Hazel The Fox Cross Stitch Kit From The World In Stitches

Last month, I cross stitched another kit from The World In Stitches- a colourful little fox called Hazel.

No, I haven't gone mad and started giving names to cross stitched animals; the design is called Hazel The Fox, and she's a new addition to The World In Stitches' range of colourful cross stitch kits and patterns.

It's far more 'cutesy' than the designs I usually go for, but I've always loved foxes and I thought it was adorable, so I just couldn't resist snapping one up. She turned out to be a really fun project, what with all of those colourful threads to play with, and easy shapes to sew. I particularly enjoyed stitching her little rainbow tail! She only took me a week to make, which was refreshing after spending three months on the project before, and ideal if you want to make something quick and easy.

The kit is suitable for beginners and pros alike, and contains everything you need to make her, including 14 count white aida (fabric), pre-sorted DMC threads, a needle, full colour charts, and even a beginner's guide to cross stitching to help you get started. All you need is an embroidery hoop, embroidery scissors, and something to cross the chart off with and you're good to go.

Everything in the kit is fantastic quality, even down to the paper the charts and guides are printed on, so it's amazing value at just £9.99 from Amazon here and Etsy here, and well worth a purchase. You can also buy the pattern separately as a PDF from their Etsy here for just £2.50.

I really enjoyed making Hazel the Fox, and I'd happily recommend the kit for anybody who wants to learn how to cross stitch, or unwind with a fun and easy project. She'd also make the perfect Christmas gift for anybody who loves to cross stitch. If foxes aren't your thing, The World In Stitches have plenty of other beautiful designs, and you can shop their full range of cross stitch kits and patterns on Amazon here and Etsy here.

Have you cross stitched or crafted anything lately?

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Hobbycraft Flamingo Cross Stitch Hoop Kit

Riverdrift House Colourful Patchwork Home Sweet Home Sampler

101 Things On My Bucket List

I have no intention of kicking the bucket any time soon, but being an ambitious person, I've always had a bucket list etched in to the back of my mind of all the things I hope to achieve before I die. 

My bucket list is made up of hundreds of goals that include the places I want to visit and the experiences I want to have, to the things I want to learn, and the personal accomplishments I want to make- and everything in between. I want to do it all! I know it's unlikely that I'll ever manage to achieve them all, especially now I have chronic illnesses and chronic pain that keep me house-bound and prevent me from living a normal life, but I still like to dream. I have to hope that one day I'll be able to achieve my dreams, or there's really nothing to keep fighting for.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share some of the goals on my bucket list with you today, so here we are. Don't worry, I won't list them all; I'll stop when I reach 101 or you'll be here reading them all 'til Christmas!

Here's 101 goals from my bucket list...

