2014: Expectation Anxiety.

I have been feeling anxious lately.

The kind of nail biting, stomach churning anxiety that makes you want to eat everything. (Disclaimer: extra kilograms may also be attributed to "season FEASTivities"). 

As the year draws to an end- we all start getting a bit reminiscent by thinking back over the year that has passed and looking forward to the year that is to come - (fresh start and all that). The more and more I think back over 2013 - the more anxious I become.

Because here's the thing:

I think we've peaked.

Peaked too early - 

like a fresh-outta-high-schooler at their first university party 

with ALL the booze, 

passed out by 5pm.

The truth is,

there is absolutely nothing - apart from; winning the lotto, marrying Warren (again) or an entire album of our missing wedding photos miraculously appearing on our doorstep - that could ever top the year that I have had.

And, when you've had the best year of your life - well, by common mathematic & logic principles - nothing will ever beat it - so REALLY, there is nothing left to look forward to in this bleak and dismal world (kidding)


At the risk of sounding cheesy (and there is honestly no other way to say it) 2013 has truly been the best year of my life. A year of marriage, a year of learning, loving, growing together and the start of building our future as husband and wife. I have absolutely loved adored/hearted/cherished/treasured/prized/appreciated every single moment from this year. (and I actually thesaurused the crap outta that - because I didn't know how else to say it).

In reminiscent fashion, I thought I would highlight some of my most loved moments of 2013
(Note: the "bestness" of this year has had everything to do with Warren - everything else on this list was lovely, but quite secondary)

1. Married my hero and had the most spectacular wedding and the best day EVAARRRR.
2. Celebrated Warren's 30th in London with a table tennis tournament at the bar Bounce
3. Our Honeymoon (part 1) at the most luxurious game lodge - everything about this was incredible.
4. Honeymoon (part 2) at a private island off the coast of Mozambique - AMAZING... and hot dayymn husband is a feast for the eyes with a tan on his-self! (yeah, click that link)
5. Moved to London to be with my new husband!
6. Got a brand new passport and name - "Hello Mrs Dyer!"
7. Saw Mumford and Sons (and Ben Howard & Bears den && Edward Sharpe) on our three months-married anniversary.
8. Did the Colour Run & The Colour Festival - fun!
9. Moving into our first "husband & wife" house.
10. Balcony braais, walks in the common and enjoying general "house" things together.
11. Loved London Summer, late sunny nights and all the festivities!
12. Attended The Blogcademy and met some awesome people.
13. Creating our very own "Sunday Tradition" - more on that another time :)
14. Watched cricket at The Oval
15. Launched The Photo Hunt.
16. Was introduced to Yoga by Lulu
17. Opened up indieBerries to sponsorship.
18. Did my very first market for indieBerries cards and stationery.
19. Re-launched my Etsy Shop
20. Had the brother come over to visit on holiday.
21. Have loved the Festive season in London - Winter Wonderland, mulled wine, Oxford Street lights.
22. Celebrated our very first Christmas together. (Not only our very first Christmas together as husband and wife, but our very first Christmas together, ever. ie: we have never actually ever been "dating" over Christmas. ie: In our 6 years since meeting, we have never actually dated a whole year before now. Weird, right?)

Me to Warren: What was your favourite moment of this year?

Warren: I will.

Me: What? We haven't written wills.

Warren: No, "I will"

that would be our equivalent of "I do"

And apart from all those big moments of this year, I think the "little moments" have been just, if not more, lovable - like walking into the bathroom every night, to see that Warren has already put toothpaste on my toothbrush or spending lazy rainy days curled up on the couch with good movies, blankets, hot chocolate (wine) and each other.

Me: How on earth are we going to TOP this year?
Warr: ... easy!
Me: ...well.... I DID dream I was pregnant...
Warr: Well, we will NOT be topping it that way.


