Bubble tea?

What's bubble tea you ask? Only the most amazing drink ever! I tried the Honey Dew Milk Tea with Strawberry Pobbles. I originally wanted to try mint with chocolate pobbles but they ran out of chocolate :( maybe next time though! I think it will be fun trying to think up new combinations like with the milkshake places where you can put chocolate bars and such into the drinks. 

I hadn't realised this place was quite new as it only opened last August. I first noticed it as I passed it on the bus. I had heard of bubble tea before but had no idea it was in the UK let alone in Bristol. I bet there are loads of places that do it also but this is the first I've seen. You can see their website here --> bubbletee. Any suggestions for other combinations? It took me a while to decide what to have as there is so much choice!

What I've been up to

Oh hello there! Yes I have nothing really specifically themed for this blog post but it would seem to mostly be valentines related. I went on a trip to Bath with a friend last weekend and came back with some pretty photos. 

Avril Lavigne - I love you

I think I am a little bit paranoid of being told off for taking photos in some places because I have to ask before I do it. The lady at this florist suprised me by saying that people just go ahead and do it anyway without asking. Is there such a thing as being too polite? 

I did a post on my last trip to bath where I went to a few galleries because the weather wasn't as sunny then. If you want to check it out click here.

I actually couldn't fit the whole of the Royal Crescent into the photo. I even risked falling in the mud to get it but no luck.

Hell yeh heart shaped crumpets! 

I bought some new nail varnish from Topshop as I wanted some light pastel colours for the sunny weather. This is Powder and Chase.

Main news is I have set up an etsy account with the intension to start making some little gifts and accessories to sell. I started by making this bow that you can attach to the collar of a shirt. I will be making more variations in colours and embellishments which I will post photos of on here as I decide which are good enough to sell. I may even model them myself :P

-->>etsy shop

A friend of mine has started a cooking blog if you are interested in seeing some tasty and easy meal ideas. We made brownie muffins together which she is going to make a post on soon. We modified them a bit to suit our tastes i.e. use up what we had in the fridge. They were damn good and get a thumbs up from me!

The link to her blog is here --> silver-starr

Stitching and Thinking

Mending Sampler by Janet Haigh

Last weekend a friend and I visited the 'Stitching and Thinking' exhibition at the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. It showcased the work of the Stitch and Think research group to identify and explore the values and current contemporary thinking about hand-making skills reflected through the discipline of stitch. I'm a follower of the make-do-and-mend trend and I think this exhibition shows it in a way I hadn't realised it could be, as a contemporary art-form. It encouraged me to get my sewing machine out and get back into customizing my clothes and do more DIY projects. I hope it had that effect on other people too. 

Mending Takes Time by Jilly Morris

I hadn't been to the gallery since I was little so it was nice to see it (in a way) through a new light. It is a beautiful building and has a lot to offer for a day out. I would have liked to see the wildlife photographer of the year exhibition but I may have to save it for another day as there was quite the queue to get in.

...and also here is a nice statue of a naked lady :P

m&m World British style

I had a little detour to m&m world in London after I had been to a conference nearby for a short business trip. This was last year and as I was looking through some other photos I stumbled cross these (which is why I am posting this now) They aren't the best photos as I took them on my compact camera but I think the bright and colourful look of the store still comes through. 

There was a mini gallery with the m&m's characters dressed as famous British personalities like Robin Hood. 

I had to do a close-up of my favourite ones obviously. 

The shop had sooo many cool and quirky souvenirs but some things were a bit too pricey for me so I bought these little earrings and some bags of m&ms from the massive selection of colours they had to pick and mix yourself. I think I got a bit carried away though as the m&ms come out the shoots pretty quickly and ended up spending more money anyway :P Oh well it was worth it! 

DIY: Heart felt keyring

This is from a set you can buy from Boots. I was given it as a Christmas present and thought it could even make a cute valentines day gift.  

On a side note: I put too much pressure on my needle from trying to get it through the layers of felt and because the thread was quite thick it consequently snapped so I would advise you to be careful when sewing and be gentle with it - unless your needle is like the hulk!

RIP needle. Luckily the set supplies you with two needles so I had back up... Did they somehow suspect someone would do that to it? 

I actually had to use some of my own embroidery thread to sew up the other half as the set did not provide enough thread. On the up side it has two thread colours now though I suppose.

The brushes I used for the arrows can be downloaded for free here:  creaturecomfortsblog

I downloaded the font Mensch from losttype