Parrots, Punctuation, and Plane Tickets

Hello lovelies!

I'm definitely a fan of this whole four-day-week thing we've got going on; halfway through the week already! Hurrah! Here are a few other things making me smile...

Tropical Tray

When buying Fran's birthday presents earlier this week*, I also treated myself to a totally unnecessary but beautiful tray. It has parrots on it, and is currently in the Debenhams 20% off sale; how on earth could I say no?!

It's now in pride of place on our chest of drawers, which doubles as my dressing table, holding all my bits and pieces that don't really need a tray. 

The jar is one I made from this tutorial to go with our Moroccan-themed bedroom, and the bunny light is the one Tom bought me as a surprise - bedecked with a Lindt bunny necklace (the Lindt bunny himself is obviously no more). 

Geeking out about Grammar
Today I went on a training course at work about How To Write All Good With Spellings And Stuff. Ok, perhaps it wasn't called that... Anyway, I had a totally awesome afternoon learning about passive and active sentence structures, main and secondary clauses, and the best way to write a paragraph. Seriously; I love grammar. 

Edinburgh, Baby!
Tom and I have just booked a mini break to Edinburgh! Neither of us have been before, so if you have any tips on places to go please do let me know in the comments below!

It's happening pretty soon, so I am rather excited. Obviously I'm not going to post the dates we're going on the internet because of thieves. Although I'd like to see them try and thieve from us, because OUR HOUSE IS GUARDED BY KILLER ROBOTS. 

What's making you smile this week? 

Katie xxx

* That's right Fran- all your presents are sitting in my dining room and I'm not telling you what they are :p

Photos of Good Stuff

This was meant to be another Photo an Hour post from today's adventures, but I kept getting distracted with having too much fun to take photographs. Oops! So, instead, it's more of a Photos From Whenever I Remembered To Take Them post... 

My new Henry Holland tights
Which have miraculously stayed snag-free all day (hurrah!). I didn't use any miracle sun cream on my legs today, in the hope that I'd develop star-shaped tan lines. Sadly not today; but I reckon if I wear these all summer I'm in with a chance. 

Leisurely breakfasts
During the week, I munch on fresh fruit throughout the morning whilst in the office because:
1. I don't feel hungry really early in the morning
2. Eating breakfast at work splits the morning up, and
3. It stops me snacking on biscuits at 10am. 

Weekend mornings are a completely different matter, and involve stacks of pancakes, bowlfuls of cereal, bargainous Waitrose pastries and vegetarian fry-ups when I'm craving something savoury. Not all four at once, obviously (unless I'm really hungry!).

This morning's breakfast: yoghurt, peach, blush pear, and Jordan's Country
Crisp (raspberry flavour) cereal, with apple & mango juice. 

Saturday's breakfast: caramelised raisin pancakes, with
blush pear, lemon and sugar.

Admiring the countryside
On the vista-tastic train ride from Lewes to Brighton. The rail replacement bus service from Brighton to Worthing was considerably less pleasant; unless you're a fan of unwashed strangers falling asleep on your shoulder and head-butting you when they wake up... I truly believe Hell must involve being condemned to spending eternity on a replacement bus service. 

Piratical pasties
Isn't this the best pasty shop you've ever seen? I didn't partake, but aar was I tempted!

Bargain ramen
Wolfing down a new Innocent ramen noodle pot as a speedy late lunch, after finding it on the reduced shelf in Tesco for 98p from £3.95. 

A belated birthday present
In very exciting packaging, from the lovely Katy. I tried to guess what it was by feeling it through the packaging, but had no chance with this one! I did, however, manage to rule out "puppy". 

It turned out to be this incredible astronomy globe. I absolutely love it!!

How's your Bank Holiday weekend been? What did you get up to? 

Katie xxx

Amaretto sours and washing line dens

Today has involved one blissful, summery activity after another; piling up into a metaphorical heap of sunshiney goodness to rival the real mountain of Eton Mess that I devoured after tonight's dinner.

