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Showing posts from 2014

Christmas 2014

Got to say I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the 'in-limbo' period between Christmas and New year. I love that it's not all over and I still have some time to chill out and switch off, but I hate the fact that it will soon be all over, I have normal things to do, and there's just a bit of an anti climax. This feeling is probably magnified this year because it's been a different and not entirely great Christmas. The run-up to the big day was full of various of us trying to shake off the last of a period of bugs and colds, and a few of us were not really in the mood for normal shopping and xmas prep. First time in a long time that I've had 2 silly long trips to town at a weekend to finish my shopping, and Mum opted for shop bought pudding and mince pies. Christmas Day itself is normally a drawn out handing out of presents, food, a bit of TV and these days, playing with my nephew. My sister alternates who she visits on Christmas Day and Boxing Day a

Frozen Lipsmacker Lip Balm Review

A little bit late in coming, but if you're rushing around still searching out stocking fillers, or looking for a little treat for yourself then how about lip balm? Lip Balm is pretty much my all year round must-have but I use it even more in Winter. I'm a big Disney fan so the opportunity to review anything Disney related was one too good to pass up, and topping up my lip balms is a bonus. Although I own the Frozen DVD, I'm not really sure what it is about the film that's made it such a huge hit above any other Disney film, neither am I the target for a lot of the merchandise which is everywhere, but lip balm? well why not! I'm not really one for being swayed by packaging but this collection comes in a collectible tin with an image from the film. It's very cute and definitely something I would keep and find a use for. Inside there is: Coconut Snowball (Olaf photo on tube) Strawberry Shake (Anna photo) Cool Vanilla Mint (Elsa Photo) My firm favourit

2 Craft Projects With Self Adhesive Star Stickers

Christmas is creeping up scarily fast, I've even ended up doing some online shopping to help me be a bit more organised, and I didn't feel like trawling busy shops feeling ill. But I have been Christmas crafting with some of the festive goodies Baker Ross sent me as part of their blogger network. One of the items I was most looking forward to working with was the bag of self adhesive felt stickers they sent . Although not obviously Christmas I liked the range of colours and sizes in the packet and thought they would work well for a few ideas I had. In the end I ended up with two different projects using the stickers which I thought I'd share in a blog. Both ideas are fairly easy to make, and cheap too! I wanted to create something different other than just putting the stickers on card, and hopefully I've achieved that. Felt Stocking Copyright These City Days 2014 The first felt stocking I ever made I did last year with a Spot the dog design for my little nep

Life Lately For Me And Mine

I was hoping to be posting a few good things up here lately, but plans have fallen flatter than a flat thing and life, well you just couldn't make this up. While in town a few weeks back I decided to advance buy a ticket for our local fireworks display. I'd not really been out to anything in ages, and hoping for good weather impulse bought a ticket. Now £6 isn't a fortune, but it's still money I'd rather not waste, so I wasn't too happy to come down with a cold just before the day of the display. It was at that stage where I really didn't feel like standing out in the cold so I gave that a miss. Around the same time I was very lucky to win a pair of tickets to a session at the O2 ATP Tennis Finals in London. Was so surprised and pleased, especially given the tickets were worth £128 and over a thousand people entered the Facebook competition. As it would be too much for my anxiety I mainly entered for Mum, who was really looking forward to going. Unfortun

Shopping For My Nephew

When my sister first said she was expecting a baby I was pretty shocked, it was a surprise to her as well, but for me something I didn't think was on the cards for a long while. Now we have a cheeky, lively 2 year old in our family and it's fascinating watching him grow, learn, and develop. I'm second in line for book reading, always get picked out for songs, and we have done an awful lot of Lego building. It also means I get to shop for a little one, something which I have done hardly any of - big kid trips to toy shops!!! I've impulse bought the odd little toy or t-shirt, and had a birth, birthday, and Christmases to buy for, so I think I'm getting into the swing of things, though there are a few challenges - mainly that little man gets an awful lot of stuff - presents from Mum and Dad, me, Nan, my sisters boyfriends side of the family, sometimes some friends of theirs. Normally there's a bit of co-ordination going on within our core group to try and be diff

