Face Off

Hello lovelies!

How's it going? You'll be relieved to hear I'm finally breaking the suspense of my last post and sharing some of the excellent faces I've seen (and pulled) in the last six weeks or so. 

The first (and by far the cutest!) is my friend's gorgeous baby enraptured by the excellent wisdom I penned in her belated actual day-of-birthday/Christmas card: 

Said advice went along the lines of "Read lots, kick arse and, above all, NEVER, EVER BE ANNE." - referring to Anne of Famous Five fame. As you may recall, Anne basically never went on adventures because she was too busy doing the washing up and recovering from the exhausting chore of making potted meat sandwiches for everyone else. COME ON, ANNE. Seriously.

This is the face of a girl who's just been given the best sweatshirt ever created by humanity. Double-sided astro-goodness, in a fabric so shiny it looks like she plays for some kind of Space Hockey team.

This one's not a human face (just in case you hadn't noticed!) but this bag's been making my face smile ever since she arrived on Thursday. She also makes me feel 27 going on 4. Who cares if the actual bag bit's so small it can only fit my keys in it?!

And y'all get a bonus face thanks to my DIY Panda Cushion

My face again, but almost recognisable thanks to my lovely trainee hairdresser house mate. I've been her model for blow-dry practice twice so far, and it's fun to see what I'd look like as a Real Girl who brushed her hair and stuff. But I've got to be honest- I really don't like my hair when it's this flat. It's impossible to hide snacks in.

Another non-human face, after treating myself to one of the fantastically talented Bex's custom wall art hoops over at The Pigeon's Nest (whose own face is prettier than a Disney Princess, btw). 

SERIOUSLY RUDDY BRILLIANT, eh?!

Last, but definitely not least- I want to introduce you to the best thing that's ever happened to me, or indeed to the universe. It's also my excuse for tenuously naming this post after a Nic Cage movie (for which I'm not even going to pretend I'm sorry). Are you ready? 




[I've left a gap here on purpose so you can prepare yourselves. Emma Kate - you might want to grab a paper bag in case you hyperventilate.]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isn't it AMAZING?! I can't decide which part I love the most - the fact that it's "signed" (this thing is about as official as me declaring myself the official face of Frosties due to my tiger facepaint), or the fact that they've Photoshopped his chest hair OVER HIS OWN BICEP. 

You may've noticed this is actually a pillowcase, but I've refused to use it as one because it'd mean that, like a small child's favourite toy, at some point it'd have to be washed - and I just couldn't bear to be be parted with it for the length of a washing machine cycle. So, instead, I've pinned it on my bedroom wall. Like the flag of an official fan club.

Have you seen any particularly brilliant faces recently? Or been given any official celebrity merchandise involving Photoshopped chest hair? Do share!

Katie xxx

October...

Well, they do say Autumn is a time of change. I suppose it's nostalgia for the school timetable that makes it still feel like a time of new beginnings, freshly-sharpened pencils, and making plans for the year ahead. This October was definitely no exception, and managed to surpass even my usual frequency of ricocheting between highs and lows like a hyperactive pinball. 

There were times where I felt parts of myself, my positivity, my sanity, being chipped away, like a miniature dinosaur excavation...

The sale of my flat, my new home, dragged on and on and ON, and just when I thought it was done, my solicitor unearthed something so insurmountable that nothing could fix it. I cried in the work toilets made my peace with it, ate commiseratory cake, and started plotting a Plan B.... 

Then, one week later, it was (magically) All Fixed And Fine Again. Cue street parade, celebratory cake, apologetic tweets to those who'd offered help with Plan B etc. etc. 

It was only after I'd started packing, with my moving date mere days away, that the "Everything Is Awesome" message was found to have been sent in error. Apparently, there'd been a mix-up with my file (with the Lego Movie script, I can only assume) and things were Very Much Not Fine after all. So, it was time for a New Plan B*...

My New Plan took the form of an eagle renting a rather sexy little room (in the Brighton Laines no less!!), complete with leopard print wallpaper, five lovely housemates, and only one bathroom.... 

