six

★ Reading: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. I'm only 13% in but so far so good. It reminds me of a cross between DS9, The Expanse and a teeny bit of Firefly...

★ Watching: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (I am obsessed); Iron Fist (meh, not as good as Daredevil but it's held my attention as much as Luke Cage); Abstract (Netflix documentary series where each episode focuses on one particular creative individual - we've had an illustrator, set designer, architect, shoe designer and typographer); Taboo (gritty, grim and kinda creepy period drama starring Tom Hardy and his trademark beautiful face, mumbled lines and weird accent - good though). 

★ Eating: ALL the vegetables. I'm still not really eating meat (unless a friend is cooking me dinner) all thanks to the great food poisoning incident in Deal.

★ Drinking: ALL the tea (with ALL the biscuits)

★ Making: A second Tilly & The Buttons François Dress. I'm rather chuffed at how my first one came out (pics soon), it really is a lovely pattern.

★ Wearing: Shirts! On their own, with my pinafore dress, under jumpers - layers are the key in this transitional (not to mention changeable) March weather. 

★ Horrified by: My new passport photos, good god are they awful. It's amazing what not-smiling can do to your face, I honestly look about 10 years older! Vanity issues aside, yay, new passport!

★ Looking forward to: Said new passport as I really need to book some holiday when it arrives. In the more immediate future, I'm very much looking forward to a weekend away in the New Forest. 

★ Musing: Today marks six years since I started this blog. Six! Granted, it's been rather quiet on here for the last couple of years but my plan to write something at least once a month seems to be working. I say it at every anniversary but I love the fact that I have six years worth of memories here, so much has happened in that time and the blog captures a unique little part of it. As ever, I am (pleasantly) surprised that I've managed to start something and not abandon it, this blog is in fact testament that I can start a project and see it though - it's probably the only thing but whatevs. Here's to the next six eh?! 

F I V E

So this is a fairly big one (anniversary that is)... Today marks five years since I started blogging.

Say whaaaaaat?

I've managed to keep writing and posting regularly (ish) for five whole years.

Yup.

If you'd have told me, back when I was but a young thing of 24, that I'd still be doing this five years later I'd have laughed you out of town. I know that blogs aren't really diaries but they are an ongoing record, a log if you will, of what I'm doing and how I'm feeling, so that's what I'll compare it to. When Mitch and I packed up all our worldly possessions to move to Peckham I came across about 5 years worth of diaries (1998 being the earliest) and do you know what they all had in common (except for terrible handwriting and rather cringey but hilarious outbursts on young teenage feeling)? I never wrote anything in them past April. I'm all eager and dedicated in the those first few months then something happens around the second week of April, enthusiasm wanes and I apparently can't be arsed anymore. Calendars, for the most part, suffer the same fate. Why I do this I have no idea. And if you go by my track record this blog should've come to an ubrupt end back in the middle of April 2011 but, it didn't :)

I know it's been a bit quiet around here the last few months, posts have been sporadic at best, what can I say, I've been busy; the kind of busy that's not really worth blogging about to be brutally honest. That's life, I guess. I've been busy doing life.

Every anniversary this blog (and me to an extent) go through a mini transformation and this year is no different. On account of me living life and generally just getting on with things, I predict that the posts on here will continue to be few and far between but then that's just one of the reasons why blogging is great. I don't feel the pressure to update it all the time but I know it's my little plot on the internet to return to and cultivate whenever I choose to do so.

In case you find tumbleweeds blowing across this thing or you simply must know what I'm doing, I'll most probably be here, snapping away like the instagram addict I am, or here (I'd somewhat fallen out of love with Twitter but I think there's something to be salvaged). Do come and find me :) All that remains to say is: thank you. Thank you for reading and commenting on my adventures over the years, the community aspect of blogging really is the best thing about it and you, my friends, are ace.

4 years blogging

So here we are, 4 years to the day that I hit publish on my first ever post, which not only sounds a little weird (given the beard references) but also feels like a million years ago. In those four years I've moved house twice, changed jobs three times, got married, travelled to so many new places, changed my blog name and discovered my ultimate passion in life, making stuff (how I filled my free time before I started sewing, knitting and crocheting I don't know)! 

