Saturday 26 April 2014

I Have Moved

Hi Everybody,

It has been a long time since I have added a new post to this blog, and this will be my final post on this platform.

The sole purpose of this post is to let you know that I have moved to a new, self-hosted domain. Come check it out here: www.simplysolelyme.com

I will be updating the blog over there a lot more frequently, as I've decided to become a lot more committed to the cause once more.

Please feel free to follow me!

- A

Sunday 14 April 2013

It's been a While

Hi Everybody,

It has been a ridiculously long time since I've written a post here (about 3 months I'd say), so I've decided to pick up my little blogging project once more, in order to learn more about driving traffic to sites, and gauging interests of different topics.

I will sit down and write a proper, longer post during the course of this week, when I have more time to gather my thoughts and decide on something which is not boring, or a short read.

For now, here's a quick update on the past few months of my life:

Work has gotten rather busy and taken up some time outside of my usual work routine, in order for me to get things done. I'm really enjoying my job, and am being given more and more responsibility as time goes on. In the career department, I can't really ask for more at the moment, I am happy!

I have booked a total of 3 holidays with my boyfriend this year, 2 in May (Morocco and Home), and one in December (3 different Greek Islands). I'll be sure to report back to you all on various aspects of the gloriously warm holidays I'll be sure to have. Definitely can't wait for summer, sun and cocktails!

I decided to begin setting up my very own company in January, but haven't gotten further than buying a web domain and hosting package (no, I have not even built the site!!). I've started making a gant chart in order to plan my time more wisely, and begin with the designs and content creation for the site, in order to get it up and running, and fast. I don't want this to be money down the drain, so I really need to get going on that. I also need to get going on a proper business plan, which will take me a fair amount of time to get through as well.

My new-years resolutions have slowly faded into nothing, I have not lost much weight, and have not done any charity work thus far, what with eating a load of pizzas, watching friends in bed for the 3rd time running, and making up excuses to just not leave the house. Worst! Determination! EVER! I have a plan to go back to the gym on Tuesday (Once the boyfriend is on a business trip, and my 5-week flu/cold thing has disappeared). I also aim to have a spring dump out of old clothes, which I would like to donate to charity (I know it's not much, but it's a start, right?)

If anybody out there, living in the UK, knows any good volunteering programs for charity, which happen on a weekend, give me a shout, I am really having trouble knowing where to begin.

That's all from me for now, how have you all been?

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

PS: just a quick message with regards to my "Life Throws a Curveball" Blog - I have not been able to commit to 2 blogs at once, and have decided to take this particular blog and it's content offline for the time being, until I have written a few more chapters and can add content without needing to write it first. I will let you all know once it's ready again, however it may take a little more time than previously thought.

Sunday 20 January 2013

Snow is Falling, All Around Me!

Hi Everyone,

In the spirit of the current weather, I thought the Obligatory Snow photo would only be fitting:

Snow
Snowy View from my Window

Not the best view, I know, but I am still loving the amount of snow that is falling, and has been falling since I've woken up this morning (Okay afternoon).

I hate it when the snow is falling though, but once it has stopped falling, especially when you've decided to go on a walk in the countryside, everything becomes really calm and quiet. It's amazing how relaxing and fun a walk in the snow can be.

I do have to say though, that people don't seem to cope very well with the snow here in London, everything tends to just come to a complete stand-still. There are a lot more 'snow days' here than back in my home country - don't get me wrong, I do love me a lazy day - but when you need to get work done, it can get pretty annoying.

Anyway, that's all from me today, I hope you're all enjoying the winter fun, and for everyone not in the vicinity of snow, I hope you've had an amazing weekend!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Saturday 19 January 2013

New Year, New Aspirations

Hi Everyone,

It's been a ridiculously long time since I've posted something on this blog (over a month!!). Now that the new year is here, I've got some new aspirations brewing in my mind.

