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.

Three Things Thursday

Hello lovelies!

Happy Friday Eve!

In traditional Thursday style (on those Thursdays when I have anything interesting to tell you, anyway) here's a list of three things currently floating my pedalo:

1. Endorphins
Don't panic, people; this blog isn't about to become a health and fitness focused stream of kale-based smoothies and fitbit reviews (those Thinspiration Pinterest quotes can continue to bite me). I have, however, exercised twice this week in a bid to escape my cartoon storm cloud. I think my thighs have gone into shock.

On Saturday I went for a full-pelt run, spurred on by a combination of power ballads and the fact that my leggings kept falling down- I basically had to keep running to spare poor unwitting pedestrians a flash of unnecessary flesh. Today I was overcome with an urge to go swimming. God knows why, as it's basically bathing with a bunch of strangers, but I persevered (despite feeling cold and wanting to get out after 5 minutes) and swam until I turned pruney. A fact I'm using to justify a dinner involving cheese, triple carbs, mayonnaise, and another one of these cheesecakes... Oops.

At least I got to wear my tropical bikini,
which almost made swimming enjoyable.

2. Libraries
Can we all please take a moment to appreciate how lucky we are that libraries (still) exist? I know I already said this in January, but access to unlimited free books is a truly magical thing, and something that I hope we can all continue to cherish for a long time to come. God knows, if I'd had to actually buy every book that I've ever read I'd've been forced to sell all of my organs on the black market by the time I was seven.

3. Aubergines A-go-go
I've actually saved the best 'til last today (or I certainly think so). I've always loved aubergines, but re-he-hearly can't be bothered with the whole slice-salt-bake palava to prep them. Then I made an AMAZING discovery, which has genuinely improved the rest of my life. And yours, unless you're one of those weirdos who doesn't like aubergine (/eggplant, to you non-Brits). Are you ready? Here we go:

AUBERGINES CAN BE COOKED IN THE MICROWAVE LIKE JACKET POTATOES!!!

I told you it was life-changing. 

I baked the one above (model's own- just seen) in only seven minutes by stabbing it all over then microwaving it on the "jacket potato" setting. Then I filled it with leftover pasta sauce, some of these arancini, a handful of rocket and a dollop of coleslaw. Aside from the last one (a wild card addition, because it needed using up) it basically tasted like a slaved-over veggie moussaka. In seven minutes. 

What have you discovered recently that's as good as Seven Minute Moussaka*?

Katie xxx

*Trick question; nothing is. 

Three Things Thursday

Hey m'dears :) 

How are you? Fabulous as always, I hope! 

Here's a trio of little things which have put an extra spring in my step this week. Obviously, thanks to my new job, I would've been as springy as a spaniel regardless; but these have been the rainbow sprinkles to my ice-cream sundae week.

1. Good hair days
I had my hair cut two weeks ago for the first time since *cough* January *cough* 2012. I was shocked when the hairdresser commended me on how healthy it was, since I neglect it so badly it should probably be taken in by some kind of shelter, but it still feels much better after a bit of a trim. Who knew that cutting your hair makes it better?! 

2. A whole bunch of loveliness
Tom bought me these flowers on the day of my interview as a present for doing so much preparation. I think he might be a keeper. 

3. Reading in the garden
Accompanied by all of the essentials; blankets, cushions, sunglasses, and a faux Magnum*. 

I sort-of made the floral eiderdown thing. It's a single duvet cover I bought for a snip in the H&M sale because I thought it was pretty, and subsequently realised I had a length of wadding lying around that would fit in it perfectly; so I sewed them together. Thinking about it, "sort-of made" might be over-selling the amount of work involved. 

What's been floating your boat recently? 

Katie xxx

* Faux Magnum not pictured. I might have eaten it already. 

Floral Suitcase DIY

Hey m'dears 

Today I'm sharing a wee craft project I tackled at the weekend, after being inspired by the packaging from one of our deliveries:

Anyone shabby chic lover worth their chalk paint has probably lusted after a Sass and Belle floral suitcase, and I decided to use the leftover decoupage paper I was given last Christmas for a patchwork reindeer project to try and make my own version. I didn't have enough to cover the whole box in one colour, so I combined this blue one with this white one, and wrapped the handle in polkadot tape. Here's the work in progress:

I long ago accepted the fact that it's impossible for human beings to decoupage stuff without getting wrinkles in it, so here's the finished product, wrinkles and all:

It's not as pretty as Sass and Belle's, but I don't think it's too bad for a free version. 

What do you reckon? 

Katie xxx

Geometric Vase DIY

Hello lovelies!

How's tricks? 

