There ain't no rest for the wicked...

This weekend has been non-stop. I can't quite remember being this busy... ever. In a way it is great because often I feel as though we waste away weekends and that makes them go even faster.

Friday night I was of course busy making a birthday cake which I was up bright and early delivering to the little girl in time for her birthday party. After that Richard and I headed off to the Centre MK in the hope of making a start on our Summer wardrobe. We walked, and walked, and walked and I found... nothing. Not a single thing. Richard however was weighed down with bags and found everything he had set out to. Even items I had seen online with a view to trying on or buying, either weren't in sight or weren't stocked in my size.

Feeling disheartened we left and headed over to a nearby retail park that I had been tipped off about which contained shops such as Primark, New Look, Next, Dorothy Perkins, etc. Here we had a field day. Richard still bought more, spending over £40 in Primark alone. I also managed to buy some odds and ends but nothing that would make a valuable addition to my Summer wardrobe. We then decided to go into our local town's shopping centre to find Richard a pair of shoes that weren't stocked in the other shopping centres. It was here that I found some fantastic tartan items- leggings and a collared top from Quiz in Debenhams. My faith was restored! Hurrah. 

(Above- Tartan Collar Top from Quiz, Tartan Leggings from Quiz, Underwear from Primark, Foxy Socks from Primark and Black Tights from Primark).

It was after leaving that shopping centre that we realised we needed to go food shopping in order to survive and sadly we headed over to our local supermarket and did the boring weekly shop. We were exhausted but somehow managed to drag ourselves around the supermarket and eventually made it home. 

Richard was still pretty pleased with his days haul and very nearly brought these shades...

Today was another day of driving and walking, this time we were in High Wycombe to see Richard's favourite Rugby team play. I had never been to a Rugby match but after watching the Wasps game on telly last week and getting alarmingly 'into it' I was keen to see a game live. Richard impulsively purchased the tickets days before the game not realising quite how exhausting a Saturday we would have. The alarm was set for 8:45am but that was switched off and ignored for almost an hour. When we eventually pulled ourselves out of bed it was a quick change and cuppa before we were once again back in the car. 

Just as we entered High Wycombe the heavens opened and a storm hit. Neither of us were dressed for this and I was worried it would be Ashridge all over again. We managed to park close to the stadium and, armed with our faithful brolly, walked up to Adam's Park. It was heaving with fans all dressed in black and yellow. I was given a rather brilliant wasp headband and Richard was handed a flag which made up for the fact we had no money on us to buy merchandise let alone food.  We then headed to our seats and I must say I was thrilled with the view, I couldn't believe how close we were to the action.

The game got off to a brilliant start, with Wasps scoring in the first two minutes of the game and the action taking place right in front of us. The first half finished with the score at 13-10 to Wasps and we were more excited than ever. The second half however was a disappointment of poor refereeing decisions and bad moves, ending in Wasps losing 18-24. However disappointing the loss was, it was still an exhilarating game and one which I was glad to have witnessed first hand.

I may have just caught the Rugby bug...

And God said, "Let there be cake!"

So about six years ago I embarked on my first iced cake. For as long as I can remember my Mum has always made birthday cakes for us. Nothing overly ambitious, a simple sponge cake and some butter cream would keep us happy no end but it was something that always took place. For my brother's twelfth birthday however I was keen to help out with this tradition, little did I know I would in fact create a new one. 

All I needed was a set of coloured icing and I managed to create this...

Since then, for every event you can think of I have made iced cakes with various designs and characters on, each cake becoming more and more ambitious and ridiculous.

To me it was no different than using my Mum's leftover pastry to make snails for the top of the beautiful pie she had made. I loved it. I loved how fiddly it all was and how much concentration it took. I could spend hours making an elaborate piece for the top of just about anything. I am completely self taught and everything is one great big experiment to me. 

Since that first cake eight years ago I have come along way, not so much in that I am making cakes for the Queen but I have made my fair share of cakes for friends and family. However if someone had told me I would be making cakes for money I would have laughed... quite hysterically in fact. How could my bizarre past time become a money making scheme?

