Photo of the Day - Saturday 31st March 2012

It's all about the food today! After a night of overindulging at the housewarming party, my friend B - aka 'the Ginger Hostess with the Mostess' - cooked up an awesome English breakfast for the post-party survivors! Then, this afternoon I zoomed over to see my friend Zarah, who was hosting a fabulous party for her son Austen's 1st birthday. She made this super lemon sponge cake for him.

Photo of the Day - Friday 30th March 2012

                                                                             Another glorious day in Italy today followed by a late flight home this evening... and then straight to my friends' housewarming party! And what a party it was! There was so much amazing food, all beautifully presented, including this basket of fresh bread. Of course, a little later on the evening (and after a few too many drinks) it seemed like a great idea to use all the food as props for some rather random photos like this one!

Photo of the Day - Thursday 29th March 2012

It seems that all of Europe is enjoying unseasonably warm weather this week and Italy is no exception! This was the perfect excuse to spend the day at Jesolo Beach, strolling through the sand dunes, kite flying and drinking Corona. What a perfect day! :)

Photo of the Day - Wednesday 28th March 2012

Padova is a beautiful city about 40 minutes outside of Venice. I spent the day shopping, sightseeing, sipping Italian coffee and sampling delicious pastries as well as soaking up the sun in the second largest square in Europe, whilst eating gelato. Glorious!

Photo of the Day - Tuesday 27th March 2012

I was spoilt for choice for a photo today as I spent the day in glorious Venice with my Italian friend Veronica. So my choice of photo may seem a little strange, however there is a reason for it. The MD's at my work have the exact same two cat ornaments in their office. They were given to them by a financial advisor as apparently the cats bring wealth to you. I thought it was uncanny to have stumbled upon them again all the way across the ocean in Venice!

Photo of the Day - Monday 26th March 2012

It's official - I hate flying!

However it's a means to an end - and in this case the destination was Italy and therefore worth the strife. This is the plane that carried me from Bristol to Venice Treviso.

Italy and gelato here I come!!

Photo of the Day - Sunday 25th March 2012

What a glorious weekend it's been! We've had such beautiful weather - sunny, blue skies and warm.

I had a bbq with the family today and my cousin popped in with her gorgeous baby daughter, Isla. We all enjoyed an afternoon in the sunshine.

In other news, my suitcase is now pretty much packed, so next week's daily photos are going to be taken in stunning Italy! :)

Photo of the Day - Saturday 24th March 2012

So what delights did today bring, you ask?

Well, I joined my friend B in her visit to the awesome and gigantic John Lewis store at the Orbital Centre in Swindon. After drooling over all the amazing homeware and gorgeous Easter goodies in store, we then went and jumped on the mattresses. One mattress purchase later and we headed off to do some shoe shopping for me. Epic fail as they shoes I fell in love with were all sold out in my size. :(

On the plus side, I had my nails done today and was feeling adventurous so went for red.... I liked it so much that I now have red toes too! :)

Photo of the Day - Friday 23rd March 2012

HOLIDAY!!!!!!

Today was my last and very busy day in the office before I fly out to Italy for five glorious days visiting my wonderful Italian friend in Padua. I really can't wait. Between all the mayhem at work today I did at least manage to print off my boarding pass for the flights. The countdown is on....! :)

Photo of the Day - Thursday 22nd March 2012

I stumbled across this car today and thought it was ingenious! I've never seen a bright pink car with glittery eyelashes before! 

Photo of the Day - Wednesday 21st March 2012

Another busy day in the office today but it was brightened up by the arrival of this month's National Geographic magazine! My parents bought me an annual subscription for my birthday last November. I love Nat Geo mags - they contain beautiful photographs and inspiring articles.

In other news my new driver's licence arrived today which is scarily efficient as I only applied for it on the weekend! Unfortunately I have since managed to lose my old driver's licence and I need to post it back to the DVLA.... Argh!!!

Photo of the Day - Tuesday 20th March 2012

What a gloriously sunny and warm day it's been today! In fact, it was the perfect day to be taking a road trip to Nottingham to visit clients. And that's pretty much all I got up to today!

Photo of the Day - Monday 19th March 2012

Ah, what better start to the week than a trip to the garage for the car's annual service and MOT test? (Well actually, I can think of a few...)

It's been a lovely (!!) first day back in the office after a week off. The week is improving by the minute too as tomorrow I'm off to Nottingham to visit clients and will be up at 6am. Gotta love Mondays, hope yours has been fun!

Word of the Week

Refulgent

Radiating or as if radiating light

Synonyms: resplendent - bright - brilliant - shining - radiant

"Crystal chandeliers and gilded walls made the opera house a refulgent setting for the ball."

Photo of the Day - Sunday 18th March 2012

It was Mother's Day today so after a going for a long run this morning I whizzed over to Gloucester to visit the family. Following on from a tasty Sunday lunch, my mum, aunt and my aunt's puppy, Starlet all went out for a walk in Painswick. The weather was glorious and all in all, it was a fabulous last day off before returning to work tomorrow.

