Thursday 30 June 2016

Loki & Thor: Together Again... At Least On Our Bookcase...

Hi Honeys
I hope you're having a great week and looking forward to the weekend  :)

Do you remember my getting all fangirly over a Thor figure recently?  Well, my wonderful Hubby came home from work last night with a surprise...

Thor & Loki Figures From Marvel
He brought me home Loki honeys :) Yaaaaaaaayyyy!!!

Such a silly thing to be so happy about I know but I can't help it :) I know that Loki will be the issue that's bound to be the most difficult to find and I wasn't sure I would be able to find a copy and there Hubby goes and brings him home for me :)

Like the Thor issue, Loki is packaged in a large see through plastic bag with the magazine having a piece of card in the middle to prevent it from bending and the figure safely packaged in moulded plastic inside a card sleeve.
Marvel Movie Collection Loki
Unfortunately, as you can see in the image above there was a printing error and there is a white mark on the magazine cover, on Hiddles face of all places! How could they! :) Hubby offered to take it back to the shop to see if they are all like that (bless him! Thank you sweetheart x) but to be honest it's not so bad as to spoil the magazine and the magazine is chock full of full colour photos inside, more than enough for any Hiddles fan so it's fine.  Let's have a closer look at the Loki figure shall we?

Tuesday 28 June 2016

1 Thing You Can Do Right Now To Feel Healthier & How To Make It Super Easy To Do!

Hi Honeys,
I hope you're well and having a fabulous start to the new week :) I've made a decision to try to do something I haven't been doing. Something I haven't done in a very long time actually, not in a serious way anyway.  Before I explain, please know that this isn't an invitation to a pity party, more an awakening I've had and wanted to share.

When I was younger I used to run, I belonged to a hill walking club.  I'd think nothing of a six mile walk into town on the weekend to wander around the shops and then walk home again.  Jump forwards to now and I can't walk to the bottom of the street without awful pain from the osteo arthritis in the base of my spine and the inflammatory arthritis everywhere else :/

Yesterday I got a call from our Doctor's office asking me to come in to have my bloods re-done and I realized something honeys.  I'm sick of being sick.  I also realized something else that made me sit down and take a good long look at how I've been living.  I realized that somewhere along the last 17 or 18 years I've been ill, I gave up fighting.  That makes me no end of sad honeys.

I'm such a stubborn person, I always have been, but like water running over a rock, life in general and arthritis/pain in particular, has worn away far too much of me.  They've made me give up too, too much of both myself and the life we used to have.

I keep myself busy when I'm not at work with little organizing projects, knitting squares for my (hopefully one day to be completed) blanket, finding recipes to try for my beloved Hubby, and of course writing this blog :)  You see, that's the thing honeys, I'm keeping myself busy.  I love being a housewife more than anything, I love looking after Hubby & our furbaby Jade. I adore keeping our little home as comfortable and as welcoming as I can.

The one thing I don't do though is to look after myself.  There! That feeling right there! An involuntary shudder immediately followed by my inner voice yelling "selfish" at me.  Does there come a time when looking after ourselves becomes not so selfish?

I genuinely can't remember the last time I put on make up.  I used to wear it to work (left over from my days working in offices when power suits, heels & make up were a uniform) but without even noticing I gave up that 10 minutes of self care too.  Unwittingly I've told myself I'm not worth the effort. In the same way I've just stopped any kind of pro-active efforts towards my health.

I do as I'm told.  I take the medication they tell me to, I attend appointments I'm given for blood tests, blood pressure tests, x rays, physio etc etc but I've gotten so sick of being nothing more than a collection of symptoms that I've somehow decided somewhere in my brain that I'm not worth all this bother and I've given up on doing anything to help myself.

It's an earth shaking, and upsetting, revelation to have honeys.  I gave up on myself.

Time to begin a new project I think.  Project me.  There she is! That inner shrieking shrew again :/ I have no idea how to silence her but I have to try.  Do you remember I posted recently about having terribly dry skin on my face?  I bought a day and a night cream in order to try to deal with the horrible, flaking skin I'd developed on my forehead and eyebrow areas.

