And watch out for your fillers - your breads, your rolls, your chips, your dips. You've only got so much room - don't be a hero.

Evening all, and happy clocks-changing-now-it's-British-Summer time! Actually, I find the clock change always a bit wearing because it messes up my body clock, but today has been warm and sunny and if I'm a bit tired, no matter because it is finally officially no longer winter. I mean, there's no guarantee that there won't still be snow but still.

So anyway my dears, I hope you've all been having a good week. All is well enough with me. Work continued to be very busy all week and I was looking forward to my home working day on Friday being a day where I could catch up with myself and do all the little jobs that had been building up all week (writing up meeting notes, reading, booking things, that kind of job) but I ended up getting so stressed by work that I burst into tears. It's stupid, because it was nothing big or important, just that I kept being interrupted and pointlessly at that. Mind you, I think the tears broke the storm clouds that had been gathering above my head all morning and cleared my head for the afternoon. I was greatly helped along in this by Nic soothing me and feeding me his delicious home made carrot and coriander soup. As the sun was still shining I packed up a bit early and went out to meet some friends for coffee and a gossip, and it was wonderful. I wore a dress lent to me by Denise:

Emily and Fin Lulu dress, Fever Hetty jacket and Bertie Sardinia shoes

So, I love this dress. It is so much fun to wear, and I adore the print. I'm currently scouring the internets for one I can afford. Oh, also, I got this sweet little jacket for £5 on ebay! I'm all about the ebay bargains as you know, but this one is especially good because it's warm enough for the spring, but light enough to not be too warm. Also: polka dots! Of course, I didn't wear the jacket all day, here's what was underneath:

Any excuse to wear this little bolero...

I'm going to call this one for the Shoe Challenge as well. It's really easy to wear these shoes, because they go with everything and are surprisingly comfortable. I love the way they make my legs look really long!

Bertie Sardinia shoes

After a stressful morning it was so nice to hang out with friends in the afternoon, and Sugar Plum and Lysy invited me to join them at the Sewing for Pleasure fair at the NEC the following day, so I had something excellent to look forward to the following day. Every inch the classy lady, I ended the evening in bed with a gin and tonic, Nic, and an episode of New Tricks, all the storms and tears totally forgotten.

I was up bright and early to meet the girls at the station in the morning, and feeling quite excited about going to the Sewing for Pleasure fair. It has to be something good to induce me to catch the horrrible cross country train on a non-work day (it's the train I catch to work, and it's like travelling in a really fast-moving toilet) so the bar was set quite high for the fair. It was a fun day, not least because it was really good to hang out with my wonderful girls, and to check out lots of sewing stuff. I was generally unimpressed by the fabric on offer - there was lots of lovely stuff, to be sure, but nothing at a good enough price to warrant having to stand in a long queue and be elbowed around by middle-aged ladies for. Still, I bought some Vogue patterns at a knock-down price, was inspired by lots of the things I saw and had a really good time. I haven't taken photos of the patterns I bought, but you'll see them at some point no doubt. I did get to meet someone pretty cool:

Don't be fooled by my smile here. He really was pretty scary, and really tall!

This isn't one of the patterns I bought, but I did take a photo of it for Lysy. She's been wanting a Sexy Taxi Driver costume for a while now, so I wondered if maybe she'd rather be a Sexy Something Else:

Sexy Grecian, Sexy Nun, Sexy Cavewoman, Sexy Surgeon, Sexy Convict

We got back to Leamington early enough to do a bit more shopping (I bought some buttons, but that was it) and then the girls headed off while I dandered into town with Nic. We had a look in some of the shops and stopped for a coffee in Exclusive Roots Cafe on Park Street. Nic had hot chocolate and I had coffee with chocolate and banana cake. I just wanted to mention it, because for one thing the cake was immense. It was awesome. Also, the cafe is part of a charity and all profits go to that charity. Seriously though, the cake. It's good!

