A Little Wishlist.

If it weren't for the fact that I've spent nearly all of January being particularly skint, I'd say that I've also been pretty good at saving, which is definitely something I want to try and get really good at this year.

With that being said, it's pretty difficult not to spy fun things to splash out on, besides, one of these things isn't even for me.

1. Eliza and The Bear 'Southern Wild' Sweatshirt – Having heard Eliza and the Bear on Xfm a couple of weeks ago, I've fallen for them. Their song 'It Gets Cold' was an instant favourite and 'Southern Wild' allowed me to be reminded of the wonders of the 'Beasts of Southern Wild soundtrack. The fact that this sweatshirt has a bear on it only sweetens the deal, I really like the colour and it's not going to be warm enough to go without some extra layers for a while so it would be a welcome addition.
2. Not Another Bill Subscription Box – This might be the best subscription box idea I've seen to date. I think they look to provide great 'boyfriend' gifts and with Moon's birthday coming up at the beginning of March it couldn't have been discovered at a better time! Not only do they post gifts from independent designers but quite a few past gifts have featured nice fonts and wood, two of Moon's favourites. I'm hoping that a three-month subscription will be fun and different, and perfect for a boy who never tells anybody what he wants.
3. Muffin-Top Mattress – A rather silly (grown-up) thing to get excited about but this mattress from Loaf.com looks like an absolute dream. My spare time has been a lot about sleeping recently and although this is a bit extravagant, it's probably about third or fourth on our list of 'home priorities' if we decide to stay put.
4. Month Toothbrushes – Spotted on the 'past gifts' section of 'Not Another Bill', these wooden brushes are so cute and definitely make me a little resentful of my boring electric toothbrush. They serve a practical use as well as looking great too and let you know how long you should use them for.
5. Scout Motto Doormat – This definitely makes me long for a door that comes in from outside, sadly the dark corridor that is our hallway just wouldn't do this cute doormat justice but it can just sit here until I can do something with it.

Are you looking forward to pay-day? What do you think of Not Another Bill?

Soggy, Swampy Sunday.

Moon and I took ourselves somewhere a little different for a Sunday walk a couple of weekends ago. It was back to Snelsmore Common, which perhaps wasn't the wisest decision due to the recent flooding and Moon's irresponsible choice of footwear - he had quite the time swamp-dodging!

It was a very different kind of walk from the one we took with our friends, Tom and Matt on their last visit. I was able to get much closer to the horse this time around and the sunset was pretty great though which more than made up for the puddles.





All in all it was the perfect opportunity to give my new Joules tweed coat a quick trial. A late-Christmas present from Moon, it was a lot warmer than it looked like it was going to be and I love the little 'Joules details' about it all over - plus, it's pretty smart and flattering, even more so once it's sans cat hair (Dolly!).


Coat: Joules
Dress: H&M
Scarf: Primark (yonks ago!)
Belt: Urban Outfitters
Boots: New Look


This scarf has been a staple forever, back when I trusted Primark with my pennies...
Brooch: My Bear Hands


I'm really hoping that my daffodils poking through and occasionally seeing a smidge more sunshine means that this rain is on its way out, silly optimism really as we're due snow at the end of the week.





The boy with the brightest shoes!





It's been a little while since I've done any kind of 'outfit post', which I guess just comes with winter (and the goddamn rain) but I did quite enjoy it. Plus it was pretty nice to be dressed up without having to worry about having somewhere to go, something I've been all to guilty of thanks to Skint(Jan)uary.

Give It Some 'Get Up and Go'!

With my first full week at work of 2014 almost done and dusted, I'm already feeling the itch for a drawn out weekend walk to blow the cobwebs out. I think I'm on a search for somewhere new.
When I first stumbled across Veronica Dearly's Terrific Year Calendar, it seemed like the perfect one for me, full of prompts to keep me busy. Unfortunately my spotting it came after we'd already chose our calendar for the year - a pretty fun (read: nerdy) world facts one - so alas, it wasn't meant to be.

