Schedule Sunday # 3

Well another week flashed past in a nanosecond...I think this must be a sign of getting old!! It was another hectic one here in Loulouland...

Passporting away

So since getting married in September I've been slowly but surely working my way through the gigantic list of things I needed to change my name on - from my driving license, bank cards, work documents, email addresses the list is never ending! One of the most costly (and complicated!!) is the changing of the passport! Handily mine was due for renewal in November this year so I needed to update it anyway - 4 forms later (LONG story involving out of date forms(!) coffee and day dates in month columns!) I finally had the Post Office confirmation and off it went - roughly 3 weeks and I should have my new passport with shocking photo back and ready to start planning some trips!!

Housing to go

Also since getting married Mr P and I have been discussing the need to move to a larger abode. I confess it is mainly my handbag, shoes and clothing that takes up all the room but we'd like to upgrade from our 2 bedroom to at least a 3 if not 4 bedroom house! That way we can have some room each plus an actual spare room for guests! The only problem is finding a nice new house that meets all of our criteria that doesn't cost ridiculous amounts. We want to stay on "our side of town" and for some reason the prices here are a good £50k more than in other areas...handily it looks like a spangly new development might have just got the go ahead on our doorstep which if so would be perfection!! Fingers crossed it makes it...

Catching up with my bestie
I finally made it out of my hometown and on to visit my bestie Mrs L and my goddaughters with their Christmas presents - we were both so frantic pre Christmas and with the floods/weather/storms etc since we've not managed to meet up but finally we did on Saturday afternoon! It was lovely to see them and now I've managed to see them I'm all enthused to get out and about more. It is so easy when the winter sets in to hibernate in our little seaside abode but I really need to get out more and catch up with my lovely friends before they forget who I am!!

Yet more rain.......

Despite a couple of days where the sun peeked out the overall week has again been wet and miserable here in the UK. I am so bored of dodging puddles on my way into work and coming home covered in mud....surely it must be time for either Spring or at least a cold dry snap??

A cheeky Nandos
Earlier in the week we paid an unplanned but very delicious trip to our local Nandos, Mr P finally got the new style loyalty card (we still have a whole chicken on the old one to eat on our next visit too!) and I remember just why the Piri piri chips are so darned good - it may be a type of fast food but man is it yum!!

So that was January week 4 - other exciting notables were payday (always a joy in January as it feels like it takes forever to get there!!) rediscovering a handbag and falling back in love with it's spacious gorgeousness (gotta have a big bag during the day) and starting season 3 of the Good Wife (yep still obsessed with that show!)

The week ahead has another bestie's birthday, the promise of dinner out and the lure of planning a weekend to Bath soon so it should be a good one!

Hope you are all looking forward to the week ahead!

Lxx

Schedule Sunday # 2

Wow where did that week go? Admittedly I spent most of the week thinking it was Friday and it is always upsetting when you then wake up and realise it is only Wednesday but even so the past 7 days have disappeared in flash!! I'm guessing because it was such a busy one....

Super crazy busy work stuff

I am super busy at work at the moment as we gear up for the start of the Peak season...with signage/creative/leaflet/poster/planning and website briefs coming out of my ears I am forever making lists and notes just to try and make sure I don't miss any deadlines or forget something vital!! Thank goodness for post it notes is all I can say this week :)

A very late Cornish Christmas

With the weather and bouts of flu scuppering any plans over the festive season we finally made it down to visit the hubs family to exchange presents and catch up! I love visiting them in Cornwall, not only are the nicest people but where they live is just amazing - definitely somewhere I would love to live one day!

Bargainous Pizza Deliciousness

On Tuesday night the hubs and I went to The Stable in Weymouth for dinner. For some reason we tend to visit The Stable lots in summer and then neglect to visit over the winter months (maybe it is our age or the vile weather meaning we hibernate more) but a colleague had mentioned (a lot) their fabulous Tuesday night offer of any pizza and a beverage for £10! What a bargain so we trotted off through torrential rain for some delicious eats. If you are unfamiliar with The Stable they serve homemade pizzas, pies and salads with locally sourced ingredients. They now have several restaurants over the South West and originated in Bridport - if you ever get the chance to visit one I highly recommend as they are very tasty, have friendly staff and the cider tasting challenge (5 half pints of different local ciders) is a great start to a meal / night out!! I ordered the Joe Gundry which includes smoked mackrel, smoked salmon and fresh spinach among the toppings YUM and the hubs had a Longhorn Jim and announced this was his favourite ever. I think the combo of chorizo, beef and ham helped - total carnivore my husband!

Snow lust

For the past 2 Januarys I've been lucky enough to go skiing with a terrific group of people. The first year I went I was total novice and had never skied before and trotted off to Whistler in Canada to see if I could learn to like the sport. My hubs is a huge fan and had blackmailed persuaded me to go along and at least try. Up until that holiday I was absolutely that person who thought spending so much money to be cold on holiday was utter madness. But after a lot of lessons and a few mishaps I came back completely converted....Fast forward to January 2013 and I spent a week in Les Arcs where I could still remember how to get down a mountain (winner!!) unfortunately due to the wedding/honeymoon in Maui the disposable funds simply weren't there to join the GSD crew this year who have returned again to the incredible resort of Whistler. We are beyond jealous, especially as while we stalk the resort through their webcams we can see that the weather is all clear blue skies and sunshine. There is talk of a possible late season trip potentially being an option and with the Winter Olympics looming (and even Channel 4's Jump programme) getting me even more ski obsessed I think I can safely say I've got the bug!!

