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Make Every Day Beautiful

Going back to my scary turning 30 moment I mentioned a list I was making.  Well that list is not complete yet - I have a few months to go then I will be ready to publish it in it's entirety.  'Make every day beautiful' is on there and I decided that now I need to go full speed ahead and get started! It's my ethos, it has been loitering around my mind on and off, but it now needs to be set in stone, explained and a plan made.

So I suppose the first thing to deal with is what does it all mean? Well according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word ethos means:

So basically, it's part of me, my attitude, my thing! In my mind it's a positive word, which I like - a lot!

Why? 

We live in a world fueled by negative news, a blame culture and sadly thriving in other peoples misery and misfortune.  It sounds pretty grim, and lets be honest, it is! We don't need to be like this, so pessimistic, sometimes totally negative, but they do say that that 'bad news travels fast' and 'good news doesn't sell papers', but each and every one of us shouldn't live by that, you are your own person, so why not turn it around?! Well that is what I am trying to do; see the beauty around us, appreciate the world we live in and try to add a new positive thought each day to lift a mood!  Sounds a bit crazy? Try it, you might just like it! :)  

What is Beautiful?

Well it can be whatever you want it to be; a person, place, object, sound, even a 'plastic bag dancing in the wind' (especially if you have seen the film 'American Beauty'). It can be everyday things, that you, personally find beautiful! Even rain can be beautiful when it bounces off leaves etc! Just open your eyes and see it.  

So how does it work?

I have mashed it up a little, as there will be something every day, which is beautiful, we just need to see it.  But I like the idea of making every day beautiful by adding my creative twist on it!  For example adding a ribbon to a vase to add an extra beauty. taking a photo of something beautiful, like the flower above and having it as your phone background for a day.  Even properly making your bed, cushions and all (if you don't do it every day)!  It's all about highlighting the little, pretty things, increasing your awareness and appreciation and adding a smile to your day! 

#100BeautifulDays

I kick-started myself by going over to Instagram yesterday and starting off my #100BeautifulDays challenge! My target is to add a photo with the hashtag every day of something which has made my day beautiful!  Day one was a beautiful, just opening, gerbera which my Parents bought me a few weeks ago,  As one of my favourite flowers, I know they are beautiful, but this one was only just blooming, not fully open, delicate and yet bold!  I just had to take a photo, a creative, beautiful photo!  Day one happened!  It didn't cost me anything, it wasn't difficult! Yippee! It has begun!  

Why not start now, make today beautiful!  Pop over to Instagram and get going  - I will see you there! 

And remember (to add another quote) 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder', so you can play it however you like!

xx

PG Tips Green Tea with Juicy Raspberry!

I'm a BzzAgent, which is fab, I basically get sent products to try for free, in exchange for my opinions on them once I have given them a go.  The campaigns are carefully chosen based on continuous surveys, so they are tailored to me.  This doesn't mean I always like the products though,  My reviews are honest and if I don't like something, I will say.  Now I thought the product I have recently been sent might have been a no no.  Lets see...

So, I am aware of all the alleged benefits of green tea, but lets face it, it not only smells disgusting, but it also looks like swamp water! When tea is such a wonderful, magical thing, with the mug and the hug and the milk... mmm, it's just too much stress to put myself through foul smelling swamp water.  But hang on, what's this?.... Welcome PG Tips Green Tea with Raspberry! Ta da!

Wow??

It started with the box... the raspberry aroma was out of this world.  Now at this point I was a little skeptical - fruit teas always smell good, but I find with little substance in the taste department... could this be the same?  Was it still going to be more suitable for a crocodile than Monkey?

PG Tips Green Tea with Juicy Raspberry

Inside the box were perfect, soft, pyramid bags complete with individual strings and a Monkey tag.  So cute! I was sold - but the taste? Well, lets see - the box said to brew for literally 1-2 minutes, not to leave the bag floating around looking grubby, so that is what I did, I also used water which was slightly off the boil (read that was better for this type of tea) and voila! I have Green Tea in front of me, in my amazing Big Tomato Company Classic mug!! It still smells good, it doesn't look too swampy and after cooling for a bit (not tongue burning here), I'm off!

Hmmm to mmm!

Brewing in  my favourite mug.

Now, it took a bit of getting used to, but I have to say (surprisingly) I'm in, I get it!  It was a little silty at the bottom, but the tea was clear apart from that, not swampy at all. I added a little honey (after a Twitter recommendation from PG Tips themselves), and I have to say - good call!! It was really fruity, juicy and crisp in flavour and the scent really was divine and complimentary to the flavour unlike some fruit teas can be .  Quite refreshing on a warm day, which is a real positive above a tea with milk which, I find, is more of a warming comfort drink.

Here's the maths... They come in a box of 20, individually stringed, pyramid bags with a standard price of £1.29 so it's only approximately 6p per bag. In comparison with Clipper Green Tea,  they come in a box of 25 at £1.29 so only 5p per bag, Twinings work out at 9p per bag and Tetley only 4p per bag (dependant on retailer and current offers, prices are of course always subject to change).  So they sit in the middle really, but have the added fruity flavour!