On Saturday evening Nic and I settled down to watch a film. I'm not always in the mood for concentrating on a film, but over the past few weeks I've been really enjoying watching films and discussing them with Nic. I really enjoyed Vertigo last week, and as I've been wanting to watch Don't Look Now for ages that's what we watched. It helps, of course, that I have a huge crush on 70s Donald Sutherland:

Donald Sutherland: Yes please

I knew all of the pop-culture references to Don't Look Now, and had seen clips of the famous sex scene between Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie, but knew very little about the film itself. In many ways I think it's a good film to have watched so soon after Vertigo because they have a lot in common. I found Don't Look Now to be surprisingly moving - I was really surprised by the extent to which I was touched by that sex scene. It was tender and beautiful and it brought me to tears. I've so often seen Don't Look Now referred to as a horror film but I didn't view it in that way myself. It was almost unbearably tense and the sense of building to an unavoidable climax was very strong. Like with Vertigo, I look forward to watching it again to see how knowing what the ending is changes my experience of the story. Also, seriously, I adore Donald Sutherland so never need an excuse to watch a film with him in it!

Today I've been a bit drowsy due to the clock change, but I've had a pretty sweet Sunday. I slept late, Nic and I breakfasted on scrambled eggs on toast and then took a walk into town to do some grocery shopping before I headed off for an afternoon of sewing, cake and chatting with Denise and Lauren. I'm still working away on my gingham dress (progress made, though!) and Denise and Lauren had their own projects on the go. It's such a nice, companionable way to spend a Sunday afternoon and I really enjoyed myself. We ended up with a little dressing up session, and both Denise and I went straight home and bought ourselves nice fluffy petticoats from ebay after trying on one of Lauren's most recent buys. It was great. I had to get changed shortly before going out, having discovered that my dress had toothpaste on it, but I think my second-choice outfit worked out well:

Fever Pansy spot dress, red bow belt from a charity shop and Topshop shoes

Nic bought me this bow belt yesterday when I spotted it in a charity shop. It was very cheap, and it looks it, but I think it's fun all the same.

My lovely Nic is working hard to get our dinner ready (chilli men stir fry and noodles: yum) so I'd best wrap this up. I think this week is going to be horribly busy at work, so I don't know that I'm going to be around much, but I'll see you all before too long no doubt. Look after yourselves, yeah? And each other, as Jerry Springer used to say.

At all hazards, a man must keep up appearances. Dignity, I say. Dignity above all, Governor. Hear, hear!

Hello my dears! It feels like it's been ages since I wrote a blog, but I suppose it hasn't been all that long, probably. Anyhow, here I am for your reading delight. Settle in, and settle down.

I hope it's been nice where you all are, because it's been beautiful here. The weekend was sunny and warm and ever so relaxing, which was just exactly what I needed. Part of the reason why I haven't updated recently is because I spent most of last week shrouded in a red mist of unfocused rage. It's like my default setting had switched from happy to something more like ARGAAAHHHH, you know? I can't say it's because anything in particular happened, because it didn't. But I wasn't sleeping, my heart was racing and I just felt generally anxious and uptight and tense. It definitely wasn't helped by the fact that Severn Trent were digging up our road, so each morning I was awoken at anti-social o'clock by the sounds of pneumatic drills and cutting equipment, leaving the house with a headache and getting to work feeling pissed off. So, yeah. I did think about writing a ranty blog post about everything that was pissing me off but decided against it, which is probably a good thing. I had a long talk with Nic on Wednesday night after getting especially freaked out, and spending some time with a dear friend on Friday afternoon helped to clear my head as well. I'm still very prone to stress and anxiety, I think, but I am getting better at recognising the warning signs and asking for help. Progress, I think.

Anyway, by Friday I was in MUCH better form. The sun had come out, and although I was in the office (I try to work from home on Fridays) I had a lunch date with Louise and Nic to make the day all shiny. It did make the day shiny, and so did a little post-lunch internet shopping. I'm nothing if not an emotional shopper. I'll share that with you in a bit, just keep reading. Friday night was lazy and sleepy and on Saturday morning Nic and I got some boring tasks out of the way (yes, hello paying the electricity bill) before going for a lazy pub brunch with some friends. The weather was gloriously warm so we headed out for a post-prandial stroll and ice cream in the park:

Jephson Gardens in the sunshine

Nic enjoying the sunshine

For the first time in ages it was warm enough to forgo tights and get my legs out. I enjoy wearing colourful tights in the colder weather but as soon as I can stop wearing them, I do.

