31 May 2013

No Etsy Finds Friday...

Hi there everyone. I hope your Friday has been glorious, mine has :)

As I will be returning to work on Monday (boo!!), today is the last day that Zoe and I will have together until next Friday. So instead of sitting on my computer looking at pretty things on Etsy I thought I would spend the day playing with Zoe while I have the chance!! 

So, I challenge you! Why not have a shuffle over to Etsy and tell me one of your favourite items in the comments? 

Oh and the giveaway closes at midnight tonight so if you haven't entered yet, why not? Go! Go now!! 

Have a nice weekend everyone!

29 May 2013

What's Been Occurring Wednesday #20

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Hello you lovely lovely people and a very happy Wednesday to you!

First of all I would like to say thank you so much to everybody who wished me a happy birthday on the blog and on twitter. I got a lots of lovely presents and was spoiled rotten all weekend. Martin got me a gorgeous Tagine so I can cook yummy Moroccan dishes and my little sister (whose birthday it was as well) got me a Bothy Threads cross stitch kit (which I had dropped a not so small hint to her about). Zoe and Martin together got me the most amazing ceramic owl lamp for next to my bed - I've just been to buy a light bulb today so can't wait to get it set up. I also got a big pile of books, some of which I will be doing reviews of because they are crafty books! Yay!

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My presents off Martin - can't wait to try some tagine recipes!

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My godmother Penny knows me so well!

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Martin's Gran got me this lovely felt crafting book


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These are the presents I got off Zoe - isn't she excellent at using Amazon?!

My dad took me, Martin and Zoe out from meal on Sunday lunchtime as a birthday treat. We went to the Golden Fleece which is just outside Carlisle and it was absolutely fantastic! I had the herb crusted loin of lamb with braised shoulder, potato rosti and creamed cabbage and it was divine!! Martin had the most epic burger I have ever seen in my life. My Dad had gammon steak - look how cute the chips are they came in their own little basket!!

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Nom Nom Lamb!

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Chips in a basket!

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This is Zoe playing on the grass at Keswick - we went there on my birthday with Martin's Mum and Dad and fed the ducks.

Other things that happened in our little house this weekend were a trip to Upperby Gala with my mum and sister and our respective families. And I've also been putting together the wedding invitations. Would you like a sneak peek? Here you go!

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I've also had quite a bit of a lovely post over the last few days, not all of it birthday related! I got a letter from my International Geek Girl Penpal Club penpal Kara, as well as a postcard from the Postal Society Intro Postcard swap. The very lovely Helen from #PostCircle sent me these awesome pencils for my birthday - how amazing are these?!?!

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Pretty post!

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Fab pencils!

I got another Liebster award, this time from Julie. I really struggle to think of 11 new facts each time, so I will just let you read my previous award posts which are here.

Oh and don't forget to enter my giveaway to win £15 voucher for my Etsy Shop, a felt brooch and some other lovely bits and pieces. Even if you don't win you can still get 25% off in the shop using the code '30YEARS' until the end of May! 

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27 May 2013

Bloggers of Note #3

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Hello readers!

Here's my third Bloggers of Note! These lovely ladies are a mixture of recent finds and long-term loves. Pop on over to their blogs and spend some time getting to know them. I hope you enjoy their creations as much as I do!

Glasgow Mummy - otherwise known as Sarah, is a single mummy to two little ones. I love her honest blogging, and glimpses into her family life. She recently completed Project 333 where she restricted her wardrobe to 33 items for 3 months. I think I might struggle with that, so well done to you Sarah!!

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Indigo Buttons - this is a blog all about Kirsty who lives in Edinburgh.She's currently doing an A to Z of me series, which have had me in stitches, and in tears too. And she's a Doctor Who fan so she is automatically awesome! 

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What Laura Did - is a fashion, beauty and lifestyle blog by Laura from Wales. I am loving her 52 lists project, and always enjoy any of her tips on saving money. She's currently planning her wedding so I am drooling over all the pretty pictures and inspiration in this post.

