Pug or Frenchie?

I love it when Lily sleeps like this and her ears prop up like a French Bulldog. What a cutie!

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Where to find me.

As Google Reader (my preferred method for keeping up with the blogs I follow) will soon be no more, I have logged back in to my Bloglovin account in an attempt to keep up with reading my favourite blogs and to continue finding new ones.

So that you don't forget little old me here's a list of the different ways you can subscribe to Lily loves Lola and the best ways to get in touch with me.

Bloglovin - You can follow me on Bloglovin by heading here and simply clicking on the 'follow' button. I actually quite like this site as a blog reading platform. It has some great features including being able to 'like' blog posts, find similar blogs to those that you already know and love, as well as posts disappearing once you have read them.

Hello Cotton - If you prefer to use Hello Cotton over Bloglovin then you can find and follow my page here.

Twitter - I always try to answer questions left in comments as quickly as I can but if you ever want to ask me anything Twitter is the best place to go. Tweet me here!

Facebook - I've got a FB page for Lily loves Lola which I update with new blog posts and the odd photo.

Instagram - I love Instagram! It's such a great way to share photos. If you like photos of Pugs, cups of tea, food and the odd bit of crafty action then check out my profile here.

Vimeo - I'm not on You Tube but I do occasionally make videos and upload them to Vimeo. It's like You Tube but without all the mean trolls and thumbs down action! I plan to make more videos so do check in on my Vimeo page here from time to time if you like.

Email - If you'd like to drop me an email do feel free! My email address is lilyloveslola (at) yahoo.com

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Canon 1100D.

I recently took the plunge and treated myself to a new camera. The Canon 1100D to be precise. I wanted to step up from my digital camera without venturing too far into fancy camera land, and this model seemed to be the one most recommended for beginners.

My digital camera has served me well and will still be used all the time, but it only takes good photos outdoors or indoors on a bright, sunny day which isn't always ideal.

I love taking photos on holidays and days out, as well as capturing outfits, makeup and the Pugs for my blog, and I thought it was about time I made an investment into something that would be more reliable.

Still very much sticking to "auto" mode, but dabbling slightly in the macro and sport settings, my initial impressions are very, very good. Since I bought the camera the sun hasn't made an appearance but even indoor nighttime photos using the flash come out so much better than my digitial camera ever did outdoors in perfect conditions.

I am really excited about getting into photography a lot more and (hopefully) taking some great photos. Lily and Lola have been very patient models for me and I have been enticing them to keep still using their favourite treats. But before they become obese through doggie treats I plan to venture outside or take the camera on a day out somewhere to really give it a good testing out.

Do you have this camera? Any tips for a beginner like me? Have you done any photography courses or would you recommend doing one as a newbie?

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25 facts about me (part 2).

If you missed part one it's here. Since I published those 25 facts other facts have been popping into my head at random intervals so I thought a second, and final, blog post was in order! I hope you enjoy reading my silly facts.

1) When I was in my teens my friends would say I was a boyband managers dream. Westlife, Boyzone, O Town (remember them!), Hanson, Busted, McFly. You name them, I probably liked them!

2) Talking of Busted, I had the chance to be in two of their videos but had to miss out due to A-level exams.

3) The A-levels I took were English Language, Textiles, Sociology and General Studies. I did very little revision and wish I had worked harder.

4) I hope to buy a Nissan Figaro in the next few years.

5) I passed my driving test (first time) about 10 years ago, and for 9 of those years I have been driving Smart cars.

Source

6) My biggest celebrity crush is Joseph Gordon Levitt.

7) I have been to Orlando 5 times and absolutely love it there.

8) I visited the Natural History Museum when I was younger and the animatronic T-Rex made me cry. I am still scared of dinosaurs now. I can't watch Jurassic Park!

9) My parents once phoned school to say my sister and I were poorly then took us to American Adventure for the day (haha). The only thing I remember was crying on the third log flume slope as the first and second were so scary, as well as breaking down in the car on the way home.

10) I had my first asthma attack when I was really young whilst visiting my grandparents. I discovered I was allergic to things like feathers, peanuts and cats all of which I had come into contact with on my trip.

