Wednesday Ramble: A bit of this and a bit of that

It feels so odd to realise that it's been almost a full week since I last posted anything on my beloved blog. Though the reason for this is that I've not really had that much to say, work has kind of taken over my life this week. I think when it comes to blogging you know when I'm on my late shifts at work because I just don't post as much. To be honest I don't really do that much in general. Finishing work at 8pm for a full week doesn't leave much of the day left to do anything fun. Hopefully with the upcoming change in rotas I may get my life back but I guess that we will just have to wait and see. 

One thing that working these late shifts does make me realise, is just how much I want to start my own business. At every spare moment I've been creating items for my shop, and also little projects given to me by friends. Like yesterday for example, I was given the challenge of creating a little pouch from the tooth fairy. A friends/colleagues granddaughter was having her teeth taken out and she wanted something to put money in from the 'tooth fairy' for when she came round. I rose to the challenge and was quite impressed with what I came up with in such short notice. I was terrified though, and it turns out that I don't cope with that kind of stress very easily. Creating things which people then choose to buy is fun, creating something with very little direction, not even a colour preference is very difficult. I just went with the flow but I panicked all night with the fear that she wouldn't like it. Luckily she did. Unluckily, or just the case of being a bad blogger I failed to take a picture of it, but it turns out that I have to make another one soon for her other granddaughter so you'll get your picture then. 

I'm hoping to start some wood work soon as well, which I'm quite excited about. I've always enjoyed creating little pieces out of wood and I have plenty of new ideas. I just need to get my head around what tools I need and what wood would be the best choice, and then the world is my oyster. 

So even though I've not done a lot, my mind has been working on overdrive. Which is rather frustrating as I'm always so tired when finishing work that I don't have an outlet I just end up falling asleep! 

On a brighter note (though the notes above haven't been dull... I hope) I have enjoyed spending time with the husband. He's moved back to his normal shop now, which I'm loving. Though it costs us more a month, nothing compares to being able to travel to work together in the morning, or when he walks 2 miles to meet me from work after a particular tough and draining day. I don't know if it's because now we're married, or that the more time I spend with him the more I love him but recently I love him more than I could have ever imagined. He's all I've been thinking about (well him and crafting. haha.) In fact the amount of times I've spoke about him this week is unreal and it's only Wednesday. I'm obsessed with my husband. At least I'm married to him and I'm not just some stalker freak, and it's a good job that the feelings are reciprocated. I don't know recently he's just made me so proud, even from the little things like fixing my Nanna's toilet to him just being him. Basically I love him! 

When I first started writing this I had no idea where it was going to go, but now I'm here I've enjoyed every second of it. I love just opening up a page, typing, and just seeing where the words take you. I don't know if any of you guys do this but for me it's kind of a release. I love writing, I love my blog (which is why I started it in the first place) and I love words, though I'm not a very good speller. Thank you Apple for automatically telling me how absolutely useless at spelling I really am, I sound sarcastic but really I am grateful. 

I'm off to read another book now. I'm onto my 4th book of my 30 book challenge, just another 26 books left before I can buy a new one. The only problem with this challenge is that the more I read, and the more I become absorbed in amazing and captivating story lines the more I have these crazy ideas where I want to become an author. Not sure about that one yet, but if it's still here in 6 months maybe I'll try and pursue it, if not it's will be just another one of those ideas that blow away in the wind. 

I wonder who actually got this far and read my whole ramble? For me seeing a page full of writing daunts me slightly and a lot of the time I close the page without giving it a second thought, but those occasions where I have time to sit back and read someones heart pouring out in their writing I become enthralled and filled with such respect for the writer. You see it's hard for someone to open up their heart to the world, so when I read a post which does just that I am amazing but utterly inspired. I've not read something like this for a few weeks now, or maybe I've just closed the page on it, either way I'm going to vow that from now on it I see a post where someone has clearly taken a lot of time and energy I'm going to read the whole thing, even if there isn't a picture in sight. Yes I am a sucker for pretty pictures. 

Speaking of pictures I couldn't let this post go by without posting a least one picture, who's blog do you think this is? haha. 

I though you at least needed something to cool you down a bit, because if you're anything like me you're sweltering right now, I know I am. I love sun, but hot nights... not so much. 

Enough rambling.

