For the Coffee Connoisseurs

I went to one of the upper end grocery stores and as a treat to ourselves we got a few items that I thought I'd review as we get to try them. First on the list, Clydesdale 100% Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee.

ALAÏA

ALAÏA

Studded suede ankle boots

I can't help it. I want them. I know they're stupidly expensive. I know they're 5.5 inch heels that I would probably kill myself in. But, they're just.so.pretty.
If any of you happen to see a pair fall off a truck and are feeling particularly generous, let me know. 

{image source here}

Proposed BMX Park Redux

On December 19th, I talked to everyone about a local issue about a BMX Park proposal. The Daily Echo has been following the topic but seems to miss the real issues in my opinion. 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you're having a wonderful day filled with love, happiness and yummy food! 

xoxo

Belly Bustin' Books for the Holidays

Everyone, meet Lindsay Moore from Black and Blonde One, aka Miss Lips. She's full of sass, lots of fun and she's got some great recommendations for holiday readings.

Danger Mouse and the BMX

It was a morning like any other morning.  I was having a coffee in a quiet cafe while enjoying the morning sun. The conversation was free and easy when suddenly an informational bomb was dropped. 

For The Kids Inside

Crayons for adults. What could be better?

Down the Rabbit Hole...

I will not be held responsible for what's contained in this post. Obviously, I'm on enough cold medicine to make life super interesting. 

How Lucky Am I

Today, I'm going to pretend that no one reads my blog. Otherwise, I don't know if I can do this post.

A Friendly Dog Christmas

Last evening, I had the great pleasure of going to an end of year party for one of the local dog clubs in the area. It was a good bit of fun with a type of bowling that I've never done before (where are the holes on these balls? I'm lucky I didn't manage to kill anyone with one of these things!), good company, food to warm our bellies, and a raffle that had everyone waiting with baited breath. 

Feeding My WanderLust

This Is How Nerds Do It...

Grocery shopping ya'll. This is how Nerds grocery shop. If you've been following me for any time, you may have figured out I'm a bit of a nerd and maybe a little bit different. Feel free to take a look inside the 3 a.m. version of my brain and have a poke around. Cue the 90's R&B/Pop music, please:

Shiny, Happy, People...

Brooches

 Earrings

 Rings

 Bracelets

 For the jewelry lovers in your life: Bounkit. Thank you Lindsay, for introducing me to them. Some great eye candy and absolutely lovely gift ideas for those who need something for the jewelry addicts, like myself, in their lives.

xoxo

{images via Bounkit}

Dinner Time!

I'm always on the hunt for great money saving and tasty recipes. I find, that going meatless every now and then really works for us. CeeCee over at the Contrarian Cook did such a great job representing Emeril's Zucchini and Yellow Squash Tian I was inspired. It's a brilliant recipe with a lot of flexibility. I expanded the portions (we're a large family) and used a butternut squash instead of yellow. So yum. 

xoxo

{image source}

Travel Bug...

All I Want For Christmas...

If life were a dream someone would get me these two items for Christmas. A Far Infrared Therasage heating pad or a Far Infrared personal sauna. I love them. For aches and pains, the heating pad is great. If you're up for a full body head to toe treatment the sauna is amazing. It leaves me in the best mood for the rest of the day. Seriously, they're totally out of any price range I can imagine but they are oh so worth it.*

xoxo

{images via Therasage and Red Saunas}

*I wasn't paid for this endorsement. I just truly love them. They're amazing. 

DIY Time

I decided I needed a coat rack that my younger children could reach. My tight budget inspired me to get busy with some DIY action and this is what I came up with.

On the hunt

Being all practical, I bought a raincoat from a second hand shop today. Now I'm on the hunt for rain boots. Apparently I'm also torturing myself. Love these. Nothing at all to do with rain though. ;)

{image source: here}

The Holidays Are Upon Us

Everyone, welcome to my local gardening centre, Stewarts. I never expect the things I see inside, but I'm always so surprised and pleased. It often brings out the materialist in me at a time when I'm trying to be a minimalist. I often have a war of words with myself as I'm deliciously tempted by the amazing displays put together by Lee Yeatman.

Inspiration...

Where does your style come from? I've read many comments about how stylists can be inspired by artists. I've never tried that.  And then one day, I saw this beautiful tweed dress. It was a bit pricey and a little bit daunting. I love tweed. At heart, I'm a nerdy academic. Tweed, corduroy, turtle necks, thick framed glasses, you name it, you can count me in.

A whole dress made of tweed is a lot of texture and to be honest I didn't want to spend that kind of money during the holidays on myself. I settled for staring at the dress longingly each time I went by. And then one day it happened. I was cruising the clearance section and there was my dress, in my size, waiting patiently for me to come get it. The tweed's pattern has a beautiful warm set of colors for autumn/winter.

