Sunday Spotlight - 28th December 2014

In my life this week…

Antibiotics

So unfortunately I’ve spent this Christmas dosed up on antibiotics. I’m now on my second course and I’m really crossing my fingers that they will make a difference this time. It’s definitely not how I planned spending my Christmas, but it’s no big surprise really, seeing as I have been very run down over the last few weeks. I saw my Urologist last week and he has now suggested that I start self-catheterising, so I will be meeting with the specialist nurse in the New Year to learn how to do that. I’m not particularly looking forward to it if I’m honest, but hopefully it will help in the long run.

Image from Weheartit

Christmas

This week, like many of you, we celebrated Christmas! On Christmas Eve I spent most of my afternoon down at my local Church dressed as an angel, for our annual Crib Services. Although I’ve struggled with getting to Church much this year, I knew I needed to be part of this because I feel like it’s not Christmas without going to these services. We then came home, had some soup, finished any last-minute wrapping and settled down in front of some Christmas Eve television. I was up pretty early on Christmas morning and we all gathered in my parents’ room to open our stocking presents. I was very spoilt with Santa and will be doing a post soon about the presents I received. After breakfast we headed off to Church, which was lovely, and then a few of us went for a Christmas tipple in the local pub. We had a fantastic lunch cooked by my Dad, and spent the afternoon opening presents, watching the Queen, eating turkey sandwiches and watching everything from Doctor Who to Downton Abbey. Overall, a really lovely couple of days.

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Family time

One of my favourite things about Christmas is getting to spend more time with my family. Although we do spend some time together throughout the year, Christmas just seems to give us the opportunity to really get together properly and have fun. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day it was just my immediate family (minus my brother unfortunately, who works with the ambulance service) and it was so lovely to just be together. Then on Boxing Day we had the whole extended family round (minus my brother’s fiancé) and had a great time chatting and eating and opening more presents. I tried to be in the moment more this year, so didn’t take as many photos as I sometimes do, but I might have some to share with you at a later date.

Image from Weheartit

What has grabbed your attention this week? I love hearing about people’s new discoveries and you may end up sharing something that makes it onto my list next week!

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My Little Box with Fleur de Force

If you saw my last post about ‘My Little Box’ you’ll know how much people are raving about this latest subscription box service. They started off just sending boxes out to people in France and Japan, but now they’ve come over to the UK and I must say I’m incredibly glad! I was so excited waiting for my next box to arrive, especially after seeing some spoilers, so when the postman finally delivered it I was quick to tear open the packaging!

As with the previous box, on the inside lid of the brown box was a cute little illustration saying ‘Christmas Cheer Loading.’ I think this is such a nice finishing touch and I’m going to keep this sticker and use it when I do my scrapbooking. The December Box has been made in collaboration with the lovely Fleur de Force, so I was really excited to see what Fleur had chosen to feature in this month’s box. As always, it was displayed beautifully and tied together with a bow.

The first thing I found when I undid the ribbon was another A5 print, this time of a lady sitting down either wrapping or unwrapping Christmas presents and the quote ‘Christmas isn’t a season it’s a feeling.’ I really love the idea of these prints and particularly like this one. They would look great put in a frame and hung in an office, or it might just be nice to keep hold of them to look through when you’re in need of some inspiration. In this months box I also received the ‘My Little World’ A5 magazine with a beautiful photo of Fleur on the front (does anyone else really want her white jumper?!), which I’m really looking forward to flicking through. From what I’ve seen so far, it seems to have a whole range of articles to read.

Underneath the print and magazine was this pouch labelled ‘Present for you’ and inside was this gorgeous grey knitted headband with gold detail sewn all the way through. I’m still trying to work out how I can wear it without looking daft, but it will certainly keep my ears warm through the winter.

Another cute addition to this month’s box are these crafty bits and pieces. There is a range of different masking tapes with pretty patterns on them, some black and white string and some cute gift tags. If you flick through the magazine you’ll find some instructions for different projects you can do with these bits and pieces, which is a nice idea, especially for this time of year.