1. See the Northern Lights.

2. Go whale watching / see a whale in real life in the wild.

3. Visit Austria.

4. Own my own home.

5. Learn how to drive.

6. Go to Australia to see all the weird and wonderful marsupials.

7. Do a parachute jump / sky dive.

8. Get a Sasha Unisex tattoo.

9. See Niagara Falls.

10. Learn how to crochet a granny square blanket.

11. Go back to college / uni and gain another animal care qualification.

12. Work in animal care again (preferably in a zoo or animal rescue centre).

13. Visit Italy.

14. See an active volcano.

15. Do a bungee jump.

16. Learn how to play the piano.

17. Take a road trip across America. (I want to see all corners of the country).

18. Experience New Year's in New York City.

19. See the Alps.

20. Go back to Paris and explore it properly. (I've only ever driven through it on my way south).

21. Explore northern Scotland.

22. Own a Kate Spade novelty handbag.

23. Experience Autumn and Halloween in New England.

24. Swim with dolphins, sharks, sea turtles, and tropical fish.

25. Learn how to surf.

26. Live by the sea.

27. Get some resemblance of a life back.

28. Take a hot air balloon ride.

29. Visit an elephant orphanage.

30. Go on safari in Africa.

31. Learn how to make my own dresses and skirts.

32. See Evanescence and Panic! at the Disco perform live.

33. Make a cross stitch of my own design.

34. Own an African pygmy hedgehog.

35. Visit Greece.

36. Step foot on a white sand beach with palm trees.

37. Go snorkeling.

38. Visit the Anne Frank house.

39. Learn how to make a patchwork quilt.

40. Return to NYC one day.

41. Experience a white Christmas.

42. Take a sleigh ride in the snow.

43. Get an Alice in Wonderland tattoo.

44. Learn how to make my own jewellery.

45. Have a big walk in closet.

46. Work with tapirs, giraffes, anteaters, aardvarks, and armadillos.

47. Be pain free again.

48. Visit Hawaii.

49. Try a freak-shake.

50. Get a sleeve tattoo.

51. Travel first class.

52. Visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

53. Learn how to play the violin.

54. See the World Trade Center memorials.

55. Experience Christmas in NYC and see the Rockefeller Christmas tree.

56. Get a novel or short story published.

57. Learn how to take and edit great photos.

58. Own a DSLR camera.

59. Dive the Great Barrier Reef.

60. Take a road trip across Europe.

61. See the tulip fields in Holland.

62. Experience the Holi festival.

63. Visit Amsterdam.

64. Sleep under the stars.

65. Go glamping.

66. Ride a rollercoaster.

67. Go to Reading Festival.

68. Learn how to paint with gouache paints.

69. See a snow-capped mountain.

70. Go skiing. 

71. Visit Disney World.

72. Learn how to design images for my blog.

73. Learn another language.

74. Dye my hair a rainbow of colours.

75. Get something pierced.

76. Take part in a colour run.

77. See The Grand Canyon.

78. Experience a lantern festival.

79. Take a creative writing class.

80. Learn how to use a sewing machine.

81. Visit some European Christmas markets.

82. Make a rainbow cake.

83. See dolphins in the wild.

84. Own a designer handbag.

85. See the Easter island heads.

86. Do the whole tourist thing in Edinburgh.

87. Get my teeth done.

88. Visit New Zealand.

89. Go kayaking / canoeing.

90. Travel by sleeper train.

91. Stay in a the fanciest room in a five star (or higher) hotel.

92. Take a helicopter ride somewhere with an amazing view.

92. Go to Tokyo.

93. Eat gelato in Italy.

94. Visit Highgate Cemetery.

95. See penguins in the wild.

96. Get a tattoo to represent my chronic pain and all I've been through and overcome.

97. Go horse back riding.

98. Run a successful blog- make it the best it can be.

99. See the pyramids in Egypt.

100. Travel all over the world and step foot on every continent.

101. Live a full and happy life.

Well, that's my bucket list.,, what's on yours?

Wednesday Wish List

Here's a few things I've been coveting this week...

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I'm loving Skinny Dip's new dinosaur print phone case, wash bag, and make up case- the print is so damn cute! The pink pineapple print iPhone case is rather lovely, too.

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These collared dresses from Joanie Clothing are understated but so pretty at the same time.

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Vendula London's Love Boat and Cottage bags and purses are too cute!

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I'm in love with these two dresses from Collectif. The Amanda party swing dress would be perfect for the Christmas party season, and the Violet winter flamingo print dress for every day wear. At least, I'd wear it every day; it's too lovely to save for special occasions.

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These amazing novelty bags from Current Mood would be perfect for accessorising all of those Halloween outfits.

Ciaté Mini Mani Month £50

I'm completely smitten with Ciaté's new Mini Mani Month Advent calendar for 2017, which was released last week... so much so that I may have purchased it over the weekend... I'd been saving up money I made through answering surveys especially to treat myself to a beauty Advent calendar, and Mini Mani Month was the one for me. It has a gorgeous selection of nail colours inside, and the packaging is really beautiful, too. I can't wait for Advent to begin so I can start opening the boxes and try everything out. I'm going to review it properly really soon, but I couldn't not include it in this week's Wish List- if you're a nail polish fan, you need to snap one up, too!

12 Days of Ciaté London £49

I also have my eye on Ciaté's 12 days of Ciaté London make up Advent calendar, which is similar in design to Mini Mani Month, but is filled with make up instead of nail polishes. It looks lovely. I've never tried any of their make up range, but this calendar looks like a good place to start.

OPI Love OPI Nail Polish Collection £49.95

Another beauty Advent calendar I'd love to get my hands on is OPI's Love OPI nail polish collection, which is filled with twenty five mini OPI nail polishes. It looks divine. It usually retails for £69.95, but it's currently just £49.95 from Nail Polish Direct, which is an amazing discount! I might have chosen this one over Ciaté's if it had a door for each day of Advent, but it seems to have just five doors that reveal five polishes at a time, which didn't seem as fun as the traditional way of enjoying one new gift each day so Ciaté's won.

