SHOP: The Idea Owl stationery

Hello lovelies, how are we all doing? I have a fantastic post for fellow stationery addicts this week, showing off a package I recently ordered from The Idea Owl. Let me tell you a little bit more about who they are and what they do. The Idea Owl is a family run business based here in England, specialising in Kawaii stationery. For those of you who don't know what that means, it's basically all things cute! New stock is added each week, and there are two ways to shop.

Shopping via Instagram:
The first way is via the website, the traditional way. Then we have Facebook or Instagram, which are similar. The method I used is via Instagram. The rules are simple, you send Donna a message including your PayPal address and your postal address. You then have 4 weeks to add anything you like to your package, by commenting on the pictures. After 4 weeks, you will receive your invoice and a few days after payment your package will arrive, lovingly and carefully packaged in cute paper bags!


I really enjoyed shopping this way, you have to check regularly on Instagram because new stock is added all the time and it's first come first served! I nearly missed out on my beloved little llama stickers, luckily Donna had them back in and remembered I wanted them, so she saved me some until I confirmed I still wanted them!





I had to restrict myself, and try to be careful not to choose too many things! It can easily mount up, but receiving your package is so exciting, especially when you can't remember what you've ordered haha. I'll definitely be ordering from The Idea Owl again in the future, it will be a wonderful occasional treat I think.


The Ideal Owl website // The Idea Owl Instagram // Facebook

Can you see anything you'd like to order? I'm hooked on stickers! Now... where to find a penpal..!

Facebook // Instagram // Bloglovin' // Pinterest

Meeting Rufus

Hello lovelies, I thought it was about time I introduced you to Mark & I's new addition. Meet Rufus, our baby hamster. We brought him home on the 16th September, we've had him for nearly a whole month and I don't know what I ever did without him! He keeps me company when Mark is working late, and I miss his furry little face when I don't get to see him.
♥
He entertains and amuses me endlessly, the pictures below will show you some of the ways how!


1. I always give Rufus a little yogurt treat when I first wake him up, sometimes if he's feeling especially lazy, he'll only poke his head out of his bed to take the treat and go back to bed! 2. Rufus likes to climb up between his cage and his tunnel to say hello 3. He loves his tunnel, he spends half his time running back and forth in there, rolling onto his back and squishing himself through so he's facing the opposite way (if he gets bigger and carries on, he might get stuck!) 4. One of our first photos of Rufus, when he was still quite tentative with us but getting more curious 5. When we got Rufus I told Mark I'd like to get him a blanket, Mark told me hamsters don't like blankets... Rufus has adopted my blanket as his own, and he loves it! 6. Rufus stands at the edge of his cage to watch TV, or the bubble screensaver on my laptop!


7. Rufus snuggling up in my blanket on the sofa 8. Rufus sitting on top of his tunnel 9. Look at those tiny little ears! When it's really cold, I leave extra bedding for Rufus downstairs in his cage, he gathers it in his cheeks and takes it to his bed (he fits SO much in his mouth!) 10. Rufus the adventurer! Can you see his little nose peeking through the top of his tent? 11. Rufus sitting on his roof - his namesake! 12. Playing in his tunnel again, he likes me to pick bits of his food out his bowl and give them to him, he takes them in his tunnel and eats the 'good ones' and leaves the 'bad ones' untouched!


13. Whenever Mark is in another room, or coming down the stairs, Rufus' little ears prick up and he stays like this until Mark comes in 14 & 15. Playing in the blanket 16. Pushing the boundaries haha, I make the blanket so that he can't escape, but sometimes he likes to see if he can 17. Having snuggles, sometimes he's so calm he just snuggles in between my arm and side 18. Blanket snuggles

19. I make Rufus caves out of the blanket and he loves exploring 20. Rufus on his roof contemplating the great escape, he still hasn't braved it! 21 & 22. Tent playtime! 23. Eating apple in his tube, occasionally we give him a tiny chunk of fresh apple or half a grape, he does have dried fruit too 24. More sofa snuggles!
♥
Did you enjoy meeting our fluffy little baby? It's time to wake him up and give him fresh food now :) if you'd like to see more photos of Rufus, I post them on my Instagram as linked below.

