The Storyteller

It was Brazil night last night at the Storyteller! It was pouring with rain and I met up with Dom, Russ and 'the gang'. Nothing really memorable to be honest and the darned motorway was closed on the way home so I had to come the backway home in the wind and rain. Even managed to find some fog and I hated it! It reminded me of my flood moments so I was really glad to get home.. phew...

Got up early to drive up to Peterborough. Gosh, is such a long way! I was meeting Nix, though seemed to struggle to meet at the same place for a coffee! The meeting with Tony & Ed went well though and more work...

Good friends...

Met Amanda tonight for a lovely drink and meal at the new Greek restaurant, OPA, in Bath. What a great place, I'd love to go back and have a proper meal sometime. Amanda looked very well and we just had a good old gossip!

Radio stars...

Me & Marie are radio stars! Went down to Broadmeads to see Stu, the GWR DJ, who was spending the week in a shop window! Got a mention on the radio and managed to confuse the guy totally by taking him some crafty stuff! Well he did say he'd like something to do around 2am in the morning rather than listening to the security guards ghost stories!

Beautiful visitors...

These beautiful swans flew in today onto the lake, how amazing is that! A pair and four young signets swimming across the lake, I do hope they stay. It's been a weird day for wildlife... first swans, then deer on the slip road as I got on the M5 at Cheltenham this evening. I wished I'd found the Literary Festival earlier, it's just like me to get interested just as it's finishing. Tonight I met Dom and we went to a talk with Sophie Dahl and Esther Freud, who are brilliant writers and the grandaughters of two very well known men. They read extracts from their books and it was lovely to hear the spoken word read so beautifully. Sophie, in particular, is so beautiful and articulate too, what a great talent. I couldn't resist a drink afterwards at HDV, which was just what I needed...

My must-have shopping...

I love weekends, they are just for chilling and doing what I fanci. That includes watching the ducks, drinking tea and driving my mini over the common to buy more scrapping goodies. I took my camera and snapped some photographs for a feature for QC. I got into conversation with a girl who said she lived just north of Chelts, I said I'd recently moved from there and it turns out that Kirsty is a friend of Linda. She asked me if I had been to Linda's birthday party?! She had seen my scrapbook and put 2+2 together. How spooky cool is that?! She was there helping her daughter and one of her school friends to make mini books and she seems like such a nice lady. She showed me a quicker route going the back way to Chelts which sounds really useful. I think we'll be in touch again, which is great news. I also managed to buy a bit of scrapping stuff... over £100 worth of yummy papers, loads more card and all the bits I NEED, scandalous or what!! X

I think not!

I think my snazzy new 'New Look' teeshirt caused a stir around Waitrose today. It's a sleepy store compared to the Chelts one, but not today. One of the parking attendents started to chat me up by the melons - see how my love life has hit an all time low! What is it with old men and melons?! I know I'm into cars, but please... I don't know where he appeared from, perhaps he was just a figbox of my imagination.... He kept saying, you'll need 3 and I just smiled and looked blankly at him. He was admiring the watermelon in my basket (well, I'm innocent enough to imagine that's what he was looking at!) and he kept on asking me if I was going bowling and did I want another one! I could feel a date coming on, pardon the fruity pun, so I hastily made some reference to not needing any more melons thank you because I had 2 at home. That confused him even more. I do think all the staff in Waitrose once worked at GCHQ and have had their marbles removed. The only way to get rid of him was to zap him with one of my dazzling baby melons and nip neatly round him, past the wilting lettuces and up the cold meats aisle. I swear I'll stop buying melons if I'm going to keep getting chatted up by the saga club!

Back to my very sparkly teeshirt which I bought because it reminds me of my bestest scrapping buddy in the whole wide world, sweet ginger claire! She always makes me laugh when she says "Nobody puts baby in a corner!' and I just had to have it. Must wear it out one evening and see where that gets me!

The Green Dragon...

Having scoured the countryside around Cheltenham for this pub, I seriously felt like I was on a mini mission! I drove up and down countrylanes in the dark trying to find it but Dom came to my rescue. It was all very relaxed, not what I'd expected and we had a lovely meal along with a bit of light banter with the lovely Russell. His best friend Ben, contrary to what had been said, was quiet, polite and friendly and he drives a brand new cooper S. He's got to be cool to do that! I think we were both worred we were being set up, but it was just a lovely meal out with good friends.
Afterwards I followed Dom back to her place and stayed there for the night. I've no doubt we'll be doing it again sometime, which is fine by me.

