So, as you may know, if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, I have two little cats.  Two very adorable cats I might add and I love them very much.  For the purpose of this blog however I would like to tell you just a teeny bit about my little black cat. 

'He', is obviously a little boy cat and is his name is Otter.  The reason he is called Otter is because every time I went to go and see the litter when I was chossing my kitten, 'he' was on his back with his paws on his tummy, just like a little baby otter, and thus he became 'Otter'. 

He honestly defies all that is natural in the feline kind, as his true love in life and the thing that makes his little heart skip a beat is the sound of running water, as this can only mean that he will be able to play in a body of water of some kind should he find the source.

Now I've had cats my whole life and they have all, as is typical of cats, liked running water, as does Otter.  The difference is, is that Otter will get into a full bath of water and stand or indeed wade through the water.  He also, every day without fail, begs (via pawing at the bathroom door and whining), 'ask' to go into the bathroom, where he will run as fast as his little legs will carry him and fling himself into the bath tub and stand and stare at the tap.......until I turn it on of course!  This was much to the amusement of a plumber who came to look at my shower the other day.  I'm currently making lots of changes to my house and a new shower is high on the list of priorities.  Otter of course begged for the tap to be turned on while the plumber was looking at the shower.  He was in stitches over Otter and took a photograph of him to show other people$£"!"£??(*&*^!

I have never in all my years of having cats known a cat like him.  He will choose water or the lure of a nice bag or box to hide in, over food of any kind???? When I went to see the litter, I chose little Flossy (his sister) straight away.  It was only when I decided after the first night of having Flossy, that I decided that didn't want her on her own, so I went back for Otter.  No-one wanted him and he was the only one left in the litter : ( It was the best decision I could ever have made.  I really couldn't imagine my life or my home without him in it.  He honestly makes me laugh every day...he also is the most loveable little boy and loves nothing more than snuggling up to you for a cuddle.  

More about my house and my painting disaster later in the week....

Till then

xx

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It’s one of my all-time favourite shops, both on-line but most of all the ‘real deal’ store in Corbridge, in Northumberland, which I’ve had the pleasure of visiting a couple of times now.  I can’t choose one thing that I love about the store which would give you the most accurate portrayal of what I’m talking about, but I can tell you that I always feel incredibly excited about visiting.  It’s like a whole day out for me.

The day starts with the drive there, which is definitely a ‘scenic’ drive.  The countryside is beautiful though and only made even better when you know you have a fab stop awaiting you at the end.  The shop is hidden away, quite bizarrely, behind a modern looking petrol station.  Really, blink and you’ll miss it!  The first time I went, I was sure I had gone to the wrong place.

The inside of the shop feels a little bit like an Aladdin’s cave, in that it seems to piled high with stuff.  Stuff that, at first glance, seems thrown together randomly which gives you the sense that you are about to find a bargain, which always find really exciting.  It’s very like when you enter a junk shop or flea market and you know there might be treasures hidden amongst the muck.  On closer inspection however it’s the complete opposite, where everything has a place, purpose and so much of what is sold seems like a work of art, even if it is covered in its original rust-jacket!

Anyway, the shop is stacked with notebooks (another fetish of mine), ribbons, glassware, creams, potions, stuff for the garden, kitchen and great little knick-knacks and gift items.  It’s one of those shops where you are probably best to not go in with an idea of what you want, but you know for sure that you WILL buy something and that thing you buy you WILL love, and you will eventually wonder how you ever did without it!

It’s a little out the way, but the drive is well worth it and there are few great tea-rooms and pubs in the village for sustenance before you have to hit the road again.

Well worth the visit.  Do try and make it along of you are ever in the area, or like me, en-route up north to Edinburgh.  If that’s too long to wait, try the on-line shop at http://www.re-foundobjects.com/

Enjoy!

xx

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....after I'd painted the walls of my hallway.

I went out first thing that same morning and picked up some bits from my local flea market.  I really can't resist when I'm there and more often than not get completely sucked into buying pieces that I think I can turn into something nice for my home.  On Saturday, as well as five bunches of flowers, hence the carnage in my kitchen seen here, I picked up a little wooden shelf unit, for the bargain price of £2!

