game of thrones Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

TV Favourites with Freeview Play

November 11, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

I was recently asked by Freeview Play to make a post about my favorite TV shows and while this sounds like a great thing to talk about (and it is!) how do you narrow it down to an actual list of favorites, when you love so many shows?

As most of you who read my blog will know, I started a small sewing business a few months ago and since then I’ve spent more time sat at the dining table, than I have in the lounge. For the first month I got really behind on all my shows, until I decided to use my iPad to catch up and then keep on top of all the shows I love. Not only that but I have been binge watching series’ like Grimm, Switched at Birth, Awkward, Constantine, Orphan Black and many more. I’ve realized that I like so many different types of genre and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a current series or an old one, I’m ready to give it a go! Using a ceiling mount for tv will make your space to look bigger because saves a lot of space and look very modern.

So here are some of my favorites.

Currently running – At the moment I’m really into the various superhero series that seems to be popping up everywhere. I’m watching The Flash, Arrow and Supergirl (which are all DC) and though they’re not currently airing, I also love Marvel’s Agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter and Daredevil. Other shows that I love and are currently airing are Once Upon a Time, Grimm (which as I mentioned I recently binge watched from series 1-4), Modern Family and Switched at Birth (another one I recently binged on 3 series of). There are of course a few other series that are between series and waiting to start, such as Game of Thrones, The 100, NCIS, Gotham and Vikings.

British TV – while most of the afore mentioned shows are US ones that we either get a day after the US or wait weeks for, there are a few British shows I love. Casualty and Holby City air every week, while X Factor and I’m a Celebrity are only on this time of year. Orphan Black is also a British show that I recently fell in love with and I’m waiting for it to start again. Though most of these shows are my guilty pleasures, I’m not afraid to say I enjoy them. We’re also watching Release the Hounds which is a recent find but an enjoyable light-hearted watch.

Cancelled shows – over the years there have been a lot of cancelled shows that I’ve loved, including Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Doll House (all Joss Whedon!). However I recently watched one series of Constantine and really enjoyed it and I started on Defiance (though I’m not sure if I like it or not) and I found out that had been cancelled too. I also enjoyed both The Following and Revolution, both of which have been cancelled and a recent TimeHop post reminded me of a series called Flash Forward which was so good and such a shame it was cancelled. Finally I’m just now catching up a the last few series of Glee. I was a hardcore fan for the first few but it dropped off and while I still enjoyed it for light-hearted entertainment, I wasn’t bothered either. Now, with my VIZIO smart tv I search for shows to watch and have plenty of series to go at, so I’m just making my way through 4-6 with the hope of ticking it off the list.

There are so many more shows I could give a mention to but I would be here all day. I hope to find and enjoy even more over the weeks to come but I’ll be sure to let you know of what I find!

Week 25 – Monday Round-up

June 22, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Last week I was late with this particular post and this week is no different either! Where Monday and Tuesday of last week were spent catching up on the decorating from over the weekend, this week has been spent catching up on catching up!

Monday I spent pretty much the whole day with Nat, after dropping the kids off at school. It was her youngest son Harry’s 2nd birthday and my gift to him was a mattress (a bed, a stairgate and a bedside…). Strange gift I know but basically Nat was wanting to move him into a big bed so I headed over there with a divan bed for Josh (her oldest son), which after we took the cot apart and put in the loft (oh I took a ladder too but that wasn’t for them to keep!) we moved Josh’s bed to Harry’s room, put the new mattress on it and then put the divan in Josh’s room. We put new bedding on Harry’s bed, added the bedside and also put up a stairgate. Afterwards Nat and I went to the tip and then Asda Living for a fitted sheet, all before I headed back to get the kids from school. The evening was spent trying to relax, even though there was still decorating to do. We did watch the Game of Thrones finale however *sob sob*.

On Tuesday Chris was off work so we made an effort to get our bedroom a bit straighter. We hoovered and tidied, moved furniture and most importantly put up a curtain rail so we could hang curtains and sleep back in there that night. We also wandered into town for a few hours to buy shelves and new curtains. We spent the afternoon finishing everything off and finally moving back into our room. It isn’t finished sadly (even now as I write this a week on) but it’s getting there slowly. I have had a lot to do since last Tuesday though so I haven’t done anything further on it.

In the evening we moved the wardrobe forward (which is so heavy we had to empty it all out first) so I could paint the last wall. Since it was so heavy and all the stuff out of it made such a mess (and I didn’t want to put it back in, only to take it out again), I spent the whole evening giving the wall five coats of paint, one every half an hour. Chris and I then moved the wardrobe back, had a sort through our clothes and then crawled into bed!

