happy new year!

Ok, i really want 2010 to be a year where i truly blog regularly and keep track of what is going on. therefore, i want to share the following, on what will become "quote friday" days:

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. ~Oprah Winfrey

Well, she's probably right, nobody can argue with the great Oprah, huh.

I have a bunch of resolutions, but I want to see if they pan out at all, before I share them! One did include eat healthier, but I've eaten half a box of After Eights this afternoon, so that one might have to start properly when I go back to the UK...

sunday traditions

...with a twist.

• the gym
• sunday dinner
• come dine with me
• snuggling on the sofa
• watching x factor choices
• writing lists for blogtoberfest
• dying my hair (dark nutty brown)
• writing the above in an aligned pattern
• making packed lunch for "school" tomorrow

sundays make me happy :)

blowin' on through

today has been so incredibly blustery here in north east england, that all i really feel like doing today is snuggling up in bed.

with these beauts.

handmade socks, care of my mama :)

seasons changing

a confession... growing up, i was not a fan of autumn. to me, it was just full of negative stuff - going back to school, the cold, wind and rain setting in and constant grey days.

now, i dont know if this is because i dont go to school anymore, or if the weather has changed a lot, or if i'm just plain old happy these days, but i love autumn nowadays.

the crunchy leaves, the sharper air, the fact that when i peek outside, it still looks summery. lovely stuff.

i love autumnal fashion now too, warm cosy jumpers, snuggly tights and comfortable and familiar cardigans that my mama made years ago and havent aged a bit.

blogtoberfest!

as a late decision, i've decided to partake in blogtoberfest - i'm a bit nervous that i might be boring/forget to write something/scare people, but i'll never know until i try.

anyway, on a brighter note, i've been a student again for 2 weeks now, and its the best decision i've ever made for myself ever ever ever. i love it so far, i'm so excited to do the work, i'd do it 24/7 if i could! theres so much i have to learn, and a lot of my coursemates are more advanced, but it just makes me more eager to work harder.

i've made a few cool images with the design software already, will showcase it over the next... well, 2 years - thats how long the course is!

coffee convert

i have a confession to make - i'm 24 and i have never managed to drink more than a droplet of coffee. the smell i've grown to love, as i've gotten older, but the taste... ack, i've never been able to cope with that first taste of every mouthful of coffee. my tastebuds just wont cooperate.

i hate coffee, i really do.

except, i recently started looking for a part time job, and was told me employees of starbucks (one of the places i buy my hot chocolates!) to apply there - "you dont have to like coffee to work here, i didnt when i started!". so i applied, had an interview, and was told flat out that i'd have to drink coffee 3 or 4 times a day, as well as drinking a bag of coffee a week at home. err...??

suffice to say, they never called me back and i'm not an employee of starbucks.

this has, however, made me determined to like coffee. it started out by trying various coffee blended drinks from the local coffee bar, coolaboola. they're an independent, award winning coffee company based in newcastle, with 2 very popular bars at metro stations in town.

my usual drink of choice is skimmed (not skinny, i don't like that term!!) hot chocolate with a shot of caramel, size dependant on how much money i have.

so, inspired by seamus at coolaboola, i had a mocha (coffee and chocolate) with a short of caramel. i was openly quite worried that i'd hate it, and offend him, but to my surprise, it worked! it worked well! i loved it - the initial taste was of the caramel and chocolate, and then the lingering after taste was the heavy coffee taste.

this - this i could get used to. the sweet first flavour is perfect (for me, a sweet tooth!) and the coffee after taste lasts for ages, allowing me to get used to the flavour. perfect.

so my coffee journey - it started a few weeks ago, and every week i try more.

my favourites are:

• coolaboola mocha with a shot (ok, ok, a few shots) of caramel




• starbucks iced caramel macchiato (now, this was nice at first, but i didnt realise how strong the coffee on top would be, and left too much top-heavy coffee, so had to chuck a third of it away...) - see right
  

• starbucks white chocolate mocha - apparently one of the most popular starbucks drinks?? i'd never heard of it before...
  

• and whilst i like to keep an open mind, i'm planning my next drink - hopefully will be a coolaboola coolaccino - a mocha with a shot of irish cream syrup, topped with cream and chocolate buttons. heartattack-accino! love it.

i had a coffee machine once... but wasted on me really, got rid of quite quickly. but i might just continue my learning and continue drinking flavoured coffees... expensive habit, but it wont kill me as quickly as smoking.

i'm a filofax girl

i remember as a little girl, receiving a smart, black leather diary as a gift - the kind where you could buy refills and keep it for years and years. sadly - i didnt. to be honest, i dont know what happened to it, i may still have it. i really loved it, but being about 6 i had nothing of importance to note down really.


however, now that i'm edging closer to being a grown-up (i'm 24 now!) and i'm going to be a student again, i thought maybe i ought to get organised.


so - i bought myself a filofax. i didnt get a fancy black leather one, because well a student budget doesnt really allow for that.

instead i bought this beaut - she's bright aqua and pink, silicone so is extra durable, the big band over the top means she is snug as a bug in a rug, and i love her. it was love at first site. plus, inside my cavernous bag (bottomless pit!) my filofax will glow (maybe not literally...) she's lovely, isn't she :)