I realise there's hundreds of posts out there listing all the reasons why blogging is great, buuuuut... I love it because:

1. Of the sense of community. I have met some seriously ace London ladies through blogging who I almost certainly wouldn't have met otherwise. Additionally, there's a bunch of excellent bloggers across the UK, and the world even, whose updates I always look forward to. It's kinda like having a load of awsome pen pals only with pictures and a quicker reply rate.

2. Bloggnig has given me an outlet for writing. I'm not talking ground-breaking topics or skillful journalistic feats of writing. What I have to say is not impressive, or even, at times, coherent, but it's allowed me to keep my hand in the game and practice stringing sentences together. On a side note, I honestly believe that writing my humble blog has worked in my favour to get me into a couple of interviews and most definitely one job, purely because it suggests that I have some interest in writing and digital stuff, which is true. 

3. I have four years worth of memories right here - the good (holidays & successful makes), the bad (recounts of sad times: losing family members & friends leaving the country) and the downright ugly (in the beginning, my inability to take ANY decent photographs and resize them to fit the blog)! It's also kinda fun to see how I've changed - tastes, worries, views on things - fundamentally I'm the same but the beauty of the blog, thanks to the fact that I do open up about stuff, is that each post is very much a snapshot of what I was thinking at the time. I'm a nostaglic old thing though so that might just be me :) 

All that remains to say is: thank you! Thank you for reading along and commenting on my rabblings, you guys are ace! 

I've spent most of this glorious day working on the garden so now I'm going to put my feet up and watch some Parks & Rec. Happy Sunday eve all.

where are they now?

The 'they' I'm referring to are bloggers. Bloggers who, for one reason or another, have either decided to stop blogging or just haven't posted in forever.

I've recently spruced up my  L I N K S  list and, in doing so, I've removed the blogs that no longer seem to be going. Rather than just delete and forget about them, I thought I'd make this list - the lost bloggers so to speak - so that I can keep hold of their links in case they ever return. (I do hope so.)

Anykind - Jesse's blog was one of the first I ever got hooked on mostly thanks to her posts about her business and the craft shows she sold at. Also, her thrifting skillz were impressive, she always found the most cool little bits and pieces.

I wanna go to the beach - I always looked forward to Jess' posts appearing in my bloglovin' feed. They were usually kinda off the wall and a little random. Also, her writing is ace.

Handmade Ryan Gosling - so perfect and, as a craft lady, so relevant. I am still sad this came to an end.

Diary of Diva - Becca was always visiting somewhere cool, whether abroad or exploring places in London. Plus she had an awesome series called: 'Bec vs. Pinterest' wherein she'd make stuff inspired by something seen on Pinterest - liked that a lot.

In between Idols - Guttingly I can't even give you a link to Lauren's blog as the internet reckons it no longer exists :( So, you'll have to believe me when I say, it was full of pics of life her in sunny Florida and of her ace tattoos.

Other honerable mentions: Pretty Much Penniless, Yours Truly x, Kit and Nancy

11 questions

Earlier this week the lovely Elise nominated me for the Liebster Award - thank you! - so without further ado, here's the dealio:

The rules are that I need to answer the 11 questions set by my nominator;  share 11 facts about myself; make up 11 questions to ask my nominees; tell them they're nominated.

So, first up, Elise's questions:
1. How did you get to your current job and do you love it?
I sort of fell into my current job by accident a friend suggested me for it. I'm an assistant editor for a company that puts magazines together for publishing companies. We'll sometimes be working on three projects at a time and the subject matters can vary. We've just finished doing a 3 year quilting and sewing magazine which I really loved working on but sadly there's not much going on at the moment. Although I did love my job about 4 months ago, I couldn't say the same now. Hopefully it'll pick up again in September.

2. Your most worn item of clothing?
Definitely my glasses but I'm not sure if that counts as clothing so probably my (once) white converse.

3. Favourite song from childhood?
I have a lot of great music memories from long car journeys on family holidays when I was little. Simon and Garfunkel was played a lot as well as Don McLean so either this or this most probably.