{For those of you know how about our wedding photo TRAGEDY (that was the one crappy moment of 2013), we have finally (after almost 10 months), been able to view our wedding video in our house - the above pic is a photo of our TV screen - am hoping to scrape together an album out of our wedding video, by taking photos of the TV - lol. would love to share some on indieBerries - even though it's approximately a year late - but love never goes out of style!}

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Warren has taken it on as his personal challenge 

to make the next year even better than the last - 

2014 - 

We're ready for you!

PS - In case you haven't seen it on twitter or instagram - I made a little video of all our moments of 2103 - you can see it here.

DIY The best Christmas Tree in ALL the lands!

 

Do we have the most aweome Christmas Tree in all the world?

Why Yes! I think we do.

Now, to be fair, I cannot claim all responsibility for this genuis idea,  it was the brother, who is currently visiting us in London, who looked at our brand new bare tree and said, "You have so many 'craft-supplies' lying around here - you must be able to quickly whip up some Tree ornaments! In fact, you should just Washi Tape your tree."

Now, it is NO secret that I LOVE Washi Tape. And by "LOVE", I mean - Husband gave me 100 rolls of washi tape as a wedding present and it was the BEST. THING. EVAARR (video reactions included). I have washi taped business cards, lever arch files, advent calendars, Save the Dates, Bridal party requests, and Wedding invitations, I would washi tape myself new outfits every day if I could. So when it came to potentially Washi-taping our very first "husband-and-wife-Christmas-Tree", ahem, of course.

It was super simple! All we did was take all my (precious) rolls of washi tape and fit them onto the branches of our tree! They look SO gorgeous all together and the tree looks beautiful, but also modern and trendy! If you wanted to get fancy, you could theme the colours of washi tape that you want to put on your tree. We just went ALL in with ALL the washi tape!

The only other decoration on our Christmas Tree is something my aunt sent us - which is a little heart frame with one of the very few wedding photos that we have (sad bride) and it's hanging right at the top of our Tree.

ME: WOW! This looks so awesome! We should decorate our Christmas Tree like this EVERY year! And each year we should get a bigger and bigger tree and buy MORE washi tape decorations for it!
Husband: um...

Whatever, I personally think it's a fabulous excuse to buy more washi tape.

A little while ago we posted some "cheap n dirty" Christmas decor ideas along with Michelle and Freya and this fits perfectly into the "budget decor" mix because I already had all the washi tapes - all it took was hanging them on the tree!


We have a string of lights on our Tree - and it looks so pretty at night...

I also wrapped Warren up in Christmas lights, because it's our first Christmas together as husband and wife - and isn't that what you're supposed to do?

Season's Greetings everyone!
Hope you all have a very festive season!

Thank you all for all the love and support in 2013!

x

7 things Sunday

7 Awesome things that have happened this week:

1. The brother arrived for a visit - so lovely to see him!
2. We got our Christmas tree (I know, but rather late than never) and spent one evening decorating it. I LOVE our tree you guys! Will be posting all about it tomorrow - I can't wait to share it!!
3. Had one of my most delicious curries on Bricklane - definitely can recommend The Brasserie Curry House - YUMMALICIOUS.
4. Husband has had most of the week off and it has been SO awesome having some stay-cation with him, and also while the brother has been here!
5. Spent another day at Winter Wonderland - had so much fun drinking Gluhwein, eating German-inspired food and getting festive!
6. Warr booked for us to see Cirque Bezerk at The Wonderland - it was amazing! So many talented people and super death-defying stunts - I was literally on the edge of my seat.
7. Had such fun in Leicester Square for drinks (Warr and I) and dinner at a small Italian place on Friday evening.
8. Spent Saturday all snug and cozy on the couch, with hot chocolate, blankets, good movies while it rained outside. And some yummy noodle take-aways to round off the whole chilled-out lazy day!
9. Today we are off together to do some last minute Christmas shopping and tonight we are off to some carol-singing with Warr's sister and little nieces.

I LOVE how easy this list was to write! And yes, I know there are more than 7, but I couldn't help myself with so many awesome things going on at the moment! Damn I love this time of year! Check back for our EPIC Christmas tree tomorrow!

