Wedding Make Up: The First Steps of DIY

So after I was deliberating on the Professional vs. DIY aspect of my wedding make up, I've come to the conclusion that I'm going the DIY route for now. Oh God, what have I done?!
And if my practice runs all go terribly wrong then I can revert back and pay someone to do it for me!

I decided to look round the make up counters in Boots one Saturday with T, I promptly got terrified and overwhelmed by the choice - what do I need? Where do I start? What shade will suit me? The most pale, obviously.
After my minor panic/breakdown (it put me in a foul mood), we went into Debenhams to try and look around the Bare Minerals counter...typically, the woman had just gone to lunch! The lady at Clinique came over and seemed so friendly that I ended up going to speak to her.
Turns out they do a free 'make up lesson', aka make over. But for free, why turn it down?!
So after a quick colour match and a nice little sample pot of the Superbalanced Foundation in Alabaster (yes, only the palest for me!) I pencilled in an appointment for two weeks time to have my Bridal Make Up Lesson.

I trialled the Superbalanced Foundation over the next couple of weeks, I really like how light feels and looks on my face and the colour is perfect.
I also got my hands on a sample of some Estée Lauder Double Wear foundation (I'm not sure which shade, as the lady at the counter wasn't really that helpful), I tried that one a few days ago and it was so much heavier than the Clinique Superbalanced.

Two weeks later, back I went to the Clinique counter, with one of my bridesmaids (Clara) for moral support and to observe.
An hour later, a lot of wedding chat and me not really learning too much, my face looked like this.

Not too shabby eh?

My feelings were...I like the overall look, I quite liked the peachy shade of blusher and the gold/bronze eye shadow was lovely!
I really didn't like the way she did my eye liner and eye lashes, I have super long eye lashes and so they just got tangled and clumpy - I think she a little overwhelmed with how long they are!
I also didn't like the lipstick; the colour was ok, but it had a bit of sparkle in it, which left me feeling like a 15 year old. It also dried my lips out like crazy and by the time I got home they had gone all crusty, as if I had spent several days in the arctic.

Still, I think it was a fantastic starting point for me. I walked away with the Superbalanced Foundation in Alabaster and the Dramatically Different Moisturising Gel.

AWOL

Yes, I know I've been AWOL for a little bit now. Sorry!
We've just hit our mega busy time of year at work...the dreaded exam period. Hours and hours spent wading through exam scripts, inputting marks etc. It's all fun.

I usually have a ton of free time at work, which is when I do work related tasks wedding planning, blogging etc. But I haven't even had a change to keep my poor diary up to date recently, he's so bare! No meal plan put in, I've only updated my bills and exercise!

I'm hoping to be back on it soon enough, with a massive catch up. I'll try and make more effort to at least post a Photo Friday every so often.

I also need a little time for me at the moment, next week is the anniversary of my Dad's death (I can't even believe I'm writing that). I can hardly believe it's nearly been a whole year and it's been a rough few weeks for me again. I've actually tried to write a couple of posts about it, but I've stopped them all because they've made me too upset.

Enough of that for now. I better be getting back for work. No time for sneaky breaks!!

Uphill Cycling, Scones and Jam and some Camping Equiptment

I'd say that's how I would sum up last weekend (it's another weekend already!!).

We started Saturday off by getting the train from Romford to Kelvedon, bikes in tow. We were planning what I thought would be a easy little nip out on the bikes from Kelvedon to Tiptree to go to the Tiptree Jam Factory, Museum and Tea Rooms. Yeah, it wasn't such a great ride.
Firstly it was on the road the whole way, which I am not a fan of, and the whole way there was uphill...4 miles of just uphill! My poor little legs cannot take that after nearly a year of not cycling!

We finally got there, somehow, and joined the queue for the tea rooms...and then spotted a sign to say that the museum would be shut from 1pm for a private event. Checked the time, it'd just hit 1pm! We were at least able to get some food (a VERY tasty Ploughmans with a pork pie followed by the scones I posted a picture of yesterday) and have a look around the shop...and we didn't buy everything they had! Which is a miracle, considering they had two walls full of different jars of jams and preserves!!
Then it was back on the bikes for a 4 mile downhill ride (so much better than the way there!) and arrived at the station just as the train pulled away! We only had to wait 30 minutes for the next train, which was a nice break as my thighs were burning!

