The countdown to Christmas begins!

I just LOVE Christmas and I now feel like it is an acceptable time to start talking about it now we have reached the month of October. I have already started buying presents because I feel doing it this early will ultimately save me money as well as a lot of stress. Spreading the cost over 3 or 4 pay packets is also a good move! I have only really bought odds and ends for people really, if I have seen a good deal. I always buy most of my cards from the 99p store as I feel a card is something that gets looked at once and then stored away, so why spend £4 plus on one? I am also rather childish and still get a stocking from my Mum (yes, I am 26 and I have an advent calendar too...any guesses as to which one?) and I normally make her a little one too filled with chocolate and soaps etc. I have started to buy a lot on the autumn Sales, Body Shop for example recently had 40% off and I got some lovely stuff online! 

I have thought a little bit about what I would like for Christmas. And yes yes, it is not all about gifts...it is about sharing the day with those you love BUT STILL everyone loves to get presents and anyone who says they don't, is lying! So here are a few of my most wanted things for this Christmas!

New Girl Season 1

This DVD is out in December and I absoultely love Zooey Deschanel. As in, I wish I was her. Plus, New Girl is hilarious.

An Ipad

Yes, I still want one. I don't need one but I want one. They are so pretty and shiny and I am fully aware they are very expensive but I can live in hope.

Vintage Weddings Book 

I have wanted this book for a while, I just have never got around to buying it as I feel it's a little bit steep for a book at £18!

Penguin Dressing Gown

I LOVE this dressing gown from Topshop and the fact it is covered in penguins makes me very excited. I WANT IT!

One Direction Album

I have no shame that I love One Direction and with their album being released next month, it would be a fab Christmas gift! (Although I'll probably end up buying it myself!)

 

 Hello Kitty Headphones

I love Hello Kitty and I have always wanted headphones like this! They are made by Coloud and sell on Play.com for about £35!

Right now I am struggling with ideas for my Mum, Michael and friends-I have got to the point where I just can't think of anything original enough but I still have lots of time to look and I certainly feel relaxed and stress free regarding Christmas right now!

xoxo

October Happiness

Please pardon the poor title for the blog post, I sometimes seriously lack ideas for what to put as titles. I am fine with this part but when it comes to naming the damn thing, I just get a block! There are lots of things in life making me happy this month, I thought I would share a few of them with you...

Weekend Television

 I am totally loving weekend television right now-I can't think of anything better than snuggling up on a Saturday night with a takeaway and watching X Factor, Take me Out, Strictly...I love it all! Now I am the grand old age of 26, I much prefer to stay in than go out (although I always have to be honest).

Pretty Autumn Dresses

 I have recently enjoyed spending a Debenham's voucher that my Dad got me for my birthday-I purchased these two super cute dresses and I whilst they are quite thin and summery I plan to just layer them with a black jumper or cardigan when it gets cold and they will look nice with tights and boots! I am excited by the stars and moon one particularly as I love star prints-I have a witches hat so I am thinking this is a perfect Halloween style costume haha!

Being Loved Up

Please skip this part if you are already fed up of mentioning my love life-I wouldn't blame you! I am so amazingly head over heels loved up right now, I feel just so grateful that my fiance is also someone I consider my best friend-true love is rare and I know how lucky I am to have found it.

Buying Christmas Presents

 I just love the run up to Christmas, as it's October this is when it truely starts and I love picking up gifts and making Christmas plans. I am excited to have Michael at home this year as we didn't spend Christmas together last year. I also feel it will be time soon to get the Christmas movies out and have a marathon! 

 

Weddings

 I am currently enjoying reading my way lots of wedding planning books on the Kindle as well as a few books that my Mum bought me. I have also started to be extra geeky and make a scrapbook-Wedding Ideas magazine is fantastic and I look forward to it coming out every month!

Making Plans

 It is always good to make plans and I have recently started researching which course I would like to get my teeth into next! I love studying in my spare time and having recently completed my teaching assistant course, I would love to do either Children's Literature or Child Psychology. Funds allowing, I am going to start one in Jan :)

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend-I am going to see Looper tomorrow and catch up with some friends over the weekend. Take care ya'll!

xoxo

Wedding planning: Getting the vintage look

As I have said a squillion times before, I would love a vintage style wedding. Not just a 'vintage' looking dress but all the extras like the hair, decorations, invitations...It may be a bit too early on to be thinking about things like that but I have still been browsing Pinterest for inspiration as well as collecting pictures and ideas from magazines. I planned to go to the National Wedding Show last weekend but after thought, I felt like it was a bit overpriced on the entrance fee and I felt like I may be bombarded with requests to buy things when we're not quite there yet! Still, I want to use them to browse and I now plan to go to the London Vintage Wedding Fayre in November, it sounds perfect for me.

