Hey guys,

Sorry for the late Saturday edition of the movie review but i was really tired yesterday after a very stressful week at work, but enough about that on with the review.

I remember when Made in Dagenham was advertised coming into the cinema and i knew instantly that i really wanted to see it. TIme went on and as i don’t like going to the cinema i totally forgot about it, then i came across it in the supermarket the other day. I was totally right in thinking i would enjoy it, i loved it.

A dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination.

Another thing that i totally loved about this film is Bob Hoskins is in it and he totally reminds me of my granddad. I recommend you watch it, i will say it is a little girly but i reckon guys would enjoy it too,

I rate this film 8/10

Sugary Dreams

Katy x

Hey guys,

I am currently in the middle of watching the film ‘Children of Men’ and might i say this is an amazing film and i have no idea why i have never heard of it before, it was released in 2006!

I seriously recommend you to watch this film, if you come across it in a shop you would probably pick it up and put it down or even just blank it completely, i know i would and probably have. More the fool me as this film is honestly amazing, watch it now!

I couldn’t really think of what to blog and it has been a while, but i’ve decided that as from this week every Saturday i will blog about a film that i have watched recently and strongly suggest to watch. Here is what IMDB says what the film is about :

In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child’s birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.

Enjoy!

Sugary Dreams

x

Hey guys,

I came across Mad Men on a blog and i am so pleased i found it. I am absolutely addicted. It’s based in the 1950s in an advertising office. There is four seasons out so far and another is on the way starting in March this year. You should definitely have a look at it, it’s very vintage, brilliant story lines, beautiful outfits and they are living in the era that James and i should have be born in.

Look at those dresses!!

This show has pretty much everything in it, affairs, amazing style, it’s set in a time where drinking in the office is acceptable, chatty housewives, lots of rule breaking and very luxurious lifestyles.

Sugary Dreams

Katy x

Hey guys,

I thought for a blog post i would post about some of my goals for 2012. So here it goes:

1.

Last year i tried my hand at making jam for gifts for Christmas, i made a rhubarb and vanilla jam and also a mixed berry jam. This year i’m going to try and make a different jam monthly. I really enjoy jam making, it is a time consuming process but the end result is definitely love it. So keep an eye out for more jam recipes this year.

2.

Last year i found a style of clothes i really enjoyed wearing, it’s 1950s esque dresses, and dresses in general. Before last year i didn’t wear dresses ever full stop, now i’m never out of dresses unless i am at work. You will very rarely see me in trousers out of work. This year i am trying my hand at dress making, i am very excited about this. I got a sewing machine off of my grandma when i was visiting at Christmas so i am overly excited about hooking this up and getting used to it again.

3.

Knitting, i love knitting and i am obsessed with buying balls of wool, i just can’t help myself when i go to craft shops. This year i plan to knit a lot more and get a lot of my Christmas stuff for 2012 organised earlier on in the year.

That’s three of my goals, i do have a huge list but i don’t want to post all of them because it would take me so long to type up and too long for you to read.

Sugary Dreams

Katy

x

Hi guys,

I’m posting up a sad post, i do apologize. My grandma’s brother died a few days ago, i never met him in my lifetime. But i guess i am posting this just to let the world know this man existed and may my best wishes be with my grandma and her family. I shall light a candle in my grandma’s brother’s honor.

Times like these remind me how important all the special people are in my life. My mum, my dad, my sister, my brother, James all of my other close family and also my friends. I need to make more time for my family, i never see them enough. I love them all.

Sorry for the sad post.

Best wishes

Katy

Hey guys,

I am organizing a craft fair in Aberdeen, Scotland in April/ May time. I am looking for people who are interested in having a table at the fair.

If you are interested or anyone you know who is interested, please email : birdcagecrafts@gmail.com with photos of your work or a link to your website if you have one.

Sugary Dreams

x

Hey guys,

How is everyone’s 2012 going? My year has been very good so far, i have been overspending too much so i have had to take my bank card out of my bag so i no longer spend money on it.