On the train again and out futher into Essex to Colchester. We had a bit of time to walk around the town and pop into a few shops before everything closed. We came away with some camping gear, tea towels and a sausage dog door stop (we have named him Porky).
Colchester was lovely, it's Britain's oldest recorded town (in case you didn't know) and it had a lovely castle and gardens. We eventually got back on the train, which was now full of drunk people on their way out, which made for a wonderfully quite and relaxing journey home, ha!


Then Sunday ended up being completed camping gear related, we put in a big Amazon order and went into Central London to buy some stuff too.
Only to later decide that we would not be going camping this weekend...it's a Bank Holiday so all the trains are crazy and it's going to rain. There goes that 30 Before 30 plan, but I'm pretty sure putting me in a rainy field for two days on my first camping trip would not make me want to go again!

This weekend, instead of camping, we're off into Essex again to the Braintree Outlet Mall...shopping, yay! We might also look at beds. Yup, beds.

Not don't you tell me I don't live a thrilling life ;)

Enjoy the long weekend!

Photo Friday #19

The yummy scones we had last week at the Tiptree Jam Museum!

My 100th Post!

I'm not really sure how much the first few posts counted seeing as I hadn't really got into the swing of this blogging thing, but hey...this is my 100th post!!

Isn't that exciting! I wish I had something momentous to put, but I really don't at the moment.

I just want to say thanks to anyone that actually bothered to read this. And encourage you to say hello, it'd be nice to know if there's anyone out there or whether I'm just yammering away to myself (most likely).

But that's all for now, Happy Thursday folks!

Wedding Make Up: Professional vs. DIY

Recently I've been thinking about my wedding make up, umming and ahhing about what to do.
I had originally thought that I would hire a make up artists to do it. I'm not really the most make up savvy person and I don't really wear very much, so it seemed like the sensible way to go.

But then I started researching and it became apparent that to get someone who's good I'd be paying around £150-200 for just my make up trial and on the day make up - no extra people included in that. Yes, there are cheaper options, but looking at their portfolios, you can see why they're cheaper. There's also a huge risk that whoever I pick, expensive or not, will make me look like a clown and then I'll have paid loads of money for me to just have to take it off and do it myself. I've definitely read some horror stories.

The other option is for me to do my make up myself. It would definitely an element of pressure on the day, but it would allow me to buy some really good quality products that I can use after the wedding.

It my true style I've made a list...or several lists and maybe a spreadsheet, to compare the options.
Here are the lists of pros for each:

DIY Pros

• I get to spend a reasonable amount of money on good quality make up, which I can keep and use after the wedding
• Cheaper than hiring a make up artist
• I have control over the products that I use
• I have control over my look
• Less likely to go horribly wrong (oh the horror stories)
• I don't wear much make up, so why pay someone to put more on me
• Gives me the chance to learn a useful skill
• I have pretty good skin anyway
• I can do my own trial runs, which I don't have to pay for
• I can involve my bridesmaids
• I don't have to worry about choosing the right make up artist

Make Up Artist Pros

• Less pressure on me on the day
• I don't have to choose my own products (I'm pretty terrible with making decisions)
• I don't have to worry about lack of knowledge
• Likely to be much better than I am with make up
• Make up would stay on better/longer

I would say that at the moment there are more pros to me doing it myself, but I do need to think about my lack of knowledge, the extra pressure and making sure that my look isn't too underwhelming and that the make up actually stays put on my face! But I can definitely research and learn and go to make up counters and have make overs where they talk me through what they're doing, which I think would be a big help.

At the moment I am leaning towards DIY, but I have time to research and practice and if it all goes horribly wrong I can try and hire someone last minute - let's hope that doesn't happen!

What do you think? Is this a good idea or totally mad?

My Week #12

A bit of a quiet one again, the beginning of the week was all a lead up to the interview I had on Thursday. I still haven't heard back!

Then a nice weekend trip into Essex and bought some camping gear...oh yes, lead up to another 30 Before 30 item?

A Bit of a Catch Up

So I thought I'd post a general catch up, I've started several posts over the last few weeks, but none of them have been finish, I have no idea why, considering I have nada to do at work at the moment.


Firstly let's go all the way back to the Easter weekend and the six day awesome birthday extravaganza that it was (hardly).