It does seem to be on the path to becoming just that. I remember speaking to a colleague at work about a cake business she used for her daughter's third birthday party and a simple cake had set her back over £60. I couldn't believe it. Even me with my basic maths knew that something wasn't quite right there- even taking into account ingredients and their time didn't justify that cost, especially to a young single mother. It was at that point I uttered out some words that didn't quite sink in until after I had said them -"I can make your daughter's birthday cake". And there you have it. The path to my latest cake. 

So this thrilling Friday night I have spent my time making a cake for a soon to be four year old girl while many other people my age are probably out throwing up in a bin outside of a shady nightclub by now. I was armed with a mountain of icing and cake decorating supplies and this as my guide to the cake of a young girls dreams...

This really wasn't much to go by at all but somehow I have managed to pull it off for a fraction of the price of the other business she used last year. Here is the finished result which I painstakingly put together this evening...

I don't even think these photos do it justice. The level of detail here is extraordinary, from the polka dots on her leggings, the fastenings on her shoes right down to her hair ties. It's all there. In case you (like I was at the time) are struggling to recognise who this chick is, sat on the top of a cake here is a little bit of guidance for you...

This is Doc McStuffins. She likes to fix broken toys in her backyard playhouse clinic and for some reason this makes her loved by all young children and important enough to sit on the top of my cake. I'll be honest, I had never heard of her before I had to make this cake and it took a fair bit of research to understand just what I was getting myself in for. Even working at a school with young children I hadn't got a clue who she was. Bring back the days of Rosie and Jim I say!

Anyway, awful children's characters aside I finished the cake and I think it was a great success. I am delivering the cake tomorrow ahead of the party on Sunday so fingers crossed it goes down well. I have also made some little tickets for the birthday girl to give out to anyone interested in the cake and potentially having one made. I went all out and even thought up of a name for my 'business' and made a logo and everything. I had far too much fun doing all of this...

I also gave the little girl the spare icing (there was piles of it left) so she can make little characters and cakes and wrote her a little note to say thank you.

All that's left now is the after party of the cake making. Anyone want to help clear up all the mess in the kitchen...?

A Man's Greatest Mistake...

So Richard made the catastrophic mistake of offering to pay for my Summer wardrobe on our upcoming shopping trips. There is no going back for him now and I am in major organising mode as to what I need. I am excited although I am sure Richard has no idea what he has got himself in for. 

We both agreed that we need to go clothes shopping for the Summer- neither of us have shoes that are suitable for the warm weather or that go with anything, Richard needs more shorts and I need more tops. So we've both agreed to go shopping, to our local town and the big shopping centre about half an hour away. I am quite excited because although I didn't see anything last time I really wanted, this time I actually know what I am looking for and now we have even more money to spend.

Here are some of the things I definitely want to get...

One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven

I am a huge fan of boohoo.com and find there clothes to be great value for money and I love the styles they have online. I regularly buy from Boohoo and am always pleased with their products. Here I have found a nice skirt which would look great with sandals and can be dressed up and down. I also like this lace bodysuit which will make a nice addition to my lace wardrobe. 

I already posted these sandals in a previous post but these are definitely being purchased along with the wedges also from deichmann.com although they do have stores in both of the shopping centres we will be visiting so that saves on delivery costs. 

I also like these 'treggings' from Boohoo and they look as though they will be a good fit and hopefully wont fade like dark jeans would. I am also a big fan of these swing tops which are really popular at the minute. I desperately need to replace all of my strappy summer tops and although I like these from Boohoo I have found some even cheaper elsewhere that look identical. Finally I am going to brave trying on these chinos from New Look in the hope they will fit-my hopes have been lifted since I noticed they stock them in a Size 6.

So that's a sneak peak at some of the things that will be in my Summer wardrobe and I am excited to see what else I will find this coming weekend. I am certainly a very lucky lady to have such a generous (and stupid) boyfriend.

Ashridge Woods

So I had this idea in my head and no it wasn't anything crazy or hugely adventurous but I am one of those people who once they have something in their head they can't do anything else. 

My plan was to take a trip to Ashridge Woods, somewhere I haven't been to for years and a place I used to spend plenty of time as a child. I used to love taking a drive there and explore the woodland, maybe even stop for a picnic and take lots of exciting artefacts home such as leaves and fir cones. That really was my childhood and I have fond memories of it. But since moving house I haven't been back to see its development or take a stroll and no matter how many times I mentioned it, more and more time past without taking a trip.