That Friday feeling...

Phew.. wall to wall meetings, just another fun day in the office! I always enjoy being in the office and here I am, chocolate cake in hand celebrating my new and much elevated status. As you can see, I work in a very tidy, organised environment, of course I'm joking! It's crowded, creative and most important of all, it's where ideas turn into magazines. I'm out this evening with Dom, Russ & Big Ben.. woo hoo! X ps I've told Danielle I'll be on her diva craft radio program in the US next month.. woo hoo!!

Honey, I gelled my hair... !

I am trying very hard to resist going down to the off license for a bar of chocolate! I knew this would happen. I was tempted to stop on the way home from Chelts, but I resisted. And, where has that got me... doh?! I woke up down in the dumps, something to do with not sleeping very well. Having tried out both beds, I was still awake at 2:30am, I made tea and went to sleep, only to be woken by my german painting friend ringing the bell! You know when you're not quite thinking straight when you spray gel mousse on your hair again instead of hairspray... doh!

It did improve and my day at the BMW garage seems to have perked me up no end. I am always amazed at how long they take to do anything. I arrived at 10:15 and left at 4pm!! I did say I'd wait and to be honest, I got loads of work done and they lent me John's desk! They buzz around like bees but I know the reason for that too! They don't call me honey for nothing! When I got up to leave, they said I'd have to give a month's notice! Amused me anyway and it seems to have lifted my spirits. There's something to be said for just sitting, thinking, working and not being interrupted by emails, that darned interweb and people!

ps And, I found that pointy-eared furry thing in the spare bed and it's wearing my new scarf!

Yellow day...

Having a yellow day, full of bounce and life and the sun isn't even shining! Must be that stored up solar power, or perhaps all that sweetcorn I ate yesterday! x

A culinary journey

I went to Nailsworth at lunchtime and sat outside Hobbs. Everyone else was inside and the door was closed, but I still sat outside... it would be rude not to! Parsnip and bramley apple soup... they come up with the most interesting combinations. Although I went with the idea of a salad, it was the dreaded pasta salad and if i have any more pasta I will look like a stuffed cannelloni! Of course, the sun came out as I had to come back to the apartment to work.. but hey ho... I'm not going inside until it's snowing!
ps isn't bluetooth wonderful?! you take a photo on your phone, bluetooth it to my laptop and here it is... fab!
pps not everything blue is wonderful.. boys are blue and they are smelly! well, most are...

A Hobbs moment...

5 iced-coffee biscuits, 4 Pizza Express breadsticks, 3 flights of stairs, 2 trips to Swindon and 1 daughter here for the weekend! Had a fab time with Liz. Went to Chelts shopping today and DID HOBBS! Liz tried on lots of clothes for work and I tried on every jacket and coat in the place. Loved one of their coats, but I don't ever wear a coat, so decided on a short black jacket which will keep me lovely and toastie when the weather is chilly. I think it looks fab and liz said it was perfect! And, I created a facebook account for me... fun, or what?! Meanwhile, Liz was moving all the furniture around in the bedroom so the bed is now under the window (mum & dad will love that!), the room looks twice the size, and there's a strange pointy-eared furry thing in the bed... must investigate sometime..

Track 2 and the brave one...

Makes me realise just how brilliant my life is... Jodie Foster is brilliant in The Brave One. Fear of anything is such a lonely place. I am lucky that most of the time I feel secure and safe. Experiences like being stuck in my car in the floods exposed me to that thing we call 'fear'. It's not an emotion you can control easily, but you can overcome it. In The Brave One Jodie Foster hands out her own form of violent justice in retaliation for losing her lover. Driven by fear and ignorance, the role she plays is one of vigilante. The music is also fantastic and quite haunting in places, hence my new choice of video... x

the best BB!

How can something so lovely be so bad for you? Now, there's a question! And, do I care? Not enough to resist this wonderful bread & butter pud. It was almost 3pm by the time I made it to Hobbs and I'd had nothing else but a mere smiggen of watermelon for my brekie.