Thursday 2nd was a nice little Wedding themed day trip out for my mum, it ended up being a little rushed and stressful and we didn't get everything done, but oh well! First up was our lovely florist, who was even lovelier in person and very forgiving considering we were 45 minutes late and then got lost and couldn't find the right place.
After that we sped off to the wedding venue so that my mum could see it, shock horror, she actually liked it. I was flabbergaster, she is super critical, but I think she could see past of the more shabby bits to see the overall vision I was going for.
Sadly the Wedding Coordinator was stuck on the phone, so I didn't get to speak to her before we had to rush off...cue massively long email with a million questions!
Then it was off to the cake shop, we arrived so late that they were basically shutting up for the night and the manager was off to a meeting, so my attempts to order my Wedding cake failed miserably.

Then Friday 3rd was my birthday, hooray! A got a bundle of cards and some lovely birthday presents, a Fjallraven Kanken backpack from my mum and a Radley purse and handbag from T and his mum. So now I have a million bags that I need to use!
I have a birthday surprise, which turned out to be my first mani pedi EVER (working towards that 30 Before 30 checklist there - nearly a spa day!) which I loved, lunch out and then off to Harry Potter! Where I took loads of photos (so many my phone ran out of battery) and had some butter beer, sadly there were no real good souvenirs in the shop so I came away empty handed. We got back to London pretty late and fitting in a late night pint and trip to Nandos!

Saturday 4th was the Idea Home Show, I only really wanted to go for the food, but T was keen on the house stuff. We did come away with a few buys, some bamboo pillows (get us), some sweeping brush type things and a wooden duck! Not to mention half the cheese that was at the show. We also nearly bought a bed! We then decided to book free tickets to Grand Designs Live, so that's coming up soon.

After that it was off to have drinks with my old housemates, had a few too many beers and got some lovely little pressies, it was wonderful.


Sunday 5th was pretty quiet in the day, it was a bit of a catch up and I ended up starting some sorting before the evening rolled around and it was McBusted time!! McBusted were amazing AND I managed not to try this time...last time I saw them I cried through the whole first song. Yeah, I'm a loser.

Monday and Tuesday ended up being days of more sorting, food shopping, xbox buying (that was T) and a Don't Tell The Bride Marathon (that one was definitely me).
But it was a wonderful long weekend that rushed by far too quickly.


Since then it's been pretty quiet.
I sadly waved goodbye to one of my cousins from Australia who's been living here for 2 years, we took her and her boyfriend for traditional pie, mash and liquor in good old Romford before they left.
I interviewed for another job on Thursday, now I've got the joy of sitting waiting to hear something.

But distraction in the form of a busy weekend should help, and planning for the bank holiday weekend too. We've decided we might go camping, jumping back on my 30 Before 30 band wagon!

That's all for now folks! I'll try and be better with my updates and ramblings!

Photo Friday #18

One I took in the week with anticipation of going to the Wilkin & Sons Factory, Museum and Tea Rooms tomorrow!

Looking forward to it, we're going to come back with so much jam!

My Week #11

Quite a busy week last week, quite a good one too!

Photo Friday #17

I really enjoyed the being out in the sun this week, which is unusual for me. I'm pretty sure that I'm part vampire and I tend to shy away from the sun...and the outdoors.

But maybe that's changing?

Have a good weekend :)

Lucky Sixpence

So we've all heard the rhyme...and yes, little old me with my love of weddings and tradition is trying my hardest to incorporate this into my wedding. I'd not worked out all the aspects yet, but I've got ideas for each line at the moment. Sadly, the last line of the rhyme is often the most forgotten, but for me it's been my main focus so far...

Something old,

something new,

something borrowed,

something blue,

and a silver sixpence in her shoe.

The idea of having something lucky with me, I love. And I love the idea that I can keep it after for the rest of my married life, giving me luck.

I'd done my research, I'd looked at the ones you can get from the Royal Mint, but they will set you back a slightly eye watering £28 (plus £5 p&p!)..for a coin that was for 1/40 of £1 in it's day. Yes, the idea of having a 'new' one, packed nicely in a box from the 'proper' place was tempting, but was it a valid wedding cost?

Next I turned to ebay, of course. And low and behold there were loads of sixpences, starting at the bargain price of 99p! I browsed through a few a noticed that you could choose the year that the coin was from...I then noticed that these years covered those in which my parents were born.

I then decision that I was going to buy one from the year my Dad was born, the perfect way to remember him at the wedding and keep him with me.

