Santa Trains and Sienna ★

so yesterday i got up bright an early (ish...) to head into town to pick up my darling little cousin Sienna for the day

she was all dressed up and ready to go in her candy coloured winter outfit + sweetie patterned welly boots! 

we had a nice little mooch around the shops first though, she helped me pick out a few last minute xmas prezzies for some people so i treated her to a little Hello Kitty necklace for being such a sweetheart!

and she even got to meet Santa outside the local shopping centre!

but then it was time to take her on our annual day out to the fabulous Santa Trains at the local Groudle Glen Railway

we took her last year and had a brilliant day out despite the chilly weather! so we were all looking forward to heading to the glen again this year for another trip on the trains. here she is with my mum aka her 'Auntie Joy'

it was pretty cold when we got to the Lime Kiln Halt so we did some dancing about to the Xmas music to try and keep warm while we waited for the train...

but then at long last, we heard the all too familiar 'choo-choo' of the train as it came chugging around the corner to collect us

then it was on to the Lhen Coan Station to get some mulled wine, a mince pie, and then go and meet Father Christmas!

the Station looked very festive, all decorated for Christmas as the train kept heading back and forth to collect and drop off more visitors

we had a fabulously festive and fun day and i'm sure we'll be visiting the Groudle Glen Railway again next year to take Sienna to the Easter Bunny and Teddy Bears Picnic Trains

for more information about the Railway line be sure to check out the official GGR website here - Groudle Glen Railway

* * *

after the Trains, we popped out for some lunch where Sienna decided to open the little gift Santa gave her at the station 

turns out it was a very VERY awesome little wooden marionette puppet

Sienna eventually decided to name him 'Lenny' and i'm not gonna lie, we had a LOT of fun making him walk and dance about on the table top!

unfortunately we had to drop little Miss Sienna off after that because today she got the boat over to the UK to visit her family for Christmas!

but we had a great day, it's always a fun day when Sienna is around :) x

* * *

in other news, i got a lovely little surprise in the post yesterday as well!

the very lovely Astrid from 'Schwarzie Design' had sent me a cute little bundle of mini print cards and a little note via 'snail mail' all the way from South Africa!

it really made my already lovely day that extra bit awesome so big thanks to her for that!

her artwork are very gorgeous, i'm sure i'll have to run a post about her and her sister's designs on here in the New Year, but until then i recommend you check out her website here - Schwarzie Design

* * *

and i think that's it for now! not many plans this week, i've finished buying and wrapping ALL of my Xmas presents to i'm a bit unsure of how to spend my time other than reading, watching old movies or editing drawings!

but i have something super duper sweet to share with you all tomorrow evening so be sure to look out for that!

and until next time, that's all folks... ◕‿◕ ★ xX

things that begin with 'S' ★

sunshine, strawberries, scrumptious, sweets, sauce, sprinkles, social, stalls, super stuff and Sienna

all things that begin with 'S'

(it will all become clear don't worry!) 

right so today i went to the 'on your doorstep' exhibition at the Villa Marina with my mum + my little cousin Sienna to have a skeet at all the lovely Manx things on display

one of the main things i was excited to see was the 'Cupcake Creations' stall

i've visited their website lots of times before + spoken to them on Twitter (@CCIOM) but it was nice to actually meet Sarah and see all the yummy cupcakes for real

here's Sarah posing with one of her 'cupcake creations'

the display was amazing and the cupcakes looked truly scrumptious, they had a DIY cupcake decorating option as well and since little Miss Sienna is so fussy with cakes, i let her pick her own toppings

in the end she went with heaps of chocolate sauce, chocolate mini eggs, smarties and a mini jammy dodger...

i picked one too only mine was covered in vanilla frosting tinted with pink and covered in glittery bits

i can tell you now that it was indeed... delicious!!!

for more info about these tasty little freshly baked homemade cupcakes for every occasion, check out the Cupcake Creations website here - IOM Cupcake Creations

i should point out as well that Sienna actually ate all of hers, to the point where she was licking the crumbs and sauce off the cake case!

oh i'll show you my nails as well, in keeping with the little strawberry necklace i made last week, i painted my nails to match...

