'Somewhere you would like to visit / live one day'

Right, back to the challenges! Had a little detour yesterday day because it was mothers day!

This one is going to be really hard! There is so many places I've been that I loved and so many places I haven't been to yet that I want to visit! I'm gonna have to try and pick one place I most want to visit and then one where I would like to live. 

Somewhere I'd Like To Visit 

This is the most difficult one! I really don't know how to pick just one! 

Theres a lot of places I want to go to in Italy and Australia that I didn't get a chance to see the last time I was there but I have already been there so I'll choose the next place on the list. America. 

Theres not just one specific place I'd like to see, I'd like to see all of it. But these are probably top of the list. 

- New York -

Home of Broadway, this is one place I definitely want to visit. If I had things my way, I'd be performing in a Broadway show daily, but hey, we can't all get what we want now can we! I love big cities. I've been going to London every year since I was little and although I've never lived there it feels like I belong there. Theres something about being around so many different people and lifestyles that fascinates me and I figure New York would be a heightened version of that feeling! Theres just so much to take in, so may colours and sounds and even smells! Its just an incredible atmosphere! Id obviously have to do all the classic tourist sites, Times Square, Broadway, Statue of Liberty and of course the buildings that were featured in that unknown tv series F.R.I.E.N.D.S … but I'd also like to see how many hidden gems I could find. Like, Italian restaurants ran by real Italian families in tiny little cafes and little boutique shops that no one really knows about. There would be so much to do, I'd probably need either a month there or 2 holidays! 

- Las Vegas - 

Now .. This one could be a bad idea. But! I have a plan. Theres 2 sides of Vegas I want to see so my plan is to split the holiday into two parts. Drinking & Gambling and Tourist. You can't go to Vegas and not gamble, you just have to! So, I'd take with me a set amount of money just to gamble. Theres so many different nightclubs I want to go to out there I'd need a week of enjoying the nightlife to see it all! 

Then, I'd like to spend a week or two doing the sober tourist stuff. Not only in Vegas itself but I'd love to drive to the grand canyon and some of the areas around Nevada that aren't full of casinos! I'd obviously have to take an empty suitcase with me too so I can bring back all the 'souvenirs' AKA all the cheap American clothes I buy. 

- Salem & New Orleans -

This last one, although they are completely different places are sort of linked together so I'd always do them in the same trip.

The Witch House

Madame LaLaurie's Mansion 

These would both be part of a 'horror trip'. I've wanted to visit Salem for years as its the site of the famous witch trials. Me and my mum both love anything to do with witches! And in this country the closest we have is probably Glastonbury. Theres not much left of the original Salem anymore but there is still one 'Witch house' which is still connected to the original witch trials. They still go full out every Halloween with a huge masquerade ball so I'd love to go for that! 

And New Orleans is full of history anyway but one place I do want to visit is Madame LaLaurie's Mansion. Madame LaLaurie was a very famous serial killer in the early 1830's. She used to torture and kill her slaves and was only found out when firemen responded to a fire at her house and found evidence of torture, murder and found her personal cook chained to the stove! They now do tours of the house where you can see where it all happened.

Somewhere I'd Like To Live

I doubt this would ever happen because I'd miss my family too much but, if I did ever choose to do it, This would be my choice. 

Ive been here 3 times now and I absolutely love it. Theres so much life everywhere and its hot!! And of course, instead of pigeons walking around your garden, you have parrots! Thinking realistically I probably wouldn't be able to afford to live in Sydney because its rather expensive so I'd have to live somewhere further out and just visit the city! Theres still so much I haven't seen even after 3 visits and there would probably still be stuff to see after living there for 3 years!Its one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to and I'd be very happy waking up to it every day!  

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day To My Lovely Mum! 

I love you millions! So does Charlie even if he doesn't say it! 

Hello, Dolly! -"Put On Your Sunday Clothes"- (Subtitulada en español) from Helena Moreno on Vimeo.

We love you lots muv! Hope you've had a lovely day!! 

Lots of Love Lorna, Charlie, Joe and Baby Wilson 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Your Favourite Pair Of Shoes'

This one is so difficult. I work for Kurt Geiger, so I'm surrounded by beautiful shoes every day! 

Im constantly getting obsessed with a pair of shoes and once they sell out I get overly attached to another pair. If only I could afford to buy every pair I fall in love with! Im going to have to do a favourite pair that I own and a favourite on my wish list! 

