Chugging Along

Rat Race


Friday marked another hoop jumped and another box ticked. I handed in my English assignment. I wrote a million essays and lab reports during my degree, so it should be pretty routine by now. However, my teaching course requires a very different style of writing. It requires personal experience and reflection, instead of the scientific, professional style I have been used to. They also use a different way of referencing which drives me insane! But never mind, it felt good to print, staple, hole-punch and be done with it.

Pretty in Pink

Pretty Things


Apologies for my absence from Blog-Land, but I had a weekend away with the Hubby for some Navy thing.


Anyway I'm back now, so let's catch up shall we?


My nails have (surprisingly) been doing OK, so I decided to try and make the most of them before they all snap off. Because trust me, they will!


Inspired by one of the glamours girls at Uni, I decided to check out Fimo Canes. Never heard of them? No, me neither. They are a type of 3D nail art which comes in skinny little 5cm long sticks. You cut a thin little slice off one end, and decorate your nails accordingly. 

Snapshot

Ja'dore online shopping :)

Pinterest

After seeing people rave about it here, there and everywhere, I finally gave in and signed up for Pinterest. As I have so much University work going on at the minute, I knew it would be an unwelcome distraction. But I just couldn't help myself!


So if you fancy taking a look and my boards, I'm MrsShowers over there too.


I'd love some people to follow, as I've only found a couple so far. What can I say... I'm picky!


Anyway, enough blogging, enough pinning.... Back to the grind.

Crafting and Culture

Rat Race

Another busy week at University! It's a bit of a mixed bag; some stress, some fun, and some boredom,

Stress - Monday we had to give presentations. It was only to our small tutor group who are a great bunch of people, so OK it wasn't that bad. I think most of the stress came from the fact I was unprepared (oops) so I guess that's my own fault. I get feedback on Monday, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Fun - We had a Design and Technology session which focused on textiles, so we got to play with try out a bit of sewing. I know my way round a needle and thread, but it was pretty funny working with some of the lads who didn't have a clue.

Winter Wedding - Bridesmaids Dresses

Pretty Things


I started talking here about my friend J's wedding. On Saturday we went dress shopping, and I'm so excited to share the results with you.


She had her heart set on navy coloured bridesmaid dresses, so we were simply trying to decide the style. 

Runners up...

7140                                Alfred Angelo                             7027

Sparkle Nails

Pretty Things


I think of myself as a low-maintenance kinda girl, and to be honest most of the time my nails are just naked. My nails are pretty short, they won't grow without snapping off, and I'm not a big fan of falsies. However, in honor of my Saturday night out, I decided to bling them up a little. 


The result...  I like, I like!

Weekend Get-Away

My Life as a Wife

Hello beautiful bloggers! Sorry that posts have been sparse on the ground for the past few days. I've had a busy weekend but am very much looking forward to now catching up!

Saturday morning did not start well. Firstly I was in work (booo) and then by 9am I had already broken my brolly and got myself some soggy feet - bad times! However, my day quickly improved as I hopped on the train to meet J and go bridesmaid dress shopping, which I will blog about very soon.

A quick catch up with father, just enough time to glam myself up, and I was off out again to celebrate my friend R's 22nd birthday. We tried a new bar which is a bit swankier than the normal pubs we attend, and had ourselves some yummy cocktails.

Classic Cosmo. Sorry about the awkward flash...

Snapshot

Late Night Snack. Yum.

Be Back Soon :)

Hello!


Sorry I have been absent from blog-land for the past few days. I've been away for the weekend and avoiding preparing for a presentation I have to give at University tomorrow.


I promise to catch up soon!

Red Carpets Galore

Pretty Things


Awards season is well and truly underway, both here and across the pond, so I thought I would share a few of my favourite dresses.


The Golden Globes started us off on Sunday 15th January, and for me this event had the best fashion (so far). So many beautiful dresses - they definitely started with a bang.

                                     Sofia Vergara,                                                                    Julie Bowen

Sofia Vergara, from Modern Family
Wow! Her body looks stunning in this Vera Wang gown. Her simple hair and make-up let the dress do all the talking, resulting in a sexy yet sophisticated look.