4. What's on your 'to read' pile?
'The Moth' a collection of extraordinary true stories; 'Maddaddam' by Margaret Atwood; 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy; 'Till we have faces' by C.S Lewis.

5. The best movie you've seen this year (new or old)?
That is a v.hard question. SO many good movies came out this year - Her, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Only Lovers Left Alive, X-Men Days of Future Past, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Guardians of the Galaxy... I also saw Rushmore for the first time this year which I loved a lot. Having recently been to the secret cinema screening of Back to the Future, I should also mention it here as it's one of my all time favourite films.

6. What advice would you give your teenage self?
STOP CUTTING YOUR OWN FRINGE!!! Just go to the hairdressers, most of them do it for free.

7. A talent/skill you wish you had?
I wish I was good at pool and could skateboard.

8. Show us the oldest picture on your phone.
I've not had my phone for very long so this is from last June - Mitch gazing out at Battersea Power Station - I can't remember where we were going.

9. Current food obsession?
Still pulled pork. I'm quite sure I will never tire of it.

10. Beach or countryside?
Ideally both but if I had to choose...? Beach.

11. The best cinema you've ever been to?
Considering that my husband and I are film/cinema people (it's where we met after all), we've really not been to that many. My favourite is The Ritzy in Brixton (screen 1 and 5 in particular), followed by the Soho Curzon and The Prince Charles just off Leicester Square. Those last two always do fun showings and events.

Next, 11 facts about me:

1. I was the (written) voice of Barbie for a year. One of the magazines I worked on was a weekly Barbie publication in which she travelled the world. Each issue was based in a different country and came with a new outfit for her to wear. 

2. I am incapable of doing a forward roll.

3. I can't sing at all but I think my voice sounds 10 times better when I have a cold .

4. Despite having an English and American Literature degree there are A LOT of classics that I've never read including: Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations and Jane Eyre.

5. I could quote along to 90% of the script to Jurassic Park (lose 10% because Samuel Jackson mumbles a lot in that film).

6. I prefer tea to coffee.

7. Jam before cream on my scones. And that's 'scone' as in 'gone' (not 'scone' as in 'cone'). (Ha! Those last two facts make me sound incredibly English!)

8. Whilst in primary school I won the handwriting competition 4 times. My scrawl is not so neat anymore!

9. I really really want to live by the sea one day.

10. If the world allowed it and there wasn't the issue of having a job and bills to pay, I would quite happily make stuff - knitting, sewing, crochet, drawing, printing - all day, every day (with breaks in the evening to socialise)

11. I'm 27 and still only have one wisdom tooth - it's been that way for years, I don't think the others are coming.

11 questions for my nominees!
1. If you could be any animal what would you be and why?
2. Money is no object, where's the next place you'd like to travel to?
3. What's your favourite breakfast food?
4. Best fancy dress costume you've ever made/wore?
5. What's your favourite thing about where you live/your home town?
6. A song that'll always get you on the dance floor?
7. What did you want to grow up to be when you were little?
8. Do you have a favourite quote or motto?
9. If you had to cook a three course meal ('Come Dine with Me' style-y) what would you make?
10. What are you most looking forward to right at this moment?
11. Lastly, but not least importantly, biscuit or cake?


A lot of my favourite blogs seemed to have been nominated for this recently but I couldn't see these excellent ladies with any Liebster love of late so consider yourself nominated :)

Diary of a Diva
The Misadventures of Morgan
Ever so Ethnically Confused 
SugarSkull Industries
Yellow Raindrops

Incidentally, if anyone else fancies answering the questions please do - I'm pretty nosey and enjoy finding out about people's interests. Link back to me when you're done - I'd love to see your answers!

new beginnings

So here we are. Welcome to my new little plot on the world wide web.