This is the year that I want to start planning and setting up my own business for real. I have spent too much time dreaming and thinking about it, it's time to act. If a 12-year-old boy can set up a hugely successful website/business, then so can I, right?

I also want to start researching into an MBA (yes I know it's a lot to take on, but I have to get to it). I've always wanted more than the average Bachelor's degree, and as I gain more work experience, I will be in the position to apply for such a program. I've therefore decided to look into which MBA program to join and where, and obviously plan the funds for this.

I also want to bring more to the table at work. It's time to step up and bring in some ideas. I want to progress as I have finally found a job that I enjoy and want to succeed in.

So, with by big life goals now out on the table, what are your goals, and what are you doing to achieve them?

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Saturday 8 December 2012

Next Trousers and Recent Updates

Hi Everyone,

Today's post is all about Next Trousers and recent updates, as it's been a ridiculously long time (over a month!) since I've last posted something.

Here are some updates:

I have recently taken on a second job, which I'm quite excited about. It's similar to what I'm currently doing, but a little more related to what I want to be going in the direction of in the future. The job will take up 10 hours of my time, every week!

I have moved homes, I now live in the centre of London, as opposed to outside of the city. It takes me 30 minutes to get to work compared to 1 hour, and it's really convenient to go places during the weekend or after work! The flat is a lot bigger and very modern, and I love it (despite the fact that everything runs on electricity and the bills will give me several heart attacks over the next year)!

I've pretty much completed most of my Christmas shopping (just the boyfriend's parents left now!) and everything is looking pretty good.

The company I work for is in the process of changing, and the clothing policy has changed - it's all smart and professional dress now, which I quite like as I like a little businessy dress or trousers and shirt. - By the way please do drop me a line if you know any good retailers for business clothing, so far my business wardrobe consists of Next and (I dare say) Primark! Any tips will help as I REALLY need some new tops to go with some very unique trousers, see the following pictures:

Next Trousers
Next Grey Check Trousers

Next Trousers
Next Check Trousers

Anyway, the main issue I'm having is finding a nice black suit (preferably with trousers but could buy both trousers and skirt to match the jacket). If anyone has any tips (for tailored fits) please, please let me know!

That's really it for today.

As Always, Stay Tuned!
- A

Saturday 3 November 2012

The Christmas Cheer is Near

Hi Everyone,

It's that time of year again: Christmas!
In all honesty it's my favourite time of year. The all around atmosphere of love and joy, the sitting in front of a warm fire drinking hot chocolate, or even those long walks in the snow with a loved one, it can't get better than that! Of course I also love the shopping aspect of it, and walking along Oxford Street with the gorgeous Christmas lights blinking and glistening against the crisp winter air - just gorgeous!

This year, I'll be spending Christmas with my sister, in my gorgeous, new, central London home (yes, I am moving in 2 weeks and am VERY excited about this)!

When I was younger and spent Christmas with the family, we used to celebrate it on the 24th of December, and we would have 3 days of food feasts, and another feast on New Year's Eve! I really want to make this year's Christmas similar to those, so any good Christmas recipes would be very much appreciated.

In terms of gifts, I'm always at a bit of a loss at what to get the boyfriend. The last present I got him (for our 2-year anniversary) was an expensive pen pouch, which he wasn't very happy with (much to my anger).

So for Christmas, it's got to be something practical, yet not overly expensive. Anyone have any good ideas?

In terms of Christmas presents for women, here are a few things she might like:

Although I'm sure your wife doesn't hate the Christmas jumper you seem to love getting her every year, she would most definitely prefer something like this gorgeous Tiffany & Co. bracelet:
Christmas Present
Your sister probably likes the usual fashion jewellery that you tend to get her every year, but I'm sure she'd love you for this amazing French Connection dress, which is perfect for a New Year's Party:

New Year's Dress

And then of course, there's your mother, who I'm sure loves those bath products you seem to give her for every special occasion, but would absolutely adore you for buying this stunning pair of Swarovski Earrings for her:

Swarovski Christmas Present
For other Christmas present ideas, have a look at sites like Buy a Gift. In turn, if you've got any good ideas, I always appreciate the help!