After whizzing up a nutritious and delicious peach and blush pear smoothie for breakfast (accompanied by a slightly less nutritious Marlborough bun. Oops!) I slapped on some magical sun block and joined Tom in tackling our rather jungle-tastic back garden.

When we moved into our house 2.5 years ago the garden was absolutely beautiful, thanks to the retired, green-fingered previous owners spending 30 years nurturing each and every inch. Since we bought it, the garden has declined into something of a wilderness, thanks to our opposite-of-green fingers and my dislike of anything creepy/crawley- which somewhat limits my desire to stick my hands into flower beds I know are full of spiders. I'm glad we don't have any kids, because they definitely would've become lost amongst the weeds by now and turned into feral beasts raised by next door's cat.

Just some of the debris cleared from the garden today.

I spent the middle of the day writing some more blog posts for Artists Open Houses, before sprawling out on our unloved lawn with a stack of magazines. I couldn't be bothered to carry anything outside with me to play music on, but ended up being serenaded by this little guy instead, which was much nicer. And, yes, he was definitely singing just for me.

Stretching out under the washing line made me feel like I was hiding in a den; which will have to satisfy me for now, as I still haven't purchased a treehouse.

Tom and I took a late afternoon stroll along the river to Bills, our all time favourite restaurant, where we feasted on some of their new and delicious dishes. I treated myself to an an amaretto sour aperitif (fancy, eh?); a cocktail I'd never tried before, which has quickly become my new summer cocktail of choice. 

Amaretto sours combine lemon juice, pink lemonade and amaretto, and each flavour is fully identifiable in sequence- like Willy Wonka's three-course chewing gum. Refreshing lemon leading into sweet lemonade followed by a lingering taste of marzipan. Yum, yum, YUM.

I chose to combine two starters instead of ordering one main course, opting for potato and rosemary bread alongside a salad of crispy feta cheese and watermelon. Both dishes were absolutely amazing, and the bread turned out to be an entire loaf! I was very grateful Tom was on hand to help me eat it, and he certainly wasn't complaining when I handed over chunks of warm, soft bread with a super-crunchy crust; especially after I'd tore the loaf open (in a most unladylike manner) and assaulted our nostrils with the scent of roast dinner. 

Feta cheese and watermelon is my new favourite salad combination and one that I will be repeating at home for many summers to come. The batter covering the feta contained sesame seeds and smoked paprika, which brought an almost meaty dimension to the tangy feta cheese, in contrast with the sweetness of the watermelon. It was as utterly delicious as only deep-fried cheese can be.

I persuaded Tom to join me in having a pudding (more because I wanted to try two; I'm certainly not one of those people who feels compelled to force others to join them in eating "naughty" things), and he chose baked lemon tart with frozen raspberries, whilst I selected the summeriest item on the menu: Eton Mess.

We rolled home along the riverbank with full bellies and happy smiles, thanks to the combination of tasty food and no work tomorrow. Three cheers for Bank Holiday weekends! 

Katie xxx

P.S. Sorry that this post basically turned into a food diary; well done if you've read this far! I will post you some M&Ms. 

Why Google + Hangouts Have Now Ruined Regular Conversations For Me, Forever

Ok, so tonight I tried Google + Hangouting (or "G+H-ing" as all the kids are calling it nowadays*) for the first time. And before you say anything, I'm well aware that I'm at least 8 years behind the times with the whole computer camera chat-o-rama thing. 

But, anyway, just LOOK at all the awesome outfits one can wear whilst G+H-ing:

Can you tell which one is Tom? Didn't think so. 

I have told Tom we are no longer allowed to hold a conversation in the same room, unless I have access to a dressing up box. Who on earth would want to talk face to face, when they could videochat with a monocle?!

I'm off to try on a tiara. Perhaps with a handlebar moustache. 

