the fact my car decided to break down just as I happened to be within coasting distance of my Grandparents' house - the only familiar faces on my 30+ mile drive! Dave went above and beyond trying to fix my car (which decided to play dumb the moment he got there) by offering to follow me home in case it happened again- despite it being completely out of his way. Thanks, Dave!

2. The girl at the Real Eating Co.
Who saw the look in my eyes when I jokingly asked for "the biggest slice of coconut cake you can get away with", and brought me THIS:

Yes, that's a dinner plate. And a regular sized fork. It was genuinely bigger than the four-cup teapot. I LOVE YOU, REAL EATING CO. GIRL.

3. Arundel
As a West Sussex girl born and bred, I've been to Arundel more times than I can count* but it never fails to delight me with it's fantastic architecture and independent eateries; it's just bloody lovely. 

See! Told you.

I still managed to discover all manner of new eccentricities on my latest visit, including a real life Bernard Black (who owns the Old Maps gallery on the High Street and really doesn't like questions), three floors of seriously beautiful books, and the club I want to join more than any other:

Are you doing it, Michelle? ARE YOU?!

Last but by no means least, check out this incredible pair of knockers: 

I'm assuming the doors are going through puberty. Happens to the best of us...

What have you been feeling thankful for recently? 

Katie xxx

* Seven times. I can only count to five.

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.

A rather magical weekend

Hey m'dears!

How have you been?

I felt so relaxed after my week off I was practically floating on a cartoon cloud. I did everything I'd hoped to do and so much more. I also ate an excessive number of carbohydrates, which I'm pretty sure is what people are referring to when they use the phrase "living the dream".

Me, enthusiastically slicing carbs. Hurrah!

My outing to London Zoo on Friday far exceeded my expectations (admittedly, I was mainly expecting to fall asleep in front of the monkeys). I don't know if it was the company (charming), the caffeine (delicious), or the animals (awesome) but I was still partying 23 hours after my 2am wake-up call. And by "partying" I mean "drinking pre-made mojitos in the park", because I'm all class.

Thankfully, being up that early gave me plenty of time to research hipster coffee haunts, and The Coffee Jar more than delivered in the form of totally kick-arse white chocolate and hazelnut cookies:

I spotted all kinds of weird and wonderful critters on our way round, topped off by being INCREDIBLY brave during the Spider Walk (i.e. being put in a room with a whole bunch of BLOODY MASSIVE SPIDERS who were completely free to move around and/or jump in your face, and managing not to cry). I definitely earned the ice-cream I scoffed afterwards, and I'm pretty sure shaking from fear burns calories too.

HUUUUUGE moth. These things were so vast we all thought they were fake. Nope.

The Lesser Striped Upside-Down Bird*

Couldn't spot this guy, so I assumed that he was hiding from fish school name-taunting bullies

Although, my favourite sight of the entire day had to be this:

As for last weekend, it was literally magical, because I got to attend a Harry Potter themed Hen Do. Most of the magic was organised (fantastically!) by the Hen's sister; including HP themed goody bags, surprise boxes of (gluten free) baked goods, and amazing activities- a delicious dinner, pottery painting, and drinking so many cocktails that some girls' stomachs decided to expelliarmus their contents. Does that make throwing up sound more or less gross!?

My contribution to the weekend's agenda was a Potter-themed Scavenger Hunt, taking the Hens on a tour of Worthing and creating a legitimate excuse for some Hen Do-themed hashtags. Double win.  

Each team had an illustrated list of things to find and photograph:

The pottery painting may well have been my favourite part of the weekend, and I think it's fair to say the owner of Art-Ful is my (much cooler) kindred spirit:

Batman, Lichtenstein, incredible fonts...

... AND FAKE DEER HEADS.

This was my super-sophisticated contribution; I can't wait to get this bad boy home and full of amaretto sours.

Finally, despite seeing ocarpis, glow-in-the-dark beetles, and a man who looked like Dumbledore over the weekend, the weirdest thing I spotted has to be just how freakily disproportionate my thumb is to, well, everything else in the world. How could I never have noticed that before?!?



Seriously- have you ever seen a bigger thumb (excluding foam ones at baseball games)?!

Katie xxx

* OK, OK I made that name up. I never said I was David Attenborough**.

** I wish I was David Attenborough.

Six Things Saturday

Hello lovelies!

How've you been? 

Please excuse the under-eye bags, which I'm pretty sure are visible from space; I've had a rather full-on few weeks. Working 10+ hour days (including weekends) and waking up with the lark for no good reason has really taken its toll. In fact, I think I've actually been waking up earlier than the lark; giving him the chance to appreciate my own version of the dawn chorus: off-key, shower-based pop music mash-ups. Needless to say, I'm BEYOND excited to have a whole nine days off work stretching ahead of me like a sun-drenched summer meadow. With a several picnic blankets covered in cream tea scattered in strategic places, of course...

