Autumn Shopping Spree

Last weekend, I visited relatives near where I used to live in South London. The local shopping centre is much bigger than we have here in rural East Sussex so I made the most of my time there and did a little autumn shopping.

My first purchase was a new dressing gown. I wanted a really soft, snuggly one for winter and found this one in M&S:

The colour is chocolate and it's sooo cozy! And at £22.50, it didn't break the bank.

I also wanted some new slipper socks to keep my toes toasty. I have Raynaud's disease and one of the main symptoms I get is permanently cold feet (due to poor blood supply to extremeties). As the weather turns colder, it becomes a real problem.

BHS had 3 for 2 on these socks so it cost £22.00 for 3 pairs. I got one white pair with a red fair isle pattern, one red pair and one charcoal pair.

 

They have plastic dots underneath so are non slip and inside there is a fluffy white lining. I love them and they are so festive looking too with the pom poms and cable knit!

My final purchase was a pair of Hunter wellies. I have had my eye on these for a while now but had been hoping to find them somewhere at a good price. I saw them in Costco for £60, a saving of £25 off the RRP of £85. 

The colour is "Forest Green" but for some reason, the boots look like they have a turquoise tint to them in the photos. They do not at all. They are more of a rich Christmas green in real life!

I'm really pleased with my autumn purchases. That will do shopping-wise for now . . . until the boxing day sales!!

Memories, Dreams and Reflections

1. Me!

On a night out in London. I guess I have always been happy and pretty confident but I am more so this year so that's probably what I'm most proud of. 

2. I Love You

 

More than words can say Baby Boy.

3.  Still Laughing

 

This plastic green dragon was one of Minty's Christmas presents. He absolutely shredded it to pieces within 10 minutes of getting it!

4. Winter Wonderland

Frost on the leaves, there was no snow when I took this.

5. Birthday

I celebrated with my university friends a week before my birthday. Being a Christmas baby, the two celebrations always merge a bit!

6. Friends

All that was left of the bottle of brandy after adding it to mulled wine.

7. I Was Inspired

To try Christmas tree bokeh after seeing other bloggers' photos. Then I spotted this little reindeer and thought I'd add him!

8. Spring Fever

Pretty spring light!

9. Travel or Vacation

My Mum and Dad on a bench in Central Park this summer.

10. Summer Days

Me and some old school friends at the beach near our house. I'm in the middle, Titanic anyone?

11. A Day in My Life

Training to be a dietitian, I spend a lot of time talking about food! We had to wear these hideous T-shirts when I was working at the hospital in the summer. They show the correct portion size of different fruits and vegetables. At the top is says, "Eat More Fruit and Veg". Sexy huh?

12. All Smiles

He always makes me smile!

13. Autumn Harvest

Horse chesnuts.

14. Family

With a corny heart shape of course!

15. Celebrate!

Baby opening his presents on Christmas morning. He actually does open them, we just have to give him a hand with the selotape!

16. Let's Do It Again

We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC in the summer but one day did not even touch the surface. It was an incredible museum, I want to see more of it.


17. I Miss You

Still on the New York theme, I do love this city and I miss it.

18. Beautiful

How can that face not make you melt? "Ok you can have another biscuit, sweetheart!"

19. Dress Up

At a Christmas party, Lil' Elf!

20. Macro

Frosty. 

21. Holidays

He got this blanket as one of his Christmas presents. He loves to be wrapped up in a blanket and won't settle down unless he's cosy in the evenings. He didn't look to impressed when I took this picture, maybe because I called him a Grandma?

22. My Favourite

 I'm a sucker for red berries in the snow. That's not a typo, favourite is spelt with a "u" in the UK.

23. Don't Ever Change

This boy loves his cuddles, I hope that never changes!

24. Just Because . . . So There!

Thought this one was quite fun. The purple blur is my Mum walking in the woods.

25. Hopes and Dreams

Minty makes little barking noises in his sleep and his legs move as if he's running. I wonder what he dreams about? My personal hope for 2011 is to complete my 365 project, let's see how it goes!

Wow that is the most time it has ever taken me to make a post! Check out all the other entries at Ramblings and Photos.

Day 1: Project 365 Begins

Day 1

Happy New Year!

And so begins Project 365. I have been very inspired by other bloggers' 365 projects. You can clearly see an improvement in their photographs over the course of the year. And that is my main aim, to improve my photography skills using my relatively new DSLR. It will also be great to capture 2011 in pictures.

2011 will be an interesting year for me with a lot of changes. Starting next week I will be working in a London hospital on placement as part of my degree to become a dietitian. That will last 3 months, after which I will finish off my research project, revise for my final exams in May and hopefully graduate in July. Then in August I will be moving out of my London house and moving back with my parents who live near the south coast. Come September, I am hoping to do a 2 week trip to the USA with a school friend and then on return, it will be time for job hunting in the REAL world!

So this year will be hard work but hopefully a LOT of fun too. It will be a real challenge to take a photo every day, especially when I am working at the hospital because the pictures will have to be taken in the evenings only. But it wouldn't be any fun if it wasn't a challenge would it?!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

I have been stuck inside for a few days with a cold so I had time to try out Scavenger Hunt Sunday this week. Since I've been ill, I havn't really been outside so a few of these are off the Christmas tree!

1. Winter

I took this during the week when walking past Somerset House. During winter there is a skating rink in the square and it is like the London equivalent of Rockefeller centre, it is THE place to skate over Christmas. My university campus is literally the building next door and this year King's College London also bought part of Somerset House.


2. Black and white with selective colouring

Minty playing with his brightly coloured ball. It used to squeak but he chewed a hole and pulled the squeak out so it had been sewn back up.


3. The wind

This was the only wind theme I could find indoors. A decoration of  a Scottish bag pipe player which I bought in Edinburgh one year. I guess these need a lot of wind to play!


4. Framed

Counting down, only 5 days to go now . . . 


5. Remember when . . .

I used to play the saxophone. From age 12 to 18 I played in the school jazz band and orchestra. I swore I would keep it up at university but alas it is currently in the attic. Maybe when I graduate this summer I will have the time to take it up again. I remember spotting this angel decoration not long after I had started playing.

Take a look at all the other hunts over at Ramblings and Photos.

The Paper Mama: 2010 Holiday Card Challenge

This picture was taken on my birthday last December, one week before Christmas. I was originally going to zoom in and snap the couple with the dog who you can see in the distance but realised the shadows of me and my dog were rather lovely!

I nearly didn't make it home for my birthday because there was a record amount of snow and the UK transport system grinds to a halt even with moderate amounts. My 1 1/4hr train journey from London took 3 hours. We had our first sprinkling of the year 2 days ago but a lot more is predicted this week. Bring it on!

My previous post has a few more "cards" that I made but didn't make the final cut!

Check out all the festive entries at The Paper Mama.

Decisions, decisions

Today I have been playing around editing photos for the Paper Mama 2010 Holiday Card Challenge. I have a few favourites which I thought I would post before I link up my chosen card.

This was so much fun! Next year I might actually get some photos printed as cards. For this year, I've already bought charity cards. Now I just have to choose my favourite . . .