Julie Bowen, from Modern Family

Photos do not do this dress justice. Watching her walk the red carpet on E!, this Reem Acra dress was so soft and flowed beautifully. Unfortunately, her pale skin tone combined with excessive camera lighting mean the delicate peach colour looks washed out. Just trust me, this is a beautiful dress.

All Things Wedding #2

Pretty Things


Check out All Things Wedding #1 here.

My Girls

There's my Mum, of course. My maid-of-honor K, one bridesmaid and two flowergirls from my side, one bridesmaid, and two flowergirls from his side. It all worked out beautifully! I get on really well with his Mum, and given that she has 4 sons, I wanted to include her in things like wedding dress shopping.

Something I had been so excited about, was having a big girly sleepover the night before the wedding. The hotel had a separate little building called the "Turrets" which slept 8, so me, Mum, the Mum-in-law and my girls (minus one lickle flowergirl) bundled ourselves in for a sleepover and morning of pampering. 

                     The Turrets - Our home for the night                               A secret little staircase in the grounds
                                                                                                     which my girls loved to investigate.

All Things Wedding #1

Pretty Things


As my wedding was over 6 months ago, this is definitely not a wedding blog, or a wedding recap blog. However, I thought I'd share a few snaps away, because, well why the hell not! Plus, what better day to start than Valentines day?


Now I don't want to make anyone too jealous, but the Mr was ah-may-zing at wedding planning. He's a super organised guy anyway, so loved the excuse to create a new excel spreadsheet and get out his Filofax. He really surprised me by wanting a very traditional day. String quartet, top-and-tails suits, speeches - that all came from him. He also wanted it to be quite "impressive", but that did not surprise me as much. Unfortunately, impressive = expensive. That poor little excel spreadsheet. It tried so hard to keep all the numbers in order, but up and up they crept. 


The wedding didn't really have a theme, apart from being a traditional wedding...? It just kind of evolved. I knew I wanted a lot of white, and the silver / grey input was influenced by my white-gold engagement ring (seen here). After a very long day of shopping, choosing purple bridesmaid dresses meant that all our colours were sorted. Now lets get to the pictures shall we?

Venue

Birthday Plans

My Life as a Wife


My brain is tired, so please humor me while I indulge in some procrastination. 


I don't think I've mentioned before, but I have 2 younger brothers. I am particularly close with the youngest, he is my little dude and I love spending time with him. It's his birthday at the beginning of March, but it's mid-week so I won't be able to see him on the day. Instead we've planned that he'll come and stay the weekend after. I can't wait to do all of our favourite city things, such as go bowling, eat Yo-Sushi, and have movie night.

Yo Sushi         Bowling      Popcorn

Snapshot

Ladies of Leisure 

I Love Learning

Rat Race 


I really enjoyed University last week (minus one pitiful geography lecture). So thought I'd share what we have been up to.


Literacy
On Wednesday we looked at children's books, poetry, and simply encouraging children to enjoy reading. It was so nice to take a little trip down memory lane and reminisce about our favourites as children. Some stories which hold a particularly special place in my heart include; The Magic Faraway Tree, Alfie, Jacqueline Wilson books, anything by Roald Dahl. 

Source                Source                  Source              Source

Love - Bugs

My Life as a Wife

I don’t get to see as much of my friends as I’d like. We've all uber broke busy, and they're just a little too far away. So with it being Valentines, I decided to spread a little love and let them know I hadn’t forgotten about them. I went out looking for some rude funny Valentines cards to send to my favourite girls.

Reflect, Edit, Improve.

I'm still new to the blogging world. I have been a reader / lurker for a while now, skipping from blog to blog. However, I decided it was time to start forging some roots, and I’m now working my way round from the inside.

I’m still figuring some things out, such as how to discover the type of blogs I like, and following the people whose lives I want to hear more about. But I’m having fun whilst doing so. :)

It also means that my own blog isn’t quite there yet. I wanted categories to give my blog some structure and flow, but am finding that the fit isn’t quite right.

