thought of the day

I originally started writing this as "goals for May" post but then, earlier, I saw this quote at Goldhawk Road station and I thought: damn right! So yes, you won't find any goals here. I'm still settling into my job, getting back into a routine and figuring out how I might need to budget each month now that I have income again. I can think of a handful of things I'd like to achieve in May but it's really not a big deal if they happen or not. Right now I'm of the mind that the next four weeks could really do without a to-do list looming over them, making me feel pressured to complete them rather than just doing, what Sid kindly points out, that thing called life. Sod goals for May (and quite possibly June and July and the rest of the year, I'm not sure yet, I'll see how I feel when I get there), all that's planned is this:

E N J O Y  Y O U R S E L F

oh, and buy a tent.

:)

April was...opportunity central!

It's been a bloody great month, for many reasons: the blossom, lots of warm and sunny weather, I started my new job, Mitch and I planted some veg and I caught up with lots of friends who I'd not seen in a while. Despite all these good things, I can't say that my goals were a roaring success in April...

1. Finish reading the three books I'm half way through. Alas, only one. On the plus side though, I finished more books this month than I have done in ages.
2. Find alternative breakast foods. Moderate success with this one. I mixed-up my bread-heavy breakfasts with mornings of porridge and fruit. Not the most exciting substitues but at least it's a start.
3. Find a dress (or possibly dress pattern to make) for a hen do next month. I think I've found a contender :)
4. Buy some bras! Yes! Aaaand I got a new sports bra to boot.
5. Do some printing! Negative. I had hoped to do some before starting my new job but I never got around to it.
6. Try 3 new veggie recipes. HUGE fail. Infact I only tried two new recipes the entire month and only one was veggie.
7. Go for a walk everyday, 20 minutes at least. (I realise that doesn't sound like much but this unemployment shiz has meant that some days - bad days - I don't leave the house.) I did actually stick to this, the good weather definitely helped.
8. Continue to apply for jobs (one a day) and do some prep for interviews. Yup, all the way up until I got my job offers.
9. Organise my craft supplies (and possibly get rid of some). ...organise yes (a little bit any way), get rid of stuff no.
10. Give some change to the next great busker you hear. Shamefully, I don't recall giving any money to a busker this month. I blame the fact that I hardly ever have change on me these days. Perhaps my new rule needs to be, to make sure that I always have change in an easily accessible place.

So here we are, a third of the way through the year (sorry!). I'm looking forward to bank holidays, warmer sunnier days, my friend's hen party and volunteering at an exhibition in the Saatchi Gallery. All I ask of you, May, is: let's keep the pollen count and hayfever to a minimum yeah? Thanks!

polar bear (and some April goals)

I finished this little guy (complete with scarf) for my sister last week. He's essentially exactly the same as the brown bear I made back in January, only white, so he's a polar bear :) Much like my first attempt, this was a dream to make (the Toft patterns really are super easy to follow) and has only increased my want to try one of the other animals in Edward's menagerie. One day I will, I just need to find someone to make it for!

In other news, it's now April (!) which means I need some goals for month…behold!

1. Finish reading the three books I'm half way through. (Why do I do that to myself?)
2. Find alternative breakast foods. (Some days I eat so much bread I am geniunely concerned that I may turn into a loaf).
3. Find a dress (or possibly dress pattern to make) for a hen do next month.
4. Buy some bras! (How the hell have I come down to two?!)
5. Do some printing!
6. Try 3 new veggie recipes.
7. Go for a walk everyday, 20 minutes at least. (I realise that doesn't sound like much but this unemployment shiz has meant that some days - bad days - I don't leave the house.)
8. Continue to apply for jobs (one a day) and do some prep for interviews.
9. Organise my craft supplies (and possibly get rid of some). Mitch tidied his section of the room and I am most definitely letting the side down.
10. Give some change to the next great busker you hear. Granted I've not been heading into central that often recently but my three interviews this month will give me ample opportunity to show some appreciation to the buskers.

Right, I'm off to the job centre (joy of joys), hope you're all having excellent Thursdays.

March was...adventure filled!

All in all it's been a v.good March – I flew to Iceland for four fantastic nights, had a weekend away in Shropshire with friends, spent some quality time with Mitch on his week off from work, did some gardening, did some crafting, I even ended up having three interviews this month, which, although I didn't get any of them, definitely boosted my confidence after the hideousness of February. Weather wise, there's definitely been glimmers of spring and as I write this there's a bunch of daffs on my desk :) so yes, a v.good month. My goals didn't shape up too badly either...

