Bath blogging

I’ve been living in my flat since the beginning of September. In that time I’ve had one shower. Partly it’s because the shower is rubbish, but mainly it’s because I love baths. Bubble baths. I can’t see the point of a bath without bubbles. Really, why bother?

The bath is my first point of comfort if feeling stressed, upset, under the weather or just need a general relaxing. I’m a teacher, and, much as I love my job, some days are hard. Almost every evening I bring some school work home, whether it be marking, planning, making, cutting etc. If I’m watching tv and sitting on the sofa not doing the work I feel guilty, whereas in the bath I can relax. The risk of dropping books in the bath would be too great to do any marking in here. So I read, doze, or play on my phone.

It was in the bath a few weeks ago that I decided to start blogging, having been idly browsing twitter and reading blogs. It’s where I am now!

Tonight my bubble bath of choice is a Lush one, Yuzo and cocoa. It smells divine, somehow more appropriate for this time of year than my absolute favourite, creamy candy bubble bar. That has a sweet, almost sickly, but slightly intoxicating scent of candy and candy floss that I love. A bar of it will last you a good few baths and leaves the whole room smelling beautiful for hours. A fresh slice of it need not even be opened to begin scenting your room. If you haven’t tried it I heartily recommend the Lush bubble bar range. https://www.lush.co.uk/category/253

Imposing a spending ban (on myself)

After serious consideration and soul searching, I am imposing a spending ban. On myself. This might seem a little harsh, what have I done to deserve such treatment? I fritter. That’s what I do. I fritter money away on stuff I don’t need.

I know I’m nowhere near as bad as some people, most of the things I buy are from eBay or charity shops, so surely I’m saving myself money?? I read a post on a thiftymrs.com (http://www.athriftymrs.com/2013/11/why-shopping-in-charity-shops-wont-save.html?m=1) a few weeks ago and it really struck a chord. As someone who is hoping to buy a house next year, I manage to waste an awful lot in charity shops. Most Saturdays I will venture along our local high street and do my usual tour. Most Saturdays I will come back with something. It might only be a book, or a jumper, but that could still be £4 or £5 I didn’t NEED to spend.

Therefore from December 1st, until my birthday, I am allowed to buy nothing for myself or the flat that is not essential. That means no new clothes (my wardrobe is bursting at the seams) no jewellery, no magazines etc.

I was partly inspired by this blog – http://mymakedoandmendyear.wordpress.com but decided a year was a step too far. Let’s try a few months first and see how I go. Reckon I can manage it? I’ll keep you updated!

Organising your drawers

I remember when I was at uni, many moons ago, lots or people gave me advice. Some of it I listened to, some of it I didn’t, but should have and some of it I’ve forgotten all together. However, one piece of advice I’ve stuck to since was about organising your clothes. It all started because I was living in a shoebox of a room in halls. I complained to a friend that I didn’t have enough room for my clothes (even back then I had a lot)  and she gave me this advice that I have been using ever since.

If you have a drawer of say T-shirts or knitwear, they can sometimes be hard to find the item you want, especially when you’re in a hurry. If you fold the item in half lengthways and fold the arms over, then fold it over again, the same way, you end up with a more compact, but slightly thicker item than if you were folding to put them on a shelf. You can then stand them up in a drawer, and see at a glance which colour etc you want. 

I find this really handy with long sleeved tops, of which I have a lot. They make up an extra layer of my winter wardrobe. I don’t wear trousers a lot, I tend to live in dresses and skirts. Therefore my winter wardrobe is my summer wardrobe with a long sleeve top and leggings underneath, and boots instead of flip flops. 

My wardrobe is also very organised, with all skirts together, then dresses, then tops. The couple of pairs of trousers I do own are on a shelf as they don’t need an area of their own. Knitwear has another shelf.

Have you got any tips for organising clothes? Please let me know, I would love to hear them.

 

Dreams of Dubrovnik

Back in April we went to Dubrovnik. Sunny, beautiful Dubrovnik. If you haven’t been, I can highly recommend it. You can do it in a weekend, or spend a few days there exploring and relaxing.

We stayed about a 15 minute walk out of the town, and had a stunning room overlooking the sea at the Rixos Libertas hotel. As it was our anniversary while we were there, we paid extra for the nice room with balcony, but the shape of the hotel, built into the cliff means that all room would have a sea view like this.

