Week Two

This last week has been *crazy* busy!  I thought that when I got back I'd be eased gently back into the swing of work-life but noooooo; it's been so full on I've barely had time to sleep, let alone blog!  I hope you guys are all doing good and are having a great week so far!  I just thought I'd show you a little bit of what I got up to the second week of my holiday in New Jersey (^_^)

(Warning : Gratuitous food shots ahead)

This masterpiece of baking is 'ube cake', made with purple yams.  I just call it purple cake since it's the most intense, deep purple colour!  It's completely delicious and so moist and moreish, I wish we could get purple yams in England so I could bake one of these bad boys!

On the Tuesday, S, his brother, his Mum and I all headed off to Sands casino in Bethlehem(!), Pennsylvania.  We had a really great time, playing all the bright, shiny slot machines and tucking into some great food.  We gambled with the free plays you get from signing up for a slot card and we actually won a bit of money!

I had always hoped that casinos still cashed out with lots of coins that jingled when you struck lucky but you get a little printout now *chuckles* That little win paid for our lunch, which was my very first taste of cheesesteak, and it was pretty darn good!

We celebrated our own little Christmas on the Wednesday, since we knew we wouldn't be able to spend actual Christmas day with each other this year (though fingers crossed for next - we've been making some exciting plans that I can't wait to tell you about, soon!) and while I was snoozing away in bed, S went out and prepared the cutest Christmas breakfast ever -

- yes, that is hot chocolate with marshmallows, Pop Tarts and tiny little doughnut balls *squee!* - and he bought me the most incredible gift, something I've been really desperately wanting for a looooong time - 

- Ahhhhh!  It's only *the* coolest graphics tablet EVER!  I was so completely thrilled with it, the tablet is freakin' huge and I got some pretty awesome software with it too!  I haven't had much time to play with it lately but I'm hoping to get some creating done with it this week!  Thank you again, S (^_^) You're the best ♥ The rest of the day we snuggled up watching Christmas movies and playing with the two cutest doggies ever.

Let me introduce you to Fox (left) the American Eskimo and Ivy (right) the Pug!  Ivy doesn't always live with S and his family *they were pup-sitting her* but we had a ball with them both over my holiday, they're such an adorable pair!

The rest of my hols were spent out in New York buying 'I ♥ NY' T-shirts for my family (purely so I can snap a shot of us all wearing them together!) and taking it easy with S.  I had a totally awesome time and can't wait to go back; we're planning a short break in February next year, depending on how our plans go!

I hope I haven't bored you with all the food pictures!  Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a really great week!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

Week One

Hey hey awesome people!

I have spent the last week in a sleep/food/walking/talking/general epicness haze and it's been brilliant!  My boy has been completely amazing, taking me to all these cute little eateries and diners, letting me go to bed early and sleep in late (and take naps in the afternoon, woohoo!) and we've been kicking back, relaxing and spending some well-needed time together!  It's been *so* great!

I've realised, in picking out pictures I've taken so far on this trip, that I am completely and utterly in love with food (and you, S, don't worry!) I'm one of those people that goes 'WAIT! Don't start eating! Let me take a picture!'  I find that I associate a lot of memories, particularly of America, with the places we've gone to eat; it helps remind me of the things we did the day, where we went, the things we talked about.  So here are some of my many food pictures so far!

Here I am looking *really* unenthusiastic about my awesome sundae which we ordered in Serendipity (have you seen that movie?  Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack, really cute!) It was absolutely huge, full of fresh bananas and the most incredible peanut butter pie!

We wanted pancakes for breakfast, so we went to a sweet little diner called 'Brownstone Diner' and picked up some super scrummy pancakes!  I had mine with bacon, egg and cheese in it (devilishly delicious, I've never eaten anything like that for breakfast before!) The pancakes were light and fluffy and the eggs were cooked to perfection!

Fast forward to a different breakfast!  This time we went for bagels (S had a croissant) at a little cafe called Cosi.  Mine was packed full of eggs, bacon and cheese (are you sensing a theme here?  I think I've found my favourite breakfast combination ever!) on a perfectly toasted bagel!  Oh man, it was super tasty!

Here is a sneaky picture I took of S with his breakfast croissant, which was apparently delicious!  This guy has to put ketchup on *everything*.  Literally.  I've double triple warned him - NO ketchup on the roast dinner I am cooking tomorrow.  On pain of death!

