BEDM: Five Fave Blogs

Today I'm to share the blog love and tell you about my five favourite blogs and why I love them. Now if you were to look at my bloglovin list you would be well aware what a challenge this is for me, not to mention the numerous blogs I enjoy reading via links on Twitter or the vlogs I'm discovering on YouTube. I'm quite eclectic in the blogs I read and love to look at a variety of topics and styles so this list by no means covers ALL my favourites as different blogs speak to me during different moods and if you do not see your blog here please do not think I don't think very highly of it!

I know when I see a post from Natasha at Candy Pop that I'm going to be swooning at her photography. I really don't know want I want more, to live in her home or be blessed with her photography skills! This blog is pure kitsch with class and it helps she's a fellow bag lover.

Before you take a peek at Rosie's blog make sure you have eaten because I can guarantee within seconds you'll be salivating over one of her gorgeous recipes or meals. Without The Londoner I may never have discovered Patty & Bun or Slutty Brownies and believe my friends, my life would be lesser had I not experienced either of these delights. Remember, I warned you - eat before you read...

Ah Sadie, I love this girl and if I am ever blessed with children I want to be the very stay at home mum she is. Her daughter is one of the luckiest girls around, she has a Cath Kidston wallpapered Fairy Tower in her back garden, even I at 34 would love that! And she makes stuff... and I don't mean occasionally... ALL THE TIME! She see's something in a magazine or pinterest and just gives it a go and I truly love that about her. It might not always be perfect (although it looks like it is to me!) she's given it a go.

Next up is Teresa a girl who may even love New York more than I! And she's not just well versed in NY activity, Teresa is a whirlwind in our beautiful city, the first in line for every show, restaurant and cookery demonstration there is! And what's the best thing, we've even met... in real life along with my friend Kelly, Rachel Ashwell tagged along once but who can blame her!

And last but by no means least is Alison of Brocante Home fame. Alison's is one of the first blogs of it's kind that I found in the UK. When I first started blogging many years ago due to a love of car boot sales and longing for my own home there were an abundance of American bloggers but I could find few in the UK. But find Alison I did. I truly love her style of writing and her puttery treats make me want to wrap ribbons and lace over everything and where possible I follow her mantra "decant decant decant", check her out - she'll make you see the pretty in everything.

So there you have it, some of my favourite blogs and I'm hoping this weekend when I have some time to relax with the laptop and read through many of the fellow participants posts in the blog every day in May challenge I will find many many more new blogs to read and enjoy.

BDEM: My Typical Day – Part 2

I didn’t really think through my plan to take a photo every hour for my post on a typical day in the office firstly because there’s not really anything worthy of taking photos and I struggle to get friends and family to understand why I’m taking a photo of my lunch to blog let alone explaining to my colleagues why I’m reaching for an iphone during a meeting. So instead please get yourself comfortable and I will talk you through my typical day…

My (first!) alarm of the day goes off at 7am and I instantly hit snooze. I rouse myself from bed and get myself ready in a semi conscious state. Boy do I miss the days of living at home when one of my parents would bring me a cup of tea in the morning.

I’m lucky to live minutes from the local station where I jump on the underground and even luckier to be first stop so I get a seat and start by a combo of checking Bloglovin, emails and putting my make up on – yes I’m one of those people. My journey on a good day is 40 mins but inevitably there always seems to be some delay on the Central line but this is the perfect opportunity to do some reading, this week it’s Jenny Colgan’s The loveliest chocolate shop in Paris.

I work in the city as a project manager for an insurance company – glam stuff eh! All jokes aside it’s a job I was promoted to last year and I’ve been with the company over 6 years and I’m very happy and have a great working environment and made some fabulous friends.