You might notice that the change isn't all that massive (header style etc) and, as I mentioned in my note to my old blog, I've not got any plans to alter the content - yup, I'll still be wittering on about my weekends, what I'm making and the books I've read - and so the biggest change is the name. Halfway Here kinda relates to that feeling, fairly common in people in their 20s (and 30s, Mitch informs me), that there's not enough time to do all the things that we want to do before it's too late (whenever that is). Last summer I had a bit of a massive freak out about time pressure - get married, buy a house, see some more of the world, progress career-wise, have a baby...? After talking it through with Mitch, real life friends and internet friends, I calmed down A LOT. Their thoughts and advice led to some excellent points: try not to worry about the future, you can plan things meticulously but a lot of the time plans change. Instead, focus on the now and all the great stuff happening to you in the present. Although I try to remind myself of these wise words, my mind has a tendency to wander off and worry about things way down the line (where will be living in a years time? is a constant). And that's why I'm Halfway Here. I'm attempting to re-train my brain - less worry about the future, more time for the present. I'm slowly working my way back to now and getting the most out of what each coming week has to offer; there's so much good stuff going on and I want to take in as much of it as possible :)

end of an era

Beard Today Gone Tomorrow,

Over the last couple of months or so I've been thinking about us and what kind of future lies ahead. Since April things haven't felt quite right on here. It doesn't feel like me anymore - the title isn't working for me (do I have a beard? am I someone's beard? - no to both but it's all a bit confusing) and the design feels waaay too cluttered. You were named and established at a different time in my life and, though it's sad to say, I think I've out-grown you. We've had an awesome three and a bit years together but it's time to let you go. I've no intention of deleting you and you'll be pleased to know that I'm in the process of moving over all your old posts onto my new blog (which will be ready soon)! Yes, I'm not giving up blogging (as I bloody love it) and the new space will feature much of the same type of content, I just need something a little more simple that reflects me right now. I know they say 'always pick your blog name carefully' and no-one likes change, but hey, I'm feeling positive about the name-change and more importantly, it'll feel like a place I want to log-in to and update. Plus, apparently bloglovin do this handy thing where they swap all your followers over for you so no-one need miss a thing! (Stay tuned, I'll be trying it out rather soon.)

Goodbye BTGT, thanks for being my first little corner of the internet, it's been ace :)

Annie
X

Bloggers At Their Desks

A few weekends ago the lovely Jo journeyed to suburbia to photograph me and my sis for her on-going project: 'Bloggers At Their Desks'. Our grinning faces were featured on her blog last Friday, go see go see! Jo's looking for more people to participate so send her an email if you're a blogger and fancy taking part too!

the long weekend in numbers

I've seen a lot of bloggers doing this lately so I thought I'd jump on board the numbers train. Seems like a fun way to break down the weekend.

6:45am - the time I got home on Saturday morning after a particularly fabulous party on Friday night.

5 - the number of films I watched this weekend, thanks to a mammoth hangover on saturday and the mostly foul weather we stayed in quite a bit. (Runner Runner - hilariously appalling; 300: Rise of an Empire - gratuitous amounts of slow-mo and naked torsos, no real plot line discernible; Robocop (remake) not actually too bad, great cast but the ending was rather flat; The Double - wonderfully shot, excellent story, great soundtrack; The Lego Movie - clever plot twist and surprisingly funny - batman was my fave.)

100s - quilting stitches done. I'm v.close to finishing my friends' baby quilt.

27% - according to my Kindle, the amount left to read of 'Everyday Sexism' - this book is ace.

Around 60 - pieces of art looked at whilst nosing around the St Martin's graduate show.

£5 - the cost of one seriously huge burrito consumed at Camden Market on Sunday.

4 hrs 14 mins - worth of music added to the wedding day playlist. Yesterday was a productive day wedding shiz -wise.

3 years

Today marks this little blog's third year anniversary. I know I've said it the last two years but, I seriously cannot believe that I've managed to keep it going. A lot has happened over those three years and I really love the fact that I've got the blog to look back on it all. To anyone out there thinking of starting a blog, I'd say that that is a very good reason to start.

Here are some of my highlights...

