It's *nearly* Valentine's Day everyone!

That's right, it's nearly here. Whether your loved up or currently single, it's still a time to show those around you that you love them.. cheesy yes, but no-one ever tires of hearing that someone loves them. But not to worry folks, I said "nearly", you've still got 2 weeks and 1 day... that's 15 days... that's 360* hours... that's 21600* minutes... Actually it doesn't seem so long now, eeek!

Maybe you're in a panic searching for unique ideas or just having a browse, pondering about V-day, whichever it is, here's some ideas to help you along the way.

 1. Why not do your own Valentines take on Christmas - Make your own Valentine's Day Tree with your Valentine's presents underneath and reasons why you love them on the heart decorations.

 2. Valentine's morning wake your family/partner up with a special breakfast. If they like eggs, make heart shaped eggs.. if they like pancakes, heart shaped pancakes... heart shaped toast... heart shaped fruit... the heart shaped list is endless!

 3. Surprise your valentine with something baked with love; cakes, cupcakes, cookies, flapjack.. After all, who doesn't appreciate some home baking. Just add a touch of red food colouring and you've got yourself a Valentine's day treat!

 4. V-day themed cards. Etsy (and many other) has some fabulously cute valentines days cards. Lots of cute puns, pretty pictures and funny sayings.. what more could you want on a Valentine's card!

 5. Why not get your valentine a poster? NotontheHighstreet do some super cute prints, and they even have a whole category named "Valentines Prints" saving you the time of searching, perfect!

 6. Everyone loves to reminisce... so why not make your partner a collage of photos looking back on your time together. Pictures of you, of them, of places you've been together, places you're going to go... anything you fancy! Or similarly, why not use this Photo Card Holder (£19.99), you can put your photos in there, along with any V-day card you receive, and use it forever!

FOR HIM- Why not make this Date Jar for your partner? Fill it full of fun things to do on your date night/on the weekends. "Go for a Picnic", "Homemade Pizza Night","Cinema", "Go for long walk on beach", "Free pass for whatever you want on TV" , have some fun and make up some that are personal to you as a couple!

FOR HER- This Ceramic Heart Lantern (£15.50) is a lovely gift for a woman this Valentines day, she'll be able to use it year in year out and it'll always remind her of you whenever she lights it.

Here's hoping that this has helped you imagination a little bit... and wishing you a lovely run up to Valentines day!

MORE PICS AND IDEAS ON THE DRIFTLIVING PINTEREST
 

* I take no responsibility for the mathematics used to work our hours and minutes, full credit goes to Google.

Vintage Chic Heaven.

If you, like me, are addicted to antiques, vintage and bargain hunting...

Oh, and do you like coffee and cake? Yes? Well... you are going to just LOVE this place!

The Old Dairy in Ford is a sanctuary for anyone who likes to have a rummage through quality antiques, who likes beautiful views and who enjoys a tasty cup of coffee with an even tastier cake.

After a recent visit, I was informed of The Old Dairy's plans to transform one of their rooms into a kitchen area/ tea & coffees, with cooking demonstrations on...(wait for it).. an AGA, as they're now AGA Ambassadors. Now I don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for an AGA, drooling at the sight of any. I didn't know that the folks at The Old Dairy could make it any more appealing, but they have managed to succeed! Now just to wait for the AGA's to be installed, then you won't be able to keep me away!

If you're ever in the lands of Northumberland I would eagerly recommend you to pay a visit to Ford, an already lovely village made even better by The Old Dairy! (Situated about 25 mins for Berwick-upon-Tweed).

Did you know... it's Burns Night!

(Well not just yet) On the 25th of Jan, Scots everywhere will be getting kilted up and enjoying a dram or two to celebrate the life and work of Robert Burns.

And so here's some of my favourite facts about him!

• Born 25th of Jan 1759 - 1796, Burns was just aged 37 when he died.
• He fathered at least 12 children by four different women, one of which, his youngest, was born on the day of his funeral.
• Robert Burns was voted the Greatest Ever Scot in 2009 by television viewers.
• Burns wrote 'Auld Lang Syne' which is recognised by the Guinness World Book of Records as being in the top 3 popular songs in the English language (Along side Happy Birthday and For he's a jolly good fellow).
• He produced more than 550 songs and poems.
• Burns is known as The Bard, Scotland's national poet.
• His net worth on his death in 1796 was £1.
• When measured after his death, Burns' head was found to be larger than the average human.
• Micheal Jackson said that his famous song Thriller was inspired by Burns' Tam O'Shanter.