But today when I was browsing (again) I saw that someone had an Australian sixpence from the year that my Dad was born...and seeing as he was Australian, it just seemed to good to be true. But it didn't feel completely right, I do live in England, am marrying in England and am marrying an Englishman...

Ten minutes later, I'd bought an Australian sixpence from 1946 for $6.60 (~£3.60) and an English sixpence from 1949 for 0.99p...one for each parent and from each of the countries that they represent.

I'm feeling pretty chuffed with myself and had to share it!

Now my only question is, if I have two lucky sixpences, will they cancel each other out?

My Week #10

Sorry it's so late this week, it's been a busy one at work (you can tell when I do all my blogging!) and excitingly this week one of my best friends and bridesmaids started work in the same office!

Photo Friday #16

This week I have a little triumph, I managed to eat my first full sized chocolate bar in a year and a half!

And it was a Snickers, which has been my most 'taboo' bar!

Feeling pretty good and my weight is good...so it's all good!!

Edit: I tried to post this last Friday (10th April) from my phone, but it didn't work and I didn't realise until now!

My Week #9

Last week was one of ups and downs, thankfully more ups than downs and ended up being a pretty good one.

I'm planning on a bit of a low down of my long weekend as if you're going to be excited by that.

Photo Friday #15

Sad to say it, but I can't resist...

Happy Birthday to me!

It's my birthday today, 26 getting old!

This is the cake that someone at my work made for me on Wednesday, isn't it amazing?

I hope you all have a nice Easter Weekend :)

A Bit of a Revamp

I was feeling a little tired of how the blog looked (not that I ever look at the front end of it...oops!), so for now I've basically cleared away everything and left it plain.
I'm liking it at the moment, fresh and clean.

I guess one day I'd like to make it look fancier, but I don't really know how!
Any ideas?

That Friday Feeling

Yes, yes, I know it's Wednesday...and for most of you tomorrow is 'Friday'.

But for me, today is Friday, oh yes. I've had a 3 day week at work, now I have 6 days off and then another 3 day week. Plus it's my birthday on Friday, I'd say that's a pretty damn good couple of weeks.

I've been feeling a bit down recently, I touched on feeling different before, but this has taken on a whole other mind of it's own and I've been feeling pretty low the last week or so.

On the up side, I'm actually feeling ok today and I'm hoping that I can carry that through this mega long weekend and make it a good 'un.

It's clearly that Friday feeling that's carrying me though.

I hope you all have a nice Easter weekend!

My Week #8

Another though one, I'm hoping that they'll start getting easier soon!

This week should be good though, 3 days at work, 6 day weekend (and my birthday!) and another 3 day week at work next week!

30 Before 30: Behind The List, Part 3

And the final instalment of my 30 Before 30 list.

Hopefully I can start getting some of these things crossed off and I'll keep you guys updated (as enthralled as you are.)

21. Grow my own Fruit, Veg & Herbs

Nothing sounds better to me than being able to pop out to the garden and grab your own dinner. T isn’t as keen on the idea, for some reason he’s the opposite to everyone else and doesn’t want to know where his food is from.

22. Go Camping

Something I’ve never done, something I should do and maybe a nice thing to start doing as a family holiday...once I've popped out a few kiddos.

23. Have a Spa Day

I’ve never really had a full on Spa Day, I’ve had a facial once. Never had a manicure or pedicure though. I’m hoping with the Wedding coming up that I’ll have a good excuse to go the whole hog on a Spa Day – facial, massage, manicure, pedicure etc.

24. Crochet or Knit a Baby Blanket

There’d be nothing more satisfying that looking at the blanket your gorgeous baby is snuggled up in and knowing that you’ve made it for them. Something I need to learn though, no skills there yet, haha.

25. Learn to Drive

Yes, I’m nearly 26 and I can’t drive. In fact I’ve only been in the driver’s seat once and that was in a field with my Dad. It’s a skill that I can’t afford not to have and I know it’s something my Dad wanted me to learn. He definitely would have been be super proud if I managed it, and anything I can do for him, I will.

26. Run a Marathon

I’ve always wanted to do this, I’ve know it’s one of my bucket list, life goal type things. I have no idea whether I’ll manage it, at the moment I can run for a mile before collapsing. But it’s something to work on.

27. Own a Pet

I want a pet like nothing else at the moment. I'm ultimately a cat person, but I can swing both ways and would be more than up for getting a dog. A cat would be more flat suitable though and involved less input, but I want a Corgi so badly, they’re so damn cute!