Speak Soon,

Katie 

x

Katie's Friday Night In

I'm sat having a lovely night in. Michael and I cooked dinner together, which consisted of minted lamb and chicken (odd combination I know) and homemade potato wedges... ahh-mazing! And now we're sat enjoying a nice relaxing evening in. I'm currently catching up on my youtube addiction, with a blob of sudocrem hopefully drying out a volcano of a spot, whilst cutting out many felt petals, and Mike's playing Xbox. Seriously I can probably sing each and every song on FIFA 11 from memory. 

Mike always says, 'I know when I've played too long because you start to sing along to the game!' haha. And it's so true. 

It's only whist writting this that I've realised that it's Friday night, and what  boring activites for a young married couple to get up to but, well that's just us. We hate the hustle and bustle of 'out  round town,' and would much prefer a few drinks 'down the local.' It's nice to actually hear what the other person is talking about you see. Though at the moment money is tight (car and tap troubles... grrr) and we've just had to make do with the venue of our home, which shhh, don't tell anyone... is our favourite place to be. 

How are you spending this lovely rainy evening?

Speak Soon,

Katie 

x

I heart New York...

Today I just finished reading my Point Horror book that I picked up at our local car boot sale. (The first book from my 30 Book Challenge.) I'd forgotten just how much I love these books! Now I'm not going to write a review on this because with Point Horror I tend to generalise them, even through so many different authors make up the collection. At first I did struggle with the 'he said, she said' writing style but it didn't take me long to settle in and enjoy the story. I would recommend that if you come across Point Horror books, pick them up, because if you've never read them you will love them, and if you have read them you will know what I'm talking about, (then send them along to me. haha.)

I've picked up I heart New York to read next, and as you can tell by the picture above, we have no shortage of free copies of this book at work. I'm sure that everyone bought Glamour magazine for the free book, then nobody actually read it. Odd, but at least I got a free copy, whoop whoop! By the way this book was a free gift in Glamour magazine almost a year ago now. haha. I was actually thinking the other day that it's almost that season again where all the free books start coming out, and because it's free with a magazine I don't think that conflicts with my 30 book challenge. Hmmm...

Anyway, I'm off on a course at work tomorrow, which I'm not looking forward to. I don't enjoy situations like that where I don't really know what to expect. I can deal if I'm with someone, but if I'm on my own it just feels odd. Wish me luck. 

Speak Soon, 

Katie 

x

Happy Birthday Nanna

My Nanna turned the grand old age of 89 on June 10th, so to celebrate we took her out for a meal. Three generations of women sat around one table means the world to me. She spent her actual birth-'day' in the Isle of White which is where she was born and spend her childhood, before moving to good old Yorkshire to start her married life. 

My Nanna was her usual cheeky self and we ate, laughed, and joked all afternoon. I love spending time with her, and the more time my Mum and I spend with her, the more we begin to realise where our sense of humour comes from. 

I enjoyed a beef burger (as usual) with cheese and bacon, Nom Nom! My Mum and Nanna both enjoyed  scampi and chips. I must admit that though the food was amazing we wont be going back. I just think that it doesn't take that much of a effort to be nice and friendly, so I would prefer to give my custom to somewhere else. Yes I am a mardy moo. haha. 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

We popped into Morrison's on the way home. I don't know if it's just that Monday feeling but there are so many grumpy people around today. This then lead to my Nanna muttering that the cashier could 'kiss her arse' under her breath, which lead to my Mum and I bursting out in fits of laughter. I love how old people just say exactly what we think! She then ran through those moving doors that they always have in Morrison's. Yes you know the ones. They terrify me. I've never seem my Nanna move so fast. Both my Mum and I have said that we're going to have to get her a trolly for Christmas. haha! 

Hope you all had a lovely Monday, we definitely did. 

Speak Soon, 

Katie 

x

A Beautiful Baby Boy

We went to visit our friends on Sunday. They are the ones who have just had baby Logan, who is now almost three weeks old. Incredible to think that only 2 weeks ago we were visiting them in hospital when he as only hours old. We left it a while before visiting again so that they could settle into their new lives without the added stress of guests. I know if I'd just had a baby I'd be cherishing all the free time I had and not having to entertain family and friends. Not that we needed entertaining, but you know what I mean. 

I don't have any pictures of me holding Logan, but even better still I do have pictures of Mike holding him! They both look so relaxed. I love the first picture as you can see just how proud Logan's Dad is, watching his best friend hold his baby. It brings a tear to my eyes, and a huge smile to my face.

Bless him, it was such a warm day that little Logan was so restless. The only option in that situation is to take off as much clothing as possible, and it worked a treat. 

