Scraps, the City and Me

Tales from India

Well hello blogland!! It has been a while but I can confirm I am alive and well in India and am yet to be kidnapped by a handsome Maharajah!!

So here are some random things from my India experience so far!

Traffic in India is CRAZY. Seriously why fit 3 lanes of traffic into a 3 lane highway when you can fit 5. I have sat in enough traffic jams surrounded by beeping cars, auto rikshaws and rikshaws to last me a life time!!

Indian weddings are amazing, spectacular, not to mention long affairs. Komals wedding certainly knocked the socks off of all the one day weddings I have been to in the UK!!

We were adopted into Komals family and were treated so well. The family is enormous, aunts,uncles, cousins, granny, brother and sisters in law all very lovely and welcoming and always on hand to explain wedding rituals and ettiquette to us.

I have learnt that the Sikhs love to party, lots of alcohol and lots of banghra dancing!! I even managed to pick up a few Bollywood moves myself.

Speaking of Bollywood at the reception there was a Bollywood actress there called Neha Dupia who was a friend of the family. Komals cousin was desperate to get a photo with her so he used us tourists as an excuse to introduce himself to her. He never did manage to get a photo I think after the point the she refused to give him her business card his confidence was a little dented!

The event where we all got our hands painted with henna the girls told me that the darker the henna the more your mother in law will love you. That evening we went to Komals who was really peed off that hers hadn't darkened enough whilst mine was ridiculously dark!

At one of the receptions this little Indian granny walked past me and kept giving me the ok sign so I smiled. She took that as an invitation to come over pat my saree, check out the mehndi on my hands and then rather unexpectedly she pinched both my cheeks twice!!!! Very random and slightly embarassing in front of all these people!!

In terms of the travelling we have spent some time in the Rajastan desert where we stayed in these old Havelis which are basicially houses built around a courtyard and painted with lavish frescos. They were beautiful but clearly built for midgets. I swear I have lost numerous brain cells by failing to duck whilst entering our bedrooms.

A couple of nights ago we stayed in mud huts overlooking the desert. They were extremely comfortable swinging seats and four poster beds. I definitiely could get used to that.

Yesterday we visited the Amber Fort in Jaipur which is a fascinating fort containing three different palaces which were used depending on the time of year. It was full of Indian tourists and every now and then one of them would ask me to get in a photo with their child only to find myself getting completely mobbed as about 30 other indians tried to get in the picture. A little scary, perhaps they thought I was a Bollywood star!!! Not!

Last night a couple of us went to see a Bollywood movie at the cinema. It was predominantly in Hindi with a couple of sentances thrown in in English. Thankfully our guide came with us and was able to translate!! The movie was ridiculously lavish and set in the Bahamas. So far removed from actual Indian society it was untrue. My favourite part was when Kylie Minogue made an appearance and did a bit of singing and dancing. Think Kylie may have had a bit of work done since I last saw her!!

As for the Indian food it is nice but having Indian food three times a day is just far too much. I don't think I will want to eat Indian for the next year once I get back from this trip!!

Anyway that's it from me blogland. I have some ridiculously amazing photos from the wedding which I can't wait to share but that will have to wait till I get back!! 

Anyway people I have got to dash there is a McDonalds calling my name and there is not a curry in sight!!!

Over and out blogland!!!

Life of late

Life of late has included:

• Dim Sum yum yum
• Cocktails and more cocktails
• Gossip some scandalous, some not, mostly involving babies. Seriously there is something in the water or people are running out of things to keep themselves busy!
• Good advice from an old friend who knows me better than anyone
• Watching the aftermath of a horrendous hit and run on my road. I heard today that the couple and their baby who were hit are ok and making a good recovery which is excellent news.
• Surprising my Dad for a birthday dinner back in Bristol and him being thrilled that I made it back for him
• Spending a lazy Sunday at home with lots of homemade food
• Coming home on the train I saw that Shimelle has finally posted her amazing recipe for pumpkin cupcakes, seriously they have to be my most favourite cupcake ever!!! Definitely worth checking out. I will be stocking up on tinned pumpkin so I can make them all through the year!
• Being inspired by the Philadelphia TV ads and giving the Tagliatelle a go, and actually it didn't taste bad!