On Saturday I got busy in the garden with a can of shiny copper spray paint and anything I could find in the house that wasn't nailed down (or already painted...). I've shown you this "vase" (aka light fitting) before but here's a reminder of what it looked like before I got my mitts on it:

I love the multi-faceted gem-like design of flush glass light fittings, but don't really like them as lights. I'd always intended to paint this one because I wanted to emphasise the gorgeous geometric shape of the pyramid spikes. So here's the after, complete with gerberas (what else?!):

I treated myself to two bunches of flowers (both yellow-stickered, obviously) because I wanted to combine the yellow from the firey-coloured bunch with the bright pink from the Barbie-tastic bunch in my geometric vase. The remaining flowers are now sitting pretty in a big glass jar on our living room hearth. 

Fresh flowers really do make me happy :) I'm really pleased with the results of this makeover; I reckon the finished vase looks much more expensive than the cost of a can of spray paint. 

What's been floating your boat so far this week? 

Katie xxx

Bags of Creativity

"Pretty" and "cheap" are two of my favourite characteristics (the other one's "tasty"), so any craft project that combines the two (or three!) is always a winner.

One of my favourite birthday presents this year was a beautiful pair of polkadot skinny cords from Joules from my Mother-in-law. The trousers are seriously stunning (the button even has a fox on it!), and the bag they arrived in was so beautiful it was like an extra present! I couldn't bring myself to recycle it (yes, Joules' postage bags are recyclable- green thumbs up!), so I added it to my Pretty Packaging Pile* until I thought of something crafty to do with it.

When my Mum gave me a huge embroidery hoop she'd found in a charity shop a few weeks ago, I had a sudden lightbulb moment. To be honest, I don't know why it took me so long to think what to do with the bag; Tom would testify that I frame everything round here that's flat enough to fit in a frame...

After finishing the embroidery hoop version, I had a rummage through my stash of empty picture frames and made a second, smaller one:

Now I just have to find an empty piece of wall to hang them on... I think that's going to be the hardest part of this project!

Katie xxx

* I genuinely have one of these. Don't you?

Groombridge Place

Hey m'dears 

This post has been a long time coming, given that it's about some of the adventures from my birthday weekend, for which the celebrations have well and truly finished. Now I'm just old. Tom and I spent the Friday at Groombridge Place, after Tom cooked up a breakfast storm to keep us going for most of the day. 

The house is stunning, although I was sad to discover visitors aren't allowed any closer than the outside of the moat. Still, I guess that's the whole point of having a moat! The house is surrounded by beautiful themed gardens, including a Drunken Garden, Oriental Garden, and Secret Garden. 

Gorgeous blossom in the Oriental Garden

I'm not quite sure how secret a Secret Garden is when it's signposted...

The formal gardens also host a tiny museum about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was a frequent visitor to the house, a giant chess set, free-range peacocks, and some of the most unusual plants I've ever seen. 

It even has tulips which look like Bart Simpson!

And that's just the tip of the magical iceberg.... The house and formal gardens are nestled inside a vast, wooded estate (aka the Enchanted Forest) which is crammed with incredible, fantastical things to discover. I don't want to ruin all the surprises, but the thoughtful additions include eerily realistic human skeletons, gypsy caravans, giant swings, and a Pterodactyl. 

Innocently enjoying the regular-sized swings. Little did I know they'd
soon be ruined for me FOREVER. 

Giant swing!! EEEEPPPPP! (Apparently, giant swings make
me do Chipmunk Face too.)

I told you it was giant(!)

We also witnessed a raptor show, which I got slightly too excited about because I tend to think "OHMYGOD Jurassic Park!!" whenever I hear the word raptor. As I know now, raptor also means a bird of prey. The display was pretty cool, despite the lack of dinosaurs, and the birds got incredibly close; I was one of the majority who were clipped by a wing when we didn't duck low enough. Although I suspect the owl hit me on purpose after overhearing me muttering about the disappointing lack of Jeff Goldblum... 

Jack

Inky

I honestly can't recommend Groombridge Place enough, and can't wait to take our gorgeous niece there the minute she's old enough to tackle a full-sized replica Robinson Crusoe TV show treehouse. 

Amazeballs.

Have you found any brilliant places for adventures recently? 

Katie xxx

Goody Bags and Gerberas

I think it's fairly safe to assume that any weekend which starts with winning a musical chairs/dance-off hybrid is going to end up being pretty amazeballs.

I spent Friday night at my friend's birthday party (at a bar in Brighton), and laughed so many belly laughs I was rather disappointed not to wake up with a six pack on Saturday*. The laughter was due to a so-good-I-wish-I-could-bottle-it combination of excellent people (including Captain Morgan, who actually is bottled...), a glow-stick related "challenge"** which I found almost impossible (I blame the Captain), and winning a game of musical chairs which turned into a dance off! It was a close-run thing though; I got so into throwing shapes to Sussudio I nearly forgot to dive for the chair!