Also, Pure Green, Zesty Lemon, Vibrant Mandarin Orange & Fragrant Jasmine

Now I just need to try all the other flavours! Thanks BzzAgent and PG Tips! And I dare you, put the swamp out of your mind and join Monkey for a big tasting, reasonably priced, healthier tea and let me know what you think? It's of course a matter of taste, so the proof has to be in the drinking!

30 really is just a number!

Sometimes the build up is more scary than the event itself!  

It's made into a joke by others, you get told you are "being silly" it "really is fine", but when you have lived in your 20's for 10 whole years, it is understandable that leaving it all behind can make you feel a little apprehensive.  I'm sure the same applies to other milestones too.  There is such a big fuss, and then when it comes, it really is just another day, a day that is gone in a flash!!

Well I made it!

In January, I turned 30.  It happened.  I had a quiet gathering with my closest friends, my hubby bought me a gorgeous Modalu  handbag, one of my best friends booked me tickets to see my boyband hearthrobs 911 in concert, I drank some wine and it was all good.  I survived. No tears. No tantrums.

The next day (after the, I'm no longer in my 20's hangover, had surpassed, I Googled various things about turning 30, found numerous ideas a thoughts on Pinterest and quite frankly was shocked!  Why, because I am now 30, would I like to bungee jump?  Erm...no!  If In didn't want to do that 10 years ago, why now?  But I did like the idea of a wish list of achievements.  Not a bucket list, just some personal goals, skills and ideas I would like to discover over the next 10 years.  Preferably ones which can be developed and incorporated into everyday life into my 40's, 50's and so on, so it needs to be realistic!

Time to get to work.....

Yellow

No, not the Coldplay track, but equally I do love that song and am now humming along to it in my head - must find that CD!

I'm talking about yellow in a home décor kind of way!  Next have gone crazy this spring with yellow, almost in a The Good Life style.  Part of me cringes with the thought that in six months time the phase will have passed, there will be yellow and lemons in every room in our houses and yet we will have "got over" spring and suddenly our wonderful homes will look dated! The other part of me shouts "YES, YES, YES" and all of a sudden we are in a yellow haze!

Well, guess what happened...?

Yes, you got it, I now have a yellow (and green) kitchen in the making! I promise you, this is not as hideous as it possibly sounds, and the infatuation has stopped with just the one room.  I shall explain...

We have have been discussing our kitchen for over eight years, basically since the day we viewed the house.  It was a reasonable size, but with too many doors to other rooms and not enough storage, work surface or light (and it had a carpet - yes a carpet), so we didn't like it.  It wasn't installed very well at all and the walls were in need of some TLC, but we were on a budget and it was totally usable, so it stayed!

The house had a lounge diner, which went from the front to the back of the house, with the kitchen also at the back and as the children became ever growing teenagers, we discovered that the living space was not adequate, so Mr Puddleduck had a brainwave - "let's move a wall!"  Of course, why on earth did I not think about that - apart from the impending doom brought about by continuous dust and serious upheaval by losing all of the downstairs rooms at once (yes those points were in the correct order)! But after a short panic, I actually ended up more on side than him, so after a while, we decided to add the wall separating the lounge and dining room.

New wall being erected

Without much more thought the kitchen wall disappeared, literally in a cloud of smoke!  All the big strong men did a great job, put in all the correct supporting bits and bobs and we were all set for a new kitchen!!

Goodbye old wall!

I wish it was a simple as I just made that sound, it was actually terrible, but totally worth it in the end as I am now sitting in my HUGE kitchen, looking out at the (messy) garden, away from TV noise and teenage bickering - utter bliss :o)

Getting there with the new kitchen!

Such a big room!

Anyway, back to reality, I now have a rather lush, if I do say so myself, kitchen diner all the way across the back of the house, it is very bright as we have high gloss, white units along with a large window and patio doors.  We have less doors due to the removed wall and I have so much work surface in a very realistic oak block effect that I actually don't know what to do with it all (apart from continuously clean it)!  It is great and is teamed up with some solid oak furniture in the dining area end.  I love it but wanted to add some colour.

Don't panic, we are getting to the yellow now!

We have literally spent hours and possibly even days discussing the colour to add to the kitchen.  We didn't really have a plan apart from white and oak for units and furniture.  We wanted it classy and spacious, but not too clinical.  We also didn't want it to date easily, so decided that we would just know what was right once it was in.  Well that was just before Christmas and we only decided at the beginning of February what direction we were going with the colour and even now, it isn't compete but at least the decisions have been made.

We are sticking with white tiles and using yellow and green as accent colours.  The end wall in the dining area is going to have some fabulous green wallpaper - which looks yellow in the below picture - but we have samples so I can assure you it is green!

Elissia Ochre Wallpaper from Next £15 per roll.

There are two great things about this wallpaper, the first being the pattern, it is a sponge textured effect in a white, so the other walls being white also, ties them in nicely.  The second thing is the matching curtains, which are the same pattern but in white and yellow more than green, which is shown the below pictures.

