My year of more and less: month seven

I'm starting to realise a major benefit of not shopping this year. I no longer have to try and find space for new purchases. No more trying to squeeze one more item in the cupboard. I'm also become much better at just going with what I have. I needed a new phone case and rather than buy a new one I just grabbed a pink fluffy one (purchased by my mum but never used) out of the car boot sale box. Ok it's not totally my style, but it does the job and is easy to find in my bag.

July goals

My July goals were to give blood, clear 5 items from my 40 for 40 list, and get in with my letter writing ebooks. How did I do?

• I looked into giving blood, and got lots of useful advice from friends about bring nervous. I can't give blood at present because I have some lingering cold sores, and the blood.co.uk, which had lots of useful information indicates I have to wait until these have sorted themselves out. I'm hopeful I might make an end of September donation session, and what better excuse in the meantime to take better care of myself than I have been.
• I've did a couple of items on my 40 for 40 list but am feeling less rushed about the whole thing. I don't currently have 40 items on it, and if it takes me until I'm 49 to do them all so be it. The important thing is to keep doing new things and not to be put off by fear of the unknown.
• I've decided on the sections/chapters for my ebook, and written notes for what the content in each section will be. I just need to start doing the actual writing.

My three day rotation through my goals wasn't as effective as I hoped. I'm not certain if this is because it just doesn't work for me, or if being overwhelmed by all the other stuff in my life interfere with things.

 

August goals

I was away for a few days at the end of August and failed to do my usual big picture, and mini goals planning for the month. I intended to do it on my return and was struggling to come up with some not too exhausting sounding goals. I was pretty horrified when I opened my planner to discover that at some previous point I'd written in some energetic goals and decided on effort for my word of the month.

 

Happily I usually write in pencil so I took an eraser to my words, and replaced them with:

• Sleep more
• Read more
• Clear niggling tasks

My word of the month is no.

 

I think a month of rest (relatively speaking) will do my lots of good and allow me to get on with new exciting things in future months.

 

Wishing you green ink and good food,

Annastasia

 

 

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My year of more and less: month six

So June was busy, and included among its highlights a very sunny car boot sale, a reception at the Japanese embassy, and plenty of time spent in parks. I resisted the urge to buy any clothes of shoes so I think I can consider month six of my project/experiment/exploration a success.

I am actually horrified by the size of my summer wardrobe. I really only need a third of the clothes I have. That said I do wear most of them, just over a few years rather than a few days or weeks. So maybe I should be continuing with my ‘no purchases’ experiment into 2016.

My June goals were:

• Keep a sugar diary
  
• Upcycle my raincoat
  
• Do a Real Wild biography

Progress in June

Keep a sugar diary – I keep reading things online and getting in flap about my sugar intake. I’m fairly certain that it’s ok; my diet is pretty clean. However there seemed to be all kinds of things to take into account, and I wasn’t sure about fructose, glucose, and sucrose. So I did some reading up around the subject, noted down what I ate every day, and then analysed the sugar content. As it turned out my diet is largely clean, and when I do reach for sugar it’s with open eyes.

Upcycle my raincoat – take one stained and torn raincoat that I can’t bear to part with. I decided to dye, purchased and applied dye, and came up with a design to cover the rips. I just need to do a few minutes of sewing and it’ll be done.

Do a real wild bio – I enjoyed Do What You Love’s New Year Revolution pack so much that I thought I’d give their Real Wild Bio a go. Despite breaking it down by section I found it quite difficult to get cracking on it. However when I did it took much less time than I expected, and I was quite pleased to be able to see some themes that run across my life.

July goals

I’m taking a slightly different approach to my goals this month. I’m working through each of them on a three day rotation. That means if circumstances mean I miss doing a task I can pick it up on the next day assigned to this goal. I’m hoping this will make me feel less stressed, and give me more flexibility.

• Plan and write a draft of an ebook on letter writing
  
• Give blood – I’m terrified of needles so this should help me get over that, and behave in a socially responsible manner.
  
• Work on 5 forty for 40 goals- I’m starting this by picking 5 things to work on.

I’m anticipating July will be another busy month with burlesque, allotmenting, vegan meetups, BBQs, and books.

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My year of less and more: month five

I’ve now completed 5 months without purchasing clothes, shoes, or accessories. It feels so normal that I’m wondering if I might do a second year. How long would it take me to use up everything in my wardrobe? Would I find myself wearing a bizarre collection of items?