28. Cook through a Cook Book

Linking to the cooking things, I’d love to work my way through a whole Cook Book. Think Julie & Julia. Trying all the recipes and pushing myself to try things I haven’t before. I’m yet to decide what book it should be. I guess a good all rounder would be better than a themed book.

29. Do a 365 Project

I feel like I don’t take enough photos, I’ve got a little better since signing up to Instagram, but I feel that something like this would force me to take a photos of something every day. Even if it is just 365 pictures of cups of tea.

30. Own less 'Stuff'

I just have too much crap at the moment, when we moved into our new flat it will be a bit of a downsized (not the right direction, I know!) so I want to get rid of the clutter that I hold onto so life will be easier for us I the future.

30 Before 30: Behind The List, Part 1

30 Before 30: Behind The List, Part 2

Photo Friday #14

At the end of yet another taxing week, this is my reward....

A Reese's Peanut Butter Krispie Kreme.

(Sadly not all to myself, but to be shared with T at home)

My Week #7

I'd say that last week was quite a good one, it was pretty busy. In fact, I forgot to pay our rent (oops!). But I had a lovely relaxing and fun weekend visiting family and friends, it was just what I needed!

30 Before 30: Behind The List, Part 2

The next instalment of my 30 Before 30 list:

11. Write a Book

I have always dreamed of writing a book, I’ve had a few different ideas in the past, but I’m not sure I have the imagination to write the sort of book I would like to. I can keep trying, and maybe I’ll make it big and be able to work from home?

12. Write a Recipe Book

I love to cook and always have, shoving all the things I’ve ever cooked together into a recipe book is something I would love to do. I guess I should blog more about food! Another gateway to a life working from home!

13. Visit Australia

I’ve been a couple of times before, but T hasn’t. Australia is close to my heart as my Dad was Australian and 6 of his 7 brothers and sisters live out there…as well as around 20 cousins (I think).

14. Visit New York

I went with my Mum for my 21^st Birthday and it was amazing. It’s my favourite city in the US and I would love to go there again. I’d bloody love to live there too!

15. Visit Italy

I’ve never been to Italy and it is the one place left in Europe that I would LOVE to go to. Lucikly T is keen to take me there, so this one should be crossed off by the time I’m 30 (I hope!).

16. Go to Harry Potter in Florida

I love Harry Potter, they’re the books that first got me reading, I felt like I grew up with the characters and the last book was released when I was in my final year of school. In turn, I love anything Harry Potter related and would LOVE to go to Florida to Harry Potter World.

17. Visit Disney

This is kind of a cheat, as it’s linked to the one above, we’d be going to Disney and Harry Potter together in Florida…WHAT A TRIP!

18. See the Northern Lights

Isn’t this on everyone’s list? One of those amazing things in life that must be done.

19. Swim with Dolphins

Again, something that’s pretty amazing and must be done. I’m hoping we can get this done whilst we’re on Honeymoon!

20. Go on a Hot Air Balloon Ride

I’ve always wanted to go in a Hot Air Balloon. I’m not sure if I’d find it scary, but there’s something amazing and romantic about the idea. I just realised that a helicopter ride should be on here too, but I’ve run out of room!

30 Before 30: Behind The List, Part 1

30 Before 30: Behind The List, Part 3

Photo Friday #13

This week I booked to go to France again with my family. Sadly T cannot come this year, but I'm going to make the best of being able to have a few days break from everything.

I really do wish that he could come, especially as I'll be there on the year anniversary of him proposing to me, where he proposed (I might have to try and convince him to come now...)

Enough of my rambling, to make up for the missed Photo Friday last week here area a few shots of the area in France we go to.

Excuse the date stamp on some of the photos.

I can't wait to go back!

Blog Troubles: Text with a mind of it's own...

I wonder if anyone can help me?
I seem to be having a few troubles with the text font and size on here, usually in the first sentence of a post...and I'm not really sure why.
I've played around and I can't seem to fix it, I just seem to make it worse!
Any ideas?

A Crazy Week - Mark 2

So I had told you about my crazy week last week...well this one's basically been along the same lines...CRAZY.

I found out I didn't get the job I interviewed for last week (sob), and I had the interview for the other job yesterday.
I got so focused and panicked about having to do the test part of the interview that I don't think I'd prepared myself for the interview itself. The test was a doddle and the interview was really hard, so I'm not feeling too hopeful right now, but it's all good experience.
Just sitting on the edge of my seat today, waiting to hear something.

