Case Open.

I love Society 6!


If you haven't heard of them, they're an online platform which sells the artwork of thousands of different artists from around the world. Society 6 prints the artwork onto different products such as t-shirts, canvas prints and iphone cases and sells them on behalf of the artist while allowing the artist to retain all the rights to their creations.
This is all well and good but I'm in a right ol' dilemma now...

Taxi Llama

Flight of the Elephants

Northern Flicker

Flight

Totoro and friends

Up

I don't know which one to choose! I was pretty much set on getting Taxi Llama but it goes without saying that I want the Up case and the Totoro case too. The prices are really reasonable and this Sunday they are offering free shipping worldwide so I have to order by tomorrow night. 

My phone really needs some new clothes; so tell me which would you buy?

* I was not sponsored by society 6 in any way for this post; I just love the website, the artwork available and the products they offer.

Mid Week Inspiration

The Blog:

D.I.Y Neon Pumps! 

I have to try this!

Focusing on D.I.Y fashion, a pair & a spare, written by the gorgeous Geneva, is the perfect blog for everyone that loves fashion and is trying to save some pennies.


The Image:

Lael Cakes for Utterly Engaged

The Place:

Ashikaga Flower Park, Japan

Love
Madame Squirrel.

Animal Printed

Ignoring the glorious weather we've been having; I decided to spend my time indoors rummaging around in my wardrobe (makes sense right?)


I've decided to analyse the inner workings of my wardrobe. I'm hoping to discover what clothes I wear make my friends say 'that is so you' or 'that really looks like you' and then I'll start buying things to really throw them off guard! I'm joking; it would be nice to mix things up a bit though as far as my fashion sense goes. Since I started this blog I've been thinking about what its purpose is (other than meeting and communicating with lovely people and trying to help my memory) and I think it's so I can get to know me a bit better; I've realised that after 24 years I still don't really know who I am.


Part 1: Animals.


I can't resist anything with an animal print. I'm not talking leopard or snake print etc. but actual animals; be it flamingos, ducks, frogs etc. the list goes on and on. I am obsessed. It must be the zoologist in me.


The Evidence:

Exhibit 1) Elephant print blazer from Primark Exhibit 2) Zebra print blouse H! by Henry Holland at Debenhams Exhibit 3) Bunny Skirt from Miss Selfridge Exhibit 4) Bunny (and top hat!!) print t-shirt from Zara Exhibit 5) Deer Dress from H&M Exhibit 6) Deer Print Playsuit from Urban Outfitters Exhibit 7) Bird blouse from Primark Exhibit 8) Cat dress from H&M Exhibit 9) Bunny Dress from Motel Exhibit 10) Bunny Scarf from Primark Exhibit 11) Squirrel Dress from Reko for Topshop

It doesn't end there; I'm also craving a number of animal printed items I've drooled over online:


This Boston Terrier print dress from Brat & Suzie which I saw on the wonderful blogs Sitting Pretty and Milk Bubble Tea:

This Daisy Dogs Shirtdress by Topshop: Selling out fast online, if only they had my size:

This Swan Cutout Bralet by Topshop:

This Ladybird Print Scarf from ASOS:

This Paul & Joe Sister Polka Dot Owl Print Dress at ASOS:

This Stork (at least I think they're storks) Printed Blouse by Zara:

This Insect T-shirt by Zara:

I think we can definitely deduce from this, that something that is 'so me' is wearing animal prints. I hope that makes me 'cute' and 'quirky' but I think it actually makes me a bit odd; I can deal with that :)

What do you all think of animaltastic prints? Yes or no? (warning: if you say no I will cry myself to sleep).

Love

Madame Squirrel.

Madame Squirrel's Weekly Report 3

Sorry that my weekly report is taking place on a Monday; I was avidly watching eBay last night as the items I sold came to an end...exciting stuff! Anyway here are snippets of what I did last week:

Last week I... *warning an instagram picture heavy post

Took Cassie for a lovely walk and enjoyed the sunshine:

Cassie seemingly breaking the space time warp continuum/ aiming to get me covered in pond water the cheeky pup!

Bought some beautiful daffs, the epitome of Spring:

Made this recipe: Sorry I didn't take any pictures of the finished dish but it was gone before you could say nom!

Went for a weekend away to Milton Keynes; who knew Milton Keynes could be so exciting!

Monsieur Squirrel and I...

Went to Woburn Safari Park:

I think the goat and I are getting as much enjoyment from this as each other.

Pick up a penguin. Don't. It's not allowed.

Drank Tea at Tea Monkey:

If you like tea and live near Milton Keynes (or London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Bath...turns out it's a chain); Tea Monkey is where it's at! We drank cherry rose tea and rose petal leaf tea...so delicious. We both felt calm and peaceful afterwards. Monsieur Squirrel did anyway as he'd just had to wrestle me out of H&M 5 minutes beforehand!