Arriving at my desk I check my emails and tackle anything that’s a quick response. My OCD tendencies mean I do not let me inbox go over approx 20 emails as that’s the amount I can see on my screen without scrolling. I check the diaries of myself and colleagues to see what meetings are taking place and think about my day ahead.
My monthly report was due to my manager Friday afternoon so I spent my morning finalising the details of that in between other ad hoc tasks. My role is less insurance based and more organisational, working with all the individual teams in our department, assisting with events, training etc so it’s a nice varied role that keeps me busy and working with lot’s of different people which helps me from any monotony.
I usually take lunch at about 1230pm and we’re lucky to have an in house restaurant with a £3.30 allowance. The food on offer is a choice of hot meals and daily soups, jacket potatoes, salad bar and various other goodies – let me tell you it’s hard to avoid the gorgeous looking cakes and sweets on offer. Sometimes I’ll sit with friends, sometimes we’re indulgent and visit a local bar but lately I’ve been enjoying some time out at my desk, reading through blogs, twitter and doing personal “stuff”.
As it was a Bank Holiday weekend on Friday we were allowed to finish at 4pm so everyone was in a jubilant mood that afternoon. I spent the remaining hours finishing off my report and confirming invites for two events we have planned this summer and tying up loose ends so I could escape the office as soon as I was able.
My evenings vary from visiting friends, drinks after work or some shopping, often at Westfield. Exhausted and ready for the long weekend I instead popped to Waitrose on my way home, treated myself to a reduced Key Lime Pie and headed home. I put on a DVD (Jack Reacher, don’t bother!) and found myself falling asleep at 830pm so I decided to climb in to bed (unheard of at that hour) and get ready for the big Bicester Village shopping trip planned for the next day (post to follow very soon)
So there you have it, not very exciting but somewhat typical of how I spend my day.

BEDM: My Typical Day - Part 1

Dress: Tesco few seasons ago; find similar here or here

Today I am being asked to talk about my typical day, or maybe share some photos on the hour or simply sum up my day... 

I've decided to keep you up to date on my day at least every hour on the hour via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Then later today I will post back here a round up of all my snaps throughout the day.

I can't promise it'll be interesting but I do hope you'll join me, who doesn't love company!

Read part 2 here

BEDM: Spring is here

What is your favourite thing about Spring?

What plans do you have to enjoy it?

It's quite funny that I'd never given Spring much thought until it was time to write this post. My favourite season is Autumn, filled with such excitement of Halloween, Bonfire Night and the forthcoming Christmas season. Winter is time for hibernation and snuggling down but Spring... now that's a tricky one. 

Of course there's the excitement of the 4 day weekend Easter gives us, blossom on the trees, lambs being born but really we're all just begging for sunshine and the arrival of Summer... but oh didn't Spring gets it's own back this year!

Hasn't Spring shown us what a cruel beast she can be! We all know it's been the coldest on record and we've taken for granted the beautiful sunshine Spring can bestow us. Again the blossom on the trees is something I've usually taken for granted but the local trees are late to bloom this year so I was overjoyed to spot a tree in it's glory outside my flat when I was trying to decide what image to use on my blog today.

So I can assure next year I will not take Spring for granted, I will rejoice in Easter, wait excitedly for the blossom on the trees and maybe even visit a local farm for lambing season.

BEDM: Introduce yourself in 5 lines

and include a photograph that you are proud of....

Before I launch into my 5 lines about myself (which I'm dreading... I'm AWFUL at describing myself!) I shall talk about the photo I'm proud of. This is my family and I at my cousins wedding last year. Those who are new to my blog, I am the butterfly covered lady in the middle. My brother and his wife are on my right and my parents on the left.

I don't think we have a photo of my dad smiling or one of us together as a family other than this one if I'm honest, my dad usually refusing photos or my brother absent from family get togethers due to first serving in the army and now a shift working Fireman. I must also give credit to the photographer, my friend Ben (who is furious he has not been credited in some of my outfit posts photography!!) as this was a once only attempt at a photo before my mum dived into the champagne and my dads smile faded.

And now please let me introduce myself.....

I am Victoria your blogger at Florence & Mary, so named after my grandmothers (you can read more here)
34 years young, a single fun loving gal (hmmm am I going into online dating territory now?!) who loves nothing more than either pottering at home or enjoying jaunts with friends, whether they're to a local fair or the Polo (you can read more about my days out here)
An ever optimist always looking on the bright side of life, easy going as often as not and annoyingly enthusiastic.
I have an obsession with pineapples and flamingos, wear Vivienne Westwood Boudoir perfume and cannot resist a designer handbag
And when I grow old I want to wear large hats every day, use a silver tipped cane and smoke through a cigarette holder...

This was my first post for the Blog Every Day in May challenge set by Elizabeth at Rosalilium, find out more here