T.I.N.A - Fuse ODG - Album Review

Normally I am introducing my soon to be 2 year old nephew to all the wonderful things of this world, but on this occasion it was the other way round, as it was his dancing around to a song either on the radio or TV that alerted me to FUSE ODG. Since Joey was taken by the song I used SONG ID to find out what it was, and now it's one of my favourite catchy, bounce around the house kind of tunes. I was lucky enough to be given the chance to review the full FUSE ODG album, which landed on my doormat this week, and I was quite excited to hear what else the Ghanaian South Londoner had to offer. I'll be the first to admit Afrobeat is not a genre I know a whole lot about, but I think I'll be doing some research from now on. T.I.N.A is a 16 track album full of character, and featuring not just FUSE ODG and his musical style, but contributions from the likes of Wyclef Jean and Sean Paul. One of the first things that struck me after a listen was the honesty that seems to lie w

My 5 Favourite Things About Halloween

Happy Halloween everybody! In all my time blogging I've never really done a Halloween post but I think now is a good time to get into the spooky spirit and share some of my favourite things about Halloween. Here's my top five: 1. Witches and Wizards I'm not really a fan of psychological thrillers, in fact they bore me, and I'm not really into strong blood thirsty gore filled movies. My favourite has always been anything themed around mystical, magical things so witches and wizards are a favourite. No surprise then that I have a full set of Harry Potter DVD's ready to go if the TV companies don't serve up much this year. The Craft, Hocus Pocus, Stardust, Twilight Series have all featured before, and I used to love The Worst Witch When I Was Younger. 2. Pumpkin Carving One year I will actually try this, no idea why I haven't before, but it makes a nice break from the constant run of depressing news to see some stunning carvings from other people in the

Air Puppy Cuddle Crew Soft Toy Review

The mummy blogging community is a huge one, and while I don't have any wish to give birth and join them anytime soon, who says the mummies should have all the blogging fun! I thought it would be a great chance to do an aunty and nephew post. I was lucky enough to get the chance to receive a toy from the Air Puppy Cuddle Crew range, and the big kid in me was a little bit excited to unbox it and give it to my nephew. I liked the fact that all the toys in this range are not just soft toys, they are characters, all have names, and there are 3 different types of toy, who all hang out in different places - so there are a lot of opportunities to make up stories. As a book worm a toy that you can involve in play wins my vote. I was sent the Snickle Futts cat which lives in Burford Yard. This range of toys are taller with beans in the legs so they can stand out. When it arrived and I unboxed it I was a little sceptical as to how well it would stand up, but I didn't need to be. Thi

2 Christmas Decoration Craft Projects

You know that slightly smug feeling crafters get, when they move from not knowing where to start, to coming up with a an idea (or two) they are buzzing about. That was me after receiving a festive themed box of Baker Ross goodies as part of their blogger network. I'm on a mission to not do the obvious here, so hopefully I've ticked some boxes here. Project One - Small Christmas Tree Table Decoration You will need Small Gift Box (circle, square, or hexagon ideal) 2 Self Adhesive Stars Stick On Gems A 12 by 12 Sheet Of Paper Cardboard For The Trunk Double Sided Tape Instructions First job is to put the base of the gift box into the lid, and you can stick them together if you wish, but they will be pretty solid. Next line the insides of your box with felt to make it look a little more festive. Next task is to cut circles of card (I used thick corrugated card from a box I had) and layer them up one by one in the middle of the box until they reach almost the to