The old town is a beautiful, walled town with lots of interesting little alleyways and streets to explore. Several people had recommended a bar called ‘Buza’ that is built on the rocks outside the town walls. You just have to follow the signs for ‘Ice cold drinks’ It is an outdoor bar, with very basic facilities, but they serve cold beers and have seats for watching the sunset. Definitely worth a trip there in the evening.

It was also my birthday while we were there, and I had been told about a tiny vegetarian/Vegan restaurant called Nishta. It was amazing! I’m dairy intolerant and veggie, so eating out is sometimes a nightmare, especially abroad, so it was wonderful to go to a restaurant where I could choose anything on the menu. Some of their dishes do contain cheese, but it states it clearly on the menu, and several can be made Vegan on request. Even my husband, a dedicated meat eater found food to enjoy. It was so good we actually went back a second time. During peak periods I would recommend booking, as it is tiny inside. I would also recommend the local Blackberry wine. Delicious.

A trip to Dubrovnik wouldn’t be complete without walking the city walls. You really do get the best view of the layout of the city from up here, although if you are not good with steps, you might need to pass on it.

Have you been to Dubrovnik? Would you recommend it?

Sunday strolls

Although we are only about 30 miles from London, a lot of Hertfordshire is given over to countryside. It is quite a green place to live. Our old flat might have been small and needed a lot doing to it, but it had amazing views over the Meads, between Hertford and Ware.

Our new place is great, we love it, but it doesn’t have the view, the windows are much smaller, and sometimes it can be a little dark. We are however only a short walk from the River Lee, so we try and have a walk along the river if the weather is good at the weekends.

It really is beautiful, and so peaceful in places. I love the colours of Autumn, but I’m also keen to explore the river footpaths throughout the year.

  

Do you enjoy weekend walks? Where are your favourites?

Half term part deux

Yes, I know this is a little late, but, as they say ‘better late than never.’

On Thursday of half term my mum came down for a visit. I went to meet her from the station, as she refuses to drive on the motorway any more. We took her bag back to the flat and then went to explore the High Street, and especially its many charity shops. We both love a good rummage, I get my love of bargains (or tat as my husband calls it) from both her and my maternal grandmother.

I found a couple of books for school, but nothing of note, and we headed back to the flat to chill out. On Friday we headed to St. Albans. It is a lovely town, fab shopping and lots of pretty buildings to look at.

Every shop we went in we got excellent customer service, starting with White Stuff, where, despite promising to be good, I bought a dress, skirt and top (all in the sale of course.) I just love the humour and fun element of their clothes.

We then went to another of my favourite stores, Cath Kidston.  I love the boldness of their prints, and had always lusted after their dresses, wishing in equal parts that they went up to an 18, and being glad that they didn’t. However, one of their fabulous sales assistants encouraged me to try a couple on in a 16, as, in her opinion, they were quite generous. Both of them fitted me! Still determined to be good, I put them back on the rails, but my mother insisted on buying one for me, who was I to argue?

We wandered round some more, before going into yet another of my favourites, Lush. The staff in here were beyond helpful and informative, advising on products readily. They really are a credit to the company. After a quick look around the outside of the Cathedral, we headed back to the car as there was one other place I wanted to show my mother.

The Fleetville Vintage Emporium is a treasure trove of vintage stuff, from clothes to books to china to furniture. It is an amazing place. Situated on the Hatfield Road, near the Morrisons, it is a warren of individual stalls all under one roof. If you’re in the area and like vintage, I can’t recommend it enough. Allow yourself at least an hour to explore it thoroughly, if not two. There is a cafe and toilets if you need a break mid way! Don’t forget to venture behind the Emporium to the big warehouse at the back if it is furniture you are after. They often have bigger pieces here. There is also another little vintage place back here.

Saturday was spent wandering Ware and Hertford, followed by the cinema with the in-laws. We went to see Thor:The dark World and it didn’t disappoint. The husband is a massive nerd, and he has got me into the Marvel films in recent years, however my mother hadn’t seen any of them, so we prepared her by watching Thor and Avengers Assemble on previous evenings. She seemed to enjoy it, it had been years since she went to ‘The Flicks!’

On Sunday we explored some of the secrets of Ware, and showed her the famous gazebos, before she got the train home.  All in all a busy week. It’s certainly a benefit of being a teacher, having time off to spend with family.

Photos courtesy of my mother, for some reason I didn’t take any!

I’ve been slacking

When I started this blog back in October, I planned to try and blog a couple of times a week. Then when I read about #BEDN I decided I’d try that to have a good range of posts before launching my blog. I’ve managed neither! I don’t know how people manage to blog every day! From now on I will make a more concerted effort to get at least one blog post out every week!

