ANOTHER Award!

And here was me thinking the Oscars weren't taking place till February but I seem to be getting awards a plenty so thank you very much all you lovely bloggers out there!

The latest award I've received is from Sherri

This award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web

Thank you

6th Picture Meme

Linda at Friendship Tea tagged me for the 6th Picture Meme

Here are the rules:

Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures

Go to the 6th Folder, then pick the 6th picture in that folder

Post that picture on your blog and the story that goes along with the picture

Ironically my 6th folder was my "Blog Stuff" album stored with photos to be used in posts

The 6th photo was.........

Another wonderful piece of artwork from Aaron & Jenny at Everyday is a Holiday that I've been waiting to share with you

I love these personalised pieces that I think will look wonderful in my perfect kitchen I hope to have one day. Run along and check out their Etsy shop, they have some wonderful pieces

You can see another piece I've brought here

Let me know if you play the 6th Picture Meme

Slowly Getting There

I was finally motivated Sunday evening and sorted out my wardrobe and now it looks like this

I also had time in the week to play my new draw organiser, see how pretty my make up looks now

Would you think me sad if I told you how I kept peeking into the draw to admire it's tidiness!

I still have many more draws and corners of my room to sort through but it's getting there

It's also been a good week for awards

I received the following award from 3 lovely ladies, Gem, Josie-Mary & Rachel

And the Fab Blog award from Yvonne at Country Bliss

Thank you ladies

I would pass it on but I've seen it appearing a lot of blogs I've visited so don't want to double up. If you pay me a visit and leave a comment on this post, please consider the award yours

What Does Victoria Mean?

You Are Driven and Tireless

You are very hyper. You never slow down, even when it's killing you. You're the type of person who can be a workaholic during the day... and still have the energy to party all night. Your energy is definitely a magnet for those around you. People are addicted to your vibe. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Boot Sale Treasure

I did some thrifting today and look at the goodies I found

More figures and books to add to my collections

A hat to remove the flower from

Some games to use in crafting projects

I love this roses painting which mum has stole to display in our toilet!

I'm writing this post perched on my bed surrounded by clothes I've emptied from my wardrobe... finally the motivation to sort and organise has kicked in at 8pm on a Saturday night!

Victoria's Home

How could I resist these storage jars from TK Maxx when they so obviously are made for me!!!

I've also got a similar cookie jar by Victoria's Home, maybe by the time I am able to move out I'll have a full selection of them that I'll find on my travels

No Bills

The postman wasn't delivering nasty bills today, look what I received instead

The Valentine's issue of Romantic Homes and a wonderful gift from Twyla & Lindsey

How kind of them to send me something to say thank you for winning my giveaway! (and how naughty do I feel as I'm still getting round to sending out the books!)

I still haven't received addresses from Tilly Rose or Andrea (no blog so I can't leave a comment!) so if anyone hears from them please pass on the news that they were winners!

Sorry to those of you that haven't yet received your books... Christmas and the January slump has put me behind with soooo many things! I promise they're going out in the week

I hope you're all having a fabulous weekend, I'm off to do some shopping for my partner Teena for our Valentines swap tomorrow

Swap Crafts

I never got round to showing you the completed canvas I put together for my Wizard of Oz swap partner Suzie

I really enjoyed working on this canvas and also made one for my Sweet & Sinister Swap partner Melissa

These aren't the completed projects unfortunately I was in such a rush and running behind that I forgot to photograph them before posting!

I can't believe I haven't photographed the wonderful goodies I received in the Halloween swap... let's just say they were AMAZING!!!

Weight Loss Success!

I am pleased to report that my first week of returning to Weight Watchers has been successful and I have lost 1 1/4lbs & (I love my WEIGHT+WATCHERS.htm">WW scales tell me to the 1/4lb what I have lost as you can loose them in other scales)

I tried on a suit I have hanging in the wardrobe in a dress size smaller and the jacket fits me nearly perfectly

A perfect incentive to keep going!

I hope any of you who are also tackling new year diets are doing equally as well

Read It Swap It

Another useful titbit from The Thrift Book was information on the book swapping website Read It Swap It.

I go through fiction books quickly, reading daily for 2 hours on my journey to and from work and although utilise charity shops, car boot sales and swaps with friends I find I don’t always get to read those I want as I do not like paying anything more than £3 for a book (and don’t get me started on how much charity shops seem to be charging for used books these days!).