My New Year Revolution targets for May were:

• Create a list of places to visit in Essex
• Make a button collar
• Come up with some ideas about developing Not the vegan police

I managed the list of places in Essex with no problems. I finished it ahead of schedule. However progress on the other two was shockingly bad. I found it hard to find the time to sit down and sew. I considered this fair enough as I would need to meet various criteria to carry out this task (i.e. be at home, daylight, capable of stitching).

It does occur to me that if I’d taken 10 minutes to select the buttons I wanted to use this would have been a portable project. Likewise there is no excuse for not even starting to brainstorm ideas around Not the Vegan police. Getting started does seem to be the issue here. With future targets I will tell myself to do 2 minutes just to get started and hope this gets the ball rolling.

June targets are:

• Keep a sugar diary – just to see if I am indulging too much
• Write a real wild biography
• Upcycle a raincoat

Let’s see how the 2 minute rule works with these. I can also apply it to my Forty for 40 project which seems to have slowed down. My only progress has been to read a book on wild swimming.

 

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My year of less and more: month 4

Home made elephant costumes

I've now managed four months without purchasing new clothes, shoes or accessories. Last week was a bit of a struggle as I put together various costumes for Spring Fling. However as I was unable to buy clothes I had to make do with what I had or what I could borrow. As a result I had no purchases that I would wear only once, no panicked searches through the shops, and the chance to get innovative. I learnt how to make a beard from a ball of yarn; a skill I'm sure I'll find further use for.

Targets wise things went better in March then April, mainly because my goals got a bit woolly. So I completed March's tasks of garden clearance, creating a classics reading list, and organising a vegan meet up. While I did things in April the results weren't so clear cut.

My progress was as follows:

• Clear my sewing pile - it's smaller than it was. Three are still a number of items that need work, and a few are going to form monthly goals of their own.
• Learn about Triads - I now know what these are. A good opportunity to temping myself of the basics of the murky world of musical theory. Should a huge help next time I'm reading Bass a guitar magazine.
• Clear junk out at a car boot sale - I've set dates to do boot sales. I've made a huge pile of stuff to sell. I just need to. Ring the two together.

My 'challenges' for May are:

• Make a button collar necklace
• Make a plan for my sites Not The Vegan Police, and The Vegan Sandwich
• Create a list of places to visit in Essex

As the outcomes for these are more clear cut it should easier to know if I've done them.

 

I also need to up my game on 40 for forty.

Things that are the various of my list are:

• Making crumpets - crumpet rings have been purchased
• Read a book on wild swimming
• Find out what the a Shipping Forecast is all about
• Look up vegan food swaps

So another busy month beckons bringing an emptier house, a better used wardrobe, and an engaged brain.

 

Wishing you green ink and good food,

Annastasia

 

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My year of less and more: month 2

I’ve now completed my second month with no purchases of clothes, shoes, or accessories. It’s not been difficult. However I have noted the following:

• It seems odd when I do walk through a shop selling clothes – as if I’d forgotten such things existed.
• Sales still catch my eye – I had to remind myself that I had no need of more shoes when I spotted a shop with a closing down sale.
• I’m finding more satisfaction in wearing the stuff I do have.

I’ve been setting myself 3 goals each month using the New Year Revolution planner. My goals for March are:

• Organise a vegan meet up in Chelmsford - all welcome
• Create a classics reading list for myself - suggestions welcome
• Sort out the garden - good weather welcome

 

I’m rather nervous about the vegan meet up, and know that I need to take action on this sooner rather than later. Hence I’ve made my other goals easy to ensure that I have no excuse for not doing it.

Last month I got organised with forty for 40, and assigned a few tasks for each month. So during March I’ll be looking at:

• Making crumpets – need to buy cook’s rings
• Planning a visit to Veganz in Berlin
• Making a green cape
• Organising a boudoir photo shoot with Carla and my bass

 

Wishing you all things green,

Annastasia

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What's in my lunch box this week? In a hurry

I had a rather extended weekend in Somerset clearing out sheds and cupboards. I arrived home on late on Sunday afternoon via a burlesque class with a carful of 'things'. As I unpacked I happily patted myself on the back for having thought in advance about dinner. I was delighted with my menu planning abilities as I scrubbed up some new potatoes, and popped some vegan sausages in the oven. My self satisfaction lasted right until the moment I cooked the peas. That's when the penny dropped and I realised that things were looking a little short in the Monday lunch department.