Today I am 'solar-anna' because the sunshine makes me very lively and so happy I could sing. In fact I did, a lot, much to the amusement of passers by. I'm still enjoying Mika Penniman! Happy people always make me smile and that's how I like it. My apartment is being painted today by a very pretty german girl. She's finishing off all those quirky little paint jobs and tomorrow the guy is coming to fill my cracks! Yikes, good job I'm going out... xx

Crazy moments - 5 Parking tickets - 1!

Us girls together!
Visited Brand Licensing at Olympia today and did a photocall with a few characters! My crazy streak couldn't be surpressed, it's like a kiddies playground and it felt more like a trip to Disneyland, than real work! Of course, we did some 'real work' and it was a great day. Apart from the £30 parking fine that I kinda knew I'd be getting. Stupid Swindon Station! No spaces on the car parks and I did look for over half an hour but got to the point of no return, so just parked at the end of a row. I wasn't in anyone's way and I do drive a very small mini, but the 'jobsworth' just couldn't resist. The funny thing is that it's still most likely cheaper to get a ticket than travel from Stonehouse station! Hey ho...
Who me? Pink and fluffy?
Saying 'hi' to Dillan from the Magic Roundabout
Hello Barney!

window ledges

allow you to admire the view... let's just say that sitting on the window ledge allows me to look outwards and see the bigger picture. It's easy to absorb the nonsense other people dish out without having even a passing thought for the person on the receiving end. Some people are just selfish, thoughtless, and they don't often realise they might be hurting someone with their behaviour, or perhaps the truth is even more obvious, they just don't care. I know that I care, perhaps too much at times, but I'd rather care more than care less!

love it...

I wake up each morning to this view... makes living here extra special. Last night was Linda's birthday party so I did the gypsy-look! It was a great party and she absolutely loved her scrapbook.

there ain't no secrets...

6 plumbers later and my drainage problems are all solved. Flirty plumber arrived at 7:30am, followed by his 'merry band'. They delved and guess what they found? A can of expanding foam, no less, inside my pipework! That has to be the height of embarassement!

26th September... A Very Special Date

54 years ago today mum and dad got married! How fabulous is that?! Fancy spending over 50 years with the same partner... there must be some special glue out there that bonds the two of them together or maybe it's just that thing called L.O.V.E. Makes a change for the camera to be in your hand mum... !
True to form, trying to get the two of you to look the same way, smile and not look asleep in the same photograph is always a challenge. It's funny though... I love you two very much xx thank you for all the happy times and for making me the very special person that I am xx
I'm looking forward to the next 54 years! I'll still be 39 and you two will have had beautifully signed telegraphs from HRH or Wills even. I know you will both still be smiling and in love xx these pics were taken at Dan & Jo's wedding last year. My mum could have been the queen with a pose like that and a great job she would have done too! Must be the full moon passing.. tonight I feel the need to search out some old family wedding photographs, just because I can.. that would raise a smile I'm sure... xx Until then...

It's takes 3...

Not TWO, as I've been led to believe! As my new friend TopMan told me, plumbers always go round in 3's and here they are pondering over the drain today. They prodded it from their end, they prodded it from mine and nothing. TM said he was sending me 3 fit young men... mmm.. exactly! The bald patches are a bit of a give-away! Not quite the coke ad, more a flat tango moment! And it gets better...I have drainsRus coming round to do more prodding on Friday morning! And, I do believe TM may just be getting his own back for the number of phone calls I've made to keep tabs on what's going on. DrainsRus will be here at 7:20am! That's almost the middle of the night.... hey ho... aren't I the lucky girl!

It must be Ground Hog Day... !

What did I say about beware of drains...?! Life is full of surprises hey?! I'm waiting for the guys to come and excavate the drains here. How spooky is that?! Love the place, adore the location and view, just hoping that 'the powers that be' will sort out the plumbing, get my carpets cleaned, get all the snagging done.. then I can get on with just enjoying living here. In the past 14 days I've moved house and travelled over 10,000 miles to Vegas and back. I've met some old friends, made some new ones, met some interesting characters and been on the '8 hour time difference' roller coaster! I'm so glad to be home and I can't wait to add lots of my photos x

Vegas by night

It's over 30 degrees and with a view like this, no wonder I enjoy Vegas! The days might be long and whatever anyone says, working with an 8 hour time difference is hard. But the rewards are pretty special in such a bustling place.