He really an amazing little boy. His parents are so proud. I was completely mesmerised by how tiny everything was, from his little nose to his little toes. His little facial expression are adorable, and the noses he makes just melt my heart. Though I say that, we're still going to wait to have a baby of our own. Both Michael and I have discussed how we're just not ready yet, both financially and mentally. Yes babies are incredibly cute and rewarding, but they are also incredibly straining, physically, mentally and financially. And I'm adult enough to admit that we're just not really for that yet. I still stick to what I said before that we want children in the next few years... but I now emphasise on the few years part. For now we're just going to enjoy newly married life. 

Speak Soon,

Katie 

x

How do you spend your breaks?

I don't have a 'picture this' for you all this week, as to be honest I've not taken many pictures. It's been quite a hectic week at work, as usual, and I've slept... a lot. I've been that tired and drained that as soon as I get home I'm falling asleep somewhere. I can be mid way through reading a book, or even blogs, watching youtube videos or watching a favourite TV show. It's getting rather frustrating, but my body will get used to it again I've just got to give it time. It's just the downside of taking two weeks off from work and setting your own schedule. 

So onto the post itself:

Months ago I would regularly intentionally miss my 30 minute afternoon break from work in favour of completing more work. Sounds odd I know, but trying to pass time in the staff room flicking through a gossip magazine just didn't appeal to me. More recently I have been craving these previously missed breaks. But why the sudden change? 

Books! 

I used to read upstairs in our staff room, but I don't know if it's just at our work, but as soon as you open a book someone insists on taking to you. Now I'm not antisocial per say, but when I've spent hours working, to have 30 minutes to myself to do what I want to do is not a lot to ask. It sounds awful but I've started taking my breaks quite late on so I know that I wont have to share this precious time with anyone, and I can get lost in a good book. Currently I've been reading the two books pictured above and love them both, but really it doesn't matter what I'm reading I love this me time. The one part of my day where I can get lost in someone else's story and be inspired. (Though I always start my break checking blogger... well I need to scratch that itch!)  As you can also tell by the pictures, I always need a midday caffeine fix, which obviously isn't working that well.

So that's all for today. 

You got to find out a little more about me.

Speak Soon,

Katie 

x

Dress to Impress

I've never been a girly girl. I've never really been one to wear dresses never mind buy them, so when my current obsession with dresses occurred it came as a bit of a shock. I think it's a mixture between being sick of wearing only jeans, and seeing such an amazing group of confident bloggers flaunting their amazing bodies in dresses, which in turn boosted my confidence... in a way.

The main reason that in my adult life I have hated wearing dresses or skirts is my legs. I've always had large, rather ugly legs, and the last thing I'd want to do is show them to the world. My sheer hatred towards them, typically stems from school. To be honest, doesn't everyones body image issues?! 

We all have them. I don't that anyone out there who was not bullied by some insecure, selfish little child at school for the way they looked. The disappointing thing is that it always remains with you. Mine was my legs. I still hear 'tree trunk legs' run through my mind whenever I catch an awful glimpse of my legs in a mirror, which of course put me off wearing dresses for many years. But recently my thoughts have changed, and it's a big thanks to blogging! 

Now my confidence in my body image has not changed, I still hate my legs, and feel that I'm over weight, and wish that I could have been created with a higher metabolism rate, but what has changed is my attitude. I've come to think... 'stuff it!' (well another phase I commonly use came to mind but I didn't want to swear.)

I now want to wear pretty dresses, 

I feel good wearing pretty dresses, 

And what's better is the only person who's opinion I care about is mine and Mike's! 

If Mike thinks I look good wearing a dress, and I think I look good wearing a dress... then I must look good wearing a dress! And if I don't... well I blooming well feel it, so who gives a poop?!

So with this new attitude I went out and bought some brand spanking new dresses, skirts and even a cute playsuit! These will all be worn with leggings, but maybe one day I will have a confidence boost and step out into the world leggings free, but until then I'll let you have a goosey gander at what I picked up...

This H&M stunner was only £14.99! Bargain!

Also from H&M for only £9.99. It's fully lined and so soft. 

This I found in the NewLook summer sale for only £3. 

It's sold to wear over a bikini etc, but I think it look great as a casual summer dress. 

And finally this playsuit was from Matalan for £18. I'm not 100% sure if I keeping this yet. I love the design but the straps fall down constantly, which I'm not sure I can cope with, especially for £18.