11) My asthma doesn't affect me so much as an adult but I still avoid feather pillows (not peanuts though, yum!) and "bristly" creatures such as guinea pigs which can bring me out in a rash.

12) I don't drink/like fizzy drinks.

13) I am a die-hard tea fan but every now and then I CRAVE a cup of coffee and have to have one immediately.

14) I am very sentimental and keep momentos from places I visit.

Source

15) My favourite books to read are "chick lit" books but I'm also a huge fan of Stephen King novels, especially The Shining.

16) I wish I had been nicer to my parents when I was growing up.

17) When I was little I wanted to be a barmaid, a vet or a pilot. Hmm!

18) I once had a flying lesson where I took the controls and flew the plane. It was awesome!

19) I have never known what to do in life career wise.

20) When I was at sixth form I worked at Boots every weekend and even stayed on when I started working full time as I enjoyed it there so much.

21) When I get married I would like to double-barrell my surname.

22) I like to think I am romantic.

23) If I ever had plastic surgery I would change my nose.

24) I have stupidly long toes.

25) My middle name is Claire.

So there you go! I hope you feel like you know me a little bit better after reading 50 facts about me. I had a lot of fun delving into the depths of my brain to think them up (apart from things like my middle name and telling you about my long toes. It wasn't too hard to remember those things ;))

If you made it this far and read all of my facts leave a comment to let me know a random fact about you. I'll stop by and read your blog too if you have one! I'm on the hunt for new reading material!

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25 facts about me.

1) I was born on the 3rd of February 1985 in Leeds, weighing in at a whopping 9lbs 9 1/2 ounces!

2) I am 5'5.

3) I dropped out of university after a couple of weeks.

4) I have one sibling, my sister Adele, who is 2 years older than me and currently lives on the Isle of Man.

5) Pretty much all of my friends call me VJ. However at high school I was known as Vicci (I was very precise about the spelling!) but I grew to hate it. When I started working and people asked what I wanted to be known as I became plain old Victoria. I sometimes get Vix or Vic which I don't mind so much.

6) Jonathan and I met at work. As I worked in HR and sent out the offer packs one day his paperwork landed on my desk for a manager position in a different department. A couple of months after he started we got chatting over a mutual love of cake and cups of tea before he added me on Facebook. We chatted on Facebook for hours and hours, and weeks and weeks, before we decided to go to the cinema as friends. The following day we went out for dinner and decided we'd quite like to be boyfriend/girlfriend.

7) I'm not very good at sticking to hobbies. When I was little I tried ballet, tap, Brownies, guitar lessons, percussion playing, martial arts, the list goes on.

8) I remember really useless snippets of information about celebrities. I can tell you who has dated who, their entire back catalogue of acting jobs and lots of random trivia. I'm also good at remembering faces so I will see someone in a film and instantly recognise them from some obscure work they did about 20 years ago.

9) I have never broken a bone *touches wood*.

10) I wore a train-track style brace on my teeth (top AND bottom) when I was 13 years old for about a year as I had a huge gap in the middle of my two front teeth.

11) I cried when the brace was taken off as I thought my teeth looked far too big without it. I am often told I have big teeth but what the heck, at least they're straight.

12) Talking about teeth, I have zero fillings and live in fear of the day I need my first one!

13) Before I met Jonathan I never wanted to get married or have children. Now I would like to do both (one day, don't panic Jonathan!) but a big traditional white wedding is my idea of hell.

14) I grew up in a pet-mad house and I can't imagine life without pets of some kind. My parents had Rough Collies when I was younger as well as cats, guinea pigs, mice and budgies. I had gerbils. My first two were called Itchy and Scratchy and my second two were Kevin and Perry.

15) I would love a third dog in the shape of a male black Pug or a French Bulldog.

16) I cry all the time. It's rather embarrassing and means I avoid certain programmes or films when in the company of others. Going to the cinema can be rather problematic too! I cry at books, adverts, missing pet posters, and anything happy/heartwarming.

17) My weakness is biscuits. I find it's easier to avoid them as much as possible as I can never have "just one". I sometimes ask Jonathan to hide the biscuit tin from me.

