Things that make you go Oooooo (April 2011)

by Katie Sokoler

I so excited I can hardly contain myself in just a week I'll be off to sunny California on my second volunteer venture to work with those adorable primates the gibbons, I can't believe just how quickly the time seems to go! The days are getting brighter and spring is on its way and when I return to the U.K. it'll nearly be summer my favourite time of year, so if you're feeling down here's a few things to pick you up.

♥ D.I.Y Flowerband - Everyone needs to make one of these as it's the perfect cute accessory for spring 

♥ Funny Advertisements

♥ Don't Follow Your Passion - Now hold on this isn't a downer article, it's very interesting and speaks a lot of truths as sometimes our passions and dreams don't translate well into reality.

By Patricia Dries

♥ When My Kids Unplugged - It's interesting to see how our relationships change with people when the internet is removed, sometimes we become too dependent on it so it's nice to take a break and smell the roses every so often.

♥ 5 Things You Can Learn From Looking at Your Own Hands

♥ Carrie's Messy Beehive Tutorial - Carrie totally rocks that beehive and teaches us how to do it to and it's the perfect look for the coming warmer months!

by Pearled

♥ How To Self-Promote Without Being A Jerk - I'm sure this is a dilemma we've all gone through so here's some tips on how to promote without feeling or being obnoxious.

♥ Why 3D doesn't work and never will. Case closed!

♥ The Sorrows and Joys of Being a Misfit - A very interesting read with lots of interesting discussion in the comments.

by Yvone Shee

♥ Super Solveig - Can you believe this girl became a graffiti artist at 8? Blows my mind that someone so young can have such amazing talent check out her gallery you're sure to be impressed

♥ Meditation 'Changes Brain Structure' In 8 Weeks

♥ No Pants 2011 - I pretty much live in skirts and dresses so I'm loving this challenge of not wearing trousers for the whole of 2011, when I think about it (not counting leggings) I don't think I've worn trousers for  2 years now!

by Jordan Tiberio

♥ The Do's and Don'ts of Blogging - I've recently become a fan of this blog, this girl is wonderful you should all check her out and these tips for bloggers are very true and very helpful for those of us starting out into the blog world.

♥ A Series of Unfortunate Events

♥ Mice Trained fo Airport Security - how awesome is this? have to say I would prefer being checked over by a cute little mouse as opposed to an angry security man!

by Alix

♥ Mystery Cat takes Regular Bus To the Shops - How sweet is this? And it totally reminds me of Muta catching the train in Whisper of the Heart.

♥ DIY Miu Miu Style Cat Collar

♥ Raw Recipes - Zoetia Ebb shares some of her simple raw recipes which yes I have tried out and yes are super delicious, go try them out now!

by ♫Muxu

♥ The Trouble with Bright Girls - This is such an interesting read and it made me think back on my childhood and how school affected me in the workplace and I must admit quite a bit rings true.

♥ Daphne Guinness is Afraid of Beige

♥ Mission: Impossible - Hilarious and I can totally relate public toilets are the worst!

Television is a drug. from Beth Fulton on Vimeo.

Love & Sparkly Hugs

Cate

xoxo

Banana & Honey Cupcakes

Bananas and honey are one of the nicest food combinations put that in a cupcake and you've got a little taste of heaven. This is just a simple and quick cupcake recipe which is my last minute go to recipe if I have guests round and they want something sweet to go with their tea.

• 4 mashed bananas
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey*
• 4 tbsp. melted margarine*
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 3/4 cup sunflower seeds*

* If you want to make this recipe vegan make sure the margarine is 100% dairy-free or use oil instead and substitute the honey for maple syrup, you can also use walnuts, pecans etc. if you don't have sunflower seeds.

♥ Preheat the oven to 175°c and line a cupcake pan with 12 cases.

♥ Combine the bananas, sugar, honey and margarine in a bowl till thoroughly mixed.

♥ Slowly add the flour and mix well then fold in the sunflower seeds.

♥ Spoon the batter into the baking cases and bake for 20 - 25 minutes

♥ Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

♥ Serve and enjoy!

Eat & Stay Healthy

Cate

xoxo

I, Myself, Am Strange and Unusual

Got myself a new hat today, do you like it?

Love & Stripey Hugs

Cate

xoxo

The Weekly Roundup #15

Reflections by moi

 Made a new blog layout, do you like it? ♥ Ate strawberry jelly and custard and reminisced about my childhood ♥ Watched Monsters ♥ Went on a fun shopping trip to Cheshire Oaks ♥ Ate some delicious French food at Café Rouge ♥ Drank champagne and ate chocolates while browsing L'occitane, which is the best way to shop no? ♥ Read The Informers ♥ Learnt how to do a fishtail braid ♥ Painted my nails cracked lavender ♥ Baked cupcakes ♥ Failed to find a Songkran party after an hour attempting to find the venue ♥ Smelled like strawberry milkshake  ♥ Watched Modern Family

Love & Sparkly Hugs

Cate

xoxo

Inspirational Quotes #13

Oh, never mind the fashion. When one has a style of one's own, it is always twenty times better. - Margaret Oilphant

Nice Things I've Acquired Lately

by Richmondsquarephotos

Today was going to be one of those rare days where I grab my camera and tripod and get some outfit pictures however our nice run of sunny weather seems to have run out as it's pouring with rain outside so instead I'm going to share with you a few of my recent purchases.

