A funny thing happened on the way into town...

Arm candy to grace even the most discerning fashionista. I have been searching for a bright red patent handbag since watching the dvd with Kate Hudson with her gorgous Kelly bag. There it was, a delicious slice of handbag heaven. A FMB, if I ever saw one! It would have been a travesty to leave it in the shop, particularly as I had decided that I wanted it! The lady in the shop was lovely. She found a few more red patent bags for me to look at just in case I needed more choice. But I didn't. I know that once I see something that I really, realIy want, I don't need any more convincing. What a happy bunny I am... ;-) x

Snow-filled sunsets

Snow crunch!

No, it's not a new breakfast cereal, it's what happens when ice crystals break. How interesting is this...?
"Snow is made of ice crystals. Ice crystals have six points. One snowflake can consist of multiple crystals. There are gaps between the points of a crystal that are empty, except for air. When snow falls to the ground, air is trapped inside of that layer of snow. You have probably noticed that when snow is stepped on, it gets compressed. The air gets pushed out of the snow. The sound you hear could be the sound of the ice crystals as they break"
Snow now you know ;-) x

Snow is happy weather...

Snow makes me excited... Me, and the rest of the world!
As I went up to bed last night I peered out of the window and yippee.. it was snowing. It felt like Christmas, and bearing in mind that I missed Christmas, I just felt my stomach flip over at the sight of all that white stuff. There was a healthy covering on the ground and big flakes of snow coming down. It always looks beautiful to me. I awoke in the night and again, I had to look out of the window to see if it was still snowing. It was. In the morning, the trees were covered with snow and there was that eerie quiet that always happens when it snows.
No other weather brings people out together like snow does. I've seen more people out and about today, walking, sliding on the snow, slipping down the bank upside down and holding hands, how lovely... I didn't try it because I didn't want to slide anywhere at the moment. I was just happy to see others enjoying themselves. And there were 3 swans... why? x

A funny thing happened on the way to work...

There's no end to what a smile can do for you... ! Everyone should smile more.. today, I arrived at work and pressed the button for the lift. Within a couple of seconds, the life doors opened and.. yikes! There was a man sitting on the roof of the lift. Not something you see every day. He climbed off the top of the lift and got out of the lift shaft. I laughed because it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I told him I would wait for the other lift "It's up on 14th floor.. but it's coming now" he said. "Did you press the button?"... "Of course" The lift sailed past. "Great... it will be full when it gets to this floor" I said. He peered down into the lift shaft... "1, 2, 3" he said "4, 5, 6" you'll be ok, there are only 6 people" I smiled as the lift came and thanked him. He climbed back on top of the lift saying "With a smile like that, you'll never have a problem getting a lift!!"
Cheeky, or what?!

Resisting temptation...

Mmm... mmm... mmm... mmm... mmm... mmm... mmm... mmm... !!

The trouble with resisting temptation is it may never come your way again. ~Korman's Law The trouble with giving in is that it may change your life forever. ~me! It's all right letting yourself go, as long as you can get yourself back. ~Mick Jagger

I never know what the future brings...

Have you ever...?

Been in a store and wanted to buy everything?! I know it sounds a bit kooky, but it happens to me every time I visit my favourite store in the US, White House - Black Market. I seek them out and then spend around two hours (well closer to three if I'm truthful!) trying on everything I can lay my hands on. Their dresses just fit.
Here's one I did get!
You know when you go into a changing room and try stuff on and nothing fits. When you come out imagining that you put on 10 pounds overnight, when the truth is, they just didn't get your fit right. I do that sometimes and it doesn't feel that great. The there's White House, Black Market. I go in there and I try on everything and most of it fits me. The challenge always is what to buy, what I can afford and what size bag I need to buy to make sure I can bring it all home. I have 'what I bought' and I have a wish list of zillions of tops, dresses, coats, shoes and trousers that I will just have to wait for another time.
Here's one that got away!
I love US shopping. There's none of that 'You can only take 3 things in the changing room' nonsense! They take the clothes from you and 'make a room' for me. Then, when they see just how excited I am collecting more and more to try on, they join in. 'We'll just bring things for you to try'.. how cool is that?! It's like having your own dresser - a bit like in Pretty Woman, but without Richard Gere, shame! It's nice to buy new clothes and nice to know that there are things you can't afford. It means I have to come back home and work some more so I can go back and do it all over again! I'll find more 'have' and 'have nots' to add later... x

What does a girl have to do.. ?