In other, less food-related news, we went to Dave and Buster's (it's like a grown-up arcarde - *so* awesome!) and won like a million tickets!  Okay, it was actually about 3,000 but woo!  We've walked a lot around New York, Jersey City and Hoboken, watched a movie at the cinema, taken the two cute little doggies out for walks (will post pictures of them next time - prepare for the adorableness!) and just been having a great time!  I really needed this break so badly and it's been great for me and S to spend some good, quality time together!

The rest of next week (since I fly home on Friday night, boo!) we're going to watch the Giants play tomorrow, cook a roast dinner, celebrate our own mini-Christmas while I'm here, go gambling at a casino and have a completely wonderful time!  I hope you guys are doing great, I've got so much catching up on blog reading to do when I get home!  Take it easy, have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

November Fourth!

Yep, November 4th is this Friday and that, my dear blog friends, is the day I'll get to give my amazing boy the biggest, most awesomest hug and begin two weeks of epic amazingness (^_^) I was totally bummed out at work, as I wanted to take the last two weeks of November off so I could visit with S and his family for Thanksgiving *BUT* my assistant manager (who knew I wanted that time off ~grumbles~) booked most of that week off instead!  So there I was, thinking I wouldn't be able to make a trip over and we'd have to wait until next year but things have gone our way for once and I'm flying out for the next two weeks!  EXCITED!!!  I'm so thrilled to be able to see him before Christmas and to have a well-needed break from work!  I'll be missing Guy Fawkes night here in England but I'll see if I can get the boy to buy some sparklers and we'll have our own little display in his yard!

I'm determined to keep blogging throughout my trip as, last time, I didn't at all and I think it would be a really great way to keep a record of what we've done and the time we've spent together.  Plus I'd love to share a little extra bit of my life with you all (^_^)

I've got some *serious* packing/ironing/getting ready to do so I'll leave it here for today!  I just wanted to share my news with you all (^_^) I've managed to squeeze some art journalling in and finish page number three - I need to take some pictures to post up, I'm thrilled with how it came out and can't wait to show you guys!  It feels really good to be back in the creative swing and looking forward to taking some time off!  YAY!

I hope you're all having a swell Tuesday!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

Monday Must Haves #5

This weeks' Monday Must Haves are inspired by travel and journies, because I'm heading out to New Jersey early tomorrow morning!  I'm *so* excited!  I'm lucky not to be a nervous traveller (although I can't say I enjoy the nearly-8-hour flight!) and I love preparing for going away; making lists, packing my suitcase, double-checking that I have everything, it all helps the excitement for the trip build up!  So, in honour of my 3,500 mile journey tomorrow, here are some gorgeous travel-y things for you to feast those lovely eyes on!

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♥ This is *just* the kind of notebook I like to make all my travel plans in - train/tube/flight times, everything I'm taking in my suitcase, things I want to bring back and, let's not forget, something to doodle and write in on a very long journey!

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♥ I wish I had an adorable little bag like this to put all of my make-up and stuff in - the one I have is a little old and on the large size, considering I don't have a great deal of make-up to take with me.  Would be a good investment for the future.

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♥ My passport is looking a little tatty from being carried around everywhere when I didn't have any other form of I.D.  Something like this cute passport holder would brighten up my hand luggage and smarten up my passport!  I love the sweet owls - I wonder if I look slightly like the grumpy red one when I get off of the plane!

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♥ I wish my hand luggage was this cute.  I wish *all* my luggage was this cute.  I've only recently taken a liking to bird patterns and this upcycled suitcase is absolutely calling my name.  This would be great as some wonderfully stylish storage too, when not being used for travel.  Yay for multi-functions!

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♥ I'm taking a little digital camera with me but I'd love to get a vintage camera and have a go at the analogue way of taking pictures.  I remember when all we had were cameras with film in and now it's all digital!  Despite the quick, easy, instant fun of digital, I miss the days of waiting patiently to see how your holiday snaps turned out and the unpredictable nature of photos on film.  This is definitely something I'll be looking into for future going-away-times (^_^)

I hope you're all having a wonderful Monday!  A whole new month lies ahead - what plans have you made?  All I know so far is that I'm about to spend 16 days with the most wonderful man I've ever met and every day is going to be epically amazing (^_^) I'm looking forward to all the delicious food we're going to eat, the pretty places we're going to see and hanging out with my favourite person ever.  Can't wait!

