It's Monday, but it's okay!

Happy Monday! 

I had a lovely weekend of not doing much in particular, which is just what I needed. Carbonara, dog walks, mini eggs and Gardeners World are what weekends at home were made for really.

I spent last week totally stressing about wedding planning and have had nightmares every night about something going wrong. I forgot to buy a dress, I forgot to tell Tom the date of the wedding and he didn't show up, the BBQ dramatically blew up and we had no food etc etc. It's been very easy to get overwhelmed by it all, especially as I've made the super clever decision that I want to do everything myself because a wedding venue wouldn't do it right (good one). I spent a whole 2 days frantically trying to source gold cutlery. I think I must have contacted at least 10 suppliers, which are surprisingly difficult to find. About 20 types of silver cutlery, but no gold. I mean, who WOULDN'T want gold cutlery at their event? Apparently everyone. Tom's asked if this is a necessity and if I need to be obsessing about it this much seeing as we still have 16 months until the wedding and we haven't even decided which venue we're going to book yet. But I was adamant, there would be no wedding without them, tears were shed - WITHOUT GOLD KNIVES AND FORKS THE DAY WILL BE RUINED. I've calmed down now (only because I've found and booked some) but I've also realised that maybe I can slow down a bit and there will still be a wedding at the end of it.

My wedding spreadsheet is now obscenely extensive, there's currently 7 sheets on it and counting. But I've done a to-do list and even though it's scarily long (and I've only ticked one thing off on it, and I only put that on it so I could tick it off) it feels much better and manageable to see exactly what needs to be done.

Crazy control-freak that I am, with my spreadsheet in hand (literally in hand - I have it on my phone so I can check it whenever the mood strikes) I am ready and ON IT. But also, I just drank a huge mug of coffee so maybe that's helped as well.

What helps you feel in control and Beyonce-ish? Or am I alone in my madness?

Happy Monday all! (Lies, I hate Mondays).

Gemma

xXx

Happy Weekend!

Happy weekend!

I have been counting down to Friday this week.

It’s not even been a particularly bad week, the last few days have just seemed such a struggle. Thank god it's here now! We’re driving back to Lincolnshire tonight for the weekend to see both families, so it should be a busy but nice few days.

I’ve got a mixture of posts ready for the next couple of weeks; some food recipes, top tips for hardcore savings, the truths of living with a boy and our week in Kefalonia last year.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend and make sure you hug your Mum.

I have armfuls of tulips for mine!

Gemma

xXx

Happy Weekend!

I’m so glad it’s the weekend. You know sometimes just everything seems to go wrong at once? 

Well it’s been a very un-fun week.

I have a pretty heavy schedule tonight to welcome the weekend in though; hunters chicken dinner then Crufts and Gardeners World on the telly. LIVING.THE.DREAM

Tomorrow I am having a deep Spring clean (physically, mentally and house-workly), and I’m very excited. I have Epsom bath salts, a new book and kitchen bleach!

Sunday is a rare day when Tom has a weekend day off so we’re going to make the most of it and head off somewhere. Probably the Cotswolds for a long dog walk and stopping off at a dog-friendly pub on the way home. We were at the Peak District exactly a year ago and I wanted to go there again but it's maybe a bit too far for just the day.

I’m just realising how elderly this is making me sound. But I like my geriatric life. Who knows, maybe I’ll jazz it up and sow some plant seeds as well and clean my car. Oh god, I just remembered I applied for an allotment last night as well. Is this it? Have I peaked too soon?

Happy Friday everyone, hope you don’t go as mad as me!

Gemma

xXx

March Goals

HOW is it March already? This year is whizzing past so quickly.

I like March. I start to remember what warmth feels like and that maybe there are other outfits to wear other than my slinky 3 jumpers and 2 pairs of socks combo.

It's a good month for slowly coming out of hibernation and planning for the rest of the year. 

Happy Weekend!

 

Fri-YAY!

Friday afternoons are definitely a magical time! 

Only a couple more hours until a full 48 hours of freedom.

I haven't done much this week other than going to a baby shower at work last night. PINK!

And this morning me and Harvey had a little lie in then a long walk in the sunshine. It felt seriously Spring-like!

It'll all be alright in the end.

I'm not feeling particularly dreamy today.

Everything seems to be on hold at the moment. The new build house we're waiting for, work contracts, elderly cars and being in full-on saving mode.

The house is the worst part. I can never really relax and feel at home in a rented house, it's temporary and it feels it. We've still actually got things in boxes from the last move. There's only so much planning and forward-thinking you can do until you have to just stop and wait.

But sometimes you just have to suck it up and really think about the good things you have in your life.
We're getting married, we've got the dog, we both have jobs and we have savings ready to be spent.
It'll be alright in the end!

