Sunday Social 30/06 and 23/6

Hi! 

Its been one heck of a week! Catch up with what I've been up to here.

Now, time for Sunday Social.

I missed last Sunday because I was working so much, so I'll add it at the end ;) 

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1. What is your favorite movie of all time?

I have favourite movies, but I can't just pick one.

I love The 6th Day. I can watch it over and over. I love Surrogates, Despicable Me,

Wanderlust, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Scream, Red Lights, The Cube... the list is endless. However, Crazy Stupid Love, The Notebook and The Proposal are probably my faves of the last couple years.

2. What is your favorite quote?

Watch with glittering eyes - Roald Dahl

A man who treats his woman like a princess is proof that he was born and raised in the arms of a Queen - Unknown

The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. That's what you've given me, and that's what I'd hoped to give you forever - The Notebook

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two." - Capt. Corelli's Mandolin
"Don't become a mere recorder of facts, but try to penetrate the mystery of their origin." Ivan Pavlov

"The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind." - William James

“Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars- points of light and reason. And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn’t see the stars anymore. And there was no more reason for anything.”  - Twilight

3. What is the best movie to watch for girls night in?

Bring it on, Mean Girls, Crazy Stupid Love, Never Been Kissed...

4. What is the best breakup movie?

I don't get the whole breakup movie thing. I'd just watch Buffy.

5. Who would you want to play in a movie about your life?

Kaley Cuoco, duhhh.

6. Which movie star's closet would you want to raid?

Ashley Olsen. <3 6 years ago.

Your turn! Answer the questions, grab the button, and link up!

Oh, and as for last week...!

Last week's questions were all about shopping and style! Here goes...

1. What is your favorite store to shop at?

Fat Face, Republic and Animal. I love Roxy clothes.

2. If you could afford anything and everything, which designer brand would you covet?

I'm not into designer things. I'd end up with Billabong and Animal swamping my wardrobe.

3. What is your must have closet staple?

Tank tops. But not boring ones. I love my New Look tank top with

a crocheted back.

4. What is your favorite kind of shoes? (brand or type)

Its got to be either my Havianna's flip flops in turquoise, or my Sugar

espadrille style shoes from Animal.

 

5. What is the best clothing deal you've ever gotten? (sale or amazing find)

I love a bargain. I got this gorgeous New Look jumper from a charity shop for £4.

Its a great length for going over summer dresses and its so comfy.

This Lipsy dress was my favourite buy of last year. 

Lace and glitter, can't go wrong! I got 2 discounts so it was

only £15! Bargain! 

6. What is a style you'd love to try?

I want to try maxi skirts! I only have one and surprise surprise, it's a Roxy one.

I'd like more next summer.

End. 

x

Moving House

The plans are finally in motion - we're buying my Grandma's house!
The house is a blank canvas now for us to do with whatever we like. I thought I'd blog the process as we go along so you can see just how it changes. Of course it's odd thinking that me and my sister practically grew up in this house so I don't want to change too much, but I'm thinking of adding a few touches to the house that she will appreciate and that will be a nod to our childhood and the fun times we had there.

DINING ROOM

The dining room is a strange off-white/greeny colour. It's not nice,

but it's not horrible either. With a different flooring it could look nice,

but as it stands it's just a bit too boring.

The curtains aren't nice either. The whole house is old fashioned,

so needs updating. But with our possessions, decorations and stamp on things,

it won't take too long to turn this house into our home. Next stop, Etsy, for a tablecloth and curtains!

LIVING ROOM

The living room too needs an update. 

We're considering just dying the curtains,

but eventually we will have wooden blinds put in for ease. We

don't like net curtains, but they're handy in this room because it looks

out onto the street. 

Again, the walls aren't actually too bad. The beige and white

tops is nice together, and once all the old fashioned ornaments and photos are down, I think it will be a nice clean looking room. 

The fireplace is definitely in need of an update, though! It's a very old fashioned one. We've seen lots of fires that we like already so that won't be a problem to change. The actual fireplace around the fire isn't attractive, but I'm sure we could find a wooden style one to replace it.

The sofa needs updating. We're looking at buying this one (below).
It's perfect; exactly what we're looking for. With a few pale blue pillows,
it'll fit right in with the beach look we're going for!

Its the carpets mainly that prevent a modern feel to the place. 

If we don't touch the walls too much, we can just focus on the carpets. 

We like the white/cream theme for the front room,
adding colour with cushions, frames and decorations. 
(Below).

HALLWAY

The hallway carpeting is a bright kind of reddy pink colour. Doesnt show the dirt and it's fairly newish so its in great shape, but it's just so bright! Perhaps with white walls as opposed to peach, it wouldn't look so colourful.

One plan for sure, though, is to knock out the bannister which is solid wood painted peach, and put in plain oak wooden rungs. Not only is it nicer looking,

it lets the light run through the gaps and opens up the stairs. 