So, I have been recently getting a lot of inspiration regarding vintage weddings from the wonderful Downton Abbey! Mary in particular, her beautiful headpiece made of leaves was amazing. I would love to wear something like that when we get married-not necessarily the dress though as it's a little too covered up for me.

I have also been looking at pretty vintage style hair slides that I could wear in my hair, I haven't bought anything but I have found these images on Pinterest and then found similar ones being sold on BHS. I think they would lovely with long curly hair don't you think?

I have also decided I would like a long, lace vintage style (or genuine vintage if possible) veil but obviously that will need to be bought nearer the time. However saying that I nearly won a beautiful lace veil on Ebay the other week and lost out by 50p! I don't want to spend too much on one really, not more than £20-£30 but I would love something like this:

Source: Pinterest

Also, although it is a while off yet, if money allows I would love to make and print some pretty vintage invitations just to stay with the theme. I have seen millions (well hundreds) of different styles but these in particular really stand out for me. I am hoping with a strong ink cartridge, some creativity and technical skill I can make something similar myself for half the cost. I don't think it's something majorly important but invitations should still be pretty!

 Source: Pinterest

Wedding planning aside, I am having a pretty standard week really. Well except Ofsted coming to my school! ;) I am looking forward to the weekend already and half term in 3 weeks. I plan to go and see Looper this Saturday at the cinema and do some actual resting as I have been so busy recently! Tonight is chilli night in the Cherbear household, trust me Michael makes it taste soooo good when I can't even make a jacket potato. What would I do without him?! We've just booked a little Christmas trip to Kent during mid December to go to a market and just generally be romantic. Excited already! Should I really wish time away?

xoxo 

My Autumn Wardrobe

'Autumn mornings: sunshine and crisp air, birds and calmness, year's end and day's beginnings'-Terri Guillemets

Source: Pinterest   

I do rather love this time of year <3 As October approaches I can look back on the month of September so happily-the month I got engaged, started my new job and celebrated my 26th birthday. October will be mostly a month of working for me although I have a week off I am looking forward to at the end of October where we can celebrate Halloween and all things spooky. 

As the colder days approach, I have taken out all my summer clothes and put them into storage to make room for lots of fluffy jumpers, warm dresses and thick tights. I am not generally a 'top and trousers' kind of girl during the warm month but during autumn and winter I live in jumpers and jeans/trousers. I have also purchased some new boots to prepare for weather and some cute slippers for inside (I have already started wearing my teddy bear onsie haha!). I thought I would share with you some of my favourite pieces from the Cherbear autumn/winter collection. 

OWLS

I love owls and I have my beloved jumpers and this cute blue shirt I bought from Primark for £12-quite a lot for them but it feels good quality!

ANIMAL PRINT JUMPERS
My favourite ones being my super cosy cat and bunny jumpers!

COMFY CARDIGANS
Especially my bicycle print one from Forever 21 and my red wool cardigan that I got for just a fiver from Primark! It feels lush!

Warm boots
I recently invested in two pairs of boots from Primark-the suede ones have already let in some rain which sucks after only a few wears but they are so comfy!

  
I may be in the minority but I do love the weather this time of year-the air is cold and crisp and there is nothing better than snuggling at home in the warm drinking hot chocolate!
xoxo

Cheryl...turns a year older!

Well I am now officially 26 years old! A year closer to 30, eeek! 

 

I had to work yesterday but once the working day was over I rushed home like a little kid to open my birthday presents! I got completly spoilt by my Mum and Michael (as well as getting some other lovely pressies from family and friends), I feel so lucky! After I opened my gifts, I got cosy in my PJ's and we watched The Hunger Games on DVD and got a huge Indian takeaway-it was perfect! I thought I would share some of my favourite pressies which I received...

Kindle

 Michael bought me a Kindle for my birthday and I love it already, especially browsing for free books! I am still getting my head around using it to be honest but I am hoping it will help me get back into reading and I will take it to work each day for my lunch break, once I have bought a pretty cover for it!

Wedding bits and bobs

My Mum bought me lots of bits and bobs to help with my wedding planning including 2 books and a special 'bridal notes' book! I can't wait to use them!

Scrapbooking Kit

I also got a scrapbooking kit so I can make a wedding scrapbook-I can't wait to get creative and make something pretty!

Back to the Future Sweater

I love this Back to the Future sweater from ASOS, it will be great with jeans when it is cold, ust to wear around the house-plus anything BTTF related is a winner for me!

Pretty bedroom signs

Smellies-including some amazing Yankee Candles!

Cath Kidston Bag and voucher!

Great British Bake Off book (I love this show, can't wait to try some recipes!)

Mr and Mrs Game

 

Me and Michael are going to enjoy playing this game hehe! I got lots of other bits too as well as this lovely new coat from Dorothy Perkins from my Mum! 

