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Positive Vibes

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This week I’ve gone with a bit of a female-empowerment vibe. Given that it was Mother’s Day for all the USA readers on Sunday, it felt like good timing. Enjoy!

1. I love this alternative interpretation of the ‘Ladies’ sign #itwasneveradress

2. Read this article on being a daughter of a strong woman (or in my case strong parents)

3. Watch this highly entertaining take on sexism in the media industries – there’s an important message in there too. #MakeItFair

4. Make your way through this list of 10 great documentaries directed by women

5. Watch as Allison Janney and Anna Faris help each other complete the Ninja Warrior course in spectacular fashion.

Carrying It Forward

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(Jumper Dress: F&F | Leggings: Topshop Tall | Boots: Debenhams | Mittens: Next)

This time last year I wrote about my ‘14 for 2014‘. I’ve never been one for resolutions, but I’d suddenly found myself with a lot of spare time on my hands and it seemed like a good way to organise my spare time into something more productive and enjoyable. So far so good-intentioned…

I started as I meant to go on with Number 1: Blog more – and managed to do this for the first few weeks. Then in March something rather wonderful and unexpected happened… I got a promotion at work. And all of a sudden my spare time started to shrink. So number 1 had to be re-assessed whilst I adjusted to my workload.

A few of the other numbers were also neglected whilst I was enjoying my new role, so this year I’ve decided not to make new resolutions, I’m just going to carry some forward:

1) Blog more
2) Keep a Journal
4) Get back in the saddle and go Horse Riding
5) Dust off the Violin and start playing it again
6) Swim
12) Learn to play Poker (it really can’t be that hard)

2014 was still pretty darn great though. Here are some of the things I did achieve!

Number 3: Read more books. I’m going to post about this soon because it’s something I’ve done with a great deal of enthusiasm.

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Number 7: Bake more. I particularly enjoyed June’s Coconut and Lime Cake:

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Number 8 (Pay it forward. Do more random acts of kindness) was easy to achieve. I started taking my baked goods into work, I fundraised for my favourite causes, and every time I saw a charity box I put any spare change I had into it. I also succeeded with Number 9 & Number 10.

Number 13: See more things at the theatre. I’m so glad I set myself this goal – it’s so lovely to get dressed up and go to the theatre for an evening. Here are some of the shows I’ve enjoyed this year:

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Number 14: Try one new thing, especially if it’s outside your comfort zone (I’m particularly proud of this one) This year I abseiled for the first time – 66 metres! Stepping off the edge was enormously daunting, but ultimately such a rush. As a bonus I also raised a lot of money for my local Mountain Rescue Team.

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14 for 2014

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I’ll be honest, I’ve never liked New Year. In my book it’s possibly worse than Valentine’s Day (because at least sympathetic family members usually buy me chocolate for Valentine’s.) But New Year? It’s always been ‘just another day’ to me. Nice that we get it off work though.

Then, as I was leaving work last night I found myself grinning for no real reason on the way home, and I realised how much happier I am now than I was this time last year. I only had one goal last year – to finish my house and get moved in. It seemed like it would never happen. I spent all my time inhaling plaster dust and covered in paint. To some extent I neglected a lot of the other aspects of my life to complete it – and I’ve been making up for lost time ever since (though it was totally worth it – I love my house).

So this list, isn’t so much ‘resolutions’ – it’s more ‘reminders’ of all the things I looked forward to spending my time doing when it seemed like the house would never be finished.

And if I write it down on the internet there’s a better chance I’ll be reminded to do it.

I don’t say ‘Happy New Year’… but I will say HAVE FUN x

Recipe Review: Double-Crunch Honey-Garlic Chicken

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There is a whole website dedicated to Pinterest projects gone wrong, but I hope someone creates one for Pinterest successes -because this pin would be first on my list!
I made this double-crunch chicken with a honey garlic sauce a couple of weeks ago. I’d invited one of my best friends round to see my house and rather than stick to my usual recipe books I thought I’d try something new. (And prove that my shiny new kitchen was worth all the work that went into it!) It was so tasty and the chicken was perfect and tender. I’ve never been a fan of rice so I served it with home-made chips and a crunchy salad.
The full recipe can be found here but I adapted the quantities a little to serve just 2 people.
I also found this site really helpful for adapting the quantities to grams. (I’ve never been able to figure out how much to add when it says ‘2 cups’.)
Bon appetit!

In The Press

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Exciting news! I’ve just done my first ever interview with the lovely folks at The Fashion Network. I’ve not been blogging for long so I was really flattered to be asked – you can read the full article here.

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I also wanted to say sorry for being a bit lax on the blogging front recently. To cut a long story short: I’ve not been very well. But the good news is I am on the mend and I’ve started putting together lots of lovely new posts… stay tuned!

Dotty Dress

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Well, it’s officially wedding season. The time of year most ‘singletons’ dread (owing to the general depression-inducing cost of all those hen-dos, gift-lists, overnight-stays, etc, etc) but I am an anomaly. I love it. It’s the best time of year for pretty-dress-shopping!

I actually bought this River Island dress a few weeks ago for work but, with the right head-wear and heels, it could easily double-up as an outfit for a wedding/christening. I love the fun loop detailing on the collar and pockets too.

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Dress: River Island via ASOS
Heels: Faith

The First Post

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Hey hey, welcome to my first post!

Yes… I’ve finally stopped talking about starting a blog and actually had a go at it. Expect lots of posts featuring my shopping addiction, some culinary experiments and a few adventures!

Oh, and in case you were wondering about the name: it’s something an old work colleague used to call me a few years back and I always thought it would make a good title for a book… but it’ll do for a blog I reckon.

Much love
S x