I love the way (below) they've completely opened up the space.
It's no longer a wall, but a feature. A bit of white trim and some frames
have added so much, so we're hoping to do something similar.

MASTER BEDROOM

Okay so we come upstairs to the master bedroom. 

As usual the carpet is not very aesthetically pleasing, but the walls aren't too bad. A quick modernisation with frames, bed covers, etc will do the job. 

Its bigger than it looks, because this is a huge bed and ours is a lot smaller, but still big. There are built in wardrobes on the far side down the entire wall and the wall dips in in the middle. Getting rid of those curtains would let in so much light! 

The top photo is the same room even though the walls look different. The paper is odd - in the light you can see swirls but only if you catch it at the right angle. 

You can see this needs a lot of work, and considering its going to be
our bedroom, it's the least of my worries because it's only us who see it!

We like battleship grey (standing joke in our house because hubs served in the Navy. In a grey submarine.) and it's nice to be able to add colour with other things.

I love turquoise, and this pastel-mint colour is adorable.
It's not too bright for a bedroom, I don't think!

SPARE ROOM NO. 1

Spare room no. 1 is the smallest of the two extra bedrooms. 

It fits a single bed, chest of drawers, chair and bedside table nicely. 

Its also really light. This was my room as a kid when I slept over and it's cosy. 

This is going to be the baby's room (when we have one!).

Ideas for this room depend on what gender baby we have.
If we decide not to find out, we quite like a generic unisex hot-air balloon theme.
I love this, and Woodys promised to try and make it :)

For a boy, we'd like this colour scheme, and an underwater/yellow submarine theme. Although this could all change! 

Boy or girl, we want a vinyl decal tree with bookshelf branches.
Colours would be determined by gender, of course.

And for a little girls room? Something pretty and feminine.
This is so cute.

My nursery ideas are endless, so it'll be interesting to see whether we keep
to these plans or not!

BATHROOM

The bathroom. One room we will want to do up because for starters, there is no shower and we're big shower people! 

The wallpaper is cherry print and the bathroom set although still in good condition is about 50 years old! 

We want a new bath with a wooden surround built around it. Only a cheap bathroom set would be fine. My parents bath is lush and I'd like that one really but we are more shower people than bath people so it'd be a bit of a waste to fork out for a big bath.

SPARE ROOM NO. 2

Spare room no. 2 is the bigger room. I need another photo really because it doesnt look big here. On the left out of frame there's another alcove with another wardrobe in it, and the wall opposite the window has a huge chest of drawers down it. If we were to remove the double bed and turn this into a kids room, it'd be really great because we could probably fit in bunk beds/ a cabin bed to minimise space and then have a book nook in an alcove or even a reading teepee :) The colour isn't great and would definitely need repainting.

KITCHEN

I dont have any photos of the kitchen yet but I'll get some. 

OUTSIDE/GARDEN

 The garden is adorable. It's hard to explain, but basically, looking at this photo...I'm stoody by the house. There is patio down where I am which is very large. On the right is the step down to the garage and driveway. At the top of that grass, is a flower bed, then more grass behind going back to that wall. On the right at the top of the path behind the garage which is on the right is another bit of patio.

   

Here is the view looking down from the top bit of grass,

so we'd probably get rid of that flower bed and just elongate the grassed area so our future kids can play on it easier.  

  

This is like the top photo but you can see the garage and the size of the patio at the bottom a little easier. There are double doors from the dining room so you can enjoy it even when you're sat inside. :) Outdoor plans include a firepit and decking furniture set on the top patio, vegetable patch at the top above the flower bed, and the marbled fence I keep pinning about. I tried my luck at getting a trampoline but I failed miserably :P

So that's our little future home! 

As you can see there's a lot of work to be done, but the main thing is that it's livable. We can decorate as and when we can afford to, bit by bit.

Check out my home sweet home board on Pinterest and my loves on Etsy to see some of the ideas we'd like to put into place...

x

July Photo a Day

 

Here we are again, over half way through the year already!

Lets hope we have some sun this month because everyone

loves happy summery photos.

Don't forget to play along on the Facebook group, or Instagram with #fmsphotoaday.

Here goes!

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1. Happiness is…: Share a photo of something that represents 

happiness to you.

Spending the day with my lovely Momma :)

2. Shoes: You know, those things you wear on your feet.
 I bought my first pair of Toms yesterday. So comfy!

3. Cold: In my part of the world it’s winter, so cold is all around. How can you show the cold in a photo?
 Here, we're having a heatwave! It's definitely not cold!
All that's cold about today are our drinks!

  4. Red, white or blue: Pick a colour and share it for Independence Day {in the USA}.
Red strawberries, blueberry bagel and white tea :) 

5. Love: Take a photo that shows love.
 Freud just loves Woody. He's always kissing him
and coming over for a snuggle.

6. Fave smell: What smell do you adore? Coffee? Fresh fruit? Flowers? Show it in a photo.
 I love the smell of popcorn (hubs is the opposite) 
and our favourite scents are Yankee Candles. These are 
burning blocks that melt in a burner. They smell amazing! 

