Typecast

I have been having a browse around the AskHerFriends website recently, picking out gift ideas mainly for myself but also bookmarking some unusual bits for my daughter's birthday and some sneaky little purchases for friends.  Of course my love for all things Union Jack shines through in this selection but I thought the Humpty Dumpty egg cup was a genius idea and the elephant dress was really cute. The lovely thing about the AskHerFriends website is that it is a crowd-sourced gift marketplace focusing on products for women.  They stock ideas from handbags to homeware to holidays so there's always something to treat yourself with or to find an unusual gift for a friend, relative or partner in various price ranges.  Ben Blomerley, founder of AskHerFriends , tells me that the Idea Map is a great place to start with your gift selection. ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨ AskHerFriends has provided my readers with a 5% discount code which is valid for the month of Februar...

After reminiscing about meeting Peter Bowles during my 18th birthday celebrations all the memories of that weekend came flooding back.  It really was my first 'adult' (not in that way * tut *) holiday away from my parents.  I drove myself and my best friend, Karen, down to London in my Austin Metro and we had made plans to "do London" in two-and-a-half days.  I found all the photographs from that weekend and have uploaded my favourite few.  Here is the story behind each one. After we had booked into our hotel and parked the car up for the weekend, as mentioned in my other blog post , we headed over to Shaftsbury Avenue to book a West End show.  This was my first glimpse of Piccadilly Circus and the true hustle and bustle of London hit me.  I stood next to the statue of Eros and breathed it all in.     After watching the show that we had booked we partook in a bit of stage door hopping and we met Peter Bowles (he was truly lovely a...

For my 18th birthday, I was determined to celebrate in style. After much discussion it was decided that myself and my best friend, Karen, would go to London for the weekend.  I celebrated my actual real birthday on the Thursday with family and friends (including my first legal trip to the village pub) and then set off on Friday morning in my blue Austin Metro to drive the 250-ish miles to a hotel in Paddington.   Being Northern and not escaping to The Big Smoke very often, we had an itinerary to end all itineraries! Friday - drive to London, book a West End Show Saturday daytime - Shopping: Covent Gardens, Slone Square, Harrods, etc. Saturday nighttime - Stringfellows Sunday - a bit of sightseeing, drive home We did it all and more!  We managed the drive down to London in just over four hours and booked in to the hotel.  We jumped on the Tube and landed in Piccadilly Circus ready to scour Shaftsbury Avenue for a show worth seeing.  Karen had recent...

A lot of my family was born around Easter; my mum, uncle, grandfather and cousin were all born within a two-week period. Do you want to know what makes this even stranger? They are all from my mum’s side of the family. Freaky indeed. On the plus side this has always meant that Easter is a great time in my house. Lots of celebration and of course lots of chocolate. I feel like the joy should be passed on. So here it goes, 5 (other) reasons why Easter is great: Chocolate Need I say more? No, but I will. The reason we eat chocolate at Easter time is due to Lent, the period of time Jesus is meant to have spent in seclusion. Easter marks the end of this period and so all of those delicious foods that were given up were enjoyed in abundance. This has manifest itself today in us eating large eggs of chocolate, those tasty goo filled eggs and of course the bunny shaped chocolates. New Life It is a period of regrowth and rebirth. The lambs are bleating in the field, the frosts have...

It's not often that someone drops a reference to climbing Kilimanjaro in their Soundtrack To My Life  story so when I read Carly's first song choice, we agreed to use the photo video from her trip - it's very emotional (AND she's been to Everest Base Camp recently too).   The usual links will be at the end of the post (her  blog header is absolutely perfect)  but, for now, it's over to Carly... ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨  Hoobastank - The Reason   After I did Kilimanjaro in 2011, the song was used in a YouTube video highlighting the trip.  It gives me goosebumps and takes me right back to the mountain every time I hear it.  It also makes me want to go back and climb it all over again. System of a Down - Sugar  Just an awesome gig at Reading Festival this year, being stuck between 2 mosh pits and just letting yourself go with the flow... literally! Marina and the Diamonds – I Am Not A Robot   I’m constantly told...

I caught an article recently which showcased a style of photography that has been dubbed " Planescape " - taking a picture of the scenery from the window of an aeroplane * be still my geeky heart *.   This is something that I've already attempted and whilst they are not the clearest of photographs (taken on either a mobile phone or a cheap digital camera) they represent a glimpse of our world that not many people have the chance to see. Here are my favourite four: Portugal - taken in March 2009 Spain - taken in July 2010 The French (top right) and English (bottom left) coastlines - taken in July 2011 London - taken in July 2011 Tunisia - taken in July 2014 Sardinia - July 2014 Corsica - July 2014 England - August 2014 (flying over Folkstone looking over the  Dungeness National Nature Reserve) You can see a few more (original) pictures in my Facebook album .

With over 65 years of experience, Marler Haley have been helping businesses to catch people’s attention through displays for years. Founded during the baby boom of 1946 by two entrepreneurial spirits, Sid Marler and Jim Haley have created a lasting legacy that is now seen by many as a trusted worldwide supplier of portable displays. Constantly evolving, they continue to expand their product range for a modern market, which now also includes large-format canvas printing.   I adore seeing my favourite pictures on canvas and have a few displayed around the house.  

