The Best Of October

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

As promised last week in my rather late September Update, today we're looking at October and recapturing all those sweet little moments that made the month so special. 

With any luck, I'll start managing these on a more regular basis! 

All images are from my instagram account which you can check out HERE. 

From L-R. Top-Bottom.

Top Row

Recently my Grandma's Brother Geoff flew over from Australia to visit us. I'd never met him and it had been the first time in 20 years that he was reunited with his siblings. My Dad arranged a huge dinner for us all at a venue in the countryside and it was a lovely chance to just be amongst family. On top of that, because Matt was away, I was forced to drive a long route I've never taken before. I'm a really nervous driver so although I was really frightened to do it, I ended up super proud that I faced a fear and came out on top! Darcy wowed the Pentland crowds with her oh-so-sweet attire and enjoyed playing round the (not lit) fire place. Autumn Cuteness overload. 

Second Row

Gma rocking a selfie. I'm so proud of the women in my family and even prouder to be one of them. They're a good bunch!

Whilst Darcy sat playing on my lap one day I noticed how very, very grown up she is becoming. She likes to accessorise every outfit and just seeing a necklace clasp under her tiny fluffy baby hair made me emotional. 

A #tbt (Throw Back Thursday) snap of me, Dan and Phil. I do love those boys. 

Jack came to play. I say, 'play' but what I mean is set himself up on my sofa with every cushion available and work. Fun times. 

This was my, 'I'm so excited' face. I forget what I was excited for. Either a new video ooorrr a twitter takeover I did for Shout Magazine with Zoe. 

Third Row

Little bit of train time with Jackrobat. Lovely, lovely. 

Whilst on a newspaper photoshoot, I managed to squeeze in a bit o' Laspar time. I've seen a couple of people ask if 'Laspar' is real (as in are we dating and 'shipped' our names together). Just to clarify, nooooo, we're not! It just kind of a running joke we have with our YouTube viewers haha. 

Whilst in a meeting the next day, I opened my notepad to find these beauties from the Zoella Beauty launch party and smiled. It was nice to see such friendly faces beaming up at me. 

Bottom Row

Next morning I took a walk round Borough Market with some of my really old friends from Liverpool. We mooched about, ate tapas and chatted for hours. It was like food for the soul.

A cheeky little picture of me and Alfie snuck in there too. Isn't he a love?

Whilst with the old but gold friends, we headed up to the top of the Shard to take in the view and enjoy some sight-seeing. If you ever have the chance, you should definitely go, it's quite spectacular. 

Back home in the local petrol station (the glamour) I saw this display of heavenly goodness. Hello Nutella & Go, let's be best friends. 

From L-R. Top-Bottom.

Top Row

On to some more homey times now. Watch Darcy play is one of the most peaceful things to do in my life. I love seeing her little mind work and making up new stories. It's just the cutest. 

To celebrate Halloween, we bought and decorated 'spooky' cookies. We love doing little activities like this. Just perfect bursts of Mummy-Baby time. 

Practising her Halloween poses in the mirror. Look at that hip action!

My little fluff baby being so adorable I might pass out. 

Second Row

And then I let her have some say in what she wore and she came up with this. I'm OK with it. Creative free will and all haha. 

Another #tbt for #Laspar. Oh dear. 

It's so rare that she falls asleep in my arms and gets this cosy so when she does I cherish it tight. I could love on this little girl forever. 

Third Row

Oops.

For my main channel I made Spooky Toddler DIY's video and the night before sat up practising all the projects. This little guy became a firm friend. 

Red and Black lips for a bonus video. Oh la la. 

At a photoshoot for the AmityFest tour we did. It was SUCH an early start (I was in the car at 5am) that Pillie simply had to come with me. 

Caspar looking lovely. 

Bottom Row

Me (hopefully) looking lovely!

Lunch with the one and only, Tanya Burr. Jim came too but he was the photographer haha. 

Thank goodness for the wonderfully talented hair and makeup lady who transformed my very early morning face. 

And then before I knew it I was home with my baby and Jack too! If you hope over to his insta, you can see the journey home. I was soooo delirious with tiredness and excitement that I made myself cry laugh and he very kindly documented it. Tada! 

From L-R. Top-Bottom.

Top Row

I wore a hat. Jack didn't care. I think deep down he did but yanno, he's playing it cool. 

Reading through all your gorgeous letters from my PO Box. You lovelies melt my heart. 

An avocardo. Just chillin'. 

Darcy (who dressed herself again) hanging out by the magazines. 'Baby Glitter is in the press' was my pithy caption. Ha ha ha I make myself laugh with those. Lol. 

Second Row

Screenshot from our Halloween DIY video!

London looking oh so beautiful at night time. 