First I had a look around the site to see what books I wanted were available (I had an Amazon wish list devoted to fiction so I could keep an eye out for titles on my travels), of which there were many.

I created an account, deleted my Amazon wish list and added one to Read It Swap It with the option to receive emails whenever a swapper adds any of the titles to the site.

Next I gathered up the 3 latest books I read (cursing myself for just recently handing over a bagful to a friend and selling some on a recent boot sale) and added them easily to the site using the ISBN numbers (its very quick and simple!).

Swap requests were next. Some were declined as swappers did not want to read anything from my list which I appreciated due to my limited listings but I have just had one accepted. Then it’s as simple as posting the book out, you pay postage on your book and they theirs. Similarly to eBay there is a feedback facility and you can aim for “Super Swapper” status!

Over the holidays I received and brought a few new books so I won’t be swapping for the next couple of weeks but it does mean I will have a number to add once they are read and I can hopefully access a few more of the titles I’m interested in reading.

This is certainly a great way to obtain books you’d like to read cheaply and recycle those you have no use for if like me once read the books are passed on anyway.

Let me know if you try it!

New Year Awards

The lovely Linda at Somewhere in Time has awarded me the Fabulous Blog Award

The rules for this award are to pass it on to 5 fabulous blogs, include the person that gave it to you and link it back to them and finally list 5 of your fabulous additions

Sherri has awarded me the Butterfly Award

I'll be passing these awards onto

Mel Mel

Mary Poppins

A Thrifty Mrs

The Vintage Kitten

A Bite of Country Cupcakes

Enjoy ladies!

New Skincare Routine

New is the wrong word.... regular is the aim!

In addition to the diet that started yesterday I'm also trying to improve my skincare routine

I've been using Liz Earle products on and off for the past couple of years but not regularly enough.

You may have seen the range on QVC which is how I was introduced and it even has a mention in The Thrift Book

I have to say the pump dispenser for the Cleanse and Polish product is thrifty, dispensing in 1 pump the amount you need per cleanse to not waste or overuse

I always receive compliments on my skin if I've been using the products so it's a wonder I don't use it more often and when I run out I get to visit Browns

What skincare routine do you have?

Ready to start

I follow the weight watchers diet but the past couple of weeks especially over Christmas I've let things slide so back to work today and back to the diet!

At the weekend I was able to stock up on various WW goodies to help me along...

...and yes a workout DVD! For £2.99 I decided it was cheaper to try out rather than another wasted gym membership

I've brought the Strictly Come Dancing one too

I'm due to get measured for my bridesmaid dress in a couple of months so hopefully I can shift a few pounds before then.

I'll keep you updated with how i'm getting on, I know a lot of us are in the same boat at the moment!

Four Eyes

On my last opticians appointment I was told that I needed to wear glasses more often and give my eyes a break from the contact lenses


I haven't worn glasses in years and there's still a part of me that is the young girl who hated wearing them but I found a pair that I liked before Christmas they were ordered straight away


I picked them up yesterday



What do you think?


It still feels very strange at the moment but thats understandable as I'm so used to wearing contact lenses

It's Almost Over

The weekend is here and it's back to work on Monday when I'll officially herald the start of the new year

I've had a fantastic break over the holidays and enjoyed eating rubbish such as my favourite treat of wine gums and peanuts... yes together!!!

I've watched movies, read books and magazine and enjoyed catching up with friends but from Monday the diet begins and this year I really must concentrate on saving my deposit for a home

I'm going to enjoy my last lazy days with some blog surfing now!

Heart of the Ocean

I promised to show you my surprise present from my parents, so here it is

Isn't it fabulous!

I brought the ring that matches it when holidaying in Italy and we jokingly referred to it as the heart of the ocean.

I couldn't afford the necklace and despite cheekily asking my dad to treat me to it I came home without it so you can imagine my surprise when I opened it on Christmas morning.

Apparently my mum went back to the jewellers with my friends mum to buy it and has put it away since then. They didn't even tell my friend so she couldn't tell me about it.

Welcome 2009

Happy New Year to you all

image from the graphics fairy

May 2009 bring you everything you can hope for