I've also managed to book myself to go on holiday in the summer! I didn't think it'd happen, so I'm super excited, even if it's a short one. T isn't coming, so he's not best pleased, but we'll try and go on another little trip together.
So I off to France again, for the 4th year in a row I think, to a gorgeous little town called Duras in the wine regions. I just can't wait...and I'll get to revisit the bench where T proposed!

And finally I got thrown into a little tizz about my wedding hair plans. At the weekend my hairdresser said that the idea I had for my hair wouldn't really work, because it would cause a whole washing and restyling fiasco...so I've been coming up with some other plans. I also found out that my hair dresser will be charging me a fee, which is fair enough, it's his job after all, but it is a little bit disappointing.

So that's my week so far...I'm looking forward to this weekend and a nice little trip away to see family & friends!

My Week #6

A little sparse this week...and crazy. Glad it's over, hope this one is a little better!

30 Before 30: Behind The List, Part 1

As I recently put together my 30 before 30, I thought I'd give you a few reasons behind why I put things on there. 

This was intended to be one single post, but you know me...ramble, ramble, ramble. So now it's 3.

Yeah, sorry...

1.    Get Engaged

This was always going to be on my list, if I’d put this together just over 2 years ago, I’d have NEVER believed that it would get crossed off. This is the girl who’d never had a boyfriend, so just look how things can change!

  

2.    Get Married

The next natural step of course and with this one timetabled in for December, it will definitely get crossed off soon!

  

3.    Have a Baby

T would definitely like to me to pop out a kid ASAP, he is very aware of his biological clock, as if he has one! I’d like one too, but I expect I’d like to have at least one by the time I’m 30!

  

4.    Buy a House

Yes, we’ve bought a flat already, which is why this is cross off, as it covers the ‘be a home owner’ card. I’d like us to have sold our flat and have moved onto a house by the time I’m 30 though, so it still kinda counts.

  

5.    Save Enough for Our Wedding

More on my savings background below and why this is important to me…following on from that, this is my first real savings test. I want to prove to myself and to T that I CAN save the money we need for the wedding. 

  

6.    Have £10k in Savings

This is an important one for me, and I’m not sure how realistic it is, but I need something to work towards. Before I met T I didn’t have a penny of savings and I had a giant credit card which I either paid off and was in my overdraft all month or didn’t get paid off and I was paying fees. Since meeting T he’s changed the way I think about money, he’s a born saver and I’m so thankful for that. I remember being so ashamed of my debt that I cried when I told him. I can now proudly say that my credit card debt is paid off and I actually have a good chunk in savings!

  

7.    Earn at least £30k/year

I always think that when you’re less than 30 you should be earning more than your age. I think I’ve managed so far, but I definitely want to step up my game and break past the £30k mark before I’m 30.

  

8.    Work for Myself

I would love to be able to work for myself at home, raising our children, in a lovely, old, giant house in the country – a girl can dream? I’m not sure whether this is even possible, but you never know!

  

9.    Be a Stay at Home Mummy

Nothing would please me more in life to be a housewife, to stay at home, cook, clean, raise our children and potter about. And obviously go shopping and have lunch with all the other yummy Mummys! But again, this is a difficult one and I don’t think it will happen.

  

10.  Buy a Mulberry Bag

This is THE expensive bag that I want in my life, a gorgeous brown leather bag that will last me forever. Now with a heavy price tag of over £1k, it’s not a pop to the shops and pick out a new bag sort of purchase. I’ve wanted one of these for years and one day I will earn enough extra money to reward myself or T will give in to my begging and buy one for me.

30 Before 30: Behind The List, Part 2

30 Before 30: Behind The List, Part 3

The Crazy Life Of J

That's what I feel like at the moment...like I'm living the life of Jordan at The Crazy Life of J. Which is appropriate as my initial is also J.
A quick note to add that I LOVE The Crazy Life of J, seriously one of my favourite blogs ever. I've read from the beginning all the way through...and I may have re-read some bits...especially the wedding planning bits.


Anyway, I feel like my life's turned a bit crazy recently, but it's all a bit unexpected.

I've generally been quite busy, seeing people, doing things, wedding planning, working...the general stuff and really I'm not sure why this week seems so much more crazy. It just does.