Facebook // Instagram // Bloglovin' // Pinterest

Monthly: July pt 1

1. A rose from the flowers Mark bought me 2. Drinking hot chocolate from Rubens & playing Crash Team Racing on the Xbox 3. Vanilla coke & vanilla wafers - yum! 4. Chasing the supermoon & watching sunrise (post here) 5. Gingerbread cupcakes that Joanne bought Mark for his birthday 6. A cheeky lunchtime selfie at work 7. Wearing Summery accessories! 8 & 9. A very nautical themed OOTD (post here) 10. The sign for Wirral Country Park 11. Pink houses along Parkgate 12. Nicholls ice-cream shop - so delicious! 13. My birthday present for December!!! 14. A pretty floral pink playsuit from George at Asda (sadly my long body made this too short for me, boo!) 15. Foxy slippers 16. A questions & answers post

17 & 18. Ticking off one of my 25 by 25s - flying a kite! 19. Phoebe, Phoenix, Indigo & the bears on the bouncy castle 20. Our makeshift bedroom in mum's conservatory - so cosy! 21. Waking up to the sunshine (except today!!!) 22 & 23. Mark & I took Phoebe, Phoenix & Indigo to see Despicable Me 2 24, 25 & 26. Remembering my dad on the four year anniversary of his passing away (post here & more posts to come on what we did on the day) 27. Dad's blue and white china 28. Mark & I bought Fluffy the house rabbit a new bed... today it is a collapsed heap (I don't know if he likes it!) 29. Fluffy hiding behind the curtains 30. Indigo wearing my sunnies on the bouncy castle 31. Thinking up ideas a lot lately, but lacking the motivation to carry them out at the moment 32. A vintage black & white photobooth strip of my mum & dad, one of the treasures we found when clearing out the loft.

Hello lovelies, sorry I've not been around as much this week! Thank you for all your sweet comments & thoughts on my last post. Mark & I are on our 'holiday' at my mum's house, we've been here since Tuesday and will be here until Friday. I will catch up with all of you better when we are home, but for now here are some of the things I've been upto lately. Today we are off to Cadbury World, can't wait! Has anyone else been having the massive thunder storms all through the night and today? A little bit glad for a bit of rain :)

You can find me on Instagram here.

Questions & Answers x3

Recently, I was tagged by both Chloe and Jemimah for the Liebster Award. The rules seem to change but it's an award that gives recognition to bloggers with not so many followers. It's a great way to find out more about your favourite bloggers, and to discover new blogs.

Chloe's questions:
Favourite holiday memory?
I have so many, but I'm going to pick one that reflects how I feel lately and that is nostalgic. One of my
favourite holiday memories, my whole family was on holiday on the English coast and my dad woke
me up super early to go down to the beach. He wanted to take photos of the sunrise, click here to see one.
Have you lived in another country?
No - and I wouldn't want to leave my family/friends behind!
Dive to the deepest parts of the sea or explore space?
Space exploration please :)
Show me your favourite cup/mug
Click here to see it on my Instagram.
Mac or PC?
Laptop
Books or a film?
Books, followed by the film so I can complain how unlike the book it is haha.
What's your regional dish?
I come from Leicestershire and after a quick Google, apparently our regional dish is curry. However,
living on the Wirral I'd say the regional dish here must be scouse!
Flats or heels?
It used to be heels but I'm a flats girl all the way now, I choose comfort and being steady (my balance
issues don't really allow for heels unless I want to sit down)
Favourite smell?
Is it really bad to say the smell of food I like cooking? haha, but if you mean perfumes, then Naughty
Alice by Vivienne Westwood is a firm favourite.
Favourite tradition?
Visiting Bradgate Park every New Years Day with my family. Last year's photos here and here.
Online shopping or being out and about?
Both!!