That said, her calendar did allow me to stumble across her beautiful website, complete with enviable handwritten graphics, a wonderful portfolio and fun blog - as well as a more 'Internet-friendly' version of her Terrific Year Project. It comes hand in hand with the idea that it's just better feel a bit happier, whether it's through doing things passively or actually getting out there.

I figured I'd pick a couple of her nice prompts from her recent Enjoy the Great Outdoors post, firstly because they're things I'd like to get doing and secondly because I think you really need to see them. I really think taking note of 'Terrific Year' will help me work towards making a bit more of my lunch break too!



I'm a big fan of Veronica's style and it's been easy for me to completely forget about my interest in actual creative things when I'm so busy working and sleeping. Hopefully this marks the beginning of taking a bit more time on this part of my brain.

Wintery but good.

This weekend has certainly flown by, it must be the fact that my first full week of work in weeks is looming for tomorrow...

I took an extra few days off after the New Year to basically extend my relaxation, and I totally did but I had hoped that this would include a bit of outdoor exploring. If you've seen any form of news recently you might be aware that it's been raining quite a bit so that certainly put a stop to that, which was why it was so nice that Saturday was such a sunshiney day. I really don't care if it's cold, I just really don't like it when it's wet.




So, Saturday started with taking Doll to the vet for her vaccinations, she's fine but her teeth could be better, which meant our first Saturday errand was to go to Pets At Home and pick her up some dental-specific food and toothpaste (yep, that exists). It's actually way easier to get her to let me do it than I thought it would be, she's been particularly dopey recently so she's basically cool with everything.

After a stop off at the market and some lunch we popped out for a sunset walk around Greenham Common, it was really pretty, I love how flat some parts of it are, you can see for miles. It's usually deserted but there were so many people out at the same time, I guess it makes a lot of sense though considering it's the first bit of sun we've seen in these parts for what feels like an age.






I haven't been taking nearly as many photographs as I would have liked to so it was a nice excuse to take as many as possible of the beautiful sunset, it's just a shame that it didn't signal that we'd have as a nice day today.





It wouldn't be a walk around Greenham Common without some cows. :)

In other news (ish):

• I did do something productive with my time off and updated my portfolio, I don't really know why I put it off for so long because it was much easier to do than I thought. I'm actually pretty pleased with it, it was quite fun to put together collections of images again.
• Have you seen #100HappyDays photos floating around Instagram recently? I've been loving seeing everyone's different takes on it. Each time I see one I want to start one myself and even passively it makes me feel a little happier. I think I'm going to give it a go once the 1st February rolls around because I think it would feel a little more organised. Have you been doing it, I'd love to see your efforts.

After a huge Sunday pub lunch with Moon's dad this afternoon I'm feeling totally food coma'd, it's tomato and butterbean soup for tea tonight, something different that I can't wait to try.

Hope you have a wonderful end to your weekend. ♥

Two Years with Little Doll.

Happy 2nd Gotaversary, Dolly!

I can't believe that two years have gone by so quickly. It feels like Dolly came into my life at a really important, exciting time and she's made certain things feel easier.

We've moved together, we sleep together and we talk to other - mainly about how hungry she says she is.

She still has a naughty kitten face, still eats all around her, still occassionally tears up all the toilet paper and still only likes to be stroked on her terms. Perhaps that last one is just cats but coming from having a family cat who can't get enough of anyone who'll pay her the slightest bit of affection, it's still a bit strange for me.



I can't believe how much she's actually grown and I haven't even noticed, I'm hoping this is the year she actually likes me a bit more. I guess she's a lot more vocal than she was and she does get crazy-purry-affectionate when I get home from work for all of 5 minutes. She likes to sleep a bit more than she did, especially on our bed and although she comes to kneed us as soon as the sun comes up she's really never anything but sweet.



I do feel a little hesitant of her adventures further afield than our garden but I guess it can't be helped. I'm so happy she's here and is a source of almost constant entertainment, so happy second year to my favourite little Doll - I can't wait to see the small changes in you.