Clearly leftover sausage and mash (and let's be frank on this leftovers were unlikely – I was rather nibblesome) wasn't going to cut it. So I did a quick fridge and freezer raid. Rescued a rather shrivelled green pepper. Thanked the gods of kitchens that I had frozen some chickpeas and pitta breads. Uncovered a bag of allotment picked rocket. As the oven was already on lunch was created.

Clockwise from top left:

• Mix of dates, twiglets, dark chocolate and almonds
• Dead to the world - Charlaine Harris
• Pittas filled with rocket, roasted chickpeas, and roasted green pepper.

Moral of this story? Don't get smug. Always plan ahead.

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2013 Mid year review

At the start of the year I made a list of things I wanted to do in 2013. I reviewed them recently and my performance has been mixed!

Definitely making progress

• Start a burlesque troupe and perform with them - a definite 'yes' following the formation of the Paper Dolls and The Fling festival.
• Develop different income streams - I've certainly put plenty of energy into this area! In addition to Ink Drops Boxes the stationery subscription service I run with Carla of Ducking Fabulous, I've also been experimenting with Etsy, Ebay, Flea markets, and am working on a car boot sale and the green shop.
• Engage with people more - I've met loads of interesting people this year and said yes to far more opportunities to connect.

Could try harder

• Explore geocaching - lost my vibe on this after several fails at finding my 2nd cache.
• Make pasties, knickers and garters - made paper pasties in April, but bit of a fail on the rest
• Spend less time doing unnecessary things - there still aren't enough hours in the day.

Things to read

• The Woman in white
• To kill a mocking bird
• Treasure Island
• Pride and prejudice
• something by Ford Maddox Ford read The good soldier in April
• Anna Karenina

So looking at what I need to do for the rest of the year it's go geocaching, make some stuff, read plenty, and do less!

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The handbag 5:2 - make up

My initial plans for the 5:2 handbag project were to go absolutely minimal 2 days each week. So I'd pretty much be carrying keys, purse, phone, glasses and handkerchief.

However the thought of continuing to cart so much junk for the other 5 days became massively unappealing. So I'm going through what I carry and seeing what I can leave at home.

My make up bag is pictured above. Theoretically it's with me so I can touch up my make during the day. The reality is I never bother and only use it on days were I have a burlesque class after work, or am travelling to work by bus.

I have no idea why I need to carry 4 lip colours with me. And the Dallas compact in the middle of the picture is shameful. Yes it looks nice and compact. But look at what's actually inside it...

So all that for 2 eye shadows!

My newly slimmed make up bag is a lot less weighty. I can actually do the zip on the pouch up. The eye shadows have been renamed in a smaller container.

The most interesting thing though is that I keep failing to put it in my handbag, and so far I haven't really missed it.

 

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The 5:2 handbag challenge

My handbag has tendency to feel uncomfortably heavy. I seem to feel the need to carry ridiculous amounts of stuff around with me 'just in case'. Being prepared for every situation is never really going to be goer. There's no way I can be prepared for every scenario. And more to the point I'm perfectly capable of improvising. For example, in a hemline emergency a well placed staple is as good as a needle and thread.

Carrying a smaller bag doesn't help. I just overload the first bag, and add a secondary bag or two.

So I intend to try and wean myself off this habit. Inspired by the Guardian's recent application of the 5:2 diet for everything I'm going to use a simplified version on my handbag.

• Two days a week I will carry the bare minimum.
• I will go through subsections of my handbag such as my purse and make up bag with a view to ensuring these have the minimum.

In my head, I'm imagining a spring in my step to reflect the lighter load, and a Zen-like clarity in my head.

 

Wishing you green ink, and rather good food,

 

Annastasia

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Sleep buddy

Life is wonderful when it’s absolutely packed full of exciting and enjoyable things to do. As a result one tends to get to one’s bed a little later in order to do more stuff. Which results I less sleep. Now sleep is definitely enjoyable and a lack of it makes the aforementioned exciting and enjoyable things less so.

I like to get up very early (because I obviously need to get on with my exciting life) so I need to go to bed suitably early. However this is becoming less and less the case. It’s resulting in very dull conversation from me as I natter on about how I’m tired, and have a lot on and need more sleep.

So in order to take action on this situation Carla of Ducking Fabulous and I decided that we would operate a sleep buddy system for a week.

I hasten to add that this did not involve us sharing sleeping quarters in any way, or even being in the same location. Instead we used the marvel that is the mobile telephone to send text messages from 9pm entreating the other to begin making preparations for bed.