I'd never owned a tweed dress before and trying to figure out how to style it is pushing me to explore new things. I cracked open my art catalogue and found this lovely painting by Georgia O'Keeffe.

Have you ever used a painting as inspiration for an outfit? If you have I'd love to hear about it or see the photos! xoxo

{image sources: me}

Stylish Growing Pains

What was it like for you growing up and discovering your style influences? I had my head in the clouds and was busy dreaming away with my rose coloured glasses on. I definitely had my own distinct flavour of style developing and one of the big hitters that influenced me was Jackie Onassis. 

Oh Sammy, I think I love you...

{image source: me using a nikon D60, gimp and picnik}

Have you ever had a sandwich so good it became love at first bite? I think I just did!

The Fab Miss B

{image source: The Fab Miss B a blog by Becky Kazana}

Confession time. I am a massive sap who has a thing for everything wedding. My friend Lindsay is getting married next year and it has gotten me gaga over wedding stuff. And that's how I stumbled upon Becky Kazana.

Tiny Tight Rant

{glitter leggings image source: Zara.com}

Side bar all you fabulous fashionistas. I need you to sound off on this. Zara has these fabulous glitter leggings for everyone to wear. I would love to hear your thoughts on whether or not this:

{glitter tights image source: via Amazon.co.uk}

equates the same thing. Are tights the same as leggings? If you see someone on the street wearing these glitter tights as trousers/leggings, what would your reaction be? This is what I saw this morning dropping my kids off for school. A mother, dropping her kid off at school, wearing glitter tights as trousers. I'm talking full view people. The shirt stopped just above the hips. Personally, it was way too freaking early in the morning to be seeing something like that without having had a cup of coffee. What are your thoughts? Am I just a prude or is this just too far? Let me hear your thoughts!

xoxo

Fun Times at Funchal by Night

Do you remember my first run at trying Portuguese food? If not, you should definitely try checking that out again. It will really help get you up to speed on just how much the Foo Fairy likes keeping me company through life and what kind of starting point we were at on this particular journey.

That moment...

{Beachcomber cafe, Barton On Sea}

Busy days. Fleeting moments. Sometimes we blink and it's all gone by. But then there are these days. These moments where we take a chance to pause. And it's all so very perfect.

Those simple moments with the perfect person and a cup of coffee in the quiet with the sun. 

I hope everyone's weekend is filled with perfect moments. 

xoxo

And then there were police...

{image of West Quay from their site}

How do you spend your Saturdays? This last Saturday, my daughter convinced me to go to something called The West Quay shopping centre. I have been here since June and had managed to keep my shop-o-holic bottom out of this place up until then. The press release images of this place do not prepare you for the reality of this place.

And this is why your arteries hate you...

It came to my attention yesterday that I deal with most things in life through food. Thanks to a wonderful fellow blogger over @ Saturday's with Maggy I was reminded of a fabulous and versatile dish that provides endless amounts of comfort for me. Hashbrowns! The best thing about them is how easily you can personalize them to perfection. For a great guide on how to make your own, jump on over to Gwen's site! She does them up right and her picture is way prettier than mine. Still feeling blue? I have another dish for you. 

Wear It Out

One of my biggest loves in life is fashion. At the same time, one of the things that bugs me the most is mass consumerism. Wear It Out has married the two in a way that makes me very happy. It's all about up-cycling.

Handmade By Menina Feliz

The girly girl in me that loves everything vintage and retro fell in love with Menina Feliz's designs. There were so many gorgeous gift ideas at Menina's stall at the fair it was incredible.

Nicholas John Frith

I'm so happy to introduce everyone to Nick and as promised, I'm dutifully declaring my vested interest in this particular post. Nick was one of the local artists at the fair that I mentioned here and here. He's also a part of our very extensive family. 

OOTO

 I'll be "out of the office" for a small bit due to medical stuff. It's very hard for me to deny the luring siren's call that is the blogosphere, but it seems sitting up, typing, and other normal human activities are a bit beyond my capacity for the moment. I'll be back as soon as possible!

xoxo

Chelsey's Bakehouse

Chelsey's bakehouse literally lured me from Carlitta Monchitta's display with their amazing treats wafting through the air. I imagine, it was a bit like watching Yogi Bear whenever he sniffs a picnic basket out.

Carlitta Monchitta

It's getting down to that time of year where people start buckling down for Christmas. What better way then to give something unique or handmade? When I found out there was a local folk arts and crafts fair, I was over the moon. I had so much fun this past Saturday. I had no idea what to expect and the place was a little bit manic. There were so many amazing and talented local artists. One of my favourites was Carlitta Monchitta. She makes Japanese inspired vintage jewelry. Quite honestly, they're amazing.