It never even occurred to me that the solution could be as simple as turning on a tap!

Hydrate

At night with dinner Hubby and I always have a glass of milk or fruit juice and while I do take a bottle of water to work with me on the weekends all week long I never look at water unless I'm making a cup of tea.

I have resolved to ignore the shrieking shrew in my head and her accusations of selfishness and to make changes.  First of these changes is to make a point of drinking more water.  I went into the kitchen yesterday and looked for some inspiration.  I spotted our smoothie maker and a tiny light bulb lit up!

I fetched one of the spare bottles which attach to our blender/smoothie maker and looked at the measurements printed on the bottle itself.  When full it holds 600ml or 20 fl oz which is just over a pint.  I immediately made a promise to myself that I'd fill a bottle with water and intend to have drunk all of it by lunch time each day, with a view to doubling the amount when I've gotten used to the new regime.

Today was day two and I'm happy to report it was really easy to do!  Bonus is that I'm drinking less soda/fizzy drinks.  The idea filtered through though that it might get a little boring after a while and how was I to avoid that...

Thursday 23 June 2016

OK, So I'm A Nerd Now About That New Thor Collectable..

Hi Honeys
I hope you're well and having a fabulous day.  ooooooo I'm excited! This will probably seem very silly to anyone who isn't a confirmed (and proud) scifi nerd like me but while shopping I spotted the lastest issue in a new partwork...
Issue 4 of Marvel Movie Collection
The new partwork is called Marvel Movie Collection and the issue I spotted was issue four. Included is a full colour magazine, with interviews and behind the scenes snippets on Thor: The dark World, as well as a hand painted figurine of Thor himself.  Let's have a look shall we?

Wednesday 22 June 2016

Can We Talk About Dry Skin?

Disclaimer: I haven't been paid to promote anything, just wanted to share x

Hi Honeys
I hope you're having a great day.  Our furbaby Jade and I have been doing laundry and editing photos today.  Technically it was me hanging out laundry and using the laptop to edit blog pics but Jade kept her Mummy company and we make a great team :)

I was originally planning to share our recent purchases from Ikea today but since I've written two Ikea posts yesterday and the day before i thought I'd postpone it a little :)  Don't worry I will share soon but today I thought I'd talk about something that's been bothering me for a while and I'd love to hear any tips, hints or advice you have honeys.

Can we talk about dry skin
This does feel a little on the personal side to me, it really does.  I've thought about writing this post a few times over the past couple of months, and always decided not to because it seemed a bit personal and also because I thought it might sound like I'm having a "pity party"  Not something I'm a fan of.

I've done what everyone else does when they have a problem of course, I googled it, but I have to admit it wasn't really much help.  There is maybe too much information out there and I ended up feeling overwhelmed :/

Tuesday 21 June 2016

Ikea Ideas & Inspiration Part Two: Lighting, Chairs & Family Trees :)

Disclaimer:  I haven't been paid to promote Ikea or their products, just wanted to share our recent trip with you x

Hi Honeys
Welcome back for the second part of our trip around Ikea, this post is picture heavy with lots of lovely things so why not take a minute to grab a cuppa?  I'll wait, in fact I'll get a cuppa too... oh and maybe a cookie :)
Inspiration from Ikea part two
Soooooo many lovely things to see honeys!  Let's get cracking shall we?

Monday 20 June 2016

Ikea Inspiration Part One: Room Displays

Disclaimer:  I haven't been paid to promote Ikea or their products, just wanted to share our recent trip with you x

Hi Honeys
I'm starting to recover from an all-too-busy weekend at work after having a sofa day with our furbaby Jade for company.  She's perfect company for a sofa day because she adores cuddles and hugs as much as her Mummy does :)

Since I was stuck on the sofa with an ouchie spine and shoulders I spent (parts of) this afternoon editing the photos from our latest trip to my happy place... Ikea.  Take that Disney world! The happiest place on earth is Swedish and full of clever storage ideas and flat packs :)  
Ideas & Inspiration from Ikea
As usual I took too many photos.... hey, like I said, it's my happy place :)  The Ikea store is quite a wee distance from us and since my mobility isn't great we don't get to go there very often, each visit really is a treat.