It was a lovely solid piece, I could see easily that with a lick of paint it would fit perfecty into my new studio.  So, thats exactly what I did.  I grabbed my bargain while could and when all the painting of walls was done I covered this wee piece (along with a couple of older pieces that needed some attention) with some Annie Sloan chalk paint I had left over(see www.anniesloan.co.uk) . 

(http://www.anniesloan.com/).

I'll be showing you more of the finished products in my studio in the coming weeks.  I've another painting frenzy planned for this weekend...while I am on a roll! 

Till tomorrow,

xx

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What did you do this bank holiday weekend?  I painted…lots!

 As you know, I’m slowly making my way through my new house doing as much as I can to get it looking like I want it to.  I decided that this weekend was the weekend to tackle the hallway, all the way up to the top of the house!  I got a little help which was fab…thank you Claire! 

I started off by going to B&Q and taking advantage of their offer on all decorating products and picked up 3 tins of Farrow & Ball, Great White.  Farrow & Ball paints are really lovely to use, as they apply really easily and you get excellent coverage from the tin.  I also ordered a tin of their paint in Down Pipe which I’m going to be using in the living room.  I’m super excited about using down pipe as it’s a really strong colour, one which I’ve not used before so do watch this space where I’ll be posting about that, hopefully before summer kicks in.

When the paint had dried I frantically applied a wall sticker in the hall way.  I ordered the sticker a couple of months ago and was desperate to get it up to see what it looked like.  What do you think?  I really like it, though it was quite finicky to get on.  Tips are to hold the sheet, not have it lying flat, and pull each sticker off from the largest edges, working your way towards the thinnest part of the sticker.

Anyway, the bug didn’t stop there.  I then picked up my brushes again on the Monday to transform a couple of bits of furniture, but more about that tomorrow.  In the meantime I hope you had a lovely Bank Holiday weekend.  What did you get up to?  Was it productive?  Or did you do what my kittens did and catch up on sleep?  Honestly, it’s a cat’s life!

Serena

xx

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Here I am!

Hello again.  I’m back in the land of blogging and raring to go.  An awful lot has happened since I last wrote, which has something to do with why I have been ‘off the scene’.  Let me tell you a little bit about what I’ve been up to.

First things first, I bought a house!  A super-cute little house that makes me smile every time I think about it.  I didn’t even know a house could do that, did you?  Anyway it does make me smile and it did from when I first went to view it.  To be honest I wasn’t seriously looking for a house at the time.  By that I mean I am always looking at houses, it’s kind of in my blood as my dad has been in property development since I was little.  I just mean that I wasn’t convinced I was in the right position to actually buy one of my own again and live in Nottingham (I’m still hankering after my country pile). 

I’ve a little work to do around the place, but nothing drastic.  It’s all just the pretty bits which are the best bits.  I’ve already painted a few rooms, and the front door which was a dark green before, and I’ll be showing you all the other things I've done over the next while.  Next I'm going to be tackling the hall and bedroom I think, so expect some upcoming blogs in which I’ll be showing you what I’m up to. 

xx

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Anyway, I'd hoped to tell you all about my lovely holiday to Cornwall, but I think that telling you about my kittens is much more apt at this moment, given how bogged down things have been these last few weeks. 

You see, when you are really stressed, animals have a wonderful way of making you laugh and showing you that life should be enjoyed.  Tonight as I was sorting through a pile of paperwork and generally chasing my tail before it all starts again tomorrow, Flossy & Otter were doing this...

Chill out they said...relax they said..come sit a while and snuggle they said..life is too short to stress out, just come and lie on the sofa and stretch like you have never stretched before and life will be good!

Well, I intend to do that for the rest of the evening while working on not feeling guilty (something I'm not very good at).  In the meantime, I hope this finds you all well.  I'll be back with more bits really soon...just as soon as I've learnt to relax little my little Floss & Otts...

Big hugs to you all and don't forget to take time to relax!

Serena

x

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So, I’ve loved Agatha Christie since I was a little girl.  I love reading her books even more now for the comfort they bring as I know some of the stories so well.  Like a lot of great writers she was a troubled soul, and as a result she had an interesting life.  Every year in Torquay, in her home town and around the time of her birthday, a festival is put on in her honour.  It’s an opportunity for people who loved her work to get together and well, be a bit sad really.  So, that’s exactly where I went with my friend Jenny!!  The festival started on a Sunday and ran for a week and Jenny and I managed to get down for 3 fantastic fun filled days.....a non-stop itinerary of events that I'd pre-booked for us to enjoy.