It's the first proper break I've had since starting my new job last September(!), so today I'm sharing six of the things I'm looking forward to doing during my time off.

1. Reading
Despite being busier than Queen Bey of late, I've still managed to find some time for reading good books. Uprooted, a recommendation from a girlfriend, is a fantastic tale of an enchanted forest (the trees eat children...), weirdly sexy wizards, and a fair bit of magic. 

I devoured it like a child-eating tree, but still not as quickly as I wolfed down The Book of a Thousand Days; a spontaneous library selection which lasted me all of 8 hours over a single afternoon. I read it in rotation between the local park, the comfy sofa in Cafe Nero (complete with a giant hot chocolate, naturally) and the sunny pub garden of my favourite (soon to be no longer) local. 

I have to admit, as I'm tending to read in public at the moment, I've been more discerning (read: snobby) about my literary choices. I'm currently reading "The Edible Woman" by Margaret Atwood (the first of her novels that I've read), and I'm planning to work my way through some of her others this week too. That said, I was sorely tempted to take out this one from the library...

I was thinking I could pair it with more chick-lit entitled something along the lines of "Cindy Lu Gets Married", the approach lone gentlemen brandishing them both and crying... What do you think? 

2. Relaxing
After finding an amazing last minute deal last week, my holiday has kicked off in the most blissful way I could imagine; I jumped straight in the car after work yesterday, picked up a girlfriend, and headed to a spa. We've swum, sauna-d, slept tangled in whiter-than-white bedding, and consumed far too much food for dinner AND breakfast - all for the bargain price of £55. We also decided to get Stress Busting Massages this afternoon; it looks like I'm going to have to pour myself into the car to get home....

How many calories does 20 minutes of sauna-ing burn off? At least this many, right? 

3. Snuggling
I don't have to dress super smart in my job (or at least, no-one's ever said anything about my Lego jewellery...) but I'm still going to make the most of being able to throw on huge, cosy jumpers and get down to the serious business of drinking tea and watching the world go by. 

Apparently, these are called "selfies", and they are all the rage with today's yoof.

4. Adventuring
I'm off on all kinds of adventures next week, including a trip to the seaside, charity shopping, brunching, a visit to the Big Smoke (and my first time at London Zoo!) and a Hen Do. Ooh - and I'm getting a (long overdue) hair cut, where I'm hoping the trainee hairdresser will be able to give me the hair AND face of Hilary Duff for the princely sum of £15.

Hell, I might see if they can give me a matching body for an extra fiver...

Haircuts can work miracles, right?

5. Recharging
Being forced to grab food on the go has resulted in some less-than-healthy meal decisions of late. I'm feeling the need for some proper home cooking, and making sure I get my 5 a day (along with plenty of rest). Although, in my defence, there's no way I could've left this little guy behind. I mean, he was marked down to 15p literally broken hearted:

Turns out broken hearts are surprisingly delicious. And taste like strawberries. 

6. Planning
Things seem to be (thankfully!) progressing well with my whole finally-having-somewhere-to-live thing, but aren't quite there yet. I'm planning to spend any free time I have left camped out in my solicitor's office, alternating between adding pretty pictures to my New House Pinterest Board and asking "Are we nearly there yet?" more often than children on their way to Disneyland. 

What have you been up to recently?

Love Katie xxx

Fish Facts and Italian Figs

Hello lovelies! 

Oops. It's been a while again, hasn't it? If it helps, I've learned a helluva lot in these past few weeks, and I'm going to share some of it with you now; so settle yo' pretty self down to learn some wisdoms... 

Discovery number 1 was that, apparently, my non-competitive approach to most boardgames (I'm one of those annoying people who genuinely thinks it's the "just taking part" that counts) does NOT apply to Jungle Speed. Essentially, Jungle Speed is a more hardcore, multi-player version of Snap. There might have been an accidental hand-gouging incident and/or a moment when I nearly wrestled a fellow Jungle Speed-er onto the pub floor whilst grappling over the Jungle Speed stick (which looks rather disconcertingly like something you'd find in Anne Summers). It was possibly not my classiest hour, but I like to think the fact that the game is French (the root of all class) gave me a marginal touch of sophistication. Ahem.

[image source]

Secondly, I discovered that (apparently!) some fish like PARSNIPS; something I heard on a recent behind-the-scenes tour of Brighton Sealife Centre, along with a myriad of other aquatic facts. Other gems included the fact that octopuseseses can squeeze their entire body through a hole the size of their beak. Yes - beak. Admittedly, I already knew the beak part, but the idea of a motorbike-sized octopod wriggling through a hole the diameter of a Smarties tube seems rather creepily surreal. 

Say whaaaat?!

I have no idea why I chose those two metaphors, by the way; clearly I have subliminal, repressed urges to join a biker gang with it's own tuck shop. Ok, they're not that repressed. 