Today's post is made up of my favourite part of a visit to the store.... the room displays!  Oh my how I love wandering around their wonderfully laid out, perfectly organized room settings! So much inspiration honeys :) Wanna join me for a tour around a few of my favourite rooms from this visit?

Saturday 18 June 2016

Rosebuds! We Have Rosebuds!!

Hi Honeys
I hope you're having a happy, fabulous weekend x  I'm ridiculously excited!  I'm getting ready to dash to work but I wanted to share what I found in the garden this morning :)
We have rosebuds
 This morning I was outside in our tiny front garden and we finally have roses!!

So pretty! As if that wasn't enough to have me smiling all day honeys, there was also the happiest surprise too!!  I can't wait to share it with you...

Friday 17 June 2016

Unseen Gems From The Ideal Home Show

I haven't been paid to promote any products, just wanted to share some unseen pics from our recent trip x

Hi Honeys
I hope you're well and have had a fabulous week.  I'm sorry I've been a little quiet lately, I've been feeling terribly drained for a while now.  As all spoonies know some days are more difficult than others but enough of me being a moanie minnie :)

I thought today I'd share some of the photos I took at the Ideal Home Show recently that hadn't been included in my previous posts.    
Ideal Home Show 2016
There was so much to see this year, the first time we'd attended, and I took so many photos there was just no way to include them all in one (or two) posts :)

Let's have a look then at some unseen (till now) gems (hopefully) from this year's Ideal Home Show shall we?  

Monday 13 June 2016

Back Cupboard part 2: Don't Forget The Door!

Disclaimer: I have not been paid to recommend any products, just wanted to share our latest organizing project, hugs x

Hi Honeys 
I hope you're enjoying your weekend.  The rain is back here but I'm consoling myself with the thought that it's good for the garden and will help our roses :) 

I thought today we'd finish our look at Hubby & I's latest organizing project. You might remember in yesterday's post I shared how we'd organized the cupboard which faces our back door.  This cupboard really had just turned into an awful mess, full to bursting with assorted stuff that didn't have a home anyplace else :/

So, having taken back control of the cupboard (yaaaay!) next task was to transform the cupboard door!
Latest organizing project: the cupboard door
What can you do with a door you might ask?  Well, as it happens, and with a quick trip to Ikea, you can do quite a lot :)

Let's have a look shall we...

Saturday 11 June 2016

Back Cupboard part 1: The Cupboard That Time Forgot!

Disclaimer: I have not been paid to recommend any products, just wanted to share our latest organizing project, hugs x

Hi Honeys 
I hope you're well and having a fabulous weekend.  I thought I'd share the organizing project Hubby & I spent almost four days working on last week :) 

In our home, directly facing the back door, is a large-ish cupboard.  This cupboard has a history dear ones.  Back when the houses were built, in the mid 1950s, and for some years afterwards, when most homes were heated by a coal fire, homes would have their coal delivered.  The coal would be deposited into this cupboard facing the back door to be scooped into a pail and taken to the fireplace as needed.  

In an age of central heating this cupboard tends to become a "catch-all" for assorted stuff from around the home that doesn't have a designated place to be. In others words honeys, our cupboard was a junk cupboard :)   

Our latest organizing project

What a waste of valuable storage real estate!  This had to change and change it did :) OK, before we start, why not take a moment and fetch yourself a coffee? and maybe a cookie :) 

OK, this is shameful but I share it in order to let you know the task facing Hubby & I when we started this project last weekend. Here it is honeys, in all it's shameful over-stuffed-ness.  Our back cupboard before a (major) declutter and organization...

