Ruby Slippers

At the end of the Wizard of Oz, after many trials and tribulations involving talking scarecrows, flying monkeys and a few song & dance numbers, Dorothy learns that all she needs to do to get home is to click the heels of her ruby slippers together and say, "There's no place like home" three times. All the while Glinda, the Good Witch of the North watches over Dorothy and guides her on her journey back to Kansas.

When the scarecrow asks Glinda why she didn't tell Dorothy earlier what she needed to do, the witch answers "Because she wouldn't have believed me. She had to learn it for herself".

Basically, the Good Witch of the North was the ultimate mentor - allowing Dorothy to make her own mistakes but ensuring that she was heading in the right direction to achieve her goal.  

Bossa Nova Baby

Tall and tan and young and lovely,

The girl from Ipanema goes walking...

The Girl from Ipanema

Now if I'm honest I'm not tall, I'm definitely not tan, I'm not particularly young but I like to think that I'm at least a little bit lovely and I do have a brand spanking new pair of Ipanema flip flops*.

Unfortunately, sun, beaches and, well, anything vaguely tropical are pretty hard to come by in West Yorkshire, so if you want that holiday vibe you've got to create your own.

Movie Me-Time

Hebden Bridge is home to an original 1920s Picture House which is still in operation and showcases a good range of mainstream, art-house and foreign language films as well as live events.

When I saw that there was a 10.30am screening of the Marilyn Monroe classic Some Like It Hot this Thursday I thought I'd go along, however I was most disappointed when I realised I was already busy that morning (I mean, who's free to go to the cinema on a Thursday morning??).

So, inspired by Honeybourne Line's "Stay Home" series, I decided to have my own vintage movie morning at a time that suited me!

Classic with a Modern Twist

Regular readers of my blog would be forgiven for thinking that I do little other than shop and lunch with my girlfriends. I do admit that I am a bit of a shopaholic and I hold my hands up to girly lunches / coffee / cocktails being one of my favourite pastimes. However in my defence, the hours I spend knocking plaster off walls, stripping wallpaper and sanding down woodwork don't get much blog-time and neither do the baked-bean on toast lunches because, let's face it, who wants to read (or write) about that?

So back to the good stuff....

My sister Abi's birthday was earlier this week so me, my mum and both my sisters met up in Leeds for afternoon tea and some retail therapy.

Mum, Abi, Kits & Me

Spreading the Love - Liebster Award

Until I was nominated, initially by the glamorous Ting from The Ting Thing and then by the gorgeous Renata from Speaking Beauty UK and the super-stylish Mandy from One Slice of Lemon, I hadn't really heard of the Liebster Award, however after a little bit of investigation I found out all about it.