Monday 31 March 2014

Etsy Loves...


As you know I have my own Etsy shop, but I also really enjoy looking around at other shop.  There are so many talented people sharing their passions on Etsy.

This week I've been drawn to initial necklaces, I love the idea of having one with Baby O's initial.  These are a few of my favourites…

Sideways Initial by Amarilo



Tiny Initial Necklace With Birthstone by Anoushka Designs



Small Silver Star Initial Necklace by Kim McCall Jewellery 



Gold Cursive Initial Necklace by Olive Yew Jewels


Decisions, decisions!


Sunday 30 March 2014

Saturday 29 March 2014

Its The Weekend...


image via pinterest

I hope you have lots of fun stuff planned for the weekend, I'll be staying sober on an annual pub crawl we've been doing for too many years to remember and then celebrating my little sis's birthday and Mothers day on Sunday.

A few fun and inspiring things from around the web...

How cool is this Dad!?

With Baby O's arrival being so imminent I found this article particular interesting.

Having been labelled bossy from a young age and tried hard to stifle, its nice to see this lean towards redefining bossy.

Love these planters…I'll be keeping my eyes open for similar in charity shops over the coming weeks.

Have a good one!


Friday 28 March 2014

This Week I've Been...


…saying goodbye to our family home


…going to the cinema on my own (and eating too many pic'n'mix!)


…meeting up with my NCT group and deciding we needed extra cake as an excuse to shelter from the rain!


…getting involved in #nomakeupselfie


…appreciating pretty shadows in my living room







Thursday 27 March 2014

Just The One Ticket...


Some people might find it a bit odd, but I kinda like going to the cinema on my own, especially during the day.  So today I took the opportunity to waddle off to my local cinema and watch the Yves Saint Laurent biopic.  It was a pretty empty screening with only 4 other people watching, but that just made it all the better.


The film was beautifully shot, but I couldn't help but feel there was more style than substance.  So many key story elements in Yves Saint Laurent life were just skipped over…for example the treatment he was subjected to in a military psychiatric hospital.  The drug and sex seems seemed overly gratuitous  and only served to introduce a new band of hangers on who you really didn't care about.

The film also only touched on Yves Saint Laurent's illness and subsequent death, if you took the film at face value you would assume that Yves Saint Laurent died soon after his last show in 1976 when in fact he lived for another 32 years.

The costumes were fabulous, and the outfits from the shows were perfectly recreated, but unfortunately they don't make up for the lack of depth. 

Tuesday 25 March 2014

37 Weeks...


Baby O is considered full term!!  I know being a first time mum that he will probably arrive late, but I can't help but get excited that he could be here any day now!

This is week two of my maternity leave and I am still loving it…who knew there was so much to do during the day.  I have mainly been keeping myself busy 'nesting'.  Lots of cleaning, washing and general organising for Baby O's arrival.


As you can see, I am now MASSIVE and I', really feeling it.  If I thought I had a waddle before, I didn't!  I'm really running out of clothing options now, so I'm having to get inventive…dresses as tops are a current favourite.  I'm still feeling so much movement, and still loving it.   Baby O still gets hiccups pretty regularly, but not quite as often as he was before.  I've also started getting some braxton hicks this week…exciting!


We're ready to meet you as soon as you are ready Baby O!


Monday 24 March 2014

Minding Your Ps & Qs...


I don't know about you, but I love receiving post…I also love sending post, maybe even a bit more than I love receiving it!

When I can I try to make my own cards, a hand-written card is already personal, but for me this extra handmade element just makes it a little more special especially when they are thank you cards.  Last week I pulled out the heat embossing tool I received at Christmas for the first time and set about making thank you cards for all the lovely ladies who came along to my Baby Shower.

After a bit of practice with the embossing, I was pretty pleased with how they turned out…

I used a silver sharpie pen to write the merci

In keeping with the theme of the shower I made the star stamp from a bit of left over lino I had

And just because I don't need any excuse to use this colour  (its the same colour as Laduree boxes!) I stamped all the envelopes to!

I hope the girls like them and know how much I love and appreciate each and everyone of them.

