Month In Review

Month In Review
Highlights
  • Friends. This month I got to have a girls weekend with some of my absolute favourite people. We played board games, tried out new hairstyles and shared a few bottles of wine.
  • Sewing. I've had a sewing machine for a couple of months now, but it is only in the past few weeks I've taken it out and tried to get to grips with it. I've got the most adorable dog print fabric that I can't wait to use. 
  • Success: I usually give up on resolutions after a few weeks, I'm actually really proud of myself that I am managing to keep up with my 365, creating more and buying more conscientiously.
  • Embroidery: my first creative success this year was finishing off an embroidery I started about seven years ago, I'm so glad it is finished and I've already started on another one.  
  • Late Night Talks: There is nothing more refreshing than a late night talking with friends. 
  • Family: This month has made me really appreciate how lucky I am to have people who love and support me, and the happy times we have shared. 

Lowlights
Light weight reading. Cuddles. Coffee machines. Winter Sun. Wellies. Snowballs & snowmen. Watching Once Upon A Time. Free Ebooks. Eating leftover Christmas chocolate. Goodbyes. Harry Potter Fanfiction. Simple pleasures. Memories. 

New (To Me) Blogs
Brighter Sides // Carosello // Dresses on a Clothesline // Her Library Adventures // Princess Corner // Simonas Gata // Miss Teacups // The Icing On My Cupcake // The Littlest Polly // Typical 90's Child // Vegetarian Abroad // Vintage Pie

Looking Forward To
The first touches of Spring and longer days. Valentines Day. A weekend at the beach. A bake sale. A possible visit down south.

What I Wore: Rust Dream

Outfit

More and more frequently I sit down to write blog posts and have absolutely no idea what I want to say;. It used to be that I found the writing part of blogging to be the easiest, I've always found it easier to express my feelings in written form than any other, but it seems that time has ended. I'm not complaining, I have become better at so many things since I started blogging, looking back at my old digital camera photos still makes me cringe, but not being able to write, well it makes me want to bang my head against the keyboard and just post that. I feel like I've been very negative on here over the past week, which I suppose is kind of understandable, it has been a pretty awful week, but I'm going to make the effort not to impose my foul mood on you all any more. Or maybe I'll just have a few wordless posts until I figure out where my head is. 

Until then, I'll just tell you about my outfit. I bought this blouse when I first started blogging, but I've only managed to wear it a handful of times since then. It's a pretty horrible poly blend fabric, but I absolutely love the colours and pattern, and Scottish Winter's are made for layers. I borrowed this (very short and) lovely skirt from one of my friends. She is a lot shorter than me, and I wouldn't dare wear it without several layers of tights, but my this outfit fit in perfectly with my current love of warm colours. They definitely make a grey day seem a little more cheerful. 

Monday Link List: 033

Monday Link List

I am totally crazy about these sheets from Urban Outfitters, pity our dogs would destroy them

This heart journal from CrimsonHollow is absolutely perfect for any writer on Valentines day.

This print by Red Autumn is lovely, I love the mix of fonts.

Shanti's recipe for Raw Peach Pie looks absolutely delicious.

I love Heart Stamped Shoes DIY from Jessa, so cute!

These Eye Test Tights are so fun!

Photographer Recreates His Dreams As Surreal Photographs: These photos are absolutely amazing, and such an interesting look into the photographers mind at the same time.

Snowman's View: This film taken from instead a snowman as tigers at Longleaf Safari Park is kind of beautiful and sad.

A Thank You Letter For The Haters: Jes talks about finding inspiration from her trolls. Such a freaking amazing woman.

Once Upon A Tea Break: Megan talks about the institution that is tea breaks, that fifteen minutes you get to fortify yourself before battling the world again.

What You Should Know About Image Maps: I really want to learn how to do these, at the moment all my image links are individual files but I think it would be much neater to do it this way. Maybe next time I change around my layout...

3 Tips For Conquering Anxiety & Getting Down A First Draft: I really want to start writing fiction again, but nothing I have come up with lately feel quite good enough, this might have given me the push to just get on with it.

My New Year Wish: Neil Gaiman shares his hopes for your new year (old, and slightly behind the times but I love it)

365 Project: Week 4

2013 goals

Day 20: Trying to decide what I am going to read next

Day 21: Trying to find the best angle to captured the snow
Day 22: Dog prints in the snow

Day 23: Lazy Self Portrait
Day 24: So many photos of dogs in snow, this one is a favourite though. Not the best photo, but it makes me smile.

