2015: in review

I'm not going to lie, I was quite happy to see the back of 2015. Although it was eventful, it wasn't plain sailing in the slightest. Hard-going would best describe it.

Back in January I made a very unspecific list of things I wanted to achieve throughout the year and, despite my putting a bit of a downer on 2015, I have actually done pretty well (funny how things work out eh?!). So, as I love a good review, let's break it all down shall we...

The big goal of 2015 was to move out of my parents house and buy our own flat. Oh my god, the stress of buying property was something I couldn't have conceived. Naively writing about how scary mortgages are, back in January I had no bloody clue about the months of frustration and stress quietly simmering away at the back of mind and pit of my stomach. But, raised blood pressure and extra grey hairs aside, there IS a happy ending to this: we officially became homeowners on Dec 4th :D We've not moved out of my parents' house yet (the flat is lacking a few crucial elements such as a fridge and washing machine) but the move is imminent (two weeks time if everything goes to plan)!

★ Career - if you're a long time reader you're probably already aware how absolutely miserable I was during my four months of unemployment. It was shit. The shittest, in fact. The joblessness played a starring role in why 2015 was a tough one for me, but... This has a positive ending too because I found employment with a charity and I now work with the nicest bunch of people a gal could ask for. Sure, the money ain't great and the work itself is pretty boring but, rather fortuitously, at the end of 2015 I got some freelance sewing work which'll help with the extra money and interest that my office job can't provide. Like I said, it's funny how things work out.

★ Health - badminton games became a regular occurrence throughout my unemployment but, as soon as I started my job, regular exercise (and having any kind of self control when it came to crisps and chocolate consumption) fell by the wayside. It took quite some time for me to settle in, figure out my routine and it wasn't until the end of September that I finally joined the gym. The last few months have been great - I go to the gym twice a week and I've been gradually shrinking my portion sizes. Just before Christmas I felt pretty good, the best I'd felt in aaaages to tell the truth. Of course the festive period arrived and now I feel over-fed, over-tired and very squishy around the middle. But that's ok, I'm ready to stop eating all the biscuits and get back on that elliptical machinecome Monday.

★ Travel - I did extremely well in this department. Continuing the trend that started last year, 2015 saw a lot of long weekends away around the UK: Dorset, Shropshire, the Isle of Skye, Yorkshire dales, Brighton for our anniversary and most recently, the Brecon Beacons. My passport also got some use this year what with our amazing holiday to Iceland, a few days in Slovakia and the week long road trip along the west coast of Ireland (which I still need to post the pictures from...it's super late but I really want to share as I've got lots to reccommend)! I think 2015 will take some beating travel-wise and, what with having just bought a flat, I don't think 2016 will be a big holiday year for us but who knows!

★ Making - I'd say it was a productive year, a bit of crochet, a bit of design, a bit of knitting. I tried weaving for the first time and although I didn't get around to using my printing kit, I DID some rather successful dressmaking, a dress but more importantly tops (something I'd been sorely lacking). Both the Bess and Zippy tees are great patterns, which I've recreated more than once (and will continue to do I'm sure)! Although I probably did more sewing than anything this year, I'm particularly proud of my jumper, the most labour intensive project of 2015 but so so worth it.

I mentioned that this was a tough year, particularly for Mitch's side of the family. In October, his uncle passed away - what I'd call a character, incredibly warm and welcoming, very chatty, loved his tea and always had interesting stories to tell. I was lucky enough to have met him a number of times, including when we stayed with him and his wife in Germany. He died before his time and, in a way, quite suddenly. We'd known he was sick but the truth of how bad it was wasn't really shared. I have great memories of him and, more importantly, so does Mitch.

This was also the year Moriarty passed on and I still miss that little guy one hellava lot. Ah le sigh. I've been contenting myself by looking at all the cute furballs on instagram, thankfully there's lots. Fortunately/unfortunately our new flat doesn't allow pets (not that that's stopped us before) but I think it'll be awhile before we get another. Mitch is holding out for a dog but of course we'd need a garden for that!

And speaking of gardens, 2015 was the year we whole heartedly threw ourselves into growing our own veg. It was a fantastic experience and, not to toot our own horns, but our hard graft really paid off. Gardening definitely became a new favorite hobby this past year. Sadly our flat doesn't come with a garden but we're hoping we'll be able to keep a few herbs on the balcony.

I guess this overview paints it in a rather good light but it's been a year of stops and starts, incredible highs and emotional lows. Through it all, my friends and family have been there, a constant source of support, advice and, when I needed it, the perfect distraction from the stressful stuff that gets blown way out of proportion (and there was a lot of that stuff this year). Mitch is obviously included in that catchment of friends and family but he gets a special mention because he's had to put up with A LOT. I know he's my husband and it's expected that he'll support me in anyway he can but damn, that guy goes above and beyond :) We've had some bloody amazing adventures last year (Iceland being perhaps my favourite) and I cannot wait to begin our next!

So, thanks 2015, you were a bit of a test, but we're out the otherside and all I've got are positive vibes for the year ahead :)

Garden update: winter is coming

So the last time I talked about the garden we were doing pretty well - tomatoes, chillies, courgettes, beetroot. Fast forward a couple of months and the garden is winding down somewhat, mostly thanks to these early sunsets and chilly mornings. Mind you, it's not stopped our tomato plants! Last weekend we picked a whole bag full, all green but they're ripening very nicely on the kitchen windowsill.