So today Richard and I took that trip to Ashridge Park. Richard too has fond memories of the woods having spent many days there with his family exploring and even his Grandad's ashes are there. So it felt like a good time to go whilst we both had some time off and the weather seemed half decent... or so we thought.

The woodland is renowned for it's incredible bluebell displays that lay hidden deep in the forest and we were fortunate enough to visit at the right time of year to see these in all their glory. The park itself was heaving. There were queues to both get in and to park but we found a nice secluded spot and headed off into the wilderness, avoiding the crowds that were flocking to take part in the Easter Egg hunt that the National Trust had put on for visitors...

We headed off down a beaten track armed with our trusty frisbee, taking care not to knock the head off an innocent walker and sure to catch it before a mad dog did. You really could spend weeks exploring these woods and you could see something different each time and I don't think you could ever really see everything. We saw many beautiful patches of bluebells and spotted some spectacular views from our hike...

Richard and I rarely 'think' to take pictures when we go out, mostly relying on other people to do the job for us but looking round at the beauty of the woodland I decided it would be a crime not to...

I must admit I loved catching a break from the hassle of work and home and just getting out in the countryside. Sometimes all you need is a good long walk and a bit of hand holding to realise the couple that's hiding beneath all of the drama of every day life.

Just as we seemed furthest away from the car and thought we should probably head back, the first few spots of rain started. We played it cool but soon enough the heavens opened and we got soaked. I mean, imagine jumping in a pool with all of your clothes and shoes on- then think about being wetter than that! That is just how wet and cold we were. As if the rain wasn't bad enough the hail started and there was not a sheltered spot in sight. Neither of us were prepared for this sudden change in weather, with Richard in just a tshirt, jeans and trainers and me in a top, blazer, skinny jeans and booties. We were soaked through and the rain was so intense it made it hard to see and hard to breathe from the cold. 

We blindly managed to make it back to the car with our speed walking and it was a case of fumbling to put the heating on and hurriedly putting on our hoodies which we had wisely left in the car. Warm clothes never felt so good. If it was a battle to get into the car park, it was a war to get out, with everyone evacuating after the storm. We eventually made it back home, sopping wet and helped each other out of our shoes. Richard even had to pull of my jeans off which were stuck to my legs and refusing to budge. All that was left to do was get into our most comfiest clothes and whack everything else in the washing machine.

Next time, maybe I will suggest an activity that is a little drier or perhaps I'll just keep my mouth shut...

To find out more about Ashridge Estate or to take a trip visit the National Trust website.

Holiday Hopes

So despite our not so sunny nor romantic getaway to Wales this May, we really did have nothing on the cards in terms of a holiday, such is the way of being skint.

I remember Richard and I looking last year for a potential holiday to somewhere warm and sunny such as Spain or Italy. I myself have never really travelled to anywhere outside of the UK other than to visit my family in Holland and Malta. I never really saw the hype with anywhere further than Scotland or Cornwall. 

France? Well that is full of the French. 
Spain? Well that was full of horrible families and their bratty kids. 

The one place I have truly wanted to visit is New Zealand and that involves a lot of money and a long haul flight so that is out of the question... for now. I was actually shocked at how expensive flights and hotels cost just per person and we said goodbye to the idea of a bit of sunshine. 

However I still wanted to take a holiday, after all we did deserve it. After moving in together, working hard to keep the place, giving Murphy a new home and taking in Richard's brother, we've been through a fair lot. Safe to say we are exhausted. The last 'holiday' we took was a city break to Liverpool last February to celebrate our anniversary and Valentines Day. Besides that, it was a day trip to Kent and not an awful lot besides that. 

With this in mind I got the laptop out and did what I do best- search for things we can't afford. However I was pleasantly surprised how reasonable self catering accommodation was, particularly during the summertime. Richard and I both have our birthday's at the beginning of August, just two days apart and then a few days later it is our four year anniversary. I therefore wanted to go away around that time, particularly as it is our 21st birthdays and apparently they are 'important' and not just 'any other year'. For my 18th I was in Liverpool, for my 19th I was sat in a hospital waiting room with Richard and his broken nose and last year I sat at home with Richard declaring I didn't want a fuss made only to later realise I did want a fuss made and that doing nothing was actually quite boring. 