Monday Must Haves #3

Forgive the fact that it's actually Tuesday, my blog was being a tad weird yesterday and wasn't working right *shakes fist* then I had to go to bed early to get up super mega early for work today (6am start...ick) so I thought I'd share my "Monday" Must Haves with you all today (I chose them yesterday, honest!)

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♥ I am desperately in need of some new headphones since the kit-cats decided to nibble on the wires and leave me with only the left ear working (-_-) I've been thinking about over-the-head ones for a while and fancy some in a bright, interesting colour - teal, anyone?

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♥ I bought a dress to wear on holiday which is green with big, pink flowers on it - it's absolutely gorgeous and I love it (^_^) I've been looking for something to wear in my hair that would pull an outfit together and stumbled across these little beauties on Etsy - utterly adorable!

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♥ This is such a simple, unbelievably cute ring.  I love that it's so natural-looking and can be made to order, a gorgeous accessory to wear on so many occasions!

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♥ Sometimes, just looking a notebook can fill me with inspiration, imagining all the things I'd love to write or draw inside it.  If I could, I'd take this lovely, handmade journal all over the world with me as I went travelling - it just seems perfect for documenting the trip of a lifetime!

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♥ I adore the bright, almost rainbow colours in this piece of art - one look at this and I'm transported through all of the seasons!  The white flowers are perfect for spring (^_^) I'd love to be able to see this hanging in my home every day!

Bit of a random collection this week!  I hope you're all having a great week so far (^_^) I'm super excited to get my hair cut tomorrow, that'll be one item I can cross off my 10 things list, woo!  Fingers crossed it turns out just the way I want it to.  It's not looking like a busy week ahead since I have a few days off so I'm going to spend some time working on my creative bits and bobs as well as preparing for my trip (this time in 2 weeks, I'll be in New Jersey with my wonderful boy!  YAY!) Hope you've all got an awesome week planned!

Monday Must Haves #1

It feels like I have been away forever!  Work has been completely mad, getting used to being in the store, closing up by myself and preparing for a visit from someone in senior management.  Around my work, I've been trying to fit in writing a letter to my spangly new pen pal, making holiday plans with my boy and working on my crafting!  I've sorely neglected my blog because there simply aren't enough hours in the day that I'm not busy doing other things or sleeping *chuckles* What I thought would get me back into the swing of regular blogging would be to start a little weekly post of things that I've seen around and about and am currently lusting after!  So, here we are, starting today with - 

Yay!  I *finally* got a weekend off last week and, after catching up on loads of sleep, ironing and other chores (as well as spending a really awesome Sunday with my Mum for Mother's Day - we rocked it with white wine, dried fruit and nuts to snack on and an incredibly competitive game of Scrabble) I got a little bit of time to head out and pick up a few things for my holiday.  I can't believe it's April already, this time next month I'll be hanging out with my boy in sunny NJ (^_^)

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I *love* jumpsuits at the moment!  I actually bought this one on Saturday and have lived in it since - it's comfy, cool and will look awesome with a cardigan and flats or wedges and a big, light sun hat.

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I'm loving long at the moment and this maxi dress is gorgeous - I'd team it with a light green cardigan for cool summer evenings and some pretty gladiator flats.

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I've wanted a mood ring for ages and this one is *so* pretty.  I've only ever seen plain beads in mood rings before, I love the floral pattern that makes this one so different!

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The nerdy, Super Mario playing girl in me *adores* this.  I don't think I'd ever take this off, it's just freakin' awesome.

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This piece of art has such beautiful colours in it.  I'm not usually a fan of more abstract work but this one really caught my eye.  It's gorgeous, if only I had somewhere to hang it!

I hope everyone is having a great Monday and that their week is getting off to a really good start!  I'm excited that time is rolling by so quickly at the moment because the sooner I get to be with my boy again, the better (^_^) For me, this week is going to be about working hard but also making some more time for myself, to have a little pampering, a little quiet me-time and to get properly cracking on my letter writing and crafting.  Have a good one guys!