I cannot wait to wear these as I'm definitely feeling the girly vibes. I love how pretty but casual they all are. Topped off with one of my flower headbands or hair clips the outfit is complete and I feel like a girl for once. 

I still laugh, as when I was paying for these I asked my Mum, "Did you ever think that the day would come, where your daughter would choose to buy dresses?"

Mum, "No, not even as a child would you wear dresses. Not even to school discos. Do you think it has anything to do with being married?"

Haha... though come to think of it, being married could easily be one of the reasons for my sudden change in attitude...

Speak Soon, 

Katie 

x

Hello June

I cannot believe that it's June already. May flew past so quick, but it will always be remembered. The year so far has been my greatest yet, though the month of May definitely sends it rocketing up there on the 'best ever year scale.' So much has happened...

♥ the obvious being our wedding. 

♥ But it's also the month my Dad moved abroad

♥ and the month that we decided that we're going to spend the next few years sorting out our finances then we're going to try for a baby. I know huge news right, and though I know it wont happen for quite sometime yet it's still so exciting. To think that in 5 years time we could have little Michael's and Katie's running around. 

Which makes me wonder what June could have in store for us?!

I must admit that I cannot wait to find out, but at the same time I'm loving the ride. I'm enjoying my life at the moment and though I know it's not perfect, I also know that it never will be and that's fine by me. Life gives you little challenges and I don't believe that you would be given more than you could truly handle. As you've probably come to realise I am ever the optimist. Yes, granted things get me down... a lot. But why let them tear you apart when there's nothing you can do to change it. Roll with the punches that's what I say. Yes it can be frustrating, but if you can't change it, focus on something else. And if you can change it... then what are you doing complaining? 

Some huge changes will be taking place soon that I can do nothing to prevent, neither would I want to, but instead of falling apart and letting them get to me, I've chosen to instead just get on with life. Some may call this denial, others may call it the smart way to deal with the problems. 

I know this may all read rather cryptic but until everything falls into place I can't really explain anything. But hopefully through all the cryptic chaos above you can take something out of it and adapt it to your own lives, and know that we're all going through something tough. We can either take it out on others or help someone out that really needs it... I know which one would make me feel better about myself. 

My aims for June:

♥ Start the ball rolling with my very own online store! 

♥ Get all the name changing paperwork in order. 

♥ Keep blogging about what I want to blog about... and not what I think people what me to blog about. 

♥ Bath the dog! haha.

♥ Change one part of my diet that will make me feel healthier! 

♥ Make more of an effort to keep in touch with friends! 

♥ Bake my Nanna the best birthday cake ever!

We'll pop back and take a look at this at the end of June and see where we're at. It may not seem like much, but I've never set myself little monthly tasks so I'm taking things one step at a time. 

Speak Soon,

Katie 

x

Why I Married

I read a post earlier today which I wont lie, struck a nerve. Not because she was wrong and not because she was right by what she posted, but with the topics in which she raised. This is the post here. Firstly I'd like to mention that I loved reading this post. Secondly I loved the debate I then held in my own head relating to the topics in question. I love being inspired by certain blog posts, and I love reading someone else's opinion to then raise opinions of my own. 

The topic of this post was relating to marriage, and as one half of a newly married couple it was something I felt compelled to read. 

I'll start this post with my reasons for getting married, as I feel it's important to address before continuing, but before that I should really begin with our story:

The Beginning

I met Michael when I was 17, and he was 20 almost 21. We met on myspace of all places and within months of talking online found out that we only lived a 10 minute walk from each other. We arrange to meet one night at the midway point between both of our houses. I wouldn't say that it was love at first sight though I'm sure Mike would disagree, but I would say that there was definitely a spark. We wandered the streets for hours just talking. Mike was a shy soul, but still engaged in conversation, and I knew from that moment on that I had gained a great friend. For about a month we continued to meet as friends, we went for walks, spent time in town, even went on CV handing out quests, and basically had a great time getting to know each other. 

I still remember the first time I went round to his house. He still lived with his parents, as did I, so I knock on his door and prayed for him to answer and when he did I blew a sigh of relief. We spend the night watching Children in Need (if you don't know it's a national annual fund raising event held in the UK.) We laughed and cried, and enjoyed our time together. He walked me home that night. 

The daily Michael and Katie get togethers continued. One day I phoned him from college saying I'd bought a guitar, and requesting if he'd teach me how to play it. I'm sure he must have been slightly shocked at my impulse purchase but he didn't bat an eyelid, he just invited me round to his. I actually don't remember him showing me anything on the guitar. I remember showing him it, and I remember talking a lot, but thats about it. We watched TV for a while and then I remember a bit of play fighting, and joking, and laughing. He walked me home that night.  