So nothing scrappy from me, honestly I don't have the time or inclination at the moment. But I am heading off with the girls for a scrappy weekend this weekend so I am going to need to get my scrappy butt into gear for that one!

Meanwhile a couple more pics from the mini book I started ages ago:

When I was tearing out pages from this old french book I paid no attention to what was written on the page. This was a mistake as witnessed above. 

 
  
 Thats it from me. Over and out blogland

Hey blogland

Drama, drama, drama is the name of this week and it is only just Wednesday.

It started out on Sunday night when I applied for my Indian Visa. All went to plan until I clicked for an appointment on Monday and was allocated 11.45am. Um hello, I have a job people I can't exactly spend 30 minutes getting to the embassy, waiting time then 30 minutes getting back to work (its amazing that despite the embassy being four tube stops from work it takes me half an hour to get there). But I needed my Visa and I couldn't change my appointment so at 10.45 I headed over and checked in at 11.10am. By 12.30pm I was 8 people away from being seen and I had an urgent meeting back at the office which I couldn't miss so I had to give up my space in the queue and head back to the office. Before I left I spoke to someone who said if I came at 8.30am the next morning they would see me then.

So on Tuesday Sivas and I met at the embassy at 8am to get in the queue. It was about 30 people long at 8am. Thankfully it went a bit quicker than Monday and I was out of the door by 9.15am. Sivas however, had been told that she would NOT be able to get a visa. Seriously no Visa = no India. Being an Australian Natioanl her work permit only has two months left and apparantly you can't get a visa with less than two months on your work permit. We leave in two and a half weeks. Seriously. There is an extremely small chance that she will be able to sort out a work permit and a visa in that time. So at the moment she is coming to terms with the fact that she might not make it to Komals wedding. I have my fingers and toes crossed that everything can be rushed through for her. We have been looking forward to this for months I can't believe her trip could be ruined because of an oversight like that.

Thankfully Brendy (aka Brendan) who is coming from the US is all sorted Visa wise so we have one confirmed. Fingers crossed my Visa is all approved by the end of the week and everything crossed that Sivas gets everything sorted to make it out for the wedding. Watch this space.

So that was one set of drama. The second was wholly client related. Specifically one client who has been driving me insane with ridiculous idiotic emails and phonecalls for the past week. Everytime his name pops in my inbox I want to hurl my chair through my laptop screen. He makes my blood boil so much that sometimes when I am on a call with him and listening to his crap I have to put my phone on mute so I can let it all out!! Then this evening after half an hour arguing over a point which is so irrelevant and pointless that I can't believe someone would actually spend time arguing such a ridiculously wrong point he called me back five minutes later and told me he agreed with our point. Oh good god, finally man. Now let me get on with my job.

So there has been no scrapiness in weeks it seems. But I found some pics from a mini book I did a while back

Well my report went out tonight so I am off to Ping Pong tomorrow, I am having Dim Sum related withdrawal symptoms which must be rectified plus I feel the need for copious amounts of cocktails and gossip time. Thank goodness for girly nights.

Over and out blogland

Why do weekends fly by??

Yesterday I hit Oxford Street and treated myself to a makeover at Chanel (the makeover counter clearly not the shop!!!, although I really do want a Chanel handbag, maybe for christmas, I'm digressing) so its Autumn I have my new coat, so now it is the turn of the makeup bag makeover. The women literally spent half an hour taking off my eyemakeup, I didn't realise it until I looked in the mirror 30 minutes later that I never really take all my eyemakeup off, ever. I got the shock of my life when I looked in the mirror and saw this horridious creature looking back. Note to self never ever take off all eyemakeup again. So the makeover was lovely and she threw some interesting products into the mix. Ended up coming home with a new foundation and eyeshadow. I was hugely tempted to buy some eyebrow makeup, seriously it was amazing made my eyebrows look a million dollars!! The trouble was that it came with a hefty £40 price tag. Seriously are awesome eyebrows worth £40???? The answer clearly is yes. But still £40 I just don't know if I can do it so I am holding fire until I fly out to India to see if I can grab a bargain in duty free.

