LIFESTYLE: Tips for buying your first home

So as you may or may not know, I've just bought myself (with the help of my husband of course) a lovely family home.
At 25 (Dann is 29) we're pretty pleased with ourselves to have our shit together enough to buy a place that is ours.
I'm not going to lie, it is a pretty scary thing, and we actually feel more like responsible adults in £115,000 of debt than we did when we got married! But it doesn't need to be a completely daunting experience.
I thought I'd share some of our hints and tip for buying your first home - and share some of the images we had taken by Radian who interviewed me for their blog about our buying experience.

TATTOOS: Interview with Jackie Redfern

This week I'll introduce you to Jackie Redfern, a friend from across the pond (from the USA basically).
She replied to my recent call on Twitter for some new interviewees for this little series....

Happy reading!


What was your first tattoo, and how old were you? My 1st tattoo was a small rose on my right wrist, done when I was 37

How many do you have now, and what are they? 
I now have 2 sleeves, chest, back & both feet tattooed. Also a tiny heart on my pinky, so 7 in all

Who is your favourite tattooist? 
I don't have a particular favourite tattooer; if I like their work, that's enough.

Do you have any tattoos planned for the future? If so, what? 
I plan to have some work done on my legs, when the funds allow.

Do you have any 'no-go' zones? 
I would not have my neck or face tattooed, or any large hand tattoos. 'Everlasting job stoppers'!

What is your favourite  thing about tattoos and tattoo culture? 

I have no opinion on so-called tattoo culture; my tattoos are personal to me.

What do you think of the increase in tattoos as a 'fashion statement'?
Tattoos as fashion statements mean plenty of work for laser removal clinics in the future!

BLOGGING: Illustrated Teacup is changing direction

I've recently had a little break from blogging so posts have been a little sparse at the beginning of June - I was on holiday too but I kind of lost my mojo a little.
Anyway, whilst on my blogging break I had a little think about the direction of this blog.

I love writing about tattoos, and judging from my top ranking posts, you love reading about them too, but I also want to share other parts of my life. I guess it comes down to the future.
My home and dream is to start a family soon, and I want to be able to blog about our adventures, so I've decided to start that transition now.

I will still blog about tattoos as they are a huge part of my life, including new tattoos, interviews and conventions, but I will be posting a lot more lifestyle, fashion and beauty posts, and eventually some family orientated posts too. Think Love Taza, with a tattoo twist (I'm kind of in love with this family)!

LIFESTYLE: Holiday fun in Bodrum, Turkey

As you will likely know I spent the first week of June in Gumbet, a town in the area of Bodrum in the South West of Turkey.

So many people had reservations about myself and my friend visiting Turkey, especially with the current conflict and problems in Syria - which borders Turkey.

However, I have to say, despite the warnings from ill-informed friends, Bodrum felt like one of the safest and nicest places I've ever been to.

We stayed at the brilliant Greenhouse Apart Hotel in Gumbet, and I would 100% go back in a heartbeat. The staff make you feel like family, and the guests all connect and hang out together like old friends, which you don't often get in abroad holidays.

LIFESTYLE: May in review

So I've been on a bit of a blogging break the last few weeks. I used up all my scheduled posts and kind of left my blog alone while I sorted my life out and had a well earned break.

So my month in review is a little late, OK, quite a lot late, and not particularly full as its been a busy but unsocial month! Writing into the first week of June is also proving just how fast a month can go buy.

LIFESTYLE: 12 recent instagram likes

I'm  a huge instagram lover. I can easily spend hours searching for new pictures and stalking someone's profile (note: never like an image from 46 weeks ago... you give the game away!)

In honour of my love I thought I would share my 12 most recent like on instagram.

Starting from the bottom  to the most recent.

TATTOOS: Why price isn't everything

It can be a bit of a touchy subject in  almost any situation... the question of cost.

And it is especially true when discussing tattoos.

No one wants to be ripped off, especially for something that you are going to have to live with for the rest of your life. And it is so easy to get bogged down by the price of everything in today's society.
But with tattoos, price should not be the determiner.

The saying goes

"Good tattoos aren't cheap and cheap tattoos aren't good"

And to a certain extent this is very true.

Many badly designed or created tattoos are from people or 'scratchers' who have had no training, and bought a tattoo machine from the internet and are 'working' from their kitchen. In this instance, you really are paying for what you get. It will be cheap because the 'work' is likely to be substandard and potentially risky.