• Robert Burns has been into space!... Well not really... his poems have. Nick Patrick, when doing a 5.7 million mile trip and 217 orbits of the Earth, carried a miniature book of Burns' poetry in 2010.

• Pedestrian crossings in Japan play a rendition of "coming through the Rye" to indicate to a walker to cross.
• The US President Abe Lincoln could recite Burns' work by heart.

If you want to celebrate Burns Night too, but you're not quite sure what exactly to do... Here's some quick and easy steps to help you along the way.

 

1. You should be eating the traditional "Haggis, Neeps (turnip) and Tatties (potatoes)", or similarly, a vegetarian Haggis is a tasty alternative!
2. Why not get into the spirit with a nice dram of whisky, in true Burns fashion!
3. Music: For those of you who can't handle the drone of the Bagpipes, you'll be able to find many Cd's of Burn's own songs and poems to play.
4. And no Scottish celebration would be complete without a bit of tartan! There's hundreds to choose from, and you never know, you might find that you've got your own family tartan!

Making time for Happiness. #100HAPPYDAYS

I don't know if you've heard about this thing before... it's called "Happiness" and we all need more of it!

100happydays is a challenge to you from you to document your own happiness and in the process make time for the things that make you happy in your day-to-day routine.

WHY ?

Why not! Everyone should do at least one thing in their day that makes them happy and I, for one, am eagerly anticipating the challenge (with mine starting today (Friday 17th Jan 2014)). 100happydays makes the powerful true point that "We live in times when super-busy schedules have become something to boast about. While the speed of life increases, there is less and less time to enjoy the moment that you are in. The ability to appreciate the moment, the environment and yourself in it, is the base for the bridge towards long term happiness of any human being" ... making you want to jump up out of your seat and cry "EXACTLY!". Why isn't it a necessity for every person to have happiness every single day of their lives?

And so, lets all do this challenge together!

HOW ?

I (and Drift Living) are planning to use our new Instagram account as the social media network for our 100happydays, but you can use any other kind of networking i.e. email, facebook, twitter, tumblr. All you do is register at http://100happydays.com/ (very quick and very easy), set the date you want to start, and you're ready and raring to go! 

Follow us on Instagram to see how our #100happydays are going!

Drift's Resolutions 2014.

Now with our busiest period over we can take a step back , have a ponder and make a list of what we want to change in this coming year.

After a few discussions in the Drift office we decided that we only want to do more things that make us happy.. here are the things we've come up with so far..

#ONE

Even just a cheeky chunk of chocolate mid-afternoon, or a little pause on your morning stroll to work to appreciate the fresh air. We all should stop once in awhile just to look at those little things that make us happy.

#TWO

You know those gloomy January days, when the sky stays grey, the sun doesn't seem to want to make an appearance and that cold breeze just won't give up... well, why not buy yourself something to cheer yourself up! After all, you deserve it!

#THREE

So simple yet completely satisfying. Just think, a glass of wine, a good book, lots of candles, I don't think anything could be more relaxing. (Well, maybe if you hopped in a bubble bath, then that is relaxation!)

#FOUR

Now this one is all about you! Everyone needs a bit of time concentrated on themselves, so why shouldn't you! Those dishes can wait for one night while you go out for that much needed drink with a friend...and that carpet isn't desperate for a hoover just yet, you can leave it for an hour or two while you have a browse on your favourite online shops. 

#FIVE

This one is for me, these past few winters have left me grumbling about my current knitwear, the kind that looks pretty but doesn't actually keep the warmth in and the cold out! And so it's time for a complete overthrow, a knitwear revolution, out with the cold and in with the... warm. I for one, am going to look out for 100% wool jumpers, cardigans, scarfs, gloves, hats, cushions, throws, blankets.. anything! Think the motto when your shopping in the winter sales...If it's wool, it's warm.

#SIX

And of course, no list of resolutions would be complete without the usual "Eat healthy and regular exercise". It may be said every year and broken every year, but we're going to try really hard this year to keep this resolution... promise!

Why not let us know some of your resolutions? Maybe we'll add some more onto our own!

p.s. Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year.. only 348 days till it comes again!