We stayed a cute, very quaint little b&b called The Lawnswood Guest house which was right in the middle or Torquay.  Highly reccomended, great value for money and the biggest breakfasts you have ever tried to consume (http://lawnswoodguesthousetorquay.co.uk/).

After the long drive down (we talked non-stop for 5 hours!) we arrived at the b&b and immediately had to don our gear, 40s flavour of course, for our first outing, a tea-dance to be held at The Oldway Mansion, apparently the place where Agatha and Archie Christie danced on many occasion.  The mansion itself was amazing having been built in 1873 for the singer family, as in the sewing machines!  I love my sewing machine, though unfortunately it’s not a Singer….I’ve always wanted one though and have coveted my grans for years.  Anyway, here are few shots from the house… 

It was a great afternoon and we met some lovely people.  We didn’t dance though.  People were, ummm, very good.  There were certainly no amateurs to speak of so Jenny and I quietly sat and drank our tea and chatted as usual.

We had a relaxing evening and great meal in Torquay followed by a great nights sleep, all ready for our adventure the next day which included a boat trip to Greenway, Agatha’s holiday home....

It was a beautiful sunny day and the boat trip out past Torbay, into Dartmouth and then down the River Dart, was just glorious.  It was also the most beautiful house, and I think we both fell in love with it.  Though Agatha didn’t do any real writing there as such, she did read and go over her works here.  Having read quite a bit about her life too, it is mentioned again and again as being her favourite house, which makes it even more special really.  A real privilege to be able to go inside the house and walk around the grounds.  Day dreams about winning the lottery followed as we sat and had our lunch in the cafe...we both bought a ticket together the next day…oh to live in a house like this…one day!

When we finally got back to the b&b we had less than a hour to get ready for our Murder Mystery Dinner.  No Agatha Christie Festival would be complete without one….

The dinner was fun and again we met some lovely people.  We, of course, guessed the murder correctly (2 Forensic minds..Jenny is a Forensic Psychologist) were bound to get it right of courseJ 

So, that was our trip...just brill.  The next day, after another HUGE fry-up, we started on our journey to Padstow in Devon for the second part of our trip and to meet up with more friends....more about that next time.

Until then,

Hugs to you!

Serena

x

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With barely a few hours to sleep, I went to bed at about 2am after a cup of tea with my mum and a debrief about the night, we were up again to get ready for the next bit…the white wedding. 

I started the day by, again having a cup of tea with my mum and discussing the day ahead.  I then did my mum’s hair, not a hairdresser by any stretch, but I was quite pleased with the end result seen here…

My ‘girls’ were soon to follow.  Now if you don’t know about my girls then let me tell you a bit about them…’My’ girls are my nieces.  Their names are Jasmine who is 7, and Aaliyah who we call LiLi who is 5, and they are my darlings!  I love them.  I don’t have any children of my own, yet, so all of my maternal affection goes on these two little beauties (well them and quite sadly my kittens).   Anyway, they were flower girls for the day, they came to my parents’ house first in their pyjamas, as my other brother (who was Best Man), wanted to get ready there.  Here they are in their pj’s anyway…cute.

After a quick shower I did my own hair and make-up all in about 20 minutes!  As I was going to be a bridesmaid, Lisa had told me the night before how she wanted our hair to be.  Based on her quick explanation I had a bash, fully expecting to be told it was wrong when I got to the hotel room, but apparently it was fine so I was good to go. Inbetween I made my way to my brother’s house to get some shots of him with his mates, all being helped along with a bit of Dutch courage. ..

The day was beautiful.  Hot, sunny and the grounds were really spectacular.  Here are a few shots that sum up the day…

All in all a lovely day and so great to be a part of it.....

We all wish RD and Lisa every happiness together.  Much love to you both.

Tomorrow I'll be telling you all about my holiday and how I'm dealing with being back at work...aaaaghhh!