OK, this blog post has told me I've seen Caspar way too much this month. I blame AmityFest. 

Whilst we rehearsed for AmityFest, we would go to lunch at the cutest, most hipster cafe I've ever stepped foot in. Seriously, there were little chilli plants instead of flowers. 

Third Row

Screenshot from my lipstick tutorial video.....but the bit where Zula distracted me. 

Artwork on buildings like this is why I love Shoreditch and it's surroundings so very much. 

Baby Girl taking in the Autumn. 

And 'throwing the ducks some bread'. AKA. Violently throwing crumbs on the floor and then being annoyed when the ducks waddled out of the lake and came too close to her wellies. 

Bottom Row

Random cat. I can't help but document them when I see them. 

Bit o' Jack time. 

A late night craft project (why oh why do I do those to myself?!)

Hazel and I ready for the spookiest party in town. You can't fully see but Hazel sprayed her hair violet and it looked amazing. 

From L-R. Top-Bottom.

Top Row

A snap of a snap from the #AsDarknessFalls Halloween Party. I vlogged it HERE. 

The prettiest doorway in London that I spotted from a taxi window. You can't really see in this picture but the ceiling was powder blue with hand painted gold stars all in it. It really was beautiful. 

Shameless selfie 1. 

Dinner with Jack and Dean. They had the greatest little time, despite what this picture tells you. 

Second Row

Shameless selfie 2. (This was actually to go to a meeting and I quickly realised that glossy red lips, long wavy hair and high winds - not a good mix).

A snap with my Chummy at the launch with Tanya Burr's lashes. I do miss that lady. 

Cuddles with a boy baby that I did not birth. YouTube search 'Hannah Maggs' for all that cuteness!

Oh hai lipsticks of absolute beauty! Check out THIS post for more on them.

Third Row

A very, very, very tired little baby. Oof my heart could burst for her. 

Preparing to hit the road for AmityFest- I stocked up for the tour bus. Yum. 

Saying goodbye to my little angel made me sad. When I go away I get so insanely homesick. I'm thinking about doing a video or blog post about that soon. What do you think?

Stage hair and makeup! I'm so into little plaits at the moment!

Bottom Row

Darcy on stage during rehearsals. She loved it so much that she actually came out for a little bit in the show which was adorable. She's becoming quite the show girl!! <3 p="">

Group photo with some of our guests and then two of the actual show- the whole thing was such a blast. Vlog coming very very soon! 

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And there we have it. My entire month in 48 pictures! What did you do in October that you loved?

Toodlepip!

xx

Motivational Monday || Fresh Starts

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

A new week and a new month, how refreshing. I like the start of new things. They give me hope that this time I can do better than the last and the motivation to try. 

(Image)

I thought this doodle was particularly apt for the new day, week, month and hoped it would bring you a little bit of invigoration to get going. 

It's quite easy, I find, to be pulled down by the daily grind or by our personal problems or even by other people's personal problems. It can feel like wading through treacle and like there is no end in sight. I try really hard to divide my time and life by the months and have them be like chapters of a book. That way, if one month has been particularly hard, you can sort of draw a line under it and start afresh in the new one. 

My October was busy and challenging but also rewarding. I don't want to draw a line under it and forget it, but more draw a line and start again with renewed energy. I want to take a moment to think about my goals for this month (more time at home, more photography, more time with Darcy) and not focus on how much I was away in October and how much focus I had to put on things that ultimately, were not the 'real' stuff of life.

If October was a big month for you (for good or for bad), take a quiet moment today to think about what you want from this new chapter and to breath deep, sit still and re-energise. It's going to be a good one!

If you'd like to share in the comments what you want to do in this new month, please do! If you'd prefer to keep that as a mental note- I feel ya!

Toodlepip!

xx

September late-date!

Aloha Sprinklerinos!

Happy November! Where oh where does time go? It seems that 2014 is wizzing by faster than I can keep track. 

With that in mind, I have looked over all my recent insta snaps and wanted to have a little catch up. Half for your (hopeful) enjoyment but also for mine, so that when I read back over this digital scrapbook of mine, I will remember all these tiny moments and cherish them. 

So, today let's remember September and next week we'll do October. Also, for once, it's in chronological order. Yay!

From R-L. Top - Bottom.

Row One

This was a #tbt (Throw Back Thursday) where I was wishing to be back with Marie and her wonderful family in Seattle. Currently we are planning a trip so there's light at the end of that exciting tunnel!

Having kittens in the house makes for mischievous little moments like this. I'm so glad to have my phone to capture moments like walking into the bathroom to find them in the tub. 

September to me is the unofficial start of Autumn, so of course, the candles were lit and cosiness re-instated!

I love giving people little keepsakes and after I found these Juicy Lucy cards, I just had to write a few for the girls in the office. 