so what else? well to be honest i didn't get the chance to take many photos of the exhibition stalls, the place was absolutely packed and it was tricky making your way around all of the displays let alone snapping photos of them all!

i did manage to get a photo of the Groudle Glen Railway stall though, and Alex (or 'the train man' as Sienna calls him) pulled his very best model pose while i took a quick shot of the display

we'll probably be taking Sienna to the Easter trains next month which should be super fun as always, 

in case you'd like to book yourself some tickets or find out more about getting involved with the railway, here's the website - GGR

and for my previous posts about the charming little Groudle Glen Railway check out these links - Super Duper Train Times & Super Sunday #4

* * *

one of the other main reasons i actually left the house today was to meet my friend Joseph at the villa because he had a truly awesome amazing and ruddy fantastical present for me!!!

since i'm not much of a 'gamer' anymore he's given me my very own purple gamecube to play on and even managed to get me a copy of my favourite old gamecuve game 'Pikmin'

i can't even begin to tell you how excited i am to be playing this again! this used to be my favourite game console and game to play on and i can't believe he has given me this!!!!

thank you thank you thank you!!!

Joseph... you are a star!

* * *

it's been a really super day to be honest, i've met with quite a few lovely new friends and caught up with lots of old ones + i saw my big sister Nikki for a bit as well which was nice

i guess i should actually bother to leave the house more if i want to catch up with people like i did today!

i got to pop in and see the new David Maddrell exhibition at the Sayle Gallery as well. big thanks to Joseph for coming with me since i don't really like to visit the gallery by myself (don't ask). and of course for carting the awesome gamecube all the way down into town for me!

* * *

oh i thought i'd share these pics of Sienna's doodles for you all to see, 

she got this great notebook from the Manx National Heritage stall and it didn't take her long to start sketching away in it

these two show a giraffe with a shark on it's head and a picture of me scared of the 'shiraffe'

and these two are both drawings of me

she's clearly inherited my artistic skills!

* * *

and that's it, enjoy the rest of your weekend wherever you are

nothing else to say, 

that's all folks...

★ ◕‿◕

Super Sunday #4 ♥

so... i've been a very BAD blogger again haven't i! to be fair i have been kind of busy these past few days, that and the fact that i haven't been feeling too well (cue sympathetic 'aaaaaahhhs' from you all) anyway, it's Sunday and that means only one thing...

it's time for another 'Super Sunday' dedication!

so without any further ado... i'm delighted to announce that this weeks 'Super Sunday' post is all about the fabulously stylish, incredibly awesome and utterly drop dead gorgeous super duper star... Dita Von Teese

i am a huuuuuge fan of the lovely Dita, i really genuinely do adore her style and think she has such wonderful fashion sense, she is basically one of my top idols! i just adore her

believe it or not but she's the very  first Burlesque/Pinup style gal i EVER attempted to draw THAT is how fabulous she is!

that's right folks... it's the fantabulous fashion and super duper style of la Dita that first inspired me to have a go at drawing Burlesque Girls so i have a lot to thank her for really, even though she doesn't realise it!

so what is it about her that makes her so damn fabulous...

well for a start she's just generally awesome! did i mention that! i mean ok the reason i'm doing this post now instead of years and years ago is because i FINALLY bought myself a copy of her super book 'Burlesque and the art of the Tease' last Wednesday during the xmas shopping spree.

i've flicked through it literally dozens of times at college as my fashion tutor Billee has a copy in her classroom but i've never really had a chance to properly read the book until now

but don't think i'm only a recent fan of her amazingness... i've been a HUGE fan of the lovely Dita for quite a few years now, ever since i first spotted a pic of her out shopping, dressed impeccably and looking as amazing as ever on some American fashion blog!

that's another thing that makes her so super duper... she ALWAYS looks good, no matter what she's doing or where she is, she always looks stylish and perfectly coiffed and made-up, she just exudes this timelessly sexy glamour and charm

she really is one of the most stylish and glamourous women in the world... as far as i'm concerned she is anyway!

she advocates glamour all the time (little quote from her book there... she claims to advocate glamour all the time and i don't think ANYONE can argue with that fact!)  whether she's performing on stage or just out on a shopping trip, she just exudes this total sense of glamour and style!

