Tomorrow is the big day - I'm going back to work! Not that I haven't been working for the past few months, but this going to work actually involves putting my face on, attempting to tame the rats nest hair, planning some decent clothes, a car journey, and an actual place of work. Wow! Do you think I'll remember what to do?
It's amazing how quickly your norm becomes your, erm, norm. When I first started working from home I was all weirded out about it, and now I feel the same about going back out to work. What will Bob get up to when I'm out? (don't even answer that question/HIDE EVERYTHING!) Who will our lovely postman wave to when he rocks up to our door with all the post? Will the neighbours even notice I've gone as they pop out for their daily newspaper? All the daily comings and goings that I'm so accustomed to seeing won't be there anymore. I'll miss them...but I'm also looking forward to being back in the world of work. People! Real people, who talk back to you! I hope they're nice!
Wish me luck...
Monday, 14 December 2015
Friday, 11 December 2015
Listen Up! - She and Him Christmas
This album is now on constant rotation in the house of Claire and Dave.
Best Christmas album ever, hands down. But not best single, as that is clearly 'Fairytale of New York' by Kirsty MacColl and The Pogues.
You're welcome.
Monday, 7 December 2015
Revisit: BUSY! and a shameless plug
Yeah yeah, yada yada, you've been busy, we've heard it all before. Like on repeat for the whole month of November...well this, my friends, is the reason why:
I have had the pleasure (and pain of many endless hours at the theatre) of being the production assistant for this play. I've never ever seen it from this perspective before. Generally I'm backstage crew or serving up beer in the bar, but this time I've seen it from day one. And I can tell you, it's a good'un! It's funny, and sparkly, and action packed. It's a witty whodunit with gun shots and screams a-plenty, as well as a stunning set that has taken us many, many hours to paint, dress, and titivate.
If you're in the area and up for some theatre fun, come along and see it. It will very merrily fill a dreary December evening. But remember to pack your winter woollies, it's chilly willy in our little theatre!
I have had the pleasure (and pain of many endless hours at the theatre) of being the production assistant for this play. I've never ever seen it from this perspective before. Generally I'm backstage crew or serving up beer in the bar, but this time I've seen it from day one. And I can tell you, it's a good'un! It's funny, and sparkly, and action packed. It's a witty whodunit with gun shots and screams a-plenty, as well as a stunning set that has taken us many, many hours to paint, dress, and titivate.
If you're in the area and up for some theatre fun, come along and see it. It will very merrily fill a dreary December evening. But remember to pack your winter woollies, it's chilly willy in our little theatre!
Friday, 4 December 2015
A Thing of Beauty
My name is Claire and I love lotions and potions. I am very easily 'enabled' as the saying goes by the bloggers and YouTube people that I watch who all have access to some delicious lotions and potions that I covet on an almost daily basis. Just ask Tee and Debs about when we were in Brighton and the only thing that I wanted to buy was a Mac 217 brush that cost £18. Yep, I totally did spend that much money on a makeup brush and it is a delight to use every single day. So soft and dreamy...
Let's talk enabling. In this instance it was a couple of YouTubers who put me on to the beauty advent calendar craze. In the opposite sense of this blog tale, I am generally a cheap as chips, 99p advent calendar kind of girl - somehow that cheap chocolate just tastes so good at this time of year. But this year, I decided to add in a beauty calendar to the mix. In terms of expensive, it's really not that up there compared to some of them that come in at hundreds of pounds. Girl ain't got that kind of spare cash. But girl does have a spare £25, well, okay not really but we're talking small change here people!
Step up the Marks and Spencer Beauty Calendar. For a mere £25 there is a box to open up every single day in the lead up to Christmas that contains some form of lotion or potion - oh me, oh my. The whole thing has the value of £200. £200! For a mere £25*. I mean come on, it's almost rude not to! As you can imagine, to say that I am excited is a bit of an understatement. It's basically going to be like Christmas every single day! With a cheapo advent calendar chocolate thrown in too - does life get any better?!
As I in no way consider myself to be a beauty blogger, I won't go to the trouble of listing all the contents. Instead just picture the excited face of this lotions and potions lover as a pretty box is opened each day. And just think of all the goodies I will have to begin the new year - I won't need to go shopping for ages!