Today James met me after work and we went to Hobbycraft just down the road from my work, i bought myself lots of goodies as i always do. I finally bought myself a mini sewing kit to keep in my handbag! I was also very tempted to buy myself a mini sewing machine but James convinced me not to, which on looking back was a good idea. I was also looking at fabric today too and i was horrified at how expensive it was per metre. I’m going to have to find fabric somewhere cheaper.

James and i went out for a late lunch at the Homemade Burger Co, you have to do pretty much everything there yourself. It’s very self service the only things the staff do is take your order, take your money, take your food out to you and then clear your plates for you. I must say though the food is really good, and i will be eating there again i’m not sure about James though but we shall see.

Sneaky peeks of stuff i will be using for projects and photos of my little sewing kit. But sadly as always tumblr isn’t working properly so i will have to upload them later.

James and i are sitting cracking nuts with the new nutcracker James bought. I discovered i do not like almonds or walnuts. Bit of boring knowledge for you there.

Sugary Dreams

Katy x

Hey guys,

I got myself a new Filofax and i have written all of my goals for the year 2012. My lists have sort of got incredibly long, but i have twelve months to complete these lists of things to do, which is a larger time frame than my Christmas prep lists were, they were totally crazy!

I would blog and tell you all of my goals for this year but there are just so many that the blog post would be just too long. Keep your eyes peeled though because i am very close to revealing some exciting news in the next couple of months :)

Sugary Dreams

Katy

x

Hey guys,

Happy New Year!

2011 is now over and has ended, in comes to replace it 2012. I have a very good feeling that this is going to be an excellent and productive year. It has started off to a great start.

I went back to work today, it’s very relaxed now that is Christmas is over. It’s nice to go into work knowing it’s not going to be too stressful.

For my Christmas from James i got a taxidermy love bird, some people may find that a big strange but it died of natural causes. I was a little freaked out at first but i have always loved it from a far but now i have my own taxidermy piece. It’s the start of an amazing collection i can just sense it.

Yesterday James and i went shopping for a few bits and pieces. James had to pick up some black and white film and i bought myself the Mad Men boxset. We walked into a shopping centre in the middle of town and i froze. They had real live owls just sitting there perched on a branch. I got to stroke the cutest owl i have ever seen. I wish i had got a photo with the owl but sadly they queue was really big. Another good thing that came out of that shopping trip was James and i are going to go visit the falconry some time soon, i am really excited. If you didn’t know, i love owls.

Sugary Dreams

Katy x

Hi guys,

I thought for my last blog post of 2011 that i would tell you all about my best bits of this past year. I’ve been thinking about all of the good things and all of the bad, and i’ve erased all of the bad because it just isn’t relevant all that it has done has made me stronger than ever. But this blog post is dedicated to all of the best bits. So here it is my best bits of 2011!!!

1 - I met the love of my life.

That’s right, this year in June i met the love of my life James, and i truly do mean it when i say that. He is my best friend, partner in crime and i class him as a big part of my family. A lot of my family have met him and class him as the family too. I never thought i could ever be this happy, and it is just be pure chance that we even met. I had just got out of a relationship with someone who i had been really good friends with before hand and we just didn’t work as a couple. Then my sister Sarah, a group of my friends and i went out to the pub for a small drinking session. After being at the pub for quite some time we went out for a smoke and i see this very attractive man sitting down in the smoking area with a camera. I go over and ask for a lighter (which i didn’t need because i had one in my pocket) but anyways we hit it off and we have been together ever since. I don’t know what i would do without him, and i hope i never have to find out. I love you James.

