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Tag: musings

Am I having a Quarter Life Crisis? | QueenBeady

I think I had a mini mid-twenties crisis on my blogging hiatus. I’m 25 next month, no biggie? A whole quarter of a century and halfway to fifty. You can probably hear the sound of me hitting my head against the laptop whilst you read this. In fact there is a whole wikipedia post on the matter!

Whilst I took my hiatus, I thought at the time it was a perfect opportunity to relax and not have to worry about scheduling posts and how many hits the page had. It was going to be a time to just not have to think about anything, really. Looking back on that period I realised whilst it was good for my blogging soul, that month I tortured myself with other things to replace the blogging void in my life.

Rightmove. I love looking at houses at the best of times, but this website consumed me for a whole month. Ever find yourself lusting after a house? Yeah, me too. But, instead of just looking at them on the website I decided I was going to to book two viewings, luckily, my current Husband & I (I say ‘’current’’ as I swear he wanted to kill/divorce me after receiving email after email of suggested homes we should go view!) was saved as one had just been taken off the market. We went to view the house, it was ok, I obviously went in to it with my head over heart but it was a good job the other half was there to keep me in real world & thankfully we didn’t end up with a mortgage the size of the whole universe.

My mind had been plagued with thoughts of babies. God help me?! I was obsessed with the fact we needed a bigger house for the eventualities that a brood might bring, because our little two up/two down would not cope with this. What?! I mean, Mr C & I know we don’t want to hear the tiny sound of pitter patters anytime soon, but for some reason I could not stop thinking about it. I even had a little weep when he told me that ‘’it wouldn’t be anytime soon.’’ I really had hit rock bottom.

You’re all probably groaning at my apparent meltdown because really, 25 is no age at all. I’ve bought a house, I’m married and I have a really good job that I enjoy. In fact most of you will think that I have done too much, too soon. Whilst you’re all probably right, I would not change it for the world.

I have some wonderful things in my life, that I am so grateful for! I’ve come to the conclusion that I can’t switch off and blogging is a tool that helps me keep focussed even if it is just typing a few random words every now & then. I also need to remember to live in the now and stop thinking about if’s and but’s of the future. What will be, will be. Que cera, cera!

25 is an exciting age where you can enjoy so much and live in the now!

Of course, my post ends happily because I feel like I have had an epiphany, I have so much to look forward to and I am just enjoying my little space on the world wide web too. So, if anyone else had a mid-twenties crisis in the run up to the (big) TWO FIVE, I would love to hear from you and how you dealt with it or are you going through it now? In which case, let me know so we can soldier on through this together!

If you need a little pick me up, please join me as a regular host of the #HappySelves chat over on twitter, every first Monday of the month (starting 3rd November 2014) it’s a lovely chat where we all share good vibes and I would love you to join me on this one as it will mark a week of me turning 25, I might need you

Rebecca xxx

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September 19, 2014
Music Monday | QueenBeady

My eyes and ears have just been subjected to the horrendous music video that is “It’s my birthday” by Will.I.Am ft. Cody whatever his name is (he is that irrelevant on the music scene I just happened to forget his name only 1 nano second after it popped up on the a screen?)

Now, I am no music expert but I do like to indulge in bopping along to a good beat and gushing about my new favourite band (albeit no one is yet to beat Haim. Seriously guys, Danielle, Este, Alana, be my best friend already?!) but I’m pretty sure that singing “It’s my birthday, I got the dollar, I’m gunna spend my money” over and over and over and over (you get the picture!) again is not viably classed as music, surely? The video to coincide with the song was just as equally cringe-worthy. Id like to meet the person who directed that one, shake their hand and congratulate them on the worst video to ever violate my poor eyes.

Is it just me but the music that is being produced at the moment just incredibly dull. Despite grabbing my attention with the above song with its supposed “catchy” and “repeated” lyric and the very “quirky” video it was for all the wrong reasons. It made me want shove cotton wool in my ears & gauge my eyes out. And don’t get me started on these pre manufactured boy bands that are popping up from every orofice of Simon Cowells body; with their spiky quiffs, denim cut off jackets & guitar stances? What are you doing? I don’t want I hear about your teenage angst and how you love that “hot girl” because of “her booty” or whatever you feel appropriate to sing about. It’s not cool!

Whilst this is not a rant, merely an observation, I’m sure my audience will be divided with these thoughts (although I am secretly hoping you will be siding with me!) music is always going to have the drivel seeping through the huge, empty, music cracks. Ok. So I’m not going to bore you with my incessant whining but instead share with you the bands I am currently loving at the moment.