1. Finish a bunch of craft projects - baby blanket, crochet bear, needlepoint black bird. Two out of three ain't bad (I'll post pics of the bear soon).

2. Get a haircut. I am still in need of a haircut but it's not really a priority when I need to think about travel money to interviews.

3.Go and see an exhibition (Magnificent Collections at the Barbican perhaps, or maybe Fashion on the Ration at the Imperial War Museum). I did do a day out at a few of London's museums but again, these two exhibtions will have to go on the back-burner for the moment.
4. Drink 1.5 litres of water a day and cut down on bread. Yes to both of these, plus, the kitchen is now finished which means we can cook on an oven, grill and hob again!
5. Go on another bike ride. Nope. Thanks to the kitchen being done, access to the shed and garage (which houses the bikes) was virtually impossible for the whole of March. Also lame was the fact that I only managed one game of badminton this month :(
6. Buy (or possibly make) an address book. Nope. Buying is out of the question, one day I will make one.
7. Set aside some time to do more drawing (you love doing it after all). I've done quite a bit of doodling, nothing worth sharing, just yet anyway...
8. Ebay the rest of the stuff set side *ahem* in January... Yup, everything got ebayed AND I set aside some stuff to take to charity too!
9. Continue to apply for jobs, 5 a week minimum (and do some prep for your interview). Yes! I've been pretty good at applying for stuff and it definitely paid off in March, although not quite the ultimate payoff, ie: a job. However, I'm feeling positive about April.
10. Sew something! We've got to March and I've not done ANY sewing yet this year :( This morning I re-hemmed a skirt which I've been meaning to do since January, that counts right?

It's gloriously sunny (and hella windy)  here in London. My plans for the day include: wearing said skirt mentioned above, applying for a job at Battersea dogs & cats home, buying ingredients for tonight's dinner, going for a run and finally watching the last two episodes of Twin Peaks. Not bad for a Tuesday :)

Making lately (and some March goals)

a bit of doodling // after successfully finishing my brown TOFT bear, my sis asked me to make her a white one // baby blanket progress // fun lunches

And some goals for the month...

1. Finish a bunch of craft projects - baby blanket, crochet bear, needlepoint black bird.

2. Get a haircut.

3.Go and see an exhibition (Magnificent Collections at the Barbican perhaps, or maybe Fashion on the Ration at the Imperial War Museum).
4. Drink 1.5 litres of water a day and cut down on bread - 1 slice a day maximum (being at home a lot has meant that my bread consumption has got way out of hand over the last month or so).
5. Go on another bike ride. 
6. Buy (or possibly make) an address book.
7. Set aside some time to do more drawing (you love doing it after all).
8. Ebay the rest of the stuff set side *ahem* in January...
9. Continue to apply for jobs, 5 a week minimum (and do some prep for your interview).
10. Sew something! We've got to March and I've not done ANY sewing yet this year :(

Happy Tuesday all!

February was...pretty meh

It's not been the best February which sucks because it's usually one of my favourite months (mostly thanks to my birthday & the fact that I tend to notice the days finally getting longer). The unemployment blues definitely got the better of me this month which made me v.anti-social, moody and kinda rubbish to be around to be honest. On top of that, one of my very best friends, one of my bridesmaids in fact, is leaving for Australia on Monday. I know it's absolutely the right thing for her to do and she is going to have the most amazing time and we have this clever thing called the internet and skype so we can stay in touch. But selfishly, I am so bloody sad. We gave her an epic send off last weekend and last night three of us went for a really lovely goodbye dinner (at Moro in Exmouth Market, which, incidentally, was lush and I can definitely recommend it). And so, I've said my goodbyes, written my farewell card and given her a USB stick of music and stuff that holds some awesome memories of the last 10 years. We'll skype, we'll send postcards and hopefully next year I'll fly out there for a visit :) I have so much love for this girl!

In other news, it's the end of February, time to see how I did with those goals... 