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Little Foal - I met Sunae when I won a competition for ad space on her blog, and I couldn't have found a more lovely friend! Sunae's blog is filled with lovely posts about her life in Australia (jealous!!) and she is also doing an a to z of me series on her blog at the moment. Go and check it out! 

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Adventures & Tea Parties - I love Jo's blog - it is just so pretty! She has a lovely little Etsy shop here, and sells on Not On The High Street too! What talent this girl has! She's just started a business tips series which I am loving! You can read the intro here.

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So off you pop and give these girls some love!

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P.S. Only a few days left of the birthday sale in the shop - use code '30YEARS' for 25% off

25 May 2013

Birthday Giveaway - Good Lord, I'm 30!

Happy birthday to me... Happy Birthday to me...

Hi there! Welcome to my party! Grab a silly hat and a bowl of jelly and ice cream and we'll have a game of pass the parcel.

So, I'm 30 today. I still feel (and act) like a 20-something year old though. Even though I'm a Mum and nearly a wife (for the second time), I still don't feel like a grown-up. So in celebration of me turning the big three-oh, I decided to give YOU a present. See how generous I am? You will win a £15 voucher for my shop, the Dusty Attic shop, which you can spend on anything you want! Buy fifteen of my little hearts and leave them around your city with little messages if you want, or commission your very own completely unique brooch - it's up to you! You will also get a little bow brooch, and a few other little bits and pieces which I will keep as a surprise!

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I'm using a rafflecopter thingy for this giveaway - I've never used one before so I have no idea if it will work - let me know if you have any problems!

The only mandatory entry is to leave me a comment, telling me all about your best birthday ever. That's it. For more entries you can follow me on various things, like Bloglovin', Twitter and Facebook, but you don't have to, it's up to you!!

Remember as well that even if you don't win, you can still get 25% off in the shop using code '30YEARS'

Good Luck!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for entering
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24 May 2013

Etsy Finds Friday #20

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Happy Friday to you and a Happy Birthday-eve to me!

The last day of my twenties! Wow! How the blooming heck this happened I do not know, I'm still 23 in my head! I have to say that this is the first birthday where I have felt a bit bummed and not really looking forward to it. I know that 30 isn't really that old, but at the same time, I don't feel 'young' any more. I feel like a grown-up (yuck), even though nothing in my life is different than before except the fact that I tick the 30 - 40 box on forms.

To cheer myself up (and to try and drop MASSIVE hints to Martin), I have been adding the things that I have been lusting after on Etsy over the last few weeks (months) to my favourites. Now that it is too late for any of you to buy me anything from this list, I thought I would share them with you (poor planning or what? One of you could be some billionaire who loves spending hundreds of pounds on people they've never met).

So, if you want to buy me a birthday present, buy me one of these:

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My current phone case is fairly boring, even though I covered it in kawaii stickers, and you all know my love for vintage cameras, so this phone case from Gold Printer is perfect!


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Yes, I can't let a birthday pass by without adding a Doctor Who related item to my wish list. This Doctor Who notebook from Bella Brights would be perfect for keeping lists in.


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Yay for stationery! For my birthday, all I want is for people to learn that stationAry is not moving, and stationEry is pretty paper things to write on. It's not hard. Anyway, this penpal starter kit from She's Gone Postal is so cute and would be awesome for #PostCircle fun!


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Narwhals are the unicorns of the sea! TBH, I only learned they actually existed a few years ago *hangs head in shame* but now I know they are real, I promote the narwhal love wherever I go. I would love this narwhal print for the bathroom - it's from The Nesting Spot where there are loads more cool prints


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This Audrey stripy dress is so cute! It has a deep v-neck back as well, which is awesome! A stripy dress like this one has been on my wish list for a while, and I found this one in Luminia. Yay!!


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I've been lusting after some alphabet stamps for a while now, I think they can be used in so many ways. I love this stamp set from muimuichow as it has upper case and lower case letters, I've only found them separately before now!




