3 things to do this weekend: Seasonal clear-out

A second post in the same week - what a treat! 

I haven't done one of these in a long time, have I? I was just thinking about what I'm going to do this weekend and figured I'd put it into a post and maybe inspire someone else to do the same thing. 

I've got to admit, I have been OBSESSED with a certain cleaning Instagrammer... any guesses who it could be? 

Of course, it's the wonderful Mrs Hinch (link to follow here if you aren't already). I've been following this stunning lady for around a couple of months now and straight off the bat, I was hooked. Never in a million years did I think I'd actually look forward to cleaning my house, but I'm totally inspired by Mrs Hinch and my house has never been so clean. The only thing is, I never feel like a room is really clean, until I've had a major clear out of all the stuff I've been hoarding.

So on that note, here are 3 things I'll be doing this weekend to make way for the Autumn season and a big seasonal deep clean next month: 

1) Clear out your kitchen cupboards
This is something that I think about every time I put my shopping away. I'm disgusted at the amount of crap I keep in my cupboards & so yesterday, I actually got off my bum & cleared out my kitchen cupboards. I cleared out 3 food cupboards and actually threw a full carrier bag of foods away per cupboard - that's 3 bags of food that I've been hoarding and have either gone out of date, or are so old that I figured it's not cool to eat them now. I threw things like peanut butter, Nutella and jams away that have been open for a few months, Cuppa Soups that are almost a year out of date and sweets that were half-open and forgotten about.

The crazy thing is that I didn't realise how big my cupboards are - I have SO MUCH ROOM RN. It also made me realise that I should only buy things that I know I'm going to eat, but also allowed me to make a list of things that I'm low on, like tuna and beans (clearly a staple food in the Murden household haha). 


2) Have a wardrobe sort-out
There's nothing nicer than having a clear out of your wardrobe before the Autumn season kicks in and this weekend, it's my mission to put away my little summer dresses and bring back out the knitwear and long-sleeved tees that I'd moved into the spare room for the summer. 

I'm a bit of a hoarder, so I feel like now is a good time to sort through every item and give away the clothes that I won't ever wear again - my mum and sis always try to nick my clothes, so I know they will appreciate a clear out. I definitely need a cull of shoes too - I have 100+ pairs and I swear to God that I only wear like 10 pairs soooo. 


3) Declutter somewhere that you store your crap
So I have 2 cupboards and also the drawers in the kitchen that I store miscellaneous crap in and last weekend, Luke and I finally sorted out one of the cupboards and threw away 2 whole binliners of shit that I'd been keeping for the past 4 years. It was actually ridiculous to see what came out of there and I definitely felt tonnes better once I'd thrown it all out and had space for all of our wedding things to go in there instead of cluttering the spare room. 

I came across things that I'd forgotten about and things that I can use now; it sounds sad, but it was a nice afternoon and I felt loads better for doing it. 


Do you have any tips for clearing things out? Let me know

xoxo

What I did this month: September 2018

Hey gals & guys, welcome back! 

I'm currently sat here in pyjamas, a dressing gown, slippers, a blanket and a hot water bottle. Autumn is officially here now, right? I've had to take this week off work & I've just got back from a doctors appointment to have my bloods taken, so hopefully they can figure out what's been making me so poorly. Here's hoping! 

Anywho, here's how my month has gone down:

One of my closest friend's wedding reception in Derby - she made such a stunning bride at an equally stunning location and we had lots of wine-fuelled boogies. 

One of our friend's Disney-themed fancy dress. 10 points if anyone can guess who I was. My sister's costume was BY FAR the best - she's Lilo from Lilo & Stitch and made everything by hand (and also made my horns!)

We went out for many meals with friends, however this one was INCRED and would recommend going if you're around Notts. We went in the evening and wings and cocktails were half price. 

I also Autumn-ed up my home and spent way too much money on Pumpkin candles & Cinnamon Zoflora - i'ts well worth the money & makes my house smell like an autumn wonderland now, OK? 