Til then

xx

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Celebrations all done!  I am currently still recovering from the most hectic few weeks I’ve had in a long time.  My brother, RD, got married on Friday in a lovely ceremony in Dunchurch just outside of Rugby in the Midlands.  With all the rain that we have had lately, we were super lucky to get a great day of sunshine, I actually heard people say that they were too hot!

The festivities started on the Thursday night with the party that I’d organised, on behalf of my Dad, for 250 people.  Thankfully all the people that were supposed to turn up to do ‘things’, did.  The caterers were brilliant, so thank you Friends Corner in Coventry and the DJ and drummers were fantastic, so  thank you to 2L and Dhol Division.  Everyone was so professional, on time, prepared and all smiling J  Will try and add some footage in the coming weeks of the drumming which was just fabulous…

You can see here a wee shot I took from the stage...

 My brother and his new wife Lisa are sat at the front, backs towards the camera.  As my father is from Pakistan the festivities on this day were to celebrate their marriage in true Asian style.  This means colour, dancing, good food, drumming and general merriment, and all without alcohol!  What was really lovely was how many of my mum’s family and also Lisa’s, who are predominantly Irish on both sides (yes, my family is the real East is East Family), commented on what a fantastic time they had, ‘Ooooo, so different from a ‘white’ wedding’ they all said J

Anyway, it was a really great night with so few bums on seats as everyone is encouraged to get up and dance, even if they can’t!  Here are some of the highlights…… 

This was my gift to my brother and Lisa, it was an Olive tree...

 Each person had a small card on their plate which I’d punched a wee hole through.  They then were able to tie a message to the tree with a piece of ribbon before they left.  I hope that Lisa and RD take the messages and keep them  (I’ve also kept lots of little mementos from the hen-do and both weddings and will be purchasing a little memory box for them).  The tree can then be planted in their garden.

The White wedding photos to come!  Watch this space……

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I spent a few days in Brighton after my trip to London.  I've only been to Brighton a few times in my life, all of which were 15 odd years ago...it's changed a bit since then. 

Anyway, I had a lovely time.  It was great to be 'beside the seaside' for a few days.  I've always wanted to live near the sea, so any trip I make to a coastal location, I start to inadvertantly look for houses to buy!  I have to say, as nice as Brighton was to visit for a day or two I wouldn't want to live there.  I'm more of a Cornwall girl myself and I'll be visiting there very soon!...anwyay, here I am sat on the beach, just taking a minute or two to settle before I headed off for a walk around the lanes.

The Lanes were, aside from the sea, the highlight of Brighton for me.  They were really quaint and had lots of lovely wee shops that seem to be all tucked away so it feels like you are finding them all by accident.  Anyway, I stopped to have a coffee at a really cute little coffee shop called Coffee Coho which was lovely, of which I took a couple of sneaky shots when I went back the next day...

I had a great latte and spent about an hour there chatting to my mum on the phone and then reading my magazine Handmade Living which you can see here.  It's not one of my regular magazines but I enjoyed it nonetheless...let me know what you think if you get it.

Brighton is also full of characters, lots of people dressed in weird and wonderful things.  I liked this about Brighton as it seemed that people were comfortale to express themselves which is a always a good thing.  I managed a sneaky picture of the chap sat next to me when I was having a coffee.  I think he looked great.

I visited a great little bar called The Mesmerist too.  I do reccomend it for its quirky atmosphere, great chips and cool old fashioned pianist.  Just be prepared to sell a kidney for a drink which unfortunately compared to London prices.  It had some great art too, seen here...

I manged to nip into Cath Kidston and pick up a small mirror and was hoping to get a cat collar or two for my wee kittens but Cath only does dog collars...get with the programme Cath.  We like cats as well!  I did manges to pick up some really cute little sticky notes in a shop called Englanda at Home which I do reccomend though.  It has some really pretty things in it and isn't too costly. 

So, that was Brighton.  Go if you haven't been.  It's great to be beside the sea, though I did have to turn a bit of a blind eye to the tacky beachy shops and greasy spoons that covered the sea-front.  It is however full of great coffee shops and quirky characters and well worth a visit!

Back again soon!