My Christmas countdown is on! And I'm pretty sure this will turn up in my monthly favourites because, like, durrrrrr.
*for the record, to get the beauty advent calendar for £25 you had to spend £25. Which was very easily done by purchasing the most expensive body lotion I will ever use at £26. I don't feel the need to defend my purchasing choice, but even at a £51 spend that is still £149 of savings (quickly checks rubbish mental arithmetic skills)
Let's talk enabling. In this instance it was a couple of YouTubers who put me on to the beauty advent calendar craze. In the opposite sense of this blog tale, I am generally a cheap as chips, 99p advent calendar kind of girl - somehow that cheap chocolate just tastes so good at this time of year. But this year, I decided to add in a beauty calendar to the mix. In terms of expensive, it's really not that up there compared to some of them that come in at hundreds of pounds. Girl ain't got that kind of spare cash. But girl does have a spare £25, well, okay not really but we're talking small change here people!
Step up the Marks and Spencer Beauty Calendar. For a mere £25 there is a box to open up every single day in the lead up to Christmas that contains some form of lotion or potion - oh me, oh my. The whole thing has the value of £200. £200! For a mere £25*. I mean come on, it's almost rude not to! As you can imagine, to say that I am excited is a bit of an understatement. It's basically going to be like Christmas every single day! With a cheapo advent calendar chocolate thrown in too - does life get any better?!
As I in no way consider myself to be a beauty blogger, I won't go to the trouble of listing all the contents. Instead just picture the excited face of this lotions and potions lover as a pretty box is opened each day. And just think of all the goodies I will have to begin the new year - I won't need to go shopping for ages!
My Christmas countdown is on! And I'm pretty sure this will turn up in my monthly favourites because, like, durrrrrr.
*for the record, to get the beauty advent calendar for £25 you had to spend £25. Which was very easily done by purchasing the most expensive body lotion I will ever use at £26. I don't feel the need to defend my purchasing choice, but even at a £51 spend that is still £149 of savings (quickly checks rubbish mental arithmetic skills)
Monday, 30 November 2015
November Favourites
There goes another month! I'm not even going to mention the usual phrases (oh go on then: how? what? busy! eep!), let's just dive right into the favourites for November.
Sunday. The one precious day of the week when Dave and I get to spend more than one hour with each other. In these busy times (there, I said it) it has become a day to cherish. To just say no when people ask if we are free. We're not doing anything particularly exciting, on one occasion we even tackled the giant ironing mountain. We potter around the house for a while and then we try to take Bob somewhere new so that he has lots of experiences to store in his little puppy brain. We enjoy leisurely meals and cups of strong coffee and lots of tasty treats. We crash out in front of the TV and watch something light and fluffy. It's both nothing and everything and is helping to keep us sane.
Bob's Big Adventures! And ours too! On Sundays, that one precious day, we usually take the Bobster somewhere new. So far he's been on lots of different woodland walks and I even donned my wellies and took him into the sea. All the books say that the fear can come about at any time and so, as we don't want a total wuss for a dog, we're taking him to do all these things and turning him into a mighty warrior...and we get to have lots of fun too. When was the last time you put your wellies on and jumped into the sea as an adult? If you're wondering why I wore wellies and didn't just paddle in with bare feet, we live in the north east of England, and trust me when I tell you that the North Sea is bloody freezing! Long may the adventures continue!
Podcasts. In particular, Limetown. It is sooooo good! It's like a radio drama almost. If you like mystery and drama and good old fashioned creepy moments (chills down your spine kind of thing) I'd highly recommend checking it out.
The final favourite has to go to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yep, the original 90s series is on Netflix and I'm loving watching it all over again. The hair, the clothes, the heaving bosom romance between Buffy and Angel, LOVE IT! While I wait for the start date for my new job (will it ever come?!) I'm filling in my odd spare moments with an episode or two. It's a welcome distraction from the grey skies and crazy weather that has been this month.
I can't believe we're coming up to the final month of 2015! It's almost time to start playing the She and Him Christmas album on constant rotation...
