Just popping in to say hi...

Phew...the past few weeks have been a challenge. It turns out that what I thought was just a run of bad luck with stomach bugs was actually gall stones and an infected gall bladder...all I can say is ouch.

I spent last week between my GP surgery and the hospital and am now waiting for an MRI scan and a Gastroscopy.

I won't go into much more detail here as I'm pretty sure no-one needs the gory details, but suffice to say I'm now on a completely fat free diet (Doctor's orders), and contemplating becoming a vegan for the long-term, so there may be some fat free/ low-fat recipes heading this way from now on.

I'm not sure when I'll be back to blogging properly, but today was the first day I've felt like doing a bit of crafting, so yay! I'm struggling a bit with my motivation and creativity at the moment, but I'm hoping normal services will resume soon.

I'm still enjoying reading other people's blogs, so hurrah for the blog-verse :)

Be back soon
xxx

Motif Monday

I haven't had a chance to stitch today's motif yet (boo!), but it's a nice simple one, inspired by the look of disapproval meme - memes are stitching gold, more of these to come hopefully!

Here's the chart - I'll upload it as a Google doc as well, as soon as possible. I'm looking forward to stitching it (probably at the weekend). I'd quite like to hang it by my desk at work as I have a feeling I make this face several times a day!

As always - if you use this for a project let me know - I'd love to see the chart in use!

Sunday Best - May the Force Be With You

So the big Star Wars geek side of my personality is totally gutted that I missed posting on May 4th. Missed opportunity or what?

I don't talk about my Star Wars obsession too often - but yes, I'm a massive fan of both the original trilogy and (controversially) the prequels. The world of Star Wars fandom has brought a lot of happiness my way, not least because it was how I met my lovely beau.

So in belated honour of May 4th...here's my Sunday Best.

How cute? If I had any crochet skills whatsoever I would be all over this pattern by lucyravenscar on Etsy.

The Bantha was always one of my favourite creatures from the Star Wars universe - so big and fluffy. This plushie by ebinard on Etsy does them justice - love the button eyes.

There are no words to express my love for this...by Sweethoots on Etsy.

I always felt that the Wampa was the most misunderstood creature - well, him and the Rancor - I'm pretty sure they were just lonely and confused, so this hoop kind of melts me.

Admiral Ackbar is one of my all time favourite Star Wars characters (I mean..he's probably in the top ten, and he's fought off some stiff competition), so I think I may have to treat myself to this pattern to make my hoopla wall complete.

Catching Up

Photo from Cuba Gallery on Flickr

Oh wow...time really does fly when you're not having a huge amount of fun, huh? I can't believe how long it has been since my last post, and I've really missed being here!

Does anyone else go through periods of time where things just seem to build up until they're kind of looming over you? Not necessarily major things - but just lots and lots of little 'things' that have to be sorted out. I get like it every now and then, and have learnt that when it happens I just have to take a step back and prioritise things. I've been doing a lot of that recently. Sadly it sometimes means that the things I have to put on the back-burner are the things I really enjoy.

Anyway, I'm back, hurrah! Lots of blog-reading to be done and posts to write - can't wait!

TFI Friday

Is it seriously Friday again? Really? I can tell I've been on holiday this week because I'm a) feeling super relaxed and b) in complete disbelief that the week has finished already!

I've had an absolutely gorgeous week, and spent most of it staying with my dad and his girlfriend in sunny Cornwall (the sun was actually shining almost the entire time...woo!).

Some of my favourite parts of the week have been...

Going to the beautiful Glendurgan Gardens in Cornwall. They were so stunning, and it was such a relaxing place to be. See the maze in the distance in this photo?

I totally conquered it. It may be meant for children but as someone with literally no sense of direction I take pride in my achievement. At the end of the gardens was this little beach...where we skimmed stones and ate ice cream...bliss

Other pieces of happiness this week have been...

Watching the Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris. I literally fell in love with this film. Beautiful. As soon as I'd finished watching it, I wanted to watch it again. Oh, and then go to Paris for a long weekend.

I got my sticky mits on the complete 'Ice Cream Sundae' nail polish collection from Models Own. Lovely summer colours, can't wait to try them out. Would it be bad if I painted each finger a different colour just so I could try them all out at once?

Oooh...and I've finally finished the stitching project I've been working on for about 10 years (ok, I exaggerate ... 8 months), but more on that tomorrow.

How was your week? Hope it brought good things your way...now on to the weekend!

Vintage Finds - Piggy Bank

I thought I'd occasionally share any vintage buys I make. If I'm honest I don't make them that often - not because I'm not always looking (I am!) but because the second-hand/ charity shops near where I live seem to be completely clued-up on how fashionable thrifting is at the moment and some of their prices are totally crazy!

One of my favourite purchases is this little cutie, a vintage piggy bank (and it came complete with some vintage 1/2 pennies rattling around inside...cute!).

And the pretty back view...

It was love at first site...and I was so happy to have a real-life version of the tiny re-ment piggy bank which is my all-time favourite piece of re-ment ever!

Tiny sweetness!

The Toy Shelf - Miss Sally Rice

I've been playing around with different backing colours in my photo tent (because white is so, like, yesterday). Luckily my Blythe Miss Sally Rice stepped in to help me test them out, and here are the results...

With a red background...

With a blue background...

And with a pink background (which doesn't look a whole lot different to the red...due to my poor lighting maybe)

It was my first attempt at taking pics of any of my Blythes in the photo tent and I think my lighting might have been an epic fail - more practice needed I think! I'm kind of loving the last pic though...and I don't normally like her yellow eyes!