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Showing posts with the label author's life

The Art of the Vision Board

I use Vision boards or dream boards a lot, in fact probably daily.  The aim of a vision board for me is focusing the mind on what I am dreaming, planning, looking for inspiration for and most importantly leading me towards turning what's in my imagination in to something tangible. Using Vision boards for writing is part of my process, it helps me plan out the movie that plays in my head so I can translate to words on the page.  I can use these boards on platforms such as Pinterest to collaborate with readers, giving them a behind the scenes look at the book. Example Book Vision Board Vision boards also help me in my day to day life, I use them to plan out what I want to achieve personally, or to plan a project.  For example, I have several home design projects this year, I use vision boards to plot out how I want things to look. Vision board for home improvements  I'm planning on redesigning my garden this spring/summer so I'm building a vision board of t

On this Day

On this day, the 24 March 1944 my Grandfather Joseph Robinson climbed in to the small and cramped tail gunner post of his Lancaster Bomber with his crew. The Wedding of Joseph Robinson to Irene Baum  Joining the RAF when war broke out and worked his way up for Flgt. Sgt.  He had been flying for a year by this point.  Married one day shy of six weeks he lift his wife at home in his native Sunderland and returned to his squadron at Elsham Wood. Joe was ideal as a tail gunner, a strong man, a confident man but he was short enough and small enough to fit in to the plexi-glass turrets of Lancaster Bomber.  The problem with being a Tail-end Charlie, wasn't just the cramped conditions where many couldn't wear the parachutes or even boots if they wanted to fit in, neither was it the loneliness of being so far removed from the rest of the crew, but the real kicker would be if you needed to escape. The tail turrets while the most important defensive position carrying the heav

Something for the weekend - Girls Night In

The world is a busy place so sometimes it's nice to slow things down and catch up with the important people in your life Every month or two I get together with my closest friends and have a girls night in.  Going out is great, I love going to restaurants, to the theatre, to the movies but sometimes being out socially doesn't give us a lot of time to catch up fully on what's going on in everyone's lives. So we will do things like; Have Afternoon Tea A 'formal' meal A buffet with board games This Saturday we had decided on a Games Night, so this is how I prepare; Generally cleaning my house  Setting the table  Preparing the food  - baking cakes, cooking pastry etc.   As we use the evening to catch up and relax I tend not to cook a formal meal, I create more of a buffet that we can snack on throughout the night as we talk.   I love cooking and baking so this gives me a chance to try out new recipes and relax in my kitchen I make sure I

It's the Simple Things

In life we are bombarded with images and sales pitches on things we should want, aspire to have, save up for or buy immediately. Sometimes it's nice to take a step back from all this and just appreciate what we have and find ways to enjoy life that do not add to financial stress etc. Anyway, I was thinking about the things in life that mean the most, I enjoy the most or simply make me feel safe, comfortable, confident, and a lot of them are just simple things.   So I guess there's some truth in simple things can mean the most. Here are my top five simple things; 1. Going for a walk with my dog Hero Hero is my baby, he's an amazingly intuitive dog, he's loving, he's cuddly, he's soft and he's always by my side.  He's also infuriating when it comes to the ten minutes before his walk time - oh I swear he doesn't need a watch he can tell the time and he has an unhealthy interest in cushions - which somehow always end up in my garden. I oft

What's In My Handbag

I know a lot of people invest heavily in handbags - I'm not one of those people, I tend to change my bag a lot, and well I don't want to pay thousands of pounds for something I take to my day job where it may well get damaged.  But I do like to have nice bags! I 've discussed in an earlier post what my style is so when it comes to bags it should be no surprise that my current bag is quite a classic shape.  Granted it has the pompom flash of fun but other wise it's a classic black tote. So, what's actually hiding in there; 1. My purse My current purse is from Fiorelli and is black and cream.  I like this one as it has a lot of spaces for my cards and a clear pocket where i keep a photo of my parents which I like to have with me all the time - since I lost my dad this is a precious keep sake. 2. My Phone Like most people my phone is never far away from me.  I'm currently using an I Phone, which I love as it connects me to my network of laptop, PC a

Cosy Treats - Rock Cakes

I've been seeing and reading a lot of things lately about Hygge, which I've heard described as the feeling or mood created by taking genuine pleasure in the simple things in life.   There's  pictures of cosy knits, warm drinks, soft materials, books and baking. I think the concept of Hygge is a beautiful one from what I've read so far, it's something I plan to read more on in the coming months. From what I gather I think a lot of us have higgle in our lives maybe we just don't realise that that is what it is.   I can look back over things my grandparents used to do, like sitting together of an evening reading their books in front of the fire and eating freshly baked cakes or treats.  They just enjoyed those quiet moments together and if they were stressed it wasn't something I ever saw, I saw the quiet relaxed moments and maybe that's what Hygge was for them. Anyway, I was looking at the pictures of some of the beautiful cakes and biscuits and star

What's My Signature Style?

If you're like me, it may have taken you a while to figure out your signature style with a few missteps along the way.    When I was a child I didn't really go in too much clothes, make up on the other hand was a staple from a young age a tool to hide behind.   In a way make up is still a mask for me, but not in the sense of hiding myself any longer I use make up to find the best version of myself. The same goes for my clothes, it took a long time for me to become comfortable in my own skin and therefore comfortable in the clothes I wanted to wear and to become comfortable with what suits me.  I'm now thirty something, so the experimental  clothing of my early twenties is over.  I've changed my look several times over from the colour and style of my hair I've been brunette, red head and blond.  I've adjusted my makeup from the influence of my youth the colours of the 80's when I was first learning to put on make up - I remember a lot of blue eyeshadow

New Year Goals

Happy New Year!  It's the start of 2017, the first page of this years blank book, what will you write on yours? Last year I set myself some 'resolutions' which in the most part I achieved.  So here I go for 2017 planning what I want to achieve this year; Writing Related Goals & Resolutions   Lets start off with the love of my life - my writing. 1. The Poppy Garden Last year I wanted to finish my novel The Poppy Garden and publish is for Remembrance Day, which I did, so this year in relation to this book project I will work on Marketing and promoting it to as many readers as possible. This book is a personal one for me, if you've read my blog before you know it comes from my Grandfather's personal dealings with PTSD, it's probably the hardest thing I've ever written and was a true labour of love. As an independent author the marketing and promotion is all down to me so I need to work on a strategy for that this year. 2. A New Proje