1. Dye my hair. Yep, got this sorted last week and I feel pretty good about it. Now to get it cut.
2. Book a doctors appointment. All done and dusted.
3. Transfer ISA account. Also done. Life admin-wise I did well this month.
4. Make a skirt from the red fabric bought at the knitting & stitching show. Fail. I've done exactly NO sewing this year so far, something I need to sort ASAP.
5. Find blue tapestry wool to finish my auntie and uncle's Christmas present (I really am the worst present giver ever). Massive fail. Although I've finally accepted what I've been putting off for the whole month: I am going to have to cut out all the blue I've done and start again (obvs having bought enough of the new blue to complete it). I am such an idiot.
6. Have people over for dinner. This didn't happen and it is v.unlikely to happen whilst we continue to live at my parents. Le sigh.
7. Continue with the weekly badminton session. I only managed 2 out of 4 this month - not for want of trying - but I did manage to go for a bike ride. I hadn't been on a bike in about 10 years and it was the most liberating feeling! It sounds stupid but I honestly felt flipping amazing peddling like crazy around the two parks nearest my house. Plus the weather was amazing that day.
8. Ebay the large-ish pile of clothes that I've been putting aside. I actually only Ebayed half of the pile but all but one thing sold :)
9. Bake a cake. Nope, that didn't happen and now that my parents are having their kitchen re-done, I don't see this happening any time soon.
10. Get a job, obvs. Ha! This hasn't happened yet either but I do have an interview next month which is exciting.

A not so bad result considering I was SUCH a grumpy grace this month. After feeling meh about February, I'm feeling really optimistic about March and I fully intend to make a positive start to it tomorrow :) Hope you're all having fabulous weekends wherever you are!

Mapping the City (and some February goals)

I have a thing about maps - world maps, old maps, illustrated maps, maps of imaginary places, planetary maps. I used to love drawing maps when I was little (you know, and making them look old by soaking them in tea) and I can be lost for ages poring over a detailed atlas. I think it has something to do with the connotations of journey and exploration, they give me the good kind of butterflies. So, given my penchant for maps, the title of this exhibition was enough to draw me in. It's comprised of an incredibly varied assortment of "maps" (in inverted comas as about two out of the 50 resembled anything like traditional map). Many were linked to where the artists (graffiti and street artists that is) lived or had lived or somewhere that held personal importance. Below are some of my favourites. I'd definitely recommend a visit if you find yourself near Somerset House. It's free and on till the 15th of Feb.

Barcelona by Sixe Paredes

Cabott Square, Canary Wharf by Will Sweeney

Paris Verticale by Honet

Mi mundo/Meine Welt by Martin Tibabuzo 

(The story behind this one was interesting. The artist began to lose his memory in the early 2000s and was advised by doctors to undertake memory exercises,  to create timelines and 'mind maps' which he then turned into artistic projects. This is the world as he remembers it.)

Tag Manhattan by Momo 

(A continuous drip of paint across Manhattan spelling out the artist's name to create one of the world's longest of tags. Pretty cool, huh?)

And now for some goals for the month. My Jan ones weren't entirely successful but that's cool, I can always try again in Feb :)

1. Dye my hair. It's not been done since the wedding (nearly six months ago) so you can imagine the roots I'm sporting.
2. Book a doctors appointment.
3. Transfer ISA account.
4. Make a skirt from the red fabric bought at the knitting & stitching show.
5. Find blue tapestry wool to finish my auntie and uncle's Christmas present (I really am the worst present giver ever).
6. Have people over for dinner. Mitch and I have been v.lucky in that a number of our friends have invited us for dinner over the last couple of months. Living in my parents' house makes me feel like we can't return the favour but sod it, I want to do it at least once.
7. Continue with the weekly badminton session.
8. Ebay the large-ish pile of clothes that I've been putting aside. Let's face it, I could do with with the cash. Being unemployed is poor.
9. Bake a cake. I've not done any baking in forever.
10. Get a job, obvs.

January was...colourful!

Yay! Photo grid!

It's funny, I always think of January as grey, cold and lasting forever, and, to be fair, it has been all those things, but this year it's also been full of change. I've met more new people and been to more new places in the last month than I have in ages. As well as being incredibly social, January's been highly productive, not only in terms of job searching and interviews but in my efforts to exercise regularly and set aside time to get on with creative bits and bobs.

However, before I get too carried away with how amazing I am, I must confess that the little list of things I set myself to do January didn't go so well...

