in pursuit of organised-ness

#2 Attend a show with my cakes To be honest I can't really remember exactly what I meant by this, but in November a friend of mine is holding a Christmas Fayre in Harpenden, St Albans where I will have my very own stall. It's quite similar, isn't it? #16 Sort all my photos in albums I decided to start with the most recent & work my way back, so last Sunday, after Jo & Wayne's wedding, I printed out all the photos I liked and put them in an album. Let's hope I can keep it up! #26 Stick to beauty/skincare routine I have been a bit crap at this lately, but whereas I would usually admit defeat I have every intention of carrying on with it & not letting it get me down. #33 Pass my Professional Diploma in Marketing I am due to get my results for my final module this month! I am not very hopeful as work has been a bit crazy, but fingers crossed - you never know! #37 Try a new meal every week Getting a bit short of time on this one - but hoping to t...

Today me & Matthew plus his mum and Auntie Julie went to Folly Farm for the first time. Here are some of my favourite photos. Very scary Fortune Teller. It didn't move, just dished out a fortune & a little surprise. But after thefilm BIG I am always just a little wary of these... Gorgeous carousel. I used to love these - need to remember to take kids next time. :) The only giraffes in Wales. Gorgeous, elegant animals - and so very very tall.   Alpacas. Fab hair! Lemurs Prairie Dogs. All I could think was 'Alan! Alan!' Tee hee. Meerkat Not sure what they're all looking at, but it's clearly very interesting... Ocelot Gorgeous big cats. Kind of wanted to take one home... will definitely have to go back if they ever have kittens. And that (in a very quick flash) is my day at Folly Farm. I completely forgot to take any photos in the Jolly Barn, but I guess there's always next time. #15 Visit Folly Farm - done! :D

My first new meal is a WeightWatchers one (my husband is on a diet and doing really well!) from Weight Watchers Cook Smart Family Food . We have made a few from this book and they've all been pretty good. I chose the Basque Chicken Casserole, which was chicken breasts in a light tomato, white wine & paprika sauce. It was really tasty, with loads of flavour, but my favourite bit was the 'sprinkling' for the top that consisted of 1 chopped red chilli, zest of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon of capers and a handful of chopped fresh basil. I made the recipe for 4 people (with a bit extra chicken) and it was more than enough to serve 5. It was served with fine green beans and sauted potatoes. Week 1 Details Recipe Name: Basque Chicken CasseroleSource: Weight Watchers Cook Smart Family Food . Would I make it again? Definitely Occasion: Dinner Party, Midweek Meal Course: Main Course Difficulty: Easy Stars (Out of 5): ***** (5) Time to make: 20 minutes prep, 1 hour in oven (...

I don't plan to keep daily updates, but a few things have happened since yesterday that I felt were noteworthy, so here you go. #15 Visit Folly Farm Folly Farm is an adventure park and zoo (but I won't use it towwards goal number 92 as well!) that I have been wanting to go to for ages. So Math and I have decided to take Monday off, make a picnic and go! Very excited, and I plan to take a lot of photos - just please, don't rain! #38 Cook every meal in a recipe book I have said this before and think I'll stick with the same book. So I will be working my way through Rachel Allen's  Home Cooking I'll get some details on number of recipes etc and write a post on it. #48 Convince another person to make a 101 list I am trying to get Matthew to write a list, but so far no luck. However I think I may have convinced 2 people on Twitter to give it a go. Yay! #71 Save all 20p coins for 1001 days I now have a little tin next to be bed so far containing.....one 20p...

I know it's a little bit naughty, but I think it's a positive step to start a list with items you've completed or started. It gives you a bit of a boost. Now I haven't completed any of my 101 things, but I have started one or two. So here's a little progress report. #4 Start & stick to a beauty blog I am not one to particularly follow fashion or any kind of beauty routine, but I have recently been following a Finishing School by Lottie to make us fabulous and this has lead me to start my 'lifestyle' blog . So far I have been managing to keep it up to date and am enjoying it so - progress! #7 Sort out a walk-in wardrobe This is something we should have done when we gutted the house originally, but I am determined to do it. At the moment it is in planning and sorting stages as I need to rearrange all the rooms around upstairs to sort out storage. Exciting times though! #26 Stick to a beauty/skincare routine I have blogged about this on my new blog,...

This morning I came across this blog by @sjl1974 , I thought it was a great idea and decided to write a list of my own. My list can be seen (and will be kept updated) on my 101 things in 1001 days page Today (11th August 2010) is the first day and the challenge will end on 9th May 2013. I then started searching the web to see who else had written a list, and there's quite a few. I believe it originated from the Day Zero Project and on this site you can register your own list and see other peoples' lists. If you decide to have a go as well following this post or any update, please leave me a comment as it will help me on the way to #48: Convince another person to do a 101 list. :)

The next challenge in Lottie's Finishing School has 2 parts: 1) Go for an eye test 2) Wear mascara every day for a week The timing for this couldn't be more perfect! I recently had a letter telling me that I am due for an eye test, and as I don't need glasses and haven't noticed any changes - I ignored the letter. But I will now book a test, just to make sure! :) I enjoy wearing make up but tend to be a bit lazy with it. I know it makes me feel better when I have it on, but if I am running short of time in the morning I will ignore it.... however last weekend I was away on a hen do and my sister-in-law decided that she would do my make up for the weekend. I had so many compliments, as it was a lot more than I would normally wear, which did make me wonder what I usually look like! So this week I made a promise to myself that I would make sure I put at least a smudge of eyeshadow and mascara on before I leave the house so that when I go for a night out I would be ...

I was tagged in a meme last week by Julie of Ice Maiden Cakes asking 'Who makes your Birthday Cake?' so here it is! Eventually! :) It's taken me a while to remember my last birthday cake and I think my mum bought one for us to eat in work (family business) from Tesco. My birthday is in January, so to be honest we're all a bit fed up of rich food by then and on a diet, and as far as I can remember, I have not made my own birthday cake. But when I was about 3 I was made a cake by my mum's friend, Annie Jones - and it is this cake that eventually led me to start baking. It's one of my earliest memories and I have no idea if I've built it up to be more fabulous in my head than it actually was.... although I doubt it - Annie was a pretty great cake maker! :) It was a fairy castle cake, all turrets and sparkles - a true girlie princess cake, and when the candles were lit and the lights were turned off it looked as if the castle was all lit up from the inside. I...