Christmas 2013!

Christmas this year came and went quicker than I can name all the reindeers (I don't even know if I can name all the reindeers ), but I had a great time celebrating with friends and family.

On Christmas Eve we had many of our friends over (including Abi and her family) for a little party. Our house was full of people catching up and children running around playing hide and seek. Just the way we like it. I wore an elf top and ate way too much and had a great night.

This was one of the selfies we took on the night, with our lovely friend Fiona.

 

Just after midnight everyone left so their children could get ready for bed and wait for Father Christmas to arrive.

 

On Christmas Day, my brother, sister and I ran down the stairs to make our parents a coffee each (that's one of their rules for Christmas Day, the other is no getting them up before 8am). We then went into their room and opened our presents. I had loads of lovely gifts from everyone, including a brand new camera from good old Father Christmas ;)

 

I ate lunch with my family and my Grandparents. And my Dad's roast potatoes are to die for, they are soo good!

 

 

 

Later that evening we went to my other Grandad's house and spent time with the other side of my family and we played our traditional game of pass the parcel. (I don't even know why we do it - but we all enjoy it)

 

On Boxing Day, we went to my Nana and Grandads for a buffet. Since my sister and I both had new cameras the day before, after dinner we spent ages playing around with the settings on our cameras.

 

 

I have thoroughly enjoyed the festive season and I have loved spending time with my family and friends. I hope you had a good one too!

 

Lots of love,

Josie

xxx 

 

Life Update.

 

So it turns out, Abi and I are pretty rubbish when it comes to updating this blog. However we both have been ridiculously busy with A Level and university work, so we hope you can forgive us :)

 

We have both been feeling the stresses of having loads of work and other stuff to do and have had no time to keep up with this blog. But now with the Christmas holidays coming, I have a lot more time on my hands and there are a couple of posts I have planned in my head to write up.

 

And I can't wait to get see Abi again, it's been almost four weeks since I've seen her (which feels like forever - damn living in different cities!), and hopefully over Christmas we can blog together!

 

I am really looking forward to getting home and spending time with my family and friends over the festive period and being able to document it for you to see :)

 

Lots of love,

Josie

xxx

One of my Favourite Places in the World!

 

Hey!

Summer 2013 has been fun-filled, action packed and I have loved every second of it.

On the 7th of August, my family travelled via taxi with Abi's family to Birmingham Airport, where we met up with two other families before flying to Ibiza. We stayed in Santa Eulalia, and it was a place I immediately fell in love with. 

 And with views like this how could you not?
 

Most days were spent on the beach (which was literally a thirty second walk away) and by the pool. However one of the days the girls decided to embark on a sweaty bus trip to the even sweatier Hippy Market. The idea of loads of cute little stalls with loads of original items sounded like a good idea but it was packed. And that with the heat made it almost unbearable.  

It did, however, have a really cute sign and I managed to make a couple of purchases.

 

On one of our last days, Abi, our friend Fiona and I decided to risk our lives and go on the banana boat. We'd all been on one before but had never been thrown off. This time though, the whole banana boat ended up upside down in the sea and with me (being quite little and having no upper body strength) having to be dragged by my life jacket back onto the boat. Not one of my finest moments. 

It was really good fun though and the lad helping out with the banana boats was a fittie which is always a bonus ;)

 

One morning we visited the Church at the top if the hill. Inside, it was beautiful and the views were amazing. Abi and I thought sitting on this wall for a picture was a good idea, however it left me walking back to the hotel with a white bottom. Classy. 

 

 

I had an amazing time with everyone and some fantastic memories were made. I shared a room with Abi and her Nan and had an absolute blast with them. There were heart to hearts at bed time and hilarious moments trying to deflate a blow-up dingy. And these times were definitely the highlights of my holiday.

 

 

 

 I really wish I was there right now instead of staring out my bedroom window at the grey cloudy skies, but life must go on and I have packing to do (urgh, I'm so bad at packing)

 

Lots of love,

Josie

xxxxx



Customized Checked Shirt

 

 

Hiyaa, long time no blog post!

 

We haven't posted on here for a while due to school and college. But I've finished!! (Hang in there Abi - you've only got two more days) So hopefully we'll be able to post a lot more throughout the summer.