➳ Finally completing my parents' quilt - an 11 month labour of love

➳  A particularly great May weekend wherein we found our wedding reception venue

➳ Making a conscious decision to cut down on cooking meat at home

➳ A blissful week long holiday in the Italian countryside 

➳ Making the most out of the unbelievably good weather in July - days in the park, BBQs, car boot sale-ing

➳ The Festival of Quilts 2013 and seeing my quilt on display

➳ Silent Disco in the Science Museum

➳ A rather random trip to the coast for the day

➳ Spending some quality time with my sister - musical bingo, getting tattooed, having brunch and going to renegade craft fair

➳ Managing to knit something other than a scarf

➳ Climbing mount snowdon

➳ Wedding dress shopping

➳ Experiencing my first Thanksgiving and being Mitch's sous chef on Christmas day

➳ Having a good laugh with Mitch at the Hay Hill Gallery

➳ Attending a big old family get-together for my granddad's 90th

➳ Finally visiting the Horniman Museum and the Barbican conservatory

A HUGE thanks to everyone who stops by here to read my ramblings and to everyone who takes the time to comment - it really does mean a lot :)

I'm off to make some pasties, hope you're having a good weekend!

8 questions

Last week the lovely Jo tagged a handful of bloggers (myself included) in her blog award post and posed us a set of questions. Nine days later and I finally got around to answering them - ta da!

1. What is your favourite thing to do on a weekend?
Ideally, although this hardly ever ever happens - getting up early and vacating the city, preferably we'd head to the coast. A much more realistic but still fabulous scenario is, after a substantial lie-in, we get up, have breakfast (practically brunch, pancakes maybe) and then check out a new exhibition in central/wander around a museum for the afternoon. Have dinner out before meeting up with friends for drinks in the pub.

2. What would your last meal be?
Pulled pork burger from The Joint with some of their BBQ chicken wings (quite possibly because that is what I'm craving right now).

3. If you could try one job out for the day, what would you do?
Something science-y. Building satellites or better yet, building probes to send into outer space. I really sucked at physics (and chemistry) at school (and now to be honest) but I find that sort of stuff really interesting. Or, paleontology. Dinosaurs and fossils - damn I love them.

4. If you could learn one skill and be super amazing at it, what would it be?
There's, obviously, quite a lot of things I'd like to be good at but I think pool is probably at the top of the list. To look at me, no one would ever imagine I could kick everyone's arse at pool so that'd be fun if I could. Perhaps I'd become a pool hustler...

5. What would your super power be?
The ability to fly.

6. If you could live in any city where would you live?
According to buzzfeed I should live in Portland Oregon and although I'd like to visit there someday I can't say that's where I'd like to live. I've not really been to that many cities so my choice is purely based on those I've been to... New York, Barecelona or, believe it or not, London. I know I constantly want to escape this capital of ours but I do think it's a pretty great city.

7. What is your happiest moment?
This is a toughie...quite possibly Jan 1st 2013. It was pretty much the perfect day - waking up in NYC, having a massive breakfast and talking about the wedding, marriage & our life together (mitch had proposed the night before). Sorry if I made you vomit :)

8. What is your guilty food - the one where you're too embarrassed to admit to anyone that that is really what you ate last night?
Crisp sandwiches. Carbs in-between more carbs. Lovely!

Well, that was fun :) Thanks for the nomination Jo!

image source

long lost tumblr

I'm not sure what train of thought led me there but yesterday, I suddenly remembered: many moons ago I started a tumblr. A tumblr which, as soon as set up, was promptly abandoned. Logging back into my account, it all came flooding back to me, why I'd decided to start it in the first place. It was to be a place to post/store/collect all things beard related so as not to overwhelm you all on here with my love for beards and (most) things which relate to them.

So here we are - 14 months later and I've breathed some life back into the old girl. It's had a bit of a makeover and I've added some new stuff! I'm feeling pretty motivated to keep it updated so do stop by (especially if you like beards - if you're not a fan of actual facial hair, there are other beard related goodies such as home ware, illustrations and the like - I realise a bearded ryan gosling is not everyone's cup of tea - but he should be).

All you need now is the link! Here it is: b-t-g-t.tumblr.com 

south london love

Last weekend Mitch and I spent a glorious couple of days soaking up the sights of south london.

