Author: Deborah

26th January 2016

I’ve decided to start a Bullet Journal. I haven’t given up on my filofax planner setup but I’ve not been getting on with it even after trying a new weekly spread. I thought about it a bit last year and what I mostly use my filofax for is tasks, so a bullet journal seemed like the next thing to try.

I stumbled upon Boho Berry YouTube channel and she’s such an inspiration if you want to try Bullet Journalling. I bought a black Leuchtturm1917 notebook from Amazon and couldn’t wait for it to arrive. When it did I didn’t know where to start, so I began with the quote above in hope that it would inspire me to use the journal. I popped my 30 before 30 list next to it as it was something that I kept in my Filofax.

Some of the lists I had kept in my Filofax I really wanted to move across. I’ve included a list of restaurants and pubs I want to try locally, a list of books to read, the changes I want to make to our house and some goals for 2016. For the goals I’ve written in a few steps that I can take to push me in the right direction.

I messed up a bit with the home improvements list as I haven’t left enough room to add more things to the living room, but it really doesn’t matter. That’s one thing I love about this system, mistakes don’t seem to matter at all.

Monthly spread

For the monthly spread I really wanted to be able to include a monthly meal plan. It’s written in erasable pens from Muji as I keep changing my mind – pizza has snuck in when I haven’t been up for cooking. I meal plan for the month but only go shopping weekly, so I sit down on the Friday and write up a shopping list on scrap paper for the following week.

On the opposite page I’ve included a small habit tracker, some monthly tasks (see starting to learn to parallel park.. I may get there eventually!) and then a notes section. I’ve started putting Instagram hashtags in the notes section this month, but I’m not sure if I’ll keep it on next months spread.

Find out how I got on with June’s spread in my Bullet Journal.

Dailies

We’re now into the dailies and I finished a whole week. Every evening I sit down and plan the next day. I see what appointments I have by looking at the monthly spread or my iPhone and then see what needs doing. I’ve been waking up earlier in the morning’s too so it’s given me a bit of time to sit down with this bullet journal and doodle while having a cup of tea. It’s so relaxing, is that weird? I want to chop and change how I do the days as that’s part of the fun I have with this – I can do anything I want. The Filofax felt quite restricting, whereas I can take a whole page for one day if I want to in this.

Have you seen my bullet journal setup videos?

Author: Deborah

21st January 2016

It’s been four months since my wedding and it’s taken me ages to finish my Project Life wedding album. There were so many wonderful photos to choose from and it took me awhile to pick through and select the ones I wanted to use.

For the album I picked up the Project Life Southern Wedding album from Hobbycraft which is 12 x 12. I used design A and D page protectors for this album. A lovely lady on Facebook sold me 60 odd journalling cards from the Southern Wedding collection which was really useful as there was no way I’d need a whole kit! I did pick up these cute chipboard stickers from the same range to decorate the pages.

The photos were all taken by the most amazing photographer Hana Venn, who is a Hampshire based wedding photographer. She was amazing every step of the way. As soon as we met her for a coffee I knew she was the right person for us. She’s really friendly and put us at ease in front of the camera on our pre-wedding shoot. On the day she was more like a friend with a camera giving me tips and just being the best photographer a girl can have. And I absolutely adore my wedding photos and albums.

Coco

I loved my dress! It was the dream dress. It really was the only dress. It was one of the first ones I tried on at Brides of Winchester and it was something I was adamant I wouldn’t wear. It was lace and strapless, the two things I really didn’t want. But I tried it one and we added a belt and a veil and I fell in love. Me being completely indecisive decided to have a look at a couple more shops, and then a few more after that. I tried on about 50 dresses and nothing compared to this dress. Coco (as it was called), was the one!

Fly Me to the Moon

I’ve talked about Amy Baker before; she’s a wonderful singer who we often see at a local cafe. She sings 40’s and 50’s songs that just make you want to dance. The first time we saw her perform I knew I wanted to have her singing at our wedding and I was over the moon when she said yes. Everyone adored her and it was really special dancing to Fly Me to the Moon as our first dance.

Bluebell the Beetle

I haven’t photographed all the spreads but another one I want to mention is this amazing Beetle called Bluebell. Vince from Vinnie’s Vintage Vehicles travelled up from Waterlooville in Bluebell to take me and my mum to the church. I found picking a car really hard as people kept telling me to get a traditional car when really I wanted something more me and relaxed. Vince’s cars (and vans) are all quirky but Bluebell was the one for us. It was such fun bobbing along in the Beetle to music. We got quite a few looks!

I really enjoyed looking back on all the memories of our wedding day and making little notes on the cards. It was like I got to experience it all over again.

Suppliers we used

Reception – Bourne Valley Inn (wonderful owners and yummy food!)
Flowers – The Blooming Workshop
Singer – Amy Baker

Author: Deborah

14th January 2016

On Sunday the weather finally let up and the sun broke through the clouds. At bloody long last! We decided to head to Mottisfont National Trust to check out their new visitors centre and have a bit of a wander.

The new visitors centre looks impressive and the staff were super friendly. We’ve been to Mottisfont so many times so it was great to see the changes they’ve made.