Friday 10 June 2016

Picture Perfect Project: June: Garden Smiles :)

Hi Honeys,
Well, what a busy week this has been!  Hubby & I both booked a weeks vacation from work this past week (I go back to work today while lucky Hubby goes back on Monday) to work on our over-stuffed, far-too-cluttered home :)

We did so well this week although most of the work centred around one cupboard which faces our back door.  I'll share in my next post, including lots of photos, but for today it's time for the latest post in the fabulous Picture Perfect Project.

The Picture Perfect Project is a wonderful link up which enables bloggers to work on their photography skills, thereby improving the appearance of their blogs while sharing lots of smiles along the way with the sweetest, most supportive group of people.  Did I mention how much fun it is too?

Picture Perfect Project: June: Garden Smiles
If you've seen any of my other posts in this wonderful link up you'll know I'm trying to track a year in the life of our garden :)

Shall we see what's been happening then honeys? There's been drama and smiles too in the garden this month...

Monday 6 June 2016

A Little Glimpse Of Ikea's New VIKTIGT Range

Disclaimer:  I haven't been paid to write this post or to recommend any items, I just wanted to share a beautiful collection I spent far too long browsing around on our latest Ikea visit :)

Hi Honeys
I'm sorry I've been a little quiet.  Hubby and I have both booked vacation time this week to have another run at tackling our out of control clutter in general (and a stuffed to bursting utility cupboard and our front bedroom AKA home office/Hubby's man cave in particular :)

We spent all day yesterday emptying the cupboard (good grief what a job that was!) and today will be spent sorting and organizing whatever is kept from the mountain of clutter now littering our kitchen. I'll share the results soon including some before and after photos :)

On to today then honeys, I thought we'd take a look at the beautiful new limited edition range from Ikea called Viktigt.
VIKTIGT Collection From Ikea

You might remember the stunning Giltig Collection from our last Ikea visit?  It's position in-store has been completely transformed. The space housing the vivid primary colours of the Giltig Collection giving way to the more natural tones of the beautiful Viktigt pieces.

Let's have a closer look shall me honeys?

Thursday 2 June 2016

Rosie's Fun Day Out At The ideal Home Show Part Two

Disclaimer:I haven't been paid to promote any products or services, I just wanted to share our fun day out x

Hi Honeys
Another warm day of blue skies and fluffy clouds here.  I've just been outside in the garden with our furbaby Jade to hang out some laundry and it's beautiful out there.

Today I thought I'd carry on from yesterday's post and share some more photos taken on Monday at the Ideal Home Show Scotland.  Today we'll have a look at the gardening hall and oh my were there some sights there honeys :)  
Rosie's day out at the Ideal Home Show part two
Gone are the days dear ones when the most we could hope to decorate our garden with was a garden shed, a bench and maybe a few gnomes :)

The gardening hall was pretty amazing.  In addition to stalls selling garden care equipment such as lawnmowers and hedge trimmers, there were so many examples of beautiful patio furniture.  Shall we have a look honeys...

Wednesday 1 June 2016

Rosie's Fun Day Out At The Ideal Home Show Part One

Disclaimer:I haven't been paid to promote any products or services, I just wanted to share our fun day out x

Hi Honeys,
Another beautiful, sunny day outside, I'm doing (more) laundry (yaaaaay! I so love laundry :) and I thought I'd post the first batch of photos taken on Monday when I went with Hubby to the Ideal Home Show :)

We had such fun on our day out, Hubby and I, and I took my little camera with me so I could share it with you :)
Ideal Home Show Visit Part One
Monday was a bank holiday here in the UK honeys and something practically unheard of happened! There is a very old, running joke here that it will rain on bank holidays because... well, that's what it does... especially when you've made plans!

As you'll see from the photos honeys, it stayed dry, the sun shone down through a beautiful blue sky and all was right with the world :)  You might want to grab a coffee.... and maybe a cookie, I'll wait right here till you get back :)

Happy?  OK, off we go then....