Fever Spotty shift dress and Fez bolero, and red shoes from Topshop

I loved the way the deep red looked with the navy and white of the dress, but it did impede the neckline somewhat

It's blossom time

It was so nice to get out into the sunshine and for a walk, and the rest of Saturday felt like one of those happy dreams. Nic and I recreated a Relais Gascon salad for our dinner (salad topped with thinly sliced potatoes fried in butter and garlic) and watched Vertigo. It was my first time seeing Vertigo and I was blown away by it, it was disturbing and upsetting and really thought-provoking. I was especially moved by Kim Novak's performance and it's a film I'm really looking forward to revisiting.

Sunday was passed in an equally lazy fashion, with the highlight of coffee with Tom and Dave S in the afternoon and another stroll in the park. By Sunday evening I was feeling completely relaxed and ready for a week at work, which is always good. This week is going to be a busy one and, in addition to what I would have been doing already I have picked up an extra project so that's going to keep me out of trouble. Mondays always pass by in a blur, and today was no more civilised but I did get to debut the frock I bought online on Friday from Call Me Betty, which arrived yesterday. I've wanted one for ages, and after realising that my bank balance was in a healthier state than I imagined it to be on Friday morning I did the only sensible thing and bought one of Betty's frocks. I'm glad I did this before the electricity bill arrived, but anyway. I have to say, I was not disappointed because the frock is gorgeous and comes with an adorable little ribbon brooch to wear with it. It arrived really quickly, and is so beautifully made that I'll be treating myself to another one before too long.

Call Me Betty Grace in Stars dress, Bettie Page belt and Irregular Choice mermaid shoes

Please excuse my slight bleary-eyed-ness here, but this is the face of a woman who has had just about all she can take of electronic filing.

This one is slightly better, I think

I'm a sucker for a circle skirt, and I just love the little stars all over this. The bodice is boned front and back, and the back boning comes right up to my shoulder blades so it took me a little while to get used to that, but it's not uncomfortable and I suppose it discourages me from slouching. The little attention seeker in me really appreciated the impact this dress had - a number of my colleagues commented on it, and a nice young man stopped me in the street to say he thought the dress was pretty. Result!

My darling Nic has just put our dinner in the oven (Nigella's Double Potato and Halloumi bake, if you're wondering) so I'm off. I'll leave you with a picture that will hopefully be representative of the rest of my week.

I know when I've been insulted. I KNOW WHEN I'VE BEEN INSULTED.

When I sat down to write this blog post I was in a really crabby mood. I'm sleep-deprived and under the weather and feeling crabby about various things anyway, but in the time it's taken me to get my photos sorted out the metaphorical sun has come back out. So, instead of crabbing at y'all about everything that's annoying me at the moment I'm going to share what I've been up to over the past few days. I think that's a bit better, although I can't promise I won't crab a bit! Ignore me if I do though, because I have no call to. Nic and I are watching New Tricks and he has just cooked me the most amazing smelling veggie chilli for dinner.

Anyways, what I have been up to! Well, I had Thursday and Friday as annual leave because it was Nic's birthday and we had lots of fun things planned, starting with a trip to London on Thursday to visit the Doctor Who Experience at Kensington Olympia. Nic had been waiting since before Christmas for this, so he was very excited indeed when we set off on Thursday morning.

Nic on the train with his ticket

It took us a little bit of time to work out how to get to the venue (confusing signage on the platform at Earl's Court!) but we arrived in good time to eat a picnic before immersing ourselves in the experience. I don't want to spoil the experience part of it for any of my readers who might want to go, but it was very exciting and enjoyable to be in a Doctor Who adventure! The best part was undoubtedly walking through the doors of the TARDIS to discover that it is actually bigger on the inside! Photography was prohibited during the experience bit, but once we got into the exhibition photography was encouraged, so Nic and I both took lots:

Meeting the 11th Doctor. Sort of. Although after the experience, it did sort of feel like we had met!

One of the WW2 Daleks. It's armed, but this was Box File Dalek, so I wasn't too scared

... but Nic clearly isn't as brave as me

One more totally gratuitous Dalek shot.