Look out for similar items on my Etsy shop soon…and if you are looking for an Easter card there are some lovely options from my Dad available in the shop!





Friday 21 March 2014

This Week I've Been...


…LOVING being on maternity leave!!

…meeting up with my NCT group at the Hummingbird Cafe

…wearing a very limited rotation of clothes.  Thank goodness for accessories!


…admiring beautiful sunsets


…being spoilt at Agua Spa and leaving with pretty nails


…enjoying afternoon naps!


Thursday 20 March 2014

Spring has Sprung...


image via pinterest

Is it any coincidence that the UN picked the first official day of spring (today) as International Day of Happiness?

I'm looking forward to picking up some pretty flowers and bringing a little springtime happiness into the flat.


I also thought that now was probably a good time to check back on how i'm doing with my resolutions/goals…


1. Devote more time to creating.  I'm sad to say this one has been rather neglected.  I need to put the time in over the next few weeks before Baby O arrives.  I have a whole list of projects (baby and non-baby related) that I want to complete, so time to stop procrastinating and start doing!



image via pinterest

2.     Be more organised.  I do feel like I am getting there slowly but surely with this one.  The flat is feeling a lot less cluttered and I have started implementing things like a meal plan, but there is definitely room for improvement.3.     Travel more.  We made it to Dorset, but that is about all the travelling we have done so far…I think we need to start planning some more trips so this one doesn't get forgotten.4.     Drink more water.  Hmmm, I have good days and bad days with this one…I either seem to drink like a fish (2+ litres) or barely anything at all.  Maybe if I had one of these lovely bottles I'd do better, unfortunately I have yet to find a UK stockist.


image via shopbymonika


5.     Blog More!  I'm trying and so far I am pretty happy with the progress.  People are actually reading, which is both exciting and terrifying!  I love looking at my stats and seeing which posts are resonating best.  Thanks so much for checking out my little corner of the interweb!









Tuesday 18 March 2014

36 Weeks...


We had our 36 week appointment today and I am pleased to report everything is progressing just fine.  Baby O is still head down and although not engaged yet, I definitely feel like he has dropped slightly.  This week has been a particularly wriggly one for Baby O, we've also had a lot of hiccups (him not me!).  I know hiccups are a good thing in terms of lung development and swallowing, but I can't help but feel sorry for the little fella as he seems to get them at least a couple of times a day…I often wonder if that will continue once he's 'on the outside'.


It definitely feels like we are on the home straight now with just four weeks to go…


WOW...


…what a week!

The past 7 days have been off the chart crazy.  My parents exchanged on their house and found out they are completing next week which gives us one weekend (yes, ONE!) to get about 6 people and 37 years worth of stuff into storage, I finished work for a whole year, I had my first really though day of pregnancy, my Sister and best friend threw me the best baby shower and we had a tour around the birth centre, which if all stays on track is where Baby O will be born…so, not much happened really(!), but in case you are interested lets break it down a bit.

…selling houses…

Whilst my siblings and I have all long since moved out of the family home we were very lucky as children to never moved houses and have enjoyed having the certainty of knowing we had something solid to return to, whether to celebrate happy occasions together or to use as a sanctuary during tough times.   When my parents decided a few years back that they wanted to retire to Poole (Dorset) a few years back we all new the day when our family home would no longer be ours, but adopted the ostrich stance apart from during the last couple of Christmases it was mentioned that this could be our last here, which inevitable led to some tears around the table.  The house had been on the market for over a year when a positive offer was made and now it feels like everything is moving in double time.  The whole  family will unite this weekend to pack up our home and we will wave goodbye to our parents standing in the driveway one last time (the exact same spot they waved goodbye at us from the first time we walked to school on our own, went to a school disco, took our first solo drive after passing our tests and harding off to university.  I am so happy they are finally able to settle properly in Poole and enjoy they're retirement, but I am really going to miss that place!

