Currently: January 2016

Registering the first month of 2016 is almost over. How?

Writing my final year dissertation. I've kind of fell in love with my dissertation topic all over again (Harry Potter) and so I've wrote quite a bit of my first draft. It's due in at the end of April and I'm feeling on track and organised (for now). 

Reading Not that Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham. This is my second attempt at reading it and I'm enjoying it a lot more this time round. 

Planning Valentine's Day. Probably one of my favourite days, Valentine's Day always cheers me up and makes the awful, cold days not seem so bad.

Celebrating getting a first in one of my assignments. I was over the moon with my latest grade on an essay I submitted on masculinity in Jane Austen's novels. Woo!

Preparing for long reading lists when I return to uni on Monday. After a very long winter break, I return back to university on Monday for my final semester as an undergraduate. I'm wondering if the emotions will start pouring in as I have to hand in over five essays plus my 6,000 word dissertation. Right now, I feel very calm, collected, and a little bit excited too. Let's see.

Watching a mix of Celebrity Big Brother and Project Life Process videos. I love watching PL process videos; in particular, I love watching Juli, Stephanie and Kelly. 

Creating a mini album for David for Valentine's Day. I recently bought the Heidi Swapp Project Life mini kit and I was desperate to use it because it's filled with hearts, pink, and gold foil = perfect for Valentine's.

Needing painkillers for my wisdom tooth.

Wondering what will be in the February Messy Box (I'm hoping for heart embellishments and lots of pink). I recently bought my very first Messy Box when they were on sale at the beginning of the year. Although I bought the March and April kits off last year, I've still found ways to include the 2015/new year cards. They took two weeks to arrive from the U.S. and I was like a big kid on Christmas when they did.
Loving this Tooth Fairy receipt by Nicole Reaves. I recently found Nicole's blog and stumbled across the Tooth Fairy receipt she made which I absolutely love.

Storyland Cross Stitching and My First (Successful) Attempt

I used to cross stitch all the time when I was younger and quite recently, I had the 'itch to stitch'. So, for Christmas, my boyfriend bought me Storyland Cross Stitching by What Delilah Did. It's a beautiful book, filled with lots of gorgeous designs and ideas, and even comes with a mini starter kit and postcard too. It is divided into three sections: 'projects for beginners', 'practice makes perfect' and 'projects for the brave & determined'. Since I haven't cross stitched since I was about ten I decided to go back to basics and try a beginner pattern.

I really loved the look of the first design which is a delicate little key bookmark. In the book, they use gold thread but since my thread stash is at the bare minimum, I decided to use grey instead. The book recommends using Aida 14 count thread for beginners which is what I initially used (and failed at, it ended up in the bin, how I managed this I don't know). But I had also bought some 27 count evenweave, which I have never used before, and I soon got back into the hang of it. I really love how it looks and I'm eager to stitch more.

Thread: A random dark grey I had lying around

Fabric: 27 count Zweigart Linda evenweave (I bought mine from this seller on eBay)

My Goals for 2016

This year, I wanted to do something a little bit different for my New Year's Resolution; I wanted to give myself little goals to fill monthly, such as going out for a meal once a month or visiting three new places. It took me a while to think of what I want to accomplish this year, but I finally came to 12 (my lucky number) goals I challenge myself to do this year.

1. Go out for a meal at least once a month
2. Read 25 books
3. Start a new creative project
4. Document life more
5. Save for Florida
6. Graduate with a good grade
7. Work, work, work
8. Drink more water
9. Visit three new places
10. Take more walks
11. Finish half-done projects
12. Try something new

After I worked through my goals in detail, I’m excited (and also a little nervous) to see how well I achieve my goals this year.

What are your goals for 2016?