Ate and Drank at Turtle Bay :

My mum grew up in Trinidad so we had to try this Caribbean influenced bar and restaurant. The chain (there's also one in Southampton) is owned by a Trinidadian couple so there were lots of delicious Trini influenced recipes on the menu including the most beautiful flaky roti! We may have also made the most of their cocktail happy hour!

Flew Eagles (yes, eagles!) at The Birds of Prey Centre in the Shuttleworth Estate:

I have a feeling Monsieur Squirrel may lose this staring contest-that's McCoy the Bald Eagle btw!

I also bought a few cheeky purchases again (oops) but I'll do a post about them later this week.

I hope everyone got to enjoy some, if not all, of the lovely weather the U.K's been having.

Love

Madame Squirrel.

Stuff For Me: The Jewellery Edition

Some jewellery I've been admiring from afar which I've saved in my stuff for me bookmark. All stunning and all out of my price range *sigh*... I really must try and save up for the cuff; it haunts my dreams!

Via

Via

Via

Via

Monsieur Squirrel and I are off to Milton Keynes tomorrow for a weekend away! Monsieur is playing a gig there Friday night and we have an owl experience day booked for the Sunday(I am so excited, I love owls so bluming much)! Monsieur Squirrel plays rhythm guitar in an awesome band (I am saying this without any bias of course)called The Indelicates. If you're in the Milton Keynes/Newport Pagnell area and fancy discovering some new bands then come along to The Watershed MK to have your ears and bodies rocked! Tickets are available here: The Sheding Festival but it'll be fine to just 'rock' up I'm sure! (Shameless plugging and awful puns over I promise). 

Anyway hope y'all have a wonderful weekend. (Oh wait more shameless plugging)...My eBay listings finish on Sunday night so if you fancy a bargain have a gander(most of the clothes I've put up there haven't even been worn!)

I'm sure I'll be posting about my Milton Keynes and owl adventures in my weekly report; hopefully on Sunday if I haven't been massacred by an owly friend.


Love
Madame Squirrel.

MidWeek Inspiration

The Blog:

You Are My Fave's 'Paris in a box'!

The Image:

Via

The Place:

Mount Rainier, WA
Via

Love

Madame Squirrel.

Colour Coding.

I am obsessed with things (especially books) that are organised by colour. One day I want a massive room full of books (a library you might call it) that are all in colour order. I know technically you wouldn't find a book you wanted ever again (unless you knew the exact colour of it) but the prettiness would be so worth it. Just look! Look at the prettiness:

Via

Via

Via

Via

Via

Any other pretty pictures of colour coding send them my way, I can't get enough of them :)

Love

Madame Squirrel. 

The Spring Clean

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a bit of a mess. Don't get me wrong I will always arrive on time well prepared (but possibly slightly scruffy), I always meet deadlines and I always have everything I need (and usually more besides) but bedroom wise I'm a complete state.

Why can't I just fold something up and put it back if I don't want to wear it?! Is it really necessary for me to have so much washing after one week? (I know it's because things I've dumped on the floor mysteriously end up in the washing basket) and why can't I just place receipts in the box file I have particularly for that purpose rather than just leave them on the floor?! I drive myself mad.


Sorting out my room always takes me so long, usually because I've left it 2-3 weeks and because it's a disgusting mess. It also doesn't help that I procrastinate like a mofo. Today I was meant to be spring cleaning my room. I, in no particular order:

• Dumped everything on my bed (so far so good)
• Sorted out my washing into piles (10 piles of washing people; 10!! I am so ashamed)
• Devised a cleaning/tidying playlist on Itunes. (Uh oh we're losing her)
• Tried on most of my wardrobe (just to check if anything didn't fit of course)
• Refreshed my eBay selling, Twitter and Facebook feed at least 220 times (we've lost her)
• Danced around my room awkwardly
• Danced at my dogs (awkward for them)
• Planned at least 10 blog posts I could do
• Read the rest of the last Harry Potter "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' again (my bedtime reading) and sobbed.
• Got pins and needles from sitting really uncomfortably convincing myself I wasn't procrastinating if I was uncomfortable.
• ROTFL (literally) as for some reason pins and needles make me laugh uncontrollably like a mad person
• Ate a bowl of cereal.

So yeah, productive day I'd say.


If only I didn't have so much stuff but I'm such a hoarder, I cannot throw anything away; I think I may be part magpie. I just dream of capsule wardrobes:

Picture from Pinterest by 
Sam is Home

but I know I'll never attain one.


My dreams are also filled of having a tidy bedroom that looks somewhat like these:

Picture from Apartment Therapy

Picture from House to Home UK

Picture from Apartment Therapy

Just beautiful!

Anyone else as much of a messy hoarder as me?

Love

Madame Squirrel.

Guest Post: Chestnuts & Cedars

Something a bit different today: A guest post from Amy at Chestnuts & Cedars, who I mentioned in this post yesterday!

'I am so flattered that Dannii* let me contribute to her amazing blog today! She and I go way way back to when we were 3 years old in Kindergarten. I have no memory of her not being in my life and although much of the second half of our lives have been spent on two different continents, we've been strong friends (Dannii was the first person I ever got drunk with!). 