I went for another run this morning and I am pleased to report that my impression of a fat old man having a heart attack is getting worse (which is good as it means I am not quite such a state). I spent about an hour stretching to cool down as I seriously need to avoid walking like and idiot next week. I think it worked as I met up with Sarah this evening for Fame the movie and dinner and I didn't hurt one bit.

Plus very very exciting news after three years of living in the Bow Ghetto, we have officially reached such a state of gentrification that last week hearlded the grand opening of a ....... Tesco Metro. Yes that's right I now have a Tesco Metro minutes from my flat open from 7am to 11pm every single day including Sundays!!! Yes I am that excited.

Over and out blogland

My grandfather

Sadly he passed away when I was very little but I wanted to do a layout telling the story of his RAF career. At 16 he ran away from home and joined the RAF. He didn't like it and asked his Dad to buy him out. His Dad told him to tough it out so that was the start of his career in the Airforce. During WW2 he was an armourer and dropped bombs over Germany. Once the war was over he returned to Germany and worked on the bomb detonation squads putting out unexploded bombs left from the war.

He stayed in the RAF and became an expert in bombs even working on nuclear testing out in Australia.

I wish I had the chance to know him now so when I saw these photos of him and what I assume are his RAF colleagues it was extremely scrapworthy.

Over and out blogland

One month...

New layout to share:

Just a flying visit, I am walking like a cripple thanks to the run yesterday, plus I may have sprained my stomach muscles, can you do that whilst running I don't know. I have a super busy week ahead and have just realised only a month until I go to India I am freaking out I am so unprepared. At least I have covered off the essentials got my injections done on Saturday and I bought a new MP3 player and a guide book today so I am on my way people!

This girl is sleep deprived so I am off to bedfordshire.

Over and out blogland

Middle aged

After the hardcore week I had last week I decided that this weekend was all about relaxation and re-grouping so I:

Hit up Waitrose - I haven't been to Waitrose in a while, now I remember why. Waitrose sells the most exciting delicious, not to mention expensive, food of all the supermarkets in the world. I cannot fail to go to Waitrose and load up on delicious foods. Innocent veg pots, Limonata, gorgeous pain au chocolat, vine tomatos, buffalo mozarella, parma ham and quail. yummy scrummy. Must not make it a regular visit or I will end up fat and broke!

I cooked my first roast - I have a confession. I am 26 and have never ever roasted anything in my life and that includes meat and vegetables. Slightly concerning, but quite frankly I find roasts boring. Really boring. My mother is obsessed with feeding me roasts when I go home (she probably knows I am as likely to cook a roast as I am to raise chickens in the city) and I have to tell her that she is an awesome cook but I want my home made favourites not a roast. So a couple of weeks ago my colleagues and I went out for lunch at the RAC which is a private members club in Pall Mall. The food was out of this world. I had roasted quail with parmesan risotto and I as I looked at this little quail on my plate I knew, I too could roast a quail, plus it was the perfect size for dinner for one! So Waitrose to the rescue I spied my quail and had to give it a go. Even if I do say so myself my first roast went down a treat. So well in fact I am doing it again tonight!

Went for a run - My run last week didn't happen so I was determined today was the day to do "the run". I live about a minute from the Limehouse Cut which is a canal that leads down to the Limehouse Basin which is a marina full of fancy boats and apartments just off the Thames. The canal is lovely very peaceful and relaxing. Lots of joggers, cyclists, fisherman, people taking the kids out for a walk. It started off well I still fit into my gym kit from 8 years ago, which was a bonus, so I hit the canal and ran. Things were going well, I was totally getting into it, and loving how easy and liberating it was to just run. That lasted all of 5 minutes until I started to feel like I might actually have a heart attack, I was so tired and out of breath! So running turned out to be hardcore. The plan was to run for 15 minutes then turn back, so in total I would do half an hour in total. Yep nice plan in theory turns out I was better at running for a minute and walking for two. This guy came jogging up behind me and was "like keep going you can do it". I was like "seriously I am regretting not bringing my oyster card so I can get the bus home". Hardcore runner I am not. I came home red and sweaty, I had to lie in a cold bath just to recover!! Horridious it was, but I will be attempting it again next weekend.  

