We went and chose our Golden Retriever puppy this morning. The litter is 4 weeks old now, and we picked between the two remaining girls. All the pups were adorable, strong, lively and playful – it was a really tough choice! We met their mum, who was incredibly friendly, and not at all defensive or aggressive. The pups are being brought up in a house with a cat, which is a huge bonus for us.

The puppy we picked was one of the darker furred ones, and she has a little white mark on the top of her head. We’ve not 100% settled on a name right now, but we’re leaning towards Luna. She seemed a little more robust and playful than the other girl, but really, all of them were full of beans!

I can’t wait to bring her home in 4 weeks, we’ve got dog stuff laying around the house already so that the cats can get used to it all.  I’m sure they’ll all get along fine eventually, but we’re ready for a tough first few days of introductions!

Last week in Burghead, Scotland

I missed last week’s ToF because I was travelling back from Scotland. That 7 hour drive was a killer, we made it almost all the way home without any traffic jams or anything, though, so that’s always good!

I’ve been struggling to catch up with everything this week, but I’m happy to say that I’ve got a couple of projects done and dusted, and my life is feeling a lot less cluttered. We’re also going to see our puppy for the first time tomorrow, so exciting!

• I’ve been hunting for a new bed this week, and SO many people have recommended Warren Evans to me! I think we’re pretty much decided on this one.
• Great photo collection of people with freckles. I love freckles.
• Speaking on photography, I got sucked right in to the National Geographic tumblr this week. Lost hours!
• Danielle is having a ‘Pay what you can‘ day for her Desire map, but be quick, ends soon!
• Here’s the lovely Kaelah wearing one of my custom name necklacesj in her latest blog post.
• Incase you didn’t get the memo, Arrested Development starts up on Netflix this weekend. Unfortunately I have to wait to watch any as Adam’s away for work until Wednesday. Gutted.

It’s another bank holiday weekend, are you doing anything fun? I’ll be working I think, from my sofa office, as Adam won’t be here. I’m taking the Wednesday off to watch Arrested Development, so it’s not all bad!

I don’t know about you, but I’m incredibly British when it comes to accepting compliments. I always try and pass things off, “Oh it wasn’t that hard really…” or, “Well, I guess I just lucked out!”.

It seems ingrained in many of us that we should always be humble when anyone issues us a compliment. I’m calling bullshit!

You know what, we all work so unbelievably hard at damn near everything that disregarding an achievement as “luck” is just down right ludicrous. You should be proud of whatever you’ve achieved, and if someone compliments you, then you should graciously accept it.

Why you should accept compliments…

• It makes you feel good & confident to have your hard work recognised, revel in it for a bit.
• It makes the other person feel good because they made you feel good, you’re saying that you trust their judgement and appreciate their opinion.
• It leads to interesting conversation and an exchange of advice.

How do you accept a compliment?

• Be confident in, and aware of your achievements. You know how hard you worked, you know it wasn’t just luck.
• When someone compliments you, be gracious “Thanks so much for saying that, I really gave it all I had and I’m happy with the results” is so much better than “Well, what did you expect?”.
• Consider the context of the compliment. If it’s something minor, “I really like your outfit”, then there’s no need to tell them Every. Damn. Thing. about the shopping trip. However, if you’re being complimented on completing your first 10k race then it’s a great chance to discuss how you went about training for it, or swap work-out tips, just make sure you’re not boring them!
• Don’t always assume you need to give a compliment in return, I believe that compliments should be given sincerely and not as payment, but it’s always nice to try and return the compliment at some point.

Choo-choo, all aboard the compliment train!

PS. I really like your hair today, did you do something new?

I’ve got some great sponsors on the blog this month, and I’d like to introduce to them!

 Ever thought about adding video to your blog, but unsure where to start? Posts production offer video workshops to take you through the steps! Brilliant idea!

Anna’s lovely shop, Custom Made, is where you can find a variety of beautiful things. I’m particularly smitten with this little peanut necklace.

A Wooden Tree makes some amazing decorative homewares from delicious fabrics, take a look at the vintage fabric stags. So cute!

Got a wedding or special event coming up that you want documenting? James Lloyd offers contemporary photography that’d be perfect for the occasion.

Mellybee makes a range of screen printed delights, my favourite are the aprons!

Holly takes wonderful lifestyle/modelled product photos for creative brands, perfect for lookbooks.

Cross stitch brilliance from the Bellwether in the form of kits & samplers. Be quick, they’re taking a break soon!

Check out the vibrant yarns from Loophole, almost makes me want to take up knitting again!

Beautiful array of fabric goods from Made by Mrs M, everyone could use another blanket.

Adorable jewellery from Clairabellemakes, I’m pretty taken with the fabric covered rings.

You can be a sponsor of Hiphopsideproject at any time by clicking through to the sponsor page :)

When I decided to quit my day job I had to make sacrifices where pampering was concerned. I’ve learnt that you don’t need to break the bank to feel pampered!

Hair

One thing I realised early on was that buying in bulk can save you SO much money!

I always try and use a quality shampoo and conditioner, that means salon quality (actual salon quality, not that tresemme shit). Unfortunately salon quality comes at a price, but shop around and you can find some amazing savings.

Before I moved on to mane’n'tail shampoo, I was using Tigi tweens which you can find at bargainous prices over on the old Ebay. Mane’n'tail is my new favourite budget buy, and I’ve picked it up for a reasonable price on Amazon and Ebay. When you buy both of these in their larger sizes you’ll find they work out around the same price as a decent ‘everyday’ shampoo/conditioner, but the quality is much better.

Face

I no longer trust anyone else with my eyebrows. Nope.

I started waxing and tinting my own brows when I quit my day job, and doing quite a good job of it! I didn’t have to spend £10+ a month on getting someone else to do them in a salon, and I had complete control. A few months ago I went to a benefit brow bar where they BUTCHERED my beloved thick brows, I looked like a shocked Liverpudlian. Woe.

Take care of your own brows using the veet facial hair waxing kit (this lasts forever), a pair of tweezerman tweezers for the stragglers and eyelure dye kit for tinting (about 12 applications here).

Body

Making your own sugar scrub is awesome, seriously… so pamper-some. In an old bathroom container of some kind, or even just a tupperware,  combine brown sugar with olive oil and stir together. Use it in the shower to scrub the day away, it’s such a treat! You can even add essential oils and scents, many available on ebay. Swap out the brown sugar for seasalt if you feel like it, too.

Mind

One sure fire way of feeling pampered is to treat yourself, and that doesn’t need to cost any more than a couple of quid. For me, that means a bunch of flowers (£2 from the super market), an ikea cinnamon and apple candle, and reading my book in a quiet room for a few hours. Deliciously cheap luxury!

(image source)