Cupcakes and Cadenzas

I found this at icanhascheeseburger.com and it made me laugh out loud so I thought I should share it with you all. This is why you should never let your cat read your books before you do. see more Lolcats and funny pictures , and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz! Until the next time, Denise x

Image Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable although I'm sure at some point in the future it will morph into something else which takes up even more of our time. I love social media. If it exists then I'm on it. Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, Flickr, Tumblr, Bloggers...need I go on?? Through social media I have met some fantastic new people, had the most profound conversations, made new business contacts, found some of the most interesting content on the web, kept up with the goings on of friends and family and heard breaking news before it even reaches the main sites. The thing with social media though, is that it keeps changing. That's not a complaint. I understand things have to change to keep up with demand. People want more and more and, in order to provide the level of service that the public expect, social media sites needs to keep moving. A perfect example is the recent changes to Facebook. In order to stay on top of

Where I currently live there are several amateur groups who each put on a pantomime at Christmas. The pantomimes are very good and have been running for many, many years. People come from far and wide to see them and each group visits the other groups' shows. The competition between the groups is huge and, despite being amateurs, the amount of money spent each year to make each show bigger and better is incredible. Last year one of the groups decided to put on a newly written version of 'A Christmas Carol' instead of their traditional pantomime. This would be the Scottish Premier of the new show and the pressure for it to be a great success was huge. Out of the blue I was called by their director and asked if I would consider being their vocal coach for this new show. I sent them a copy of my Terms and Conditions along with a note of my fees for the duration not expecting for a minute that they would agree to them but the call came back to say that everything was fine and

This morning I received yet another parcel and although I was expecting it, I wasn't sure exactly what would be in it. Here's why. Last week Philofaxy and Filomaniac announced that Filofax Germany was having a bit of a sale. (Anyone reading this who knows me will already know that I adore Filofaxes - if you don't know me - I adore Filofaxes). Anyway, they were selling off 90 Filofaxes at 9 Euros each because Filofax (the company) are celebrating their 90th birthday this year. I couldn't resist having a look. Most of the Filofaxes were pocket size which for me is just too small but there were a few nice ones in personal size and different models to the ones on the UK website. The idea was to buy three personal size Filofaxes and give them as Christmas presents. Each one I chose was previously well over 100 Euros and, because of that, an absolute bargain! So, here's what I bought. ...and in the boxes... Left to right Bloomsbury (tomato), Panama (m

Today is the launch of Talli Roland's fab new book 'Watching Willow Watts' and to celebrate she's having a great online party. All you have to do to take part is let her - and everyone else - know who you would like to be if you could be any one at all. For me that wasn't difficult because if I could be anyone I would be... BETTY BOOP!  Why Betty Boop? She is fabulous! She is beautiful, sexy, classy, sassy, stylish, funny and her clothes are amazing. She's really feminine but at the same time she's tough and knows what she wants from life. Originally Betty represented the flapper girls from the great Jazz Era. When I was a little girl I always wanted to be a flapper and I could do a pretty good Charleston by the time I was four years old. In fact, even now, if I go to a fancy dress party I almost always go as a flapper although maybe I'll start going as Betty from now on. Unfortunately I wasn't organised enough to sort myself out with a Betty

How many times have you started a diet only to give up a few days later? What about that book you began writing years ago which is still lying unfinished in your desk drawer? Is there someone out there who you fell out with over some silly misunderstanding years ago but can't bring yourself to call?  Do you ever wonder what your life would have turned out like if you had only had been courageous enough to ask a certain someone out on a date? If you would like to be able to achieve just about anything you want in life, then read on. Image Have you ever looked at someone and wondered how they became so successful, rich, confident, popular, talented, all of the those things (delete as appropriate), whilst you are struggling just to get by on a daily basis with no money, greasy hair and an uncanny knack for attracting bad luck? I'm not talking about people who are born into wealth or fame and the lifestyle that comes with it. I'm talking about every day, run of the

Disclaimer: Please note, I am in no way affiliated with or connected to www.graze.com other than through buying their products. Are you one of life's grazers or do you prefer to eat three good meals every day with no snacks in between? Image I'm a grazer. I prefer smaller meals but I do like to snack or 'graze' my way through the day. The problem with this is that I don't always choose the healthy option. Actually, if I'm totally honest I don't choose the healthy option very often at all. Somewhere, deep in my subconscious, I have managed to convince myself that it's much easier to eat biscuits, chocolate or crisps than it is to eat fruit, nuts and seeds. When I'm doing the coaching part of my job I work long hours with little time for 'proper' meals and so I tend to just grab something quick whenever I get the chance. When I'm writing I sit at my computer for hours on end and snack on all of the things I mentioned before (it's

It's Tuesday once again and that means it's time for 'Tuesday Treasures' where I share with you six blogs or websites that have caught my eye over the last week. So, without any further ado or even messing around, here they are. Just click on the title to go to the site. Hot Toast and Jam - this is the blog of artist/designer Mmm where you will find beautiful photos and artwork as well as some of his musings and a few other things. Not only that but fortnightly, on a Tuesday, he runs a co-op where he gives a theme and other artists can link their work on that theme to his site. Many of the sites are really worth taking the time to look at. Tom Percival - this is the blog of Tom Percival, a writer and illustrator of children's books. He also illustrates books for other writers and I found out about him through a book called 'The Tiny Wife' by Andrew Kaufman. Lots of lovely images and many other things on this blog. Lauduree - this is the website of L

Image There is nothing like coming home and having a great big mug of steaming hot chocolate after being out for walk on an autumn or winter's day however, all too often, people settle for the pre-made stuff; the pale, sugary concoction that comes from a jar or a tin and you just add hot water or milk. If you like that then that's fine but I promise you, once you have tasted this version, you won't go back to the old way. It does take a little bit longer but it really is worth it. So, as promised in my post 10 Things I Love About Autumn  here is my recipe for the best hot chocolate - EVER  EVER INGREDIENTS Enough milk (full fat or semi-skimmed is fine) to make the amount of chocolate you want i.e. if you want two mugs, measure the milk out in the mugs you intend to use Good quality chocolate, finely chopped or grated - approx. 25gs per person but you can add more if you want it to be more chocolaty. You can use white, milk or dark chocolate depending on how sw

'When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy. After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £200,000 prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes. Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end? Who will win The Hating Game?' 'The Hating Game' is Talli Roland's debut novel and if you love chick-lit/rom-com, you will love this book.  Mattie Johns is an attractive, hard headed, man-eating business woman. The problem is tha

Well, summer is over and it's now autumn. The seasons are very easy to work out as far as I'm concerned. March, April, May -  Spring June, July, August   Summer Sept, Oct, November Autumn Dec, Jan, February - Winter I love autumn. It's my favourite season of the year and here are 10 reasons why I love it so much. The beautiful autumnal colours of the leaves on the trees. I love the varying shades of greens, yellows, browns, oranges, bronzes, reds and pinks Thick homemade soups and fresh crusty bread. In particular Scotch Broth - there's nothing to beat it Frosty mornings Lighting the fire and the smell of the logs drying out in the log basket beside it Jumpers, knitted dresses and woolly tights Huge mugs of proper hot chocolate made with fresh vanilla, chilli flakes, whipped cream, marshmallows and a dash of brandy. (recipe to follow) Walking through carpets of fallen leaves in the woods with the dogs Curling up on the sofa on a grey afternoon to