Friday 24 February 2012

I'm a self-confessed I.W.S...Laura Ashley, Clothes & the WI...

I had a terrible night's sleep last night, and didn't get to sleep until gone 4:30am - I wasn't worrying about anything, just genuinely couldn't switch off - I was thinking about the wedding & had all sorts cruising through my brain. I've learnt that when I have nights like that it's best for me to get up, or make my mind tired by doing stuff on my phone....and my favourite thing to do....shop! 

I don't actually even have to 'buy' anything - I'm a self confessed 'Internet Window Shopper' (I.W.S), I just love looking, finding cool things, imagining where they'd go in my house, or what sort of event I'd wear it to if its an item of clothing. I've done this ever since I was 5 or 6 and used to sit for hours with the Argos, Littlewoods or Next catalogue, and go through each and every page choosing just one item to "have" off each page - then I'd add up at the end how much I'd "spent" (usually thousands!) 

I guess this addiction is better than ACTUALLY spending all the money, don't get me wrong, I do shop properly a lot, I am a spender, but I know I could be a lot worse. Most of my shopping-pleasure comes from the browsing and the imagining, rather than the actual 'having' of an item, and I've definitely gotten better and more 'sensible' with my buying as I've gotten older. Although I'm sure Liam would still say I could curb my enthusiasm even more! ;-)

So, this is what filled my hours of restlessness last night - I 'hit the shops' of Laura Ashley and River Island & I found some beauties! 

LAURA ASHLEY...

 This diffuser I do actually have, and its a GREAT buy - the best smelling room fragrance EVER! 
I loved this GORGEOUS ribbon organiser box! How cute! 

What a funky umbrella stand - I wish they'd released this a few months ago when we were looking for ours! I do love our own though, so no harm, but this one is fab! 

Awesome sewing box/organiser! :-) 

I may well actually have to order this, not sure I have the strength to resist this purchase! The beautiful home teacups VASE :-) 

Really want one of these too - to stop the cat getting to the goods! :-)

Cute doorstop! They do a cupcake too - I bet the lovely Janet over at KitchenTableSewing could knock one of these lovelies up in seconds :-) 

Glass worktop saver, pretty & useful, I have two of these in my kitchen (not this actual one) but they're fab! 

Gorgeous 'High Tea' enamel cake stand. This is soooo stunning!

RIVER ISLAND... 

I have absolutely fallen in love with this skirt from RI. 

This swimsuit is from Evans online (they do sizes 14-30 or something?) and I've always found they're swimwear to be really reliable, and good for big-chested ladies - I saw this & LOVED it - I'm thinking honeymoon. 

Beautiful RI skirt - they are bloody good at skirts! 

Saw this & fell in love - I would def need to shift another stone or two to pull this off, but I think its seriously awesome! 

This is another 'Evans' number (I find there is SUCH a mix in that shop - lots of 'old frumpy' or 'sack-like' items, and then the odd DIAMOND) I think this is a diamond, from their Sienna range! Love! 

Yet another beauty of a RI skirt. Want. A lot. 

Sooooo much gorgeous stuff around at the moment. :-)

TODAY....

My plan today is a simple one. Take it slow as I'm pretty shattered after little sleep, make the most of my last weekday at home, as I'm finally back at work on Monday. And, I think a spot of baking might be in order. There are a few recipes in my Lisa Faulkner book that I'm dying to try - one is called 'Fantasy Cake', full of strawberries and ground almonds, and it looks like this.....


and the other is Honeycomb - I've always wanted to try making it, and I want to gain some new present-making skills, as I've decided that this year I'd like to 'make' the majority of the gifts I give, and I think confectionary is always a popular gift! So today I think I'll give those two ago. Baking is great for keeping my mind busy, and helping me feel ultra-positive. I just need to remember to give the majority of my wares away & not eat them all myself! :-)

I started today with a cup of tea, and a quick peruse of the WI magazine that arrived this morning - its had a cool article all about blogging :-) 



It just shows you how 'with it' the WI is becoming...and our Scone Roses group definitely feels like the WI is moving into the modern-age, we have such a great time together, and in the short time I've been going (2-3 months) I've already made some AWESOME friends, and done some fabulous things! 

Last night I had my first shot at dry needle felting onto polystyrene - and I'm really pleased with the result. Its a very easy and mindless task, and I think the end result is pretty cool - I'm def going to need a trip to Hobbycraft to 'stock up', as I think they will make great gifts for people - I'm thinking more hanging ones, a wreath, stars, etc...! 


Righteo...off to get my bake-on. 

I'll post the fruits of my labour later...if its worth sharing! 

Muchos Love

Luce

xxxxxx