Just smile and be the best friend anyone could ever wish for and 'pooof'.. I get flowers and champagne x 2! I love my friends. Fi comes to stay and brings flowers and champagne. J also bought me flowers in return for giving him my sofa and... yes, you've guessed it... champagne! I am a champagne girl after all (sorry dad, I know you don't like it!) which just means there's more for me. I love my flowers and don't want to miss a single minute of them. I'd already bought tulips for Fiona, for her room whilst she was here. Flowers make me smile and make me happy when I'm feeling that life isn't going my way.

Snow conundrums...

I love watching the snow. Not that I've had much time to peer out of the window today because I've been working. I always find snow exciting and fascinating... though there is a downside. I had to stay in when I was planning to go out ;-( x No dental appointment, no seeing mum and dad, no Spring Fair and no KN. But I did make a mean macaroni cheese to compensate for my no show day, yummy!

Highlights of my trip

G&me... always smiling. Point a camera at us and we smile. Now I know what it feels like to be adopted!




These Valentine messages are easy to make - I should know, I have a big pad full of them.. mmm, woo hoo!
Here's a mail box full of love letters... there's a great little product on the lid. It's a talking pages recorder that records 30 seconds of whatever you wish. A message of love, a poem, a child talking, a favourite song, a baby's cry or heartbeat.. and you can either keep it when you receive it, or erase it and make one of your own - fab, or what?!
SEI had some of the best new ranges at the show. Stunning papers and beautiful embellishments - all there to tempt me, but hands off! They are unavailable here in the UK... boo hoo... ;-(
One of my favourite people, Anna Griffin, has brought out some stunning new ranges.. I love this one.
I liked this display of tags. Lots of different ways to make tags for when you're short on inspiration.
Doodlebug always have a stand to make your mouth water. Lots of cup cakes, sweeties and candies.
I loved this 'booth'... Yellow Bicycle is just a fun team of people and they had a shed!
So what was everyone making such a fuss about? 45 minutes of waiting, lots of photographs of ears, bald heads and other people's phones and then one of Paris herself! I have to admit, she's very pretty and handled all the fuss very well.
I know someone who has a photograph just like this one... and I'm in it! x

Happy, happy days!

I'm home! I'm so glad to be home back in the UK. One of the reasons why I love going away is the feeling of coming home. If I never went away, how would I know what it felt like to come home again? The US was good, as always. I've been inspired, wined and dined, educated and challenged. It's been an adventure and one I have really enjoyed. I've seen lots of my friends, lots of new products and it's been a very tiring trip, but worth every minute.

Things I miss...

I'm here, 5000 miles away from home and life is a bit surreal. I'm getting up when everyone else has already done half a day's work. I'm having dinner when everyone I love and care about is tucked up in bed and I'm just living a different life for a few days - nice, but still surreal. I love the buzz of being away, the travel, the different people, the surprises that make each day so different. It's what I love about travelling. It also hightlights my vulnerability because I'm way out of my comfort zone here. It is the same for everyone, as I discovered tonight, which I kinda guessed, but is still comforting to know x x x

Today I met Paris Hilton...!

Well, not quite met, but I did see her and take her photograph. She'd arrived at the show to sign scrapbook papers. I'm sure she just saw it as another event and had no real idea what was going on. She was however very polite, very grown up and stunningly pretty. She's not old enough, nor stylish enough to be beautiful, but she was eye catching and smiled a lot. I got her photo.. woo hoo! It took me a while to work my way up the queue of people. I have lots of photos of the back of other people's heads, cameras and even ears and bald heads!I managed to get to the front right in front of her body guard. He got in the way a bit, as you'll see by my photos, but in the end patience won over my tired feet and I got the photo I was hoping for. More to come on that one.. x

Who shrunk my shoes?!

I have spent a day wondering... they fitted when I left home. Why don't they fit anymore? I think it's the flight and the distance away from home. Every mile you fly away from home makes your feet grow so when you come to walk in those comfy shoes, all of a sudden, they're not so comfy anymore. I'm in Anaheim, California at the moment visiting a trade show.
I spent time in the press office today. That was after I managed to get into the show. They are never as organised as you think they might be. I register at home thinking I can get into the show - but "no"... they tell me I have to queue, so I do that too. When I get to the desk, they print off a label for me and I think "phew, I'm 99% there" but "no"... she looked at the badge and said "You're press, sorry. You have to go upstairs. I can't give you this badge, you have to to upstairs and get another one" then she tore it up.
I imagine, as she may have never left the States, she won't have worked out how that feels. It's the 3rd desk I've tried and I still have no badge to get in. So, I go up the very long escalator and arrive at the press office. "You don't need to queue anywhere, just come here" says the nice girl in the yellow jeans - if only they'd told me that before.. mmm.
I don't mean to moan, it's been a great day. It's just that I assume that I'm visiting and English speaking country so thing will be the same - they are definitely not the same. I should know because I've been coming long enough.. somehow though, it always surprises me just how different two English speaking countries can be. We might as well be speaking a different language at times! x

What a girl wants..