Tatty Devine really do rock!

I have a bit of thing for Tatty Devine. It’s been going on for years. The first piece of theirs I bought was the ‘girl on a swing’ necklace about 8 years ago from a little store in The Lanes in Brighton. Unfortunately I sold that necklace a few years later when I was doing my teacher training and was very poor. It was a tough decision, it was that, or not eat.

However, over the last few years, I have been amassing my collection. Most Christmas or birthdays at least one of the my presents will be from there. (This coming festive season I know I have 3 new necklaces and I’m very excited about this fact!)

In fact, such is my love affair with them, that 3 years ago, when my now husband proposed, he did it with a Tatty Devine heart shaped ring. He knows how particular I am with my jewellery and didn’t want to risk buying me a ‘proper’ engagement ring without my input. I’ve since seen people on Twitter and Facebook have proposed with one of their name necklaces or speech bubbles, which are also fab ideas.

It was a wonderful touch, showing how well he knows me, and we continued the theme into the wedding itself, with my mother, mother-in-law and 2 bridesmaids all having name necklaces made for the big day to tie in with our colour theme. Once we’d said our vows I also added a necklace in my new married name before the photos.

So, when I saw on Twitter a few weeks ago that they were doing a special Twitter comp for their super fans, I decided I fitted the bill and tweeted them about my engagement and wedding story, not really expecting to win anything. Imagine my surprise today when I got an email, saying I’d been chosen as one of only 25 ‘superfans’ to win a prize.

I am super excited by this and can’t wait to see what I get. Whatever it is, I am sure I will love it. I’ll blog about the contents of my mystery package.

Are you a fan? Go to http://www.tattydevine.com and you’re bound to find something you love. Their pieces are fun, quirky and made in Britain. They are a small, independent business with (I’ve always found) excellent customer service, both online and instores.

Half term

It’s been a busy week! We have been inundated with visiting family and it’s been lovely.

Until quite recently we lived in a one bedroom flat. It was fine on a day to day basis. There’s just the two of us so we didn’t really need extra space. However it did limit us when we had guests. My mum lives a couple of hours away in the Midlands, and she would have to sleep on the sofa when she came to visit. She claimed not to mind, but at nearly 60, (not that she’d admit it to anyone) it didn’t seem a fair thing to ask. We therefore used to go to her more often than not. I also have a cousin I’m very close to who lives in rural Gloucestershire. She has a lovely big barn conversion that has ample space for everybody (we call it our holiday home, such is the frequency of our visits.) having a husband and a young child meant it was impossible for us to put them all up.

However since our house move we have a large spare bedroom and I have been eagerly awaiting our first house guests. J, M and their daughter K came down last Saturday evening and stayed until Tuesday. It was wonderful to welcome our first guests and explore the local area with them. Unfortunately the St. Jude storm scuppered our plans for the Sunday and we had to settle for a short stroll round town and a play in the priory gardens and park before the rain started. We then retreated to the warmth of our new flat and a typical winter meal of jacket potatoes and locally made sausages.

On Monday we ventured a little further afield and walked along the river to Hertford. We had to navigate a few fallen trees from the night before, and hide under a bridge from a rain storm, but it was great to get out into the fresh, post storm air.

I’ll blog about the second half of the week tomorrow!

Jammy so and so.

I’m a big fan of the homemade gift. It says so much more than an ill thought through shop bought item. Especially when you don’t know the person that well. As a Primary school teacher we often have parents in to help with reading etc. Every Christmas I struggle with what to give them as a thank you. Do they like chocolates? (As someone who is dairy free I know how frustrating it can be to be given something you can’t enjoy.) Are they tee total? Do they prefer scented or non scented candles? The dilemmas continue.

Now, I can hear you thinking ‘it’s the thought that counts.’ But let’s be honest, we’ve all been given a bit of tat as a well meaning present that has gone off to the charity shop before the tinsel has even come down. What a waste of money! So this year I’ve decided to go for the homemade option!

A couple of weekends ago I spent a very pleasant Sunday in the kitchen. Having recently found a 1970s M&S jams and preserves book in a charity shop (another favourite of mine!) I decided to attempt carrot and orange marmalade and mincemeat. After several hours of slicing, mixing, boiling, stirring and wondering whether the bloody marmalade would ever reach setting point, I ended up with 15 jars of marmalade and 2 huge mixing bowls  of mincemeat. I think a jar of each will make lovely presents.

And if they don’t like it? It’s the thought that counts.