Here I am with my favourite Doctor, Jon Pertwee

The opening of the Pandorica

I love this photo of Nic and I meeting Davros

The exhibition was really cool. There was a good mixture of artefacts from both new and classic Doctor Who, including lots of original props and models (like the rather enormous Robot from Robot and some of the Daleks from Remembrance of the Daleks) and there were some really fun interactive things to do, like recording your voice to sound like a Dalek and learning to walk like a Cyberman. They also had the orginial TARDIS console from Peter Davison's years as the Doctor and you could get inside the ugly-ass TARDIS of David Tennant's Doctor:

I'm no Billie Piper, and I'm pretty happy with that. David Tennant is the SUCKIEST Doctor.

THIS is much better

Outside the TARDIS

One of the best interactive bits was being able to get inside a Dalek and control it. It was awesome:

Me inside a Dalek

Of course, we stopped in the gift shop on our way out for some souvenirs and encountered a couple of scary characters

Yikes!

Post-experience, we hopped on a number 9 bus to Green Park and stopped in a pub for a coffee and to talk over the experience, before going for a bit of a wander round some of our favourite London haunts. I wanted to go to the Fever shop, and Nic had a comics IOU burning a hole in his pocket, so off we wandered to Soho to sort that out. Nic got some comics, and as for me...

Tease! I'll post pictures when I wear it, but it was obvious I was going to buy something!

After some noodles and a browse around the bookshops and comic shops on Charing Cross road, Nic and I took our tired selves home for an early night. We're definitely country mice at heart, although a day out in the big city is always enjoyable.

We spent a fairly lazy Friday, just pottering around and getting the house ready for visitors later that evening. We wandered down to South Leam to visit a new secondhand bookshop on Clemens Street. It's called Garrett Books, and it's fabulous. Nic and I both came away happy (he with some comics, and me with one of the Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy) Ever since Portland Books closed about five years ago, Leamington has been crying out for a secondhand bookshop. I don't like shopping in either Oxfam Books (Zoe: "I only buy books from Oxfam when I'm desperate") and I have to be really desperate for reading matter before I'll spend my money in Waterstone's, so I am very happy that somewhere interesting and independent has finally opened up. If you're local to Leamington, I can highly recommend it!

One lazy afternoon later, Nic and I welcomed lots of friends to our flat for his birthday party. It's been ages since we had a party (and ages since I've been to a party, I'm getting anti social in my old age) and we had so much fun. Nic was thoroughly spoiled. Every single person who came to the party was awesome, and three of these amazing people came bearing cakes they had baked for Nic! Lysy, Denise and Becky have set us up cake-wise for the next few days, at any rate. We were also able to celebrate lovely Lauren's birthday with her, another cause for joy:

The birthday pair, Nic and Lauren

I'm always excited for an opportunity to get dressed up, so I seized the chance to wear one of the dresses the good folk from Fever sent my way last month:

Fever Tonga halter dress and Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Lady Dragon cherry shoes

Isn't this a beauty?! Obviously it's still far too cold to wear this out of doors, but I'm looking forward to sunning myself in this in the warmer weather. I especially like the print:

I had been feeling a little bit nervous about the party, in the way that I do before any social gathering, but I needn't have. We had lots of fun, and there was even some dancing, which was amazing given the tininess of our flat! As always it was good to spend time with loved ones, and I'm so grateful to everyone who came for making the evening so much fun.

It is no exaggeration to say that I was a bit the worse for wear on Saturday so from Friday onwards I have no craic! I spent most of Saturday asleep and Sunday wasn't too much better, so it is my great shame to say that I didn't get out into the lovely sunshine we had this weekend. I did manage to save a pair of boots, though, as part of the Shoe Challenge on Sunday:

Tulip dress from Topshop, Fever Fez bolero and red cowboy boots from Office

I can honestly never decide what I think of these boots. They're super comfortable, and I was so happy to find them about three years ago. I'd set my heart on a pair after watching Wonder Boys so couldn't believe it when I actually found a pair. I've worn them loads since then as they're pretty much my only pair of flats (not counting sandals) but yet I feel strangely ambivalent towards them. It might just be that I feel strange in flats, because I do think they look pretty good with this outfit.