- My Favorite Pair (That I Own..) - 

Fonda - Jessica Simpson

I love these shoes!! I saw them on the day I started work and became attached to them!! I was good though, I didn't buy them straight away and waited until they went on sale. Then of course our store sold out so I went on a hunt and found them in another store, even cheaper than before and managed to get them for £19 down from £85! Bam! Bargain! 

- My Favorite Pair (That I Want …) -

Paloma - Miss KG 

These are brand new for summer this year and I've become slightly obsessed with them. They are incredibly comfy! I don't usually wear heels that often because Joe and I are almost the same height and I hate being taller, but I may have to treat myself to these soon! 

There could be hundreds and hundreds more pairs here but I try to not get attached to too many! 

'5 Things That Make You Most Happy'

This one should be pretty easy! Well I know the first few are very easy! 

1. My Boyfriend

Ive known this wonderful person for over 2 and a half years now and every day he still surprises me. He is one of the kindest, funniest most caring people I have ever had the pleasure to meet and I now can't imagine my life without him. I've been very lucky in the fact that I've managed to find someone with a personality that matches mine so well, with the same sense of humour who can understand what I'm thinking by just making eye contact. In the entire time we've been together we've never had an argument. If I'm ever upset, it takes him roughly 30 seconds to put a smile on my face. He's one of the only people who can make me belly laugh until I feel like I'm getting a six pack and for that, he is  definitely one of the 5 things that make me most happy. 

I L Bomb You Joseph

xxxxxx

He even managed to get me to do a bungee jump...

2. Wilson AKA Baby Bean 

This little creature has been a saving grace for Joe and I. If it wasn't for him we would have struggled to even get out of bed after what happened to Hugo but he gave us something to get out of bed for. Every day, especially on the worst days when we wanted nothing but to stay under the covers and wallow in our sadness, this little boy was the one reason we had to get on with life. He can be a massive pain in the butt sometimes and because he's so massive you sometimes forget he's just a baby, but he's one of the soppiest dogs I've ever met and you can't help but love him. He went through a stage of being a bit down and depressed after he lost his brother but now we've got him back to being a happy little pony! I get greeted at the door every day after work, get wake up kisses in the morning and get crazy amounts of love after I give him his dinner! He goes crazy for bananas, tries to grab your feet as you walk past him, and does a brilliant impression of Chewbacca. You can't help but be happy around him! 

This was him at 6 months old …

3. My Mum 

I vaguely remember going through a phase when I was younger of arguing with my mum a lot but now we don't even have disagreements. She's been there for me through thick and thin and I love her more than anything because of it. She's always told me that whatever I do, as long as its what makes me happy, it will make her happy. I never felt like I had to try to make her proud because she was proud of me just being me. She's the reason I love horror movies and musicals and why I have an old soul in a young body. Her and my Dad made a massive effort when I was little and still now to be friendly towards each other for me so on my birthdays etc I get to be with both of them at the same time. They both put all their personal feelings aside to make sure I was happy. And it worked. I am happy! 

Like Joe, my mum is another one of the few people who can make me belly laugh and once one of us starts its contagious! If we get the giggles we carry on until we are crying. It doesn't take long for me to feel better if she's with me and even when she's not with me I know she's just at the end of the phone whenever I need her, no matter what time of day it is! 

I love you lots Muv! xxxxxxxx

p.s Happy Birthday for Monday! 

Me, my little brother Charlie and Mum

4. Painting My Nails

It may sound strange, but I love painting my nails. I find it really relaxing and I guess its become sort of a hobby! I used to spend a lot more time doing it but I haven't been able to afford to replenish my nail varnish box in a while so I now only have a few colours that are decent quality which is a bit of a bummer! Hopefully in a couple of months I can treat myself to some new ones though :) 

5. Singing 

I don't have any photos to match this one unfortunately! But this is one of the things that makes me happiest. I don't get to do it as much as I'd like and I really do miss performing on stage, but until I decide what I want to do about it singing round the house and at work while I'm cleaning keeps me occupied! There isn't a single day where I don't listen to at least one song and most of the time am singing a song in my head. Theres just something about music that makes me feel happy! 

Theres loads of other things that make me happy but these are definitely the main ones! These are the things that can make me happy even when Im sad and thats a hard thing to do! 

'Favorite Childhood Toys' Serious 90's Flashback!

This one really is going to be a challenge because Im actually going to have to try to remember further back than yesterday! And try and remember what the toys were called! 