18) I am very clumsy and am therefore covered in scars. I have a huge scar on the inside of my finger from cutting open a bread roll but not stopping in time and slicing through my skin(!)

19) I have a scar between my eyes from a kitchen knife incident. A childhood friend decided to get a knife out of our kitchen drawer and jokingly wave it around, pretending to be some sort of kung-fu fighter. Unfortunately the knife blade was loose, flew out of the handle, bounced off the kitchen door and hit me right between the eyes. He ran away crying while my sister and I stopped the bleeding and put a hat on my head so my parents wouldn't see it. The first thing my mum said when she saw me was "why are you wearing a hat? what's happened?"

20) The feedback from my teachers at school was always that I chatted to my friends too much and did too much clock watching.
 

21) When I was about 14 I was bullied at school for several months and it was the worst time of my life.

22) I used to hate mushrooms with an absolute passion. Now I eat them all the time and can eat huge Portobello ones as long as I don't look at the frilly bits too closely.

23) I'm an all or nothing kind of person. For example I either read books round the clock or I read zilch. I don't like doing lots of different things for small amounts of time. I'd rather pick one thing and do it lots. Does that make sense?!

24) My parents have been married since 1976! My Mum is from Leeds but my dad is from London and looks/sounds a lot like Del Boy.

25) Even though I am from Leeds I have an accent which people often can't place, which perhaps stems from gaining a mixture of my parents accents.

I hope you made it this far and enjoyed reading my facts! I may do a part two at some point although it's hard to share things that you don't already know. I had to dig deep in my brain for these!

If you liked reading this then you may enjoy reading these: A Rosie Outlook, Stephanie Dreams, glitterkel, ItsEmilyDivine, Little Winter.. I did! :)

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I felt the fear (& did it anyway!): the cinema.

I told you I'd pop something easy on the end of my "fear" list so that I could get the ball rolling. That's exactly what I did this afternoon, well and truly got the ball rolling by heading to the cinema. Alone! I didn't expect to get so many comments on that post but your quotes and kind words really spurred me on. Turns out there are lots of people out there who are just as scared as me to try new things and go to places alone, so look: if I can do it so can you!

I had a free day today so after a mammoth workout and some housework this morning I decided that a treat was in order. I have been dying to see Pitch Perfect and, as a sensitive soul, I knew that my solo cinema trip had to be a feel-good film rather than something that would have me sobbing in my seat. Although, it doesn't really take much to set me off! (I cried at an M&S food advert because the music was beautiful).

The film was awesome (and makes me want singing lessons even more than before - hey I could end up killing two birds with one stone here!) but not only that, I feel a bit more confident for doing something on my own that scared me a little.

As it turns out, lots of people go to the cinema on their own on a weekday afternoon. In fact, the majority of people were on their own including a lady in her 70s and a teenage boy who obviously has a penchant for feel-good singing movies too!

I could fidget away to my heart's content (those chairs are so damn uncomfortable), didn't have to share the Green & Black's chocolate I smuggled in and didn't miss out on something I really wanted to see.

Result! Right, which one to tackle next... :)

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The ones that got away...

The downside to being organised and writing your Christmas list in October is that by the time Christmas rolls around you a) forget what you asked for and b) think of another few things you'd like to find in your stocking!

Anyway, I'm most grateful to receive any kind of present and you can't beat getting a good old surprise, so as a bit of fun let this list be the items I'll have to buy myself in the New Year ;)

A "onesie"

How could I forget to put a onesie on my list?! I have wanted one for ages and after trying to find one for somebody else over the past few weeks it seems they have either sold out everywhere or are about £50! Anyway here are a few of my favourites, sold out or otherwise.

A woolly hat

I am not usually much of a hat person but I'm constantly cold and/or suffering from a bad hair day so I'd love a woolly hat to keep my head warm and cosy. You can't beat Accessorize for good hats. The heart one with pom poms is amazing!

A "geek" tee

I know the world and his wife have this Topshop tee but I really like it and would love the green one. At £18 it's not going to break the bank too much although I do have a bad habit of wearing nice tshirts to bed after a while. Oops!