2true Colour Drench Lipsticks Review

I'm sitting here at the laptop on a pretty dreary Essex day so I thought it would be a great time to inject a bit of colour into the blog and review the 2 True Colour Drench Lipsticks I recently received to review. When the package arrived I was quite surprised to find all 6 lipstick shades, I was expecting only one so I was a lucky reviewer. The six shades (6--11 for 2true fans) were grouped in 2's, so there were 2 brown tones, 2 pink, and 2 red. Labelled as colour drench they promise rich colour, and are enriched with vitamin E to protect the lips. The outer casing is a stylish silver and looks a lot more classy than other lower budget lipstick brands, a bit smaller than some other cases as well so ideal for taking out for touch-ups. I think 2True have got it right with their colour choices here, and I was initially impressed with the range of colours, offering bright, rich, and subtle in one range is good going. I was a bit wary of the darker/brighter shades though

Summer 2014

Ahh Summer, the time when everyone was posting holiday snaps, planning concert trips or day visits to places, it seemed like everyone had some kind of plan, apart from me. I've not been out a whole lot this year to 'things', in fact I've only been to the Fling Festival. Bit unusual for me, but local nightlife/events can sometimes get a bit samey or predictable and I've just not had the motivation, and going elsewhere day or night is a bit restrictive with money issues/anxiety. This isn't a woe is me post though, because apart from some things, which I will nickname stresses and strains, I've been perfectly happy enjoying the weather (yes actual Summer weather, yay!), our garden, my nephew, and a few little and lucky windfalls that have enabled me to treat myself. At the park with little man Part of the garden I've been tackling/tidying My birthday in June was probably one of my favourite days, no stress, no fuss, was a lucky girl with love

Whitworths Sugar Competition Win

Wow, what a few weeks it's been, and I will be glad to see the back of them. I've had a few anxiety triggers, my website was hacked (still trying to sort this out), our laptop died, then I've had to try and help my Dad, who is a complete technophobe and doesn't like tech change get familiar with our new laptop. And sigh! About time for some positive blogging so I thought I'd show off my little prize haul that I won on Twitter a while ago and have now received. Given the sheer scale of Twitter I didn't expect too much when I started doing a little bit of comping to keep myself amused, but I've been lucky enough to win the odd prize here and there. I recently sent off a pic of a cake I'd baked to a Whitworths Sugar competition and was pretty excited to win. I'm not sure Dad quite understood why I was excited given the prizes, but that's men for you! Anyway here is my HUGE array of sugar which should keep us in baking supplies well into next yea

Garden Wildlife

I was sitting in the living room yesterday, checking the TV guide for something to watch when I suddenly shot up on to the chair and let out a little yelp. I think mum despairs sometimes thinking I am a wimp, but I really don't like being surprised by big, quick moving spiders, nor do I want them anywhere near me. Tiny ones wouldn't bother me, but last nights one was another matter. Luckily Dad got rid of it, but it's the season! hopefully the rest stay hidden. Copyright These City Days 2014   Luckily not everything visible is eight legged. I love where we live for the variety of wildlife we've had in our garden. Over the year's we've lived here I've spotted a deer in broad daylight, seen or heard owls, and even had an owl fall down our chimney in the early hours of the morning. My favourite was our hedgehog that got all cosy and had a family of mini hedgehogs in our half empty compost bag, so cute! Least favourite has to be the sight of a sparrow haw

Sugar And Crumbs Chocolate Icing Sugar Review

Up until the other week I hadn't baked in ages, which is not a good thing considering I've been watching Great British Bake Off. Mostly Mum makes lighter lower fat cakes, and sometimes If I bake I'd just be eating it all myself, but a product review opp made for a very good excuse to get the scales out, and get everyone sampling. I'd known of Sugar And Crumbs from Twitter for a while, but hadn't really looked into them until I saw them post for bloggers to review their new icing sugar range. Out now, their range of flavoured icing sugars includes Jaffa Cake, along with the Chocolate Milkshake and Black Forest packets I received to try. Sugar and Crumbs were looking for bloggers to try and taste and comment on everything from that to the packaging, which was a pretty easy task. The packaging looks great, and it makes absolute sense to have a universal package that they can use for any of their icing sugars, or other products they might come up with. It's

