Falling...for Fall

I really thought that this post might be a little premature, but I was delighted to find that there are loads of you in the blogosphere who are as excited about this as I am...Autumn!!

Now I know that being British I should refer to it as Autumn but I just like the word Fall. I think that it perfectly describes this gorgeous season. It is a time when the temperature starts to fall. The nights fall upon us quicker & become longer. The leaves on the trees turn & fill the world with beautiful shades of burnt orange, red & yellow before falling to the ground to feed the earth through the winter. It's the perfect word!

I love that this season contains some of my favourite holidays & celebrations: Halloween & Guy Fawkes. On Halloween we get to embrace our inner child: dress up, be silly & eat way too many sweets! Guy Fawkes (or Bonfire Night) means dressing up warm, usually in a faithful winter coat with a nice new scarf, getting together with friends, family & neighbours outside, around a roaring fire & filling the black night sky with colour - and there's sparklers, what's not to love?!

Then there is the food. Warm apple crumble or pumpkin pie with cream. Toffee apples; yummy vegetable soups (winter veg or potato & leek), we go back to having proper Sunday roasts with all the trimmings, in place of the Sunday barbecue.

What's not to love about breaking into your winter clothes? Freeing those jeans, scarves, gloves & hats & dusting them off - it's better than buying something new! Greeting that favourite, comfortable, old jumper with a smile, putting it on & realising: wearing it is like a hug from an old friend.

 

Mostly though Fall means lots of tea & crafting. All those projects I've been hoarding; put on hold because the weather was just too nice! They finally get their chance to become something, to be created. Fall is inspiration!

So I've had a good summer, I hope you have too? But I'm ready to pull on my boots & winter woolies, whip up a pot of soup & get busy making, baking & just creating! ;) Join me?

Jxx

...and it all started with a Big Bang...

I recently finished this cross-stitch, in honour of one of my favourite TV shows: The Big Bang Theory. I love this show for many reasons but most of all: it is filling, perfectly, the hole that FRIENDS left in my life & I'm a huge geek! So they comic book/star wars/star trek references are by no means lost on me - I love it!

So many months ago I purchased the pattern for the aforementioned cross stitch from weelittlestitches on Etsy - a fabulous & very popular store, only to have the pattern laze around on my computer & do nothing. It was about a week ago that it popped right back into my head & that was it, I had the sewing box out & I was off. It took me around two hours to complete each character, so it was the perfect after work pick me up from what had been a stressful few weeks. By the end of the week I had a virus :( but I also had a finished design - you win some, you lose some.

Sadly my virus has kept me hauled up in bed doing not much more than sleeping & watching The Big Bang Theory box set, but I did get a chance to try out this tutorial from A Beautiful Mess before being bed-ridden. A quick & simple way to enhance a plain mug; from which to drink your tea. So I thought I'd give it a go. I stuck to my Big Bang theme & decorated my mugs with some classic Sheldon quotes, in bright colours.

All it takes is a plain coloured mug or cup (I picked up mine at the local supermarket for less than 50p!) & a Sharpie of your choice.

Draw your desgin/ write your quote onto the mug. Mistakes are easily removed with a damp cloth - be sure to dry the mug off before you re-attempt your design.

Then bake in the oven for 30 minutes & allow to cool.

Voila! A personalised mug.

Sadly once decorated these mugs can only be hand washed so no lazy-boneses here please!

*Note: I found that my designs had better staying power by baking them at 180C for fifteen minutes, then after cooling I went over the design again & baked for a further 30 minutes at 180C. This may vary depending on your oven or the material of your mugs.

I think they look really cute & would make a great gift, in fact some of mine are to be gifts...

I hope you all had a lovely Bank Holiday Weekend!

Jxx

What's in my bag?

I have a confession to make: I love handbags! I really do. It's first thing I notice about another girl when I meet her is her bag: some people look at shoes, I prefer a bag. Today I indulged & bought a bag I have been lusting after for, quite literally, a year!

Isn't it pretty? I love it!

Now I have been carrying around a much larger bag for about six months (which I also love by the way.) but I decided it was time to down-grade; firstly because if I have a big bag I fill it with stuff I don't need & secondly because I decided to bite the bullet & get the one I have lusted after for a long time. Plus it gave me an opportunity to share one of my favourite types of posts with you. I did fear that this might be a little boring but was assured by my new blogging buddy Claire that it would not be, so here goes:

Bag: Cath Kidston

Contents:

Purse - Now with no money in it since I bought this bag, haha!

iPhone - Essential! I use this for everything; texts, calls, photos, music, tweeting (it has a Cath Kidston case).

Umbrella - Because I live in Scotland & it rains...a lot.

Moleskin notebook & Parker pen - For reminder notes to myself & in case inspiration strikes - I have a terrible short-term memory.

Mini pot of Green Balm - a little miracle pot I use for lip balm & dry skin emergencies.

Keys - Self explanatory (I hope!).

Specs - To see & prevent migraines...ouch!

Gum - For after meals to keep my breath minty fresh :)

Other things that can be found in my bag are: receipts, foldaway hairbrush, nail file, head phones, mini deodorant & on occasion a book.

In case you haven't noticed I have a major minor Cath Kidston obsession.

What do you guys carry around everyday?

Thanks for reading!

Jxx

Reading...

"Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss." 

- Nora Ephron