The location couldn't be more perfect (it's so close to my favourite Mexican restaurant that I practically shouted in my order on moving day), and I've finally been reunited with my stuff that's spent 11 months in storage. It was like Christmas, with more fairy lights. And, if nothing else, living here is going to give me a bladder of STEEL. 

My new bed - complete with an actual mattress(!!)
and WiFi access. HURRAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

Thankfully, gratefully, October was far from solely doom and gloom. In spite, or perhaps because, of feeling so stressed and helpless about the whole flat thing, I managed to fill every spare second (and millimetre of stomach) with the best things life can offer, including:

1. Cheesy carbs

Do you think it's a sign that your pizza is excessively huge when it needs THREE plastic table things in the box? (The third one is blocked by J's hand - I promise I can count to three) Or is the sign when one slice takes up an entire plate?

Seriously- the box on top is a normal 12" pizza...

2. Halloween Parties, by the (severed) handful. 
This year's festivities included a night out on the town, dressed as what most people guessed to be a "microwave kitten"... I wasn't.

The lack of rabbit ears probably didn't help (the bunches were the best I could do last-minute; especially as I'd drunk too much rum to be wielding scissors) but I maintain that my DIY-d tunic dress was OBVIOUSLY a boiler. 

The second outfit, for the Halloween special Boardgames Meet-Up, was marginally more obvious. A DIY-d checkerboard t-shirt, laddered tights, and half a dozen rubber snakes entwined round my limbs, hair, and waist...

I was going to share a photo here, but my Halloween 1 Hangover left me looking so ghoulish I would probably give you nightmares.

3. Pub roasts
Including a "sharing" roast - something I've never experienced before. I really wasn't sure how I felt about the whole thing, until my fellow roast-lover pointed out that they'd given me a double portion of cauliflower cheese because I wasn't going to eat any of the meat. Maybe they're not so bad after all...



4. Biro tattoos
Because what else are you going to do after eating your own weight in cauliflower cheese?!

[Comments below saying "DUNCAN - YOU HAVE TO GET THAT MANATEE TATTOO FOR REAL" would be very much appreciated]

5. Noodle Soup
Milliseconds after shifting the final box on Monday, I was struck down with a cold so brutal that it's basically kept me bed-bound for this whole week. On the plus side, my new bed is so pretty I don't mind living in it 24/7, and it's been the perfect excuse to cook up vast amounts of seriously scrumptious noodle soup with gyoza from my local** Asian supermarket. I've managed to get my packet-to-bowl technique down to under 6 minutes. In your face, Jamie Oliver.

What have you been up to lately? 

Katie xxx

*I know this should probably be "Plan C", but Plan B just sounds better. Although, come to think of it, Plan C kinda sounds like fancy. I might be coming round to it after all.

** Oh, Brighton - how I've missed you!

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.

My week, continued

Hello lovelies!

How have you been?

Given how brilliantly this week began, writing an update on painting the trim in our kitchen seems rather dull. This weekend I've been working through the remainder of last weekend's To Do list, interspersed with re-watching Him and Her and researching potential holiday destinations. As we aren't able to go away until January, I've attempted to mollify my current wanderlust by snooping through strangers' houses browsing beautiful apartments on Airbnb. 

I've also been enjoying my own DIY-related silver lining; the excuse to choose new hardware and paint. The giddy excitement of décor-related decision-making peaked this weekend when we agreed to paint our hallway radiator in Farrow and Ball's Stone Blue. You may have heard the squeals of excitement and/or celebratory parade organised in our honour.  

Editor's note: Congratulations to anyone still reading this; I realise that the last paragraph was (rather aptly) about as scintillating as watching paint dry. Even if it is fancy Farrow and Ball paint. 

I repainted the airing cupboard door yesterday, and subsequently decided to treat us myself to a new door handle. Sadly, this one failed to make it through the strict approval process Tom has imposed for new house-related purchases:

[image source]

So, after Tom cemented my suspicions that he is clearly has no taste when it comes to door handles, I decided to hunt down a green one to match the landing's walls instead. This proved trickier than it sounds, given that there's no way on earth I'm ever going to Google "a green knob". I ended up choosing this one:

[image source]

My weekend hasn't only involved DIY - there have been some fun parts too! Last night we caught up with some friends over a cheeky pint, before stuffing ourselves to bursting point with a seriously scrumptious (free!) dinner at The Hearth in Lewes. We won a free meal for two in a quiz held there a few weeks ago, and were very excited to sample more of their dangerously delicious sourdough pizzas. We also shared a HUGE starter of freshly-baked breadsticks and dips, so ended up eating more carbs in one sitting than most Olympians do in a week. Shamefully, my greediness bested my inner blogger, and I didn't take a single photo. Instead, I made the most of an evening sans-camera, and spent it plotting our future together over a glass of wine. 