Heart throb, Colin Firth, as his best! A very girly chick flick if I ever saw one, charming and easy on the eye - a bit like me! Another love film makes its debut at the Mill and saves this girl from another evening of rubbish tv! I have my dear daughter to thank for my new found passion for films.. xx

Fit for a king... and a princess

I'm doing a tour of pubs and eating establishments with a Royal connection! Last week it was the King's arms and this week it's his head... I can't wait for next week! The simplest food of fish and chips can be delicious if it's cooked in the right way and sitting on a bed of mushy peas - yummy! Not that I ate many chips, I had help from the KN chip monster, (not to be confused with the KFC monster) which I'm told is also very different to the honey monster ;-) x I had a fab evening x time is a weird thing.. tick, tock... sometimes you blink and hours have flown by and at other times, and this will be tomorrow for sure, it's just like you're counting every second. Then again, in a blink of an eye, I'll be back here... after I've flown half way around the world, seen some stuff, done things, chatted to people and had a whole new 747 jumbo experience! It will make a change from the mini ones... ;-) x

Too much smiling..

Gets a girl in trouble more... is what my latest 'Love Film' says. Le Divorce is a light hearted, entertaining film set in beautiful Paris. It's the story of two American sisters. One is going through a divorce, the other is accepting very expensive gifts from tall, dark Parisians! Mmm, let that be a lesson to you all... ok I know you have your ears covered right now! Anyway back to the film.. you can feel the chemistry kicking in and it is at this point in the film that the gorgeous Hermes red Kelly handbag appears. Oh what trouble she gets in to and mostly due to this stunningly, beautiful bag. The plot twists and turns and is at times charming and at other times sad. The upshot is that whilst it's a romantic film it demonstrates that the French do not expect their romances to be permanent, and Americans do... And of course, that every girl would love to own a tiny piece of handbag heaven!

Loud applause... !!

I cleaned, I dusted, I hoovered, even the bird got his feathers spring cleaned in time for the arrival of 'my new sofa!'. Yes, the wait is over and it's now here in my apartment. Out with the old and in with the new! My old and very well loved sofa has gone to another home to make room for my lovely, new one. See ya on cloud 9! x

Did I go away on holiday?

Have I been abducted by aliens? Has my laptop broken (yikes?!) or have I just been neglecting my duties as a blogger extraordinaire?! I am counting down... 5 more sleeps until I'm airborne again. That makes me sound like some kind of bug, a ladybug even, those are the prettiest kind. No, I mean 10+ hours shut inside a tube hurtling around the globe along with a couple of hundred strangers, mmm, I guess it's my turn. Not to worry, I'll have my nintendo ds close to hand so I will be heard to shout 'red', 'blue', 'yellow' on odd occasions throughout the trip just to annoy my fellow passengers, whoever they might be. Then when I get to lovely LA, I'll get on a bus and travel to Disneyland where I'll spend the next few days working, sleeping (hopefully) and networking. Once I'm there, I'll be in paper heaven! Lots of stroking, oggling and meetings with Divas and hopefully a few of what are affectionately known as 'make and takes!' I'm looking forward to the buzz, the surprises, meeting old faces that I only see once a year, the occasional lemon drop martini - no one makes them like the Americans - to being in over 20 degrees and just a tinsy bit of shopping inbetween the wall to wall walk and work!
Walking the show is around 7 to 8 miles long so I thought I should buy some new shoes for the occasion ;-)

The best things are meant to be shared..

Which only goes to prove a point... that the best things really do come in tiny packages. I'm having a designer shoe week and this tiny treasure is to hang from the beautiful silver chain that came with the gift. I'm just getting around to 'being me' again. I feel like sleeping beauty awakening from a dream. I realise the reason why I've not been blogging is 1) I wasn't at home. 2) I have been watching dvds galore and enjoying my 'love film' subscription to the full. 3) I've been out partying more, spending more time in Chelts and just staying out, rather than staying in. That said, I've missed my blog. It's part of me and I know others have missed it too. It's become the place to share my thoughts, my mini adventures, the special people and moments in my life, my photographs and generally wibble on about random things. That's what I enjoy most. I love writing and downloading those thoughts that rattle around my head. Two years of ramblings and the more I write, the more I want to write more.. it all adds up to quite a diary... especially as these are just the bits suitable for my mom to read! ;-) Love you M&D xx

Here's a quiz for girls..