2 - My Sister Sarah

This year my sister Sarah and i have grown very close. We have always been close but this year we have just got on so well, we are always talking and being the way i imagine sisters should, but this past year we have become very good friends. I knew this day would eventually come but i thought it wouldn’t be until we had both had children and had married and moved apart. But thankfully it came around sooner rather than later. We no longer live in the same house which probably helps us get on, but i think we have gone through so much together that now we have started to appreciate each other, which i think is something my mum has always wanted to happen and now she is always surprised when she hears Sarah and i have been up to some adventures together. At the beginning of this year Sarah moved to Glasgow with her now ex, i traveled to Glasgow pretty much every weekend or sometimes a few times a week to go and visit her and i think those trips are what brought us here today. I don’t say it enough but i do love you Sarah.

3 - I know what i want to do with my life

Finally after 21 years i finally know what i want to do with my life. It has taken me a long time to decide but i have got there eventually and i am very happy with my choice. Now all i need to do is make the dream come true, I am very lucky i have a lot of support from my family and from James, I have a craft fair that i am helping organize next year as well as taking part in. Craft has always been a big part of my life but i never thought i could have so many opportunities to get my work out there.  So as you can imagine i am very excited for what 2012 brings, i think it is going to be one of the best years of my life.

4 - I got healthy again

For those of you who know me personally i have had a pretty hellish year with my health. In February of this year i had what was suspected as two micro strokes which put me in hospital for a week. It took a long time to recover but once i recovered my health improved dramatically. I cannot remember the last time i have ever been this healthy. I have started eating fruit and vegetables which i have never done before, before i met James the only vegetable i ate was peas. Which was a disgrace, now my favourite vegetable is broccoli which surprises everyone in my family, now to just get Sarah to like vegetables then my family will not be strange anymore.

5 - Tattoos

This year i started off my sleeve on my left arm, i got a five hour Lenore tattoo on my arm. This was a big milestone because there really was no going back once i got this. I already had quite a few tattoos but this was a big one and everyone would see it on a daily basis and i had to think what people would think of me with this tattoo. Then i realized that it was my body and i could do anything i pleased with it and i’m so glad i came to terms with that because i just haven’t stopped. Next year James and I are going to get tattooed together seeing as we both have a love of tattoos. It’s going to be such a good year.

6 - I have finally found a style i like

A year ago if you had met me you would know that i very rarely wore dresses and i didn’t wear very much make up. I was very into the alternative scene and i had been ever since i was at least 12, but i never really felt very comfortable in any of these clothes. Now i have a very vintage and girly look to me, which i never imagined i would. I am always in dresses now or shorts, i hate wearing jeans they make me feel so constricted. I love my style now it makes me look very presentable and i feel so comfortable in it. I get quite a lot of compliments from my family members towards my clothes. Whereas before no one said anything because my clothes were a bit out there.

Those were the top 6 things that i wanted to share with you for my year 2011. Thank you very much to those of you who read my blog, hopefully next year i will make it a bit brighter by adding more photos.

I am currently patiently waiting for James to come back from England. He’s been away since the 21st of December and i am so excited because he will be back in 45 minutes. So i should really go and straighten my hair and make myself look all pretty. I was meant to be working tomorrow morning at 7.30am so i was going to be going to bed early tonight, but thankfully my work gave me until the 3rd of January off so the house are having a party and i get more time to spend with James before i go back to work.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Sugary Dreams

Katy x
 

Hey guys,

I hope all of my readers had a very merry christmas! I would say that’s Christmas over now but i’m waiting for James to get home so we can have our own mini Christmas. Fort Christmas we are calling it, lots of parcels, blankets, cosy pjs and lots and lots of tea and perhaps a late Christmas film.

As for the Christmas that has already passed, i had a great time with my family, i got so many brilliant and lovely presents. I also treated myself to a netbook with amazon vouchers i received, that is what i am currently typing on now. I thought it would be very good for keeping up to to date with blogging and business related things. So now i can keep on top of everything. Also i own it, i’ve never owned my own computer before so it’s really nice to not have to give it back to anyone. As for the delivery on my netbook, i ordered it on the 26th December and got it delivered today, now that is amazing service amazon :)

Now that the big part of Christmas is over i have had time to de stress. I was very worried i wasn’t going to be able to get all my gifts made in time but thankfully i got everyone’s made and wrapped and everyone loved them. My jars of mixed berry jam i gave out as gifts went down really well as well, everyone was impressed with my jam making abilities.