Thirdly, thanks to this summer's genius Lego/Sealife Centre collaboration, I can confirm I (somewhat shamefully) adore Girl Lego. I want to stress very strongly here that I am NOT OK with "made for girls" Lego; the idea of girls only being able to Lego Up when it comes in a Barbie-approved colour pallet is equal parts offensive, outdated and ridiculous. But I have to admit, the pink and purple bricks did make constructing a Lego jellyfish much easier; an opinion endorsed by my male Lego playmates. Ha.

I didn't photograph my jellyfish, so here's another fun fact

Number four is a different kind of discovery, and I would be very grateful if you could please all cross, double-cross and triple-cross your fingers (like Heston's triple-cooked chips, but less crispy) for me, because I think I've finally found somewhere to live that is not my parents' futon. I am incredibly grateful to them for the on-going use of said futon, but that hasn't stopped me planning my return to mattress-based solo living (which sounds much filthier than I intended). I intend to stay in bed for AT LEAST two weeks solid. You might need to post me snacks. 

The hot chocolate I bought to celebrate finding a flat.

And the ADORABLE cream tea I had for breakfast the next day. WHAT? I was still celebrating!!

Finally, given the current state of my futon-dwelling back, my general love for all things nice-smelling, and the fact that The Body Shop's coconut perfume is my "Signature Scent", I was excited x 3,000 when I received an invite to The Body Shop's summer range launch at Brighton Marina(!) Although, come to think of it, aside from anosmics, I guess everyone loves nice-smelling things?! Please do let me know if you're the kind of person who would reject a Hot Cross Bun scented candle in favour of Eau Du Unwashed Rugby Socks. 

Baskets of chips = the perfect seaside snack

Apologies; I digress. Post RSVP'ing (accompanying by girlish shrieking), I took Skye on a mini road trip along the seafront (complete with Taylor Swift car-eoke, of course!) to meet the team and hear all about turning my bathroom into a SPATHROOM. GENIUS. The Body Shop girls gave us a whistle-stop tour of the scrummy new products and some of the classics (the Body Shop's equivalent of a little black dress and a Breton top) in their newly branded Beauty Gems range (basically the in-store equivalent of a hot tip from your best friend).

I swear to God, this moisturiser is the best thing I have ever smelled. I wanted to spread it on toast.

We were then treated to a skin consultation session, during which Skye was told that her self-selected skincare products are perfect for her skin, and I apologised profusely for my skincare "routine" of scrubbing my face in the shower and the fact that my chin was covered in flaky pastry after I'd inelegantly devouring this whilst the consultant was talking to Skye: 

After physically forcing myself to put the Kukui moisturiser down, I spritzed on a squirt of their new Indian Jasmine perfume, which was delicious. I then subsequently discovered that I preferred the even more delicious Italian Summer Fig one, and found myself suffering from Spritzer's Remorse (aka a Serious First World Problem). Thankfully, the Body Shop saved the day like a perfectly-exfoliated, animal-cruelty free superhero by putting bottles of the Fig perfume in the goody bags! 

In summary- puns, chips, bubbles and smelly things?! What is NOT to love? OOH - and tiny pots of Eton Mess (I can't believe I almost forgot those!) 

Have you discovered any fun fish facts recently? 

Wishing you all a magical weekend full of adventures; like a grown-up version of an Enid Blyton novel- sponsored by red wine and brunch.

Katie xxx

All That Glitters

Hello lovelies!

How are your weekends going?

So far, mine's been sparklier than a disco ball and twice as fabulous- and it's not even over yet! It kicked off in serious style after Bethanie invited me to her website launch party in Topshop Brighton. Bethanie and the Topshop Girls were all so sweet and welcoming, and any 4pm evening that starts with a cheeky glass of fizz is always going to be a winner, right?!

Prosecco, strawberries and cupcakes. AKA the perfect Friday afternoon

Whilst I was there, I was also treated to my first EVER manicure(!), courtesy of Powder Beauty Boutique, which means I've been finally been allowed entry to The Normal Girls' Club. Hurrah! 

I decided to use the (delicious!) teeny cupcakes as my nail colour scheme inspiration (to camouflage any rogue smears of icing left over from my enthusiastic sampling), and ended up with fingernails fit for Aspen Barbie (thanks to the snowglobesque speckled effect in the white varnish). 

At that, the glitter (nail) bar for my weekend had been set, but I actually managed to surpass it last night with this rather fetching artistic endeavour: 

I'm struggling to recall anything from recent exploits more enjoyable than painting someone's face with glitter while a bunch of drunken strangers bellowed out tunes from the Grease soundtrack. Which is just as well really, as I'm probably going to spend the next six years picking specks of glitter from my eyebrows...

What have you been up to this weekend?

Katie xxx