Embellish your World

Stranger tides

You simply cannot beat Captain Jack Sparrow (aka Johnny Depp) running for a guaranteed way to make me laugh! The fourth film from Pirates of the Caribbean was thoroughly enjoyable even with the lack of Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley. We were treated to additional eye candy in the form of Sam Flaflin (24) who stars as the Christian missionary in the film! He's also set to play opposite Twilights Kristen Stewart in 2012's Snow White which is something to look forward to. And talking of eye candy, Love and Other Drugs is now out on DVD! Must add to my wish list!

I am still here, honest!!

Just a little preoccupied with everyday life and before I know it my blog has been untouched for days!

So what have I been up to? I've just finished another book, the latest in the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs, River Marked, which took me a while to get into (lack of Werewolves! and more of other supernatural creatures) but it picked up about half way through and I read a fair amount on my train trip into the City and back today for a work course, and squeezed the end in between dinner and bedtime!

I've caught a couple of films at the cinema too with my unlimited card. I am number 4 was pretty cool (saw it twice!), Unknown with Liam Neeson was pretty awesome, and not at all what I expected.  Chalet Girl, whilst your predictable rom-com was, I thought, rather lovely! I'm planning on seeing The Lincoln Lawyer tomorrow after the gym and looking forward to Limitless with Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro due out this weekend. Of course I won't be seeing it this weekend as I will be in scrappy friendly heaven with the ATDML retreat ladies as we prepare for a full weekend of creative bliss! I am teaching Saturday morning but otherwise the weekend is sure to be full of relaxation, laughter and smiles - actually, who am I kidding my class will be full of the same!!

 

 I have my forthcoming ChickenSoup recipes to work on, my January and February Project 12 pages to create, not to mention a couple of magazine assignments and another retreat class to prepare for so I plan on being my usual proliffic scrapbooking self, whilst fitting in a swim or two into the agenda as well! Did I mention relaxation?? Silly me!!

Learning, Movies, Soup, Retail Therapy & Laughter

Plenty to blog about today as I've been non stop these last few days. 

Firstly, more index cards from my Shimelle LSNED class - not long now til we get to the end of this class. Sharing here the 21st and 22nd. I need to photograph my more recent pages still.

 

 

Friday night I went to the cinema with my daughter to see Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love. I've yet to read the book, but will certainly be doing so now, and absolutely loved the film. I'm hoping to get to see it again in the week, and I truly believe it will end up being one of my all time favourite films and certainly influential in my life.

 Whilst at the cinema ChickenSoup recipe 13 went life, one chosen by myself with a vast array of DT exmaples too. Unlucky for some? Not us crafters - go check it out and to be in with a chance to win a prize from our September sponsor - last chance to enter for this month! How will you be inspired to create?

 
And so to retail therapy! This weekend saw plenty craft stores heading to Alexandra Palace for the Big Stamping and Scrapbooking Show. I ventured there yesterday with Debs Jewell and her gorgeous girlies and whilst it was uncomfortably busy I did manage to procure a few new bits including the Martha Stewart birds on a wire border punch  and a larger flower punch (so I can replicate the fantastic gingerbread man bunting displayed on the Sugar & Spice stall), some Tattered Angels Gimmer paint,  a selection of new stamps and several wooden/papier mache objects for altering - including a money box I am going to decorate for my chicken egg sales money! I'll be spending the next few weeks putting some bits and pieces together to scrap whilst away at the ATDML retreat and will probably take a few of these projects to do as well.

F

Finally - Laughter! Hubs and I had a date last night, rare for a married  couple with three kids, and we ventured off to St.Albans (now renamed St.All bran!! by Eddie Izzard) to see Laughs in the Park.   Having never seen Dylan Moran or Reginald D Hunter in anything before I was happy to be going just to see Eddie Izzard. I wasn't disappointed, Eddie was fab, but Dylan Moran had me crying with laughter!    So, so, so funny, or maybe it was the subject of family life that had me hooked! A top night all in all, but sadly followed by little sleep having been up all night with a poorly three year old - thank heavens for lazy Sundays eh?!

Hope you are all having a super weekend and enjoy whatever it is you end up doing :)

Sunday, sunday, la la la la la

Lots of pretty things to share, finally having found some energy after the long hours I have been working to create a little. Most of these were done as part of the Spring Fling cybercrop on Lets Capture Our Memories.

After all the fun of the Snow White challenges in February we are back to our weekly sketch inspiration on the forum, this week with a fab sketch by our guest designer for the month Zoe.  As always my Muffin Man layout below is loosly interpreting the sketch! (I do always start with the sketch I promise, it just kinda evolves!). Layout features 3 mini chipboard pieces from the Maya Road What's Cooking set purchased from ATDML

  

And talking of the Snow White sketch challenges, I have a winner to announce!!  Having randomly drawn from all particpants in my sketch (the Snow white inspired 7 photograph double layout) LYNNE F was the winner who will be receiving a little rack comprising of roses and leaves as featured on my layout. Congrats Lynne and a huge thank to all of you who took part.  More prizes for the winners of each sketch, the word search and the bonus prize of a guest DT spot on the sketch team are being announced on the blog soon!

In the meantime, if you are surfing around on the web aimlessly killing time, pop over to the Created by ATDML blog and have a go at the word scramble I created! I was laughing so hard I nearly broke a rib when making this as the anagram generator I was using kept coming up with rude phrases!!  And I laughed just as much at the cinema last night when Eloise and I went to see Leap Year. Billed as a standard chick flick/romantic comedy I knew I would enjoy it, but oh my word was it funny! Predictable? Of course, but really funny! Definately one to buy on dvd when released.

Think that is my long update done, other than to say my weight loss journey is continuing in the right direction, no bread products for all of lent so far and very much reduce carbohydrates. 9lb lost so far and very much looking forwrad to hitting that first stone off mark, wish me luck!