The great thing about this is that it makes you head in the direction of that wooden hill. You don’t want to have to confess that you haven’t gotten anywhere near your nightcap of hot chocolate/camomile tea/whisky, but are instead pinning images of vegan lasagne. You want to be able to honestly say you are in your PJs and preparing to count sheep.

It’s definitely a move towards more sleep and fewer late nights. Now if I can just find a way to make all the other things in life manageable then there are truly glorious times ahead.

Wishing you green ink and good food,

Annastasia

 

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I am not just a bag lady

Alas the shocking truth is that I am a two bag lady. Or two bag woman? Or two bag female? Or two bag person? Anyway I digress.

I've always liked the thought of carrying as little as possible. Carrying only the absolute necessities with me which probably boils down to ensuring I'm wearing clothes, and maybe have a door key on some ribbon around my neck. However I also like the thought of being prepared for every eventuality and carrying things I will need with me. After all when you leave the house in the morning you just don't know where you will end up or what you might need. So in my head I'm some kind of minimalist who can't wait to get carried away on an exciting adventure - with accessories.

As a result I always end up with at least two bags. I can't seem to find any way around it. Obviously I need to carry the 'necessities' like purse, phone, handkerchief and keys. But then I also need glasses, sunglasses, make up, lip balm, small mirror (for when I don't want to get my big make up bag out), pencil case, spare cotton bags for purchases, nail varnish (two shades), headphones, sequinned beret, gauntlets, Japanese hand towel, mug cosy, day book for notes and to do lists, Sudoku puzzles, plectrums, journal and fountain pen, reading material, bottle of water, nail file and a small hip flask.

And naturally of these have proved to be, oh so, useful when I'm faced with an unexpected situation like my only sister getting hitched.

The above is just the current list. At other times I've also carried a tin of green tea, corkscrew, fruit knife, nuts and dried fruit, peanut butter, tights, leggings, socks, writing case, bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 (various flavours), huge aerosol of saline solution, flip flops, calculator, perfume, filofax, sewing projects in progress, work related badges and data sticks (in their own clutch bag), power leads, vitamins, a selection of remedies and balms, various magazines and journals, crossword books, vegan margarine, hand cream, plastic mug, and chopsticks in woven case.

It's no wonder that I never participate in those 'what's in my bag' type posts. However if the handbag and its contents do reflect the person (and the life) carrying it then I think mine is spot on. I always have lots of diverse different things going on in my life all crowding in on each other. If I just carried a few items maybe it would just mean that my life had become slow, un-crowded and quite possibly dull.

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You can't rock'n'roll on toast

I knew that I would be pushed for time in this week. The band I am in is playing our first gig on Saturday night. As a result we feel the need to practice every evening. It's usually a bit of rush trying to eat before practice two nights a week. I usually try to prepare double amounts on other nights to ensure that I'm not playing on a dinner of toast.

Bearing this in mind I decided that it was time to try this batch cooking thing I'd read about. My only attempt at this kind of thing previously has been freezing cooked beans and pulses, or tucking large amounts of leftovers away for another day.

This time round still wasn't quite on the grand scale that some people manage (preparing a month of food in one go) but seemed to be a starting point.

So on Sunday afternoon I spent 90 minutes preparing the following:

· Mushroom and sun dried tomato risotto (from Vegan with a vengeance)

· Potato and asparagus soup (from Vegan with a vengeance)

· Chilli (made it up as I went along)

It was certainly less work, preparation and washing up to prepare everything at the same time. I chopped the onions, leeks and garlic for all recipes in one go. I could see how much of everything I had and assign it accordingly (rather than having to find time to go out and buy extra onions mid- week). The endless stirring that risotto requires took place in-between working on the other dishes.

I've found it rather nice this week not to have to think about dinner. I simply arrive home and heat up a bowl of whichever one I fancy. All three lend themselves well to 'pimping' so I've been adding toppings in the form of rocket, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, and fresh herbs.

There is risotto in there somewhere

However I think it has made me realise how much I enjoy cooking and appreciate the opportunity to get creative on a daily basis. I fell asleep last night wondering how the risotto would shape up as risotto balls. Very well I'm sure (although I'll have to wait until Thursday night to give this a go). But it does miss the point of saving me time. Yes, it's quicker than cooking risotto from scratch. However it's not as speedy as toast and Marmite.

So while I've can appreciate batch cooking as something in the freezer to draw on I think most nights will still see me slaving over a hot stove, or toaster.

 

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Forty for 40

My 40th birthday is well over a year away. But it's close enough. I only realised just how close it was talking about potential birthday celebrations for a friend who I suddenly realised was the same age as me.