On Wednesday I had a catch up blog day. I was so behind on posts I was supposed to write that it took me all day to catch up and I still wasn’t done. However I did manage to write about five for my own blog and two for TTM. Thursday started off with a breakfast from Morrisons as I offered to give Chris a lift to work and he treated me. When I got back home though I properly cracked on with a murder mystery I’ve been writing – a sort of gift for my friend’s birthday at the end of this current week. I made some progress but it all seemed very slow. I also accidentally loaded $100 into my Fiverr account which was a slap on the forehead moment. I worked all day and into the evening on the Murder Mystery but didn’t get all that far.

Friday was another day working on the Murder Mystery but it ended up more of a blog/internet day. I still felt so behind on everything I needed to do so I spent most of my time getting organised, but the evening spent on the murder mystery again. After that, my whole weekend was swallowed by the murder mystery and I’m not even kidding. I spent all day Saturday and all day Sunday, breaking only briefly to make tea, feed the kids, put some washing on etc. It genuinely felt like I was getting somewhere the whole time but in the same token it seemed like I had loads left to do.

In the end I could feel myself getting annoyed and snappy so I took Sunday evening off. I watched some TV and then decided to turn that off even and read a book. I read two short stories and then started on the second book in a series I’ve been reading and enjoying. I will write a review shortly of the first book – Sanctum (Guards of the Shadowlands, #1).

Other than that, I won’t get into my Monday and Tuesday so far but needless to say they’ve been busy again. Right now I have emails to go through and some housey bits to get done, but I’m hoping to actually see my sewing machine this evening – fingers crossed!

My Top 5 TV Dads

June 9, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Father’s Day is always a somber sort of time for me. My dad passed away over 10 years ago and since my husband and I separated, the girls don’t see their dad on Father’s Day either. As such, when I found out Curry’s PC World were hosting a competition about people’s top five tv dads, I decided it would be a great thing to do, to give some positivity to this time of year! All the terms can be found here if you’re wanting to enter. Here are my picks (in no particular order).

Phil Dunphy – Modern Family

I have watched Modern Family since it first came out and Phil Dunphy has always been one of my favourite characters. He’s so incredibly down to earth, so normal, such an idiot. He’s completely loveable and how he puts up with Claire, I really don’t know. Sad part is that half the time I think our family functions a little like the Dunphy household. That makes me Claire, I know, but it’s true! The thing I like most about Phil is that he’s just very real. TV shows us a lot of perfect people, a lot of perfect parents and very few people are actually like that in real life. Phil rocks – thumbs up Ty Burrell.

Joe West – The Flash

This is a bit of a cheat answer, because while Joe West is a dad, it’s not his relationship with daughter Iris that I like him for. Instead, his surrogate/foster dad relationship with Barry Allen in The Flash, is what makes me love him. Though The Flash is only in it’s first series, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it from start to end. I can’t tell you how many times the show has had me in tears. And, without spoiling the season finale, the last episode where Joe and Barry might lose the bond/relationship they currently share, is by far one of the most heartbreaking moments I’ve watched recently.

Marshall Eriksen – How I Met Your Mother

Now if I had to pick a best character from HIMYM, Barney Stinson would win hands down for me. However when it comes to being the best father, Barney doesn’t really come close (until the last ever episode of course). However Marshall Eriksen is awesome. He may not be the first person that springs to mind when you think of TV dads, but I think he would have been so cool to have as a father. Not only that, but with a husband/wife relationship like Marshall and Lily, what more could you want from your parents? He’s a big kid himself but I’m sure he would have been such a fun and loving dad. He’s definitely in my top five picks.

Ned Stark – Game of Thrones

As always, Sean Bean died far too early in the scheme of Game of Thrones series. However the character of Ned Stark was one of the best there has been. Though also a husband, I really only think of Ned as his role as a father. His four/five kids really did have a great role model to look up to. Even to the end he showed that honour was one of the best qualities you can have – even if it gets you killed!

Pop Larkin – The Darling Buds of May

This last choice is a little bit nostalgic as it brings back memories of weekends as my Nan and Grandad’s, watching episodes of TDBOM. David Jason has always been one of my favourite actors and I absolutely adored him as Pop Larkin. The dynamics of the family as a whole were really what made the series, but Pop himself was the core and heart of the Larkin family. To be absolutely truthful I don’t remember a lot about the series itself (I was a lot younger then) but I do know I enjoyed it a lot. I’m pretty sure I wanted to live with the Larkin’s at one stage so that says a lot for both Ma and Pop.

It was really hard to narrow down my top 5 TV dads and so I want to give a notable mention to; Philip Banks (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), Cliff Huxtable (Crosby Show), Luke Dane (Gilmore Girls) and Sandy Cohen (The O.C.). I’m sure there are plenty more TV dads that I love though but that’s all I can think of for now!

Who is your favourite TV dad?

In memory of the best dad – my dad.