By the way, if you want to find out what beauty Advent calendars are available this year, I'll be bringing you a huge round-up post of all of this year's beauty Advent calendars really soon! 

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As usual, I'm obsessed with approximately 63292 Lindy Bop dresses and skirts. These sixteen are just a few of my current favourites. Aren't they all gorgeous?!

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And finally, Lindy Bop have began selling bags, and their collection of printed satchels and shoulder bags is wonderful. I think the 'Bessa' purple Daschund print shoulder bag is my favourite, although the cherry print designs are fab, too.

If you'd like to see more of the fashion pieces on my wish list, check out my style wish list boards on Pinterest. You can also find all previous Wednesday Wish List posts here.

What's on your wish list this week?

Currently | October 2017

It's been ages since my last 'currently' post, so I thought it was about time I sat down to chat about some of the things I've been enjoying lately, and to fill you in on what's been happening, so here we are. 

Let's get cracking!

Reading

I recently finished This Must Be The Place by Maggie O' Farrell and The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks, and last weekend I finished another Maggie O' Farrell novel called The Distance Between Us. I really enjoyed all three of them, but particularly The Distance Between Us, which I couldn't put down. I've now moved on to The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, although I'm only a few pages in so far.  I got hooked on the TV show, so I just had to give the book a read, too.

Watching

I've watched quite a lot of new-to-me films over the last couple of months including Passengers, The Arrival, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Bridget Jones' Baby, The BFG, Ghostbusters, Moana, Finding Dory, Beauty and the Beast, Doctor Strange, Allegiant Part One, The Visit, and Gravity, to name a few. As for TV programmes, I haven't been watching a lot, but I really enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale. It was really heavy and totally fucked up, but just too good to stop watching.

Listening

Since Chester Bennington committed suicide in July, I've mostly just been listening to is Linkin Park's back catalogue on repeat, but I guess there's nothing new about that! I'm still playing the latest album 'One More Light' to death, but now the lyrics are heartbreaking because you can hear how much he was suffering, where as before they were just great songs. Heavy and One More Light kinda break my heart.

Stitching

I recently finished the rainbow Spectrum mandala cross stitch from The World In Stitches that I shared a peek at in my last 'Currently' post and blogged about in full here. I've also just completed a little colourful fox cross stitch from the same company, and now I've gone back to a Christmas sampler I began earlier in the year.

Painting

It's been several months since I started painting again, and I've been enjoying it so much, I've been painting fairly regularly ever since. I finished the compass canvas I showed you a couple of months ago, and have now moved on to another Johanna Basford canvas with a pretty seahorse design. I've gone for a colour scheme of yellows, oranges, pinks, and purples, and I've gotta say, it's so much fun painting with such pretty colours!

Looking

forward to Autumn, and all the good Autumn things. Colourful foliage, candles, cosy blankets, pumpkins, fireworks, hot drinks, comfort food, chunky knits, wearing gloves with everything, layers, Autumn colours, jewel colour nail polishes, cosy nights in, ankle boots, Autumn walks... all the good stuff.

Planning

lots of blog posts for Autumn and Christmas. Whether I'll be well enough to blog them all is another question! (Although, I've already got two Christmas posts scheduled, so I'm doing okay so far!)

Enjoying
Spending the dark Autumn evenings curled up under a blanket crafting, watching movies, and reading with some candles burning. I hate the dark evenings, but spending them like this is oh so cosy.

Wishing
I had gone to see Linkin Park at the O2 like I'd planned on July 3rd, instead of being sensible and avoiding London because of the risk of another terrorist attack. I am even more bummed out about this now Chester has died, and I'll never get another chance to see them play live together as a six-piece. Even if Linkin Park continue without Chester, which I think they will, it'll never be the same again. Lesson learned: never let anyone talk you out of something you really want to do!

Buying

I haven't been able to shop much lately as I still don't have two pennies to rub together, but I spent my birthday money on the Too Faced Chocolate Bar and NYX Ultimate Brights eyeshadow palettes in July, and they're both absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait to play with all of the shadows, but in true blogger style, I need to take blog photos first so I can review them both for you! I also just treated myself to a pretty Sass and Belle jewellery dish baring the words 'follows your dreams', using some of the vouchers I earned from Swagbucks... mostly to use as a blog photo prop!

