Phew! 22oC, flair? it's like Tatooine out there!- Star War Weather

This made me smile. Utterly pointless and just for a bit of fun for the Star Wars fan in you.
Simply type in your location and it will tell you which Star Wars climate the current temperature relates to. Enjoy!

Star wars weather

Polly Pocket wedding compact

As a child I loved polly pocket. I don't know why, as they were so fiddly the pieces often got lost/digested by someone ect. But I did. And it was a toy I asked for repeatedly.
I think it was because I could carry one compacts round with me, should I choose to do some away from home playing.
Anyway, whilst searching on the internet I came across this, I used to have and one, and I knew I would have to use at my wedding. I advocate everybody to have quirky junk at their weddings, not only to show your personality but as a good talking point.

The Polly Pocket wedding chapel compact OR if you want to get technical the 1989 - Bluebird Polly Pocket Nancy's Wedding day.  (I have no idea who Nancy is, just that she is the little bride figure).

Nancy is the tiny bride who looks similar to a toilet roll cover and her tiny husband who isn't very well attached in the middle, and of course Polly who is the little purple bridesmaid and the one who's outfit comes off best in this. Very sweet. 

The little chapel doors open (very carefully on mine as it's pretty old) to reveal a tiny congregation. Just in case you thought it was very small wedding.

Ebay sellers are flogging these items very cheap and in good condition should you be looking for some retro toys.

Wedding planning - Top ten points

Wedding season had started I get married in little over a month (eek!)
My fiancée and I got engaged in June last year and after some discussion decided to get married the following year, this year. I thought I would dispense some pearls of wisdom we have learned on our 14 month wedding plan journey. I have only done a short list of ten but trust me I could go on. I may have to do a separate one for the dress section alone! This is just an umbrella of wedding planning points. Enjoy!

1. Have a budget -don't live in dream world about what you can afford, be realistic make note of the things you really want and the ones you can negotiate on. Some things you are going to have to let go of.

2. The sooner you pick a venue the better - venues get booked up like hot cakes, especially weekends and bank holidays the sooner you get that place booked the better.
2b. Once you have booked the venue get your church, registrar, temple, wizard, who's ever marrying you booked too. You cant have one without the other on the day! 

3. Don't be afraid to tell people what you want - It's amazing how many wedding staff & family members believe you have to do your wedding a particular way. If you want a traditional wedding that's great, but equally if you want to be married by Gandalf the grey whilst wearing multi-coloured wedding dress that's great too, screw everyone else and just do it.

4. Don't be afraid to haggle/get a better deal - If you really like a certain supplier, photographer say, but they are slightly out of your budget, tell them what you can afford and they might just offer you a deal. We tried it and some cases it didn't work but with some it did!

5. Be prepared for the wedding tax - I loathed this one. The word wedding had an annoying habit of making the cost of items spring up by an extra "0". Don't let suppliers overwhelm you with the magic of weddings, if their goods are overpriced. Ask yourself what exactly am I getting for my money? If I saw this item/service on a normal day at this price would I tell the supplier to sod off? And ultimately can I get it elsewhere cheaper, better or do it myself? As unpleasant as it sounds people will try to rip you off whilst using your "special day" as an excuse.

6. People will let you down - *(This is a particularly poignant one for us as my fiancée was let down by someone only a few months ago). Family and friends will let you down. Not all of them of course, and the ones that don't will be your corner stone when your at the point of pulling your hair out. But it is one thing you have to learn to brush off and carry on. Not everyone is going to see your wedding as important, some might not even be happy for you. But these are the people you do not associate around wedding talk or planning as they just don't help and put a downer on things.

7 Beware of the woodwork! - And by this I mean, your second cousin twice removed from Belgium who you never liked and not spoke to for 10 plus years suddenly starts being your pal. And expects a wedding invite. At this point you say "tough", don't invite people for the sake of it. Your paying good money for that person to come, so ask yourself if they really deserve to be there. People will start popping out from the woodwork looking for invites. Be strong, stick to the people you want to invite because they contributed something to your life.

8. Be careful what you say -  This is pretty self explanatory, and falls under point 6. Be careful about what wedding plans you reveal to certain people. One lady told me how her cousin booked the day she had in mind for her wedding for herself. Don't give too many details away and wait till things are booked before giving dates. Nothing worse than someone trying to steal your thunder.

9. Dont do it all yourself -  Weddings are a lot of planning, co-ordinating and budgeting. Seek as much help as you can from your fiancée, friends, family, best man, bridesmaids, wedding organiser (if your lucky to have one) and suppliers. Heck there are even some pretty good wedding chat rooms for ideas and advice. They can help you make decisions and perhaps see something you didn't.

10. Have a day away from wedding stuff- Some days you will be sick of hearing the word wedding. At this point take a step back from it and leave if for a day or so. You cant be productive and you'll just plain hate it if you have overworked yourself. Take the time to enjoy a date evening with your fiancée or do something fun with friends. Avoid talking about it completely and tell them your having a day break from thinking about it. You'll feel a 100 times better and ready again if you do.

Tea

Tea is something I cannot live without.
Seriously I cant.
It is the first drink I have in the morning and it usually the last one I have at night. I remember having tea in a bottle as a toddler. It is dispersed when friends come round to visit accompanied by cake and it is there as a comfort when things sucks. Because of my poor liquid in take and sore kidneys, I am only aloud a maximum of 3 cups of tea a day (I nearly punched the doctor when I was told this). Prior to this I would drink between 6 and 10 cups a day, a little much some might say. However, now I have a much deeper appreciation of my milky beverage companion. I often dream of a hot cup of builders tea when I'm downing one of my many pints of tasteless water through out the day (If I tell myself its wonderful, I might actually believe it). So here is my first blog on the wonders of tea and all its awesomeness.