So this year I want to actually do something and set about looking for affordable options that wouldn't mean we couldn't eat for a month just to pay for it. I looked at staying in the UK and naturally my first thought was Edinburgh! I absolutely love this city and will never tire of visiting it. I will always remember the crash visit I did with a friend of mine for the weekend- we flew up on the Saturday morning and were back by Sunday evening yet still saw this wonderful city in all of its glory. I looked into staying in Edinburgh in August but the hotels were extortionate because of the Fringe Festival that is taking place at that time which attracts tourists from across the globe. Although it would be fantastic and I love the atmosphere at the event it just seem too much and we would have to halve our trip because of the costs involved.

I then looked at Cornwall, another place which I have had many a holiday and adore no end. I would love to spend the Summer here, exploring the beaches and watching the sunsets but the drive would be horrifically long for just the one driver. 

Disheartened I thought back to the many enjoyable family holidays we had experienced and it reminded me of Yorkshire, somewhere I hadn't visited in years. For me when I think of Yorkshire I think of the Moors, the tiny villages and well, the cold weather. I began looking at cottages to rent in Yorkshire and have struck gold with the following three...

I have fallen in love with this little cottage in Kirkby Stephen and it was one of the first places I saw in my hunt for a holiday. I love it's quirky interior which provides everything you could need for a short break. I find people expect too much from holiday accommodation. When Richard and stayed in Liverpool we spent about 90% of our time away from the hotel and therefore a simple Travelodge was ideal when really all we went there for was to sleep and wash. I also think the views are fabulous and should Yorkshire have great weather in August I think sitting outside with a drink would just be a great way to end the day.

I decided to look further into the idea of staying in a cottage in Yorkshire (despite falling in love with the other place) and stumbled across this sweet little cottage in the beautiful village of Pateley Bridge. I immediately liked this place just from the location, somewhere we visited many a time on holiday. Again this small cottage offers everything you could need and being in the middle of a village means that we would be far closer to other popular locations such as Ripon, Harrograte and Masham all of which I adore.

Lastly we have this cottage located in Bewerley which is also close to Pateley Bridge. This seems to offer more space than the previous two and has a more modern interior. It also offers plenty of local attractions and seems to be in the middle of it all.

Now it comes down to number crunching and working out what really offers us the best deal. Fingers crossed it all goes to plan and that this year I will be spending my birthday in more exciting circumstances than the last two.

Where there's leftovers, there's a way...

I am from a generation of women who despise waste. 

I have been seen to knowingly eat mouldy crumpets just so I didn't have to bin them. Just last night I ate three pieces of steak and Richard's portion of chips as well as my own meal just so I didn't waste money. 

I really am awful. I just can't help myself and when you have been brought up by a woman who is well known for using one chicken to make enough meals for a week, you can understand just where I get it from (we also like to dress the same but that's a whole other kettle of fish...)

On days like today I like to remember my Great Grandmother who was Queen of the Recyclers. She could find a use for just about anything and if not at that moment, she would certainly keep it for another day, which is something my family found out when sorting through her belongings. 

Naturally she was from a time and generation where there really could be no wastage and it was all about 'Make do and Mend', something I have total respect for and feel wouldn't go miss in this day and age. For my Mum it is all about making a little go a long way and with having five mouths to feed you can hardly blame her. As for me? Well, I am just skint.

So today on this warm Spring day I decided to make use of some of the odds and ends I had in my fridge and freezer, solely so I didn't have to throw out a carton of custard I had half consumed. Sure I could have just downed it and saved the hassle of cooking something to accompany it, but I felt as though I owed it to these fine women in my life to make something more out of it. So I looked around and found the following...

Despite going shopping yesterday my fridge really is a sorry sight. I had a box of raspberries, a block of puff pastry and some apples I had defrosted that my Mum had given to me, which had been picked by my Dad some time ago. For me nothing beats a good homemade pie, dashed with imperfections but full of flavour. All it took was a quick stir of the fruit in a bowl, a bit of muscle when rolling out the pastry, some creativity and there before me was a delicious pie.

But my job wasn't done. I had leftover pastry. A lot of leftover pastry. Such a dilemma. Throwing it away would almost be as devastating as discarding the carton of custard. Fortunately for me Mumma Rust had given me two pots of mincemeat last year and although some of it had been used for the delicious mince pies, I still had a jar left. This then created my mincemeat tart which is equally as delicious with cold custard as a slice of pie is.