Anyway, that's your lot for this evening and with none of the threatened crabbing! Maybe tomorrow night, I am storing some up. But for tonight, I'm taking my tired self to bed with a book and a cup of tea, and I'll catch you all later. Night all x

When did you stop calling her the idiot stick figure with no soul?

This is just a wee quick one this evening because I'm having a busy day today, but I wanted to check in and say hello! So, you know, hello!

Not too much craic with me, I'm afraid. I've come to the end of my short work week and I'm glad - Monday and Tuesday were frustrating work days. Tuesday especially, working with a particularly difficult colleague (not Angry Colleague, who has been fine) made me feel like I could actually feel my blood pressure rising. Not fun. Still, I've been working from home today and now I'm heading into a four-day weekend so I'm feeling no pain. I've also managed to fit a lot in to today as well as getting through loads of work work. I've made rocky road, assembled the ingredients for Nic's birthday lunch tomorrow, and coloured my hair. Oh, I also did another Shoe Challenge. Multi-tasking, she is me.

Fever Tulip ruffle dress (worn with a black top underneath it) and Firetrap Desire shoes

So, I bought this dress last week on ebay for £5, so I'm feeling pretty smug about how cute it is! I'm a bit windblown here, but I wanted to take the photo outside so you could see the proper hair colour. I didn't mean it to be quite so red - it looked a bit more auburn on the box - but I am so delighted with it. I feel like Angela Chase with her 'Crimson Glow'!

Crimson Glow

It's no problem to me to 'save' these Firetrap shoes. My brother bought me them for Christmas in 2009 and I have worn them lots of times since then. I was so impressed that he picked them out himself, and the fact that I have worn them so much shows how well he knows me.

Firetrap Desire shoes

I decided to wear these today because I like the way the ruffle on the shoes echoes the ruffle on the neckline of the dress. Yes, I am that much of a geek!

Okay, that's your lot for this evening. Nic and I are having dinner and then heading out to the cinema to see True Grit. Tomorrow is his birthday and we have a lovely day out in London planned, and a birthday party on Friday night. I will be back before too long with lots of photos, I am sure. Mind yourselves, now.

I’ll do what I can to help y’all. But, the game’s out there, and it’s play or get played. That simple.

Evening all! I hope you're all well and that some of you even managed to get a spot of sunshine this weekend, did you? I did, which did wonders for my mood and my general outlook as well, although I am under no illusions about the sunshine because it is still freakin' cold. I discovered just how cold when I had to stand outside for an hour on Friday morning watching the Shred-It man shred some (lots) of test papers. I lost feeling in my toes and it took about 3 cups of tea to warm me up once I got inside (and, later, some cherry sponge and custard to temper the bad mood getting cold had put me in) So, you know, it's still winter and blahDEblah etc.

It is all good round here, though. After a very late night last night (of which, more later) I have that lovely feeling of having expected to have a horrible hangover, but being spared that hangover. It feels like a reprieve, so the world seems even sweeter as a result! This weekend has been pretty ace. On Friday night I relaxed away the busy week with some pink champagne and a DVD with Nic, which was just wonderful, and just exactly what I had needed after such a busy week in the office. On Saturday morning we were up bright and early to get some chores done, and then to catch the bus to Rugby to spend the day with Zoe. Having mentioned to her a while ago that I'd like to visit Rugby, she got in touch earlier in the week to invite us over. Nic and I chose to take the bus rather than the train because we could take a direct bus, and it takes a long scenic route through some really pretty countryside and little villages. I'm quite the geek, as regular readers will know, and I really like taking the bus to somewhere I haven't been before. The sun peeped its head out from behind the clouds around about Southam, but sadly by the time we got to Rugby it had clouded over and it was very cold. I was very taken with Rugby despite the cold. It has a pretty town centre, and seems to have a good mixture of independent shops and lots of charity shops. Nic and I got off the bus on the Clifton Road and straightaway bought something from the Sue Ryder shop - I bought a pretty Midwinter casserole dish and Nic found a first edition of Octopussy by Ian Fleming! It was 20p and isn't in superb condition, but it is in reasonably good condition so we'll take it along to Charing Cross road later in the week to see how much it's worth. It's not going to make us our fortune, but it is definitely worth considerably more than 20p! I really enjoyed browsing through the charity shops with Zoe and we each found something, I think my favourite find was a set of ballpoint sewing machine needles for 50p. All three of us are vegetarian, so Zoe took us to one of her favourite Rugby restaurants, Summersault, which is a vegetarian restaurant.