Both these pictures are from five years ago.. you can tell by the prices of the chocolate. haha

The First Kiss

The next day after college I went round to see him. We talked and watched TV, like we did most nights, but this time something had changed. I knew I felt something for this boy and somehow though-out the night we ended up curled in each others arms. I could feel his breath upon me, I felt things I had never felt before. I knew he wanted to kiss me, and I knew I wanted to kiss him. In our little ball our heads were positioned so close that I only had to raise my head to reach his lips. And that's exactly what I did. It was the best kiss in the world. I call it our movie moment. The first kiss that everyone wishes for. I think from that moment I understood what true love stood for. 

The First "I love you"

Michael was the first to say "I love you." We'd been watching a movie when Mike uttered the three words every girl longs to hear, quickly masked by the two words "elephant juice." haha. The cheeky little devil. I knew what he said, but I waited until he was brave enough to repeat it. I believe that openly admitting to someone that you love them is probably one of the hardest but most rewarding things to do. To open your heart and risk rejection is one of life's greatest challenges, and I was willing to wait until Mike could face up to his. (Obviously I was not facing up to my own fears of rejection.) The day came and I quickly reciprocated by telling him just how much I loved him. And I've never looked back since. 

Five years ago I remember feeling like I could never love this boy anymore than how I loved him then. Right now I sit here watching the same boy, now a man, now my husband, playing Xbox knowing that I love him so much more now than I ever did back then, but thinking if I loved him anymore my heart would surly burst. This is the reason I married him. 

I married Michael because I want to spend the rest of my life with him. When planning our wedding people asked me why I didn't have a bridesmaid, and my answer was that I didn't need one. The question was then followed by, "Don't you have a best friend who would like to do it?" My answer was always the same, "I'm marrying my best friend." closely followed by, "and he would look a right bugger in a dress." haha.

Which leads me on to the post I mentioned earlier. Within this posts she mentions how people continuously ask when she is to be married. Which her response was that people are married because that is what society requires for them to do. Get married, have children and by the sounds of it, give up any career to become nothing more than part of a 'cereal packet family.' Or at least this is my interpretation of it. 

This post saddens me. For me to be able to marry Michael is what my heart desires. It doesn't mean that I have to give up my life just because now I am married. To be honest the only things that have changed are that we are now husband and wife, we both have rings which symbolise our love for one another, and that we showed our love for each other in front of our close family and friends, our Vicar and God. 

Another point she makes is that 'sometimes a woman's voice can get lost in the midst of a mans worlds' and though I believe this to be true in some social sectors, within mine this is not the case. In fact anyone that knows Michael and I's relationship would know that Mike has to shout pretty loud for his voice to be heard, both literally and metaphorically. (Something I need to work on.) And if we are to branch out to the world of work, yes of course sexual discrimination still exists, but it has dramatically improved over the years, and I don't see how marrying the man you love could change this. 

I'd like to add that although I am now married, it doesn't mean it's because we want children now. I do want children, and I have always been very traditional in the sense that I wanted to have children within wedlock, but this doesn't not mean in anyway that I must have children now. We still want to have children in a few years time. Preferably when I am at least 24 and Mike is 28, but if it happened sooner it wouldn't be the end of the world. It would sadden me slightly in the sense that both Michael and I have a lot to do before we have children, but I believe that children are a gift and if I was to be given this gift then who am I to refuse. 

Finally the topic of money was raised within this post, suggesting that money was a major issue when taking marriage into consideration, and I definitely agree. The wedding industry is one of the largest profitable organisations out there, making unthinkable amounts of money each year, but that's only if you let it. It took Michael five years to propose, and when I asked him why, he said it was because of money. He said that if he had the money when we first met he would have proposed straight away. We didn't really have the money when he did propose but my ring is all mine now, if you know what I mean. 

