bed rest and books...

Just a quick post tonight. After the clumsy day that was Monday, I ended up with a sore lower back and have been off work for a couple of days as I had pain when moving. I saw the physio today who said it was probably as a result of falling over, (see previous post!)and that the joints in my lower back were pretty seized and the muscle in my lower back was in spasm. So I haven't been up to much in the last few days, mainly resting in bed! On the plus side if you look at my sidebar, I've been catching up with my reading, (especially this brilliant book) so it's not all bad and I should be ok for work on Monday, fingers crossed...

so i should have stayed in bed...

So I had a lovely weekend. I chilled out and listened to this new cd that has just come out, pottered about, read through an old cookbook for inspiration and had a nice meal on Sunday.



Today is a different matter, I knew when the alarm went off this morning I should have rolled over and gone back to sleep. Firstly we had snowy and icy weather which meant it took me two hours to get to work, an extra half an hour. Then because I was in a rush, I ran down the escalator for my metro, only to slip on the last flat bit and fall over. I scraped my hand and knee and there's a bit of swelling, though possibly my pride was the worst thing hit! Then this afternoon I managed to cut open my knuckle on a tin can that I was kindly washing out for someone else at work - grrr.
So I went home tonight, decidedly more battered and bruised than I started out this morning...


Tonight I'm going to take it easy and do nothing - well nothing that might involve any clumsy behaviour on my part; I have an ice pack, a magazine and the new Toast catalogue...Tomorrow is another day, right?

the gift of jewels...

A short while ago, the lovely Se'lah of Necessary Room organised the 'gift of jewels' swap, where those who participated sent a little token of love in the form of a letter, postcard, poem etc out into the world to their swap partner. I was so excited when I got back from manchester to find mine waiting for me...

The only problem, is that I'm not sure who it came from, so that I can thank them, especially as it had all of my favourite things on it. So if you happen to read this ' thank you!'.

Also thank you Se'lah for organising this swap!

love and doughnuts...

I'm back after a wonderful couple of days in Manchester to celebrate our wedding anniversary.


The hotel was fantastic and we chilled out; enjoyed cocktails and some lovely meals out. However the highpoint had to be the afternoon of our anniversary when we celebrated with a bottle of champagne and Krispy Kreme doughnuts, (which are impossible to find in the North of England) because it's the simple things that count when you're in love - right?

Oh and if you read my previous post, I did get to go to this exhibition!

love is in the air...

Happy Valentines Day!

It's my wedding anniversary on Tuesday, so we're off to Manchester tomorrow for a couple of days for a city break and I'm really looking forward to it.

I really want to see this exhibition Walls Are Talking while I'm there which is an exhibition of artists wallpapers, including people like Andy Wahol and Damien Hirst. I'm still trying to work out how to sell this to my o/h. He likes art and galleries but an exhibition of wallpaper - mmmm (lol!)

I'll be back on Wednesday with lots of photos, so until then - have a lovely beginning of the week!

keep calm...

I've been looking for some new art and came across this brilliant print from this shop on Etsy and just had to indulge. As I love to take photos and I love typography this was just perfect. I've ordered it in dolphin grey colour and can't wait until it arrives, even looking at this makes me smile.

Keep calm and snap on, yep that's me!

Wednesday...

Today has been one of those blah days that are rainy and grey and seem to drag,(well the part where I was at work anyway). Maybe it's because the days are still short and grey that my thoughts are turning towards home and spending time inside all cozy and warm.

I really want this gorgeous book as I've heard so many good reviews of it, partly for the beautiful writing but also for the yummy recipes.

I also found this amazing shop through Stephanie at Concerning pancakes. How gorgeous is this kettle? I was pleased to see this which I have already, (though not from Canoe) and always thought was an object of beauty. Also how lovely is this tissue box, I confess I'm swooning, shame this shop is based in Portland although maybe that's a good thing! :)

weekend wonders...

This weekend was lovely as I finally got to see the Nutcracker performed by Scottish Ballet. The production was wonderful and the ballet was set in the 1920's so there were beautiful costumes as well as quirky sets.

This cute little trailer shows one of the ballet dancers becoming Dame Mouserink

I now have my heart set on seeing this production of Swan Lake as it's on in March at the same theatre I saw the Nutcracker and I've read so many positive reviews.

It's unique in it's production and is best known for replacing the traditional female corps de ballet with a menacing male ensemble. I know it has been on Broadway - anyone out there seen it?

grey and rainy...

Today is grey, rainy and uninspiring but at least we're at the weekend again! Sometimes it feels as if I have so little time during the week that it passes in a blur but it's always nice to get to this point. The point where you have two whole days stretching in front of you...

Tomorrow I'm off to see this production of The Nutcracker which I'm really looking forward to, especially as it seems to be a contemporary take on the tale.

After that, no plans really, just a little crafting and catching up - I can't wait!
What are you up to this weekend?

new guilty pleasure...

Anyone who reads this blog will know what a huge book lover I am.



One of the things I've always wanted to do, is to keep a list of the books that I read in a year but somehow time, organisation etc etc has meant that I never got around to it. This year one of my resolutions was to try and do this, so imagine my excitment when I came across something on Char's blog that made me whoop with delight. As you can probably see there is now a link on my sidebar, (with pretty pictures!) of the books I've read in 2010. The link takes you to a site called goodreads.

Basically, on the site if you create a free account, you can list all the books you've read, the ones you want to and the ones you're reading at the moment. You can also link up to see what others are reading, join online book clubs on the site, and join discussions. Oh and you can get lovely wigets to add to your blog to show off your bookshelves.

Trust me this site is very addictive, before you know it, you've spent far too long and any guilt is only because I should be doing something else instead of getting sucked into the world of books. But hey, there are worst things - right? Come and join me on the dark side...!

fragments of the weekend...

* a snowy walk in the woods * finding a frozen lake which I really really wanted to walk on but didn't * teatime with cake and magazines * realising my roses had faded but still liking how they looked * a brunch with the Sunday papers * a little creative planning...

This is pretty much how it went... how was your weekend?