Top 3 Must-haves from Memory Trends

I love this company, HamblyScreenPrint. Their transparencies are stunning and they have such yummy patterns, I can't wait to get hold of this stuff to create some mini books and clear cards.

This 'Clip-On' rotating storage unit has to be the most amazing and useful product of the show. Prefect for holding all those sticker sheets, rub-ons and transparencies, it's a definate on my must-have list!

Making Memories had more than their fair share of storage products this show. This fantastic cupboard looks like it would hold all those trinketty things that fit into jars. It's got shelves for paint pots and a fabulous ribbon rod to hold all those irritatingly unravelling ribbon spools! I've no doubt it won't be coming to the UK so I'll just have to look elsewhere for something similar.. boo hoo!

Creative soulmates...

This tray of colourful glass mosaics awakened my magpie tendencies!

The most colourful job in Vegas!

Here's the guy laying the mosaic patterns in the foyer of the Wynn Hotel, Las Vegas. In such a noisy, fast-moving city I was moved to find this guy on his hands and knees with his colourful tray of beautiful mosaics. He was calmly cutting each piece and positioning it to create what is a massive floral pattern weaving around this tropical garden. I asked if he minded if I took his photograph and he just looked up and smiled. It's rare to find someone so quiet in such a mad place!

FMB & LB

Favourites Moments Babe! Not what you're thinking... 2 days in my new apartment and it's off to Gatwick and flying off to the US.

This is one of my favourite moments and photographs of the entire trip. This is a very sunny day at the Wynn, me & Nix just having a fruit cocktail, non-alcoholic too as it was daytime! The location is stunning, we were just sitting on the deck admiring the most amazing waterfall after our CHA meeting and were amused by the guys wading through the water with their hose (woo hoo!) to water the plants. I'd love to go back there when I wasn't working!

When it comes to lunch then it's hard to beat the Lobster Bisque with Eric! Homemade on the premises, it was fantastic! Gave us an appetite for shopping too! x

Steer clear of drains!

A happy heart can be at home anywhere! It's true that 'Home is where the heart is'. Moving from my beautiful barn (well, not mine exactly!) to my new apartment was always going to be an adventure. Some people say they know a place is right for them as soon as they walk through the door. I knew my apartment was right for me when I read the particulars! The secret is to have a happy heart and that comes from within. Being happy is easy when you surround yourself with people who radiate happiness. Steer clear of the drains, that's my motto! x

No more sleeps...

Today is BIG MOVE DAY! I reckon it has to be the BEST move I've ever made. Greg hired the van and with the help of Jake, Rich and a couple of their mates (plus David of course!) I'm on my way to my new apartment.

Looks kinda empty doesn't it. Even more than usual... x
I don't know... whilst some of us were working, others, namely likkle bruv, were putting their feet up drinking tea!

These shoes are made for... ?

Walking, talking and crafting... ! Me & Ging are 'doing our thing', I'm making funky new home tags and she's onto here second project, making a calendar with stuff she got in the US. Went to Nailsworth for lunch, my fav place at the moment, Hobbs Bakery... then back to the apartment. Dropped off more clothes and shoooooooooooooooes! I thought I'd got rid of most of my clothes. It's only when I have to carry them upstairs on their hangers that I realise that I still have quite a few! I have two rails set up, one in each bedroom and they look fab. I'm so excited, only 3 sleeps to go! I'm packing at the same time as crafting, it's great that us girls are so good at multi-tasking... x

Wine & chocolates evening...

I said goodbye to the fridge and the IKEA unit tonight. I've had that unit since Lansdowne Avenue, it used to be in my office. But hey, it's time for it to go and I know it's gone to a good home. Marie's lovely sister Lisa and her husband came for my fridge and bought 2 bottles of wine and some chocolates as a thank you. And the guy I offered the unit to has also bought chocolates! How special do I feel?! Especially as Ging has arrived with 2 bottles of wine too... I feel a wild, drunken moment coming on... !

So excited...

Picked the lovely Tash up tonight and we went to the apartment. She was so excited and it was lovely for us both to share such a special place. We went and had a great meal in one of my favourite Indian restaurants in Nailsworth. The guy even said we must have something special in common, perhaps mother and daughter, because he could see how well we got on. That's quite funny considering Tash is the daughter of my very ex-boyfriend. We do share a lot of similar thoughts and interests and I had a fab time. Guess what... we're going to do it all over again very soon... x