she's so timeless as well, with her dark hair, dark eyebrows, porcelain skin and ruby red lips, she could have stepped straight out of a silent movie from the 20's

it's a rarity in today's modern society to find a starlet with such an iconic, classic look and so much charisma and sex appeal, but Dita definitely has it... in spades!

she really knows how to dress to impress as well, always dressing in finely tailored outfits designed to show off her curves, teamed with a pair of killer heels + all the proper underpinnings (stockings, suspenders, basques, slips, waspies, corsets etc etc)  and with her beautifully set hair, flawless skin, glossy crimson nails and her signature red lipstick she always looks incredible no matter what!

it's an incredible feat but she pulls it off rather splendidly i'm sure you'll agree, looking that good ALL the time can't be easy but she manages it with apparent ease... and with a truly marvellous wardrobe to boot!

whether she's rocking a svarokski encrusted corset...

or a designer dress and a pair of Louboutins...

she ALWAYS looks good!

so all i can say is...

long live la Dita!

if you j'adore Dita's style as much as i do then i recommend you get yourself a copy of her book, whether or not you're a fan of Burlesque, it's worth a read either way really since it's just so magnifique et merveilleux!

also... pop over to her official website for a skeet at all things Dita related - Dita Von Teese

* * *

in other news...

my little cousin Sienna came to stay again this weekend!

 here she is modeling her brand new cupcake apron (from the delightful shop, 'Pomegranate' in Onchan, Isle of Man) that i bought her a few weeks ago after my trip to the dentist (my dentist is also in Onchan... in case you were wondering how that was relevant)

we had a great fun on Saturday mooching around the shops in Douglas, we also headed over to the fabulous little Christmas market that was set up along North Quay next to the harbour. 

there were some gorgeous things to see, lots of super craft stalls + a verrrrry yummy cupcake stall.

i also got to meet the lovely Karen Tomlinson aka purplecats corner 

she had a great stall filled with fabulous prints of her pretty artwork + lots of magnets and bookmarks. she also had some original pieces there for sale and really i'm sad that i couldn't get one! 

but after my Christmas shopping day on Wednesday i am literally penniless...

it was lovely to meet her anyway 

you can check out Karen's adorable paintings and prints here on her blog - purplecats corner

or head over to her etsy shop and treat yourself to something pretty - Purplecatscorner etsy

* * *

anyway, today we took Sienna back to Groudle Glen Railway for the annual 'Santa Trains'

now you may remember that earlier this year we took Sienna to the 'Teddy Bear's Picnic Trains' which she absolutely L-O-V-E-D! you can read about that here - Super Duper Train Times

since she loved that trip so much i promised she could go to the Santa ones as well! in fact some of you may remember that i actually created the artwork for the Groudle Glen Railway website a few months ago (you can see it here) - GGR 

anyway we took her down there just before lunch, it was quite a hike through the Glen to the station but it was worth it. the station was covered in multi-coloured fairy lights with Christmas songs playing to add to the festive atmosphere. 

all the Railway volunteers were decked out in their smart uniforms with the added fun of some Santa hats! in fact... Santa himself was there with a few elves handing out presents and sweeties to all the little boys and girls... although Sienna wouldn't go and see him so my mum had to go and get the present instead!

it was still a fun trip though, the train was absolutely packed! it was so festive and Christmassy, a super duper day out indeed, 

so if you live on the Isle of Man i highly recommend you get yourself down to the Groudle Glen Railway next Saturday or Sunday for the last of the Santa Trains (a shameless plug i know but... it's so worth it!) you can pre-book your tickets online here - Ticket Office

* * *

and that's pretty much it for today, a busy day but a fun one nonetheless

i'm staying at home tomorrow on account of today's busy day, that and the fact that i want to sleep in tomorrow morning... it's ok, i'm going into to College on Tuesday so it's aaaaall good!

enjoy the rest of your Sunday, wherever in the world you are

that's all folks...

♥ ◕‿◕ ♥

Dank uwel en vaarwel

(that's thank you and goodbye in Flemish on behalf of Belgium, i've visited Belgium several times staying all over the place, it's a gorgeous country and i look forward to visiting it again soon, dank u xX)