I feel so lucky and grateful to have got so many gifts and cards, I feel very loved! Now I am 26, I feel ready to enjoy my life and not let me anxiety hold me back anymore. I am ready to make life changing decisions and do what is best for me. Also, by my birthday next year I very much hope to potentially be a mummy! :D However what ever happens, happens and I will take it all as it comes and enjoy every special moment life brings :)

 xoxo

Wedding planning: Finding the perfect dress!

Well after a lot of searching, I have finally found my dream wedding dress. Unfortunately it is way out of my budget! I don't really want to spend more than £300 on a dress (after all it is only for one day) so I have been searching through Ebay and websites such as Pre-Loved which sell second hand dresses. I am always a bit hesistant to buy a dress online which is why I hope to see one in 'real life' at some point. My main concerns are that the sizing will be wrong and returning is difficult or that I get conned...which is always a possiblity! I always had an image in my mind of my perfect wedding dress and this design called 'Shanna' by designers Sottero and Midgley just sums it all up:

•  Short sleeves (I don't like strapless wedding dresses and I don't like my arms!)
• A white dress
• Lots of pretty lace
• A vintage feel (particularly the 1950's)
• Long and flowing but not poufy (that is very important!)
• A nice fitted waist but not a corset (I want to be able to breath on my wedding day!)

 I am not in any major rush to get one but I am visiting a wedding fayre this weekend so if I saw something amazing for a good price then who knows?! It may seem strange to buy the dress before we book the venue but who cares! We will book things when we are ready and know for sure where we want to get married-we also have to think about food, the photos, music, transport...the list is endless so thank god for my wedding planner! The dress is important to me though, I want to feel beautiful when I walk down the aisle! I am dreaming of walking past a vintage shop and seeing some unique genuine 50's wedding dress for £200 but when does that ever happen in real life?

I have been browsing Pinterest for wedding dress inspiration and found this beauties which I love-what do you think?

In other news-it is my birthday tomorrow! I can't quite believe I am going to be 26, I still only feel about 18, lol. I had a wonderful weekend seeing my friends and going to the theatre with my mum and Michael-they have all made my birthday feel so special. Unfortunately I have to work tomorrow but when I get home I shall open presents, eat cake and get a nice Indian takeaway! Thank you to everyone who has given me lovely cards and gifts-I really appreciate the thought :) I will do a birthday blog in a few days! 

Until then xoxo

Overcoming my anxiety

I thought I would do a completely non-wedding related post today (I am sure some of you are relieved!) and talk a little bit about my anxiety right now. As most of you know, my anxiety and depression is something I have always been completely honest about and also aware of in myself. I don't deny what I have-I just try to fix it or should I say live with it the best way I can. 

I don't know when it was but in recent months I have felt myself almost reach a 'milestone' in my life when I realised that I only have two choices. I can either let it destroy me and ruin my life or I can fight it the best way I can. So then I asked myself what exactly WOULD help me fight my anxiety? Would it be to actually experience the things that make me anxious? So that then I can see that in actual fact, it's not all that bad? 

That is exactly what happened to me last week. For many, it would be nothing, but Michael went away on a school residential trip for 3 days last week and it was something I had built up in my mind for months. I don't know if you could label it as 'separation anxiety' but I do find it incredibly difficult in situations where I can't just pick up the phone and call my Mum or Michael when I need to. I'll admit I rely a great deal on both of them. When I have a plan in place, I am fine but knowing that Michael couldn't just call me when I wanted him to, made my mind bubble over with worry. There was only so much we could discuss it-I just had to treat the days normally, keep myself busy with work and just trust that he was ok. After all the months of built up anxiety, I actually felt really proud of myself by the end of it. No anxiety attacks, no tears, just normal every day feelings. To come through that showed me that the things that occupy my mind are not as bad as how I think they are. For me anyway, this was a mini milestone in the illness that I suffer from. 

These past few weeks for me have been life-changing in such a good way-for the first time I feel 'grown up', I feel I can take on what is asked of me, I feel like my future is exciting and that the things I grew up wanting to happen, like marriage and babies and the like, are finally happening to me. Me, the 25 year old woman who always felt like she had a 8 year old child trapped inside her. Don't get me wrong, she is still there but now it's ME, the woman, taking charge and doing things for herself...to make herself happy. The 2 most important lesson I have learnt in recent years is that you cannot torture yourself worrying about the things you cannot change and that you only need to keep the people in your life who put in as much effort and care as you do for them. I feel so sad looking back at the years I wasted feeling that way and I do not want to look back again in 10 years time and think the same thing.  It would be wrong and completely premature of me to say I had 'overcome' my anxiety as certainly it is something I will always feel throughout my life (I expect no less) but at least I can say that finally, I can cope and that it will soon hopefully become just a pale background in my life. I believe these next 2 years in my life will be making of me and I will become the person I have always wanted to be. Someone who is strong in mind and soul and lives life to the full. 

xoxo