What have you been up to this week? 

Katie xxx

P.S. I'm linking up to newly-wed Hannah's TWTWC

P.P.S. While pondering dangerous Googling, I checked the recent search keywords which have led people to my blog:

I've got NO idea why "armless one-legged driver" linked to my blog, and I'm a little scared why someone was searching for it in the first place!

Six Things Sunday

Holla! 

How have you been? What's new? Tell me EVERYTHING.

Here are six things that have recently made my face upside-down-frown:

1. Surprise Mid-Week Chocolate Brownies
My new co-workers are THE BEST.

2. A nice photo of my face!
I usually approach photos of my face by peeking through my fingers, not unlike someone watching a horror movie starring a hideous swamp monster. My fingers were poised for action the moment that the Flapper Hen Do photos arrived, so I was rather pleasantly surprised to discover the photographer had somehow managed to photograph me NOT looking like a swamp monster. It's a September miracle! 

3. Getting my craft on
This weekend I've been playing with the goodies from my Hobbycraft Haul. I decided my first project would be re-covering a lampshade I'd previously made-over in 2012. I was far from happy with my original, half-arsed attempt, which is why it never featured on here. 

Here's the "before" - a very sloppily stitched patchwork cover.

And here's the after:

I'm much happier with the second attempt, and the pompoms (which are actually bright pink, and not red) look awesome when the light's on too. 

Which version do you prefer?

4. Reorganising
I spent this morning decluttering and rearranging the furniture in our dining room, which moonlights as my craft room. I'm going to share the whole room later this year as part of my house tour, but here's a cheeky sneak peek:

I'm utterly in love with my new yellow trunks, and how well they go with the candy cane striped box (which is from Ikea) and the floral suitcase I made earlier this summer.

5. Awesome art
Yesterday I drove Tom and some friends to Hopfest, a free, local beer festival hosted by Dark Star Brewing Co. I'd planned to straight head home and craft up a storm, but after discovering there was a stall selling brownies AND moustachioed men singing sea shanties I ended up staying all afternoon. Tom and our friends spent the day drinking pint after pint of FREE BEER (I kid you not, it was absolutely free!!!), while the highlight of my afternoon (aside from the epic brownies) was the lovely Dark Star staff giving me and my friends copies of a seriously awesome poster I'd spotted in the shop, in return for a small donation to their foundation. 

Totally worth it, eh?

6. Call-Centre Twenty Questions
This week I had a(nother) hair dye-related disaster, although this one definitely wasn't my fault! The dye, which promised to turn me blonde(r), was defective and ended up colouring my already-blonde hair a horrible shade of browny-grey I can only describe as Geriatric Squirrel. Not quite what I was looking for...

I was contacted by the brand after ranting about it on twitter, and the sweetest girl from their customer services team gave me some tips on how to fix it and sent me some vouchers in the post. I try to see the funny side in all hair-related disasters, especially as the alternative is crying while super-glueing a hat to my head, but this time really WAS funny, because the brand I used don't make the shampoo which fixes dye disasters. This means the staff working in customer services aren't allowed to tell you the name of the shampoo, so you have to GUESS until they confirm it. Which meant the conversation ended with me asking "Is it part of the song that ends "knees and toes, knees and toes"?", and both of us laughing for about five minutes.

What's been making you jump for joy recently?

Katie xxx

P.S. I'm linking up with the fabulous Hannah's The Week That Was Captured, which is being hosted by Aby this week because Hannah just got married! Eep!

Recent F Words

Hey m'dears

How are you?

In true Sesame Street style, today's episode my week has mostly revolved around the letter "F", including:

Flappers galore, on a 1920's-themed hen do:

We went for afternoon tea at Betty Blythe, a gorgeous vintage tearoom, accompanied by copious flutes of fizz and tasty treats garnished with flowers.