Tonight's tea is a cup of Yorkshire tea, we actually bought these mostly to do with the fact my other half is from Yorkshire and less to do with the taste. However, that being said it is a lovely brew and as one of my 3 cups a day it definitely not wasted. Set up in 1886 they know how to make a mean brew.
As a drink it has nice soft flavour and not too floral.

 Behold my giant box of teabags and brew!

If you would like to know more about Yorkshire tea go here http://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/
They seem a pleasant bunch.

Oh my days! During this blog I discovered UK Tea Council they even have a tea gallery if you want to get serious. 

All this yaking has made me thirsty...time for a brew.

Stuff on my rabbit

Completely pointless but brilliant. This blog does exactly what it says; a rather cute fluffy bunny has a number of harmless and random objects rested upon them for our amusement.
Being a pet owner myself (Steve the house rabbit) I know exactly how tempting it is to play buckaroo on the furry one. Although the most I think Steve has endured is a tea cosy and a red pepper lid. Perhaps I will try more daring objects now....like a spatula.

Enjoy!

http://stuffonmyrabbit.net/

Record store day at Beatniks Altrincham

I hope all your record store day celebrations were fun?


On Saturday I visited on its grand opening "Beatniks" record store and cafe in Altrincham, South Manchester. It a cosy place (hence picutre taking was tricky), with records stacked on the left of the shop, a heavily postered little alcove with record player and headphones for some selcuded sounds. The walls are arty and the furniture has a retro/re-cycled quality. The cafe offers pies, salads, cake, brownies (the fudge brownies called my name!) tea and coffees. I am particulary fussy when it comes to a good cup of tea, but whilst in there I enjoyed two cups in floral mugs. They also sell CD's, tapes, T-shirts and various art pieces. I thoughly enjoyed my time in there; the shop was busy, the atmosphere was warm and the staff very helpful. We bought a two tone mix album which we enjoyed later on. I enjoyed listening to the acoustic set in such a intitmate enviroment.  Situated opposite the market behind Altrincham's high street, I believe it will be good for the town and I sincearley hope this place does well. There isn't enough places like it.

 https://www.facebook.com/beatnikshop?fref=ts


https://twitter.com/Beatnik_Shop

Zatchel 2nd birthday 50% discount

Zatchel, the satchel company are giving away a generous 50% off all bags ordered on their website tomorrow. This offer is to celebrate their 2nd birthday. So if you enjoy a good colourful bag, (who doesnt?) get ordering. But be quick this offer ends midnight tomorrow.

Zatchel website:  http://www.zatchels.com/

Record store day is coming!

If you haven't already heard, tomorrow is 'Record store day' across many stores through out Manchester and the country. Since the dawn of the download, instant music access has been widely available and independent record stores in the decline. If, like me, you prefer the physical feel of vinyl in your hands, I would recommend you hit the Northern Quarter in Manchester. 'Piccadilly Records' is selling a range of exclusive releases to tantalise you. The store has also hooking up with "Common" to bring you drink, food and live music. The Castle hotel is also hosting a one day 'mini music festival' sure to entertain you. Since R.S.D began in 2007, thousand of independent record stores have joined for this celebration of the independent and unique. To make queueing in the wee hours of the morning before opening time, for that limited edition release truly worth while.


See XFM's list of top picks being released for R.S.D at: http://www.xfm.co.uk/photoWallPhoto.asp?id=71272#Chvrches---Recover-EP--5 

Winter Sun

Well I am not going to lie guys. Barbados was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Considering how small the island was (21 x 14 miles) it had so much character.
We not only did amazing trips such as swimming with turtles, the mount gay rum tour and the depths of Harrisons cave. We stayed in a lovely house that had a garden hosting all types of wildlife. I saw monkeys, humming birds and giant land snails! I also got to eat some of the local dishes. A roti which is a flatbread, with a chicken and chickpea filling. It had curry spices and chunks of potato and served with salad (Roti!-Ive attached a recipe to make your own). Absolutely delicious! Spending NYE on a beach is brilliant; getting to dip your toes in the sea whilst watching fireworks and drinking rum punch...need I say more? It was truly one of the best places I have been.

Handmade Christmas gifts

Happy New year Everyone! I hope your holiday break was an enjoyable one. I had a particularly fun packed Christmas period. I spent Christmas day with family then flew out to the Caribbean boxing day till new year’s day! Phew! Busy, busy, busy.
Anyway, Christmas day was spectacular I felt so blessed to receive such thoughtful gifts. For my lovely man with glasses, I handmade a “mini me” of him in the form of a cloth doll. I had been researching how to make one for some time, receiving advise from my upcycling class tutor and the internet. I took about month and half to make (I started him early November) so by Christmas I was bursting for him to be seen. It was pretty tricky doing the arms and legs. The cotton had a tendency to come loose at the edges and got marked easily. But I loved stitching the little tattoos on his arms and perfecting his tiny glasses. I had an old checked shirt that I cut up for clothing and used felt for his black jeans. I did a backstitch for his eyes and a thick wool for his hair. I was pretty impressed with myself.
I received from a kind friend a copy of ‘Mollie Makes Christmas’ much to my crafty delight. I had already made a heart shaped Christmas decoration in my upcycling class but now I can add to next year’s festivities with other handmade goodies!
I got so many amazing treats I am still going through them now!