Nic and Zoe outside Summersault

Summersault is in a beautiful old building that looks like it was once an apothecary. It's really beautifully laid out, and the food was delicious - it's definitely made my list of 'must-visit' places in Rugby

Inside Summersault

Despite the considerable temptation offered in both Vanilla and the Vanilla sale shop, I was reasonably restrained and only bought one item - a red Fever bolero cardigan, which I was very happy with! All shopped out, we wandered back along to Zoe's house, where she treated us to fresh coffee and delicious home made chocolate muffins before we caught the bus back to Leamington.

We caught up with a few things around the house before heading out again for the evening. Nic is assisting Michael Lightborne with some teaching on Sherlock Holmes over the next few weeks, and Michael and Denise invited us round to their house for the evening so Nic and Michael could do some preparation for the teaching and I could help Denise with drinking her birthday cava. We were throughly spoiled because not only did Denise cook us dinner, but there were two different desserts on offer. For dinner we had a meal cooked from a recipe that Denise found on the marvelous Meemalee's website. It's a Burmese dish, and you can get the details from Denise's blog, and it was amazing. Tofu, noodles, coconut, lime, chilli oil and an egg - doesn't sound too much when I put it like that, but I went back for second helpings and it was only some sense of decorum (and the prospect of two desserts) that prevented me from going back for thirds. In short: YUM

Here it is. Now to see if I can recreate this at home!

After dinner the boys got down to some work, and Denise and I got down to some Mario Kart on the Nintendo Wii. I've never played it on the Wii before (although I am a veteran of both the N64 and GameCube versions) so it took me a while to get used to steering with an actual steering wheel, and it didn't exactly help that we were pretty well in our cups by this stage. Still, though, it was a LOT of fun and makes me wish I could afford a Wii myself. Maybe one day! It was well after 3 before we got home, and well after 4 before Nic and I finally went to sleep so this morning was a very late start. As I said earlier, though, I am mercifully hangover-free considering the amount of cava Denise and I managed to put away between us. It's just as well, because we have visitors this evening and as such, had to give the flat a good clean. Cleaning the toilet is not the most pleasant of jobs at the best of times, so I'm very glad I wasn't doing it hungover. As it turns out, our visitors won't be arriving until bedtime and leaving early in the morning so the frantic cleaning earlier seems a bit pointless. Well, not pointless but I suppose at this point in the evening I'm tired and a little bit cranky that I didn't spend that extra hour in my pyjamas, instead. Ah well.

So, this afternoon post-cleaning Nic and I did a bit of grocery shopping before going to listen to some jazz in a local pub. The jazz gig was great and the sunshine inspired me to wear one of my lovely Vivien of Holloway dresses:

Vivien of Holloway Jelly Beans halterneck dress, Fever Fez bolero, blue belt from Accessorize and Irregular Choice Little Miss Oh shoes

This dress just feels like Spring, and I was delighted to find tights that were an exact colour match for the bolero. Naturally enough the circle skirt made me want to swish around a bit, so that's what I did:

And, while I have worn them a few times already I thought I'd count today as a Shoe Challenge and save these sandals:

Irregular Choice Little Miss Oh sandals

I've worn them a few times already since I got them last week, but wanted to save the challenge until I could wear them with blue tights, to match the blue stitching! Geeky, I know. These look like they're very uncomfortable because of the curved heel, but actually they're very comfortable and sturdy and are grand for running about and even dancing in. I did a wee bit of dancing at the Jazz gig we went to, which was excellent fun.

Jazz at the VeNew (STUPID NAME) in Leamington

I've got a three-day week this week, which is ace. Nic and I are off to London on Thursday for his birthday treat, and then we're having a birthday party here on Friday night which I'm really looking forward to - any excuse to get really dressed up! I'm hoping for a relaxed start to the week as well, because next weekend will be busy, so maybe I'll chill out in the evenings with a few of my ongoing craft projects. I have a letter or two to write as well, having received another letter from my dear Victoria Deloria on Saturday morning. I love writing letters and receiving them too, there is something so special about communicating with someone in this way. I think you can get to know someone in a unique way when you write to them. If you don't already read Vic's blog, you should, by the way, it's awesome.