A retro ice lolly neckace

When I found the shop hand over your fairy cakes I instantly loved the retro ice lolly necklaces, especially the Twister version. They're only £20 and would jazz up a plain outfit perfectly. I'm not much of a jewellery wearer these days but I love things like this, and it's also nice to support independent jewellery makers.

Lippies

I used to be lipstick mad and had loads to choose from, with a particular love for bright pinks. I have been wanting to try Topshop lipsticks for a while as the colours are really pretty and I have seen so much of them in the blogosphere. I'd love to find a red that suits me, for nights out. I love the look of Lady Danger by MAC but I'm sure there must be a cheaper alternative out there.

What is on your Christmas list (or forgotten list!) this year?

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Christmas gift ideas: the one who likes Pugs.

It's ever so easy to write a gift guide about Pug items as I have so many bookmarked and favourited on Etsy, so I have picked some of the best ones to share with you. Any Pug owner/lover (or indeed, your Pug him/herself) would be happy to have them I'm sure!

As I've got one poorly Pug at the moment (Lola has been at the vets for the past 24 hours) and one very confused Pug wondering where her sister is, writing this comes as a welcome distraction to stop me from crying and/or going loopy with worry.

Gemma Correll tees and set of flying Pugs - all Urban Outfitters /
Pug gift wrap and tag set - creaturekebab via Etsy

I have wanted a Gemma Correll tee for ages and Urban Outfitters have quite a few different designs now, including a blue one for the man in your life. Also, who needs flying ducks on the wall when you can have flying Pugs!?

I found the festive Pug gift wrap the other day (or someone tweeted me about it, I can't remember which) and was so excited to see that the seller has a whole host of other lovely things such as ornaments, mugs, badges and an ace wall calendar!

Mint green cameo necklace - KitschBitchjewellery via Etsy / typography eyechart print - handz via Etsy / 

canvas tote bag - squarepaisleydesign via Etsy / crochet pillow - peanutbutterdynamite via Etsy

 

I love these crochet Pug cushions. In fact they come in different designs which are all equally as cute. The French Bulldog is particularly handsome.

I have wanted the "I love you like a fat Pug loves cake" print for so long now. It's under £10 and comes in loads of different colours so it could easily find a place on a wall in our home.

bow tie dog collar - TheRoverBoutique via Etsy / Pug bum crochet ornament - knotbygranma via Etsy /

Pug print - squarepaisleydesign via Etsy / crochet bear hat - HandmadeMonster via Etsy

I know the Pug bum ornament is a little gross but I love it. It always makes me chuckle when I see it, and it would make a great jokey present for somebody. I'd love to hang one from our tree. It would make a great talking point that's for sure!

The bow tie dog collars in TheRoverBoutique would make any boy-Pug look dapper, but they do girlier designs too such as yellow polka dots and pretty florals.

Pug stamp - AyuTomikawaART via Etsy / "surprise" mug - SpademanPottery via Etsy /

party hat stacking ring - ChocolateandSteel via Etsy / iPhone4 case - TheCaseofMrPelham via Etsy

I'm really into little silver stacking rings at the moment and the above Pug in a party hat ring is at the top of my wishlist. It's adorable!

I hope this has given you some good ideas! Also how many times can I write the word Pug in one blog post?!

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11 questions tag.

Hola! I'm back in rainy Rotherham, clutching a cup of tea, wearing 2 jumpers and thinking about where I was this time last week (sat by a pool reading a book all day, followed by walks along the beach and dinner along the beachfront). While I was away I was tagged by Alexandra to do a beauty tag but I spotted this questions tag and I thought it would be more fun so I pinched it. Hope that's alright! :)

The Rules:

- Each person tagged must post 11 random facts about themselves
- They must answer the 11 questions posted by the previous blogger
- They must create 11 more questions to ask the bloggers they tag
- They must tag 11 blogs with less than 200 followers
- The bloggers must be informed that they have been tagged

11 random facts:

- I am addicted to regular tea or, when I'm on holiday, iced tea and this provided much amusement to Jonathan when the first thing I'd do upon entering the apartment was go straight to the fridge. I tried to convert him into an iced tea drinker but he hated it.