Sunday. The one precious day of the week when Dave and I get to spend more than one hour with each other. In these busy times (there, I said it) it has become a day to cherish. To just say no when people ask if we are free. We're not doing anything particularly exciting, on one occasion we even tackled the giant ironing mountain. We potter around the house for a while and then we try to take Bob somewhere new so that he has lots of experiences to store in his little puppy brain. We enjoy leisurely meals and cups of strong coffee and lots of tasty treats. We crash out in front of the TV and watch something light and fluffy. It's both nothing and everything and is helping to keep us sane.
Bob's Big Adventures! And ours too! On Sundays, that one precious day, we usually take the Bobster somewhere new. So far he's been on lots of different woodland walks and I even donned my wellies and took him into the sea. All the books say that the fear can come about at any time and so, as we don't want a total wuss for a dog, we're taking him to do all these things and turning him into a mighty warrior...and we get to have lots of fun too. When was the last time you put your wellies on and jumped into the sea as an adult? If you're wondering why I wore wellies and didn't just paddle in with bare feet, we live in the north east of England, and trust me when I tell you that the North Sea is bloody freezing! Long may the adventures continue!
Podcasts. In particular, Limetown. It is sooooo good! It's like a radio drama almost. If you like mystery and drama and good old fashioned creepy moments (chills down your spine kind of thing) I'd highly recommend checking it out.
The final favourite has to go to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yep, the original 90s series is on Netflix and I'm loving watching it all over again. The hair, the clothes, the heaving bosom romance between Buffy and Angel, LOVE IT! While I wait for the start date for my new job (will it ever come?!) I'm filling in my odd spare moments with an episode or two. It's a welcome distraction from the grey skies and crazy weather that has been this month.
I can't believe we're coming up to the final month of 2015! It's almost time to start playing the She and Him Christmas album on constant rotation...
Friday, 27 November 2015
Listen Up! - Sadie Fleming
There's no video as such to watch but it's definitely worth pressing play to hear the lovely voice of Sadie Fleming. This song makes me think of cosy evenings by a crackling fire (if only we still had one...), a glass of red in one hand and something yummy to eat in the other, lights dimmed low, with this playing in the background. Lovely.
Monday, 23 November 2015
Baking Christmas
Oooh Ahhh the house smells divine, what can that be? Oh yes, it's Christmas baking season! Dried fruit, oranges, lemons and spices littered all over the kitchen worktops, soaking and feeding. Yummo!
First up was the mincemeat. Neither mince nor meat, but fruity, boozy goodness all sealed up and ready to bake into mince pies. Woop! This is an overnight job, soaking all the fruit and sugar and spices together. If that wasn't yummy enough, you then bake it for 3 hours on a really low oven where basically your house smells so good you want to lick the oven door. I am excited to make these babies up into some tasty pies and bars.
A few days later I made the cake for the traditional Christmas Eve icing extravaganza, that has fast become the highlight of the holidays for me! I've been very brave and gone off book (I'm still not sure that Delia has forgiven me from all those years ago...) and used a Mary Berry recipe. I mean, come on, surely Delia must approve of the Berry - she's an even bigger legend! More soaking, more yummy smells, more low ovens and long cooking times. It's been like a long drawn out torture for the dog who basically walks round the kitchen with his nose in the air, sniff sniff sniff.
Bring on all the Christmas goodies. It's the most, tastiest, time of the year!
First up was the mincemeat. Neither mince nor meat, but fruity, boozy goodness all sealed up and ready to bake into mince pies. Woop! This is an overnight job, soaking all the fruit and sugar and spices together. If that wasn't yummy enough, you then bake it for 3 hours on a really low oven where basically your house smells so good you want to lick the oven door. I am excited to make these babies up into some tasty pies and bars.
A few days later I made the cake for the traditional Christmas Eve icing extravaganza, that has fast become the highlight of the holidays for me! I've been very brave and gone off book (I'm still not sure that Delia has forgiven me from all those years ago...) and used a Mary Berry recipe. I mean, come on, surely Delia must approve of the Berry - she's an even bigger legend! More soaking, more yummy smells, more low ovens and long cooking times. It's been like a long drawn out torture for the dog who basically walks round the kitchen with his nose in the air, sniff sniff sniff.
Bring on all the Christmas goodies. It's the most, tastiest, time of the year!
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