…last day and feeling rotten…

Friday was my last day at work and I don't think it has sunk in yet that I have a whole YEAR off!  Yes, I know it is not going to be a holiday with a new born, but it will be a different kind of work.   I have worked for the same company for 10 years and now is the perfect time for a bit of a break.  I love my job, but it can be all consuming at times.  It will be good for me to have some time to re-evaluate and re-prioritise.  Friday was also the toughest day of my pregnancy so far and yes it may well be connected to the emotional turmoil of handing over my job that I have worked so hard at to someone else.  I woke up just feeling a little odd, but this progressed to feeling awful by the evening.  I did a couple of times think, eek is this it?  And then eek, if its not can I cope when it is?  Because I was not coping well that evening, NOTHING I did offered any comfort…not the two baths I had, not the hot water bottle Mr O made, not bouncing on my exercise ball, not walking, not lying down…nothing!  I wanted my sister that I may have to cancel my baby shower the next day.  Good news is though when I finally managed to get some sleep I woke up on Saturday morning totally fine.  Who knows what it was, but it made me so grateful for how well my pregnancy and Baby O have treated me so far.

…baby shower…

My sister and best friend excelled themselves.  I had no idea what the plan was for the afternoon on Saturday, so when they arrived in the morning laden with bags I was more than a little intrigued!  As you can see form the pictures they decorated the flat beautifully with a star theme (a theme we hope to carry through to Baby O's nursery once we have one!)  We also played a Mr and Mrs style game and everyone had to guess name, birth date and weight on the leaves of a beanstalk.  Everyone then went home with a pot jelly beans from Bean and some M&Ms as a thank you.  In case you are wondering why the bean references Bean is the nickname we have for Baby O.  Baby O and I were incredibly spoilt with a huge number of truly lovely and utterly unexpected gifts.  I really do have the best family and friends!










 …birth centre…

Its all getting a bit real now!  Last night we popped along to the birth prep class at the Queen Charlottes birth centre (BC) where one of the lovely midwives took us through what giving birth in the BC is like as opposed to the labour ward.  The BC had always been my preference and after hearing from the midwife yesterday and having a look at the rooms available in the BC it has just confirmed my want to deliver Baby O there.  The atmosphere is so calm and supportive, they offer one to one care and Mr O will be able to stay overnight with Baby O and me once he is delivered.  While writing this post it has just hit me that we will, if all goes to plan, meet our little boy in one of those rooms we visited last night!!!

Long post, but last week was a biggie!

Tuesday 11 March 2014

35 Weeks...

Which means 5 weeks left to go!  This week is my last week at work and I have to be honest I am ready to finish.  The tiredness is hitting hard and my feet are getting very swollen, so some time on my sofa with my feet up is sounding pretty good right now.  That’s not to say I won’t miss work, with my final day drawing nearer I can’t help, but reflect on the amazing times I’ve had over the last 10 years and all the fantastic people I work with.




 Aside from the tiredness and the ‘fat feet’ I am feeling pretty good.  Baby O is still wriggling around lots and I can really see him moving as well as feel him.  My appetite has decreased a bit over the past week, which I am assuming is due to there being less room for food…and to be honest it is probably a good thing as I have put on just over 3st eek!


Monday 10 March 2014

Sandy Toes and Salty Kisses...

This weekend we escaped London and headed down to see my parents in Poole, Dorset.  I have always loved Poole, but now it holds an even more special place in my heart since Mr O and I got married there last year.

We were so lucky with the weather so we took full advantage with a mini maternity shoot on the beach.





Naughty Mr O also snapped some shots when I wasn't looking!


I can't wait to introduce Baby O to the beach.


Saturday 8 March 2014

This Week I've Been...

…even busier than last!

…enjoying the baby shower my lovely work colleagues threw me and being spoilt with lots of goodies







…eating amazing mac and cheese at Little House, Mayfair

…wearing






…brightening my desk up with gorgeous flowers



…getting excited about the warmer weather we're due this weekend



Wednesday 5 March 2014

On Wednesdays We Wear Pink...


It's slowly, but surely starting to feel like spring and the makes me think pink!  I'm loving how how these ladies are styling their pinks…perfect transitional pieces.

Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest

I've added these pieces to my wish list in an attempt to channel their looks…

Zara - £35.99
ASOS - £36.00
J Crew - £227









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