Home Sweet Home

My flight out to LA was long and tiring but CHA was fun - hard work, but fun - my feet ache like they have never ached before and the old jet lag is seriously playing havoc with my sleeping pattern, but having the opportunity to hang out with my pals from Prima was worth it :D

The booth looked amazing thanks to all of the hard work put in by the DT and Cari and Sharon who both dressed the booth so beautifully.
The stand was heaving with people throughout the show and everyone appeared to love the new releases - it would be difficult not to as they are all stunning.



My days were spent taking orders and teaching make and takes, so I didn't get to to walk around the show as much as I'd have liked.....I did manage to snatch fleeting glimpses of a few other booths as I headed to and from the Prima stand and I really liked the new releases from Websters Pages.

Being at the show meant I had the chance to meet up with the folks whom I met whilst in South Africa and we got together for a night out at the Crab Shack. Whilst in SA we all shared such a magical experience and as a group we formed a really close bond, so it was great to be able to hang out together again....I miss them all so much :(

The day before the show began I managed a little retail therapy and hit the South Coast Plaza for the afternoon....its quite possibly the largest shopping center I have ever seen, so much so that I didn't know where to begin! I shopped til I dropped in Abercrombie and Fitch and bought for the guys as they love A&F and are really pleased with their new clobber. I also treated myself to a pair of new shoes and a bag from Bloomingdale's :D

The flight and drive home seemed to be never ending but I plodded on through the nightmare traffic on the M25, the heavy snowfall on the M4 and finally, nine hours after landing back in the UK, I arrived back at base late last night where I was greeted by 3 very happy chaps who were more than pleased to see me :D

Its great to be back home :D
Thanks for dropping by.
T.x.

Real Life - CHA, CHA, CHA

I really don't know where the past couple of weeks have vanished to?
Spending time with the family has taken priority and Ive grabbed snatched moments as and when I can to enjoy a little scrapping. I love how I can submerge myself in a pile of product and let it wash away the cares of the world - even if it is just for a couple of hours, its a perfect escape from the other goings on in my life at the moment.


The apperance of snow kinda slowed things down for us here too - we lost power and became isolated in the village for 4 days!!

January 1st saw the start of my new "get fit" regime and I can happily report that I have lost a whopping 10lbs since I began cutting out the junk and exercising more. Ive been walking LOTS and last weekend enjoyed two, four mile hikes across the beach - which was really tough but a great way to clear the mind and let go of the fuzziness that's been filling my head just lately.
I'm feeling "alive" again and am determined to stick to my new way of life - eating healthy, exercising more and just generally taking care of me......if there is one thing Ive learnt over the past week or so is that - we only get one shot at life.
I was shocked to discover that the average life expectancy in the UK is 79 yrs 3 months - I'm over halfway already and I want to enjoy what time Ive got left! With a history of all sorts of aliments in my family, which have taken many far too early, I want to give me body the best chance it has to live as long as possible -no more junk for me that's for sure :D

Its been ages since I last blogged that I didn't get to upload the adventure Hubs and I experienced in the snow.

A friend of ours was cycling when we met up with him on one of our afternoon walks - we chatted for a few minutes and then he was on his way - 30 minutes later, in a rather isolated spot, we came upon our friend again - only this time he was laying on an 8inch mattress of compacted snow and ice!
Hubs and I dashed to his aid as it was pretty obvious he was in trouble and needed medical help fast....we dialled 999 and as we did the heavens opened and more snow began to fall - the winds began to blast us with an icy chill and soon we found ourselves in a blizzard!
The roads had been closed days earlier by the local boys in blue, as they were impassable by anything other than a 4x4.....so how the heck was an Ambulance going to make it??? They tried but couldn't get to us - and eventually after what felt like forever, the Search and Rescue guys saved the day :D



Our buddie sustained a fractured pelvis and hip and is now on the slow road to recovery.....to quote the Paramedic " What kind of nutter goes cycling in the snow???".

And finally - I begin my journey this evening to head for the warmer climate of California, as I'm off to CHA. If you are attending then please do pop by the Prima booth and say hi - it'd be great to see you.


Check back over the next week as I'll be updating daily with images of the show.

Have fun and thanks for dropping by.
T.x.