Waiting is rubbish, so I guess I'll have to keep myself busy in the meanwhile!

Gemma
xXx

Monday Mantra

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Happy Monday!

Weekends always fly by so fast. I had a chilled out Saturday reading books and doing as little housework as I could get away with. My friend stayed overnight after a drink in town and we had a very lazy Sunday; jammies until 2pm, and only then getting dressed to walk the dog and go to the pub for food.

But now it's Monday, everyone's back at work and it seems as if the past couple of days never happened.

Balance is very important to leading a content life, and sometimes it feels like you only need to tip one way ever so slightly to feel everything start to slide. It always seems very difficult to get that perfect harmony, but if you think about it, it's simple.

Someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.

If you have those three things sorted, everything else is much more manageable.

Gemma

xXx

February goals.

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Happy Tuesday all.

Did you have a nice weekend?

Mine was long and tiring with wedding venue viewings but I'll discuss the outcomes of them later.

Bah February already!? Christmas was 6 weeks ago!

I feel like it must have been productive month, but I'm not too sure what's actually happened.

Friday feeling.

Woop woop it's Friday!

I hope everyone has had a good week? It's gone quite quickly for me actually. It has been a nippy one though, it's been trying to snow for a few days now but this morning we finally woke up to a white blanket covering everything. The puppy loved leaping through the piles of it when we went for a walk through the fields this morning and had to be wrapped in a towel when we got back to dry off.

e is for...

Engagement!

(I swear I didn't plan that).

I'm engaged! Well I guess we're engaged because you know, Tom apparently also has to be involved.

We woke up to our disgusting 06.45am alarms as usual on Christmas Eve because we both still had work, to Harvey barking for a wee. Tom went down to let him out and I could hear him rummaging around in the lounge. I was still in bed and the puppy came running upstairs and did his adorable little morning routine of jumping on my head, pulling my hair and biting my face. It was as I was trying to prise my abandoned bedsocks out of his mouth that I noticed a note wrapped around his collar. It said that a christmas elf had been and to come downstairs quick for an early christmas present. We went downstairs and Tom was sat under the tree with a present for me. I probably should have been really suspicious, but it was still only 06.55 by then, and it was quite a big box so I just thought it was going to be something weird and silly. I opened it and there was a huge card inside, I had pointed this one out to him when we were doing last minute christmas shopping the weekend before, pretending to moan why he never got me christmas cards that say 'to my dearest, the love of my life on'. I looked up and he was on one knee and talking to me. I'm not too sure what he was saying but I finally got the jist of what was happening. All that was going through my head was; "But wears the ring? Why is it so damn early? I don't think I looked in the mirror on the way downstairs so he's waited 7 years to do this when I probably have make up under my eyes and my plait is all falling out." But yay! Out loud I obviously said yes!

Yay 2015!

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Happy New Year! 

I know it's super late, but it's January so it still counts.

We moved house mid November and the Sky engineer guy has just installed our internet today. After 8 weeks of me shouting and wailing down the phone to them ("how are we supposed to live like this?!?") it turns out they've been trying to connect the line to the wrong house. Good one Sky. Today's engineer was totally baffled as it has literally been a 5 minute job.

It looks like this year is going to be a busy one for us now. We got engaged on Christmas Eve (eeep!) and this has now forced us to think about plans further ahead than next weeks dinner schedule.

d is for...

Drama drama drama!

The last few weeks have been pretty mad for us.
It feels like everything has been turned upside down and we're just adjusting to how different things are.

Firstly I decided I just couldn't bare to work full time in an office anymore.
There are other things I want to do and I've felt at a standstill because I had no time or energy to try anything else.
I'm lucky enough to be with someone who will support me and wants me to do what will make me happy. To be honest, I don't think he could cope with my moping for much longer either.
So,I walked into work that Monday with my letter of notice in my shaking hands and explained to my boss that I wanted something with less hours. He completely unexpectedly told me he didn't want me to leave and I could reduce my hours if it meant staying! I didn't even think it would be an option, and I really do like where I work so it's the perfect outcome.

Now Blank Page.

After years of following and reading other blogs, I've taken the plunge! 
I am creating my own corner of the internet!

I work long hours and find there is less and less time to do the things I actually really enjoy in life. I know so many people feel the same, that by the time you get home in the evening you simply can't be bothered to get the paintbrushes and that new canvas out that you've been dreaming about all day, and you're just too tired to go outside and plant out the little seedlings you've been tending to on your windowsill for weeks.

But these things should be the most important parts of your day, because they're the parts that make it worth while. And by ignoring them and letting them slide by, there's less and less colour in your life.

So here's a blank page I will fill with colour.

Gemma
xXx