Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Creative Meet-ups
A Sunday full of food brings a week of content
You may well have heard the phrase "a Sunday well spent brings a week of content" and that was very true yesterday. There is something really nice about eating and sharing good food on a Sunday. It gives you that warm feeling of friendship and just puts you in a better mood, well that's what I find anyway.
It always helps when you have been food shopping and have lots of yummy food in the fridge to choose from.
Yesterday was all about Avocado and Poached egg on toast for breakfast to start the day off right and then a big old Veggie roast dinner, as I had a friend coming over who is trying to keep off meat for a bit, so I thought for ease I would go meat free too. Got a few leftovers for my Monday lunch too, another bonus of cooking up a storm on a Sunday!
I always find I have more interest in cooking something different at the weekend as I have a bit more time I think. What's your favourite foods to make on a weekend?
H,xxx
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Hidden Treasure: Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium
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| Photo courtesy of www.ladydinahs.com |
So to start, I thought it would be good to use my Hidden Treasure feature as a way in which to spend some quality time with friends. One thing I love about Christmas time is spending time with friends who you don't see all the time and instead of buying each other presents, why not book a meal out, go out for the day or go for a few cocktails? You know, actually hanging out with each other and catching up properly rather than always on the phone or by email.
With that theme in mind, my hidden treasure is Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium in London. I have been waiting for this place to open for so long and now it's finally here, I just have to get on that waiting list to go as it is booked up way in advance, but I think worth the wait.
Lady Dinah's is a cafe with cats. They will sit on your lap, you can stroke them and generally just chill out in their space. It comes from a Japanese idea that stroking cats can be very therapeutic. They use rescue cats too and re-home them, so its also doing a good deed.
So, why not get some friends together, book a spot now and take yourself off for some hanging out with your mates time.
H
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Fifteen years of H and Sammy
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| Photo by Carly Wulry Photograms |
We have only been blogging buddies for two and a bit years, but H and I's friendship goes back alot further. Fifteen years this week to be exact.
On our first day at Reading College, September 1998 we happened to take seats next to each other and well that was it really. We thought it would be fun to take you through a little photographic tour of our history together, so here goes.
This photo must have been while we were at College, I am guessing a photobooth in Reading Town Centre. Everyone needs a photobooth shot though don't they?! circa 1999
Wow, just wow. This one was taken in Barcelona with our other friend Sam - I know too many Sam's right?! It was the year 2000, so please do let us off for our fashion/hair! It was Sammy's 18th birthday whilst we were away so we celebrated, Hard! Cola cube flavoured shots anyone?
We think this one was in RG1's nightclub in Reading 2001 one of many wobbly nights out, can't quite remember which one this was. My hair was blonder and H's was very much shorter.
This was while we were on holiday in Tenerife in 2001. H was just about to go to Uni and so it was a good time to have some quality friendship time before heading off. When we were there we decided for some reason to go on the bungee rocket - not the safest of rides I am sure - but left us with some memories on tape to laugh about even now.
This was taken just after New Year in 2004, a very wobbly night out at Chicago's in Maidenhead. I (Sammy was going through a divorce from my 1st husband at the time and these girls were such a huge support to me at this time. Couldn't have got through it with out them both.
This was at Sammy's Birthday in 2007 at the Ivory Lounge in Maidenhead. Drunken eyes here for sure!
CARWASH! Sammy's Hen party in London Summer 2008
Gotta have a selfie shot before there was a thing called a selfie. This was taken in a port in Menorca back in 2009 before we learnt about better camera angles! As much as we both love this photo it was one of many that both H and I sited as the motivation for our weight loss journey.
Sam, Sam and H reunited for H's 30th in 2010.
Glaming it up in Essex for our friends birthday, April 2011.
The Mad Hatter and the Cheshire cat at Verity's Mad hatter's Picnic in Windsor, August 2011
At our friend Sam's (see Barcelona/H's 30th photo) black and white themed 30th Birthday party, messing around in the photobooth, November 2011
Fashion designer Barbie and Vintage Barbie striking a pose at Kelly's Barbie party April 2012.