Got the Sunday times delivered - They rang me on Monday to say that if I got two issues of the Times delivered (for free and before 7am) I would get a £25 M&S voucher....um ok then. The Times would not be by newspaper of choice I grew up in a Daily Telegraph home, whatever that means. I know from all the market research that I read at work that there has long been some history of you being able to tell a persons social class and political persuasion by the paper they buy so I spoke to Mum today and told her about getting the Times, and what does that mean. She paused and then said "Darling it means you are a pratt". Ha ha mother dearest!  All I am saying is that 80 pages of their Style magazine = bliss.

Waitrose and the Times, god I feel distinctly middle aged...must make up for it by suitably misbehaving next weekend!

In Scrapping news - Got this months Scarlet Lime kit so gave it a whirl

I have subsequently discovered that Glitz rubons are crap and are now residing in the bin!

More scrapiness to share later this week

Over and out blogland

Just a quick one!

Work is killing me. I have done three days and already worked well in excess of my contracted hours. Monday until midnight and Tuesday to 1am.  I am shattered. So this evening I decided enough was enough and walked out at 6pm it was bliss to just come home, do laundry and sit on my sofa what a loser!

So here is a layout from the weekend:

I cannot even begin to tell you what trouble it was to find papers that go with electric blue so in the end I used that classic trick.....the colour wheel and settled with orange as it is complementary to blue and went from there.

Thats it from me today. Short but sweet. Two words I could never normally use about myself!!!

Over and out blogland!

And a vintage stylee project..

One more photo from the park to post:

Who doesn't love a jumping shot. Plus another project which is inspired by my Jenni Bowlin Class and I haven't got around to posting yet:

The photo is of my great grandmother Annie, which I am guessing was taken in the early 1900's

I am incredibly sad that my class is coming to an end this week. It has been a lot of fun and has given me a whole new perspective into how to include vintage finds in my projects. The frame is recycled from a Victorian photo album which was falling apart. I sprayed it with a pearl glimmer mist which you can't really see, but it is there. I then used metal magic around the outside.

Just a quickie from me this morning so...

 Over and out blog land

Greenwich Park

Today I headed off to a random gathering of scrapbookers/photographers down in Greenwich for what I thought would be a couple of hours in the park. Turned out to be all day in the park!!! The thing I always forget is that scrapbookers by their very nature are story tellers, isn't that what scrapbooking is all about after all? So when you get a bunch of scrapbookers together we can talk for England and we did. We wandered around the park, talked, took some photos, talked, looked at some deer, talked, threw some leaves about whilst talking some more! It was a really lovely day, although all that walking and talking has completely worn me out!

The ladies in question!

And squirrels, lots of tame squirrels which will come right up to you if they think you have food

Some of the gals had instant cameras, which were very cool and made me very jealous. So I am now thinking how very cool an instant camera would be to take with me to India for that vintage old school look whilst I travel around the country. I could even do a mini book on the go!!

So last night I did a layout which I will post tomorrow. I have subsequently found out that it is impossible to scrap photos with electric blue in them. You will see what I mean tomorrow!!

Over and out blogland

PS. Just wanted to say a huge thankyou to everyone who commented yesterday it was extremely cool to read your messages and it meant a lot so thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I will be off to do some blog hopping very shortly

PPS. Louise it was lovely to finally put a face to the name!!!

PPPS. I forgot to say yesterday that when I was down at the Wharf we were walking over the bridge to West India Quay when this woman came walking towards us in a navy blue cotton dress with a foetus printed exactly where her womb would be on the front. It was the most revolting thing I have ever seen in my life. Cat and I both did a double take before bursting out laughing. It was wrongness with a capital W. I even googled "dress with foetus on the front" to see if I could find a picture to share. Seriously talk about a crime against fashion.