The solution? Reflect, edit and improve. I spent ages teaching my 10-11 year olds to do this in their literacy work, so it only seems fair that I take my own advice. I’m planning a few tweaks here and there, and I’m sure there will be more in the future.

But please be kind – I’m still a newbie!

Snapshot

Looks good. Taste bad.

Snapshot

An early Easter treat

1000 Words About Me

Rat Race


Don't worry - this post is not going to be 1000 words long!


I will graduate as a qualified teacher this June, and am looking to begin working at the start of term in September. However, job application time for newly qualified teacher (NQTs) has already started.

Cue panic stations.

Source

Snapshot

Oink Oink

Winter Wedding

Pretty Things


As I mentioned here, one of my oldest friends J has asked me to be her bridesmaid. I really was not expecting this, so it came as a lovely surprise. The fact that she's having a December wedding will make the whole experience even more exciting. After having a Summer wedding myself, I'm super excited to enter the world of Winter Weddings.


Her colour scheme is silver, white and blue. So something along the lines of...

Except the dresses will be floor length. I mean, December is cold!

Going Solo

My Life as a Wife


I am sure that over time, I will share many posts about my wedding, but for now I just want to say something about my experience during planning.


I got engaged at 19 meaning that, surprise surprise, I was the first of my friends to walk down the aisle. Everybody was so excited for me, and wanted to talk about plans for the big day, but none of us had a blumming clue.


So family, they'll be more helpful right? I was lucky enough to be bridesmaid for an Aunt who had a big fabulous wedding. 10 years ago. So her information on prices etc. was at best, a little out. All the family weddings since then have been pretty low key, and we're not really big etiquette people.


So myself and the Mr started our quest for a big, "proper", all-the-trimmings wedding. People would chip in with nice ideas and suggestions, but I wanted to hear peoples reviews of photographers, experience with make-up artists and recommendations for cake flavors. All I can say is

THANK GOD FOR GOOGLE!

Tea and (hot) cakes

My Life as a Wife


Since I moved away it is mostly me who gets in the car, or on the train, to visit friends and family. And let's just say that recently, the few visits my family would make, have turned to none. People have had their excuses reasons, but it has started to feel very much like a one way street.

Source

 Anyway, the Mother and I had a recent heart-to-heart, and she promised to come and visit. Well this Saturday, she did. It was only for a few hours, and the snow caused some concern about getting snowed in / out, but it was certainly nice to have her around.

Bridal Bling

Pretty Things


This is my first Pretty Things post, but it's about my wedding band, which isn't looking too pretty at the minute.


Let's take a look at my original set:

Just lovely!

Snapshot

Working. Drinking. Reading. Typing.

Getting Started.

Most of the blogs that I read are themed; either about weddings, cooking, beauty or decorating. This makes them clear, gives them a theme and makes them easy to follow. So while I have been wanting to blog, I have had reservations about lack of clarity. I have no theme, asides from “my life”. Would it work? Would it be rubbish? Why do I want to blog? What do I want to blog about? After asking myself all these questions, I finally decided – why not? I figured that there’s no harm in giving it a go. So I’m expecting this blog to be a miss-match of my daily life and inspirations.

In some attempt at clarity, I have decided to use little categories...

Snapshot – What is happening in my life at that exact moment.

My Life as a Wife – About the people in my life and how my life is changing. Yes I am a wife now, but I'm a sister, daughter and friend too. The day-to-day activities, big events, and hopes and dreams for the future. It's all part of what makes me, me.

 Pretty Things – Basically anything I find pretty, inspirational, or enjoy. So beauty, all things wedding, and any little craft projects I am attempting to botch together.

Rat Race – I’m hoping these blogs aren’t too depressing / stressful! After 17 of being a student, I am about to finally leave education to (hopefully) enter a career in... Education. Oh. Let’s hope that these blogs document my success as I enter uncharted waters, and start my climb up the greasy pole. Wish me luck!