We demolished the cakes, scones, and sandwiches like a swarm of glamorous locusts.

I definitely wasn't mentally prepared for choosing between pistachio, orange and vanilla macarons.

Betty Blythe also sells beautifully packaged edible things ranging from wholesome granola to retro sweeties. I felt a bit sorry for the lonely heart. 

Post-tea party we were allowed to choose a photo of Ms Blythe as a memento of our day. The moment I saw the photo below I knew it had to be mine. The elegant stance, that glorious moustache, and Betty's expression are just perfection.

Floorboards
Our new floor has been laid (hurrah!) so we've spent the weekend reinstating our furniture very, VERY carefully. It looks so much prettier than the crusty old carpets inherited from the previous owners, and the house feels cosier too. 

New floor in our recently prettified kitchen

Frantic
Between getting myself up to speed in my new job, floorboard-laying turning our house upside down, and playing catch-up with my chores, the last two weeks have been rather intense. I'm very relieved that the house is now relatively back to normal, so I can focus on more important things like kicking arse at work and watching re-runs of 60 Minute Makeover. 

Fantastic literature

A rather tenuous F-word link, but I've been desperate to share this book with you all since the moment I started reading it. 

[image source]

I don't like to summarise the plot in my reviews because I think it ruins the surprise, but the title of "Mr Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore" really doesn't do justice to the wonder that lies within these pages. If you've ever wondered what it's like to work at Google and/or in a tiny bookshop with three-floor-high shelves filled with secrets*, then this is the book for you. I found it as magically captivating as The Night Circus, and both stories have made me wish it was possible to crawl inside the pages and take part in the adventure myself.

Followers

I'm overwhelmed with smiley-type feelings to have reached a whopping 99 followers on Bloglovin! Thank you so much to every one of you most excellent people - I'm sending each of you a virtual slice of cake as I type. Please place your orders below (I can even do gluten-free!). 

In case virtual cake isn't celebratory enough, when I hit 100 followers I will hold another giveaway :) 

Katie xxx

P.S. I'm linking up with TWTWC run by the beautiful Hannah who is also getting married this week! Eeek!  

*And, let's be honest, who hasn't?!

Kitchen Makeover

Hey m'dears! 

As promised on Sunday, today I'm sharing the before/after shots from my kitchen makeover. Kitchen makeovers are one of my favourite things in the whole wide world, so I'm particularly excited about finally having one of my own to share :) 

I never actually intended to paint our kitchen, because we're planning to build a country style kitchen-diner extension at some point in the distant future when we can afford it. Then we decided to get floorboards laid on our ground floor, which meant I either had to paint the hideous pine cupboards or be OK with the kitchen looking like a sauna. 

I can hear you thinking "Enough already with setting the context- show me some photographs!", so let's get this party started with some photos of the "before":

Delightful, wasn't it? I don't know which bit I loved most - the peaches-and-mustard wallpaper, dated floral motifs, or fake-tan-orange and brown colour scheme. I started off by painting the walls white, then did the same with the tiles. I also changed the ugly blind for something a little less traditional, and gave our whiteboard a mini-makeover. That just left the cupboards, carcasses, skirting boards, door frames, trim and handles... Simple, eh? 

So that's what I did last week:

The new handles were a mini DIY project on their own, after I realised the handles I wanted would cost £250(!) due to having 22 doors/ drawers in our kitchen. I bought some plain wooden discs and a piece of dowel from ebay, Tom cut and screwed them together to make the handles, and I painted them all in different colours. 

I love that the handles have become the main feature of the kitchen due to everything else being white like a regular, grown-up kitchen. Well, almost everything... Remember this wallpaper?

I've lined the backs of all the top cupboards with it, and the inside panels of every door. Teehee. 

I also decided to treat us to a new kitchen bin, replacing the rather revolting swing-top office bin we've been using since moving in four years ago. I found this beauty at Dunelm Mill:

I reckon one final reminder of the before/after comparison is in order to finish this off:

What do you think?

Katie xxx

P.S. If you want a peep at some other rooms in our house you can find them in my House Tour posts.