santa claus is coming to town

all day every fucking day

we had a visit from the one and only santa today! well, not the same one as yesterday but a very impressive santa all the same. also, it's one week until christmas which has me terrified because i thought i'd finished all my shopping until i forced myself to wrap stuff the other day and realised i had a lot left to get. but that's life. so instead of buying things on my lunch, i sat alone in a muddy garden and ate a chocolate bar which was out of this fucking world just fyi. then i went shopping later.

never thought that i could be happy

dear verity, i love you

how was your day? did you dress up as a big fat gay santa, mince down some fatally slippery stairs and then stand in front of a fucking huge crowd of 0-4 year olds and their parents to pretend you're a) santa b) straight c) a good singer and d) not actually insane? okay well then take a look at the bigger picture. i went for a glass of wine after work because, well you read the second sentence and i've come home, tired, sweaty and exhausted, to be greeted with a REAL LIFE CHRISTMAS PRESENT AND CARD SENT IN THE POST. 

if you're the only thing i ever get for christmas

ready steady go 

okay so my pity party hasn't finished just yet and i'm back to work tomorrow so what better way to force yourself out of a funk than by spending 5 hours wrapping presents, writing cards and watching christmas films. it's been a weird weekend all in all but maybe today was what i needed to pick me up. i don't feel particularly uplifted right now but it's helped me to realise that a) i still love buying things (for other people) and b) home alone and elf are classics.

everything is black and white and grey

pure & simple

monochrome is the best, isn't it? there's something so wonderfully beautiful about black and white together. it's simple, it's effective, it's understated. 98% of my wardrobe is black, white or grey BUT there is a definite fashion faux pas hiding in there: mixing poorly matched shades together. no. unacceptable. my work jeans have faded to a painful grey/black hybrid but i make sure to wear a statement colour or white alongside it. but that's enough about how not to dress, let's talk more about black and white things.

all these things i hate (revolve around me)

the sweetest sentiment

it's nearly christmas and, if i'm not busy being an emotional sponge then i'm wrapped up (!!!!!!) in trying to think about what to buy people regardless of impending bankruptcy. let's take a moment to think about all the niceties that are there during this festive period - sometimes we're too busy to see them. for example, one of my nursery mums only went and bought me a fucking christmas present didn't she? and it's a clarins men beauty kit. which isn't cheap. and has "mitchgcole" written all over. thankyou so much, sylvia. you BABE

all i want for christmas is you

leaning tower of presents 

sweet mother of pearl, this is the sheer amount of christmas joy that i've come home to tonight. i'm expecting deliveries like this every day up until christmas (potential exaggeration) and it's got me thinking about how much i love spending money on people i love. they put up with me for the best part of a year so why not shower them with love, gifts, appreciation, affection and the like? what have you got for your loved ones? i'm asking out of interest and also desperate hope that i can steal a lot of your ideas.

just wasting my words on everyone else

NOT TOO DEEP

FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY is this real life? i can't tell. the headache is going and my vision is slowly returning but i don't know what's real anymore. feel like i've been on a weird acid trip (I) DON'T DO DRUGS KIDS. it's been a funny few days and i'm not entirely sure but i think i'm glad they're over. it's officially the weekend now so let's sit back, relax and talk about silly things - we'll save the heavy stuff for a sunday night/midweek afternoon.

you'll never know friends like these

more boxes

oh god, i woke up ready to blog about 3 tiny things and then everything happened and now i'm a bit flustered and it's late so forgive the mess that is my head/this post. it's always the same - i have no inspiration and get too anxious about posting something shit then i have too many things to talk about and get anxious that my post will be a mess and a rambling stream of consciousness. somewhere deep down, i already know that you guys expect one or the other so that's a silver lining if ever there was one.

"let it snow" is blasting out but i won't get in the mood

making this desk festive as fuck

holy fuck, christmas eve is a month away which means it's sort of okay to start getting excited about the festivities now. the lights are on, the trees are up, the songs are being sung and the overpriced christmas items are on the shelves. whereas the magic of christmas used to enthral and excite me, with age i've come to accept that it's simply not as fantastic anymore. people say "OH IT'S AMAZING WHEN YOU HAVE KIDS" but i'm currently womb-less so let's just try and enjoy what we can, eh?

i (don't) like mondays

serious bonding with diego

it may be the first day of the working week but my "monday blues monday poos" were nowhere to be seen because I'VE GOT THREE DAYS OFF THIS WEEK. sorry guys but it turns out that having a breakdown and forgetting about your annual holiday until the end of the year means lots of impromptu long weekends that can be spent doing lots of lovely things. so i started as i mean to go on and did a few nice things which i'm going to tell you about. i hope your mondays were alright though. 

sorry you're not a winner

WHO'S INSIDE (spoiler: everyone)

and so here it is again! giveaway day GIVE-A-DAY i always use that one but it never sticks. "stop trying to make give-a-day happen". back on track, this is where i take some time out to say thank you so much for continuing to support this blog. i hit 5000 views the other day and 6000 is already creeping up which, in three months, is unbelievable. i love each and every one of you who has clicked a link, "liked" something, shared a post or, better yet, commented on anything. this is for you.

before it has begun, we've already won

the epitome of my mood today

after news of a miscarriage and the horrific sight of a dying cyclist mown down on my way home from work, it's hard to find the silver linings of today. maybe it's because i'm eternally exhausted but i feel torn apart - sorry that my giveaway day is tainted by such sad news but i pride myself on portraying a realistic persona through social media. my life isn't any better or worse than yours, it's just different and that's what people need to understand. okay, let's combat all this horror with some niceties, eh?

all i've got are these photographs

i hate pink but i love this 

i meant to blog about this little beauty a while back but i got caught up with giveaways and tattoos and eating cereal alone in bed. for someone who fucking hates having their photo taken, i really like photographs. instagram is a personal favourite app of mine and i think it's really important to document the lovely little things that happen in your life. i'm also a big fan of polaroids (who isn't?) and so, whilst looking for a cheap camera and film, i came across another app which had the potential to change my life.

i've been around the world and i i i

BY DAY

okay so today's lyric title is a bit misleading but i did go back to bath yesterday and i've travelled around bristol town today so that's basically the world, no? either way, i got off of my self-pitying ass and out of my comfort zone to do things that would hopefully make me happy. and you know what? they did. it's been a bittersweet few days but, if i'm focussing on consciously making the effort to be happier, there are a lot of positives i can blatantly see. join me, won't you?