Moments from the last 7 days

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Well well well...what a crazy week it has been. This will be my fourth week at my new job and it has gone so quickly...my diary is filling up pretty quickly too which now makes me realise i need to be quick about getting annual leave booked!! Anyway, some moments from the last week that have made me happiest:

1- Making headway on my knitted blanket..

2- Singing in a choir for the first time since secondary school....i was humming my song the whole way home on the bus.

3- Unexpected chats on the bus home

4- Discovering my way round South London even more.

5- Having a big night in..steaks, wine and the Hobbit 2!

6- Putting a deposit down for my new bike....excited doesn't even explain how i feel!

7- Being able to walk a big chunk of my commute to work.

Sorry for the work heavy post....I'm sure this won't be happening very much as the year goes on!
How has your week been?

Moments from the last 7 days

Gosh where are these weeks going? Apart from some pesky neighbours partying into the early morning last night my week has been a really good one and this week is shaping up to be alright as well...love it when that happens! Now for some moments from the last week that have made me particularly happy:

1- Mapping out potential pubs and eateries along my route to work to make into a pub crawl...

2- Going out for dinner not once, not twice but three times this week....being in full time work definitely creates an appetite.

3- Enjoying the landmarks in London. Sitting in the park at Westminster is a nice way to clear your head after a full on day.

4- Walking through Carnaby street during the busiest moment this week, every shop had a discount and everyone bar myself it seems had a bottle of beer/ cocktail in their hand

5- Collecting conkers

6- Following strangers around Sainsburys to find where they got the soda bread mix from....

7- Making said soda bread with our homemade Ulster fry...bit of home in London yum!

How has your last week been?
Chloe x

Moments from the last 7 days

Yay...I managed to only miss one 7 day review so far....I'm feeling a little bit proud of that. The last two weeks have been so lovely. Adam and I went back to Northern Ireland for a week and then I stayed on a week longer to attend a family wedding. We were total tourists while in Northern Ireland which was nice for a change, we even managed to get in a gig since Belsonic was on while we were back.

Anyway, the last 7 days:

1- Visiting childhood locations with happy memories.

2- Saving some kittens

3- Playing hairdresser for my little sis despite the fact I am one of the worst people to ask to help when it comes to hair...it worked out okay in the end.

4- Attending one of the most beautiful and relaxed weddings i have been to. An outside wedding in Ireland is brave but it paid off for them.

5- Acting silly around family

6- Getting seats with extra leg room for my flight back to London....most likely the comfiest flight I've ever had as a result.

7- Being distracted from my nerves by Adam all day long....and getting a delicious dinner in the meantime.

All in all it was a pretty good week. This week is my first in my new job so I'm expecting to be exhausted come Friday!

How has your last week been? Chloe x

11 things you didn't know

Thank you to the lovely Annie who has nominated me for a Liebster Award. Below are the 11 questions asked by Annie. Here goes:
 
1. If you could be any animal what would you be and why?
I would probably have to say a bird....most likely a robin. Mainly cause I could just fly wherever I want to. Although I love walking how cool would it be to be able to just fly everywhere. Also Robins are pretty dam fancy, yet casual at the same time!

2. Money is no object, where's the next place you'd like to travel to?
Sadly I haven't really had a chance to travel at all so far so anywhere really. At the moment however, I really want to go to South America. Also Iceland but maybe wait till this volcano calms down (unless my money can control volcanoes as well in which case Iceland first).

3. What's your favourite breakfast food?
Breakfast is my favourite meal so this is a bit of a toughie. If it's normal everyday breakfast.....cereal and toast cause it keeps me full. But if I can do whatever I want...pancakes and honey with blueberries and strawberries.

4. Best fancy dress costume you've ever made/wore?

This little gem is probably one of the best as it took so little effort and I won best costume (unbeknownest to myself) One of the few joys of having curly hair is that I am able to make it look crazy with very little effort..all I did was brush my hair and spray it with colour in this photo!

5. What's your favourite thing about where you live/your home town?
My favourite thing about where I live at the moment is the variety of parks close at hand. Also as a country girl at heart I love being able to escape the crazy London crowds during the summer time and sit in the nice quite park in Ladywell.

6. A song that'll always get you on the dance floor?

Saturday night is always a goodie when it comes to dancing......mostly at cheesy get togethers though!

7. What did you want to grow up to be when you were little?
Weirdly I wanted to be a pathologist when I was little.....

8. Do you have a favourite quote or motto?
Not one that I would say out loud but lately I do think a lot along the lines of 'If it's meant to be'.

9. If you had to cook a three course meal ('Come Dine with Me' style-y) what would you make?
Oh good question! Starter would probably be a Charcuterie board of some effect...maybe mini individual ones for the person who doesn't like to share their food. Main could be beef, most likely steak. Finally for desert I would make a lemon tart...cause its delicious!

10. What are you most looking forward to right at this moment?
Dinner....roasted ham.

11. Lastly, but not least importantly, biscuit or cake?
Biscuit.

Now for 11 facts about myself:
1- I have always been told I talk too much.
2- 'Inside voice' is a common statement directed to me.
3- I love to bake although I don't do it very often cause we never end up eating all of what I made.
4- I am obsessed with any form of house programme on telly. 
5- I wish I was better at playing both the violin and piano.
6- I love walking and really wish I could have a dog to walk these days
7- Cats scare me....they are too clever and always seem to be up to something.
8- I constantly come up with craft ideas and very rarely start or finish them.
9- I hate nightclubs....give me a pub with some good friends and live music any day.
10- I start my first ever real job tomorrow and I am most worried about the fact that there are no hot drinks during the day!
11- I love the sweet peas (the flower....not some weird sweet pea.

I'm pretty sure that all of my favourite blogs have had been nominated for a Leibster award but as I would love to learn more about this lady I nominate
The cup and saucer

My questions for you are as follows:
1- What is your favourite meal?
2- If you could live anywhere where would you like to live right now?
3- If you could have one skill what would it be?
4- What is your favourite part of blogging?
5- What's your favourite place to eat/ drink at the moment?
6- Cat or dog?
7- Staycation or vacation?
8- If you won the lotto what is the first thing you would do?
9- What season do you like best?
10- Most recent movie watched?
11- What is your favourite way to spend the weekday evenings?

For anyone else who wants to answer the questions please do and let me know...I love being nosey!!
Chloe x

Moments from the last 7 days

Wow, look at this, I've managed to keep up to date with blogging. Sadly i have a suspicion it won't be for long as I am currently back in Ireland and although I have managed this post I'm not sure if I'll be able to find time for next weeks....but I will try my best!

West Coast of Ireland a few years back.

Anyway, seven moments:

1- Watching awful movies while it pours rain outside...summer holidays are allowed to be lazy.

2- Catching up with friends and walking aimlessly around London. It's so nice to be able to enjoy the city without feeling like you have to 'do' something.

3- Great British Bake Off.....

4- Visiting new places. This week i went to see an photography exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society. It is well worth a visit.

5- Having breakfast and falling back to sleep until 10:45....oops!

6- Looking up the weather for Ireland and working out what to pack.

7- Airports. I like them. As long as i have all my carry-on sorted out properly.

What moments from your past week have made you smile?

Chloe x

For the love of maps

I LOVE maps. I mean LOVE them. I love to stare at them, work out where i am, how to get to another place, remember it all and give it a go in real life. Then i like to stare at old maps and think how unbelievable it is that people were able to get it so wrong and yet so right at times with regards to where places are.

My love for maps means that I am one of those who still loves to check out the London A-Z before i need to go somewhere new. I dont really like google maps, it just feels wrong relying on a little dot to tell me im going in the right direction.

Why am i telling you this?

Well, last weekend i was in heaven pouring over my new london cycling guide maps i got in the post, check them out....amazing!You can order the free guides here. Adam had to forcefully remove them from my hands so that i would actually leave the flat and do something with my weekend but he also came up with a clever solution to indulge in my map love.

The answer? Maps Coasters.

Now, these are no new idea. In fact im sure there's a million of them floating around etsy and everywhere else but Adam has no idea of that world so we decided to do it ourselves with some trial and error.

How did we do it?
We headed to lewisham hoping that the charity shops would have some old maps. They didn't. Then i thought we should chance having a look in the pound shops, you never know what they have. Well lucky us. We got a 2012 version of the Collins British road map, along with four coasters and some book covering in the 99p store....that 1 penny means everything!

For some reason, this map includes Ireland in it.....not part of Britain but I was happy because it meant i got to include my lovely hometown as one of the coasters.

 We cut out sections of the map to size. Before we could stick the cutouts on to the coasters we peeled the thin film of plastic off the top of the coasters.
We then stuck the map cutouts on with PVA glue...lots of it. I think each coaster took 3-4 coats of the glue.
I was hoping that the glue would be enough to seal them but it wasn't so we stuck some clear book covering on top and it seems to have worked a treat.

Adam has decided though that if we make them again, or if you guys would like to try it out, sticking the book covering onto the map cutouts first and then sticking the whole map cover onto the coaster would work better. Why? As the maps were quite then paper the glue soaked right through and made them wrinkle up a little bit when drying.
Overall thought I'm pretty happy with them, for £1.98 we have four new coasters that our more our style than the originals!

Am I th only one who loves maps? Chloe x

Moments from the last 7 days

I've decided to introduce a new little segment into this blog since i seem to have failed at keeping a monthly review of my activities.

This little segment aims to give a snippet of the moments that I've loved, laughed at, and enjoyed in the last seven days. I hope you like it.

1- My first ever trip to Brighton with my bestie. I think we picked the perfect day for it as we got continuous sun the whole day. Sitting on the beach, sun warming my skin, just chatting to one of my closest friends is sheer bliss in my books

2- Morning lay ins, listening to the slight breeze blowing in and watching as the sun shines through the crack in the blind.

3- Picking blackberries in the cemetery. Slightly creepy spot to go to but the sound of silence is often necessary in this busy city. Picking and checking the berries is oddly relaxing, blocking out everything else from my mind.

4- Getting an official letter with details of my work induction date.....its draws nearer!!

5- Spending time with my second family, eating the most delicious meal in ages (even if i couldn't quite bring myself to eat the razor clams) and walking home in the pouring rain happily chatting the whole way.

6- Celebratory lunch and cocktails.

7- Listening to the tourists scream as the sky opened and the rain poured down on top of them, as Adam and I safely settled down to desert and a Baileys latte!!

How have your last seven days been? What were the littlest moments that made you happy?

Chloe x