Saturday - Brixton
Well, yes, we do live in Brixton so most saturdays do start there but this weekend was different as the Crafty Fox Market was in town. Taking up its regular occupancy in the Dogstar, it was packed with a fabulous variety of designer/makers. My sister and I spent a good couple of hours perusing the stalls. She got a few cards and I picked up this lovely necklace (below) from Kate Rowland and bought this plate from JimbobArt for a friend's birthday. Had I had more money I would've splashed out on one of these tees from Skev. A delightful day as ever. If you missed it this time, worry not. I do believe there's going to be another one before Christmas.

Saturday Night - Peckham
Mitch and I headed to The Gowlett for pizzas (it's a nice old boozer and the pizzas were very tasty but they did take about 50 mins to arrive) before heading to the The Montpelier for a friends' birthday. Leaving the chilled-out relaxed atmosphere of the gowlett and arriving at the completely over-crowed Montpelier was a bit of rude awakening. We opted to stand outside until we were ushered in at 10:30 at which point it was so crowded inside there wasn't really anywhere to stand. Safe to say, I don't think I'll be going back there again on a saturday night. The evening picked up when we moved onto Canavan's pool hall. A bizarre little set-up with a bar area, dance floor and, surprisingly enough, a pool hall at the back. The perfect place as it provided a whole new activity (aside from just sitting down) for those who didn't fancy dancing! When we eventually departed for home the night bus was about a 15 min journey. Bliss.

image source

Sunday - Forest Hill
Having been wanting to go for over a year, Mitch and I finally got ourselves over to The Horniman Museum. It's a lovely little place with a very interesting collection. We took a wander around its pretty gardens - reading all about the various plants they grow and how they're used in medicine - before heading inside to look at the natural history stuff. For obvious reasons it's nowhere near as grand as the NHM at south ken but it has some great specimens including the famous Walrus. The main bit is free entry and as the museum is only a 20 min bus ride from Brixton station I'd highly recommend it for all south londoners :)

Wednesday - Camberwell.
Two nights ago, the lovely Jo organised a south london bloggers meet up at The Tiger. Amid ale, chips and yarn, the seven of us - Jess, Siobhan, Jo, Amy, Michelle, Leigh and myself - had a good old knit/crochet and a chat. It was a v.fun evening and they were a  lovely bunch! Plans to meet up again are on the cards :)

Knitting in progress.
I started a new scarf in the week, which I brought to the craft/bloggers meet up in camberwell, the pattern is definitely starting to take shape. So far so good!

Did you get the memo?

In case you were unaware, Google Reader is about to kick the bucket. So, should you like to keep up-to-date with Beard Today, Gone Tomorrow you still can by following me on Bloglovin'!

Of course there are other alternatives but I've been using Bloglovin' for over a year now and I'd definitely recommend it. It's super simple to use AND they have a button you click which transfers all your Google Reader blogs onto your new Bloglovin' account. Neat huh?

If you're still on the fence about what replacement to use, remember: you've only got until Monday 1st July to make your switch.

update

Last wednesday I received the most page views I've ever had in one day (mostly thanks to this post). I'm guessing it was a lot of new traffic thanks to Kirsty's blog. And how did I deduce this? Sadly I'm no sherlock holmes so I just relied on good old blogger. And blogger told me that not only did that post get a lot of views, my 'about' page was also a big hit, probably from people wondering what the deal is over here. Makes sense. It's what I do when I visit a new-to-me blog.

I'd not really checked my about page in a while but by god I wish I had. Bottom line is: it'd been neglected. Barely anything had been changed since I started this blog (over 2 years ago) and it made me actually cringe a bit to read it (much like looking back on old photographs of yourself and saying "what am I wearing?!").

But now, now there will be no more cringing! The 'about' page has been updated! And you can see it, in all it's more relevant glory, by clicking there to the right of this post!