How To Transform A Plain Gift Bag

Not sure why, but somewhere along the line we ended up as a gift bag family. More for birthdays and Mother/Father's Day than anything else, but our presents are wrapped and given in gift bags. Got to be honest though some of the offerings in the shops are pretty expensive for just a bag, while others are just too plain, which is why I was quite excited to receive a pack of plain white gift bags in my pack of crafty goodness from Baker Ross. If you saw my post around June when I was creating a bag for Mum's birthday you'll know it normally takes me quite a while to think up ideas with a totally blank canvas in front of me, but this one didn't take too long. For this bag I used Baker Ross Ribbon Glitter Glue A few stickers and a flower topper from my stash A Hunkydory vintage/cute postcard topper (free with a recent order) I started with the handles this time as I knew I wanted something really colourful and striking, but not too much for a bag; so why not

Mad About The Boy - Helen Fielding - Book Review

Bridget Jones has been one of those in a growing stable of chick flicks that is shared and repeated on TV so many times. It's not one of my favourite series, but it's ideal when I want some silly humour. I'd never thought to read the books until Helen Fielding released the latest in the series though, but got lucky at the library with a quick reservation. My first thought when I started reading Mad About The Boy was how well the film makers did with the previous films in bringing the books to life, they definitely stayed true to the book, and if this new one is anything to go by, Fielding definitely brings her characters to life to the point that in Mad About The Boy, they were jumping off the page. It felt at times that Bridget was living in an alternate universe, and I chuckled at the friends and children in her circle, not many places you could get away with names like Cosmo, Roxster, and Farzia. Humour  pops up all over the place, but I especially enjoyed Bridget di

Missing Out When You Have Anxiety

I've been sitting here in the mood to blog and not quite sure what to write about, but then a penpal gave me an idea and I decided to touch a little on anxiety again. I think sometimes there's a perception that if anxiety and/or panic attacks affect your life in a big way then you must be suffering all the time, must be bored, isolated, and not have much of a life. For me, my problems are a lot better than they used to be, although a lot of that has been through self help, trying to make the most of what I have got, and I suppose in a way replacing what I don't have in my life with new things and distractions. I work as a freelance writer, and while that may be in my home office, I am pushing myself in new ways professionally, and without writing I may not have got to know some music and media people in my local area and been to as many gigs as I have (on my own) in the last few years or so. It's not always win win though, for me it's good to come and go as I pl

Summer Ceramic And Glass Painting

If you're a crafter I bet you have times when you're restless and want to make something but don't really know what you fancy doing. I was a bit like that recently, so I raided my crafty stash from Baker Ross and decided to do some ceramic and glass painting. Baker Ross have produced a great colourful summertime range of products, and I was impressed by the range of things there were to colour and personalise as well. 3D items and flat decorations. I was sent: Ceramic Seaside Hanging Decorations - £3.95 for 5 Glass Tealight Holders - £4.50 for 6 Large White Porcelain Mugs - £4.48 for 4 My first impressions were good, for me I think the value is there and you get quite a lot for your money, especially with the tealights, but they all looked sturdy and good quality. Having ready glazed mugs was great as well. Copyright These City Days 2014   The only downside were my porcelain pens, they seem to have a mind of their own at the moment. I stored them as inst

Easy Spicy Pasta Recipe

I don't know about anyone else, but as work on my blog I'm getting a bit hungry. I normally review snacks and things here, but when mum's looking after my nephew, or it's a bit less hectic at the end of the day, then it's my turn to cook. I was watching Celebrity Masterchef the other week when one of the contestants was making a supposedly spicy tomato pasta for a challenge - as you can probably guess it didn't taste spicy at all. At the time I thought 'I can do much better than that', so that was my challenge next time I cooked. I don't tend to use a recipe for things like this, although I am sure there are similar out there, but at the time I cooked, it was just me and the cupboards! Ingredients Pack of sausages Tabasco Crushed chilli flakes Worcester Sauce Sugar Can chopped tomatoes Tomato Ketchup Fresh or dried pasta Recipe This was super easy to make, and a lot of it was tasting and adapting as I went along to get the