We headed out towards the river and found some swans on the grass. I had hubby’s camera with me so I trying to figure out how to use it. I think I took about 30 odd photos of this one swan. It was so chilly and you can see the swans breath in the air.

The house was closed so we went around the back and up towards the walled garden. I spied giraffes so we went to get a closer look. They are NO GIRAFFES at Mottisfont. There weren’t even giraffes statues. These were dead trees gilded with gold so they don’t tarnish. It’s an installation by Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva for artSOUTH. It was pretty impressive and used old dead trees from the estate.

Wandering around the Walled Garden I was really expecting to find nothing alive! It’s the middle of winter and some flowers were still surviving. We’ll definitely be returning when the roses come out as we missed it last year.

Author: Deborah

8th January 2016

I’m going to admit it now, I really don’t like turkey. It’s bland and boring at Christmas and I much prefer a good ham. However, turkey burgers are my new favourite burger. I couldn’t find a recipe I liked so I stripped it back to basics of meat and breadcrumbs.

This is a recipe for pesto turkey burgers. I have a new found love of pesto, which if you’ve been reading awhile you’ll know this is strange as I hate vegetables. I tried this recipe the other day and served it with sweet potato fries and it was so yummy and filling. Last night I really wasn’t that hungry so I didn’t cook sides. This recipe served 4 but really if you’re loading up with sides you could easily stretch this out to serve 6 with mini burgers. I was stuffed!

Avocado is still on trend, right? We’re still slathering it on toast with eggs? I don’t usually like avocado either (shock horror!). But it’s a bit like my favourite GBK burger with avocado and bacon, I just don’t notice it.

These burgers take about 15 minutes to make, so they’re really quick and easy for a fast evening meal. They’re definitely going to be written up for my recipe box.

Can I just say, bring on the lighter evenings! I hate taking photos in the dark. I am so looking forward to cooking in daylight and eating outside in the garden. Who’s with me?

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:9]

Author: Deborah

4th January 2016

I’ve been desperately hunting some new heels to wear to work and I have finally found some that I’ve fallen in love with. Shoe shopping is a nightmare for me because I have narrow feet and heels just fall off me. I like Marks & Spencer’s as they offer half sizes which makes things a little bit easier for me. Does anyone else struggle with this?

I have a few black heels so wanted something different that I can get away with wearing with jeans, dresses and smart suits. These grey faux suede courts are perfect and go with so many outfits in my wardrobe. This year I’m going to give away a lot of my clothes as there’s so many items that don’t get worn. When I bought these shoes I tried them on with about eight outfits to check they looked good with lots of different items. If they didn’t they would have been returned. I want to declutter my wardrobe and only have items that work well with everything else – and then maybe they’ll actually get worn! I have items in there still with tags on from years ago. I can’t be alone in this.

These grey heels are so comfy, which is something I’ve found with all my M&S shoes. I’m no longer buying shoes just because I like the look of them when they don’t fit properly or aren’t comfortables, as I know they’ll just sit in the bottom of my wardrobe collecting dust and never get worn. A shoe clear out is happening now.

I’m actually really excited to add these to my workwear outfits. They’re just so beautiful and smart for the office – although I so wish I could get away with comfy boots and trainers!

Author: Deborah

1st January 2016

Hi Debs,

2016 was a really amazing year for our little family. Most excitingly for you we welcomed a little cockapoo into our home. It was hard work during training but they’re a bundle of love and make you so happy.

You finally bought some new furniture for living room, but it might not have been the best idea with a new teething puppy around. You’ve managed to hide all those unsightly DVDs away in the new television stand.

We made the most of the weekends and went on a few adventures. You’ve never been closer to your family and they’ve supported you throughout the year.

You turned 30 and the world didn’t end. You didn’t gain hundreds of wrinkles overnight and you still look about 20 – this will be amazing when we’re 60, I promise. You didn’t complete your 30 before 30 list but who cares?! Why you decided to challenge yourself to walk all 50 Hampshire and IOW walks I don’t know. When do we ever go to the Isle of Wight anyway? But you accomplished so much this past year and I’m really proud of what we did. Hell, you can even parallel park now. No more driving around until you find an easy space.

Don’t be so hard on yourself. 2016 was a bloody good year!

All the best,
Deborah

P.S. Apparently I time travelled to the future and wrote myself a letter, because you know, why the hell not.

Author: Deborah

21st December 2015

Every Christmas my grandad always makes a trifle for pudding; he even peels the grapes to go in it. This year we’ve bought a pudding so he doesn’t have to cook, and I feel like I’m missing out on a bit of tradition. So I decided to make some individual trifles for me and Simon to scoff.

These are really quick and easy as there seems to be no time to spare in the run up to Christmas. I felt a bit like a kid playing with jelly but there’s nothing wrong with that! I had blueberries and grapes in the fridge but you can add whatever fruit you want. You could even add the fruit to the jelly, except pineapple, it seems to stop it from setting.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:8]

Author: Deborah

Monthly spread

Dailies

Author: Deborah

Coco

Fly Me to the Moon

Bluebell the Beetle

Suppliers we used

Author: Deborah

Author: Deborah

Author: Deborah

Author: Deborah

Author: Deborah

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