Snow Days

Snow Days are the BEST days - and we have been well and truly snowed upon.
Our Hamlet has been Winter Wonderland for the past few days and the guys have made the most of being outside enjoying the fun to be had playing in the snow.


Hubs operation on his shoulder went well and he is recovering slowly, but off course his recovery process means he has been unable to join the guys whilst they have snowboarded and sledged the days away :( Its been really tough on him as I know how much he loves to be out with the guys.....he really is a big kid at heart!


Instead, he has joined me on my afternoon hike as Ive started a new get fit regime. I'm walking off the pounds as I walk the hounds and I'm lovin being out in the fresh air....even though it is rather cold....and we have more snow forecast for the weekend! This is turning in to the longest Christmas Holiday ever for the guys - not that they are complaining :D

I've also kept myself busy in the kitchen cooking up pans of warming soups and in my spare time I've been playing with pretties from Prima :D
Here is another page I can share which uses Calcutta Petals.




If you are lovin the new releases from Prima then pop over to the Prima blog and let them know....you could win one of these sets of new blooms and crystals.


Good Luck, have a great weekend and thanks for dropping by.
T.x.

Prima Delights

In between Christmas and New Year, Mr Postie came a-knockin' and delivered a huge box of new Prima lovelies to my door - its a wonder you didn't hear the squeals of delight as I ohhhhed and ahhhhed and waded through the supplies - they are simply the BEST Prima releases ever.

Not being able to resist, I soon set to work on whizzing up some projects.

These I can now share -

Strawberry Kisses is simply a divine paper range that will suit a whole array of pages and project themes.




Pastiche is I think my favourite of the new release collections - I love all the details that are crying out to be hand cut and used to create accents for pages.




Raspberry Tea is simply perfect for vintage pages.




Scoot over to the Prima blog if you want to see more of the new releases and don't forget to leave a comment on the Prima blog if you want to win these beauties.


So, what do you think? Which of the new releases do you like best?

Thanks for popping by.
T.x.

Welcome 2010

Better late than never - HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE :D

Family fun has kept me away from cyber land until now.
We could not have wished for our NY celebrations to have been any better as we were blessed with the amazing company of my Mom, Sister, BIL and little nephew," Willby".
Our days were spent eating, walking off the excess poundage and generally having lots of fun thanks to the copious amounts of fizzy falling down water which we consumed - oppppps!

After a hearty breakfast (and with a rather tearful goodbye) , we waved goodbye to our guests before we started to prepare for Bobs big day.


My baby is 16 today!!!
How did that happen????
Happy Birthday Bobs.x.x.x.x. We love you loads.x.x.x.x.

Hubs is off to the hospital today to have surgery on his shoulder - its a rather comical but long story as to how and why it happened, but basically he feel off the roof of our house and has injured his shoulder quite badly - surgery is required to fix it and he is going to be home for at least the next 6 weeks....which means I am going to be playing nurse maid, taxi driver, chief fetcher and carrier and general dogs body for the foreseeable future :P

Scrapping wise - I made a pact that over the festive season I would step away from my scrap room as I believe a little rest is good for the soul. Ive really missed not scrapping daily but have also enjoyed the time away from my supplies as now I'm feeling refreshed and renewed and raring to go......which is a good thing as I received a huge box of new Prima goodies to play with and have loads of ideas for future projects and pages.

The first week of the new year sees my pal Dina Wakley as the guest designer over on Pencil Lines. I'm a huge fan of her artsy style and only wish I could work paint like she can....maybe one day eh?
I used the sketch to document my word for 2010 which is ....


I used papers from a Norwegian manufacturer, Papirdesign, which I happened to pick up whilst I was in Norway with Dina :D


I chose the word Clarity as I really want 2010 to be a year when I clear out a lot of emotional and materialistic baggage - I want my head and my life to be clear and focused.


I'm not sure if its an age thing or not, but I'm kinda getting a bit fed up with "muddy waters" and am developing a need for everything in my life to be crystal clear.....so I guess Clarity is a good word for me.
Did you chose a word for yourself - a word to keep you motivated throughout the coming year? If so what was it?

And finally - the winner of the Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly RAK is this lucky lady.
Drop me an email with your address and I'll get the goodies in the post to you straight away.

Have a great day and thanks for popping by.
T.x.