Jemimah's questions:
You're allowed one item of make-up. What do you choose?
Tinted moisturiser, a bit of moisture and a bit of coverage
What is your earliest fashion memory?
I'm having a mental block, but one thing that comes to mind is a pair of absolutely shocking (-ly horrendous)
hot pink parachute pants, you know with the strips hanging off... shoot me now?! What can I say, I was 'alternative'
If you could travel to any place in the world, where would you go? Why?
New York, because there wasn't enough time for all the exploring needed on my first trip! Take me back :)
When did you first experiment with make-up?
When I was younger, me and my friends used to go to a disco on Friday nights at a place called "Matt's place",
I used to stick shiny stars in the corner of my eyes haha
What TV show could you watch, rewatch, then watch again?
Gossip Girl!
What inspired you to start blogging?
I wanted to somewhere to keep a kind of diary, as I'm useless at keeping actual diaries
Who has influenced your personal style the most?
I don't think there is any one person, just a combination of everyone who's worn something I've loved
What would you like to do more of on your blog?
More arty posts - I've been slacking
What is your dream job?
Something arty that I could do mostly from home
If you could, what colour would you dye your hair? Would you?

I did!!! I tried to login to my old Myspace account so I could get a photo of my turquoise hair,
and terribly pink hair, but alas it wasn't to be haha. The turquoise hair cost my dad £70 at the
hairdressers, the rest I did myself, I even cut my own hair sometimes (pretty badly!).
Are you a cat person, or a dog person?
Both!

Lauren's questions:
What is your favourite book?
I'm going to choose two, Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and Lazy Ways To
Make A Living by Abigail Bosanko. I recommend both, the second is my perfect escapist read.
What is your favourite film?
At the moment, Fantastic Mr Fox! Makes me laugh every time..!
When you were a child what job did you want to have when you grew up?
I honestly don't think I knew, and I still really don't!
What is your favourite item of clothing?
My Luella leather jacket, or my two favourite dresses.
What are your favourite clothing brands?
Luella (sadly no more, but watch this space as Luella Bartley is to be design director at Marc
by Marc Jacobs!), All Saints, tba, Maison Scotch, Cos and Oysho to name a few.
If you had £500, what would you spend it on?
I'd buy gifts!!! I love buying presents for people, especially when money isn't so limited as
it means I can buy the things I know they'd like best.
What is your favourite quote?
I don't have just one favourite, check out my Pinterest board for some that I really like though.
What is your favourite song?
I recorded it live last year...

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
All I hope is to be healthy, happy and the same for the people I love!
How did your blog name come about?
I took my tea with three sugars :)
Which country, other than your own, is your favourite?
I haven't explored enough to be able to say (yet!)

Now, I would like to tag anyone that wants to take part, and I would like you to tell us 11 completely random and unknown facts about yourself. Please let me know if you take part, and I'll come have a nosey :) please go check out the lovely ladies who tagged me in the Liebster award (thanks ladies!), and the other blogs they tagged too.

Monthly: June 2013

1. Working 2. My first shop feature 3. Watching too much Gossip Girl (end of Series 3 now!) 4. Enjoying the sunshine 5, 6 & 7. Our first date day adventure (part 1 & part 2) 8. Eating the same Hello Kitty pasta as Jojo of Miss Jojangles, because Mark was at work and I had to fend for myself 9. Spending time with my lovely boyfriend 10. Wearing the vintage bracelet that was my great grandma's 11. Drinking delicious Frobishers fruit juice & eating the best vanilla wafers at Rubens 12. Getting my blog it's very own Facebook page and domain name!

13. The best cinnamon doughnuts ever at Ikea 14. Remembering my dad on Father's Day, and even eating Battenberg cake and Caramac (some of his favourites!) 15. Buying pretty new blue and white patterned sheets from Ikea amongst other goodies involving stationary! 16. Agreeing my new balance physio routine after waiting half an hour for the phone call, and finally starting the physio for my back 17. My lovely new Kurt Halsey book 18. Finding Sonia by Sonia Rykiel trousers in the charity shop, that fit just perfectly 19. Finding the solution to last year's craft fair dilemma! & deciding to start up my own Etsy shop (I'm aiming for August!) 20. Trying out the new ice cream parlour in the village and eating delicious chocolate ice-cream 21. Spending time with my family and friends 22. The what's in your handbag post that shocked me with the value! 23. Eating pancakes far too many times for breakfast 24. Using washi tape to paint stripes on my nails, and doing three of my sister's and my mum's nails too!