I know I shouldn't wish my life away but I kinda wish I could fast forward past this next week at work to the following Monday when I fly out to Italy! :)

Photo of the Day - Saturday 17th March 2012

After a morning out in Cheltenham I decided to keep the momentum going by getting out for a long walk this afternooon. I came across this duck on the river. The water was perfectly still and as the duck swam through it, it made these cool ripples on the water.

Photo of the Day - Friday 16th March 2012

It's my last day of holiday today, so I decided to visit one of my favourite places - Westonbirt Arboretum in Tetbury. My cousin, her baby daughter, her dog and I all ventured out in the cold for a lovely long walk around the miles of parkland that make up the arboretum. My cousin's dog loves playing fetch, but instead of fetching sticks she always comes back with branches instead - hence today's photo of the day!

Photo of the Day - Thursday 15th March 2012

I was up in the attic today looking for the counterpart to my driver's licence as it's about to expire. (Scary thought that I have already had my UK driver's licence for ten years... aah!) Anyway I found it, and in the process I stumbled across this awesome little book. In my last year at school in South Africa, my best friend surprised me by compiling a diary of our all our favourite memories. She gave the diary to me as a fairwell gift before she moved overseas. Despite not living in the same country for over 10 years now, we usually manage to see each other at least once a year. I had a wonderful trip down memory lane today, leafing through the pages of the diary, looking at the photographs in it and remembering all the hilarious stuff we got up to all those years ago. What it was to be young and carefree!

Photo of the Day - Wednesday 14th March

The weather has been a bit iffy this week which is a pity as I have it off work! However, it cleared up perfectly in time for afternoon tea today with my mum, aunts and cousin at Cowley Manor Hotel just outside of Cheltenham. This is one of my favourite local places to visit as the service is always great, the food is fab and the gardens surrounding the hotel are beautiful.

Bright and Cheerful!

With the joy of spring in the air, I’m currently feeling inspired by these bright delights:

1. The shops are bursting with sunny, colourful clothing – Miss Selfridge in particular has some gorgeous dresses, sandals and tops at the moment

2. I was given a goodie bag of products at a recent training day for a client. One of the items included was Vaseline’s Lip Therapy Rosy Lips – it is awesome stuff.

3.Having been to IKEA more times recently than I have changed my socks, I’ve rekindled my addiction to their funky-shaped ice cube trays. I’ve now added flower and fish shapes to my collection!

4. I recently splurged on a new Panasonic Lumix camera – I’m still learning to use it but from what I have seen so far it’s a clever little beast of a machine!

5. Babybel Light cheese and Cadbury’s Mini Eggs – I blame my ginger friend for this current addiction.

6. Getting back into running outdoors as a result of it being lighter in the evenings now - If only I could actually get out of work on time to take advantage of it though! If you need inspiration, Sweaty Betty sells the perfect gear to make you look super trendy whilst sweating!

7. All things Florence – I’m *hoping* to squeeze in a day trip to Florence when visiting my friend in Padua, Italy at the end of the month. Fingers crossed!

8. Cabots Circus Shopping Centre in Bristol – After 31 years I have finally found the shopping centre of my dreams – every time I visit it I come away with oodles of gorgeous items. I may have to limit how often I visit!

9. Captain Correlli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres – I’ve been somewhat scatter-brained recently and as a result have been struggling to finish books that I have started. But this one is keeping me gripped thus far….

What are your perfect little pleasures at the moment?

Word of the Week

 Fractious:

The trait of being prone to disobedience and lack of discipline

Synonyms: unruly, rebellious, irritable

"My little brother was being very fractious this morning."

image from dreamstime

Photo of the Day - Tuesday 13th March 2012

When I was at Cabot's Circus on Sunday spending every pound I've ever earned, one of the items I purchased was this gorgeous black and turquoise dress. It's from Miss Selfridge in House of Fraser. Can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can wear it out soon! :)

Photo of the Day - Monday 12th March 2012

Another day another IKEA trip! This time to get some storage units for shoes.... We weren't sure how many would fit in a basket so we took off our shoes and put them in one of the containers to see... along with a couple of other random items we found!

Photo of the Day - Sunday 11th March 2012

Today has been a gloriously relaxing day in contrast to all the crazy decorating that has been going on over the last few days! This morning, my friend and I whizzed over to Cabot's Circus in Bristol for a spot of shopping and lunching. She very kindly treated me to lunch to say thank you for helping with all the painting. We then went and spent an extortionate amount of money in the shops. Sometimes being frivolous is awesome!

Photo of the Day - Saturday 10th March 2012

Hmm... I'd hoped that today's photo would be one of a shiny new flat all perfectly decorated. Alas, we're not quite there yet! After an interesting visit to Gardiner's this morning - which involved getting kicked out because the fire alarm went off - we spent the day painting, drinking beer, painting, eating Babybel Light, painting some more, drinking, painting, losing the will.... By about midnight we called it quits for the evening and this is what the kitchen looked like. Sleep! Need sleep! (And a shower....)

Photo of the Day - Friday 9th March 2012

What a busy night! A good friend of mine is in the process of moving in with her friend. She's decorating the flat first and is having a 'painting party' tomorrow - which involves friends coming over, drinking beer and doing a spot of painting. This evening we prepped the flat, by moving lots of furniture away from the walls and cleaning pretty much everthing. Elbow grease to the power of ten!!!