Clean bandit feels so fresh but has a slight circa early noughties club vibe to their tunes but they work it. With the up & coming Jess Glynne providing vocals on “Rather Be” you cannot help but get sucked in to singing out loud to this one. I simply cannot wait to see them live at Leeds Festival.

Jungle. How on earth can they be so cool. Literally every piece of music they are creating at the moment makes my ears prick up with glee. Again, I am ridiculously excited to see these guys at Leeds fest, I will be camped at the front early before lots of other people realise they are playing!

I had the Lucozade Energy advert song playing in my head ALL THE TIME. So when Lucozade answered my tweet sharing with me who this delightful female rapper was, Dominique Young followed me. Slight fan girl moment ensued. I quickly typed her name along with Leeds festival in to google and it was made clear, she too, would be performing in the 1 extra tent at Leeds! I have a terrible love for female rappers, I like to think I too am a rapper capable of I G G Ys terribly catchy songs!

I love finding new artists to gush about (especially before they become mainstream!) so I would love to hear about some of your favourites bands or artists at the moment so I can feel the love too! Give me a comment below and enlighten me please. Rebecca xxx

July 21, 2014
The Wedding Diaries: We all scream, for Ice Cream | QueenBeady

The Ice Cream Van was a MUST! I argued this point to every Tom, Dick & Harry who thought it was a stupid idea as the desert. In the end, everyone handed it to me. It was a great touch! Alex from Sweet Scoops was absolutely adorable and possibly the cutest little bean I have ever met. The whole thing just suits her down to the ground.

She had decorated the van with our wedding date and our married ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ and even played music as she came down. Everything about it just made me a little giddy kipper (more than I am normally!)

The ice cream flavours were the delicous Yorvale brand and it was so tasty. We had sorbets and ice cream flavours so there was something for everyone!

Sadly Mr C could not manage an ice cream (despite telling me everyday before the wedding he was going to eat 100!) as he was busy being a little bit sick after eating too much blue cheese from the cheese platters! (This makes me really sad that he spent some of his wedding day with his head down the toilet!)

What did you do on your wedding day that made it a little different or did you have an ice cream van too?

Rebecca xxx

Images taken by Jenny Prest Photography

July 9, 2014
The Wedding Diaries: The Little Details | QueenBeady

It’s the little details that mean a lot to me at weddings. I want to feel like I am taking a glimpse in to the Bride & Grooms life. Our special day was no exception.

James family are die hard farmers, we rear chickens and love the outdoors. So what was more fitting than a ‘’Countryfied’’ Wedding. My family are very crafty and creative so it was even better that there was so many home spun features on our big day.

The old potato chitting trays welcomed our guests on arrival. Despite the rain we managed to get the ‘’Mr & Mrs Clayton’s Wedding This Way’’ Sign out so everyone knew where they were going.

I think everyone was shocked when they walked in to the hall and saw just how amazing it was and how much love had gone in to decking it out. I have always imagined what peoples faces would be like when they opened their invites & saw that we were having our wedding reception in a village hall.

We managed to get a lovely shot the day before of the venue before chaos ensued. I’m sure you will agree it look PRETTY amazing, if I don’t mind saying so myself.

My mum sewed plenty of bunting to wrap around a few of the tables, like the top table and the Cake/Photo/Post Box table. It gave it just that extra pizzazz (is that even a word, it hasn’t got a squiggly red line under it?!) of colour to compliment the ivory marquee lining.

The ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ on the top table was a Hobby Craft special & so was the red post box that Mr C and I painted at his work. My mum paper mache’d the ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ too, she is so super clever!

The napkins are from the Cath Kidston sale that I picked up right when we got engaged so we have always known that this was the type of wedding we were going for

The centre pieces & flowers were very natural and country garden style. We didn’t want a huge centrepiece on the tables that people could not see one another! The ceramic jugs were an ebay find, we had lovely duck egg blue, blush pink and cream jugs. Each Table was different. We were a little boring with the table numbers and stuck to ‘’1, 2, 3’’ (you get the picture!) but we bought so cute chalk board table number stands which looked great!

I loved our little place settings, simple brown luggage labels that my mum decorated with doilies and the ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ ribbon. It was so simple but so effective. And I love how ours said Mr & Mrs Clayton on them!

Because we didn’t have ‘’favours’’ as such we created buckets for the children at the wedding that had sweets, magazines, colouring pen and pencils. One even had a set of fake moustaches which went down a treat! It kept the children happy during the speeches and throughout the meal and it was something we were so happy that we did. Thanks to my super Aunty Kate!