What is sexier than a brand new leather sofa? A new leather sofa with a brand new pair of gorgeous red FMS! Oh how gorgeous are these? And they were in Hobbs sale so they were a real bargain! As were the purple pair, the red and black dress, the purple blouse, the black blouse and the stonkingly good classic navy dress with the white trim that I bought to parade round in at next week's show. And it looked fab with a fuchsia pink belt so I have to search for one before I leave the country! Okay, I spent more than I went in the shop for but... but... but... I saved loads! Girls logic, I know. And I resisted the very beautiful and truly gorgeous red patent handbag that I will no doubt dream about and have to buy when I get home from the US! That's if I don't find some delicious arm candy in the US that comes in the shape of a piece of handbag heaven... Oh joy x

Turn the sound up... !

I love this and it appeals to me just because.. life really is too short.. x

More fishy scales and tales..

Here's the before.. and the 'after', well I ate it so there's nothing to see, sorry! Yummy it was too though so Tescos has now moved up between Sainsburys and Waitrose!

shhhh

all quiet on the blogging front... but that doesn't mean that I'm quiet! I have a lot to shout about at the moment, not least the fact that my little fishy - I'm calling him Mr C Bass - and no, I didn't catch him personally - is heading for a very hot, steamy bath tonight! Why do fish have to have beady eyes and scary tails? Thankfully, I'll only be able to see one beady eye staring at me when I cook him! He was looking forward to being barbecued and to be honest, if the balcony had been finished, I'd have cooked him on the barbie outside tonight! But, of course, the planners have said a 'Big Fat No' to my proposal for an extension! Oh dear, oven-baked it is then!

Back later with more fishy tales! x

Early mornings..

Head in the clouds, I couldn't resist stopping the car and taking these photographs. I didn't quite catch what I was looking for. All around was touched with frost, the sun was shining and the early mist was hanging in the valley between the trees just like a carpet. Moved me enough to stop by the roadside for a few moments.

Kings is truly fit for a king and even a princess. What a lovely place, charm, interest, sparkle, comfort, warmth, fizz, conversation and lots of smiles. Some moments are meant to be treasured for a lifetime.
"Take something from them, learn from them, enjoy them and smile because you were part of something special.. just for a moment"

Just perfect... x

Mmm, I'm just wondering whether this would look good on a chain around my neck? Or perhaps, I could get a tee-shirt made?! x

Complaints Department - You’ve got mail!

Dear Miss Blogger

Please, please, please… would you consider adding us/me to your list of highlights for 2008? We/I scanned down your list and noticed that you hadn’t mentioned us/me. We/I remember ‘our highlight’ quite clearly and I can’t believe that you’ve forgotton. We/I put it down to the bang on your head!

We/I appreciate it’s a late entry, but it would mean a lot to us/me if you would reconsider and add us/me to your list. Maybe you could squeeze us/me in between “Bath Pigs’ and your “New Dyson!@”

Yours hopefully,
A faithful & devoted friend/s of the blogging artgirl
Ps If you include us/me, we/I promise to visit more regularly in 2009!

As my good father would say, if you don't ask, you don't get... x you're IN!

January's Joyous Moments!

Mum and dad on mum's birthday!

Celebrating randomness!

I love being random. It’s one of the great benefits of being single. No one to please, nobody’s expectations to dash, just me to deal with, if I make the wrong choice. I decided to venture out to buy a mirror. I came back with a dress! That’s the beauty of life. I love changing my mind. I do it just because I can. I sat in Starbucks with my cappuccino and a mince pie. if you’ve ever been to Starbucks you’ll know that you get a stick, not a spoon to stir your coffee. How could I possibly eat my mince pie with a stick? Quelle conundrum?! I can’t bite using my two front teeth so sat staring at my mince pie, mmm. Marvellous, Starbucks have plastic spoons and forks, so problem solved! I found a dress in Next that I quite liked. All it needed was a belt so I managed to find one of those too and both cost less the actual price. I ventured into Sainsbury’s to find something for my tea and a jacket jumped off the shelves into my hands. I just couldn’t stop it. And it was the only one and reduced by 50%! I will obviously tell everyone that it cost a bomb, but truth be known, it was less than the price of a good meal! Talking of good meals, I bought two pork chops! To most people that might not seem a surprise, but I rarely buy pork but in true New Year fashion, it’s time to try something new! Yummy roast pork chops with roasties and peas… mmm!