Last year we got our Gatsby on at our friend Verity's 30th Birthday party Summer 2012.
Our most recent blog photo shoot with the lovely Carly Wurly Photograms, Summer 2013. We had such a lovely day with lots of outfit changes, props oh and cake... Lots of cake! .
You may have noticed that there are lots more photos of us over the past few years, It has been so lovely that starting this blog has made us not only closer as friends but take more time to document our friendship.
We really hope you enjoyed that little look back at our friendship. It was so much fun going back through all of our albums and finding all of these, we had both forgotten a lot of these moments, it was so great to remember all the fun things we have been through together. Here's to many more years to come.
H and Sammy xxx
Link for the week: Friendship bracelets
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photo courtesy of http://www.ohsoprettythediaries.com
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This month is a pretty special time for Sammy and I as we have known each other for 15 years!
I know ... but more of that later in the week.
I saw this tutorial for friendship bracelets on one of the blogs we follow on Bloglovin 'Oh so Pretty' and so I thought it appropriate to share.
What I love about these bracelets is that you can use cord - so no allergic reactions to metal for me - and whatever beads you have laying around and so it's so simple to make. I also love the clasp that means you can easily do up/undo without having to have a clasp - which is always a bit difficult for me.
Friendship bracelets have been around so long and there are so many different types out there, but it's always nice to share the love with your friends by making them something so why not make one for their birthday or even have a think about Christmas presents - I know I just dropped the C word!
If you have a go, do let us know in the comments below. Or if you have a way you do your friendship bracelets, let us know that too, so we can have a go!
Share the love with your friends.
H
TV shows Loved and Lost
My name is Sammy and I am a TV addict!
There we go I have admitted it, I love TV, everything from QI to Geordie Shore, I have no shame, I will watch rubbish TV until the cows come home. I like great shows and rubbish shows alike, American and British shows, documentaries and reality TV, sitcoms and dramas, anything goes!
Usually Easter weekend for Steve and I means a two day TV show Marathon (we are currently re-watching Band of Brothers for the third time) This year however I am helping my Dad to do some refurbishments at our shop, so the marathon is on hold. To help fill the void, I thought I would share some of the American shows that I have loved and lost.
The first is probably on most peoples list as the show that defined a generation, and will live on in syndication for the rest of time as the epitome of American sitcom. FRIENDS.
Still my favourite show of all time, in so many ways. Each character is perfect in their own way, I could never choose which one is my favourite. Each episode is a gem to be treasured. I have been watching this show from its first airing in the UK almost 19 years ago. I was 13 and back then I don't think I even got all the jokes, but I knew that I was watching something special. It was a show that my generation identified with, we all wanted these six people to be our friends. We cut our hair like them, we wore what they wore, some of us even painted the walls of our flats purple (yes I did that) and 9 years ago we sat down and watched our six favourite friends get their happy ending, accompanied by millions of breaking hearts and more than a few tears as we all knew that nothing else would ever take its place in our lives. Every time I watch an episode to this day I still laugh out loud, I know what's coming and I have seen each one a thousand times, but it still makes me giggle like no other show has ever done.
Chuck has a super sweet place in my heart, possibly because I have a little ( read huge) crush on Zachary Levi, but mostly I think because it's a show my Hubby and I watch together. We found it late on, Season 3 was already under-way when Steve downloaded it on to our apple TV and we spent a whole week watching them in marathon mode (one after another, after another) into the early hours of the morning. Another group cast that just played off each other so well, the main cast were of course brilliant, but for me it was the staff of the Buy More that often stole the show. The romance between Chuck and Sarah that you always hoped would work out; Captain Awesome; the constant references to all things Star Wars, it was a Geek fest and we loved it!
