Nearly Thirty…

So, 2012 eh? World due to end. Possibly. Maybe.  So anyway, this got me thinking, what you all up to in 2012? Exciting plans? Or are you an ‘I’ll decide on the day’ kind of person. I, for one, like having plans.

Chris and I decided on no big holiday this year in an attempt to save but we will be having a few little mini breaks. We’ll be popping down to London for a few short stays, one with a friend who needs a wheel chair to get around but doesn’t have her own so we’ll be looking for wheel chair hire in london which is proving to be a bit of a ‘mare but reckon we’ll get it sorted soon!

We are still moving the stuff into the flat, van after van load – how did we acquire so much stuff? But for Christmas, I got Chris some tickets to see Bruce Springsteen in Hyde Park, we quickly booked the hotel in the New Year as I think London might be gearing up for the Olympics and we wanted to stay quite centrally. So, we’ll be off there on a long weekend in July .

Considering that’s ‘not many plans’, there’s still rather a lot to be getting on with and we’re also thinking of a trip to Madrid to see a couple of our friends who live out there, so quite exciting then really.

What about you lot? Have you got plans for 2012?

So, Happy New Year people! There will be changes a foot on Lou Blogs so keep your eyes peeled! But enough of that for now, so onwards…

It’s a getting a bit nippy now, eh? Think I was blown to work this morning. And it got me thinking that it may be a good time to get a new coat. So, I’ve spent today perusing the web looking for a new winter coat. And I must, New Look seem to be the best place to look for new ladies coats. There’s a whole load of them on sale as well, bargainous  or what?

Personally, my ideal coat would be a  faux fur number; they look gorgeous, luxurious and are great fun to wear though maybe not so good in the rain and sleet :-/  But then I think about those quilted barbour type jackets, which are certainly stylish but they’re definitely not suitable for a Sheffield winter. So for a perfect all weather coat, I reckon that a parka is the only way forward – a massive hood, it covers your bum, is warm, cosy and rain proof. That’s it I reckon; I’m sold!

How about you? What’s your ideal winter coat? Do you dress practically or is it fashion all the way darling?!!

So, you know I was being extremely coy in the post below but we have some exciting news….we got keys to a flat last week. Ours( well, Chris’s – I like to think of myself as decorative consultant) to do what we wish to, it does need a bit of decorating and we need to buy a few things but mainly I’ll be concentrating on making it look like home, and fingers crossed we’ll be moved in before Christmas. So, be prepared for many interiors posts as that’s where all my money will be going over the next few months…

Quite coincidentally, a few days later I was visited by the Fairy Hobmother after I commented on Tasmin’s blog a while ago. The Fairy Hobmother is from Appliances Online and looking at the site, we could do with a few things from it in our attempts to makeour flat liveable ; luckily we don’t need anything as big as this but a kettle and toaster wouldn’t go amiss so imagine my pleasure at receiving an Amazon voucher from the lady herself; The Hobmother has offered one of my lucky readers a similar prize by simply commenting on this post with a wish and who knows, you might be hearing from her just in time for Christmas so don’t forget to leave your email address!

So, as you know, we’re in Robin Hood’s Bay at the minute; having a week away from the rat race, cooking lots, reading, catching up on Downton and maybe having a stroll along the beach if we can face it. This is the 3rd time that we’ve been to Robin Hood’s Bay and we are planning to come back againext year.

 We’re staying at Ocean View, which is great for the two of us with a lovely big kitchen, an open fire and a lovely big bathroom with amazing views. Given that’s it’s out of  season, there’s not much to do here in Robin Hood’s Bay , but for us that’s the beauty of it.

Robin Hood’s Bay is an old fishing town where in the 1700s, smuggling was rife, they say that there’s subterranean passageways connecting the houses and that’s easily believeable; the house are tightly packed here and after a little explore we realised there’s far more cottages here than we ever thought possible!

So, a relaxing break before the hard work starts; but more about that in another entry…..

I’m currently on holiday in a peaceful cottage in Robin Hood’s Bay, so expect an influx of posts over the next few days. We’ve bought some internet time so I thought I’d make the most of it and get browsin spending my non-existant cash.

In my travails,I’ve come across Style Bop and in particular, I have discovered that I love the clothes that   Steffan Schraut designs. There’s a gorgeous sequin party dress, perfect for a chrismas party or 2 and also, there’s a heck a lot of leopard and animal print which appeals to my Pat Butcher tendancies.

These dresses aren’t the cheapest but nor are they mega expensive especially when you think that a dress from Topshop can set you back a couple of hundred. And you can probably guarantee that there won’t be at least 3 other girls in the toilets wearing the same dress!

And another good thing about these dresses – they go up to a UK 16; in a world where sometimes a 12 is an XL, this is so refreshing.

Look, at this : What a beauty.

If you are looking for a designer piece and are uninspired by what the other luxury e-tailers are offering,it may be worth your while to check out Style Bop.

I have a confession.

I’m not a big fan of Hallowe’en. Well, my issue is mainly with fancy dress.

Looking at twitter and other blogs over the weekend, it seemed as if everyone and their grandma was off out cavorting in skimpy outfits and blood all over their faces. And it’s not my bag at all. Don’t get me wrong; I think some of the fancy dress costumes and make up were awesome ( case in point, Bethany) but I think my main issue with fancy dress is that I usually spend a couple of hours making myself look presentable enough to go out which involves carefully hiding those undereye bags and disguising my paleness NOT drawing attention to them!

Fancy dress was never a big thing when I started uni (12 years ago!) and it’s definitely something that I would have shied away from  (teenage angst and low self confidence more than anything) but these days I see students dressed up in fancy dress at least on a weekly basis and some of them are fantastically original – we were once out and saw someone dressed as The Arts Tower ( Shouldn’t these people be revising or something?!)

What do you think? Do you enjoy being someone else for the night?

PS Actually thinking about it, I would do fancy dress but only if I could dress up as Thelma from Scooby Doo. I’ve got the bob and the glasses; only need an orange polo neck….

Just ordered this dress from Monsoon…should I go with red accessories or is that just too obvious??

Guess who Chris and I got tickets for next week – Elton John! How exciting. No, seriously; I actually cannot wait.  But they cost an arm and a leg and our seats aren’t that good but come on, it’s Elton John!

The whole stress of trying to get through to get tickets really made me think about the cost of gigs today (I sound like a pensioner here don’t I?), I used to go to gigs all the time but now hardly ever, mainly because I listen to cds from 5 years ago on repeat, but that’s by-the-by; I would love to go to a Kasabian gig but I never seem to be quick enough to buy tickets. Or tickets go on sale on the day before payday. Or tickets that appear to be quite cheap initially and then you add on the extortionate booking fees, processing fees, postage fees, printing-it-off-on-your-own-computer-fees and it almost equals a small mortgage. Or when that band you love hits the big time and you can no longer just pay on the door and still manage to get on the front row.

Admittedly, I do go out a lot and I do spend most of my income on going out and drinking and eating but I just can’t persuade myself to spend 50-quid to watch a band that I love in a massive venue. Did I say, watch, I meant hear vaguely whilst drinking overpriced watery cider.

Grumpy, old woman? Moi?

I’ve decided to close Lou Makes up for the foreseeable future. There’s other ‘life’ stuff that’s going on that needs to take priority for the moment. Boo! But good for you lot, until the end of October, you can use ENDOFERA at checkout and get 50% off everything in your basket!

www.loumakes.bigcartel.com

and I would like these please: