Knit One, Purl One...

Yes I am still madly knitting.

Because yes I am somewhat obsessive that way.  Okay make that A LOT obsessive.  

The seed stitch scarf I mentioned I was working on in a previous post came out pretty well.  I even managed to make and add some tassels to give it a complete and proper finish.

I also did a another glittery scarf for another friend, this one in black and silver. Sadly I forgot to take a picture of this project so you'll just have to imagine it.  See it looks pretty awesome doesn't it.

With 3 scarves done I've finally moved onto a bigger project - a puppy blanket.  It's in a neat checkerboard pattern which looks really effective.   And I'm using circular needles for the very first time which is surprisingly easy to do.  Go me.

I'm hoping to get it finished before puppy ends up being dog.  Cross fingers and wish me luck

The Viewing Files: Outlander

Outlander is a show that has it all.  

There's the beautiful Scottish scenery, an element of time travel, lots of history and action with sword fights and battles and men acting all manly and then of course there's the romance.

Swoony, all out passionate romance and not a helpless damsel in sight.  Claire the heroine is a strong, opinionated, independent woman who knows exactly what she wants.

And who can blame her for falling for this man,

Jamie Fraser, a tall red-headed Scotsman who with just a look can make a woman drop her knickers and who'll make you wish that all men were exactly like him. Strong, caring, passionate who looks at you as if you were the most wonderful thing on this Earth.

 Seriously.  The looks this guy gives are totally swoon worthy.

The stubble helps also.

Excuse me as I melt into a puddle on the floor.  I might just need a whiskey or some chocolate to recover.

June's Buyers Archive... sort of?

Would you believe I actually spent no money on myself for a whole month.  I think that might be a first.  

Part of the reason was that it was my birthday.  And not just any ordinary birthday but a 'big' birthday.  You know the kind - one of those ones that end in a zero.

As much as I love celebrating other people's birthday and making a fuss for them I generally don't go in for much of a deal for my own birthday.  Mostly because some of my past birthdays have been complete disasters so I tend to keep low on the day and hide out.  This year though I decided to celebrate not only the day but the whole week.  Yep you heard right.  I had a birthday week.  And it was kind of awesome.

There was cake and presents and cake and presents and did I mention the cake?  Best way to celebrate a birthday ever.  So here's a look at some of the presents I got.  As you can see I got all the pretties.  Which is so me.

Bendon Lovable Robe in Berry

I've been needing a new robe for absolutely ages so I was super pleased to get this from my mum.  And it's in pink.  Which I love. 

Socks
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love and adore socks.  So it was no surprise that I got some for my birthday.  Even better one they are both pink and one pair even has cats on them.  So cool.

Cardigan pin
My aunt gave me this because apparently you must get a least one piece jewellery for your birthday.  I love the dragonfly but I haven't worn this yet as I'm a little worried that it might leave a big hole in my cardigans.  Eventually I will give it a wear.  Maybe on one of my older and sadder looking cardys first though.

Heart shaped crystal trinket dish 

During my birthday week I took my mum to my favourite charity shop and she had a fab time buying heaps of stuff including this pretty trinket dish which she gave me.  Just the sort of thing I have been looking for to put all my bangles in.

Typo candle and mug and a pretty bunch of flowers

I was totally spoilt by my friends.  One brought me these super pretty candle and mug, both from one of my fav shops Typo, and another gave me these pretty bunch of flowers.

The Diary of Anne Frank

I actually asked my mum to get me this as my previous copy had gone all yellow and the pages were falling out.  As it's my all time favourite book I just had to have a new copy and even better this one is in hardback.

Charlie Pop Vinyl from Supernatural

I've been eyeing up this pop figure for ages 1) because Supernatural is one of my favourite shows and 2) because Charlies was so awesome in it, so birthday week gave me a perfect excuse to treat myself courtesy of some birthday money..  Because you know you just have to.

Travel Wallet
And another present I brought myself with birthday money.  Because two presents are better than one. And this is a totally practical gift because I needed something like this for our upcoming holiday to Canada.