Hoping you're all going to enjoy the festive season!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Saturday 13 October 2012

Venice - The City of Romance

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to the third and final part of my 3-part holiday post! This one is all about Venice, the city of romance!

Now I love a bit of romance (as most girls do), and I must say, if there is ever a place for romance, Venice is definitely it!

Unfortunately, we had a bit of a hiccup when we first arrived. We had spent all night on an overnight train from Rome to Venice (arriving at around 5am), including a snoring, rowdy old man who constantly went in and out of the cabin and turned on the lights, and screamed down the phone at around 3am.
Once we arrived in Venice (in the dark), we went to the hotel and found that it was shut, and not opening until 7am!!! We rang the bell and got a sleepy, angry owner on the line, telling us to come back at 7. So with heavy suitcases in hand, we set off down the road to find an open cafe. Two hours of eating pastries and drinking delicious coffee later, I was exhausted and could only think of a comfortable bed! So we headed back to the hotel to check in and sleep, only to find that, yes, we were able to check in but no, the room was not available until 2pm!!! I'm sure you can understand my aggravation, and they did not even offer a shower for us to freshen up. We left out suitcases there, and set off to wonder around the city.

The city is like a bit of a maze, so it's easy to get lost. But everywhere you go, there are lots of shops selling the famous Murano glass (made on Murano island), gorgeous masquerade ball masks, and lots of other quirky little things.
Once 2pm finally came around, we headed back to the hotel and went to sleep for about 4 hours!
The good thing of being up at around 7am, was the fact that we were able to see the gorgeous sunrise above the little streets and canals of Venice. The bad side? We were falling asleep on a bench, somewhere in the middle of Venice, watching a duck trying to steal a bin!

Overall, there are 5 other islands to see, but we only went to three of them - Murano, Burano, and Lido.
Murano was amazing, we went to see one of the many glass factories (and I have to say, I feel sorry for the people working there. Outside it was already 30 degrees C, inside it must have been so much worse!!). We watched two men making a gorgeous glass vase, and after a short while decided to have a little wonder around the island. Murano is much smaller than Venice itself, but the amount of shops selling Murano glass are multiplied by about 10.

After Murano came Burano, the island of colourful houses and lace! I have never seen such a pretty place to live, the colours of houses varied from bright blue, to green, to pink and red! The island is probably the smallest amongst this group, and it probably only takes about 10 minutes to walk from one end to the other. It has a pretty main square, where all the restaurants are. We decided to have lunch here, which was a bit of a fiasco. The amount of waiters standing outside and trying to get you to their restaurant is slightly overwhelming. We finally decided on a place and, after about 15 minutes of waiting to actually be served, decided to walk off and go to a different restaurant. Maybe they shouldn't try to get people in, but focus on the ones that are already there!
After lunch, we had a look around the shops. Here, the abundance of lace shops was pretty amazing. I really wanted to buy a nice, thin, pink scarf, but they are (obviously) very expensive, and I decided not to.

Once we left Burano, we headed to Lido. Lido is one of the bigger islands, and we had been told that the island has a beach!! We walked from one end of the island to the other (the width, not the length!) and found the beach. Unfortunately, by the time we got there it was about 6 O'clock, and getting rather cold. I tried to sunbathe, but it was pretty much impossible at that time.
I did, however, gather a few small seashells, to remind me of the island  - they are currently sitting on my windowsill.

The islands took up one whole day of being in Venice, the other was spent visiting St. Marks Square, and all the sights around the square. We didn't end up going up to Campanille, as it started raining quite badly when we were in the queue outside. Maybe next time!

All in all, the holiday (despite a few minor hiccups), was super fun, but pretty exhausting.
Beach holiday next, please!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A