I know that reaching this age is considered to be the end of youth. As a child 40 seemed very old. I thought that by I'd have my life all sorted out and that I'd have somehow overcome my lack of interest in marriage and children. That I'd wake up at 40 to find I was a mother, a wife and all settled.

However my interests over the years seem to have gone off in all kinds of other directions. Rather pleasing I seem to have turned into an eccentric aunt with lots of exciting things going on in her life.

Setting goals for Club 20 (see www.changeyourlifein20weeks.wordpress.com) has made me think about what I could do between now and then. Small things I never seem to find a couple of hours to try. Larger things that would require planning but be fun to do. So I'm drawing up a forty for 40 list. Lots of the things on it I would have done anyway. However I like the thought of being able to look back from the heady heights of 40 and admiring the richness of my life.

And then start on fifty for 50. After all wonderful things can happen in a year or so. Imagine what one could do with a decade!

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Welcome to Club20

 

Think back to late November. What were you doing? What did you have planned? You might have been thinking about everything you wanted to get done before Christmas. Or have been aiming to catch up with stuff by the start of 2013.

Now think forward to the start of September. What do you want to have achieved by then? Where do you want to be? What changes do you want to make?

Along with a number of others I’m taking part in Club20. Club20 is about deciding what you’d like to change in the next 20 weeks and then making it happen. Some of us are blogging about our progress over at changeyourlifein20weeks and it’s rather inspiring to see what other people are achieving bit by bit.

Why not join in? Simply pick three goals and work at them over the next 20 weeks. Look at your progress on a weekly basis and set actions to carry out in the coming week.

I’m going to be working on:

1. Decluttering, preferably for cash

2. Knitting a pair of socks

3. Making tofu

I’ll be reporting on my progress and explaining a little more about why I’ve chosen those goals here and on the Club20 blog. I’m hoping to be able to post a photo of an empty space with a block of tofu, some socks and a cash bag in the middle.

 

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This week I plan to...

 

I've really been looking forward to this weekend. Now it's arrived and the sunshine is shining it's even better. So what have I got planned? I've tired not to overload myself with tasks but I do want to do the following:

• Work through the Free Range Humans book - I pre-ordered and it's been sitting on my shelf since January
• Write a blog post about Barcelona - I failed to do this for Rome last year and really want to share my vegan experiences in Barcelona even if it's brief
• Work on my allotment - I've bought seeds and dug my plot so if it doesn't snow I'm good to go
• Work on a website and a couple of other things - these are on my 'guilt' list
• Choreograph, or at least start to, a couple of burlesque routines
• Chill out with a book

 

 

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Could try harder

I feel a tad unprepared for Christmas.

I should by Christmas Eve have cleaned and decorated the house, purchased piles of gifts and mountains of food, and be swanning around the house elegantly attired and humming suitable music.

My decorations have been on the minimal side

A beautiful black and green ribbon wreath made by the lovely Mrs J.

A few ornaments donated by Carla adorning a dried out branch of Bay.

I've managed a bit of food prep, namely croissants, sausages, macadamia cream, and mince pie.

I've also managed to hack a load of ice out of the freezer (doubling available storage!), have been enjoying seasonal soaps from Lush and have purchased, wrapped and delivered all the gifts I was required to.

And I spent Saturday night getting into the festive spirit with Helles Belles and watching their seasonal burlesque show which featured a lot of glitter and sauciness. Highlights were balloons assisting in bra removal, the audience being showered with fake snow (which then looked like dandruff) , and an enormous powderpuff.

Post show

And I breakfasted on sparkly Marmite on Sunday

So maybe I'm not as poorly prepared as I thought. Time to get on with celebrating then.

 

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The art of a well planned life

I've always been a bit uncertain about long term planning. While I love the idea of having a five year I know it's simply not for me. For starters I have trouble actually thinking where I want to be at that distance point. I have a terrible feeling that I'd get to my goal 5 years down the line and realise that I know wanted something else. We live in a dynamic world.

That said making a lifetime to do list has proved to be an interesting experience. Since following the advice in Getting Things Done I've been pleasantly surprised that I done things that I consider to be life experiences (for want of a better phrase) without even trying. I don't know if I've become better at spotting opportunities or just was doing things like this all the time and didn't notice.

However that doesn't mean that I don't like making plans. While I'm a bit more fluid in my approach to the long term, in the shorter term I like to be very clear about what I'm doing.

