Project Life

I did my own take on Project Life last year using a 12x12 American Crafts D-Ring Binder and my own assortment of papers and paper scraps, which is a very good way of using up bits and pieces. At times, however, I found the 12x12 page protectors a little too much to fill up so this year I have opted for a Simple Stories 6x8 binder and I am quite smitten with the Simple Stories Sn@p Collection, so I am using a mixture of Sn@p papers and elements, some Smash stuff and other bits and pieces I already have. I'm quite pleased with results so far, even though it's only been 4 weeks of course! Having said that, the 6x8 format may end up a tiny bit too small...there's no pleasing some people , I know!

I'm forever trying to organize and re-organize my crafting stuff and I currently have a reasonably sized plastic tub with all my Sn@p elements, journalling cards, stickers, random but cut-to-size pieces of patterned paper, pens, glue, washi tape, date stamps, ephemera and so on sitting on a chair in the dining room, so if it needs to be out of sight I can just push the chair under the table!!

I can't get enough of those Sn@p colours, they really do make me feel cheerful. 

Happy New Year!

 I'm back! 

I was lucky enough to travel to Basel in December for the second year in a row as my friend's brother lives there. Basel fascinates me as it sits right on the German/French/Swiss border, so coming from Germany originally a lot of what I see, hear and eat (yum!) there is familiar to me which is great fun.

We had the opportunity to visit a number of beautiful old towns and their Christmas markets which I love and can never get enough of. Who doesn't love a mug of Gluhwein!? 

I love how every nook and cranny is decorated for Christmas and I particularly love a lot of the windows.

Another thing I get really excited about is that in Alsace there are still REAL storks. Storks have been something magical to me since I was a little girl living in Germany and I do remember seeing the odd stork's nest on a roof. Of course there aren't any storks in Alsace during the winter but some of the nests are, and I love spotting them. (Is that really sad...?)

My favourite building has to be this one, the Gingerbread House, another thing that takes me straight back to childhood and stories like Hansel and Gretel. The Grimm Brothers Fairly Tales are one of my  most favourite things in the whole world, I am really just a little girl at heart.

There are often people in traditional dress at the Christmas Markets, and these two lovely girls in traditional Alsatian dress got a lot of attention from the boys!

I wonder which Christmas Market I will visit in 2013?

I'm not a great believer in New Years Resolutions and I don't generally make any, but I would very much like to blog more this year, and I want to craft much much more. But I think I may need to become a little more organised and focused, and somehow bring a little structure into my life.

I'd love to know how some of you manage to structure your lives?

Stressed...

I really am feeling stressed. It's been a funny weekend. Not "haha" funny - just "not great" funny.
Sometimes it's so tempting to just come here and vent, but it's really not something I want to do, at least not about anything specific. Today however, I definitely just needed somewhere to go and SCREAM! So here I am. 

Life definitely seems to move in cycles, and more often than not I seem to plod along quite happily just living  my life and doing my thing. But then little things start to annoy me, storm clouds begin to gather and they begin to accumulate...until I finally feel that I am totally being taken for granted, not listened to and that my opinion doesn't count for anything. Which is how I am feeling today. 
I know it will blow over and the sun will come out from behind the clouds. (See what I've done there?) I know that I will most probably laugh at myself in a few days but when you are in the moment you start to question everything.
Does anyone else feel like this?

Coffee

I love coffee. Any excuse for a coffee. Especially a pretty one like the one above.

 

 I enjoy going for a coffee with my OH, catching up with a friend over coffee, or having one by myself after I've finished the weekly shop - this one is usually accompanied by a magazine, preferably a crafting magazine. But I also enjoy people watching while having a coffee.

 

 It also has to be a frothy coffee, but only if it's soya milk - dairy products don't really agree with me. Having said that - I always say yes to chocolate sprinkles!! ;)

There you are - I thought that was something you all might like to know about me!

Late Summer...

We seem to be fast approaching the end of the summer though the weather this weekend was glorious.

No.1 son has relocated to Germany with his girlfriend, they are staying with my Mum at the moment and are hoping to carve out a life for themselves over there. They have both just finished Uni and are very excited at the prospect of living together and I fervently hope that things will work out for them.

No.2 son is back at Uni in his second year, he moved into his first house with friends last weekend, also a big step. My boys are truly flying the nest. It was lovely having them both home for the summer and I miss them.

Today I am feeling a bit sorry for myself as I am full of cold and my throat feels like it is full of barbed wire. I'm having trouble concentrating and my head feels all fuzzy so I decided to try and distract myself with a bit of blogging. I have managed to do a little bit of scrapbooking over the last few weeks but my photography skills still leave plenty of room for improvement, at least when it comes to trying to photograph LOs in an attractive way!

I got the train to Bluewater on Saturday as the house was empty and had a look at the Creative Stitches and Hobbycraft Show at their new events venue. I was a little bit disappointed as almost everything was Christmas orientated (which I suppose was only to be expected at this time of year) but it's still good to know that a show like this will hopefully be on fairly regularly from now on, not too far from home.

And at least I got to indulge my love of Starbucks Soya Almond Cappuccino and a Salted Caramel and Pecan Bar. Oh my goodness how I love that little square of complete yumminess!

My OH is currently travelling the country for work and we are going to meet up in York later on in the week, which I'm insalely excited about as I have never been to York but have always wanted to go! I love visiting any place with a history and York has been on the list forever.

In the meantime I think I will go and find another packet of tissues and some more Cold & Flu tablets!

Much love,

Angie x