Too much pattern for me, but love the curtains!

Pretty blind - made to measure!

The first picture gives you an idea of the curtains and as the wallpaper is used in the second picture with the roman blind, you can see how they work together.  In our kitchen though, the windows are on white walls.  I am so excited, can you tell?

  

The colour palette compliments the oak furniture really well and also works incredibly well with our beautiful stone effect Karndean flooring, which in yorkstone has a slight yellow tint to it.  We have then accessorised, well I have!!!

Yellow Lampshade from Next, which is central above our table.

I also have a yellow flower rule!  Currently I am loving daffodils, which at this time of year is great, I am supporting Marie Curie Cancer Care when I buy their special bunches, I generally get mine from Tesco for just £2 - pretty and a fabulous cause, can't ask for more. I am also really into yellow freesias which were one of my Nanny's favourite flowers, so they make me happy!

Freesias with a Cath Kidston jotter  pad!

I hope we have made the right decision, I  feel we have gone more contemporary over retro, escaping all the lemon slogans, I just hope we have done the right thing!  What do you think?  Are you a fan of this current trend and how long do you think it will last?  I would love to know your thoughts!

Must get decorating! X X X

#PostCircle

Over the last week I have discovered something which I am quickly becoming rather fond of and it is all thanks to Miss Beatrix!

#PostCircle is formed of small groups of people all wishing to send and receive lovely little letters to each other, almost like the good old Pen Pals we had at school.

Once I decided to sign up to #PostCircle I was sent a short survey with a very interesting question asking for ten things I like.  Now this is actually a really tricky question!  I like Robbie Williams, but I'm not sure that was the correct response?!  So after grabbing myself a lovely cup of Clipper tea (a favourite of mine), I sat myself down at my lovely new oak table - I love oak furniture, and stared lovingly at today's mug of choice;   one of a collection I am hooked on, handmade in Stoke-on-Trent by Big Tomato Company complete with the caption "Wicked Stepmother" I like to think this suits me well! How you take the term "Wicked" is up to you ;o) But back to ten things I like, I hadn't even started and yet my list could have almost been complete.   After much contemplation I sent the following list:

• Being creative
• The theatre
• Flowers
• Cats
• Baking
• Castles
• Geocaching
• Stationery
• Walking
• Candles 

Now I really do think I both over and under-thought this question. At one stage these things were in beautifully written sentences and had actually turned into about three things I liked per point - not the point at all.  Part of me thinks that it is actually quite a dull list, I could have put Monsters Inc, cheesy pop music, F1 and marshmallow fluff but I held back and went with the list more suited to late 20's wife and business owner  I am rather than the teenager inside screaming and waving glow-sticks to get out!  After all, these are still things I really love!  What would your list be?

So, the list was sent, my tea was gone and I was eagerly checking my email for that moment the red lights went out and I was told in racing style to GO, GO, GO!  After a short wait Anna emailed me back with my group... I am officially a Red Squirrel.  

#TeamRedSquirrel consists of six people, all with a variety of likes.  I have been given the first person I post something to, and then from then on, I can send to whoever I like every time I receive something.  Simples as out Meerkat friends would say (I like them too).  All mail must be marked #PostCircle but apart from that we have been let loose.  Today, my first #PostCircle was sent! I can't share the content right now, as I don't want to spoil anything for the receiver before Mr Postman drops it though their door, but all I can say is that I kept it simple, my creative flare is only just firing up, I don't want to burn out too soon.  

For now though, I am eagerly awaiting my postie while I plan my next letter.  

x x x

Time

Intriguing isn't it?  Time goes slowly, it goes fast, it even stands still.  Time changes and can be different in various places in the world at the same time.  It is watched and yet ignored, you can't really see it but it has a face.  Let's not forget that it can be early as well as late and right but also wrong.  You can be paid for your time, and also spend it, you can buy it but still make it!  Some have lots, others have little, some even have all the time in the world whereas others may have no time at all.  So how can this really be?

Let's be honest with ourselves for just one moment - time is just time; 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in and hour, 24 hours in a day and so on, and this will never change.  So why do we stretch it so much, blame it for things and punish it when it is actually one of the few constants we have in our busy lives?  It really is the same for everyone, at all times, we just all treat it differently.

As a child, I spent bedtime with my mother reading books and having puppet shows with cuddly toys, superb stories and lots of laughs.  These were good times, times I will cherish and share when I am a mother.  One of the books we read was called What time is it, when it isn't?  (or that is what I thought it was called).  I loved it, but it was such a long time ago that I can't actually remember much about it at all.  All I do recall is that it appeared to be one huge riddle and that resulted in such fabulous conversation with my mum!  With this in mind, and it being Mothers Day tomorrow, I am going to find time to read it once more if my parents can find it in there gigantic bookcase!  If you know the book I would love to hear from you.

For now though, I am off to bed with a cuppa and wish all the wonderful mothers out there a fantastic day tomorrow!

x x x