What have you been up to this week?

Fun FACTS!

I'm curious. HOW do they know this? Who wears the size 650 shoe for them to compare this to?

{This fun fact was sent in to me by GI Jane - thanks yo!}

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That is one times floating porcupine.
Look at him trapped in that glass.

Lol.

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But... we already knew that.

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Or if you are me, it can be used to create "fake blood" and trick innocent people.

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You can tell from the statue of a mounted horseman how the rider died. If all four of the horse's feet are on the ground, he died of natural causes. One foot raised means he died from wounds suffered in battle. Two legs raised means he died in action.

EDIT: Have just had a reader comment below that the fact above is not entirely correct - whilst a lot of equestrian statues do fall into this basic convention - it is not hard and fast.This is a really interesting read at Snopes.com - which shows a whole lot of statues which fall outside this rule. The article also mentions some of the "coincidences" between the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations. Very interesting - take a read!

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That was pretty graphic.

Sorry.

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Happy Friday everyone! Husband has taken a whole bunch of days off lately and the brother is here - so basically this whole week has felt like Friday! Second to last one of 2013. Madness I tell you, MADNESS.

I can't wait to show you our Christmas Tree! 

It. IS. AWESOME.

Well hello there!

?!?!?

"stop looking at my feet. You're making me shy."

.....I'm really good at fishing.

And building nests. And look at my colourful feathers of turquoise brilliance!....

 

*blink blink*

"Well that's not very fancy."

sniff... sniff... sob... ..sniff...

sniff... sniff... sob... ..sniff...

*flap flap flap*

"killed it"

The very thing to solve all your greenery problems!

INTRODUCING....

 

"hello little Outdoor Kylie"

"Oh little Outdoor Kylie - you have SUCH greenfingers!"

*rustle rustle*

TADA!!

YAY!!
what beautiful bulbs!

YAY!!

We LOVE exploring new places in the wilderness!
Off we go!

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Be my lovebird?

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Today I'm so excited to introduce you to Little Outdoor Kylie!  I first met Kylie at the Blogcademy I attended earlier this year - (you can read Kylie's awesome review here) and I'm so glad to have met this green-fingered little lady! Her blog is filled with all sorts of greenery and useful tips (Such as: Five tips for long lasting flowers and the ultimate festival packing guide for girls).

What I love about Kylie's blog is that there is so much to LEARN! (knowledge = power). I have been reciting to Warren all the origins of The Christmas tree - and in November she shared some of the traditions of pumpkins and pumpkin carving - some of them are so interesting!

And if you are looking for a really INTERESTING read - take a look at the Celtic Tree astrology signs - {I am a Holly, Warren is The Ash and my brother (who is currently visiting) is The Willow - I'd say they are all pretty accurate!}

Every week, Kylie introduces us to her "bird of the week" a little intro to some cool facts about the bird of choice and Kylie's awesome graphic take on them! (Which is where I stole her Malachite Kingfisher from for this post). We got chatting in The Blogcademy forums and she mentioned that she had thought about turning them into a card range - I say - they would be EPIC! She also introduces us to a new outdoor place worth exploring in her Wild Place Wednesdays and provides a bunch of useful tips and lists.

This month I have absolutely loved her 100 habits of a modern hippie - have a read through and see how many boxes out of 100 you tick! (I'm approx 96% hippie if you must know).

It has been an absolute pleasure having Kylie sponsor indieBerries this month! I have really learnt so much and had such interesting reads while paging through her blog - so definitely go check it out! You can follow her and keep up with interesting earth-child inspired posts and green tips here:

______________{Little Outdoor Kylie}_______________

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If you are interested in sponsoring indieBerries and having your very own cartoon to promote your blog/brand or products - you can check out my sponsors page here!

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PS Husband has the day off today, and the brother is here visiting - thanks to Kylie's post on the top five Christmas markets in London - I found out about The Southbank Christmas markets and we are headed there today!