The final thing I found in My Little Box this month were the cosmetics. They came, like last month, in a cute little cotton bag, with the words ‘Do All Things With Love’ on the front. The first thing I picked up was the Cowshed Wild Cow Invigorating Body Lotion, which I’m really looking forward to using as it’s a brand I’ve wanted to try for quite a while. Next up was this gorgeous ‘Precious Cream’ from the brand L’Occitaine, which again, I’m looking forward to trying out as I’ve heard great things about it. Then came the ‘My Little Beauty’ offering, which, this month, was a lipstick in a beautiful shade of pink, which I’m looking forward to trying as I’m really getting into using lipsticks at the moment and always love to try something new.

So, that’s everything that came in My Little Box with Fleur de Force this month and I’m really happy with it, as it has a nice range of products and I particularly love the craft additions. I’m already so excited about next month’s box and I’m keeping my eyes peeled for spoilers!

Are you a fan of My Little Box? Or is there another subscription box that you would recommend?

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Sunday Spotlight - 21st December 2014

In my life this week…

Christmas meals

I really do love the run-up to Christmas, perhaps even more so than the actual day itself. Being at college this year has been lovely because I’ve actually had people to celebrate the build up with! This week we decided that it would be nice to go out for a Christmas lunch in between two of our lessons, so on Wednesday lunchtime we headed over to Wetherspoons and enjoyed their Christmas lunch, which included a free drink. In retrospect, having an alcoholic drink at lunchtime wasn’t the best of ideas, especially with the medication I’m on, but even so, we all had a lovely time forgetting about our studies for a couple of hours. Then on Thursday our college were offering a Christmas lunch, so some of us decided we would go for this lunch as well! I was actually pleasantly surprised by the quality of the lunch, which was actually nicer than the more expensive meal we had at Wetherspoons! It’s safe to say that I have probably eaten enough to last me until Christmas, but it was nice to spend some social time with some of my college girls.

Image from Weheartit

End of term

I actually felt a bit emotional on Thursday afternoon, as it was the end of my first term at college. I think what made me emotional was the fact that I am actually damn proud of myself for managing a whole term on this college course. It hasn’t been the best of years, I’ve needed two pretty major operations and my physical health has deteriorated a lot, but as my GP said to me earlier this week, no matter how bad things get I never seem to give up. I’m hoping that’s a good thing?! It’s been a killer of a term and if I’m totally honest it has really taken its toll on my health, but I’ve done it and I’m still alive at the other end. I got some assignments back this week and was surprised to see I had done really well in them, which has made me feel a little better about what I’m doing. And I was offered my first University interview this week as well, so things are gradually coming together. I know the rest of the course is going to be just as hard, but I’m trying to use the support I do have to help me along the way. But, for now, I will be enjoying having two weeks at home, celebrating and relaxing with my family and friends.

Image from Weheartit

Traditions

Christmas is the time for traditions and in actual fact I don’t really have that many. I mean we have a variety of Church services that we go to every year, and our Christmas Day is always fairly similar, but apart from that I’m pretty flexible. However, one thing that I do always do is go and stay with one of my best friends, who lives in West Sussex. Usually I manage to go down at the beginning of December and we put up her decorations and just have a really Christmassy weekend, but unfortunately this year I haven’t been able to get down to her until this weekend. So obviously she’s already got her tree up, but we’re still spending the weekend watching Christmas films and doing some Christmassy crafts. I always feel so much more festive after spending the weekend with her.

Image from Weheartit

What has grabbed your attention this week? I love hearing about people’s new discoveries and you may end up sharing something that makes it onto my list next week!

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Quote of the Day

As you may remember from previous posts, I have started working with a great little company called Itty Bitty Book Company. They produce the cutest little books, filled with inspirational quotes for any situation. In my work with them, I’ve decided that every other week I will share a quote with you that I feel applies to my life at that particular time. I love quotes and often turn to them when I need some motivation and inspiration, so I hope that by doing this I can help to inspire some of you too.

“Do more of what makes you happy”

I chose this quote because at this time of year especially, there seems to be such a huge focus on being happy and sometimes it’s just not that simple. Sometimes no matter what you do, you don’t feel happy, and do you know what? That’s OK. You don’t need to feel happy all the time – it’s totally normal to feel a whole range of emotions. But it is important that we get to know the things that make us happy and unhappy. Chances are, if you know the things that make you feel sad, you will also be able to identify the things that make you feel good. To do this, don’t look at what other people are doing. Instead, you need to look at yourself, perhaps from an outside perspective, and evaluate what makes you tick. What makes one person happy won’t necessarily make you happy, so by all means give it a go, but don’t expect everything to work for you. Once you’ve got more of an idea of what makes you happy, then try and make changes in your life so that you incorporate more of these happy experiences, and get rid of experiences that are making you feel stressed and upset. OK, so you can’t just give up work or stop paying the bills, but if you fill your life with positive experiences around any difficult situations that you can’t change, then these difficult situations will become a little less concentrated. I’m not saying it’s easy by any means, and although the quote sounds simple it will probably take quite a lot of effort in the first instance. But I’m pretty sure that the initial outlay will be worth it in the end if it leads to a happier life.

What quotes inspire you when things are difficult?

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Christmas Books TBR

I’ve never done a TBR (To Be Read) post before, but after seeing a few others on blogs and on YouTube, I have been inspired to do my own. Now, before I start, I must say that I’m being rather ambitious with the books I’ve chosen because it takes me ages to read a book so there’s no way I’m going to get all these read before Christmas is over! But I thought I would tell you about a selection that I have to choose from, as I always enjoy hearing book recommendations.

I was actually quite surprised by the number of Christmas/Winter themed books available out there. All I did was pop over to Amazon and type in a few generic search terms, and managed to come up with all of these. So, if nothing takes your fancy here but you still want some Christmassy reads, just do a quick search on Amazon and you’re bound to find something.

The first book I’ve got is probably one that I’m most excited about – this gorgeous Penguin Chalk edition of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I was inspired by Chloe over at Chloe’s Thoughts to start buying myself some nice editions of my favourite books as keepsakes. Up until now I haven’t really kept many of the books I’ve read, I tend to give them away when I’m finished with them. But I love the idea of having pretty books filling my bookshelves and so I have made a start on my collection with this edition. The next book I chose was also inspired by Chloe (can you see a theme developing here!?) My True Love Gave to Me is a collection of twelve winter romances by a range of authors and my favourite thing about this book is the gorgeous cover and the fact that it has pink pages! I then found The Great Christmas Knit Off and was immediately taken by the plot synopsis. I always think of knitting around Christmas, so this book sounded perfect!

I then picked up A Proper Family Christmas by Chrissie Manby, mainly because I thought the cover was gorgeous (it has lots of gold sparkles on it!) but I did also read the plot and it sounded like a nice read. Plus, it’s a top ten bestseller, so it must be pretty good I hope! Another book inspired by Chloe was Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle and is another collection of holiday romance stories. I’ve read a couple of John Green’s books now, and if I’m honest I don’t really get the hype, but I’ll be interested to see what this one is like.

The last two books I ordered are two by the author Jenny Colgan. I’ve read a couple of her books and really enjoyed her style of writing – it’s very Sophie Kinsella-esq, so if you’re a fan of her you will probably like Jenny Colgan’s novels. I didn’t actually realise she had written two Christmassy ones, so was pleasantly surprised when they both appeared. I’m actually giving one of these to a friend for Christmas so I don’t know if I’ll get the opportunity to read it before then, so I might have to buy one for myself next year!

Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing a bit about some of my Christmas books to be read, and have perhaps inspired you to pick up one or two. Don’t forget to check out my YouTube video about them too!

What are your favourite Christmas books?

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My favourite Christmas films

I thought that in the run up to Christmas I would schedule in some Christmassy posts for you all, so today I’ve decided to introduce you to some of my favourite Christmas films.

Every year for the last three or four years I have treated myself to a new Christmassy DVD and I’ve built up quite a good little collection so far. I don’t think I’ve got one favourite film because a lot of the time it depends on what sort of mood I’m in and who I’m watching it with, so I thought I’d just share all of my Christmassy films with you!

