How To Make Every Day A Perfect day...

Hi honeys
Well, another week over and here we are looking at Autumn again.   Part of me feels sad around this time every year.  I'm a Summer baby, and even though Autumn is a beautiful season, with the leaves changing colours and with the chill of Winter not having arrived yet, it means that Summer is behind us again.

Now, being a Scot, our perception of Summer isn't quite the same as everyone else's because the sun isn't so frequent in her visits north of the border as she is to our fellow UK countrymen :) So any sunshine we see in Scotland is a great cause for celebration :) This year though has felt like an especially miserable Summer, with a few sunny days thrown in. 

So, for this weeks Smiles On Friday I thought I'd share how I (try to) make every day as near perfect as I can...

It's really not difficult to make the best of every single day, no matter what the weather is like, how busy it's going to be or even what your plans are for that day.  Every single day can be changed from a "meh" day to a smile filled day and it all starts when your feet hit the floor in the morning.

A Tiny, Ever So Perfect Way To Store Memories

Disclaimer: I haven't been paid to promote this product, or any sellers, I just think it's adorable and wanted to share :)

Hi honeys,
I hope you've had a fabulous weekend full of smiles and hugs :) It's been a busy old weekend here.  Yesterday was such an amazing day, gorgeous sunshine and a good strong wind too, so guess who got lots of lovely laundry done while Hubby went to Comic Con?  I'm paying for it today with very painful shoulders & spine but Jade & I had a great day yesterday so it's kinda worth it :)

I got home Saturday evening to find I'd had a package delivered while I was at work. Inside were a few things I'd ordered from an online card & gifts company, but one of the items is so cute I thought I'd share :)

If I were to say "message in a bottle" honeys, what would be your first thought?  Might it be a glass bottle cast adrift in the sea with a mysterious message, it's eventual destination and it's finder left to destiny to decide?   It's definitely the stuff romantic novels are made of :)

Around two years or so ago, when I started planning Hubby's birthday celebrations,  I was thrilled to find a 21st century version of this wonderfully romantic method of message delivery, although it's certainly not designed to be waterproof!

Roses: Much Loved Quotes & Free Printable

Hi honeys,
Yesterday was a "meh" kind of day,  after the glorious sunshine of the previous few days it started to rain and I needed a smile or two.  So, since a smile is always better when it's shared,  I thought I'd post an update on our pretty roses.  It would make me so happy if it made you smile too :)

A Peek Behind The Scenes Of Roses Cottage

Hi honeys
I hope your week is off to a great start.  We had the most fabulous sunny day yesterday but I missed most of it because I was catching up on a little housework & laundry.  I work weekends so after I see Hubby off to work on a Monday morning, I try to catch up as much as I can from my "weekend off" :)

I thought today we'd have a wee peek behind the scenes of where this blog gets written :)

I don't have a designated home office as such, instead I have a corner of our sitting (family) room :) Our little home isn't grand but I like to think it's homely, full of happiness and that anyone who visits (I hope) feels a hug as they walk through the front door :) 

Garden Smiles To Wish You A Wonderful Weekend

Hi honeys
I wanted to wish you a wonderful, smile filled weekend so I thought I'd share a little of our tiny front garden (it really is tiny but much loved :) in the hope it might make you smile :)

Do you remember I shared a beautiful rainy rose (and a printable version) recently honeys?  It's been a mostly awful Summer weather wise but oddly enough it's been a fabulous Summer for roses :) Look how many pretty rose buds are waiting to bloom.......

Do You Always Dress Your Bed?

Hi Honeys

I know lots of us are on a journey to de-clutter our lives and homes and to create a space that soothes us not stresses us.  If I asked you which room in the house could be changed the most by a single action, which would you choose? 

I would, without a doubt, say the bedroom.  I'm referring of course to making the bed :)

There are so many great reasons to make your bed in the morning.  Of all the things you can do to make your bedroom look, and feel, fabulous the easiest and fastest task is to just make the bed. 

It makes an immediate difference to the whole look of your room.  It restores calm and sees chaos on its merry way from what is after all your personal chill out space....

Smalls For All - Can You Help?

Hi Honeys
Could we talk about something a little personal today please?  Underwear.  Would you be surprised if I told you that to some women underwear is a luxury, that it's beyond their reach to own even basic items like a pair of panties?  Of course you would! Quite rightly too.  Can there be anything more basic, more essential for a girl to own than her underwear?

Yesterday, thanks to the lovely Leah, I found out about a wonderful charity called Smalls For All which collects underwear for girls and women who desperately need them.  If you were to go look in your underwear drawer right now, would you find a couple of bras that you don't wear anymore, maybe one or two that you bought because you liked the colour or design and got bored with very quickly?

Imagine the joy of a girl who doesn't own any underwear being given her first bra?  In some parts of Africa underwear is seen as a status symbol. Something only the wealthy are lucky enough to own.  Can you imagine a world where young girls, if they are lucky enough to attend school, will regularly be absent for several days each month simply because they don't own pants?

Of course hygiene isn't the only concern for these girls.  Not owning underwear can of course leave women vulnerable to disease but can also lead to abuse, since women who own underwear are seen as having the protection of a husband or father.

Smalls For All was founded by a very sweet lady called Maria Macnamara who became aware of this problem and set out to do something about it.  She collects any donated bras and will either pass them on to ladies and girls who can use them or arrange for them to be recycled. Even bras which have seen their best days can still be useful because they can be recycled, with the proceeds used to pay for girls to attend school. 

Imagine the difference that bra you're never going to wear sitting in your undies drawer could make honeys?  Imagine the joy of a woman receiving it?  Smalls For All will also accept pairs of pants, which should of course be unworn and new.   Most needed are panties in children's (girls and boys too please) sizes age 3-15 yrs and ladies UK size 8-16.

This week when I do my usual shop, I'll be adding a couple of packs of panties to my trolley. They'll then be safely packed with the bras I've already looked out and I'll be posting them to Smalls for all here:

Smalls For All
108 Buchanan Crescent,
Eliburn 
Livingston 
EH54 7EF 
Scotland 
UK

You can also connect with Maria & Smalls For All in the following places honeys:

Smalls For All on Twitter

Smalls For All on Facebook

The Smalls For All Website

Information on the different ways we can all help

This is such an amazing way for women to help other women.  The world is still largely run by men and after all is said & done who better understands the personal needs of women than other women.

God bless Maria for having founded this marvellous, caring & life changing charity, our lovely Leah for sharing news about their awesome work and thank you too for taking the time to read this post dear ones.  Till next time honeys, hugs always xx

How To Create A Knockout Background For Blog Posts

Hi honeys
Did you manage to see my post on Loki the other day?  I thought I'd share how I made the background for that post, and how you can do it too :)

When I decided to post about the gorgeous gift from Cheryl the other day I wanted to take a photo for my blog that would show Loki at his best.  I decided to make a background worthy of the son of Odin :)