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P.S. Only a few days left to take advantage of the May sale in my shop - 25% off with code '30YEARS'

22 May 2013

What's Been Occurring Wednesday #19

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Howdy peeps! Hope you are all enjoying your Wednesday!

Just a quick post today. I have a couple of new items in the shop. I was commissioned to create a tattoo-style brooch for a very lovely blogger Nina from Indie Rock Kid for her friend who is getting married soon. I had so much fun creating the double heart I thought I would sell it in the shop. I also made a single heart brooch at the same time which is for sale too.

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Double hearts

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Single hearts

These brooches are totally customizable, so you can change the colours around, and most excitingly of all, you can put whatever you want on the banner! Do you love Doctor Who? Show your Who-love! What about Donuts? Declare your donut-love! I'm planning to make a matching 'hate' one for me! - I think the love and hate would look awesome on the lapels of a jacket!

I will be holding a giveaway on Saturday (for my birthday - eek!!), and one of the prizes will be a £15 voucher for the shop, so you can get your very own brooch! What words would you have? 

So what else?

Zoe's been going to nursery a few hours every few days, she seems to enjoy it, and I am enjoying having some time to myself - is that bad? I feel guilty saying that. Poor thing is poorly at the moment so she is crying loads and not eating and just generally being miserable. Bless her socks. So I haven't had much time to write a post today as we went to the doctors (had to wait an HOUR to be seen!!) and then she's not really let me out of her sight!

I'll be back on Friday with my Etsy Finds, and then the giveaway on Saturday. Don't miss it!!

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20 May 2013

A Back to Work Wishlist

Hello!

This week I thought I might do something a bit different. I've not really done this before so I hope it works!

I'm back to work after nearly a year off (maternity leave) and I have no clue what I'm going to wear.  When I was last in work, or course I was wearing maternity clothes, and before that I was a size 12 (I am SO not a size 12 anymore!) so none of my clothes are really suitable.

I also have no idea about current fashion trends really, I don't buy fashion magazines any more, and although I read a few fashion blogs, I think a lot of the looks are a bit young for me! So what I did was this. I used the Polyvore app on my phone to browse through a whole heap of different clothes, and create some looks that would be suitable for work.

Rather than trying to find the exact items, I more often find a photo of an item that I like (such as a black skirt) which can be found anywhere. For example, in this first look, that skirt is more than a grand!! As if I would ever spend that much  money on a skirt, even if I was a billionaire!!

So, hopefully this is what I will be wearing come June when I am back at work!

Look 1: I love the simplicity of a black skirt and white shirt, but not really sure if I can pull it off. I have all these items (well, look-a-like items!) already, so will have to try it out before I return!


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Look 2: I bought some navy trousers last week, and I have a very similar top (but mine has polka dots on it! win!!) - I am in LOVE with that bag, but it is probably waaaaay out of my price range!!


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Look 3: This would be great for a more casual look - and that bag is just too adorable! And only £5 apparently! I love floral prints right now!



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I have a few more, you can have a look at my Polyvore account here.

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P.S. you can still get 25% off in my Etsy shop until the end of May!

17 May 2013

Etsy Finds Friday #19

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Happy Friday evening everyone!

I remember the days when I would be planning a big Friday night out. Not any more! My idea of a perfect night these days is tucking Zoe up in (her own) bed then snuggling up on the sofa with Martin to watch a film. Perfect!

Talking about Martin, it's his birthday soon, and I am struggling a bit for ideas. Now, Martin is a bit of a map addict, he has quite the collection of Ordnance Survey maps, we even have a 'map wall' in the house where (mostly) old maps are framed and displayed. I was having a bit of a map-related browse on Etsy this week and I found so many items that loved, so I thought I would share them with you! Aren't you lucky?!

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I love this Game of Thrones chest from Urd Handicrafts, it comes with these little vials (including wildfire!!) and is covered in the map of Westeros. Awesome!


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OK, this one is for me! I'm not sure how good Martin would look in this summer dress from Cruel Candy. I would look fabulous of course!!


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Martin has a couple of maps in a similar style to this; Tubular Fells and Munroverground (you can get these here- ooh they have a wales one now too...!!). I think this world map in the style of a train system would look awesome next to them. You can get one from Art Pause


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Haha another one for me (and any #PostCircle people or snail mailers)! I love these envelopes made from old atlases (atli??) from The Pulparazzi, you could even match the envelope to the country you are sending the letter to!! 


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How completely wonderful is this repurposed suitcase-turned-into-a-seat?! I have no idea where I would put it but I'm sure I would find somewhere! It's made by Bon Voyage World Travel


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OK this is not strictly maps but this set of porcelain tableware from Kina Ceramic Design is inspired by the topography lines on is maps. How unique! 

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P.S. if you are doing some online shopping this weekend, remember that you can get 25% off in May at my Etsy shop with code '30YEARS'

15 May 2013

What's Been Occurring Wednesday #18

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Greetings to you and a very happy Friday-eve-eve. How are you?

Well this last weekend was all wonky. Martin worked Saturday so that felt like Friday, then we had chilli on Sunday, so that day felt like Saturday (making me miss the #lbloggers chat - booo!) and then we had a roast yesterday, so it felt like Sunday! So I am a little bit confused at the moment - please forgive me!! We have a really busy week this week as well, with something on every day. But it will calm down for a couple weeks after that.

Zoe has been busy as well (err, well, sort of). She has 4 teeth now - she looks like a little hamster! Not only that, she can now crawl! (wow that does NOT look right - is that how you spell crawl???) So I am now spending all of my time chasing around after her stopping her from getting into mischief! We have our last ever Baby Sensory tomorrow, which will be really sad - I enjoy it as much as Zoe does!! Zoe also had her first 'settling-in' session at nursery on Monday - she was there for an hour, and Martin and I were downstairs, so not too traumatic. Apparently the only time she made any noise was when she saw me again - she had been good as gold (but not eaten any of her fruit!!). She goes back on Friday morning for two hours, so I'll have a couple of hours free for a coffee, all by myself! Bliss!!

I'm trying to enjoy every minute we have together at the moment as there are only 2 full weeks left until I'm back at work (and Zoe's at nursery). Martin and I were saying last night that we wish it was possible for her to be looked after at home by one of us, and not have to go to nursery, but unfortunately it's just not possible! At least she will be with her Gran one day a week, and me and/or Martin for 3 days. So only 3 days in nursery - that's not too bad...

So what else have I been up to this week?

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Baking: If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen the marble cake that I made on Monday. It is scrummy!! Even Martin likes it and he only likes victoria sponge (apparently!). It is one of Paul Hollywood's recipes from this book . I tweeted him a photo, what a saddo I am! I had a slice yesterday with a cup of lavender earl grey tea. Yummy!

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Buying: On a bit of an impulse I bought the 'A Beautiful Mess' app for my phone, the picture with the cup of tea up there is from the app. It is good for adding text to photos, and I like the borders, but there are only a few filters. Of course, you can buy more filters (and other bits and pieces), but I'll just stick to Instagram for my filters thanks!! I've also just bought a mini heart punch and some postcards for #PostCircle and other snail mail adventures!!

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Watching: Not much lately as a lot of the stuff we watch has finished now. We watched Prometheus on Monday night and then Game of Thrones last night. Have you seen Prometheus? I was a bit disappointed in it - there were some WAY too obvious bits in it.

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Bloggin': here are some of my favorite posts on Bloglovin' this week (follow me!): Elizabeth's recipe for Chorizo, Chilli and Garlic pasta; Fran's post about getting your creative mojo back; Caroline's post showing us just how much work goes into creating her little owls; Lauren's guest post on Make, Do and Push about the benefits of living by the sea.


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P.S. Don't forget that you can get 25% off in my shop during May using code '30YEARS'
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