Serena

x

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So, as you know I’m enjoying some time off, yay!  I seem to be cramming quite a lot of stuff into this little bit of time that I’ve had away from work.  It’s not all been fun though.  I’ve had to go back into work to supervise one of my students who has been doing some research for me over the summer.  With all the riots that have occurred I’ve also been dragged back into the work ‘fold’ again by having to radio interviews.  I ended up doing another one for BBC radio Lincolnshire.  That didn’t go as well as the BBC Nottingham interview.  They put even more words in my mouth, so to speak, and didn’t allow me to ‘get in’ what I wanted.  Well, I’ve learnt my lesson with that one.  Next time I do an interview, I’m going to go in with an agenda.  Know what I want to say, and say it!  Anyway, I’ll try and post the links to you if I can and you can see for yourself how little I got to actually qualify J  hey ho.

Well, I should say that as I write this I am sat in a very cute little pub in Brighton.  I have just been to the wedding of Pip and Giles which was on Saturday and stayed with an old school friend last night which was just lovely.  Right now I’m sat having a wee drink and writing this blog so that I can upload it when I get a mo (and have access to the internet).  I’m going to stagger what I’ve been up to over the next few days and give you an insight into what I’ve been doing, which is basically having fun, relaxing, eating and drinking too much and getting loads of ideas for my writing and painting as well as the business.  But before I let you into that world, let me show you a few pics from the wedding…

So, first of all this is Pip, well the back of Pip.  She looked gorgeous in her dress which was just divine.  The only issue with it I think, was that the train seemed to get in the way on the dance floor...lovely nonetheless.

I had to share this next one with you.  I was sitting directly behind 'bird lady'.  Take a good look at the picture, this was not a dare as far as I could tell, she really was wearing a bird on her head!  It was quite the talk of the wedding.  I met several people thoughout the night who asked if I had seen the 'lady with a bird on her head?'.  Well, I managed, along with the very funny guy next to me, to get a shot...in between giggles (how silly we were!).  To be fair to her she was wearing a gorgeous Ted Baker dress in the Birdcage design (yes, hence the birdie fascinator), which I've coveted for a while.  Still, a bird?

See you tomorrow for more on my trip to London and Brighton.

Hugs till then,

Serena

x

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My annual leave is slipping away before my very eyes!  I ‘m now nearing the end of the second week of my holiday and it’s just all going far too quickly.  I’ve had a big list of things that I’ve been working through and I’m a little bit behind, not least of which because I keep on being ‘disturbed’.  Like I mentioned the other day, I’ve had a stream of tradesmen coming through the flat.  As I speak there is a man painting my back door and it’s really difficult to concentrate on what I’m supposed to be doing!  I also have two ‘house guests’ who were unexpected, and are now currently sleeping on my lounge floor, seen here.  It means I don’t have access to my wee little office area to work in at the mo, boo-hoo L

I’ve also been up from 5.45am this-morning as yesterday I was asked to go in to BBC Radio Nottingham, where I’ve been asked to give my opinion regarding the recent awful events in London and across the country.  To be fair I was put a bit on the spot after I was asked specific questions regarding the law and wearing face-masks…not my area of expertise!  Anyway, I said a few things, had a little stumble in one place and wasn’t able to finish what I was saying at one point, which will probably be taken out of context, but what’s new?  That’s what the media does.  As I was leaving the building one of the producers showed me out and said, ‘thank you for being so eminently cut-table’, meaning, yes, they will cut what I’ve said and quote me out of context, yay!  Anyway, the Press Office at work apparently will be recording the show so I’ll try and post this tomorrow once I’ve received the file and you can hear for yourself J

Anyway, today is all about writing. I must also sort out what I’m wearing to a wedding I’m going to on Saturday.  The wedding is in London and is set to be, well, a ‘posh wedding’ if you know what I mean.  Definitely like something out of Four Weddings and a Funeral.  All I will say is that the people getting married are called ‘Pip’ and ‘Giles’....say no more.  Really, jokes aside, they are a lovely couple and I’m looking forward to the day though I’ll feel a whole lot better when I have sorted my outfit.  Will keep you posted on that one!

Till tomorrow, hugs to you.