I got very excited yesterday, i went into a stationary shop and instead of buying myself some filofax inserts i bought myself a completely brand new filofax. A little secret that i will let you know about me is i love stationary and i am very organised, i mean it’s unhealthy, and i actually own four filofaxes as it is and i felt the need to just add another one to my collection. I’ve been trying to get it all organised for the 1st and i am almost there. I have also been sorting out all of my goals for 2012 as well. Yes i know it’s scary.

Sadly i didn’t manage to get many photos over Christmas and new year but next year James and i are doing a photo a day, that’s 366 this year because it is a leap year! So at this time next year i am going to have 366 photos to put in a photo album, i reckon this year is going to be one of the best years of my life and i want to document it as much as i can.

I will try and upload photos later on tonight if tumblr will let me, i will take some photos of my gifts and let you have a little peek of what my Christmas is like :)

Sugary Dreams

x

Hi everyone,

the other day i made my first ever batch of jam which was rhubarb and vanilla flavoured, and yesterday i made a mixed berry jam for Christmas gifts for part of my handmade Christmas 2011. My first ever handmade yet and the first of many to come. I will post the photos on a photo post seeing as tumblr will not allow me to upload photos on this text one…annoying.

Ingredients for my mixed berry jam:

2kg of mixed berries ( i used frozen fruit, but fresh will work also)

2kg of jam sugar with pectin in it.

A small plate, which you should put in the freezer before starting jam.

That’s all you need, no need for a lemon either unlike some homemade jams require.

Firstly pour all of the mixed berries into a large sized pan, i suggest mashing the berries first before adding the sugar in. I had great problems mashing the berries later on. I burned myself more than mashing the fruit. 

Once the fruit has been mashed, add 1kg of the jam sugar. Place pan on the hob, stir continuously, the sugar should start to liquidise. After this has happened add another 500g of the jam sugar and keep stirring. The timing for this jam is never the same so it really is the waiting game to see when it is ready to be set.

Once all the fruit has been melted down along with the sugar then take your plate out of the freezer and pop a little of the jam mixture on the plate. Leave for two minutes then gently place your finger in it. If the jam wrinkles it is ready. If not add a little sugar and keep doing until it wrinkles.

When the jam is ready, take off the hob and leave to the side to cool, stirring it every so often to make sure it doesn’t grow a skin on the top. Take your jars and sterilise with hot water and washing up liquid. Then place them in a low heated oven to keep them warm whilst the jam cools.

Once the jam has cooled, ladle into the jars, make sure the rim of the jar does not have jam on it. Make sure it is wiped clean. 

And there you have it, you have some jam :)

Enjoy :)

Sugary dreams

x

Hey guys, for those of you who know me, you will know that i dye my hair a lot. I have went back to natural brown now, normal for a while but i am loving the change. Here’s a pic, posing of course.

Sugary Dreams

x

Hey guys,

For part of my handmade Christmas 2011 i am making jars of jam as gifts. I tried out an unusual flavour choice but it actually worked out really well. I’ve never made jam before until now but it was actually a lot more simple than i thought it was going to be. I will be making jam a lot more from now on. I’m going to try out lots of different flavours.

My sister came over and she watched me make it and helped me stir it when my hand got sore. My sister Sarah gave herself third degree burns making toffee the other day, she has to get a skin graft. Poor girl. She has her op this week so i hope all goes well :)

Here’s some more photos of my jam making adventures :)

Sugary Dreams :)

x

Hey guys,

i hope everyone is well. I just had to blog this Christmas tree idea. It’s amazing and i shall definitely be doing this next year with James. I love it!

Sugary Dreams

x