7. Where you are: Show us where you went today.
I worked today. 
This photo is so bad, but basically, today I had to call 999 for 
the first time in my life. 

8. Path: Snap a photo of a path – which could be any kind of surface.
The dry ski slope.
I do love (and miss) snowboarding! 

9. 3 things: Take a photo of any 3 things you like.
I originally took this photo for this promt, but used it above also for
red, white or blue.
3 things for breakfast...

10. Smooth: Find a smooth surface and take a photo.
The smooth surface of the ice rink.
Perfection.  

11. I wore this!: What is something you wore today? You could share your whole outfit, or just a small part of it.
Today I wore a baby :P
oh, and my new top/dress. 
I do love lace.
And babies :P 

12. A bad habit: It can be yours or someone else’s habit. Share it.
Coffee. Caffeine. Kahve. Call it what you will.

13. 4 o’clock: Be it 4am or 4pm, share what you’re doing at 4 o’clock.
We had a picnic at the new house :) 

14. Edible: Take a photo of some that you eat or want to eat.
We both fancied quiche, and we both fancied fish.
Half fish, half chorizo quiche, and salad with cheese and apple.
Its too hot to eat much else! 

15. Outside the window: Look through the window and take a photo of what you see.
I'm in the car so this is the windscreen :)

16. Bottle: A bottle is such a simple object, how can you show it in a photo and make it a little interesting?
I'm using two here. 
1. I just loved that the coconut made the 
glass bottle change colour in the light.
 

2. I love how this came out, considering it was only taken with an iPhone.
I do love a Crabbies once a summer!

17. Inspirational: What’s inspirational to you?
Sounds corny but I'm not inspired easily. I had to use a 
stock photo by a beautiful photographer over at Act Naturally.
My inspiration is my lovely friend Joanna. I can't explain what an inspiration
she's been to me in such a short space, but she's really been the greatest role model I could have asked for.  

18. Number: Look around you, do you see numbers? Take a photo. They could be in signs, on your phone… anywhere.
 My old lab. I do miss working in research but it got a bit
boring after a while!

19. Building: It could be your home, or a big sky-scraper if you’re lucky enough to be in the city. Share a building in a photo.
I left for my holiday today, so the next week of photos are from Turkey!
I used two photos today. The top photo I thought was hilarious - 
this building is a hair salon. Isn't that the BEST name, ever?! 

And this, this is the building with our old apartment in it,
where me and my sister lived in 2009.
It was v. nostalgic :)
 

20. Hot: Just like the cold prompt, only hot. Will you take a photo of the weather, food, a flame?
My tan! It's super hot today - 38 degrees!
I'm cooking nicely ;) 

21. Fave food: What food do you love? You can indulge today. I’ll let you!
My favourite food here is either an Azda roll (salami, cheese, tomato & lettuce), or sweet chicken from Joseph's restaurant!

 

22. Grey: Share a photo of something coloured grey.
This was challenging as not much is grey in such a hot country!
However, these grey rocks made a beautiful photo in contrast
to the blue sea and dusky pink sky! 

23. I drew this!: Get creative! Draw something, take a photo and share it.
I dont draw often, so this is my iPhone case which I cross-stitched,
after drawing the outline of a hibiscus flower onto it. 
I definitely need to do another now as it's about 2 years old and
the stitching is coming out :'(

24. D is for…: Show a photo of something starting with the letter D.
The national Turkish DRINK. Ayran. It's like a salty watery yoghurt.
Some people say it's an acquired taste and I tend to agree.
I love it!
 

25. Ground: Depending on where we live we have different surfaces on the ground; cement, grass, dirt… show us yours.
Today, me and my parents walked from Hisaronu to Kayakoy. 
The walk is a beautiful 45 minute scenic mountain trail.

26. The everyday: The thing that I love about this challenge is that you can see beauty in the ordinary, so look around you, find something that you see most days and capture it in a photo.
For my last entry from Turkey, I'm sharing 3 photos.
We see sunsets every evening, wherever we are. But when do we ever really
stop to appreciate their sheer beauty? 
I am so pleased with these photos! 

27. Black + white: Take a photo in black + white – you could use a filter, or shoot something that actually IS black and white. Up to you!
So glad I don't have to wear this boring black and white 
uniform anymore! 
Hashtag HCA problems! 

28. This is new!: What’s something new in your life? Is it something newly created in your town? A new purchase? A new baby? Snap and share it.
OUR NEW HOME!!!! 

29. Perspective: This is a photography technique.

30. Friendship: This is our charity prompt. Share a photo of friendship.

31. Workspace: Show us your workspace!