T-Shirt Thursday

February 19, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Yet again this week I’m posting my T-shirt Tuesday on a Thursday, but this week I sort of have a good excuse! My best friend Amy (from Cocktails in Teacups) decided very late on Monday night that she was coming to visit for a couple of days and so from Tuesday to today, I’ve had her and her daughter Olivia visiting. As such I’ve either been busy or completely exhausted, with no time to make blog posts (and none pre-done as a backup!). In all honesty, all I want to do tonight is go for a bath but a guilty conscience had got the better of me. As such though, its just going to be a quickie from me tonight – just the t-shirt I was wearing on Tuesday and no project t-shirt.

This t-shirt design is called Winter is Coming and combines a Frozen and Game of Thrones crossover. Elsa is sat on an ice version of the Iron Throne, with the quote “winter is coming”, a slogan from GoT too. The design belongs to an artist known as Harebrained. If you like the t-shirt, its available in a variety of places including RedBubble, TeeFury and TeePublic. It’s one of my favourite t-shirts and also drawing styles!

Though, like I said, I haven’t got around to starting on my next project, I will give you a sneak peak. This is the design I’ll be using next time!

Week 7 – Monday Round-up

February 16, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Some weeks I really hate the fact I do this round up thing – haha. I honestly right now can’t remember what I did yesterday, let alone a week ago. I’m going to try though, but it might be brief! On Monday Chris had the day off and the girls were at school. We had a very lazy day that started with bacon butties and moved on to cheese toasties at lunch. I spent majority of the day on my computer and then rang my car insurance to add Chris to it. After that he drove us to Saxilby – which was probably the most scary experience of my life. We picked the girls up from school and this time I drove home. When we got back Chris had offered to get us Indian for dinner and since I knew the girls wouldn’t want that, I ordered them pizza and a chicken burger from takeaway instead. During the day time my order for Ravenclaw material had finally arrived and so I spent the early part of the evening, cutting out the pattern pieces. Before putting the girls to bed I read them some more of the Never Girls book and then Chris and I watched the next few episodes of 100 before then watching the new Walking Dead episode. Not long afterwards, we headed to bed.

On Tuesday I have less of a recollection for the events. I know I took the girls to school and then headed pretty much straight home. I started to sew Amy’s Ravenclaw skirt and watch TV at the same time. After I finished that, I finished my T-Shirt Tuesday project which was the Game of Thrones handbag and finally after that I took a bath, knowing I didn’t have to pick up the girls from school. Honestly I don’t remember much more of the day, though no doubt blogging about my handbag was part of the day! Wednesday I was off to London, to see the Game of Thrones Exhibit at the O2. I took the girls to school and then headed to Newark where I would be parking the car for the day and catching the train. I headed off to London and went straight to the O2. The exhibition was pretty good but doing it alone just wasn’t as fun as I’d hoped it would be. After I’d looked around the exhibit, I caught the tube to Oxford Street and did some shopping. I went to the Disney Store, Primark, H&M and Lush. After all that I popped to M&S to grab a salad and then headed back to Kings Cross. I caught my train around 6pm and was back at Newark for about 7.30pm. I then drove home to Chris who was home by then too. I snuggled up on the sofa with him but was pretty tired so we headed to bed about 10pm.

On Thursday I managed a lay-in as the girls had stopped at Grandma’s and she was taking them to school. However as Chris wasn’t at work till late as well, it meant I didn’t get much of a sleep as sadly he wakes me! We eventually did get up and lounged around for a while, before heading out to take Chris to work. I was due to go around to my mum’s to get our electronic registration for visas done but as she wasn’t in, I popped into town for an hour first. After that I went to my mum’s and spent the afternoon there until going to get the kids. We then came straight home and hung out together for the evening. Just before bedtime, Megan started to feel unwell and so it was decided if she didn’t feel great the next morning, she wouldn’t go to school. I also realised that if Megan didn’t go, Lily probably wouldn’t want to either. Anyway in the morning neither girl felt well and so they didn’t go to school. Chris went out on his driving lesson and then straight to work afterwards and so the girls and I spent the day together. We popped out to the shops to get a few bits and pieces but for the most part we spent the day chilling out. We did have to make some Disney inspired food but that was pretty good fun. After the girls were in bed I spent the evening on my computer, watching TV and waiting for Chris to come home. When he did get back though I was so tired that we pretty much went straight to bed.