Taken in Tenerife last week

- I dislike popular "chart" music (I'm looking at you Rihanna!) and have fairly mixed taste in music, favouring She & Him, Edith Piaf, The Vaccines, The Like, Christina Perri, The Pierces, The Beach Boys, The Courteeners, The Drifters, and Sam Cooke.

- I have a brilliant memory for lyrics and know quite a lot of lyrics to quite a lot of songs. Sadly my good memory doesn't extend to much else.

- My favourite dog breed is a French Bulldog, but don't tell L&L!

- My dream job would be working from home, as an author of "chick-lit" books.

- In the past few years I have lost around 2 1/2 stone through a lifestyle change and exercise, and have kept the weight off ever since.

- Biscuits are my weakness and I try to avoid them, as I can't just have one. I immediately try to consume the whole packet before Jonathan tries to hide the tin!

- I love cross stitching, which I started last October when my friend, Katy, bought me a mini kit from Hobbycraft. I've been addicted ever since and find it very relaxing.

Recent cross stitch projects

- I love Christmas: the food, the present buying, the colder weather, dressing L&L up like reindeers. Roll on December!

- I am a massive fan of writing lists and plans of action, and love nothing better than planning a holiday where I'm totally in my element!

- I have visited Orlando, Florida, 5 times and hope to go for a 6th time with Jonathan and some friends in the next year or two. I know there are plenty of other places to visit, and I plan to go to as many of them as I can, and I do love visiting new places but I just love Disney, Universal, the food, the people, and feeling like a kid for 2 weeks.

My last visit - 2009. Can you believe this is me!?

Questions from Alexandra:

1. What would you eat if you were only allowed one thing for the rest of your life? It would have to be something carb-tastic like pizza (4 cheese) or warm bread with loads of butter.

2. What magical power would you choose to have and why? The ability to stop time. I often think that a Bernard's Watch would be so handy (hands up who used to watch that?) to get more sleep and fit more things into each day.

3. If you could make your favorite movie your real life, which one would you pick and why? Oh gosh, I wouldn't want my favourite movie (The Notebook) to become real life as that would be terribly sad, so I'll go with Magic Mike for obvious reasons ;)

4. 2 things on your bucket list that haven't yet been checked off. Visiting New York and taking singing lessons.

5. Why did you start your blog? I had a boring job at the time and after stumbling upon the blogging world I decided I'd quite like to give it a go.

6. Favorite piece of jewelry and why? I don't wear much jewellery at all but I have a Dior watch which was bought for me for my 18th birthday from my Mum and Dad, so that is very special to me.

7. If you had a day of no consequences, what would you do? Take a day off work, eat everything in sight, sing loudly everywhere I went, sneak onto a flight and go somewhere hot and sunny, and generally over indulge.

8. Best birthday and why? Probably any birthday between my 18th and 21st when I was young and carefree, and didn't have to worry about heading towards 30! Generally though, I'm not one to make a huge fuss when it's my birthday.

9. The book you could read over and over. The Shining by Stephen King. I have read quite a few of his books (and they're all fantastic) but I could never tire of reading The Shining.

10. (Fill in the blank) I'm currently obsessed with _________________? Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He is utterly wonderful.

11. The thing you're most looking forward to in this coming month of October? Snuggling up with Jonathan and the Pugs as the weather gets colder, cooking nice food together and preparing for Christmas.

image via weheartit

The questions I set for Jo, Lisa, Kim, Stephie, sunnysweetpea, Sophie, and a few other blogs which have more than 200 subs but are amongst my favourites, Rosie, Diane, Rebecca, Nicki and Lisa are:

1. If you had a magic wand and could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

2. If you could transport yourself into any tv show, past or present, which one would you choose?

3. Do you make New Years Resolutions and keep them?

4. What do you do to relax?

5. Pool or beach?

6. Earliest childhood memory?

7. Favourite Christmas movie?

8. If you could only listen to one song for the rest of time, what would it be and why?

9. Favourite pizza topping?

10. Do you have a pet/pets?

11. What is your most treasured possession?

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We are all made of air. There's stars in my eyes and there's sun in my hair.

It has been a bit of a funny week this past week, full of change and nerves and catching up on jobs around the house. Oh, and watching the Olympics rather a lot! 