Dawson's Creek is another show from my youth that I will probably end up forcing my kids to watch, this show helped me to figure out what growing up was all about. Yes they were all drama queens and used a vocabulary well out of reach of teenagers, but who cares, it was a lovely example of cheesy teen angst at its best. I have all six seasons on my apple TV and still watch it to this day. There is an episode playing on my TV as I type.
If Dawson's Creek taught me how to be a teenager, Sex and the City taught me how to be a grown-up! From those first cringe worthy episodes where Carrie used to talk to the camera (remember that) to that final strut away from camera up a New York city street it was a joy to watch. Luckily we were also treated to two films, and a soon to air in the UK prequel of sorts, meaning we can carry on our enjoyment of this show. But nothing will ever replace the 30 minute episodes with S.J.P. and crew that let us enjoy fashion, dating, and friendship like no other show possibly could.
Only one season of My So Called Life was ever made, it didn't matter, that was all it took for this show to make an impact. In just 19 episodes it tackled Homosexuality, abuse and unrequited love like no show had before it. It was the epitome of 90's grunge as far as the wardrobes were concerned, with a sound track to match. If you watched this show when you were a teen however the only thing you will remember is Jordan Catalano! You couldn't help but fall, just as Angela did, for the bad boy with a heart played by Jared Leto, the now front man of rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. A young Claire Danes and Jared Leto were the stand out players in this motley crew of a cast, not surprising that they have both gone onto big careers.
My love of J.J Abrams started here (I literally can't wait to see the new Star Trek Movie) I know some of you will have hated or just simply not 'got' this show, but I cant help it, I LOVED IT! fascinating to the point that I was reading the forums to figure out bits I had misunderstood. In the same way I love the film Inception, I loved Lost before it. The weirdness, the plot twists, the totally frustrating cliffhangers, all of it. I will give it to you that the ending sucked, but it will never take away from that opening scene of seeing Dr Jack waking up on an island to find the wreckage of flight 815 strewn across that beach.
I have lots of favourites and these are just a few of the ones that I miss the most I suppose, the ones that have a special place in my personal TV history book.
Do you agree, do you miss these shows, what are your favourites, what did you love about them?
One day I will find a way to talk about my favourite TV show, that for now is still on air Supernatural... one day.
Sammy xxx
all Images from IMDB.com, the greatest website on earth!
Love it: Valentines
Firstly, Happy Valentine's Day! Who will be getting all lovely today then for Valentine's Day? Is it a flowers and hearts kind of day or more about doing something really extraordinary for each other?
We thought it might be nice to have a little moment and hear two sides of the romantic coin - although it turns out they might be quite similar after all!
H...
I am currently single but no, that does not mean that I hate Valentine's Day, it just doesn't have much of a feature in my life. I don't buy or get anything on the day and it really just passes by without much thought. Of course apart from the fact that every shop I go into, I am reminded that it is near! It really doesn't help that my brother's birthday is close to the day either, as there is nothing more creepy than trying to find a card and present for your brother amid all the romantic stuff!
It's not a bitter thing, it's just the same as any other day for me. My friends usually get a text though, but I don't go out and have a Valentines hate night, or cry into a tub of ice-cream, cos you know what it really isn't that bad! Some single people might hate Valentines and feel sad about what they haven't got, but you know what, I have alot, I have my friends and family, my health, a job I love and to top it all I get to not feel bad about working all night on Valentines - yes really it will be that dull!
So all in all, I have always been a bit indifferent to Valentine's day with the feeling of forced romance and the over-the-top nature of it all and that's just not my view.
I was reading an article this week in Company magazine about a woman who feels that romance has been commercialised and not actually romantic anymore and she is in a relationship, so those kind of comments aren't just for the single! In fact my favourite bit is:
'Candles, roses, chocolates, petals; these things are nice. We all like a petal. But - romantico? Christ. Who invented this abysmal, predictable , sappy idea of romance? And how did we become the morons who buy into it?' Author: Afsaneh Knight.