I Like Mondays

I have a soft spot for them.  They're a fresh start, the beginning of a whole new week, full of adventures and possibilities.  Mondays are my day for making plans, for looking forward and for getting excited about what's to come.  So far, my week is looking pretty awesome!

♥ Tuesday is "Shrove Tuesday" here, which is the day before the start of Lent (40 days leading up to Easter) and known in our house as Pancake Day!  I've never been a fan of those big, thin, crêpe-like pancakes that are eaten with sugar and lemon but my Mum makes the most delicious "drop scones" which we have with ice cream - YUM!  I'll be posting about those little beauties tomorrow.
♥ With Wednesday being the start of Lent, I've decided to set myself a 40 day challenge, from March 9th - April 23rd (Easter Sunday).  I have an *incredible* sweet tooth; I *heart* chocolate and cakes and cookies, all those wonderfully delicious sugary treats.  As a real challenge to myself (and to help me on my way to my 140lbs goal) I'm going to not eat any of those scrummy temptations and commit to 30 minutes of exercise every single day.  Yay for challenges and having a goal!
♥ Remember that bakery job I applied for?  Well, they've asked me to come in for an interview on Wednesday!  I'm really excited about it and hoping so much that I'll be offered the job!  Even though I have a job at the moment, I'm not getting many hours because there isn't any work.  It'd be really awesome to finally get some proper, scheduled hours every week and to actually earn some money, especially before I head off to America to see my boy.
♥ Speaking of which, tickets for my plane trip are being bought this week!  I'm *so* excited!!!  I can't wait to finally see my boy again (^_^) It's been *forever* since I last got to actually be with him, we're going to have the most amazing time together (and I'll be there for our official 'One-Year-Anniversary' on My 11th, yay!) The countdown to the States well and truly begins this week!

I hope everyone is having a really great Monday (^_^) What exciting things do you have planned for this week?

Luff

Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope you're all having a wonderful day, no matter what you're doing (^_^)

My cat Emmy:A little Valentine's lurve:Creative BootCamp inspiring word - 'Flow'

Today feels pretty awesome so far.  I weighed myself and I lost a pound *yay* so now I'm exactly 160.  Awesome sauce!  Only 20 pounds to go before I reach my healthy target weight, woo!

My boy and I set a date for my trip to see him!  I'm flying to America on May 3rd (^_^) I am *so* happy!  We'd been discussing a date for me to go for ages.  March was in the running for a while but things didn't work out quite as planned, so now it's May!  Which means only 2 and a half more months of Skyping and daily e-mails to go before I get to give him the biggest, most epic hug ever.  Yay!

My job has been kind of sucking at giving me hours this month - I work on a zero-hour contract so I only work when there is work available, which can mean days and days of nothing at all - which means I have had lots of time to pursue my creative ideas and talk to my boy but also means less money (-_-) It was pretty tough for me to get this job so I'm sticking with it as best I can for now, but having a job with so little stability is another reason I'm so excited to learn more about developing and running a successful creative business.  I know it won't be easy, it'll take a lot of time and hard work, but I know it will be so incredibly rewarding and such a pleasure to undertake every single day.  I just really hope I have what it takes to make it work!

Edit - Throughout today, I've been thinking (it doesn't happen often so I thought I should document it) about what it is to be called an artist (courtesy of Creative BootCamp) I wouldn't have called myself an artist yesterday.  But now, I think I would.  Here's how my thought process went when I asked myself "What does it mean to be an artist?" :
To me, an artist is a person who focusses their working life on creating their own personal ideas through various mediums and communicates them to the outside world (I'm *hoping* to focus my working life on it!)
An artist is someone who seeks to inspire (I'd be thrilled if I did), to create beauty (yeah, that's a definite), someone who loves what they do (that's me for sure) and who does it *because* they love it (ding ding ding!)
I think I found it difficult to call myself an artist because a) I'm not a painter/musician/traditional artist and b) I always felt that, to be called an artist, someone else had to give you that title, rather than giving it to yourself.  But now, I really do think that even though I'm not a traditional artist and even though no-one has ever called what I do 'art' or me an 'artist', I think that by creating something, by taking ideas and making them a physical reality, by producing something that I hope makes other people think, inspired, happy...I think I can call myself an artist.
What do *you* think it means to be an artist?  Would you call yourself an artist?
Thank you for reading!