E is for... Embellished

Having got the Christmas tree lights fixed after a bunny-who-will-not-be-named severed a vital wire, the Christmas decorations are again on track for being the best ever seen (in this little apartment).

Firstly, Christmas Wreath is finished and hanging with pride of place on the clock. Inspired by this I (and seemingly hundreds of other Martha Stewart Wannabes - if you do a bit of blog viewing) have made my own coat hanger creation. It's buggin' me that I have the 2 purples touching, but apart from that I love this. Was so cheap as I used last year's Ikea baubles (bar 2 "borrowed" from the parentage) and a coat hanger ("borrowed" from the pilot's wardrobe). My luxury purchase was the ribbon, which I could have managed without, but I just can't resist an opportunity to buy some ribbon.

Second, my apartment now has it's first ever tree. It's both bigger and real-er than I had in mind but nonetheless I love it. Somehow we managed to miss the boat on the decoration buying. All the usual stockists had near empty shelves, so there was no option but indulging in little owls and russian dolls from Selfridges - as a bare tree would be a crime don't you agree?!

Now I just have to find a way for all decorations to be bunny-proofed for the next couple of weeks so they survive the holiday season and I will be a happy bunny myself.

Em x

E is for... Employment

Well the last few weeks have flown by. My new "little" job, has turned into something a lot less little than expected. Almost every day spent on my feet has been tiring to say the least, especially to someone who spent several years working in the comfort of my own home. However, the little job is exactly what the doctor ordered. I'm waking up early (but happy) and going to bed achy (but without dread of the following day). Hopefully I will eventually stop folding clothes in my dreams - but hey - that's just evidence that I'm just a natural hard worker.

Here's some other things - aside from clothes folding - that I have achieved since my last post.

- Christmas presents are (almost) all bought and ready to be wrapped. I just love the wrapping stage the most, every year I try to make my presents delicious to look at under the tree. I almost want my recipient to be happy with the paper and bows alone. Just one difficult person left to buy for - what do you buy for the pilot who has everything? Time to get my best thinking hat on.

- Redecorated the living room. A good source tells me that Laura Ashley wallpaper is just too girly for a cohabiting couple. Choosing a colour was one hundred times more difficult than when I used to make these decisions single-handedly. After a dozen different tester pots were tried out, which aptly named options ranging from Malt Chocolate (my choice) to Dragons blood (the pilot's choice) the feature wall is now a rich plummy colour - aka Deepest Damson. I love the different colours it looks in the light and shadow of the spot lights. Unfortunately the new Ikea mirror has a fun-house effect when looked into from the other side of the room. So I am now living in a fun-house-bachelor-pad-esque apartment, but 'tis a small sacrifice to keep my man happy.

- Indulged in a tiny bit of retail therapy, buying Doodle Stitching. Can't decide where to start, but I was very excited when it arrived in the post, I just love every idea in this book. Knowing me, I will probably add it to my book pile for a rainy day.

So now I am suffering with the mother of all colds, I think I will reflect on my "done-list" with satisfaction and indulge in a few days of R&R. In fact, I think I hear the kettle boiling right now...

Em x

E is for... Escape

Some notes from my little holiday. On Tuesday, the Pilot and I jumped on a last minute flight to Malaga, having booked a place to stay only a few hours earlier. Highlights of the week were:

- Horse riding on the beach... even though my back suffered for days afterwards, I never knew the feeling of cantering right up next to the waves could be so exhilerating. In a move not typical of me, I actually let my hair down and felt the breeze on my face. Not once did I worry about the tonnes of sand (eww - don't make me list the reasons that sand gives me nightmares) all around me. In hindsight, I wish I had asked the name of my horse before we left so I could have whispered a little thankyou in it's ear.

- Twilight... OK, am I the last person on the planet to have caught on to these books? Having sceptically bought the first volume at the airport, I devoured the 400 pages in 2 days. This is teenage angst in a concentrated form, and even though my teenage years are firmly in the past, I couldn't help but slip into this world and be gripped to the very end. I must now try to hold off buying the next in the series as I really can't afford to totally neglect my life in favour of schoolgirls and vampires (and I hear New Moon has werewolves - oooh) at the moment.

- Flying... As a child, I was pretty used to flying, what with holidays and living abroad. But now as a grown up, I am just as fascinated by this mode of transport as I was then. A sneaky trip into the cockpit is so much fun. I can't believe that all those buttons can possibly have a purpose, and that 2 people could have the skill to keep an airplane in the air, never mind land it safely on the ground several times a day! That said, part of me doesn't want to know the science behind all this stuff, it's just nice to believe that there are some magic things out in this world of ours!

Now I'm back to the real world, complete with new job and significantly smaller budget. This could take an impressive change of mindset to get through, but I have Christmas in sight now and just the thought of it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!

x

E is for... Inspiration

Time to talk about inspiration. This week I am:

• Inspired by Craft Gossip. So many bits and pieces to make, so little time! But these ideas are all stored away in the back of my head for that proverbial rainy day. Next time I see a pinecone or a leftover piece of felt I will know exatly what to do with it!

• Eating beetroot. I know it's not what you would think of as a winter food, but I love to snack on pickled beetroot and admire the pink fingeredness of it all.

• Listening to A Fine Frenzy. Having heard a snippet of her track "Almost Lover" in the background of The Hills, I have been Spotify-ing my heart out on this beautiful mellow music.

• Watching Disney's "Up" in 3D. Seriously weepy in places but also uplifting and visually breath taking with all the 3D and colourful lovely-ness. Don't be put off if you don't have a small child to take to the cinema with you. You will not be the only adult hiding behind their 3D glasses and loving every minute. Then after watching, look at your life and take note of how many of dreams have already come true without you even noticing it.
  
  

With the rainy November weather set to continue, indoors is the place to be. Hopefully my fingers won't be pink, glue covered and stuck to my ipod all at the same time.

Em x

E is for... Entertainment

Spotted this graffiti a few weeks ago. This was the first time spray paint had called for the need of my camera. I had to smile at the thought of all the other book mad people out there, and their different ways of expressing their love for literature. In me this comes out with the addiction to buying books which I know I don't have time to read. My bedside-book-box is currently overflowing with a mix of non-fiction, adventure, crime thrillers and children's books, as well as many genres in between. When I look at this pile, I'm sure I should be thinking about the cash spent and the dust collected, but what I see instead is the possibility of all the lives I have the choice to slip into in my sleepy 10 minute read before bed. This is why when I see a new book, and I know it won't get read for a year, I still have to buy it anyway. When my book love becomes so overwhelming that I feel the need to write my recommendations on garden walls, then I will start to rethink this strategy.

Would love to hear recommendations for the next book to add to the pile.

Em x

E is for... Introducing

OK - here I am introducing my blog. The intention is to share my thoughts and photos in the 21st century way.

My inspiration is Shimelle's class, Blogging for Scrapbookers. She runs lots of lovely classes, most of which I start, and only some of which I actually finish! Popping in today to say hello and get started by setting out my objectives:

• Share some photos of my life. My Nikon D40 goes everywhere with me, if i'm lucky 1 in every 100 photo turns out how I would like it. That one photo deserves to be seen.
• Jot down some thoughts. I love to write but my excuse until now is that I've not had any inspiration. I'm looking for inspiration in my everyday life, so maybe there will be lots of interesting posts and maybe there will be only a few.
• Share inspiration with like minded people. I have realised there is so much cool stuff out there on the web, I would love to spread the love around and share the few bits and pieces that make me smile.

That's all for today. Sunday with my family is awaiting me.

Em x

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Testing, testing...