If a movie includes a non-relevant dance scene then it's usually got me hooked.  These include the unrelated-to-the-story-line dance-off scenes in White Chicks and American Pie (The Wedding)  through to Ferris Bueller taking over a parade to sing Twist and Shout and ending with the fact that the 'One Night Only' dance in The Full Monty doesn't bear any resemblance to anything that the guys have been learning previously.  My ultimate goal is to get my husband to replicate the dance from Pulp Fiction on our 25th wedding anniversary - but it's probably never going to happen. But sometimes, dance scenes from movies can teach us a whole lot more if we look at them from a slightly different angle.  Here are my five but what can you add?  Hit me up with your choices in the comments. Strictly Ballroom   You don't need music to dance.  Dance to the music in your head... or your heart.  Remember Johnny in Dirty Dancing using the beat of ...

It's been a lovely day for online mentions today and a great start to a new era of blogging for me (more on that at a later date - I can't be giving too many secrets away). Firstly you can hop on over to Cision UK and read my ' Speedy Spotlight '.   Cision  is a leading global provider of PR software and services and to be featured by them is complete honour.  I'm talking about my off-centre journey through life, t'other blog ( Geekalicious ) and the opportunities that writing this blog has brought. I also recommend some blogs I enjoy to read too. Next, a recommendation that totally blew me away.   Philofaxy  (everything Filofax-related that you could ever need in a blog) are nominated in the Shorty Awards .  Part way through their interview, this happens... Who's your role model on social media?   @nickie72 Great sense of humour and a great grounding in a lot of areas on Social Media. ...which took me completely by surprise and made...

I have been looking for an excuse to feature a certain song from Moulin Rouge for ages and today Leanne's  Soundtrack To My Life  gives me that reason.  Leanne has been blogging for just over four years and started out talking honestly about pregnancy and then moved onto all things parenting, days out, general humourous antics from family life and a bit of fashion advice.  The usual links will be at the end of the post but, for now, it's over to Leanne... ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨  Come On Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners Apparently this song was played constantly on the radio towards the end of my mums pregnancy. It was even on the hospital radio when my mum went in to give birth to me. She says she ALMOST called me Eileen because she thought it was a sign. Luckily (no offense to anyone called Eileen) I was named Leanne instead. To this day whenever we hear it we have to pick up the phone and call each other - which does prove expensive if your on holiday and ve...

When I was 11 my parents took me on my first holiday abroad.  We went on a caravan holiday to France. It was a catalogue of disasters including dad forgetting to disconnect the fridge from the car battery during the ferry crossing, a completely bizarre trip to see the Baueux Tapestry and some entertainment from drunk parents.   We stayed in Granville, Normandy for two weeks, in the grounds of a beaut iful chateau  We attempted to immerse ourselves into a French holiday experience from the get-go; trying local cuisine in traditional settings which included purchasing fresh croissants and baguettes from the on-site bakery first thing in the morning and dining at a local restaurant where we retained the same plate all evening, cleaning it with a small piece of bread in between courses.  I'm also sure  that my parents sampled plenty of the local plonk too. Nowadays, we're not a caravan family (although we tried it when the children were younger) but if we...

I'm back at work this week and can usually be found drinking apples or oranges that I juiced first thing in the morning.  It's all part of the New Me regime that I'm punishing myself with after asking for (and receiving) a juicer for Christmas. Post by Nickie O'Hara . I didn't really juice Christmas Dinner, by the way.  Just in case you were wondering... Juicing hasn't been easy to get to grips with. Everything is frothy and is usually an unappetising shade of green, orange or grey.  It's like not only having to detox and cleanse but also to wean yourself off moving your jaw up and down. I need something to munch on.  Maybe I'll just talk more?  Won't my colleagues be impressed? Some flavours work together and some taste like something you'd be given during a trial in I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here . Nothing is properly sweet enough (I have three sugars in my tea) and I can't find "stevia" ...

Soundtrack To My Life makes a welcome return in 2014 and open with choices from Glenn. I'm rather excited about this one too because it's the first time that I've been able to feature a guest author's own band (see song choice number five). As well as having his own band, Glenn is a feature writer (alongside myself) over at The High Tea Cast . The usual links are at the end of the post. ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨    Smashing Pumpkins - Stand Inside Your Love   I fell asleep once on a plane home from Los Angeles when I was about 15 with this song playing on my iPod. During that sleep, my head conjured up a dream which fit hand in hand with the song in terms of atmosphere and lyrical content. Basically it was set in a very old looking stone building where I think schools were visiting this place, and I was there wondering about on my own. Then, a girl with beeaauuttiiffuull purple coloured eyes walked by me, and instantly fell head over heels! I spent the rest of the dream ...

Here's how Center Parcs created their most recent television advert. It always amazes me how much work goes into making 50 seconds of visual, including the amount of advanced planning, the sheer number of people involved and the finished edit which keeps you engaged right until the last second. You can see the advert in full by clicking " SEE IT HERE " at the bottom of the infographic. This is a featured post.  Please see my disclosure policy for more details.

Last time Pretty Woman was on the television, almost everyone on my Twitter timeline was watching it. Favourite quotes were being shared and a there was a general air of nostalgia.  In my opinion, this film isn't about glorifying prostitution, finding your perfect partner without looking for them and dressing up in expensive clothes - it is so much more than that.  It is about dealing with the crap, looking out for your friends, being true to yourself and treating others how you want to be treated.  So, here are my seven life lessons taken from Pretty Woman . Feel free to add your own (or your favourite quote from the film) at the end. "Some dreams come true, some don't.  But keep on dreamin'.   This is Hollywood.  Always time to dream, so keep on dreamin'." 1.  You may be in a job you hate but it's all part of your journey through life.  "I can do anything I want, baby. I ain't lost" I am a great believe in experience and fa...