I like to think I have made the women of my family proud today, although I'm sure my Great Grandma is looking down on me and thinking "I could have used that leftover flour you used for dusting to make a most excellent crumble topping". 

Well I still have a lot to learn and a lot to live up to...

Keep Calm, It's Only Summer...

I've got that summertime, summertime sadness. 

Actually I feel this way in every season. I feel lost. I feel as though I have lost my way with my wardrobe and the ability to dress myself. This is a feeling I know is shared by my mother. Every now and again, normally when we go shopping together in an excitable fashion, we become disheartened, head to a coffee shop and proceed to winge over the style choices of the season and how nothing looks right nor fits. 

I don't feel ready for Summer, the same way I wasn't prepared for Spring, Autumn or Winter and now I feel us hurtling towards the warm weather and I haven't got the foggiest idea what to leave the house in other than a brown paper bag.

The big statement in shops at the minute is prints and pastels, which is great if you can pull those off but for the rest of us who feel like a wally in anything close to those, it leaves us with a great dilemma.

Looking through my wardrobe at the minute I feel utterly confused. Sure there is a lot in there but the vast majority of it I have had for at least three years if not more and it is beginning to feel rather well worn. Anything vaguely new, seems to be pulled out time and time again to the point where I am sick to death of seeing it. I then also face the problem of finding an outfit that would look great together but feel as though a part of it is missing, like the right colour top or the right style of shoes.

This sets me out on a mission. A mission to get over my hatred of a certain type of shopping- shoes and trousers. I can't stand searching for these. Give me any other kind of shopping, even food shopping and I will be up for the challenge. But shoes and trousers. No. The simple fact is I have a complicated body shape; tall and thin with absolute no waist but such long legs that if I were to find a pair of trousers that fitted they would probably be about three inches too short. Then we move onto shoes. I also have odd feet- long and thin which like to trick me when I am in a shop into believing I have found a pair of shoes that fit only for me to get home and find that I was sadly mistaken. I have spent many years blaming the shops and their bizarre sizing but now I am beginning to wonder if it is the sad old case of "it's not me, it's you".

However these glaringly obvious problems aside, I have decided to brave the inevitable disappointment and looking into getting some sort of order to my Summer wardrobe and daring to look at things I ordinarily would avoid. Here are some of the things I have been looking at in the trousers and shoes department...

One | Two | Three

So last year I ordered a set of chinos and they didn't fit at all around the waist, you could easily have got another person in there with me. They however didn't have a belt and weren't as good quality as these ones so I am hoping it will be second time lucky, either that or I will have to head over the the children's department. I wish I could say I am kidding but genuinely I still buy some of my clothes from there just so it might actually have a chance of fitting. 

Like I said, prints are really fashionable at the minute and if you want any form of trousers you have to have some with a pattern it would seem. I really like this print and I think with so many colours in the pattern you have a great chance of finding plenty to go with them. I think I might have to order this top too.

Finally the ever so reliable linen trousers have popped up in a few stores and I must say these were quite the rage a few years back. I missed out on buying some at the time but have always been a fan. I think they would look great for work but also be casual enough to wear with sandals on a warm Summer's day. I think I would stick to the darker shades though because no one wants the hassle of finding appropriate underwear to wear with the white ones.

One | Two | Three | Four

I used to adore wearing pumps because they were comfortable and practical especially for work, but since realising I just can't trust my feet to stay the same size I now have to choose shoes that offer support and strapping. I like this pair from Forever21 because they are the closest thing for me to a pair of pumps and look really comfortable.

For the first time last year I found a pair of sandals I actually loved wearing to the extent that I felt I could show off my feet in public (I really do hate feet, particularly my own). These amazing sandals were from Forever21 and they have lasted so well given how much use I've had out of them. I am braving the prospect of buying some more and have found two pairs that I like, I think my favourite have to be the leaf ones from Deichmann. 

I am also on the look out this year for a pair of really comfortable wedges. I don't want anything too high because I would really like to wear them to work and I do so much walking I would probably kill my feet. So far I am settled on these, also from Deichmann, which would do the job nicely and look as though they have soft soles.