I've recently found a taste for vegan chocolate (aside from the kinder egg which is for my inner child) and have been raiding my local health food shop for these delicious treats. 9 Bar are currently my fave they make the perfect healthy snack and are full of all the good stuff and the Nakd bars are for my raw days when I have the urge for something sweet, healthy snacks all the way!

One of the sure fire ways to make you feel gorgeous again is go underwear shopping so I decided to raid the ASOS sale section to find myself some new sexy undies, I immediately fell in love with the silky monotone set and the blue sequin set and I'm happy to say they're just as gorgeous and sexy in real life as they are online, so much so I'm tempted to do a Madonna and wear my underwear as my outerwear!

Whilst I was raiding the health food shop for delicious bars I noticed that they stocked some of my fave Burt's Bees products, that Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream is THE best I've been using it for years and their lip balm is just a awesome to as I suffer from very dry lips, I also picked up some dry shampoo for my upcoming travels just in case I feel the need to freshen my hair on the go.

Monotone vest tops which were only £1.99 from New Look a must have for every wardrobe as they're perfect for layering or wearing on their own. I wanted to stock up on these with summer on its way as I've got lots of activities planned which may or may not involve me getting dirty and these are perfect for the task, they're also great for D.I.Y jobs to so I might go back and grab a few more so I can get creative and throw fabric paint all over them.

I have a little addiction to All Saints and the Zora dress is my 3rd purchase from them since January, but they do make the most beautiful clothes which are so flattering on and as they were offering 25% off it was hard to resist! I picked up the black maxi dress at New Look and surprisingly it wasn't too long on me so my short ass had to have it, I love this dress even though I apparently look like Morticia Addams in it but I take that as a compliment as Mrs Addams is a hottie!

Yet another pair of tights because I can't resist new designs and I have an addiction but I do wear them daily so it's a justified addiction, I don't actually wear socks that often as I live in tights but since I've taken up cycling and jogging again I need me some new socks so I stuck to what I know and bought 5 black pairs so I didn't have to worry about matching pairs and the washing machine consuming them.

So those are my recent purchases, have you guys bought anything nice recently?

Love & Sparkly Hugs

Cate

xoxo

The Weekly Roundup #14

♥ Bought some sexy gorgeous new underwear ♥ Recieved a large package from All Saints ♥ Watched District 9 & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ♥ Got back into a healthy routine after a couple weeks of laziness indulgence ♥ Tested out new scarf designs for my Etsy Shop ♥ Watched The Kennedys ♥ Fed some large pigeons a bowl of cornflakes ♥ Watched Donnie Darko again! ♥ Read Exquisite Corpse ♥ Ate ice cream and enjoyed the sunshine

Love & Sparkly Hugs

Cate

xoxo

D.I.Y. Pom Pom Necklace

I've been wondering for a while what to do with those leftover bits of wool I had and then I remembered how I had seen some cute pom pom accessories making their appearance in the fashion world. After a quick search around the internet and a mass of inspiration I decided I just had to make my own pom pom necklace.

 You will need:

Yarn

Scissors

Needle

Necklace chain/cord

First of all you're going to need to make some pom poms and there are two easy ways to do that, one of the ways you can make pom poms is to cut a circle of cardboard the size you want your pom pom, cutting a hole in the middle and threading your yarn through.

You can also make pom poms by wrapping yarn around your fingers, carefully taking it off, tying it in the middle (make sure it's tight!) and trimming the edges.

I personally prefer the cardboard method, although it takes longer it's much more accurate and gives you a much neater, rounder pom pom but of course you guys can choose whatever method is better for you. Violet Le Beaux also wrote a tutorial on how to make heart shaped pom poms if you're feeling adventurous.

Now you have your pom poms made you want to arrange them into the design you would like for your necklace, you can use as little or as many as you want as big or as small as you want.

Although I made quite a few pom poms I've decided only to use three small ones for my necklace and to keep them in place I've sewn them together into the design I want. A little tip when you're tying your pom pom up is to leave enough yarn so you can use it to sew your pom poms together as it gives you a much stronger bond than just using a separate piece of yarn to sew them together.

The final step to making your necklace is an easy one, just get a necklace cord or chain you want to use find the center of your pom pom and carefully thread it through so as not to mis-shape or pull the yarn out but if your pom poms do get misshapen just roll them in your hands to fluff them up and trim off the excess yarn if you need to.

This is a great way to use up any excess yarn which you would have otherwise thrown out and it's so simple and easy to do, you can go completely wild with the colours, add more or less pom poms or make them different sizes the possibilities are endless and there's so many different ways you can wear it you can sew them onto a headband or even make them into a belt.

Let me know how you get on!

Love & Pom Poms

Cate
xoxo

The Weekly Roundup #13

♥ Was amused by Friday Night Dinner ♥ Made a yummy sausage & pear casserole ♥ Watched THX 1138 and The Prestige ♥ Gave my nails a Harley Quinn makeover ♥ Got some inspiration ♥ Received something awesome in the mail ♥ Packed some more ♥ Watched The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus & The Virgin Suicides ♥ Curled my hair ♥ Bumped into an old high school teacher ♥ Tried out some new clay techniques and stayed up till 3am crafting! ♥ Made "geeky"summer plans with my dad ♥ Baked a rubarb & pear crumble for mother's day

Love & Sparkly Hugs

Cate

xoxo