Camera

And finally probably the best present of all - my new camera which my wonderful Other Half brought me.  Isn't he the bestest?  I can't wait to try it out.

I also got some T2 tea, so yum and an autographed picture of Tyler Hoechlin aka Bearded Sunshine from Teen Wolf which one of my super friends got me when she was at a Con in Australia recently.

See totally spoilt.  

And finally there was cake.  Lots and lots of cake.

July's Plans and June's Outcomes

It's hard to believe that it's July already.  Half the year is over and I feel like I've accomplished almost nothing.

Last month's plans and goals didn't go too bad in the scheme of things, considering I've been fighting off this horrible virus which keeps rearing up its head and making me cough heaps.

I managed to read most of the books on my reading list.  Sadly most of them weren't as good as I thought they would be - don't you just hate that - though I did really enjoy Find Her.  I can always count on a good thriller to keep me entertained.

My viewing was also a bit hit and miss; Hex was just too odd despite having Michael Fassbender in it while Macbeth was just okay but The Tunnel: Sabotage was just brilliant.  So once again a thriller to the rescue.

As for losing weight and getting fit, well the losing weight is going slowly while the getting fit has taken a bit hit due to this cough and I haven't managed to go on a decent walk in weeks which is quite disheartening as I was doing so well with my daily walks.

Oh well hopefully this month will be a lot better.

First up reading goals.

1.     The night sister by Jennifer McMahon
        I really love Jennifer McMahon's books.  They're a little weird but totally creepy and 
        complicated with lots of twists and turns.  I'm hoping this is up to her usual standard.
2.     Security by Gina Wohlsdorf.
        A kind of horror/thriller this is either going to be really good or really bad.  I'm crossing 
        my fingers for the former.
3.     How to find love in a book shop by Veronica Henry
        A book featuring a book store you just knew I had to read it.

4.     A decent interval (BBC audio book)
        I adore Bill Nighy and I especially adore him in the BBC's Charles Paris mystery series 
        of which this is the latest.  I totally have to add this to my audio book collection.
5.     You, Me and Them
        I came across this totally unexpectedly and just knew I had to give it a try.  And why I 
        hadn't heard of it before I have no idea.  Especially since I love Anthony Head.  Fangirl 
        failing as usual it seems.

6.     Versailles
        Having read so many good reviews about this it was pretty much a certainty that it was
        going to be added to my viewing list. Nothing beats a raunchy, sexy historical series 
        with plenty of backstabbing and intrigue for a bit of weekend unwinding.
7.     Marcella
        British crime show?  Yep you knew I just had to add this to my list.

As for the other goals they are pretty much the same with a few others added in because over doing things seems to be my life goal.

8.     Lose weight and get fit.
        Seriously hoping this cough goes away soon so I can get back in to doing my daily 
        walks around the hilly streets where I live.
9.     Write more
        Yeah it's pretty much a constant goal.  Still I'm determined to do better.
10.   Knitting
        A goal that's actually going pretty well.  I've managed to knit two scarves so far and 
        have almost completed my third one.  Knitting scarves seems to be my thing at the 
        moment.  I'm hoping to do a jumper soon - I just need to find a nice simple pattern that 
        I like.  A v neck in maybe fisherman's rib or seed stitch.
11.   Selling stuff
        I really need to get back into downsizing some of our things.  We've just got so much 
        stuff that we never use and have inherited from relatives that is sitting in cupboards 
        and drawers that it's time for some major clearing out.  Especially if we downside our 
        house and move somewhere smaller.
 11.   Canada trip!!!
        It's official.  In 8 weeks I'm going on holiday to Canada no less.  I'm really excited and
        just a little nervous.  Mostly because I don't particularly like flying.  But since every 
        country I want to go to is long long way across the sea flying is pretty much my only 
        option.  Luckily so far we've booked and paid for our airfares, car hire, travel insurance
        and hotel accommodation in Toronto so the planning is going pretty well.  Still.... there 
        is heaps I need to do before hand.