If all of that wasn't enough to make it the party of the year, my friend also gave out goody bags! They included colouring pencils, sweeties, the aforementioned glow-sticks, party popper, paracetamol and those little fluffy Easter chicks. Incredible.

They were dinosaur goody bags too!! Eep!

Yesterday I drove to a girlfriend's house and back on my own - thankfully without incident (I hate driving). The driving stress was more than made up for by several hours of putting the world to rights over cups of tea, hearing about my friend's amazing adventures in Australia, swapping very belated Christmas presents (and early birthday presents for me) and getting to see my friend in her wedding dress (I'm going to be one of her bridesmaids in November).

Part of my present haul - so cute!

My present haul was completely overwhelming and left me feeling utterly spoilt. I got this mug and the matching plate, an adorable tea strainer, a "K" Scrabble coaster, a delicious looking tape-measure, and some pretty tissues. I'm hoping I can use the tissues without accidentally committing treason. Surely it's illegal to blow one's nose on the guards at Buckingham Palace?! I also received the hedgehog socks above, and this amazing deer head all the way from Aus (which circumvents Tom's Stag Ban because it has a loophole for presents!)

I also received a seriously stupendous bunch of flowers, which I managed to split up into five(!) arrangements and placed all around the house. I don't actually own any proper vases, so I used...

A spray-painted milk bottle; my go-to vessel for gerberas, which are my favourite flower

The metal jug I got for Christmas

A jar which used to hold dried sage - the label left stripes of glue around it but I like the pattern

An old light fitting from our bathroom before we did it up

And a recently emptied jar from the larder, complete with blackboard foil label

I ended up bailing on my original plans for today (to hang out with some lovely blogger types) due to getting soaked three minutes after leaving the house thanks to an unexpected downpour, which made me realise how much I needed a duvet day. I feel really sad I didn't see the girls, but glad that I took time to recuperate after the rest of my busy weekend.

What did you get up to this weekend? 

Katie xxx

* Who am I kidding? I always hope to wake up with a six pack - but belly laughs are basically crunches, right? So it was almost a possibility!

** The "challenge" was to fasten a glow-stick around your own wrist, using one hand. Everyone else completed it in under three minutes. It took me AN HOUR AND A HALF. Thankfully, I redeemed myself shortly afterwards with my musical chairs prowess.

Awkward & Awesome

I'm shamelessly stealing Emma's excellent post idea today because my week so far has contained moments of both Awkward and Awesome; which I naturally wanted to share with all of you! 

So here's the Awkward:

1. Crazy stress levels, which have been making me feel like this:

2. Accidentally spilling half a cup of water on my right boob whilst rushing around at work. 

Not really sure why I added the "accidentally" there... Who would do that on purpose?! 

Anyway, I then had to spend five minutes in the ladies' as an amateur contortionist, trying to bend low enough to fit the top of my dress under the hand-dryer:

I'm just glad no-one else came in to use the loos. 

3. Finding out there's a Giant Spider in our kitchen, hiding behind the dishwasher. I haven't seen it, but I heard Tom yell something along the lines of "Holy Crap!"- which is basically our code for Elephant Sized Spider On The Loose. 

I really don't like spiders. Especially Giant ones. But you know what my biggest fear is? WHAT IF IT CUTS ME OFF FROM THE FRIDGE?!

And to balance it out, the Awesome:

1. Monday was our 5 Year Anniversary. FIVE YEARS. That's, like, a really long time. This year's celebrations were pretty low-key (which was nothing to do with both of us forgetting, *ahem*... at least we're equally hopeless!), but Tom bought me a killer toffee cake and the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen :) 

2. Finding my new favourite wintery drink. I may not have actually tried it yet, but I KNOW it's going to blow Hot Elderflower Punch out of the water. On Monday I found cherry juice(!) in the fresh juice isle at Tesco, and my bakery sense* is telling me that cherry juice + Amaretto is going to be like a cup of (alcoholic) Bakewell tart. I'll let you know how it goes.

3. Watching Orange is the new Black. We recently started a Netflix subscription, and I am VERY excited about all the rubbishy rom coms in my future. However, after receiving a very enthusiastic recommendation for Orange is the New Black, I've mainly been watching that. It's edgy, funny, dramatic, and has a lot less shiv-ing than I expected for a series set in prison. Four stars.

4. Chocolate. It's stopped me from stabbing anyone with a Biro.

What's been going on in your life recently?

Katie xxx

* Like a Spidey Sense, only it tingles about pastry.