Sammy was saying yesterday that being in a restaurant with lots of other couples fills her full of dread and I can totally relate to that. I cannot imagine wanting to spend my evening with all the other couples, surely something a little closer to home would be nicer, a real bit of being in each others company. Perhaps then Valentine's is for early stage couples as it could be that its the catalyst for those couples to show their true feelings for each other. Perhaps when you get to the later stages of a relationship, it should be more about doing those romantic things all the time, not just on the one day a year when everyone else tells you to be romantic?
Sammy...
So I am the Married one, so I should be counting down the days until Valentines... right? wrong. H is right, as I said yesterday, for me the thought of sitting in a restaurant with lots of other couples is the furthest thing from romantic. Shouldn't St Valentine's day be about sharing your love for others, not about how much money you can spend on romance?
I am not good at remembering anniversaries, it wasn't an accident that when I choose the date for our wedding I made it the same date {two years after} we got engaged, exactly three years to the day that we met, so that I wouldn't have to remember three different anniversaries! I am also lucky that Steve and I share the same birthday, one less date to forget. He always jokes that I said to him one year as he handed me my Valentines card, and I stood there empty handed, 'But why do you need a card to tell you... I love you this much everyday' {sorry for that vomit inducing story... I have a point} It is great to have a day set aside to celebrate 'love' in all its forms, but I agree with Afsaneh's quote above money spent does not not equate to LOVE given... or received.
My Steve always goes to a lot of effort to find me a card {note I say effort, not expense} and I always try and make him a card, and special Valentines dinner at home {shepherds pie with heart shaped mash potato topping} this years with the addition of the tray of goodies that you saw yesterday. I often share a Valentines text with my friends and family. I am not a hater of romance, or Valentines day, but it doesn't have to be a competition on who gets the most gifts or biggest bunch of flowers.
I am a big believer in giving your Love in time spent with your loved one, on the phone or Skype if your not together, tell them how much you love them, more importantly, tell them why you love them. It means so much more to hear it than to read it in a generic card. If you don't have a partner, phone a friend you haven't spoken to for a while, or a family member who lives far away. Valentines day is about Love. Share it around <3
Happy Valentines Day all!
H & Sammy
Live it: Ch-ch-changes
This time last year was so different! I was living in London as I had done for the past 4 years and having given up my 'it's just not me' job the previous October I was temping and doing workshops to get myself back to being creative and to my dream job!
Then BANG in July I got that job! It's been a long time coming, but it meant however that I had to leave London, which I was not quite ready to leave. But the fact that I got a job as a Learning Officer in a Museum which means I get to do arts & crafts on a daily basis is well worth missing some of the perks that London gave me. I still get to see my friends in London as I am only half an hour away in leafy Surrey and now I am actually closer to my family and other friends outside of London, so its not all bad.
I get to teach children how to do arts & crafts and make History and Art a little more interesting. I get to think up activities to do with school visits and groups alongside learning new skills along the way. I work with people who might not think that the museum is a place for them at the start and then they end up with an exhibition on display.
The local area is still taking a bit of getting used to, there are no late night museum trips or huge choices in restaurants and markets, but I do have a park behind my house which doesn't have a roundabout around it (I used to live in Shepherds Bush) and there is a fabric shop and Pret for all my other enjoyment needs! Let's face it if I am not creating, I am eating!
I have sorted myself out a workspace in my rented houseshare and so it's not ideal but small and perfectly formed! I just have to be a little careful of the projects I choose and keep my hoarding nature in check so that I don't take over!
It's always amazing what difference a year makes, I can't even remember what I did last New Year's and so it just goes to show how many other memories I have made even with a change of pace along the way. Like the time I dressed as an owl for my friends birthday; the time I became a Barbie; the time it was so sunny in April that we spent our lunchtimes by the canal; the day my niece was born; the time me, Sammy, Anna and Carly made a vintage event; making lots of children happy with workshops; and of course hanging out with all my wonderful friends throughout the year, what better way to spend a year!
Live it
H
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