In relation to our actual wedding, it could have cost a lot more if we had got carried away, but I think that if we did we would have also lost sight of why we were getting married in the first place. When we first got engaged I hunted and hunted for a venue to hold our wedding reception, that was what we wanted, at a reasonable cost, but the cheapest I could find was £3000. At that rate it would have taken at least 2 years to save up, and that would have been just for the venue. We always knew where we wanted to get married, and that was the church where both my Grandparents, and parents were married, so the cost there was set at £500 no question, but everything else could be altered. I finally got fed up of ridiculously priced wedding venues and told my Mum that I was getting to the point where I was thinking of having a BBQ at home for our wedding reception, when my Mum offered up her home. Now it's an averaged sized UK household, so nothing special in size, but I must admit it was the most perfect place to hold a wedding reception. Every single guest commented on how much they loved our day, and not just to our faces, but we had heard it from other people who weren't even there. In the end we had about 40 guests, and only the guest that we really wanted. So it just goes to show that you don't need some big flashy event to show someone how much you love them, a homely, heartfelt event does the same thing, if not better. 

I would like to point out that I'm not intentionally picking apart everything that this person has wrote. In fact I greatly respect her opinion. Opinions are what make us human, and without them the world would be a very dull and boring place, but I did want to raise this topic from the other end of the spectrum. I wanted to approach this from the the angle of a newly married woman. I would love to view the opinions from a single person, or from someone who has been married for 20-odd-years as it would definitely make for very interesting reading. 

I'm also not saying that the way Michael and I have done things is the right way, and I hope that most of you who read this see where I am coming from. In fact if we really look into it, the point that I am making is almost identical to the point she makes, where you can/should do things your way, and not the way in which society dictates for you to do them. Marry if you want to marry, and not because you are forced to do so. Marry for love, and not for society. Set your own timeline in life. In the UK now-a-days 22 is quite a young age to get married. In fact most couple choose not to get married at all. Whereas years ago 22 was quite an old age to get married. People change, which in turn changes society, which changes the way in which we view the world. So what I'm trying to say is view the world how you want to view it. Live your life how you want to live it, to a standard in which you are proud of. Do everything you want to do in life, but also help others achieve what they want to achieve. 

I'm sorry that this has been such a long post, and if you choose not to read it then I don't blame you, but if you get something from it then let me know. I surly did. 

Speak Soon,

Katie 

x

Just the usual!

This is just something I've started carrying around with me when visiting family and friends... like you do. haha. 

We put all our favourite pictures from our wedding in this frame and it's an absolute pain to take the pictures in and out, so we have resorted to carrying it around with us instead. It proved difficult when showing my Nanna mind. I planned on holding it up so she could have a little look then taking it into the living room so she could have a proper look. Instead I had to hold it up for ages... my arm ached! haha. I can't wait for my other prints to arrive so I don't have to do this anymore. 

Speak Soon,

Katie

x

Births and Dates

Three days after our wedding our friends baby was born. We've been waiting for this day for so long, but praying that he wouldn't arrive until after our wedding day. Don't worry it's not as selfish as that, well it kind of is, you decide for yourself. The proud father of a beautiful baby boy was Michael's best man. We'd asked the little one to wait until straight after the ceremony until he made his appearance into the world and he did us all proud and came a few days later. 

And here he is little Logan

Such a beautiful name for such a beautiful baby.

Both Michael and I are already completely smitten.

As anyone knows parking at any hospital is a complete nightmare, which meant we only had 5 minutes to meet Logan, and see how the new parents were doing. Both Mum and Dad are fine by the way. We ended up parking in the restaurant over the road after promising that we'd go back and eat. So we ended up having our first date as Mr & Mrs. And it was very yummy indeed. 

Though I did ask Michael for a Chicken Burger and instead received a normal Beef Burger, the food was still amazing.

And what better way to spend waiting for your meal to arrive than commenting on the birth of a new baby on facebook. haha. 

Speak Soon,

Katie

x

Welcome Home: Bedroom

Over the next few weeks I will invite you in, with the use of pictures, and show you around our home. Michael and I bought our house over 2 years ago now, and on the day before my 20th birthday we moved in. I've always said that once we were married I would like to move into a new home, somewhere new to start our married life together, so for this reason I'd like to keep my first home forever here on this blog. Though I'm not sure when this will happen, I still want to start this now, as the unorganised soul which is Katie would normally leave it until there was no time left to do so. 

Now normally when you invite people into your home, the last place you'd show them would be your bedroom. haha. But I must admit that this is the room that I'm most proud of, the room Michael and I plastered, wall papered, painted and put up ikea furniture with our own four hands. And to be honest spent most of this decorating time laughing. 

So without further ado:

 As you can see it's not too girly. We both agreed on the colour scheme, and steered clear of any girly pinks or purples. At the end of the day it's our bedroom, not mine. Though control of choosing soft furnishing and ornaments was given to me. 