Day 25: This is a bit of a cop out, I didn't take any photos of Friday, instead I'm sharing this one again. It was taken just before Christmas and I'll treasure it always.
Day 26: I'm finding it easier at the moment to keep busy, I found this, unfinished in a box and managed to do it yesterday

Conscientious Consumer: I treated myself to a couple of cross stitch and tapestry kits from charity shops yesterday but other than that I haven't done any unnecessary shopping this week. I also invested in a good quality natural shampoo and conditioner, and my hair has been very thankful.

Create More: I guess I can consider this done for the month, finishing off something long forgotten feels like a great way to have managed this goal in its first month. And even better I'm giving it to my Mum so she can create a cushion out of it!

Be A Better Blogger: The start of the week went well, but since Friday I've not really felt like blogging. I'm not upset about that though, I'm giving myself space to grieve and that's ok.

And now I'm off to have a bath, I'm going to spend the last few hours of this week using lots of Lush products with my laptop set up so I can watch Once Upon A Time as I bathe. Hope yours has been better than mine, and thank you for your sweet comments on my last post. I'm still kind of reeling from the news but  I really appreciate everything you guys said.

All Dogs Go To Heaven

"My Pack"

I spoke earlier this week about difficult decisions, but sometimes decisions are taken out of your hands. Yesterday we said goodbye to Tuppence, at 22 it wasn't a surprise, he had a long and happy life, seven years of it living with us, but it doesn't make it any easier. My family home is now a pet free zone, there are no patter of footsteps to greet me as I come in, and although I have 2 wonderful dogs of my own I had so many amazing years with this wee guy I'm finding it difficult to adjust. At the end of the day, all we can focus on is the love that we had for this wee guy, the silly games, the cuddles, the laughs we had when he sneezed and banged his head against the floor. We used to joke that Tups was the dog that death forgot, how much I wish that could have been true. So give the animals you love an extra cuddle tonight, because no matter how long they are with you, it is never enough. 

What I Wore: In A Blizzard

Outfit

Poor weather makes for the best for some interesting photos. I was slightly scared for my camera taking these photos, but the snow is just so beautiful I had to give it a go. I was absolutely freezing, and I needed a warm drink afterwards, but it was loads of fun. The dogs are just as entertained by it as they were on the first day, and I kind of wish we could live somewhere colder so Mania could play in it all year round. On the other hand I find it very difficult to dress stylishly when the weather is this cold, I'm so impressed with people like Stef and Jenna who somehow manage to keep their style no matter what the weather. 

This week has been such a roller coaster, difficult decisions and high emotions all round. The next couple of days are going to be just as mad though, so no respite to look forward to yet. The combination of poor weather, a very ill dog at my parents' house and a funeral to attend tomorrow aren't making for the best week. Tonight I am going to allow myself a long bath and hopefully build up some resilience to get through it all. Hope you are all having more upbeat weeks than me...

Monday Link List:032

Monday Link List
 
I love the colours in this rabbit illustration by AmberAlexander, such a beauty filled shop.  
 
Every single freaking day. Print by Chris Carfolite.
 
Now we've got our own coffee machine I'm drinking a lot more, these homemade coffee syrups from Elsie and Emma would make my mornings even more delicious.
 
Bekuh's Instagram Art is so simple but so beautiful

Another cute glove DIY, this time from Katherine, I'm totally smitten with the snowflake ones too.


Candid Thoughts On Ethically Produced Clothing: Elizabeth's post has really inspired me to work on my resolution to avoid fast fashion, and has inspired me to start saving up for something extra special as a reward if I manage a couple of months without giving in.

Styling Tricks For Summer Dresses: I'm pretty good at layering anyway, but Carina's post really inspired me to pull out some of my Summer dresses again, rather than letting my January frump kick in any more than it already has.

January 2013 Mixtape: I'm so glad Kaelah is doing her mixtapes again, it was one of my favourite features, and this month she has even included a lovely free album sleeve download in with it!

How To Darn Socks: Seriously, how did I not know how to do this?

Photo 101 - Getting To Know Your Camera: I can use all the help possible learning more about my camera, and Shell's post was really helpful.

Risking A Blog Relaunch: Mandi gives some really useful advice if you are considering switching your blog name or platform.

Cupcake Basics: Jes shares her absolute favourite cupcake recipes.

Feminism Friday - Transphobia: Britt post in response to a (disgusting) article by Julie Birchill was fantastic, and made me think a lot about the various types of discrimination that managed to thrive in this world.


365 Project: Week 3

2013 goals

Day 13: Me and Scallywag were out visiting friends and got a tiny bit of snow, I wasn't sure we were going to get any more so I took this photo while we were out for a walk.