I started my new job on Monday which has all been going well. It's such a contrast compared to my old routine where I was in the car commuting for at least 2 hours a day. Now I can hop in the car and be there in 15 - 20 minutes and as I'm doing fewer hours I've had so much more free time (filled with doing loads of washing and hoovering, but hey it's still free time).

I added a couple of new bracelets to my shops yesterday (Etsy here / Bigcartel here). I'll be adding lots more over the next few weeks now that I have more time to work on designs but in the meantime you can have a nosy at these two bracelets: a super tiny gold skull charm on red silk thread, with a gold lobster clasp fastening, and a "lucky star" bracelet which is already available in red but now comes on gold/yellow silk thread too.

I love working with this silk thread. It's very delicate but as I have quite small wrists I'm a big fan of delicate jewellery. I hope you like them. Please pop over to my shops to have a look if you get a spare minute, I'd really appreciate it.

I've been meaning to share a new recipe with you, as last weekend Jonathan and I tried moussaka which I can't recall ever eating before. I think I used to be a bit scared of aubergines, but seemingly not anymore! I made the topping and Jonathan made everything else and it was incredible! It wouldn't all fit in our dish so we made another mini moussaka which I had for lunch the next day. Score! Here's the recipe if you're interested. 

Since I became a vegetarian it has been nice to have the odd vegetarian meal that we can both eat, as opposed to cooking things seperately so that Jonathan can have meat in his. Extra washing up is never a good thing!

Before the topping went on. I suppose you could just eat it like this if you wanted to!

We have been absolutely HOOKED on the Olympics in our house over the past 2 weeks, and there was little old me before it started saying I probably wouldn't watch too much of it as I'm not really a fan of watching sports. 

Next thing I know I'm staying up until 1am to watch the opening ceremony, jumping up and down cheering on Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis and the rest of Team GB, and well and truly getting into the Olympic spirit!

I'm determined to get me some Jessica Ennis abs. I just need to put the biscuit tin down for long enough...

I think the coverage has been fantastic and we have loved watching. It only comes around every 4 years so we have made the most of watching and will be sad when it is all over (although the Paralympics are still to come!)

We're already talking about a trip to Rio in 2016... ;)

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A fresh start.

If you're reading this then chances are you will have noticed that I've made a few changes around here. After 3 years of having pretty much the same blog layout, font and colours I've settled on a new design which I really like, although it is taking some getting used to so if you'd like to say some nice things about it that would be superb. I love the colour scheme and the cleanness of it, and I've finally got to grips with a few little bits of html which have allowed me to get things the way I want them.

There is method behind my madness which all started a couple of evenings ago...

I was looking for something in an old blog post and ended up reading some very early posts, which progressed to me heading all the way back to the very beginning. After I had finished taking this trip down memory lane, and cringing with absolute horror at some of the photos, I decided to delete a few blog posts. Mainly times in my life, and old photos of me, that I didn't want to be reminded of should I ever head back through my archives again at any point in the future.

How do I feel for this sudden Spring Clean and change of design? Well, kind of the same as I do when I have a good ol' clear out of my wardrobes, kitchen cupboards, etc. Lighter, cleaner, ready to start again, turn over a new leaf,  and happier.

I'm proud of my blog and my commitment to posting as often as possible over the last 3 years and I am excited about my new burst of energy for my space of the internet. With my fresh layout and new job on the horizon, which will give me much more free time for fun stuff, you will be seeing a lot more of me around here (and a couple of Pugs too).

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Ombre tights.

I'm not a huge fan of the ombre hair trend but ombre tights on the other hand...

via Etsy

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♥

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Happy Birthday me.

Today I turn the big 2-7 and have had a wonderful day so far. We are home from our trip away now and I'm really excited to share the photos and videos with you. We had such a great time. A special thanks to Jonathan for making my birthday so much fun. I have spent the last 2 days eating these kinds of foods:

Source

But it's my birthday so I'm allowed :)

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Sunday summary.

I woke up yesterday morning feeling great and ready for a relaxing weekend. Then all of a sudden I started to feel poorly and it hit me like a sledgehammer. I have been feeling gradually worse ever since which has turned me into a sulky, snivelling mess.