I think I am on my way to braving the shops to hunt down a Summer wardrobe, wish me luck!

Doggy Delights

It was found that pet owners spent over £100 on their pets at Christmas and that men would spend more one their pets than for their own father in law.

We however do not spend anywhere near that much on Murphy and if we did we certainly could never eat again. Nevertheless we did of course get Murphy his own stocking for Christmas (thank you Poundland) and filled it with some of his favourite things although 90% of these were eaten including a hat and scarf set. That whole stocking amounted to £5. Bargain. 

The same can be said for when we first got Murphy and needed to buy the 'essentials' for keeping a dog. We of course visited Pets at Home plenty of times and looked over their wonderful displays, showing an array of over priced goods. A plastic bed from Pets at Home would have set us back almost £30 yet we found one for less than a tenner. The same can be said for his food which we always find on offer and that will last us a whole month if not longer. 

It's the toys that always get me. How can something so small and so destructible cost so much?

That being said we don't often treat Murphy and today I visited Pets at Home to look at booking him in to get his vaccinations done. I of course looked over at all the toys, beds and food for inspiration and treats. 

Here are some that are on the wish list...

One | Two | Three | Four

Murphy loves his toys and although he is quite possessive over them he does love it when you join in and play with him. He hasn't grasped the concept of fetch at all- he will happily run after it and get it but if you think you're getting it back you are sadly mistaken. Seen as Richard and I are out for some of the day at work we like to leave him things to occupy himself, although I am sure he just sleeps until we get home. Pets at Home do a brilliant range of toys called 'Ruff and Tough' which are specifically for dogs like Murphy that are big chewers and can rip most toys to shreds in seconds. Murphy really enjoys playing with these rope toys and they keep him occupied for hours. I think out of everything we have ever got him, these ropes have to be his favourite and he will always choose these over anything else. B&M do a great range of pet supplies and this is where we got an awful lot of his essentials. Their toys and rawhide bones are a fantastic price and are as good as the leading providers. This very similar rope toy is over half the price of many of the rope toys on offer at Pets at Home, proving it really does pay off to shop around. 

One | Two | Three | Four

When we first got Murphy we gave him two beds- one on the landing for him to sleep in during the daytime when we were out and at night and the other in the front room for him to chill on. As I have already mentioned, Murphy is very possessive over his belongings so taking him away from a bed he had called his own at the shelter, to a new one at home was a lot for him to adjust to and it took a good few days before he realised it was indeed his. The one we have in the front room is like a giant cushion but Murphy trusts this even less. In hindsight we should have realised it was a little bit too 'bouncy' for a Staff and he only ever goes on it if he has been told off and is therefore not allowed on any of the sofas.  That being said we would really like to encourage him to use this space more and are looking into potentially getting him a new resting spot in the front room. Although he is very well behaved on the sofas, knows to leave us alone if we are eating and just loves a good cuddle, I think it is important for him to have his own place and to allow us separation. I have seen these two 'beds' and both provide the comfort of a sofa and I hope that they will be good enough for him. 

I also love the idea of Murphy having a cuddly friend but he likes to eat his friends as can be seen by the last one we bought him, Mr Hippo.  This one however is suppose to be tougher than other toys although the reviews would suggest otherwise. Finally I'd like a place to put all of his treats because they are currently taking up a fair bit of space in the cupboards and this tin seems to do the trick.

One | Two

Hardly the most exciting of all treats but one which Murphy enjoys nonetheless. Dentastix are a fantastic healthy treat for Murphy and we tend to bulk buy when they are on offer. I like to give him one every day, normally after he's been good on a walk or if he is being left alone for a while. Now with their new range of minty fresh flavour he can smell good as well as having clean teeth. Murphy is also awful in the car which I feel is really restricting us in terms of more exciting walks, holidays and also simple things like going to the vets. I really want to work on this because I think he could enjoy the car and everything it could offer us as a family. I have done quite a lot of research into this and these tablets seem like a good  place to start and at such a good price it's definitely worth a shot.

So there you have it, Murphy is in for a real treat soon...

OCD and Me

So I am a self confessed obsessive compulsive. 

I know that many people feel that they themselves have OCD or some tendencies that cause them to categorise themselves so. This normally irritates the rest of the population which is understandable. 