Incidentally I also made some new little buttons for my right hand column stuff. I cannot help but doodle.

if my blog were an outfit

Yesterday, Kirsty, over at A Safe Mooring, posted 'If my blog were an outfit'. Her one matches pretty much perfectly, so much so that I thought I'd have a go on here. Ta-da!

glasses from warby parker // tote bag from people tree // dress from otte // ring from foxtail boutique // sandals from modcloth

I very much want all these things but sadly that dress is sold out (*ahem* it also cost $265). It's more of a spring/summer outfit to match the blog decor rather than the contents but I thought the 'blah blah blah' tote bag was quite fitting in more ways than one :)

it's a blogiversary!

beard today gone tomorrow has now been going for two whole years! 

Firstly: Thank you to everyone who checks in here to read my ramblings, be it regularly or randomly - it's all good and v.much appreciated.  

Secondly: Bloody hell I've actually managed to keep this going! Two years doesn't sound like much but for someone like me - the queen of starting-things-and-not-finishing-them - it's quite an accomplishment.

This last year has been awesome - looking through the archive to write this post brought back some great memories and really underlined the fact that you certainly can squeeze a lot into 12 months!

I learned to knit and crochet, took A LOT of photographs with my little Golden Half, I got very patriotic - what with the jubilee and olympics in london, attempted to milk a fake cow, did some baking (a lot of baking), had one of the best days ever at my friend's wedding, soaked up the sun on the beach in dorset, went through a summery headscarf phase (this may well return if the weather improves), made a pretty tasty pumpkin soup, saw some truly excellent exhibitions, this little blog won an award, I got THE best glasses ever, mitch and I did some exploring around south london, spent new years in new york and got engaged(!). Busy, huh? :)


It was also a year of many firsts:

I finished my first ever quilt
Attended my first blogger meet-up
It was mine and Mitch's first go at growing our own food
Made my first ever dress
Bought my first pair of DMs
Knitted my first scarf
Mine and Mitch's first ever trip to the USA
My first go at geocaching
First-ever yarn bombing experience
And I welcomed my first ever pet

So all in all, a very good year - here's to the next one!

an award? for me?!

That's right folks!

The lovely Jesse over at well it's okay has nominated beard today gone tomorrow for the Liebster Award! Liebster is a German word which means: sweetest, kindest, dearest, pleasant, valued, cute, basically lots of really nice things and is given to up&coming blogs with less than 200 followers. Isn't that cool? What's also pretty cool is that you can follow the trail of awards back to discover lots of other awesome blogs!

The rules of the Liebster Award:
1. Each person nominated must post 11 things about themselves.
2. They must answer the questions that are given to you from the person who nominated you.
3. You must then create 11 questions for the people you've nominated.
4. Nominate 11 bloggers and link them in your post
5. Let the bloggers know they've been nominated.

Here are Jesse's questions to me:
1. Who is your favourite cartoon character? Probably Snowy from the Tintin comics
2. Describe your blog in one word? beardy...? 
3. Where were you born? Hammersmith, London
4. If you could have anything to eat to eat right now, what would it be? the stilton burger from Honest Burgers, I've not had one for absolutely ages and I've been seriously craving it, along with their amazing triple fried rosemary and sea salt chips.
5. What is one big thing you want to accomplish in 2012? I'd like to see me and the new venture at work grow a bit more.
6. If you could live in a past decade which would it be and why? The 60s - the music, art, fashion, the changes that took place, the hype about space exploration...
7. What are a few websites/blogs that you have to check everyday? I'm quite bad at checking things everyday so these are the current sites I regularly visit: betty magazine, kitsunetsuki, I wanna go to the beach, well it's okay, oh so lovely vintage, one sheepish girl, retronaut. 
8. Worst movie you've ever seen? it's got to be an adam sandler film - the waterboy is hugely crap
9. Favourite thing you've done so far this summer? because the weather's been so rubbish apart from this week it feels like summer's only just started! But I'd say comic con and Mitch's birthday at the science museum and going out for dinner after.
10. What do you usually eat for breakfast? seeing as it's summer I've been having lots of raspberries, strawberries and blueberries with yoghurt but I guess my go to breakfast is marmite on toast.
11. Briefly describe your dream house? an old farmhouse or converted barn in the countryside not far from the coast, with some land for animals to graze and to grow vegetables. I'd like a nice big kitchen and living room.