Katie xxx

* They aren't really. That's a lie

Three Things Tuesday

Hello lovelies

It's been a while since I've done a "Stuff I Think Is Good" post, so here's a list of three things currently floating my boat:

1. Daydreaming about caravans

I've wanted one sooooo badly ever since I saw Sightseers. Which is all kinds of wrong, and if you've seen the film you're probably now a little bit afraid. In my defence, I don't want a caravan so I can go around murdering rude people. I want one so I can decorate the inside like this:

Or this:

Maybe with a bit of this:

To be honest, I mostly blame Sharon from The Happy Caravan (my sixth Blog of the Week) for showing me just how brilliant unloved caravans can look with a little TLC. Ok, a lot of TLC. Ok, with three weeks of sanding, hammering, scrubbing, varnishing and painting. I'm hoping I'd be able to achieve the same amazing transformation with a handful of crochet-covered scatter cushions and a thermos flask or two. Totally doable, right?! 


2. Lusting after Catbird NYC sparkles
I'm definitely not a "proper" jewellery kind of girl; every piece I own is made of plastic (and, in most cases, Lego). I'm still using the jewellery box I was given as a little girl- and the contents probably wouldn't look out of place on a glitz-loving toddler even now. As a result, there are very few occasions when I catch myself drooling over something made of silver, or set with fancy stones. But today I stumbled across Catbird NYC and feel instantly in love with pretty much everything. 

Diamond Signet Ring by Digby + Iona

Equally beautiful, but slightly less quirky Ombre Eternity Band by Elisa Solomon

Battle Diagram Ring by Digby + Iona

Still far from traditional jewellery, but there's not a Lego brick in sight...

3. Being thankful for boyfriends
Well, one in particular. All my other boyfriends are totally rubbish- they never put their coats over puddles for me or anything. I mean- what's the point in imaginary extra boyfriends if they don't at least keep your shoes dry?! 

Seriously, though; I count my blessings every day that someone is not only willing to live with me day-in-day-out, but actually happy to! Tom puts up with my moods, my bouts of chronic laziness, the fact everything in our house ends up covered in chocolate crumbs, and the fact that if he leaves something sitting still too long it will end up decoupaged in bits of the AA road guide. I'd like to think there's a balance between us somewhere- but I wake up every morning metaphorically pinching myself (I can't actually pinch myself- I bruise like a peach!) that he's still sticking around; despite my duvet hogging, jumper-stealing, vacuum-avoiding traits... 

True Love is apparently not getting cross when someone eats all your Easter eggs *ahem*

I bet once Tom reads that list written down he'll suddenly realise how rubbish I am :p Oops! 

Katie xxx

Thrifty Tips: Petals and Pasties

Hello lovelies

I hope you're all having totally excellent weekends :)

I'm sorry I have been posting as much on here over the last few weeks- I've been spending any free time I've had working on blog posts for Artists Open Houses (which you can see here - or posts 1, 2, 3, and 4) and eating far too many things covered in cheese. Except for last night, when I had an inexplicable craving for warm French green beans dipped in Marmite. 

Side note - I am definitely not pregnant; so just think how weird my cravings might be if I ever have a baby!! Marmalade on courgettes?! Lemon curd on carrot sticks?!  

In an attempt to make up for my lack of posts I wanted to share two more Thrifty Tips with you today, because unless you're Brewster from Brewster's Millions I imagine you're looking to spend less on things whenever you can. 

First up is one for those of you who ever travel by train. Apologies if you'd heard of them before (and feel free to skip this bit), but I wanted to tell you about Bite cards. These cards give you a twenty percentage discount(!) at the following places in all train stations. And they're absolutely FREE.

Whenever I travel by train (which is normally only at the weekends, when I'm heading out on adventures) I take a bottle of water and normally a few emergency snacks, so I don't get hungry and turn into she-Hulk, but very occasionally I'll treat myself to a hot chocolate to warm up on the train home- and 20% off just for flashing my bite card feels pretty darn good. You don't have to show a train ticket with it either- so if you live or work by a train station you can always pop in for a reduced price pasty on your lunch break too. You can sign up for one here; and they don't send you loads of spammy emails either. 