Row Two

Since I'm in London so much, I often stay over night so that I can do two full days of meetings and projects and then be properly at home again. This was one of those night and the lovely Hazel and Ollie came to keep me company. Things got pretty wild (lol) and ended up with room service milk and cookies and laptop times. 

Next day in between meetings I had a cheeky Zizzi's with Jack. This is the moment after I whinged that my pizza was too difficult to cut and he conceeded to do it for me, mwahahaha- look how happy about it he was! ;)

That afternoon I skipped off to Claridges to intervew Kim Kardashian (as you do). Vlog of the event coming really soon!

And then before I knew it, I was home again, makeup off and have cuddles with my baby. Bliss. 

Row Three

Oop, that time I decided to insert 4 random seconds of stop-motion footage into a video, just because I'd worked out how to do it and was excited. Yeah buddy. 

Starbucks stop with my baby girl. If you don't like tea or coffee (like me), give a chocolate cream frapperchino with a shot of peppermint a go. You won't regret it. 

My beautiful friend from university married her sweetheart and Darcy delighted in the ice cream. Seriously, why does icecream make kids so completely happy?!? 

The superhero themed wedding cake- potentially the best cake I've ever seen. 

Row Four

As part of a project for Comic Relief Hazel was asked to shoot some footage at the Warner Brother Studios. I was invited along as her trustee side-kick and we had a night of duelling, touring and general giddiness. Cheeky lil smooch from Dumbledore too eh? Heh heh. 

Those crazy kids over at Boomf very kindly sent me a set of customised marshmallows. Sweets with my own face on? Yes please. 

From R-L. Top - Bottom.

Row One

Exciting goodies in my PO Box. 

The joy of finding spare Real Techniques brushes at Gleam HQ. Oh me oh my I was happy!

Jack and I played tourists for the day and someone got giddy at the Natural History Museum (hint, it was me). If you check out my Sprinkle of Chatter channel, there's a vlog of it, yay!

Cuddles with Zula. 

Row Two

Cuddles with Rocket.

I recently bought sparkle pumps from Accessorize and I'm still happy about this choice. 

Playing YouTube in a giant cardboard cutout at a google talk I did with Vivvy and Anna. It was nice to be so grown up for the day- even if I did wear the sparkle pumps. 

Oh how the mighty fell- wisdom tooth removal. I was not brave about it. Not one bit.

Row Three

Another #tbt to Malibu Beach with the gang. That was SUCH a lovely day. One of those where you look around and realise how very blessed you are. 

The day I discovered our local supermarket does these little scone, cream and jam packs was a reaaalllyyy good one!

Darcy welcomes Autumn at the playground. 

I welcome Autumn with a bubble bath. Mmmhmmm. 

Row Four

With my amazing Manager Dom Smales who is one of the most supportive men in my life. Big loves for him. 

More cuddles with Rocket. I could just cuddle him forever. 

Both my furry babies. When Zula rolls on his back like that, I feel I might die. Look. At. Himmmmm. 

That time I wanted to demonstrate how tired I was on the train but actually just posed with my eyes shut for a selfie and looked gaga to all the other passengers. Good then. 

From R-L. Top - Bottom.

Row One

En route to film a collab with Miranda Sings and bumping into lots of her very lovely fans!

Pizza's healthy if you have a heap of salad, right? 

If there's one thing I love more than loving on my cats, it's watching other people love on them.

Playtime with fluff puffs. Who knew they could be so much fun??

Row Two

More Autumn leaves. Darcy spent so, so long picking up loads to make herself a 'fan'. She was very proud. I was too really. 

My lounge is most definitely my favourite cosy space in the world. You can't not be happy in there.

PJ's and Christmas films, even if it was only September. 

Contemplative playtime. 

Row Three

I was asked by my friend Clare to give a talk at her school (which incidentally is my old school) about modern language on social media. They gave me flowers at the end. A good day!

Hair time!

A little bit of chummy lovin' at Zoe's launch for Zoella Beauty. 

Row Four

And then all smiles with Hazel in the photo booth. 

I attended and talked at a Creativity Conference in London with Jack, Finn and Jamal. This was the first public speaking event I have ever felt really uncomfortable at and felt very out of my depth- eep!

Again, rubbing a cat round my face. Standard. 

A hearty wooden lunch, served by Darcy. Lucky Mama!

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Gracious me that was a lorra lorra catching up! I'm really glad I took the time to look back over all of those- it's made me realise how lucky I am to be so busy and have so many exciting projects, even if at the time they feel overwhelming or scary!

If you'd like to follow me on instagram, I am @Sprinkleofglitr. 

Do you ever make time to take stock? In what ways do you reflect?

Toodlepip!

xx