Photo of the Day - Thursday 8th March

I had my hair done this evening after work and on my way home I popped in at my mum's for a cuppa and a quick chat. To my surprise and delight, she had bought me a lovely new jacket for my holiday to Italy at the end of the month. She also packed me up a huge plate of dinner to take home. Everybody needs an awesome mum in their life - I really love my mine very much! (And not just 'cause she buys me fab pressies!)

Photo of the Day - Wednesday 7th March 2012

My new camera arrived today - so exciting! I cant wait to go out and play with it next week during my time off work :)

Photo of the Day – Tuesday 6th March 2012

It really felt like spring was in the air today so at lunchtime I ventured to the local park to see if the swans were on the river. They were – and I took this rather monochrome photograph of one of them.

Photo of the Day – Monday 5th March 2012

We have a new shop coming to town this month!

If you live in a town that’s larger than Cirencester, then this probably won’t sound like such exciting news. But for us, any new shops are always welcomed. Olive is a delicatessen and is about five minutes' walk from my work. I’m looking forward to trying out their food when they open in a couple of weeks’ time!

Happy Monday - hope it’s been a joyful day J

Word of the Week

Insuperable:

Impossible to overcome; insurmountable

“The five feet of snow proved to be an insuperable obstacle, therefore we could not get to our destination.”


 

Image from dreamstime

Photo of the Day – Sunday 4th March 2012

Today’s photo was a choice between two – I was in Cheltenham this afternoon and stumbled across a building that was the birthplace of Gustav Holst (a composer born in the late 1800s). I don’t really know a lot about Holst so did some research this evening and listened to some of his music (his most famous work is ‘The Planets’). Truth be told I’m not the biggest classical music buff so I decided to go with my alternative photo choice of the day – which is me being a poser on the squash court! I used to play squash twice a week but backslid over Christmas and New Year, so it’s been great to get back into the game recently. It’s also good to play some sport on a Sunday evening, before the start of what is undoubtedly going to prove to be another hectic week!

Photo of the Day – Saturday 3rd March 2012

It’s been a good day today! For starters, I went out for my first decent run in ages this morning and didn’t die. Happy me J

This evening, the girls and I took a road trip to IKEA in Bristol. I’m not sure what it is about that place but it always brings out the child in me. It seemed to have the same effect on Suze, judging by the photo of the day!

Tried & Tested – Dubai

If you’re jetting off to the emirate of Dubai for a holiday then you are guaranteed to have plentiful places to explore during your visit. All you need is a good guide book, a hire car, an understanding of the local customs and a sense of adventure. A bucket load of money is useful too as it’s not the cheapest place!

Here are some of my suggestions if you’re planning a visit:

Visit the world’s tallest building – Burj Khalifa. Standing at over 2,720 ft, it’s a true architectural accomplishment. Make sure you book your visit for just before sunset as it’s the perfect vantage point to watch the glorious Dubai Fountains from, under the backdrop of the setting sun.

Go on a desert safari – Get flung about in a 4x4 on the desert dunes, before being whisked to a camp in the desert for an evening of fantastic food and entertainment. Try your hand at sandboarding, riding a camel and smoking a shisha.

Take a day trip on a boat to Oman – This is a fantastic day out and much less expensive than you’d think. A day trip takes you along Oman’s northern coastline with a stop for lunch at a private beach and some swimming, followed by a trip to one of it’s famous fish markets.

Visit Dubai’s famous souks – and treat yourself to some serious bling!

Take a panoramic boat tour of magnificant Dubai Marina after dark - to see it’s inspiring skyline and fascinating architecture

Sunbathe on Jumeirah Beach -  with the 5 Star Deluxe Burj Al Arab Hotel pretty much on top of you! It’s a public beach, so it’s free too.

Soak up the Mall Culture – Dubai is famous for it’s glitzy malls, so it would be rude not to visit a few! Make sure the Dubai Mall and the Mall of the Emirates are on your list – the former has it’s own aquarium and the latter its own ski dome!

All pics my own!

Photo of the Day – Friday 2nd March 2012

Today’s photo is of the world’s cutest puppy, Maggie. It’s awesome having a fluffy puppy to come home to and give a big hug after a long and busy week!

Happy Friday everyone J

Photo of the Day – Thursday 1st March 2012

It’s a school night and I’m drunk again. Whoops!

Unfortunately I was too busy to join the lads from work for their lunchtime walk today. This was a great shame because they stumbled across a cow in a river which would have made a great photo of the day. In fact, one of the lads (the bearded one - check out his boring twitter account here) took a photo of said cow on his phone and sent it to me. It was an awesome photo of a river cow.

But it’s not the end of the world because the girly gang (all six of us!) had a girls’ night out tonight. First stop was Somewhere Else (yes that really is the name of the bar!) for 2 rounds of mojitos, followed by pterodactyl-sized pizzas at Pizza Express. Non, nom, nom! I feel thoroughly sick now. Bleeurghhhh!!!!