Serena

x

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So to blow off some steam this weekend, a few of us went to ‘Go Ape’ in Sherwood Pines just outside of Nottingham (http://goape.co.uk/sites/sherwood).  I went with Claire and Sophia, and we went to ‘team-build’ as the three of us, as well as a Dave (who unfortunately couldn’t be there as he's in Korea), will be doing a Commando Challenge down in Devon in October.   I thought this would be a great teambuilding activity for us before we run through 10kms of mud!

Anyway, it was loads of fun!  It was a glorious sunny day and there weren’t too many people in the forest which meant that we could take our time have a giggle and take a few pictures.   Here is my friend Sophia who is actually standing upright after coming down on one of the fantastic zip-wires!  Also, you can just about make me out hanging off a cargo net....I think I have to work on my upper body strength!

If you haven’t had a go it’s well worth the trip.  The staff at the forest were really friendly and helped us through the process with ease.  What I really loved about it, was that in a world gone ‘PC’ and 'health and safety' mad (in my opinion), this feels like you actually have some freedom.  You are literally shown the ropes and then off you go, as you can see here from Claire J 

The staff just mill around keeping a beady eye, but without interfering in any way.  You just know that they are there should you need them, brill!

On the way home we went to a great pub called the Sir John Borlase Warren in Canning Circus (www.sirjohnborlasewarren.co.uk)  and had some lovely fish and chips and a big fat drink J  When we walked out of the pub, sometime later, we also saw a lovely rainbow....a great end to a great day, and much needed after the week that has been had.

Until tomorrow!

Serena

x

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So, I’ve been off the radar this week…woops!  It’s been my first week of annual leave and although I should be feeling rested and rejuvenated I’m feeling anything but actually.  It’s been a crazy week full of tradesmen doing jobs around the flat, not to mention the trauma of having to take my two kittens to be ‘snipped’ this week.

Here they are just before their little op on Tuesday.  To be honest they were not happy in just being in the basket let alone being anywhere near things that snip!

They have been relaxing a bit at home this evening.  Otter, my little boy cat isn't too bad, even though he is minus a pair of balls.  It's Flossy, who we have been calling 'Cone-on the Barbarian'...how cruel, who is suffering.  It's really difficult to eat and climb into a litter tray with a massive plastic cone on your head.  Poor little thing : (

In the meantime I’ve been anything but idle.  I’m actually trying to use my month off to write.  As I don’t have an office in my current abode, I‘ve set up a corner of the lounge as a little office which I’ve taken a shot of for you.   It's super comfy and I get a good view out of the window, which although it only looks on to a street, is a good distraction at times.

What am I writing?  Well I’ve had my own ideas for some time about how we might be able to get the most out of life.   Like I've said before I'm really interested in people and what motivates them.  It brings together things I know about psychology but also includes some physics theory, mostly quantum, as well as some aspects of spirituality.  It’s stuff I can’t really teach as it would probably be considered a little ‘out there’.  I have attempted in the past to look at the potential benefits of ‘self-help’ psychology with my students, though they weren’t really up for engaging with it…what a shame.

Anyway, I’m trying to get this written as it means an awful lot to me. In amongst all this I’m just trying to get some painting done (which is the way I relax), get to the gym daily (which has proven tricky), run the business (which needs some TLC) and oh, did I mention that I have been tasked with organising a ‘pre-wedding’ party for my brother which is exactly 5 weeks from today!!!!  Aagghhhhh! Today I have managed to cram in a few phone calls to people about crockery, cutlery, linens, oh, and some belly-dancers.  This is quite a big party with about 300 people attending so of course as I have so much spare time I was the obvious person to help with this : )

Right, well, will keep you posted on that one.  Any tips on juggling gratefully received J

Till we meet again...

Serena

x

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So, I have a ‘thing’ about notebooks.  Most people that know me, know this, which means it’s not unusual to receive them for birthdays and Christmas.  To be fair, you can’t go too wrong and I’m always super excited to get one so everyone’s a winner.

I’ve had this, well I’ll call it a hobby, from childhood, when I would pester my mum for a notebook whenever we entered a ‘paper-shop’, as they were called back in the day.  Anyway, I had stacks of them.  The best time of year, and I still get excited (??)  is coming up to September when shops are filled with stationery in time for the new school year.  I love browsing stationery and get great pleasure in taking my time pouring over all the new pens and sticky notes...I know, therapy needed but some people spot trains!  Anyway, notebooks are the best and I usually end up taking at least a little one home. No, in answer to your question, I don’t always have a use in mind, but I’ve found peace in that J  Notebooks are now my guilt free buy. Good job really, as they are a little more expensive than they were at the paper-shop 25 years ago, in fact the little beauty I’m going to show you now cost £15.95.