Grown up thoughts

This week was also the week I started to think properly about long term futures (yawn). With a new pension and share save scheme launching at work I'm finally at the ripe old age of 36 starting to think about the FUTURE eek. Normally my long term spending projects are more handbag based but maybe now I'm an old married lady I'm starting to become more sensible!! Surely not? But if I want that Cornwall move I'd best get my savings on...

The week ahead

This week will mainly be consisting of working, a couple of Webinars as I try to improve myself and a long overdue hair appointment on Saturday! After which I will hopefully be seeing the lovely Mrs L for a massively overdue Christmas present drop off (worst godmother ever 'tis me)

Hope you have all had a good week I'd love to hear about it!!

Lxx

Schedule Sunday # 1

Welcome to the first Schedule Sunday post! This is where I'm going to ramble on about my past week as well as what is coming up in a hopefully entertaining way :)

I had a funny week this week:

A bit of a makeover

The hubs spent a lot of time redesigning the blog to give it a fresh makeover - and doesn't it look good?? There were a couple of iterations along the way but I'm in love with the new look and I hope you like it, what do you think? I'd love to know in the comments.

A fashion blogger?

I was contacted by BBC Radio West Midlands regarding the financial results of Marks and Spencers - they were going to be discussing the results live on air and had seen my previous posts about M&S fashion (see here and here) and wondered if I would agree to be one of the interviewees on their morning radio show. This was odd as a) I wouldn't call myself a fashion blogger b) I don't live in the West Midlands and c) I'm no expert in fashion retailing! But like most people I have an opinion on M&S and especially their clothing (well everyone loves their food right?) so I thought why not? The segment was fine I was interviewed alongside a bona fide retail expert and I don't think I made too much of a fool of myself plus it certainly made for an interesting start to my Thursday morning!!

Thai via Nandos
Last night the hubs and I decided to venture out for dinner, he's been craving Nandos for a while now so we trekked over to our nearest one (about a 15 minute drive) unfortunately being Saturday night it was heaving and the wait was nearly an hour. Hunger won out and we decided to investigate a Thai restaurant I've walked past more times than I can remember but never been in. And I'm so glad we did!! The atmosphere was super relaxed and the food was incredibly good and excellent value, the service was slow but overall this was a big win from an impromptu night out!!

The Good Wife Obsession
I wrote on Wednesday about my current obsession with the American TV show The Good Wife (see here) well I've managed this week to watch the entire first season (I LOVE Netflix!!!!!) and I've started Season 2 it's just addictive. I love the characters, the scenarios, the escapism of thinking if only I'd gone to law school this could've been me (just go with it it's escapism remember)....plus for a nice change the female characters are especially well rounded and realistically written. Plus I'm totally drooling over their office attire, shallow but true!!

Planning blog posts the Loulou way

My Filofax Blog Planning Section

As the blog is now a key focus area for me I thought I'd share my blog post planning organisation...that makes it sound posher than it is but what I have done is set aside a section in my Filofax for blog planning. There is a specific tab in my Projects sections that is just for my blog schedule, ideas about future posts and notes about the blog. I have the Projects section right at the front of my binder, ahead of my calendars as I refer to it a lot and want it easily accessible. I then write in my calendar (Week on one page with notes) the posts and whether they are scheduled or to be written this way I know what is planned and what is yet to write or completed already! With a New Year Resolution to keep I'm aiming to be super organised with the blog to fit it around working full time as well.

The week ahead

Coming up this week I have LOTS on at work, I love this part of my job the planning, the presentations, the thinking ahead...it's my favourite part of marketing. Identifying who the customer is and how I can target them and make them purchase...so to make the rest of the week easier I'm trying to be organised and do 2 things:

1. Meal Plan: the hubs and I are rubbish sometimes and thinking of what to have for dinner so this week I'm trialling a new system (well not new as such but I've not done it for ages) and planning out our meals for the week! I've just ordered the Knock Knock Meal Planner from Amazon ideally I wanted the magnetised version to stick on the fridge but I can just use magnets to attach the sheets once completed!! Tuesday we are planning a night out but apart from that I'm going to plan out some favourites and a newbie to try....
2. Wardrobe Plan: I've tweeted these before, I do find it easier to plan what I'm wearing in advance so I don't spend wasted time in the mornings wondering where an item is (or having to iron things ugh I hate ironing!!) Considering the monsoon like conditions Dorset has been having it's all about practical footwear and warm layers...not glamorous but completely essential!

So there we are the first Schedule Sunday, it goes to show I certainly still have the ability to ramble that's for sure! I'd love to know what you are all up to over the upcoming week!!

Lxx

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