I myself have been juggling with the possibility of having an obsessive compulsive disorder for quite some time now, trying to tell myself that they were just little 'quirks'. Not so much. This has becoming increasingly more apparent since moving out and living with my partner, Richard. He himself has his own quirks- alphabetisation, odd numbers and just the general order of belongings. 

This didn't actually bother me in my area of obsession but now I find that it does to the extent I will check the DVD's to ensure they are in order almost as much as he does. However we do not share the belief that anything we can control such as volume should be on odd numbers. Oh no. No way. Nope. Sorry. This is something we had to compromise on, i.e: me telling him repeatedly he was an idiot and therefore winning the battle. Now everything is on even numbers, thank you very much. Should I ever see something on an odd number I become increasingly more distressed and often when this happens in the car with the radio volume I will just stare at Richard until he realises his mistake. 

I have mentioned before in a nonchalant manner that Richard likes to leave mess wherever he treads in our home- bags on the table, shoes over the floor, crumbs on the side and such like. Regardless of my tone this actually winds me up no end to the extent that I could probably kill him. I find myself obsessively cleaning up after his mess at least three times each day and don't feel I can settle until I have done so. I never truly understood this before watching Jon Richardson's stand up performance where he explained the phenomenon of 'leavers' and 'putters'. To understand this and discover exactly which one of these you are watch his stand up clip here.

This to me explained just about everything I needed to know, vis a vis my relationship and obsession over order. I originally concluded it was because I had spent most of my six weeks of summer trying to make our place 'habitable' and therefore spent eight hours or more each day in one room cleaning, sorting and tidying. So for Richard to come home and leave his things where they should not be put was probably about the worst thing he could have done other than shit on the floor. 

Jon's explanation however has since made it crystal clear just what is going on here. He himself is a self confessed obsessive compulsive like myself although more so in that he cannot have a relationship because of it. He in fact made a whole series and wrote a book on his own day to day struggle with order, although he wouldn't have it any other way and believes he is doing everything the 'right' way. This made growing up and his university life a nightmare which may indeed be the reason he dropped out. He would leave notes for them telling them how to use the cutlery drawer in the kitchen and obsess over the cleanliness of the kitchen and bathroom. 

This is something I feel I can relate to. I have never had any desire to go to university and pride myself so. I have done rather well for myself without buggering off for three years and accumulating a massive amount of debt, or so I like to think anyway. That being said I always liked the idea of going to a completely different town or city, living away from home and being 'independent' if you will. 

However there was a slight problem with this. People. I absolute hate people. Especially messy, fun loving people. They are normally the messiest it must be said and the number of times I have seen people's blogs and statuses complaining about how their flatmates haven't washed up again or how they have eaten their food even though they labelled it enrages me beyond belief. I could not live like that, not without killing the lot of them. And that's when my fantasy of indeed going to university and not paying the fees nor doing the work blew up in my face.

Now I feel that my biggest challenge is arranging the tea, coffee and sugar canisters every day rather than worrying if someone has washed up a plate or two. 

I wish I could say that the previous sentence wasn't true but I am afraid it is. 

These are the bane of my life. These have well and truly sealed the deal on my obsessive compulsiveness. It may seem odd but these have caused me to go over the edge. They have to be not only in the order- tea, coffee, sugar but they also must each be in the centre of each tile and have the salt and pepper beside them and be a reasonable distance from the toaster. This is a view not shared by Richard nor his brother and this sends my OCD's overboard. I find myself checking these every time I enter the kitchen, first thing in the morning, when I get home from work and when I go to bed. They are never perfect and the number of times I have contemplated a) gluing them to the worktop or b) throwing them out of the window are too many to even begin to explain. Even when I know they look fine or I have just straightened them I can't help myself but check and reorganise them. 

I personally blame my Dad for this. He himself has obsessive compulsive tendencies which have become more and more apparent as I have grown up. Should my parents ever receive a new ornament my Dad is always the one to find a place for it and reorganise everything immediately surrounding it and in extreme cases the entire room itself. He too loves even numbers to the extent he can't eat an odd number of food or take an odd number of items. He will also go around and straighten up possessions around the home. Once again his madness will cause me to end up at a psychiatrist along with his love of rock music which now causes me to break out into song should it ever be played in a shop or at a party.