The first film I can introduce you to is Arthur Christmas. It’s a fairly new film at only a couple of years old, and as soon as I saw it in the cinema I knew I needed to get it on DVD. If you like children’s animation but jam-packed with adult themes then this is definitely a DVD for you. Next up is Four Christmases, another fairly new film starring the likes of Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn. I really love the message of this film – I won’t spoil it for you if you haven’t seen it before, but it reminds you of how important it is to spend time with those you love, especially around Christmas time. The last film in this photo isn’t technically a Christmas film I guess, but I always associate Love Actually with Christmas viewing. This is one of my all time favourite films and if you haven’t seen it yet I would definitely recommend giving this a watch first. It’s a typical Rom Com full of clichés and mush, but it’s so good!

If you’re looking for an older film to watch this year, you can’t go wrong with Miracle on 34^th Street. I have to watch this every year, and it always makes me want to visit New York in the winter. It stars the girl who plays Matilda, her name escapes me, but she’s great in it! Next up is Nativity, which is another new-ish film but definitely a good one. I also have the second instalment and am looking forward to seeing number 3 in the cinema this Christmas. If you’re a fan of kids improvising then this is definitely one for you. Another Christmassy film I love to watch with my best friend at this time of year is The Holiday. It starts Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black and Jude Law – seriously, what more could you want from a Christmas film?! Another Rom Com, if you like Love Actually then you will definitely love this.

The Polar Express is a film I only actually watched for the first time last Christmas, and I can’t believe I left it so long! This is another animated version, with the voice of Tom Hanks, and would be a great choice to watch if you’ve got kids around. Now, you can’t possibly have Christmas without watching The Snowman, and last year my Mum treated me to the box set with The Snowman and The Snow Dog, which I absolutely love. I’ve watched The Snowman every year since I was tiny, so it’s become a bit of a tradition, and I think it’s great that it has absolutely no narration in it, yet still manages to get across such a touching story. Then last, but by no means least, comes a very recent offering – Frozen. I’m sure you’ve all heard more than enough about Frozen, but if you haven’t and you want a classic Disney film to sing along to then this is the film you need!

What are your favourite Christmas films? Are you going to see any in the cinema this Christmas?

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Sunday Spotlight - 14th December 2014

In my life this week…

Posting cards

Christmas is fast approaching and this week I have been getting all my cards written and posted. Somehow I’ve actually managed to get them all written pretty quickly and am actually starting to feel a little more organised. I spent a good deal of my Tuesday down at the Post Office in the longest of queues. It does get a bit crazy there over Christmas and people were showing up piled high with cards and presents. I’m not sure the lady behind the counter put the right stamps on my overseas letters, so I’m a bit worried none of them will get there, which is a bit annoying, but she was very hassled and didn’t seem too receptive when I questioned what she was doing!

Image from Weheartit

Christmas jumpers

One of my favourite things about this time of year is being able to wear my rather vast collection of Christmas jumpers! Last year I bought myself one jumper – a little black number with a gingerbread man on the front, and was quite content with that. But this year I have seen so many amazing jumpers in the shops that I just couldn’t help myself buying a few more. Primark has been a particular favourite shop to go to, but I also made a rather large order from ASOS, who have some amazing jumpers available this year. I’m also very jealous of the bloggers who have been sent personalised Christmas jumpers this year – I wish I could get one but the minimum order for personalised jumpers is 18, and I think that might be a little excessive!

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Christingle Service

I’ve been really struggling with my faith recently and have consequently been struggling to get to Church. That, plus the fact that I’m so exhausted all the time and want to get as much sleep as possible on a Sunday morning, has meant I haven’t been to Church in quite a while. So I thought with the Christmas services coming up, I would make an effort to get back into going to Church again. Today we had our annual Christingle service, which I took my Mum along to, and I actually really enjoyed it. To me, the Christingle service signifies the start of Christmas, so I’m really glad I managed to make it there and I’m hoping to get to some more of the Christmas celebrations at my Church.

What has grabbed your attention this week? I love hearing about people’s new discoveries and you may end up sharing something that makes it onto my list next week!

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