Sunday 22 January 2012

ENGAGED to the love of my life 21.01.2012

It's been a very exciting week in our family. My second baby niece was born last Thursday and yesterday, I'm very excited to say, my gorgeous boyfriend of 10 years ask me to Marry Him and I said yes!




We are looking at Spring/ Early Summer 2013 to set the date and I don't mean to make PracticalBeautiful into a wedding blog but I will list some of the ideas and things I find on here as I find them during the planning process as I do believe it is good to share as many hints and tips as possible. I would love to hear any advice which you have about planning your perfect day - I am a complete novice who is incredibly excited and could do with all the help you can send my way! I hope to hear from you soon - a very excited Bride to be xxx

Monday 2 January 2012

New Year's Resolutions for 2012

Source: etsy.com via Gill on Pinterest


You know what they say, new year fresh start, new hope. So, I decided its high time I actually made a list of new year's resolutions (to look back on in a years time) to see what 2012 holds for me and whether I manage to do what I set out to do and what things I did which I had no clue I was going to do....

Here's my list...
  1. First and foremost - GET A JOB- with some level of work/life balance
  2. Enrol on the Interior Design Diploma at the Interior Design Institute 
  3. Go to Zumba once a week
  4. Find a regular yoga class to go to again, or if not do regular DVDs
  5. Try and eat something in season every month
  6. Start growing my own vegtables
  7. Finish painting the outside of the house (front and back)
  8. Decorate the Kitchen
  9. Decorate the Office/Guest Room
  10. Decorate the Hall, Landing and Stairs
  11. Re-felt both shed roofs 
  12. Paint both sheds beach hut colours
  13. Install the water butt
  14. Go to America to visit my sister and family (including new baby!), go visit our friends Tuely & Richard and go to New York with Adam (this trip will depend on how our finances are but equally so there is a relatively small window of opportunity to do this so it is a massive wish of mine for 2012)
  15. Go and visit my Aunty and Uncle in Scotland and finally introduce them to Adam
  16. Set up my own interior design business, or join a local one as a trainee
  17. Try at least one new recipe from my numerous books a month
  18. Try and visit somewhere new (whether for a walk or a day out or something) every 2 months
  19. Make more preserves!
  20. Start writing my Christmas cards and wrapping my Christmas presents at the beginning of November so it isn't such a stressful rush two days before Christmas! (pipe dream maybe!)
  21. Put up Christmas decorations (including tree) on 1st December 2012 (again maybe a pipe dream but it's a goal so its on the list!)
  22. Visit and be visited by as many friends as possible from round the country
  23. Organise the back room and use the inherited kitchen to make storage
  24. Learn to take better photographs (maybe look up some sort of online course)
  25. Go and visit my cousin and his family in Germany
  26. Celebrate Adam's 30th in style!
  27. Focus on what I can control rather than what I can't
  28. Be so Happy that when others look at me they become happy too (this a quote I saw on Pinterest and fell for)
Here are some more inspirational pieces from Pinterest which make me smile and I hope they make you smile too:
Source: google.ca via Gill on Pinterest
Source: google.com via Gill on Pinterest
Source: imgfave.com via Gill on Pinterest


Wishing you all a wonderful 2012! xx