We did keep our dinner plans for last night though and went for tapas at Cubana in Sheffield as it is the first time we've managed to get a booking due to its popularity. Feeling poorly aside we had a lovely evening and the food was absolutely fantastic. Definitely recommend this place if you're ever in this neck of the woods.

Lily and Lola have been looking after me and we have had numerous naps together. Aren't they cute. They always know when I'm feeling down in the dumps and come to my rescue.

I added lots of new charms to my shop yesterday including a tiny gold star, a silver strawberry, a silver apple, and some new sets which work out cheaper than buying each bracelet individually (and saves on the additional P&P too). It's not often I wear jewellery but I love the little gold star and made one for myself yesterday.

I hope you've all had a good weekend. I'm off to watch Dancing on Ice, do some knitting and feel sorry for myself!

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Presents from the USA.

For a few months now Alexandra and I have been swapping parcels, where we have been sharing letters, sweets, beauty products and trinkets from our countries. It has been brilliant receiving boxes of goodies through the post and I thought I would share one of my recent boxes with you.

 

Not only did I get a big bag of Cinnamon Bun marshmallows (yum!) but I got a whole host of other sweets too (I loved the toffee especially!). Alexandra also sent a makeup bag stuffed full of things including a Sephora lipgloss which I have worn so many times already - it's the perfect nude lipgloss.

Thank you Alexandra! I look forward to many more letters and parcels in the future.

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Krispy Kristmas.

One of the best things about the office I work in is that it's a 2 minute walk from Krispy Kreme. Other people at work have brought boxes of doughnuts in for everyone before, but the other day I decided to have a wander over for the first time to pick up a treat for Jonathan and I. 

I had heard good things about the Christmas tree doughnut and boy oh boy, they weren't wrong! What could be better on a drizzly afternoon than a chocolate topped doughnut shaped like a Christmas tree, with a white chocolate star on the top and MARSHMALLOW inside. Yum!

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I'm still alive!

I haven't updated my blog in so long so I thought I had better let you all know that I'm still alive and well. The move went well, but we have been so busy moving boxes, painting, putting up wallpaper, cleaning, hanging pictures, and arranging delivery of a sofa, a bed, a fridge/freezer, etc etc. Busy busy!

We haven't got the internet set up at home yet as we need to wait for an engineer to come out to us, but we're hoping that will be next week at some point. I must admit though, it has made quite a refreshing change taking a break from the internet (apart from occasionally checking in using my phone).

My shops are both open again (links are in the sidebar>) and once I can update them I'll be adding some new charms.

I hope you're all as excited for Christmas as I am, and I look forward to being back in the blogging world very soon!

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News & other things.

Jonathan and I listen to Radio 2 every morning on the way to work (coz that's how we roll) and a song has been catching my ear for a while now. After some investigation that song is Kissing You Goodbye by The Pierces. I have since obtained the album and have been listening to it on repeat this morning and it is pretty damn good.

I took Lily and Lola on a walk yesterday evening when a lady pulled her car over next to us and came running over. I thought "hang on a minute, what's going on 'ere!" but it turns out she lives a couple of minutes away from us and has a boy Pug named Elvis. She was so excited to see my little Pugs and thought they were so dinky and cute compared to her chunky Elvis (I have spotted her husband walking him and he certainly is a chunk-ster!) She fussed over Lily and Lola for ages while they barked at her and licked her. They have rather smelly breath so I hope she washed her hands afterwards! :) When we got back they were all worn out after making a new friend and cuddled in various positions all evening...

I am excited to have episodes of New Girl lined up to watch this week. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see Zooey D in the trailer wearing glasses similar to mine. Yes I love her far too much, but I can't help it. She is perfection!

Picture via Google images

In other news, yesterday I added buddha charms, cupcake charms and horseshoes to my shop! And if you follow me on Twitter you may have seen that if you retweet my giveaway tweet before 5pm today you could win a friendship bracelet of your choice! I'm feeling generous today :)

Good luck! There is roast dinner to be eaten so I bid you adieu and wish you all a lovely Sunday.

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Friday feelings.

Have a great Friday night everyone.

All found here.

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