When Dannii asked me if I would like to do a post on interiors I immediately jumped on it. I often dream about my perfect apartment, but the closest I get to interior decorating is pinterest on a Friday night (doesn't get any crazier than that people). I've been eyeing up the replica baby blue Grant Featherston style chair for a while now so thought this was the perfect time to dream about my non-existent living room. And as this is the lovely Dannii's blog, see if you can spot the mustache reference!

Amy xx'

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8
Paint Swatches: Top/Middle/Bottom

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to Chestnuts & Cedars before I get you all drunk!;)

Love 

Madame Squirrel

*: Yes my real name is Dannii. And there you all were thinking it was actually Madame Squirrel :)

Madame Squirrel's Weekly Report 2

This week I...
Purchased a few cheeky items:


I met up with an old school friend (she writes this awesome blog: Chestnuts & Cedars) in the lovely city of Reading (that may or may not be written in sarcastic tones; about Reading not my friends blog). We had a lovely time in Primark, well I did; my friend had never been to Primark and was slightly shell-shocked by losing her Primark virginity. She did make a cheeky purchase though so all was not lost. Internet shopping wise I may have purchased this Zara underwear dress.

Picture from Zara.com

I'm thinking of wearing it with a long black slouchy cardigan which will hopefully detract from the fact it looks like/is underwear!


Received a lot of books:
I decided to have a splurge and buy some of the books that have been sitting in my basket for a long time on amazon.co.uk. I love receiving books, I can't wait to tuck into them (I am aware that they aren't sandwiches). Somebody pointed out that as I have the kindle app, why didn't I just download them. I do like the kindle app. and although I use it for holidays and long journeys I do find that there is nothing better than snuggling up, turning real pages and indulging in the smell of ink on paper. After reading The Tuesday Girl's amazing post '10 things I hate about Kindles' I have a feeling there are a lot of you out there who may agree with me! Books vs E-readers what are your thoughts?


Made Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie:
I made this even though my glands were the size of golf balls...no exaggeration; I've been making people feel them all day.(Is that weird?). To see how it went (the pie, not my glands) read my post here.


Visited The Royal Landscape:

Picture from The Royal Landscape of Virginia Water

I took my lovely Mum (or as I call her, Moo) to The Royal Landscape near Windsor. It's Mothers' Day today in the U.K so we went for a walk with our cocker spaniel, Cassie.

Meet Cassie! *insert ridiculous cutesy noises here*

We were lucky, the sun came beaming out just as we started our walk. Lovely! Not so lucky or lovely; my mum got caught short and had to do a wee behind a bush. Random I know but if you know my mum, not uncommon. And she did it on Royal property as well; it is no wonder I turned out how I did! Not that I go around weeing in public or anything... 


Anyway, what was I saying, ah yes; if you haven't been to The Royal Landscape I really recommend it if you're near the Windsor area and like to take in the air (and wee behind bushes). There are so many lovely walks as well as the beautiful Savill Garden and a lovely cafe and gift shop.


As it's Sunday I'm settling down to watch Homeland and as it's a no insertion fee weekend on eBay I've put a few items up on there:http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/cass_cass12/m.html?item=280847482197&sspagename=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649&_trksid=p4340.l2562


How has everyone's week been?


Love
Madame Squirrel.

The Making of: Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

So I decided to bake the chocolate chip cookie pie from my 'What shall I bake?' post...

And it is good, soooo good. I'm talking treacley, chocolatey and melty. I am slightly euphoric after eating so much, I am just waiting for the sugar crash.
If only the journey in making it was as easy as eating it.


Take 1.


Everything was going right, fine the making of the pie didn't look as gorgeous as Love From The Oven's but every recipe stage looked good enough. Oven 375°F? Check. Ready made pie case? Check. Filling made? Check. Removal of pie case silver foil? Check....that is where I went wrong. I checked on the pie's progress after about 10 minutes of it being oven bound. EPIC FAIL. One side of the pastry case had completely collapsed flooding the oven with cookie filling. It was everywhere...even on the kitchen floor as it had somehow dripped all the way through the oven?!

Take 2.


This time I used ready to roll pastry (Monsieur Squirrel went to three supermarkets to find some; he really is dedicated to my baking), and cooked the pie in a glass pie dish.
It worked. Luckily the pie filling is so easy to make and all I (Monsieur Squirrel) had to find were more chocolate chips so I wasn't too fed up with having to make it again. And the results were sooooo worth it.


The Photographic Evidence:

Foamy Eggs

Dark Chocolate Chips & Honeycomb

Baking Up A Treat

Yum

First of many slices;
just perfect with vanilla ice-cream

The Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie from ' Love From The Oven'.


Baking Playlist:


The Same In Any Language: Ruckus


Fallin' And Flyin': Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrell


The End: Mayday Parade


What It Is: Mark Knopfler


Airplanes: B.O.B


Straight Outta Compton: N.W.A


Butterflies: Tone Damli


Learning To Fly: Tom Petty