I had a lil' Costa date with my sis last weekend for a catchup and a mooch around Homesense and Dunelm which was lovely <3 

And lastly, the month ended on a definite high with a little trip to Barcelona which I 
would 100% recommend to anyone who is yet to go. Stunning city, lots of cafes & bars and tonnes of tapas - winner winner. 

This was the first day - we walked over to see the La Sagrada Familia and the Gaudi buildings, had some beaut tappas and ice creams and then mum & I spent the evening at the Hard Rock Cafe whilst the boys went off to watch a Barcelona game at Camp Nou. 

The second day was a little cloudy, so we went for a walk to the promenade, visited the Gothic area & had some drinks on Las Ramblas. We were lucky enough to visit Barcelona at the time where the biggest Festival was happening (La Mercer, I think) & so there were things happening everywhere, giving the city a bigger buzz than usual. We caught a metro to see Park Guell & then had a steady evening mooching around the shops & having a goodbye beer!*

*I actually had a stomach bug & didn't eat or drink all day - the Sangria below was delicious but I only managed a few sips - I'm still heartbroken about that!! 

I hope you all had a lovely month - here's to October! 
Speak soon xoxoxo

What I did this month: June 2018

1 & 2 - Seeing Taylor Swift earlier this month (BEST NIGHT EVER)

2 & 3- Night out with my favourite people for pizza and lots of wine!!

3. Recieving our wedding photos back // 4. Arriving in Bulgaria with a beautiful view

5. A day at the beach with Luke // 6. Alllll the cheese. Out for a lunch meal in a new city

7. A welcome home cheese night with my sis // 8. Shopping & food with Maisie

9. A home-alone Dominos after the shittest week... ever! // 10. My current bloody bathroom*

*It's half way through being done - this is the 'ripped out chic' stage - gross, right?

How is it July already?! Where is 2018 going? SOMEONE PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!

Just to be clear, I've picked out the absolute best of this month - things that haven't been mentioned: migraines, contraception implant removal and re-insertion, heat stroke, smear test, 300+ unread emails and they are just from this past week. DOMINOS + GIN = NECESSARY, OK?

Enjoy your weekends!
xxxxx

Wedding Wednesday: Our Story

Hello my loves,

I'm finally back and seeing as it's Wednesday, I thought I'd kick this blog back off with a cheeky Wedding Wednesday post. As I'm sure you've spotted, the domain has officially changed to my new name (!!) and I'm over the moon with how it looks!

We had the most perfect day & I'm looking forward to sharing more posts surrounding the day with you in the coming weeks.

So, as it's the first post since the actual wedding, I thought it might be worth me starting at the beginning - with our story, our engagement and the lead up to our wedding.

Luke & I have been together for just over 7 years now and believe it or not, we actually met whilst working at our local supermarket together on the checkouts! He was 16 & I was 17 (toy boy) & so, as we were too young to go for drinks or anything fancy, we just went into Nottingham to do a spot of shopping. He got a Ralph Lauren polo shirt (ew, so 2011..) and I think I got myself a new outfit from Primark (still v.classy, loving my Primarni) and it went from there.

After about a month of back to back Blackberry messaging (BB pins, remember those?), he finally asked me out.

We had been together just over 3 years when we finally decided it was time to buy our own place & so we put down the deposit on our lovely little home that couldn't be more perfect. It was definitely interesting moving in to our own home - Luke hung mirrors at his own height (I could only see my forehead)and set oven gloves on fire accidentally, but I wouldn't change a thing.

In 2016, we celebrated our 5 year anniversary where Luke whisked me away on a surprise trip to Verona, Italy and on the final night of our trip, he proposed on a rooftop overlooking the whole of Verona. I couldn't have imagined anything more perfect.

It's been a long two years of planning this wedding, but I can honestly say that I've enjoyed every second of it - I think I should've been a wedding planner in another life - who knew I was so thorough and obsessed?

So there we are, a complete whistle-stop, non-soppy post about our story. I hope you enjoyed this (and the v.v. cringey photos of us both!)