And now for 11 things about me:
1. I LOVE making lists (so you can image how fun I found this award nomination).
2. New pens and notebooks are a weakness of mine, I love buying new ones.
3. I've been dyeing my hair since I was 17 and I'm pretty sure I'll never go back to my original colour.
4. Most superstitions don't get to me apart from the magpie one, so whenever I see one magpie on it's own I have to salute it to cancel out the 'one for sorrow' bit - crazy but true.
5. My favourite fruits are mango and melon.
6. I am at my most productive before midday.
7. I like milk in my earl grey tea (much to the disapproval of some).
8. I share my name with my nan but she hates it so everyone calls her Nancy.
9. I'm not a big fan of swimming pools but I love to swim in the sea.
10. If I could have a superhero power I'd want to be able to fly (or possibly have the ability to shape shift into any animal I want...)
11. If I could have any creature, and I mean any creature, as a pet, I'd have a dragon.

Questions for my nominees:
1. If you could be any animal what would you be and why?
2. What one book do you wish you had written?
3. You're only allowed one for the rest of your life: chocolate or cheese?
4. Money is no object, where is the next place you'd like to travel to?
5. What are most looking forward to right at this moment?
6. What is your signature dish?
7. What was the last fancy dress party you went to? What did you go as?
8. What's your favourite song/band? (you can answer either or, as it's a tough one)
9. Do yo have a moto, or a favourite quote, what is it/who said it?
10. If you could go back in time what would you tell your 14 year old self?
11.Where in the world is your favourite place?


So, to conclude, I'd like to nominate:

Katie from Ever so Ethnically Confused
Kirsty from Kirsty Helen
Annie from Along the Way

London Bloggers Meet Up!

So on Thursday I did something completely new - I came face to face with people I'd met on the internet in the form of a London bloggers meet up! Meredith from One Sheepish Girl was in town for a holiday and suggested that a group of us get together for afternoon tea at the ever-lovely Drink Shop & Do!

Aside from all the the tasty cakes, scones and tea, the afternoon was particularly awesome as I got to meet some very cool creative ladies which without the blogging world I would never have met! I was super nervous on the tube ride to Kings Cross (it felt like going on a blind date, only with lots of people rather than just one) but I needn't have been because the girls including Meredith and her mum were really friendly, chatty and had some interesting and funny stories to share about traveling, London, jobs, the WI, weddings (pirate themed and farm based), the jubilee, the weather (naturally)  and of course our creative hobbies.

If you'd like to find these excellent lasses you can, with these links :) 

Lorna from Project Lorna, founding member of West Ealing WI

Carly from Rasberry Bunny, who got married last weekend (she had her pics taken on a farm!!! awesome)

Meredith from One Sheepish Girl, knitter and crocheter extraordinaire

Katie from Ever so Ethnically Confused, movie fanatic and crafter

Jess from Pink Sunshine, who teaches jewellery making in west london and classes at Drink Shop & Do.

Excuse my lack of pictures, I was put to camera shame by everyone else - much better pictures from the afternoon are on Lorna's blog.

This experience was so much fun and has made me definitely want to go to other meet ups in the future!

a whole year later!

Today is Beard Today Gone Tomorrow's 1 year anniversary! 

It's funny to think that this all started a whole year ago back when I was a data monkey (updating that lovely database) and completely bored out of my mind. However, if it hadn't been for that loathsome database I probably would never started the blog in the first place!

A lot has happened in the last year and for the for most part it's been bloody great. Aside from some v.awesome life changes (the new job & moving to brixton) there's been plenty of other stuff going on...

I catered for my sister's film shoot; watched international roller derby; met a famous film star; discovered the need (& want) to take more photographs; enjoyed a film screening in the open air; attended a beautiful wedding in the woods (and one by the sea); saw and danced to a host of artists and bands in Victoria Park; played and won at musical bingo; got hooked on an awesome comic; had a good wander around east Berlin; learned A LOT about quilting and re-affirmed my love of dinosaurs in costume form!

So here's to another year of Beard Today Gone Tomorrow - with more posts, pics, updates and perhaps a makeover...

the blog that is, not the beard :)