Secondly, my MIL told me a while back that Waitrose reduces some of its fresh bunches of flowers to stupidly low prices right at the end of the day, so when Tom and I popped in on our way back from the pub on Thursday looking for 9p bearclaws (no dice :( ) I went to look at the flower stand and managed to pick up four bunches of carnations with a total RRP of £12 for 40p!! That's right people- Waitrose reduces them from £3 a bunch to TEN PENCE a bunch at the end of the day (around 8.45pm in our local store). 

They definitely smell all the sweeter for being such a bargain. 

Have you discovered any good discounts recently? 

Katie xxx

P.S. This post wasn't sponsored by Waitrose, Bite Cards, or Brewster's Millions- I just wanted to let you guys know about money off stuffs! 

Vlog Number 2...

In which I don't really talk about anything for 5 minutes, and pull a lot of hideous faces. Erm... enjoy?!



Katie xxx

P.S The cider I can't pronounce is this one. 

Ode to Seuss

Today I went shopping

Care to see what I bought? 

Yes, shopping I said- 

I bought more than I ought!

It started with a sale,

Filled with book upon book.

Each priced 50 pence

I just had to look!

Green eggs and ham,

Red fish and blue,

A cat in a hat, and

A Roald Dahl book too!

I snaffled them up,

And giggled with glee

(I don't have any children

These books are for me!)

My shopping continued,

An ongoing spree,

When I spotted these tights

For the costs of pounds three(!)

They were quality seconds

From a local artiste

At three pounds, from twenty, 

I just couldn't resist! 

I found a new clothes store

In our local mall

(Clothes mostly for hipsters

Size XXX small)

But in the boy's section

I found this fab tee

I don't care if it's boy's wear

I'll wear it on me!

Hello Sun!

I've got something to share with you today that has made me so giddy with happiness I want to shout about it from the rooftops. I've just discovered a product that's going to genuinely improve my life tenfold. And, no, it's not fat-free pastry.

You may have noticed from photos/videos of me on here (without the tiger face) that my skin is so pasty I make Edward Scissorhands look like he's on TOWIE. As a result, my skin is incredibly, ridiculously sensitive to the Sun. The photo below was taken during the summer of 2011, after I'd spent a measly two hours in the garden. The best part? I was sitting with my legs crossed- so the burns on the opposite thigh fitted around it, with a big white stripe across the middle. Like a blistery jigsaw puzzle. 

I've spent my whole life slapping on factor 50+ and still getting hideously burnt. I've worn long sleeved shirts every summer and sat in the shade, unable to even go for a walk without suffering the inevitable redness that followed. It's not that I even wanted to tan (to be honest, I think I'd look pretty daft with a tan)- I just wanted to be able to sit in the park with my friends and not sizzle. 

A few weeks ago, my (equally pasty) Mum told me she'd discovered the most incredible sun protection ever: Calypso Once A Day. Last week I found it on sale in Aldi for around £5, and thought it was cheap enough to be worth a try. I bought SPF20, as Aldi didn't have any of the SPF40 kids one, and road tested it over the weekend. 

The best thing that's ever happened to me (except for Tom, obviously)

I was expecting it to be the same consistency as suncream, but it's more like baby oil. Once rubbed in, you can't even feel it; unlike the greasy-as-a-chip-shop feeling of suncream covered skin. You only have to apply it once, 15 minutes before you go into the sun, and it keeps your skin safe and protected ALL DAY. It all sounded too good to be true. But you know what? IT REALLY WORKS. 

Tom and I spent Sunday taking photos of Bodiam Castle and wandering round Rye, and Monday at Sheffield Park and Gardens walking round the lakes and picnicing in the sunshine. I wore a vest top both days, and no hat, and I DID NOT GET EVEN A LITTLE BIT BURNT. I ended the weekend looking as pasty as ever! HURRAH!!! The bottle actually says you can tan through the sun protection, but as I said- as long as I'm not red I don't really care. 