Like I said, we didn’t have favours so instead we opted for a cute Kandy Kart that kept guests entertained all day/night, rather than taking something home that they were going to stuff in a cupboard to never see again or, throw in the bin and never see again. Plus, it was a nice talking point for people to have a laugh & a joke about how many sweets they were getting.
Donna was fabulous & even sourced some material that matched the bridesmaid dresses. How’s that for service?
We got to choose 10 different types of sweets and we also got to keep what was left. So, we are currently wading our way through LOTS of sweets!

Our beloved ‘’R & J’’. I had seen these all over pinterest and thought, ‘’I HAVE TO HAVE THEM’’ and so I did. My uncle is super talented as he is a joiner by trade. I asked him nicely if he would mind doing them for us and he made sure they were perfect! They looked amazing when the lights were turned off. Again, it just added that extra little sparkle to our wedding!

Now, let me bring you on to the food. It was to die for! When we decided on a DIY wedding the first people we thought of were our local pub, The Fox & Hounds. Their food is amazing, delicious and locally sourced. They did not disappoint with their fairings.

The Chicken Liver Parfait is my particular favourite starter, add that to the succulently warm olive bread you have a winning combination.

Now, with James’ family mainly all farmers, meat is something of a task to them when they aren’t eating their own field fodder. So it was a welcome surprise that they were all saying it was some of the best beef they have EVER tasted.

Food was so important to us, because most weddings you go to, the food is just ‘’okay’’ and you want to feel full. I hate to blow our own trumpet but I think we got it spot on, 100% with the caterers, so a MASSIVE thank you to Alan and his team.

What made your day feel special and set you apart from other weddings you’ve been to? I can’t wait to bring you our other instalments of the big day, it is keeping the memory alive for me.

Rebecca

Images taken by Jenny Prest Photography

July 6, 2014
Lust List: June Picnic | QueenBeady

Now that June is slowly coming to an end I thought it was only right to post a Lust List.

June has been an exceptional month for me as it was the month of the wedding & honeymoon and we couldn’t be happier with how everything panned out! Some people have even said it was THE BEST wedding they had ever been to, which was testament to the hard work that James & I put in to the making of the day.

So we will now have money! Which means one things… SHOPPING. I am a free woman with no constraints on my purse strings (except for my driving lessons) so I can spend, spend, spend!

Coco Chanel Mademoiselle: I had always dreamed of wearing this delicious scent at our wedding but sadly at £98.50 a 7.5ml parfum bottle that would have paid for a few bits & bobs. You can find it here at The Perfume Shop along with lots of other beautiful perfumes too!

Links of London XS Sweetie Bracelet: I have teeny tiny wrists (I wish I could say that about my hips!) so this bracelet is perfect for my delicate little wrist bones. Priced at £120 on Links of London you will not be disappointed with the selection of jewellery on offer here.

H&M Floppy Hat: What’s a sunny day without a super elegant floppy hat that oozes Hepburn-esque style? A really rubbish one that’s what! It’s in the H&M sale for £9 which is a steal, find it here at H&M

New Look Co-Ord: Who doesn’t love this co-ord style at the moment? It’s chic & sassy at the same time. Everyone on Capri Island was wearing them. So if it’s good enough for the super rich Italians its good enough for us. I love the vintage, floral design! Each piece shown is priced at £17.99 and can be found in store or online at New Look.

Birkenstocks Madrid Style: Ahhhhh, my lovely Birkenstocks! Having started suffering with a “dropping in step” I have had to act quick to find a few pairs of shoes that help lift it & these are just perfect. Especially for just slipping on and off on a Summers day. I for one, will always be buying these sandals from now on! Stylish and orthopaedic (see that big word I just threw in there, yeahhhhh enjoy it!). You can buy your Birkenstocks at Cloggs UK where you will find an array of brands and unknown footwear that will keep your eyes entertained all night!

John Lewis Picnic Hamper: What’s a picnic without a picnic hamper? Well it would not be a picnic. FULL STOP. Now we have a super duper new John Lewis at York Retail Park & we have John Lewis vouchers I can see myself getting sucked into that middle class values type of life! Everything is just so pretty and beautiful that you can just stare at everything 24/7. Not good for the bank balance, but totally ok for the picnic scene! This hamper along with the cutlery and glasses etc it is priced at £100 but so totally worth it, right? You can find it in store or online at John Lewis

So what would you wear for a picnic or why would you pack for your day out in the glorious sunshine. It would have to be ham salad and tuna & cucumber sandwiches and then plenty of strawberries/raspberries with lashings of cream and sugar (plus a bottle of prosecco!) PERFECT!

Rebecca xxx

June 25, 2014