Firstly, I finally recognised that I had a problem. I don't think I'm really dealing with my grief for my Dad and I think as a result of that I've changed. I feel like I'm a different person in so many ways now and I act differently and react differently - and it's not really a good different. I don't feel like I'm moving forwards, in fact maybe backwards and so I finally asked for help. So now I need to have an assessment with a counselling service, which will hopefully lead to some session and will hopefully get back to being me.

Secondly, and I think this is what's thrown me more, without really intending to, I'm suddenly interviewing for a new job. I saw a couple of jobs posted internally at my work that were the pay grade above mine. I figured, what the hell, let's test the waters. So I updated my CV and cobbled together an application (it's shockingly poor - I read it on the way to an interview this morning, there are SO many mistakes!).
Low and behold I got offered an interview. I umm-ed and ahh-ed and decided to tell my manager about it, who was SUPER supportive which was totally unexpected.
And so off I went this morning, feeling slightly unprepared to my first interview in a year.
Once I got back to work, I saw an email inviting me to interview for the other position I had applied for.

Look at me, I am in demand. This is a total shock to me.


Anyway, so that's why this week is crazy.

I'm off to meet my old housemates after work to go to a Bavarian Beerhouse, so it'll be nice to have a little relax after my crazy week and start Friday feeling good (I hope!).

My Week #5

A little late this week, but it's been a bit of a crazy one for me so far...more on that soon ;)

30 Before 30

The other day I was reading Angela at Paper Lovestory's post on doing a 30 things to do before you turn 30 list. One a side note, she has a really good blog - highly reccomended!

I figured it might be a good plan to put together a list of my own, the years are closing in and I have around 4 years and a month before I turn 30!

I think I need to make sure I get up and do more stuff, I'm a little too lazy and set in my ways at the moment. So hopefully this list can provide me with a bit of motivation!

I know that putting things like 'Get Engaged' on is kinda cheating, as it's already happened. But in my defence, it is something I would've wanted to have accomplished by 30!

Buy a House too...although I'd have hoped that we'll have upgraded from the flat we've bought to a house.

1. Get Engaged
2. Get Married
3. Have a Baby
4. Buy a House
5. Save Enough for Our Wedding
6. Have £10k in Savings
7. Earn at least £30k/year
8. Work for Myself
9. Be a Stay at Home Mummy
10. Buy a Mulberry Bag
11. Write a Book
12. Write a Recipe Book
13. Visit Australia
14. Visit New York
15. Visit Italy
16. Go to Harry Potter in Florida
17. Visit Disney
18. See the Northern Lights
19. Swim with Dolphins
20. Go on a Hot Air Balloon Ride
21. Grow my own Fruit, Veg & Herbs
22. Go Camping
23. Have a Spa Day
24. Crochet or Knit a Baby Blanket
25. Learn to Drive
26. Run a Marathon
27. Own a Pet
28. Cook through a Cook Book
29. Do a 365 Project
30. Own less 'Stuff'

Photo Friday #12

With only 9 months to go we've paid off another chunk of our venue costs!

Birthday: Planned...sort of

So after my worries over my birthday (don't I sound self centred!), the plans have been made...

Hell Yes!!!

Harry Potter Studio Tour on my Birthday, I get to open the doors of the Great Hall!
We've got quite a late booking, so I'm hoping we can grab some yummy lunch somewhere first!


Overall it's going to be a pretty good weekend really. My work have given everyone an extra 2 days off over Easter, hello SIX DAY WEEKEND!

The day before my birthday I've got a mini wedding trip planned with my Mum, off to see the florist, venue and cake shop. Then the day of my birthday is HARRY POTTER!! Saturday I'm hoping to do something with friends. Sunday I'm going to see McBusted and then I've got 2 more days of freedom after that before work!

Pretty awesome eh?

My Week #4

It's finally March...

Again nothing too exciting this week, quite a few sad faces, it wasn't a great one for me!

Photo Friday #11

My very tasty free Burger from Byron

#BRexIsBack

This week has just not been a great one for me, here's a run down:

• I felt sick at the beginning of the week, but I did get a free burger and Krispie Kreme.
• On Wednesday I fell up the escalators coming out of the Tube (yes, in front of a load of people) and rammed my knee into the edge of the step. I could barely walk after and now I have a gigantic bruise on my knee, I also manage to pull a load of muscles in my arm.
• I broke my phone case.
• Yesterday I left my keys at home when T was going out for work drinks, so I had to make an extra stop on the way home to collect them.
• And today I left my lunch at home...perfect!