The Tour De France Came To Chelmsford

Le Tour De France Caravane copyright: Lauren John There's been a few debates going around this week, one was how on earth Brazil failed so dismally in their 7-1 defeat in the World Cup to Germany, the other is a local one, and that's was it worth watching the Tour De France come through the county on Monday. I don't normally sit on the fence with my opinions, but I am pretty undecided about this one. I've never seen any live pro sport before though, so when I heard that the famous cycle race was coming through Essex, and at one point crossing a point that I could reach and watch from I was a little bit excited. I do follow cycling a little, although mainly when the big events are on TV or events feature in the Olympics etc. It's a sport I like, but it's not one of my favourites, but it was coming to Essex so I set off to where the Tour De France passed through Chelmsford on the junction of Chignal Road and Roxwell Road, and prepared myself for a long wait

Fling Festival Chelmsford - 28th June 2014

There has been a slight lack of local life posts on here lately, partly because there's not been much going on, and not been much of a social bunny, but the same weekend as Glastonbury was our local festival The Fling , and armed with my VIP ticket I ventured through roads less known, eventually arriving at Hyland's Park on my trusty bike to see what this year's event would bring. I'll be honest, some of my views of the event are probably tempered by the fact I go on my own, and am mostly quite happy to wander and do my own thing, but the experience is a bit different. I wasn't feeling full of festival spirit that day either, in fact I felt a bit rubbish. I think also I've been a few times before now, and have gone to the Street Theatre event in town, so it's not quite as new and shiny and curious as it was when it was brand new. This was the first time the Fling had been held in Hyland's Park, and before the event it caused some debate, us local

Handmade Rag Wreath And Decorated Gift Bag

Apologies for the lack of blogging here in the past few weeks, June is a bit hectic with birthday's, Father's Day, last minute work requests, and other such things, plus I have been lucky enough to dog sit a few times (fluffball always wins!), but I've also had to hide my recent makes as they were for Mum's birthday. I look forward to hearing what you all think though, comments are really appreciated! So here are my 2 makes. Rag Wreath It's funny but I've never been interested in rag wreathes before, just didn't like the look of them, but there was something about the one my sister made recently that stuck in my mind, maybe it was just the colours. I wanted to try something different though, so ended up with a rag wreath incorporating some left over paper flowers I made up. I'll be doing a tutorial piece on those soon. I was really pleased how it turned out, and I think it gives a different dimension to the project. To make the wreath I use

A Letter To Anyone Caring For People With Mental Health Problems

I just want to start by giving everyone reading this a high 5 and a hug. I don't often write about mental health issues, although it's a cause very close to me. It's important to me that anything I do write, also feels right. I want to hopefully help and inspire in a positive way. So this is my letter that I am prompted to write, from the point of view of someone who has suffered with panic attacks, and now still deals with anxiety and mild agoraphobia. It's to everyone out there be it a friend or family member that is in effect 'caring' for someone with a mental health problem such as those I have been through. It can be a tiring, frustrating, upsetting, confusing, and long journey to go on. I can see that in my parents eyes at times. I know they worry and want the best for me, just as I am sure you all want the best for those you know. It's a hard to get my head around sometimes, so I know and understand you will feel the same way too. That said, I

Crafting With Air Dry Clay

I've been to our local festival The Fling a few year's running now, and always slightly envied the work going on in the creative tent, and all the impressive clay sculptures drying in the festival sunshine. Although I had polymer clay when I was younger, it's been a long time since I've held proper clay in my hands, and never at home. After seeing other people's work though I thought it would be fun to have a go, and was lucky enough to get that opportunity recently. Trinket Bowl - copyright These City Days Baker Ross sent me a box full of goodies as part of their adult blogger network project, and I received their clay modelling pack, which contained 3 different types of air dry clay, modelling tools, and a good size, good quality splash mat. First impressions were good. Although I don't think I'd think of buying all of those things if I was out shopping for materials myself  - I tend to buy one or two things just to experiment with when I am bored