One of the things Vic said in her letter really made me think. It was about friendships and their significance during difficult times and how important it is to choose your friends wisely. By that I don't necessarily mean the more obvious distinction between good people and not-so-good people, but rather what the relationship brings to your world. Over the past year I've gone back to the drawing board in some ways in my attitudes towards people and relationships and it's only recently I've been able to see how important it is to cherish the friendships that are undramatic, the ones that emphasise the positive rather than relentlessly brooding on the negative. I've been that friend who broods on the negative, and I've had those friends too and it's something I've been making a conscious effort not to do. It's astounding the difference that can make, and the difference it can make to step back from all the drama and focus on other things.

Anyhow, it's Sunday night. Our guests will be here... when they're here, I guess, so I'm not waiting dinner. I'm off to eat some veggie enchiladas and I'll catch you all again later in the week.

Sometimes I wish we could just hit 'em over the head, rob 'em, and throw their bodies in the creek.

It is still SO COLD! I can't believe it. I had to wear my winter coat to work today and am currently wearing one of Nic's big jumpers, with a blanket over my lap and a hot water bottle. So. Not. Impressed. However, I can see daffodils starting to make an appearance in the Pump Room Gardens so maybe it'll warm the feck up sometime soon.

It's been rather a hectic week and this evening I am feeling it. I am really tired, but as it's nearly the weekend I'm not as grumpy with it as I might otherwise have been. I've had a big week at work, this week. One of my colleagues left a few weeks ago and her job was advertised (internally only, due to the recruitment freeze) She advised me to apply for it, and said that she knew the managers had someone else in mind for it but that applying for it would be good experience. I knew that it was a long shot because her job is two pay bands above mine, but I put together an application and had the interview yesterday. The interview itself wasn't stressful, but the lead-up to it was as one of the other candidates bragged loudly (in an open plan office) about the new job he was going to be starting on Monday, and his new line manager etc. Most unprofessional, and I'll admit that initially it did psych me out a bit. I mean, I knew that the job was going to go to him (he had been moved into our team for that reason a few weeks previous) and he knew the job was going to him, but it left a really bad taste in my mouth. I am not looking forward to working with him. Anyhow, the interview itself went really well - I know that I answered the questions well, I never felt like I was blagging or struggling, and I know that I could do the job. I didn't get it, but in my feedback interview today the heads of my department told me that it was really close between me and Mr Big Mouth, and that I could do the job and that I had impressed them, and that they were going to give me more opportunities to develop in that direction. So, considering I didn't get a job I applied for, today feels pretty rad! Mainly, I think, because I know that I gave a good account of myself in the interview and in my application. Also because I know now that I could do the job, and that other people think so too, and most importantly of all, I feel so happy to have had the confidence to even apply for it. That would not have been the case 6 months ago. So, the only thing now is to wait for another post to open up, and to continue feeling good about myself at work. That rejection doesn't feel like a rejection, because I know I can do the job.

To give me an extra little confidence boost for my interview yesterday, I decided to wear a new dress and a cute little belt I had picked up in Accessorize on Monday:

Fever Dotty Shift dress, red belt from Accessorize and Irregular Choice No Place Like Home shoes

How adorable is this dress?! I will try to get a better photo of it in daylight so you can see how pretty it really is. It was a gift from the lovely people at Fever Designs by way of thanking me for reviewing their Spring/Summer 2011 collection. I love the collar detail, it has a quirkily nautical feel to it:

You can probably tell I'd had a long day...

Belting it isn't strictly necessary, but I can't resist the combination of red and blue:

I thought I'd treat you all with a nice big close up of my tummy, here. Lucky old you.

Between the free dress, the good interview experience and lots of encouragement from Nic and my friends at work, yesterday was a really feel-good kind of day. Maybe that's why I'm so tired out now!

My dinner is ready so I'm going to go, but I'll catch you all later. I have another dress-shaped gift from Fever to show off soon as well, so watch this space. Now, dinner......