Needing

I've just worn a hole through my favourite duvet cover, so I'm in desperate need of some new bedding. I'm also in need of some new ballet pumps as my last good pair have fallen apart, and could do with some hair dye as my roots are getting ridiculous. I also need some money so I can afford the things I need; having no money sucks and it's getting problematic.

Wondering

how much money I could get for a kidney...

Wanting

I'm dying to get my hands on the Essie nail polish Advent calendar that's just been released, but it's £80 (currently on promo for £50) and I'm skint, so I'll have to start saving. I'd also love to get my hands on the Ciaté calendar when it comes out. And maybe the OPI Advent calendar, too. Okay, just give me all of the beauty Advent calendars; I want them all!

Winning

I won a set of three purple, blue, and white ombre swarovski glass nail files from Mont Bleu on Twitter a couple of months ago, which was awesome because I love their nail files- they're the best I've ever used. They're so gentle on the nails, and easy to use for great results, even if you're useless at nail filing like me. I keep the small one in my handbag for nail emergencies on the go, and use the medium and large for every day filing at home. I love them!

Wearing

I've barely left the house in the last couple of months, so I've mostly just been living in my pyjamas. I'm currently wearing a pink flamingo motif vest top and raspberry heart print PJ bottoms; they're so comfy!

Worrying

about my heart which is still racing away eight months on. I still don't know why it's happening or what's causing it, but I'm becoming more and more sure that electronics are to blame. I'm struggling to go near my laptop, phone, Kindle, TVs, even the sockets for any length of time because I can feel the electrical energy coming off them all, and my body keeps picking it up and buzzing like pins and needles from the static electricity. The longer I spend on electronics, the faster my heart gets, so I'm having to limit the amount of time I spend on them, which isn't ideal when you're a blogger (it's the reason I've not blogged a lot lately), but my heart becomes steadier the longer I stay off them. It's been happening for about two or three months now, although I'd been having these issues with my laptop for most of the year. It probably sounds absolutely bizarre and you're wondering if I've lost the plot- I'm feeling like maybe I have- but I think I may be on to something here. I asked my doctor if it could be the cause, but she's never heard of this happening before so she's unconvinced, but hasn't ruled it out. My heart is apparently healthy, my bloods and blood pressure are normal, I've cut out caffeine and stopped taking the medication I thought was to blame, so I'm running out of other explanations, and I just have a gut feeling that I'm right. Have you ever experienced any issues with electrical energy from gadgets before or is it just me?

Before I go, I just want to say 'thank you' for all of your kind comments after I experienced Paypal / eBay fraud last month. I thought you might like to know I managed to get everything refunded thanks to Paypal and the three very understanding eBay sellers, but unfortunately, I still have to pay the fees for going over my planned overdraft limit because of it- which I can't afford because I haven't got any money coming in. I spent 45 minutes on the phone to the bank being passed from person to person, but they didn't give a shit, and wouldn't help. I consider myself lucky to have got the transactions refunded, but the overdraft fees are still a headache I don't need. Still, it could've been worse and I could've been out of pocket for all of it... so I'm grateful for that... and hopeful karma will get the thieving twat in the end! 

So, that is what I've been up to lately. What's been going on in your life?

What are you currently enjoying?

Wednesday Wish List

This week I've mostly been coveting Halloween-themed clothes and accessories, so this week's Wednesday Wish List is a Halloween special. 

These are some of the pieces I've been loving this week...

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Erstwilder have just released this year's Halloween collection, made up of brooches, necklaces, and earrings, and it's fantastic. My favourites are probably the Bat Cat (#5) and Not So Wicked (#13) brooches.

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I love these tarot card and potion bottle necklaces from Glitter Punk Jewellery.

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How cute is Punky Pins' collection of Halloween pins?! I want them all!



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Lady Vintage have some gorgeous Halloween print dresses available to pre-order. These are perfect if you want to dress up for Halloween but don't want to wear a tacky costume.

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Boohoo Plus's range of Halloween clothing is amazing, especially the mermaid skeleton pieces! I need the Imogen mermaid skeleton midi dress (#1) in my life!

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I adore these Halloween and Autumn dresses from Modcloth. The prints are fantastic.

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And last but not least, I'm loving this Hell Bunny skull print skirt and cardigan. I love the contrast of creepy and femininity in the designs.

If you'd like to see more of the fashion pieces on my wish list, check out my style wish list boards on Pinterest. You can also find all previous Wednesday Wish List posts here.

What's on your wish list this week?