 

I have an interest in having clothes that are unique, especially if I make/customize them myself. I'm not an expert it's just trial and error.

 

A few months ago, I was at a family get-together where one of my cousins was wearing a checked shirt that had been cut and had a tied front. She explained how easy it would be to do it yourself, so I decided to give it a go.

 

I brought a shirt from a cheap shop in my local shopping centre for £1. So if it went wrong, I didn't waste a lot of money.

 

When I first brought the top it looked like this:

I apologise for the quality of the pictures - I've lost my camera charger and my phone isn't the best!

 

 

The first thing I did, using dress-making scissors, was cut the sleeves off. You can cut them off wherever you wish to, but I just cut them from where they had been originally sewn on.

 

 

Then, I put the top on and then decided where I wanted it cut off. With my Mom's help, she drew a line along the back for where I wanted it. I took the shirt off then drew a straight line to each end of the shirt so I knew where to cut it off. Using a bowl, I was able to mark where I wanted the tie bits to start and then I just marked a straight line down to the bottom of the shirt.

 

 

After cutting that part off, the shirt look like this:

 

 

My Mom then worked her magic to hem then sew where I had cut (because I'm not very good at it).

 

 

And the finished product looked like this:

 

 

It is a little loose around my stomach, but I don't mind. I am happy with how it has turned out and will definitely be wearing it on my holiday in a few weeks.

 

Hope this comes in use for some people. And if not, well, I don't really know what else to say :)

 

Hope you have a good day,

 

Josie

xxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Sixteen

Heyy!

So today is my little sister Torie's 16th birthday. Well I say little, she's not. She's 5ft7 (maybe more) and I'm only 5ft which obviously makes me the little one - but that's besides the point.

She went away to France last week with school (which was her birthday present) so it was nice to have her back in time to celebrate.

We spent the afternoon and evening with friends and family having a little tea party. Sadly the only pictures taken were of Torie blowing her candles out and some rather hideous ones on Snapchat - which provided us with a lot of entertainment and laughter.

It was nice to spend the evening with everyone - including Abi. We ate waaaaaay  to much food including some rather tasty profiteroles. After she blew her candles out, everyone decided to leave to get an early night with school and work tomorrow. I had a great time with everyone but I am now well and truly stuffed! So it looks like birthday cake for breakfast tomorrow.

Hope you've had a good day too.

Lots of love,
Josie xxxx






Me (left) & Torie

Just look at the lankiness of my little sister!

 

(left to right) Sarah, Torie, Me & Abi

 

Happy Birthday Torie
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

Forge Mill Farm

Hey there! So today the family and I decided to head out to a little (I say little but it's actually mahoosive) farm/ nature reserve in Great Barr, Birmingham. The sun was in the sky and we were all desperate to get out after days of solid wind and rain- pretty much the typical dull British weather. We brought along our little Bichon Frise, Cleo, who loved getting out of the house and chasing the cyclists who seemed to believe they were good enough to be in the Olympics. We even had time to have a cheeky ice cream and sunbathe along the way. Here are some pictures to prove how lovely the weather is, just in case you (understandably) don't believe me.

Hope you're all enjoying the sunshine too.

Lots of love,
Abi xxxx

Forge Mill Farm, Great Barr, Birmingham 

top (New Look), bag (Accessorize), jeans, shoes & sunglasses (Primark), dog (Some pet shop in Wednesbury)   

I couldn't believe that we were still in Birmingham. It was so beautiful!

And so many trees!

Oh look, two girls in desperate need of a tan. With my lovely little sister Sarah.

Oooh cheeky! 

I made a friend. Had a sneaky suspicion he only liked me because I gave him food though.

Poor thing was well and truly pooped

Luckily for her, she always has me and Sarah to her rescue!

Happy Friday!

Hey!

Hi,
I'm Josie Harwood and the kinda lanky person sitting next to me is my best friend, Abi Sparkes. Pleased to meet you.

We both come from Birmingham, England and have been best friends since Abi popped out of her Mommy, 17 years ago. Our Dad's have been friends since primary school, so we decided to carry on the Sparwood chain. Oh the Cheese!

With myself heading off to uni in September (sorry Abz!) we decided that starting a blog might be a fun and exciting way of keeping in contact with each other and seeing what we get up to. 

Laters Alligators xxxxxxx