1. Barbie! 
Theres the obvious one …

I had so many barbies I lost count. Most ended up with most of their clothes and shoes missing or hair styles cut by yours truly, but I still loved them all the same! The one above was one of my all time favourites! (she had a reversible dress!!)

2. Diva Star Dolls! 

OMG I can't believe I actually managed to find these! I remember my mum brought me one of these when my brother Charlie was born! (Probably to take my mind off that fact that I had another brother to deal with!) 

 I don't really remember what they did but i know they had magnetic snap-on clothes and some kind of electric function. But one thing I do remember was being totally obsessed with them from the second I saw the advert! 

3. TY Beanie Babies

I actually considered myself a collector of these teddies! Every year we used to go down to devon on holiday and there was a shop in Torquay just for these bears! Each year I was allowed to get one! Unfortunately the shop has since closed down and been turned into some kind of typical seaside shop which sucks, but we still have the bears somewhere!

4. Bear Sherman AKA Dream With Me Bear!

Now this little bear I still have! I can't remember where I got him from but he used to live on my bed. He sings a lullaby when you squeeze him and after all these years the song still works! I've tried desperately to find a video of him in action but there are none to be found! 

I wish I had a longer list but I wasn't much of a toy kind of child! I was a teddy bear child more than anything so I never had a toy (that I can remember) that I would take with me everywhere! I do however have one toy that scarred me for life and left me crying my eyes out and running around the house … I think someone got me one for Christmas one year and as soon as it started I burst into tears and it had to be locked in a draw never to be seen again! 

'The meaning behind your Blog name'

My blogs name may seem quite random before its explained but it has a meaning that is very close to my heart…

On 16th November 2013 my boyfriend and I lost our puppy Hugo. He was hit by a speeding car and passed away. Fortunately we still have our other puppy which made it easier for us pick ourselves up and carry on but we both felt like the rug had just been ripped out from under our feet. 

His first day home.

For most people when they lose a dog its because of old age, or maybe an illness, so they are prepared to say goodbye and they know they've had a long happy life. We weren't so lucky. We didn't get the chance to say goodbye to him, and he didn't get the full life he deserved. And just over 4 months on its still difficult for us to look at photos of him without getting upset because we miss him, or extremely angry at the driver of the car. 

Ive had a lot of animals in my life since I was a child and have had to say goodbye to a few, but i've never had a pet quite like Hugo. He was the sweetest, smartest dog i've ever known and probably will ever know. He was a brilliant (adoptive) big brother to our other dog, he was incredibly loyal to us and wouldn't hurt a fly! (maybe the odd pigeon if they didn't fly off fast enough .. )

Hugo with his adoptive baby brother Wilson.

We were expecting to have him with us for many years of doggy happiness. Days at the beach, walks in the forrest, and cuddles in the evening because he was a total lapdog even though he weighed 40kg. But now we've all had to adjust to life without him which has been one of the most horrible things i've ever had to do. It doesn't feel like we've lost a pet, it feels like we've lost a member of the family. And a lot like when a family member dies it takes you a while to realise that you can't just pick up the phone and call them, its taking a long time for us to stop getting that sinking feeling in our stomachs when we open the bedroom door in the morning and don't see him lying there waiting for us. 

A week or so after, we we're lying in bed one night and I suddenly knew what I wanted to do so I would never forget him. I wanted a 'Hugo Tattoo'. So I started thinking of some ideas that would work and just out of curiosity googled what his name meant. And to match his incredible personality his name has the most beautiful meaning. 'Bright in mind and spirit'. 

So, I took my idea to a tattoo shop in the town near me and asked them to design me something with his name meaning and along with his date of birth and some italian script following where his breed originated I now have him with me forever. 

So when I was trying to come up with a name for this blog, although it took me an hour or two, it suddenly popped into my head. I'll never get bored of it, its meaningful, and its simple. 

Just like Hugo, its perfect. 

Our Last Photo. 

30 Day Challenges...

I keep seeing these 30 day challenges all over the internet and I love the idea of them. However, because I am so impatient I think the only challenge for me would be having to wait a day to post the next post! So, I'm going to collect all the lists I can find and use them as my blog post inspiration and if I found 2 or 3 questions that I want to post in one go, then so be it! So .. First one coming up!

And so it begins …

Blog time!! So, I was sitting in bed last night bored out of my mind with an urge to just write something  so I thought I'd give blogging a go. I don't know if it will last and become a hobby or if I'll get bored after 2 weeks and give up but here goes anyway…Wish me luck!