Mistletoe & wine….

Things are a tiny bit hectic at the moment. Honestly, it’s been one of those years. Anyway I find myself with two large house guests & no time for interesting outings or outfits. So, here is my obligatory Christmas jumper post. I wore this on a visit to my Dad’s on Xmas eve. I’m rather sad I’ll have to wait a year to get it out again. 

  
  
Jumper – Dorothy Perkins

Skirt – Forever21

Boots – Gift

I wanted a nice festive pic with my dear old Dad, but in classic ly style I have my eyes shut in every one. Dad looks good, though.

  

Oh & if you were wondering about those visitors, they snore, but they’re very cute.

   
 

My week in pictures….

It’s been a busy week. There’s been Xmas prep, nights out & some special birthdays. My perfect niece was 6yrs old on Sunday, which is hard to believe. Why do the little ones need to grow do fast? My little muffin will be leaving school & driving cars before I know. Also celebrating their big day was my bestest friend Pamela. I’ll not mention which birthday, but it was older 6. 

So, in lieu of a more in depth post I  thought I’d give you a wee look st my week in pictures. There have been cocktails, silly selfies, sparkly shoes, an ewok dog, sushi & other pretty things I snapped along the way. 

  

  
  
  
  

  

My week in pictures… 

I’ve had a rather lovely week. It’s been filled with a beach, a birthday, some beer & a burning sky. So, I thought I’d share some of the photographs I’ve snapped along the way.

Autumn is absolutely my favourite season & an out of season beach is probably my favourite place to be. So, last Friday I combined two loves & embarked on a wee road trip with my sister (& her fur baby). I am so lucky to live in Glasgow as there is so much beautiful countryside so close by. Both my sis & I both enjoy finding new, slightly less obvious places to visit & Lauren came up trumps on this trip. We headed to Ayr, but bypassed the main beach in favour of Heads of Ayr. There we found a stunning deserted beach complete with a crumbling castle perched on a cliff. Like I said I prefer a beach outside of summer, they always feel more atmospheric with wilder weather. Aside from a little map reading bickering (my skills are poor) it was a gorgeous day. 

  

I opted for low key birthday celebrations this year. Mainly because I haven’t been terribly well, but also because I’m so bloody old. I’ll be honest the numbers are getting a little scarier every year. Having said that, the actual birthdays are always a delight. I kicked off my birthday with a family lunch. My family proved once again how much they know & love me by gifting exactly the right things. They even refrained from singing when my cake came out, which I appreciated. I followed up lunch with drinks & my favourite man. We enjoyed some delicious cherry beer & a stunning sunset. No birthday would be complete without a FaceTime with my niece, my incredible little muffin sang happy birthday & told me some very imaginative stories. Finally, my best friend rounded off my day with  another spot on present. I am a very lucky girl. 

  

I’ve also had some quiet little moments with my city & myself. Here’s a little insight into what keeps me ticking over. 

  
  
To cap things off I have received some really interesting writing offers that I can’t wait to sink my teeth into. I’ll keep you posted on where you can read the finished results. 

Pure shores….

A few weeks ago I went on a wee road trip with my sister, Billy & Seb. We set off on Sunday morning in dubious weather to check out Elie. It never fails to surprise me how beautiful Scotlamd is. We drove through glorious scenery, growing more excited as we began to spy glimpses of the sea. I had been craving the sea for a while, something about the endless sky & lapping water at the beach always calms me. 

On arrival the unpredictable weather was for once in our favour. The sun shone on our seaside floricks. Seb had an absolute ball meeting lots of new doggie friends & exploring the gentle waves. The two legged members of our party relaxed with a yummy picnic & some chat. We of course also took advantage of our surroundings for a blog shoot.

  
Dress – Forever21

Duster – New Look

Vest – H&M

   
   

   
    
 

And they’ll come true, impossible not to do…

I was inspired by my darling sister’s 35 before 35 post to get some goals down in black & white. However, as I’m only 3 months from the mid 30’s point I had to raise the age bar. So, here it is, the 40 things I really must get done before I enter middle age.

1 Finish my tattoo collection. I have three more designs that need to get out of my head & onto my body. 

2 Develop my stigma fighting business plan.

3 Have babies.

4 Take a ride in a hot air balloon. 

  
5 Learn to drive. Yes, I am a 34yr old woman who is terrified of driving.

6 Buy all the Irregular Choice shoes.

  
7 Rescue animals from factory farming.

8 Perform in a burlesque show. Chorus line would cool.

9 Visit Jenna in Philadelphia.

10 Master Japenese cooking. I need to know I can have yasai gyoza whenever I feel the urge.

11 Visit Tagalooma with Athena.

12 Adopt a retired greyhound.

13 Lots & lots of surface piercings.

14 Execute the cutest pregnancy announcement ever.

15 Cook Xmas dinner for my entire family.

16 Take a break in one of those beach huts on stilts in the ocean. 

  
17 Write for Skorch.

18 Mix my own perfume. 

19 Teach Billy to swim properly.

20 Get a book deal.

21 Check out those big heads on Easter Island.

22 Send the perfect family xmas cards. 

23 Make Danilo go on the big romantic xmas wheel. 

  
25 Perfect one ballroom dance & trot it out at every single occasion.

26 Take a romantic break in a Scottish castle.

27 Learn Sign language.

28 Fall utterly in love with more nieces & nephews. Get to it, siblings!

29 Get a professional portrait painted of my beautiful Bronan. 

  
30 Rock the Big Apple with my girls.

31 Find miraculous cure for all my health issues. 

32 Take my little ones to Disney World.

33 See Morrissey live.

34 Finish Athena’s books before she gets too old for them.

35 Try synchronised swimming. 

36 Finally see Much Ado About Nothing performed at Bard in the Botanics. 

37 Send random mystery flowers to folk who would appreciate them. 

  
38 Learn to code (at least well enough to snazz my blog).

39 Take my Mum to Austria to do the Sound of Music tour. 

40 Be the best Mummy ever!

Any advice or suggestions on who to achieve my goals is most welcome. Wish my luck. 

I get by with a little help from my friends…

Chronic illness can be overwhelming. When every little thing is a struggle it’s hard to remain stoic. In the midst of a severe flare I really have to fight not slip into a morose frame of mind. 

When life is just too hard what keeps me going are all my wonderful people. My incredible friends & family are so supportive. I really couldn’t do it without them. I am a big believer in saying how you feel out loud, so I’m taking a moment to say thank you. Thanks for all the chats, the midnight drives to a&e, advocating for me when I am unable to do it myself, the cuddles, the laughs, the understanding; thank you for the love. 

Not only are my people the best people, they are also a bunch of lookers. Big love, darlings. 

  
   
     

Sending out flares…..

I’m in the midst of quite a bad flare. Please excuse my scarce blogging. New posts coming soon. In the mean time you can enjoy my writing over at The Swag Guide.

I’ll leave you with some pics of some of the family pets. I love these wee faces, I defy you not to. 

  
My sister’s boy Seb giving me a soulful look. 

 My brother’s boy ringo having a wee snooze.

  
And my darling boy refusing to get out of bed. 
 

Thank you for the days….

Saying goodbye to my wonderful little muffin has been very difficult. It’s impossible to say how much I miss the girl. Normal blog service will be resumed, but in the mean time here’s another week in pictures. Night’s out with my favourite man, selfies with girl, my family, my city & my puss cat. I hope you see as much beauty in these images as I do. 

   
           

If you enjoy these snaps of my life you can catch more on my Insta.

You can also see more of my writing on a variety of topics in the excellent Swag Guide.