 I was on the the look out for some lamps like these for months. I've loved the TV series 'Medium' for years now, and have equally loved the lamps the couple have in their bedroom. I can tell you now that typing 'medium lamps' into google does not help. haha. Finally I came across these beauties in TKMaxx. I cannot remember the price, but I do remember that they were in the sale, so they must have been a bargain. The bedside tables were from Ikea. 

We put this shelf up quite high for decoration purposes only, but I love it. The photo frame you can see was a valentines day present I gave to Mike a few years ago. It's a heart made up of photos from when we first met each other to said date.   

 This unit originally came from my Nanna. Last year she was about to throw this out, so I rescued it and provided it with a good home to store all our clothes. To my Nanna it held no memories so was of no great loss, but for me it held so many memories from being a child and I could not bare to see it go. I remember playing with the key as a child and being told not to loose it. Oh they knew me too well. I planned on going all shabby chic on the poor thing, but decided against it incase it lost it's charm. The birds are my current favourite ornaments. I spotted these two in Wilkinsons and fell in love. I believe they were relatively cheap. 

These drawers came from Ikea. I love this place (Ikea I mean.) I know most people find that it's poor quality, but everything I've ever picked up from there has been fantastic and great quality. And I must say the easiest flat packed items I've ever put together. Though I am sad, and LOVE putting flat packed items together. The mirror also came from ikea and I love it. The glass candle holders came from Dunelm, and so did the ornamental balls. As you can tell I have a great love for these ornamental balls, some could call it an obsession, I know Mike would. haha. I have them all over our house. I love them. 

And finally my beloved ottoman. I've never had one of these but always wanted one. I got this from Argos which matches our bed. Normally I wouldn't buy a bed from Argos, from previous experience, but this is actually a silent night brand bed so is of great quality. Back to the ottoman, we use this to store all our towels and bedding, and it's just big enough. And for the rest of the time to store clothes on which  we cannot be bother to put away. 

   I hope that you enjoy these posts. 

Speak Soon, 

Katie

x

Picture this Sunday: 4

Technically it may be Monday, but for me it's still Sunday as I've not yet gone to bed. In other words my picture this is up on time... honestly. I love my weekly picture this post so just because I've had a busy day, I didn't want to miss a week. Though next week I may have to miss it as I'll be on my honeymoon but I'll try to upload it once I get back. 

1. The most amazing sandwich. Ciabatta bread, ham, lettuce and cucumber. Yum yum.

2. The original cat-man. He does a much better job.

3. Mike moved...

4. Spot the Michael. I love the smell of clean washing.

5. A sneak preview of an upcoming post.

6. Millie with her best-est ever teddy. For this month at least.

7. What do you do when someone points a camera at you? SMILE!

♫ The Smiths - There is a light that never goes out   

Speak Soon,

Katie

x

The last Sunday being 'Single'

Today we needed to pick up a few more wedding supplies, Mike's shirt and my shoes to be precise. Obviously we ended up picking up a few more items along the way, and took a few pictures to add to my lovely blog. 

A quick outfit of the day.

Dress - Primark £5!!! Great if you can find your size

Shoes - Primark

Leggings - Primark

Belt - Primark

Cardigan - Matalan

Bag - Next 

I should have just typed everything from Primark, bar a few. haha.

Then we headed to Meadowhall, which is our closet large shopping centre, and I needed my wedding shoes so a large selection of shops was a must. 

I don't know if anyone else does this, but I like need to take a picture of where I park just incase I forget.

We managed to pick up everything we needed, so expect to see a haul post very soon, as naughty Katie also picked up a few summer dresses and shorts. 

On the way home we took the scenic route (I stumbled upon the word scenic then as I own a Renault Scenic so could not comprehend the word in two different forms.haha) and ended up stopping to take a walk along the canal. Not something we normally do, but it was a beautiful and unexpected change. 

No surprise that pictures were taken along the way so I'll let you enjoy a select few. It was a beautiful day, with fantastic natural lighting, so even though I wasn't using my high quality camera the pictures turned out perfect. 

Once home for some reason both Mike and I were motivated to clean, and three hours later we're sat relaxing in our lovely 'clean' home. I love Sunday's and will be so sad if we have to start working them. If I could offer someone who is just leaving school and looking at getting a job a little bit of advice... don't work in retail or pharmacy. You will never get nice working hours, and when you do, some big boss who works 9-5pm will change that for you. I only feel sorry for people who have families who work in retail, they really do get the poop end of the stick, at least with Mike and I we could stay up all night to see each other, whereas with children you just can't do that.