Over the summer I seemed to lose some of my regular routines. Weekends at picnics, car boot sales and music festivals ate up my organisation time. While part of me is horrified that my life revolves around Monday-to-Friday-9-to-5, I appreciate that it's as good a structure as any other. So I see weekends as a real opportunity to prepare for the week ahead.

And this morning I really reaped the benefits. Routines allow us get the stuff we need done and leave the brain to get on with being creative. So waking up to lunch ready to pack, clean ironed clothes, and not worrying about what on earth to eat for dinner was great.

It takes a very small amount of effort on a regular basis to keep routines ticking over. Little and often (on a great many projects) had better be my phrase for Autumn.

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My weekend - Discovery

A while back I signed up for the Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap. It sounded like fun, a reason to do some textile design and stretch my creative muscles. Having signed up, I made a load of notes, drew a few sketches and then did absolutely nothing about it. Fortunately the organisers are excellent a sending timely reminder emails meaning that with ten days to go I was on the case again. The theme was 'discover' and I planned on including a quotation that would form the central theme of he part.

Alas it took me ages to find a quote that wasn't too long, too obscure or too dull. Then it was time rummage through my jars of trimmings and drawers of fabric to put together the design. Which brings us nicely to Friday night. We had guests but that didn't matter a bit when there was sewing to be done. I wasn't moving from my sewing machine until I got it finished and all ready to post to my swap partner in Florida on Saturday (so tied up with in a bundle with some tea bags). If you want see how other people interpreted the theme have a look at the group on Flickr.

I did manage some time away from my desk and out in the fresh air. It's always a pleasure to go out walking with visitors and show off the surrounding countryside.

I also managed to visit a car boot sale and score lots of great stuff for just over a fiver. Of course, I'm now recalling all the stuff I nearly bought but didn't and kicking myself for not getting it. However I an thrilled with my green hoodie, belt, scarf, fan (a spare for burlesque has got to useful), guitar chord book (learn to play a six string is on my 2012 to do list) and straw bag (I've ripped lining out to wash while I repair the straps).

Sunday afternoon has got to win the prize for most relaxing social event of the year or maybe it just seemed thy way after frantic cooking and food prep! A load of us meet up in a park to picnic, gossip and read the paper. Alas I failed to take any photographs of either the event (nicely organised by Carla of Ducking Fabulous) or the food I made (although some it is bound to end up in my lunch box).

As ever the week ahead is busy (and the festivals are getting closer) but I've be making progress with some projects. I opened my Etsy shop today and tomorrow night I have a meeting to discuss plans for an exciting new venture.

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My weekend - it began with ironing

 

I never iron if I can help it do kicking off a Friday night with several hours of ironing surely indicates a weekend that's going to be a bit busy and not quite the usual round of activities.

Saturday I headed into London for a day of things with a Japanese slant.

It's amazing how many exhibitions with a Japanese angle there are in London. Kokoro at Somerset House was amazing. The pieces had been displayed with care and the simple rooms with pale walls and wooden floors allowed them to speak for themselves.

It's years since I've been to Spitalfields market and my has it smartened itself up.

I was dropping by for the Okinawa Day. It was great to enjoy some music and browse the stalls. I picked up some deep fried tofu and soy bean pulp. I've never cooked this before and suggestions were that used it for falafels or microwaved and served with spring onions. I combined with onions, garlic powder and chilli and gave it a bit of a fry before serving. Not bad at all.

I did wander round the vintage market but tried not to look too closely at anything. My wardrobe as ever is stuffed and if I am going to buy new stuff some of the less worn items will have to go first.

Sunday I had to be up early (despite a midnight visit from locked out neighbours to borrow a ladder). A few weeks back I agreed to my first handmade and vintage stand with Carla from Ducking Fabulous at the Maldon motor show. It was a desire to sell some of my hand crafted items that lead to all that ironing on Friday night. As this was the first one I'd done I saw it very much as a fact finding experience.

 

As it turned out I had an amazing day. Even part of the stand collapsing under a potential customer, gusty wind blowing everything off the stand and a rain storm couldn't put a negative spin on things. If fact I was enjoying running our stall so much I didn't really manage to look round (except for ending up in the wrong field on my one excursion).

I was delighted to sell a few bits (my covered notebooks were poplar) and be called 'a clever old stick' by a customer. I came away feeling inspired, planning to open an Etsy shop, and with lots of ideas. Carla and I have agreed we must share a stall again soon (assuming we can find a free weekend).

So end result of my weekend was a head buzzing with ideas and a seriously early night.

 

 

 

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