On Saturday morning the kids woke us up at about 9am with cards they’d made for us. We all got up and got dressed, heading out for “all you can eat” breakfast. After that we dropped Chris at the station and headed home. The girls got changed into fancy dress and we all watched a movie together as our Valentine’s treat. At 3.30pm the girls got changed again as Lily was heading out to a party. We dropped her off at the leisure centre and then Megan and I got some dinner and went for a coffee. Afterwards we went for a wander, in and out of shops, before heading back to get Lily and then go home. We then settled down to watch another movie together before the girls went to bed. On and off during the day I managed to sew Megan’s Ravenclaw dress and a Villains skirt for Lily too. Chris was home for 10pm and we watched a bit of TV before heading to bed. Finally it was Sunday and we had another fairly full day planned. We headed out to take Chris to work at 11.30am but we had to have so much stuff with us, that we spent most of the morning getting organised. We dropped Chris off at work and headed into town for a while. Lily bought a Tsum Tsum as they were released in the UK that day and then we all went to BHS for lunch. It was a bit of a bust AND we were late back to the car and I got a ticket.

We then went to my mum’s for the afternoon and despite planning to watch a DVD there, that didn’t work out either. At 3.30pm I had to take Megan to a party and then pop to Grandma’s to pick up a bag I’d left earlier in the week. I got caught chatting for a while but then got back to mum’s. The girls’ dad let me know he would be having them overnight and so I went to pick Megan up from her party and when I got back to mum’s, he was just arriving there too. I saw both the girls off and then stayed at mum’s for the evening to save on petrol and picking Chris up from work. At 9pm I went to get Chris but we popped back to mum’s as I’d offered up Chris’ services for fixing the pipe under her sink. After a quick look and removal of a few pipes, we headed home and sat together to watch some TV. We eventually headed to bed, to end our week!

That sums up my week haha. I’m sure I missed stuff but that’s the general jist. As usual these days, it was a good week and I look forward to the next one!

T-shirt Tuesday

February 10, 2015 by Bel 1 Comment

Hello hello! It’s late on, on Tuesday, but I didn’t forget my T-shirt Tuesday post. As normal, I’m going to showcase the tee I wore today, as well as update you on last week’s project tee.

This here is the t-shirt I was wearing today. The design is called The Fandom School and its by someone called saltnburn. You can find the design for sale on Qwertee. It’s a very clever design, featuring fandoms of Supernatural, Doctor Who, Sherlock, Hunger Games and of course Harry Potter. The slogan at the bottom is J.R.R. Tolkien. I love this t-shirt as its just a combination of geekiness.

And then onto my project…

Last week I told you about this t-shirt called Throne Fighter. It’s by DrewWise and can be found in various places such as Red Bubble, Ript Apparel and TeePublic. I decided since I didn’t like the fit of the shirt (I love the design) that I’d upcycle it into something new and with the Game of Thrones Exhibition tomorrow, what better time was there? Since I made a dress last time, I wanted to go for something different. As such, I made a hand bag this time and this was the process.

First I cut off the sleeves and then I cut slits into the bottom of the t-shirt. After that I pulled on each slit, making a sort of noodle out of each. Finally I tied each tassle in pairs, front and back, in a double knot. This gave me the basics for the bag. After that I just made a few alterations to the sleeve holes and the straps, adjusting it to look right. This is what I finished up with!

And here it is, my completed Game of Thrones back which I will be taking with me to the O2 tomorrow. I’m really pleased with how it turned out and I can’t wait to try it out!

Pop back next week to see another showcase tee and I’ll pick out my next project t-shirt too.

T-Shirt Thursday

February 5, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Okay so its not Tuesday, its Thursday… but what’s a few days between friends? This week on Tuesday I a) didn’t wear a t-shirt and b) ended up out of the house far too long to actually get around to making this post. As such I decided that I’d push it back a few days and bring you T-Shirt Thursday!

First let’s get around to the t-shirt I’ve been wearing today. It’s one of the ones I’ve owned for the longest and I love it, it’s been made using the t-shirt screen printer, it has such a grea quality.

Today’s tee is a nice bright red one, that crosses Disney’s “The Incredibles” with the Princess Bride and its well known expression “Inconceivable”. The design is by ZombieDollars and is called, surprisingly, The Inconceivables. I originally bought it from Qwertee, way back in September of 2012. It is currently for sale in a variety of places including TeeFury and TeePublic. ZombieDollars is also know as Nik Holmes and you can check out all his designs on his website www.nikholmes.com (I definitely recommend you do!)

After that, we move onto this week’s t-shirt project. If you’re new to T-shirt Tuesday or even my blog, I’ll quickly fill you in. A few weeks ago I went through my mountains of tees and picked out a few that I didn’t really wear for one reason or another. I have decided to up-cycle and re-purpose some of them, blogging about them here on a Tuesday (or in this case Thursday!). This week’s project is Game of Thrones themed, as next week I’m traveling to the O2 in London, to see the Game of Thrones Exhibition.

This tee is a cross between not only Game of Thrones, but also computer games such as Street Fighter or Tekken. The design is called “Throne Fighter” and I loved it from the moment I saw it. However I don’t really like the t-shirt I bought it on, so I’ll be recycling it this week into something else I can use! Check back here next week to see how I’ve got on…. *hint* it won’t be a dress this time!