Speak soon, I promise!

xxxxx

Next time - Wedding Wednesday: The Hen Do. 

Wedding: Tips for the newly-engaged bride to be

Hello my loves,

Happy hump day! 

I thought that it might be nice to write a post on my top tips for the newly-engaged brides-to-be out there that are probably feeling a little overwhelmed and excited right now. 

I am in no way an expert in wedding planning, however I've thoroughly enjoyed my time wedding planning and hope to share some of my tips with people that may need it. 

Tip number 1: 
Get yourself a new notebook. I know the first thing that you do is go out and purchase a wedding planner-diary, however I really struggled with those. They include so much stuff and are generally targeted either at Americans, or they are very traditional and expect parents to pay for X, Y and Z etc. My best advice would be to get a plain notebook that you can jot ideas, thoughts, prices, contact details etc down in and not mind scribbling and ruining the pages etc. 

Tip number 2: 
Have a think about when you'd like to have the big day. If you're lusting to be a summer bride, then make sure that you give yourself enough time to plan and save - it doesn't matter if you book the wedding 2 years away as long as you and the groom are happy with it. We went for April because we'd started planning in the September but wanted a year and a half to plan and save, so the timing just felt right for us. Each to their own.

Tip number 3:
How do you imagine your big day? Do you want a church or do you want the whole day at a seperate venue i.e. hotel/marquee etc? 
This will help you think about who you first need to contact. Doing this will lead into everything else, because there's no point in booking any suppliers in case the venue of choice has packages that include different things. For example, the package that Luke & I went with includes so many things - food, drinks, DJ, cake, rooms for the guests, stationary for the tables, table decor etc. (there will be another post about my venues, so I don't want to go into too much detail). 

Tip number 4:
I want to do a full post on this, but a great thing that Luke & I did was to sit down and really think about what we wanted to spend. We worked out what we could comfortably save per month and then added up roughly how much that would amount to and that's how our budget started. 

Tip number 5:
Once you have your date, venue and budget confirmed, put the feelers out early to any suppliers that you're lusting over. There's nothing worse than leaving things too late and then not being able to employ the supplier because they're already booked for your date. 

I hope that these little tips help someone; let me know if they do!

xxx

Wedding: 3 month countdown& ring shopping

Happy New Year!

Oh my god, I can finally say that I get married THIS YEAR. 

I'm absolutely overwhelmed by this and, for the first time since the wedding planning begun, I'm actually starting to get anxious about the wedding. Not anxious to get married (I can't think of anything else I'd rather do), just anxious that I'm forgetting something, or that the payments are getting closer, or that my dress won't fit... Silly things, I know! 

This weekend has marked such a special moment; Luke & I have purchased our wedding rings! I'm so, so happy and excited- it's just so pretty. I must've taken it out of the box, tried it on, put it back in the box, tied it up, unwrapped it, taken it out of the box, tried it on just to tie it all back up about 8 times. It's stunning! I went with a budget in mind, but I didn't want that to be the deciding factor, so I asked to try on all of the ones that I liked & then asked for the price after I'd found the one that I wanted. I was over the moon to find that the ring was half the price of the original one that I had my eye on! 

I got mine from Goldsmiths - Nottingham as this is where Luke purchased my engagement ring from and I wanted something to match. If you're from Nottingham, I would 100% recommend getting your ring from there - the service is second-to-none and they can't do enough for you (you can even have a glass of wine or beer!). 

Luke didn't end up getting his ring from there because, truthfully, he'd seen very similar rings for half the price in another shop and so he decided to go elsewhere which is good and has saved us around £100. 

I don't have a massive amount more to do if I'm completely honest as I've been plan-zilla the past 10 months, so I was thinking that I could maybe do a series of blog posts to talk about some of the big bits of the day and how I've managed the budget, suppliers and planned everything to a T. Let me know if this is something that you'd be interested in! 

Next up, get the suits! Honestly, I gave Luke one job & it's the only thing out of my control. I've given him the deadline of the end of January or I'm going to choose them and just order them in to the shop for him. That's fair, right? 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

xxxx