Enough of the moaning now. I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. Even if it wasn't the best one for you, pick out one great thing, I guarantee you there will be one. 

Speak Soon,

ever the optimist, 

Katie

x

Cat-man?

My future husband. The man I love. I really do worry about him sometimes. 

Mike, "I'm like a cat"

   

Katie, "Not a very good one"

 He didn't even land on his feet! Haha. I love him. And in one week he'll officially be mine. And I'll be officially his. Though we've unofficially been that way for years, I still cannot wait. 

Katie 

x

Happy Moments from a Hectic Day

Yesterday was manic. I ended up staying on an extra hour at work due to being under staffed which was a bit of a bummer, but instead of looking at all the bad parts of my day I thought I'd pick out all the good. I took a picture of whatever made me smile so I could look back on this day and only remember the good parts. There won’t be many as I set off for work at 9:30am and didn't get got home until 10pm. But all these things made my day, and many more that I couldn't capture.

dinner and a note left by my Mum, My Mum's pedometer, (this will be explained in my next post) watching my Mum play a new game, picking up Mike from work, (well just seeing his face) and finally my two favourite sleepy heads.

Katie

x

Tea: Fancy a Cuppa?

Today I wanted to write about tea. If you knew me at all this would be one of the oddest things to post about, then again even if you don't know me it's still a rather odd post. I've never been much of a tea drinker. I've always enjoyed the odd cup every now and again, but it was never really the beverage of choice. That is until now. Recently I have become obsessed with the stuff. I now drink at least two cups a day. Very odd. 

My Mum keeps giving me dodgy looks as she believes it's because I'm pregnant. Which I'm not by the way. One day, but definitely not yet. This thought came along because every time my Auntie was pregnant she suddenly craved tea. Better than coal I guess. But for me, to be honest I have no idea where these sudden cravings have come from, but I blooming love a good cup of tea. I love the taste, and I love how warm it is. Odd, odd, odd. Maybe I'm just becoming truly British. 

The only thing I don't like about it is when I forget about it and it goes cold. Sad times. 

Oooh and Twinning's tea. Never try this. It's awful. At first I thought that someone had spiked my tea with sugar! How rude! But no, that just the taste. It's very sweet, which for me equals disgusting. I guess if you take sugar in you tea it would be lovely. But for me, ergh! 

Katie

x

♫ Bon Iver - Skinny Love Birdy Cover 

Drinking - Tea    haha

Picture this Sunday: 3

I know I've done so many posts today and I'm sure you're getting slightly fed up, but as mentioned previously I've wanted my blog to become slightly more structured, which includes my weekly 'Picture This' posts. I decided upon Sunday, as for me this seemed like a natural choice for an end off week picture summary. So lets get cracking:

1. Michael pretending he's from the middle ages in Ikea. haha.

2. My first McDonald's chocolate muffin (the best muffins in my opinion) after giving up chocolate for lent.

3. A Royal Cupcake. Given to me when I went to my final dress fitting. It may have been an awful experience due to one member of staff who was clearly bitter about working on a bank holiday, but at least one good thing came out of it.

4. This is how I find Jake every night before I go to bed. (If Michael has gone before me, that is.) He likes to protect his Dad, by guarding the landing whilst he's asleep. Good cat.

5. Jump in... the first two words you find when you open the XBOX. I don't think we'd fit though. Haha. (you are so funny Katie) 

6. I mentioned to my Dad I wanted our names carved into one of the many random logs in my parents garden for our wedding day, and this is what he came up with. He really is the best Dad.

So there we have it, my selection of pictures from my week that have no other home. I enjoy making these post and it will now be a weekly feature, that I will try to put up on a Sunday. 

Currently listening to: Irritating neighbours drunkenly screaming, shouting and singing. They are middle aged by the way, so no spring chickens. (oh and it just got worse, we now have poop music playing)

We did want to watch Doctor Who, but theres no point as we wont even be able to hear it. Sorry for the little rant as I hate negativity on my blog, but this happens so often that it slowly drives you insane, and there's no doubt it will go on until the early hours of the morning. It wont be so funny when I can't sleep and decide that the hoovering needs be done... at 4am! HA! (I say that but I wont actually be able to do it, as I'm not a knob.) 

Drinking: Nothing. I'm waiting for my cup of tea which I think Mike has forgotten to make. Don't worry I'll remind him again in a minute. haha.

Speak Soon,

Katie

x