Day 14: I kind of cheated with this one, I didn't have my camera on me so I just snapped it with my iPhone instead. I considered not including them, but realistically I don't think I can manage my whole year dragging round my SLR, so I'm gonna let it slide.

Day 15: Another iPhone photo. I've always loved photos of the clouds, and this one taken during sunset has the most lovely colours.

Day 16: The only time I took any photos was when I was trying to do a self-portrait for a post, so you've already seen this one.

Day 17: Walking through Princes St Gardens so that we could avoid taking the dogs through the crowds. This pitiful amount of snow was the only sign in the city of things to come.

Day 18: Even dogs do awkward blinking photos. Mania's first experience of snow.

Day 19: Having fun in the park with the dogs, perfect day of snow and sunshine.

And a quick run down of my other resolutions. 

Conscientious Consumer: I've actually managed another week of not doing a lot of unnecessary shopping. I bought a couple of interesting looking second hand books and was given a pair of second hand wellies (which have come in really useful). We've not been quite so good with our food shopping (trips to Lidl and Scotmid) but we've been doing what we can. 

Create More: I've not got anything tangible to show for my effort yet, but I have been practising setting up my sewing machine and doing some basic stitches. I've also found a lovely material and hopefully in the coming week I can turn it into a bag, or pillow case, or something equally simple to start myself off. 

Keep A Journal: Already a failure. I haven't managed any writing other than blogging and other boring bits and bobs. To be honest I might just give up on it. I'll give myself to the end of the month. 

Be A Better Blogger: I've managed to do quite a lot of blog reading this week, but not as much commenting as I would like. I was really keen to catch up on what everyone has been up to though. I also managed to get up the guts to post something really personal to me, and I'm really proud of that. 

I can't believe we are three weeks into January already, this year is going so quickly! How are your resolutions going? Let me know in the comments or tell me if you are doing your own set of update posts. 

Snapshots: First Snow

"My Pack"

I want to apologise to you all now, this post is going to be incredibly image heavy, I just couldn't decide which of these were my favourites. In fact I am kind of proud of myself for cutting it down to this many.

Edinburgh has been promised snow for the past week and I've been waiting desperately for it to arrive. I absolutely love snow, it just makes the world look so much more beautiful and it seems to make everyone a little bit more cheerful. But most importantly, our Husky-pup Mania has never really seen snow before. I know, a husky that has never seen snow, ridiculous. We had a tiny bit last year but it was barely a sprinkling, so we have been really excited waiting for her to experience it fully. 


We got our wish last night, and it was everything we could have hoped to. She absolutely loved it. We only went for a short walk but she managed to entertain everyone on the street by trying to attack the snow as it fell and jumping round our feet. She was absolutely adorable. I've never seen her so upset to go back inside, I think if we had let her she would have slept in it. 

I was worried it might have been gone by this morning, but if anything it was even thicker. so we took them to play in the park near our house. It was absolutely lovely, there were groups of people all over the place building snowmen and generally acting like small kids and we couldn't help but join in. Both the dogs had an amazing time chasing snowballs, digging through the start of our snowman and rolling around. I'm so glad I had my camera both times so I could capture some of the fun. There's thick cloud again at the moment so maybe we will have a couple of days of fun ahead of us. 

What I Wore: Warm & Cosy

Outfit

For me, January tends to mean lots of chunky knits, cups of tea and some good books. This outfit brings together a couple of these things. In an attempt to be slightly more creative with the location of my photos I dragged my long suffering boyfriend and the dogs into Edinburgh's Old Town and took these near the Writer's Museum. Of course, being more exciting with my photos also means looking like even more of an ass as even more people see my awkward posing, but it was fun to go somewhere different. I've got loads of  plans for different places I can try out in the next year - it'll be like I'm a tourist in my own city. 

The weather has been bitterly cold here for the past few days, and I've found myself drawn to warm colours to counter act it (because obviously colour is more important than layers!) so lots of oranges, burgundy and browns. This outfit ticked all the right boxes, even if I was absolutely freezing when I took my coat off to take these photos. 

I want to thank you all for your amazing comments on my last post, I've read them so many times, and I've been trying to come up with responses for all of you, but I've just been so overwhelmed by how wonderful you all are. As soon as I posted it I ran away from the computer and couldn't face checking my emails for about 6 hours, silly, I know, but healthier than sitting at the computer waiting for a response. 

Anyway, it is a lovely day (despite being promised snow) so I'm going to go make the most of it. Lots of love to you all.