25. Enjoying spending time with my little sister, Indigo 26. Taking dad's Canon DSLR out to take photos of the supermoon, and ending up watching the sunrise (post to come!) 27. Being a proud sister when my little sister went to prom, wearing butterflies in her hair 28. Taking my littlest sister, Indigo, for a tour of the 'big school' that she starts in September 29. Mum's Summery buffet style dinner, delicious 30. Helping Indigo fill in Floppsey's learning journal for the last time ever (playgroup's toy dog who comes to stay) 31. Waiting and waiting to buy my leopard print Zara sandals, and then finding them to be in the sale (waiting really pays off!) 32. Being poorly for the last week (chest infection & costochondritis - I'm resting up today and hoping my antibiotics kick in soon) 33. Celebrating Mark's birthday, a quiet one due to illness but a lovely Indian takeaway and time spent together 34. My love affair with spinach and cheese pasta 35. Coming home from work last night to find Mark had bought me flowers and dark chocolate cookies, and left me a plan of action for the night with photos demonstrating (like watching Gossip Girl, and eating cookies!) 36. Looking forward to spending 10 days at home in two weeks for our Summer holiday!!

You can find me on Instagram here. I also just wanted to say thank you to all my lovely readers, I've not been around this week but you've still visited my blog and written lovely things for me :) you are the best! xxx

Monday painting: Miss Patina #2

As I mentioned in my last Sunday painting post, the lovely people at Miss Patina are hosting a fabulous Instagram competition. You can see my first entry on my previous post, and this weekend I decided I'd like to do a second entry. Who knows, I might even go for a third!! There are so many gorgeous clothes to choose from, but this time I chose the Jackie O Dress in beige stripe, accessorized with hints of hot pink. In keeping with the namesake of the dress, I gave this second Miss Patina girl a Jackie O style bob complete with a row of pink pearls? at her neck. I hope you enjoy my second Miss Patina girl as much as the first, and again, good luck to everyone who decides to enter!

You can find my second entry here, here, here and here on my Instagram :)

Sunday painting: Miss Patina

The lovely folk over at Miss Patina, a gorgeous vintage inspired fashion label, are hosting a wonderful competition called the artist within. All you have to do is sketch your favourite Miss Patina item (anyway you want) and upload them to Instagram, using the hashtag #theartistwithin and mentioning @misspatina in your description. You have until June 2nd to enter, and you could win the absolutely stunning Miss Honey dress. This is my entry, featuring the gorgeous Polka Flirt Pearl top, and the dreamily coloured She Bop skirt. I created mine using fineliner and watercolours, and it was lovely to spend my Sunday getting arty :) if you decide to enter, let me know, and good luck!

You can find my entry here, here, here and here on my Instagram :)

Instagram catch-up

1. Childhood treats - KP Choc Dips (did you eat these? so good!), 2. Fifi Lapin hand mirror - an Ebay bargain, 3. Mark & I before a trip into town, 4. Almond in the car on our journey to my mum's house (shortly after this I thought he'd like to sit on the dashboard, we went round a roundabout and Almond slid off and into the door compartment, much to mine and Mark's amusement - bad parents?!), 5. Me in the car on route to my mum's house, 6. My little brother's gorgeous Labrador puppy, Prim, 7. Indigo taking Almond to playgroup, 8. Delicious spaghetti bolognese mumma bear made for us, 9. Indigo made Almond a 'cage' out of a tomato punnet and some gems, 10. Chanel perfume, 11 & 12. At the hospital today, having a second round of VEMPs testing (sticky pads on my face & neck, leaving sore red patches and yucky glue!).

Firstly, a big hello! to my new followers and comment-leavers, it's so much appreciated and I will come visit your blogs in the coming days :) and of course thank you to you lovely regular readers!

It's been a busy few days with more hospital appointments, which hasn't resulted in much of anything as yet. I have been given a physio exercise by a specialist physiotherapist, which is basically an X printed in the middle of an A4 piece of paper. I have to keep my eyes on the cross and move my head slightly to each side. This is so easy for anyone who doesn't have balance problems, but I'm pretty slow and I'm only allowed to do 10 seconds for a while, so as it doesn't make me dizzy/ill! I also had more VEMPs testing, which is interesting with the sticky pads (I wish I'd been prepared though, neither times had they warned me so there was me with my make-up on only for it to be wiped off with a gross solution and replaced with glue!!). Hopefully this time I will get the results :)

I hope everyone's week got off to a good start! If anyone has Instagram, pop over and say hello here.