Next stop: the Sahara

By the way, this post isn't sponsored by Calypso. I just felt I had to tell you all about it in case you also suffer from severe sunburn or know anyone who does. 

I'm off to sit in the sunshine for the rest of my life*!!! Yippee!

Katie xxx

*Maybe not this instant, as it is night time. But tomorrow. And Thursday. And Friday. You get the idea. 

When biscuits bite back!

Besides a good stomp around some fantastic Artists Open Houses exhibits  this weekend, I also spent an afternoon hanging out with my sister* Eliza and pretending we were 12 again- by baking biscuits and watching Disney movies (Tangled, if you're interested). 

But they weren't just any old biscuits. Oh no. They were Dinosaur Biscuits. 

I was given the biscuit cutters as a birthday present by my little brother**, and we used the Hummingbird Bakery's Sugar Cookie recipe from my star biscuits at Christmas, because the biscuits don't spread as much when they're baking as some other recipes we'd tried before. 

We named this one Truffle Pig

Unfortunately, the dough was also quite delicate so some of them snapped- which is why poor Truffle Pig doesn't have a tail. Please note, all the following excellent decorating was done by Eliza - she's much better at icing than I am. And a total whizz on Microsoft Paint too. If there was a Paint Olympics she'd be bringing home the gold every year.

I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to regular shaped biscuits now. Except in emergencies, obviously.

Recreation of what actual Jurassic times would've been like.
Better than Jurassic Park, right?

Katie xxx

* Ok, technically Eliza's not my sister as we've never been related by blood or marriage or adoption or anything legal. But we've been troubled teenagers together, lived together, and backpacked round India together, so we're as close as any sisters can be. 

** Who actually is my little brother. Well, except for the little bit as he's now pushing 6 foot 3.

Artists Open Houses

Morning lovelies :)

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, my bladder* woke me up at the CRACK OF DAWN this morning (is this part of getting old? If so, I'm not sure I want to after all)...

Getting up early has it's perks though- I've dyed my hair and slapped on the last dregs of a really old tube of facepack stuff with bits of raspberry in it (mmmm....) to try and sort out my post-cold skin, and managed to do it without bumping into Tom's friend who's currently staying with us and frightening the life out of him/making him wet himself laughing. I'm nothing if not considerate of other people... 

I was going to take a photo of me mit-dye-und-facepack to share with you all, but then realised you probably wouldn't be able to stomach any breakfast afterwards; and the last thing I want to do is deprive someone of their breakfast!!

Anyway, back to my point, which is: I am very excited today because it's the first day of Brighton's Artists Open Houses event. Artists Open Houses, or AOH as all the cool hipster people call it, is taking place all around Brighton and further afield every weekend from today until the end of May. It gives people the chance to go and have a nose around some excellent houses and stare at nice arty things, and all for my favourite price of free!!

Gerry Wilmer: Brighton Pier at 33 Worcester Villas Hove

I wanted to tell you all about AOH anyway, because I think mooching around looking at great art for free is an awesome way to spend a day, but I specifically wanted to mention it because I'm going to be doing some blogging for them over on tumblr. 

I'm not Superwoman, despite what you may have heard (rumours I definitely didn't start on my own, about myself, nope) so these next few weeks might be a leeetle bit quieter on here than usual. Sorry! However, my writing style for AOH is going to be exactly the same (I won't be getting all "professional" and reducing my use of exclamation marks, don't you worry!) and lots of the houses sell CAKE. So I'll probably mainly be giving out tips on where to find the best Rice Krispie bars.

Martha Mitchell Design: Brighton Mix Greeting Card at
11 Albert Mews, Third Avenue, Hove

I've been assigned to houses in the Hove/Portslade area (which I might have requested so I'd be near to Ethel's Kitchen, *ahem*) so if you fancy meeting up for a cup of tea and a bakewell tart during any weekend in May, please tweet me and let me know!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

Katie xxx

* Sorry, is it too early to be talking about bladders? *Googles "etiquette for morning discussion of bladders"*. Oh, sorry, it's 11am, apparently.