All I can say is, good luck to my future children, you're bound to be crackers...

Blogging Buddies

Anyone who uses any form of social networking whether that be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blogger or anything else that has cropped up in the past few years, can relate to me when I say you really do form connections through these sites.

I myself have met some brilliant people from social networking- first a foremost my partner in crime Richard (to read our not so romantic tale see my previous post) but also some good friends who I stay in contact with as more and more sites develop. For example I knew many of Richard's friends before I even had the pleasure of meeting them just from social networking alone. It also has the ability to reunite old friends together; take me and an old school friend who hadn't seen or heard from each other for about seven years until we found each other on Facebook.

This is also the case for Naomi, a fellow Blogger and a good friend of mine. I honestly don't quite know how she came onto my radar but I can only assume it was through another blogging site and we crossed each others paths at some point. Sharing a mutual interest in cooking and exploring we soon began chatting and commenting on each others posts. This soon spread to us becoming Facebook 'friends' and following one another on Twitter. 

I then suggested the good old fashioned 'pen pal' method of communication and fortunately she shared my enthusiasm. To me nothing will ever beat a well penned letter and I am sad to see that very few people (particularly the younger generation) do this any more. I myself am guilty of typing letters to family but do at the very least write a card alongside it. Naomi and I wrote back and forth to each other as often as we could although both of us became increasingly more busy with 'grown up' problems such as employment.

In one of the last letters I wrote to her I suggested that we meet up. Geographically we are quite some distance- her in the wonderful Wales and me in the boring Bedfordshire. However as I explored this concept further I found an agreeable half way point for us- Birmingham. The date was set and we met up for the day...

Having never properly set foot in Birmingham before other than to visit the NEC for Grand Designs Live with my sister, I really didn't quite know what to expect from the city. Based on the Visit Birmingham website it looked alive with architecture and culture not to mention being a shoppers delight. That being said I was told it was "an absolute shit hole" by clearly a very well educated individual. With these ideas in mind I was excited to visit to make my own mind up and pootled off in my trusty car Kenny. I left my car in a rather suspicious looking car park but my faith was restored when I was given someone else's day ticket (although I did wonder quite why they were leaving in such a hurry) and I set off to find Naomi. 

Thanks to the wonders of technology and texting we soon met up outside of the Bullring which really is an architectural wonder...

Birmingham certainly offered a refreshing mix of old and new which very much reminded me of Liverpool which is quite possibly one of my favourite cities, along with Edinburgh and of course London. Here you can find an elegant old church next to an elaborate new shopping centre and for some reason it just, well, works.

Naturally we were there to shop until we dropped and I feel as though we achieved that by the end of the day. We didn't necessarily buy a lot, I myself left with nothing more than a dress, an eyeliner and a rather boring eyeshadow, but we certainly saw all of the shops at least twice and our feet had certainly had their exercise for the next couple of weeks. 

A definite theme was apparent from each store- do it big, or go home. Each shop had huge glass windows, extravagant displays and if you didn't have at least three floors you were laughed at. Selfridges is one such example of this, with their jelly bean statues that stood proudly over their visitors...

All in all we had a wonderful day, we shopped plenty, we ate well and we chatted about just about anything and everything. We were both in agreement that it was as if we had been friends for years and this was just another day of meeting up, which I think is a truly wonderful thing.

Birmingham however did not quite offer us the cultural kick we were looking for, something we discovered after all the shopping and eating. We managed to finish up at the Bullring by about four o'clock and eager to see more of the city I suggested going beyond the shopping centre, expecting even more wonderful architecture and cultural delights. However straight outside of the Bullring you could see where the city had got it's "shit hole" label from. There was a rather tatty looking market offering very little other than mops and beyond that? Nothing. This to me was the saddest thing of all. I could understand the derelict buildings and graffiti infested walls close to where I parked, every city had them, even the majestic London proves that. This however was so much more than a shady looking street corner, this was Birmingham beyond shopping. It is a shame because I think it could give Liverpool a run for it's money and the Bullring does demonstrate what the city can achieve with thought, money and hard work.

With Birmingham City Centre very much explored by us, we went our separate ways but vowed to meet up again. The question is, where will it be next? 

To see more about Naomi check out her rather amazing blog.