I am ready for the weekend and a new week!

Planning by Birthday

So this is a bit of a silly post, and I'm not really expecting to get any responses...

It's my birthday on Friday 3rd April and as it's a Bank Holiday it means that both T and I are off work. I'd really like to do something, instead of just sitting at home, but I'm not really sure what.

Now with the Wedding and the flat, money is tight, but I still want to do something special.

At the moment I've thought of the Harry Potter Studio Tour or Afternoon Tea somewhere really nice.
But, both of those things will come in around £100 for both of us.

We've done the tourist things and we're not really museum or gallery people.
Does anyone have any ideas of something to do in London?
Or not too far from London?

We Started Buying Stuff for our Flat

So last summer we bought a flat. We bought it on a bit of a whim, well...not really, but that's a story for another day.

The exciting thing is that we've started buying things for the flat!

It's currently still being built and won't be ready for us to move in until Dec 2015/Jan 2016. We may be getting a little ahead of ourselves by buying things so soon, but who can turn down a bargain and my Mum can store things for us in her garage.

So far the big ticket items that we can cross off our list are a dishwasher and washing machine!

Now to you the things we've bought so far may not seem super exciting...but to someone who's had to do washing up by hand for over 3 years, a dishwasher will be bliss.

Plus it was a bargain, £700 down to £250 in John Lewis. Nothing wrong with it at all!

And we got a really good deal on the washing machine. And it's one of those super quiet one, which will make a nice change from the rowdy one we have no in our rental place.

You know you're getting old when you get excited by a dishwasher and washing machine!

It's exciting though, as it's the first place that T and I own together.

This weekend we have to go to the Developer's Offices to pick our options for the kitchen, bathroom etc.

Now that will be exciting!!

My Week #3

Nothing too exciting this week, both T and I have been unwell. But we had a nice Sunday out with some friends.

Wedding Dress Shopping: Finding THE Dress!

So after failed attempts one and two and a rant about not being able to find the right dress...I've done it!

I have my dress...now I'd love to tell you all about it, plaster this page with photos of the dress and me in it, but that would be telling!

Instead, I'll tell you about my day and the amazing experience I had at Bridal Gowns at Jodi Ltd. in Maidstone.

I picked this shop because they had one dress I knew I wanted to try on, plus some other dresses that I wanted to try on again. With my came my Mum, sister and my mum's best friend (our closest family friend), little did I know the daughter of our family friends had also got her dress in that shop! Surely a good sign?

We arrived and I started telling the ladies in the shop which dresses I wanted and they duely went and collected them all up for me, I then went and looked around, picking out a few other dresses to try as well. Last but not least I stumbled upon a lovely dress, not similar to the others I'd picked, but I though...go on, I'll try it. It was on a total whim and I also thought my Mum wouldn't like the dress, based on her previous likes and dislikes.

On the dresses went, some were discounted straight away. I tried on the dress that I came to the store to try and really liked that one, it was different to the others, but really nice.

Then next came the 'whim' dress, I came out the changing room and my Mum LOVED it. I really liked it, but no where near as much as she did. After a while I went and changed and put on the next lot of dresses, the ones I'd tried before.

These are the ones from the second trip that I really liked, they were my top picks. After the whim dress, they were boring. Everything got compared to it, and at the end I put the whim dress back on.

After standing there for a while, trying it with accessories, looking at the dress online etc. I just felt more and more happy and comfortable in it. I got a little bit emotional and decided that it was the dress.

I went to take it off and the woman in the shop asked if I wanted to have my measurements taken and order it. I knew then that if I didn't say yes I'd go home and start doubting myself and decide not to order it.

So I took the plunge, had my measurements taken, a size 0 ordered and paid the deposit.

The dress is mine!

Since then, I've looked at the other dresses I was going to try online and now I know I picked the right one, the others just don't stand up against it and I like it more and more.

The shop was fantastic, they have no appointments. It sounds strange, but it works so amazingly well. There's someone waiting to see you, then they give you all the time in the world. I tried on 8 dresses, with no time limit, got to put on a dress again, try accessories and I didn't have to rush my decision.

The staff were so helpful and friendly, offering advice when it was needed and even staying after the shop had shut so we could finish.

It was truly a wonderful experience and I couldn't recommend Bridal Gowns at Jodi Ltd. more highly.