Anyway, here it is photographed next to my beautiful old Imperial typewriter...

So, I bought this from Le Chien Et Moi (www.lechienetmoi.com) a fab boutique shop with  French twist on the Derby Road in Nottingham.  It's a cute terracotta number made by o-check design graphics (http://www.o-check.net/ ).  I don’t think I’ve seen any of their stationery before, but this wee notebook really stood out to me the other day.  

The pages are really well set out, not to mention the fact that it’s super pretty, with little pictures and scribbles throughout. 

 You also get a handy little set of sticky notes to go with it. 

Hugs

Serena

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What a couple of days it’s been!  I’m working my way towards a blissful month of leave from work, which starts 5 o’clock on Friday and ends on Tuesday 31^st August at 9am J  I have big plans for this month, but in order to be ‘free of mind’ during this time, I must plod through the magic porridge pot of work that I have.

I’m a compulsive list maker (another blog piece I feel), but I didn’t even have time to tick off one item as I was called first thing in the morning yesterday, by Capital FM radio station and asked to give an interview about the recent events in Norway.  They were keen to know, like everyone else, why this man killed so many people?  I was called in because, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m a psychology lecturer who works in this area. 

What I’m really interested in actually is what motivates people, good or bad.  I’m really interested in extremes you see.  Why are some people so successful and motivated to do well and achieve in their lives, and others, by definition still motivated, are interested in being as bad as can be, usually hurting as many people as they can in the process.  Again, this is probably another blog; nonetheless back to the day’s events where I first spent the morning brushing up on the case over a few cups of coffee.  I then went in to the station in the afternoon and gave about a 15 minute interview where the young girl who met me at the door, asked me a series of questions in a very small room. 

Half way through the interview, a clip I was wearing in my hair fell out and tinkled on the table behind me.  I also made a silly grammatical error when I said ‘it is more easy for people to….’ woops! The pressure of being recorded.   Other than that and trying hard to not give the girl a basic psychology lesson on why I think we are not all identical at birth, contrary to what she said, and also trying to not get myself into any sticky situations where lawyers would be calling me, I think it went ok?  I’d love to have given you a link to the interview, but as it happens they took a couple of snippets and just used them in their news items in a very dramatic out of context way...aaahh the beauty of the media.

Anyway, after the interview, as a way of treating myself, I went to one of my favourite shops in Nottingham, Le Chien et Moi (www.lechienetmoi.com) which is on Derby Road and bought myself a lovely notebook. Well, it was just so close I couldn’t not go.   I’ll show you this little beauty tomorrow.  Later that day, for a bit of creativity I went to my workshop to paint up a couple of stools for my friend Rosjke which I’ll be finishing tomorrow which I will also show you.  Anyway, time to go and tick a few more things off my list.

Till tomorrow, hugs to you.

Serena

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Under my ‘black wing’ I’m going to be sharing the trials and tribulations of my work and daily life, including the general ups and downs of running a business and working full time.  By day I work as a lecturer of psychology in a local university.  It’s not all fluffy psychology either; it’s the gory stuff as my specialty is forensic psychology.  I’ve until now, tried to keep this away from my blog which has been separate to my business, the problem is when you work full time AND run a business, it’s really difficult to keep them separate.

 If I’ve had a bad day at work sometimes I don’t want to blog about my pretty felted phone cases that I’ve been sewing, I want to tell you all about the students that I’ve dealt with that day and why all I can think about is having a hot shower and big cup of tea, and how I want to just live vicariously via the creative people in my Country Living magazine that night J 

 So that’s what you will get right here.  My honest, running commentary of both aspects of my life.  It might be work, it might be my business, it might be anything else I do to relax and just stop and breathe for a moment.  All I can say is that I don’t know what it will look like right now, but I feel it’s going to be a more honest version of me.  So to the two people reading this, I hope you enjoy what you see, and hope you might even want to come back to visit.

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