It was actually the last veg haul of 2015 as last weekend we also decided to cut back our giant tomato and chilli plants, in the hopes that they'll conserve their energy and, along with some TLC from us over the winter months, come back to life in the spring. I've no idea if this is possible but hey, this whole thing has been a trial and error adventure so we thought we'd have a go. Although we'll be able to keep the chilli, tomato and various herbs indoors, there's no way to save our mighty courgette plant which is a shame. Nor is there anything to do about the cauliflower and broccoli, we'll just have to see how hardy they really are.

Looking back to my first post about the garden, it pleased me a lot to find it's been just over a year since our little project started out. A year of hard graft - hours of digging, clearing, shredding, planting, tending, watering. And was it worth it? Hell yes! We most definitely filled our boots this summer with home grown produce and learned a lot throughout the process.

Here's to the next part of our veg growing escapades, I've got my fingers crossed for our fledgling tomato cuttings...

I'll leave you with Joanna Newsom's song, 81, as it's been rattling around in my head the last month or so and some of the gardening lyrics feel quite relevant :)

"I found a little plot of land in the garden of Eden...I tilled it with my two hands and called it my very own..."

Adventures in vegetable growing!

As mentioned in my previous post, attending to our vegetable patch has become a fairly big part of my free time. If you follow me on instagram you'll have been inundated with pictures of our veg growing progress. The tiny seeds we planted have come a long way over the last four months and, although the herbs were ready earlier, veg has started to appear!

This is going to be seriously old news for anyone who grows their own food but, the satisfaction of digging up your own potatoes or cutting off your own courgettes or plucking your own tomatoes, you just can't beat it, it's bloody brilliant! Our tomatoes have been the biggest revelation. Sure they don't look as uniform as the ones in the supermarket but by god are they flavoursome!

Our first couregtte // herb haul (basil, corriander, fennell, cammomile and chives) // beetroot! // first load of potatoes

Now, growing veg isn't hard, you plant the seeds, water them regularly and make sure they get lots of sunlight. But we've learned a few things along the way, including: get your carrots in the ground quick or they'll end up tiny; protect your cabbages - ours got completely munched within a week of planting them; potato plants are supposed to die, that's when you know they're ready to dig up; don't plant runner beans near a hedge - they won't get enough sunlight (silly us); the best way to take a cutting from a tomato plant is to put the cutting in a jar of water and wait for the roots to grow, then you can plant it in soil; your battle with weeds is never over; and lastly, take lots of pictures, it's cool to be able to look back on how everything changes.

our beast of a courgette plant

Mitch moved one of the tomato plants outside and it's doing better than the ones inside my nan's conservatory (it's actually got six toms growing on it now), so we've moved a couple more outside.

one of two tomato cuttings showing some roots :)

  Last weekend's fruits (or should I say veg). Still gutted about the carrots.

I'm very aware that it's massively unlikely that Mitch and I will buy a property with a garden (to buy a property in London at all is proving to be a mean feat), which is why we're so enthusiastic about the opportunity to grow stuff at my nan's. In terms of our future London abode, I've got my fingers crossed for a balcony (somewhere for the tomatoes, herbs and chilli plant to hang out). Ultimately though, my end game is a house (preferably near-ish the sea) with a decent sized garden with a bit of lawn for lounging, wild flowers for the bees, a fruit tree of some sorts and lots of room for veg growing. Ah garden lusting - something I never thought I'd do, this late 20s thing is ace!

Have you been growing food this summer? I'm nosy to know what other people grow :)

garden update - grow your own

It's been six months since my last little update on our allotment project (aka my nan's garden) and a fair old bit has happened. Weekly visits to the plot did trail off between December and February but since March we've been there - digging, shredding, digging some more and, fairly recently, planting...

Because it's fun, I've got some before and after shots for you. Here's what it looked it like back in November:

..And here's April and May:

Mitch cleared the pile of rubbish and gigantic load of garden waste next to the old garage and it really makes the garden feel bigger. Fortuitously, the neighbours at the back also had a sprucing up session, putting up a lovely new fence and trimming back their trees. The latter of which allows loads more sunlight into the garden.

We planted mustard cress (I'm told is good for the soil) and it thrived which is a v.good indicator that the soil is in great shape! We've chopped it all down now to (soon) make way for some seedlings.

About six weeks ago we planted a whole bunch of things - some of which survived: rocket, basil, two varieties of tomatoes, carrots and, my favourite, a chilli plant! We also put some spinach and potatoes straight into the soil. 

And, just under two weeks ago, we planted another lot of seedlings. It's probably too early to count our chickens (or rather veg) but so far so good for the brocolli and cauliflower, watch this space! 

garden progress

Last month, Mitch and I started working on a neglected bit of my nan's garden with the aim to turn it into a vegetable patch. We've been going every weekend (apart from when we went to Falmouth) and it's really starting to take shape.

Before:

And after - sans the beast of a hedge which was obscuring the rest of the garden and house:

Before:

After, a LOT of digging:

I'd thought that clearing the brambles was hard but digging up roots, turning the earth and raking was waaaay more knackering. Thanks to the last few weekends I've come to associate Saturdays with aching limbs! Hopefully it'll all be worth it though.

Some of the bricks dug up from the earth.

We actually planted something this weekend, not anything we can eat mind you, but some stuff (mustard seeds) that'll be good for the soil. Fingers crossed they'll sprout!