1. Finish all three books that I'm currently in the middle of. Nope this didn't happen. I only finished one.
2. Send out remaining wedding 'Thank You' cards. I actually finished writing all the cards on my list but Mitch still has all his to do. Hopefully we'll get a load of them written tomorrow.
3. Complete my auntie and uncle's Christmas present. I still haven't finished it. I ran out of one of the colours and lost the number so, ordering more is going to be impossible, there are SO many different shades. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about this other than taking the half finished picture into the wool shop and holding it up to the tapestry threads to find a match...
4. Look into ISA rates as my one with Halifax is crap. Although I've not moved our savings, I have identified which bank I'll be switching to.
5. Go through un-opened post and file away anything important, bin the rest. Yup!
6. Make full use of Orange Wednesday codes every week in January as it's coming to an end and there's quite a few films I want to see (Birdman, Fox Catcher, Wild). I have now seen Birdman and Whiplash but without the Orange Wednesday code. Thankfully it's not coming to end until Feb 25th so I've got a bit of time left.
7. Get a game of badmington once a week. 3 out of 4 weeks isn't too bad.
8. Try one new veggie recipe every week. Massive fail. I only tried one but it is a goodie which I'll definitely be making again.
9. Buy black tights. Yup but I could always do with a couple more pairs.
10. Oh, and, decent ones permitting, apply for jobs, two a day at least. I've been proper on it in terms of applying for jobs and I've even had a few interviews. I've got some freelance work to be getting on with as well as my shifts in the charity shop but the search for a job continues.

Hope you've had a colourful January too!

2015 - let's plan :)

I've been living in a bit of a bubble for the last four days. A bubble which consisted of pyjama-wearing, movie watching, mario kart playing and biscuit eating - Mitch hadn't been well, you see, and I was keeping him company. You'll notice that 'thinking about goals for the year' didn't feature in that bubble which is why I'm writing this today.


So, there really is only one ultimate goal for 2015:

To move out of my parents' house, preferably (and fingers crossed) into our very first home.

No biggy.


As well as aiming to purchase the most expensive thing I've ever bought and enter the most adult and scary contract that exists (to my mind that's what a mortgage is), I have a few other things I what to focus on in 2015.

★ Career - as I am currently jobless, finding permanent work is high on my list of priorities. I'd also like to see if I can score some more craft commission work. Being paid to knit was cool.

★ Health - This time last year I was feeling pretty good, exercising regularly, drinking lots of water, eating healthy (or at least in moderation) and then I moved back home and it all went to shit. (I mostly blame the fact that there are no affordable gyms anywhere close to where I live but it's actually because I am lazy.) 2014 was definitely a year-long fall off the wagon. So, this year I've set myself a target: to be active (whether it be badmington, zumba, a run, swimming, anything that gets me off my butt) 3 times a week. That doesn't sound like much but it's going to be a challenge for me (NB: I am lazy) especially during the winter months. I also want to cut down on my bread and meat in-take. (I blame my lack of will-power and a kitchen full of food for the over-indulgence of both of these in 2014).

★ Travel - The plan is to visit a whole bunch of places that I've never been before - Scotland (Ben Nevis needs climbing afterall) and Ireland (the west coast beckons) for a start. Mitch and I booked our trip to Iceland whilst in our little bubble (gaaaad I'm so excited!) but there may be a couple more trips abroad before the year is out...we shall see!

★ Making - It's no secret, I love making stuff and this year I fully intend to continue my love affair with crafting. I plan to give screen-printing a go, make a baby quilt for my cousin's buba, attempt to knit another jumper and do a bit more dress-making, specifically tops which could be worn throughout the year, I really do lack these. My collection of craft materials has grown beyond my means to contain it, a 'use it or lose it' rule might need to be imposed in 2015. Failing that, a spending ban on new stuff until I've used up what I've got should probably help.

I realise that these goals are all quite broad and thus, likely to fail, but fear not! I'm also setting myself positive things to do each month, similar to Sarah's excellent idea. So here is my January to do list:

1. Finish all three books that I'm currently in the middle of.
2. Send out remaining wedding 'Thank You' cards (yes, my wedding was almost 5 months ago and yes, I am the worst bride ever).
3. Complete my auntie and uncle's Christmas present (yes, I'm also the worst gift-giver).
4. Look into ISA rates as my one with Halifax is crap.
5. Go through un-opened post and file away anything important, bin the rest.
6. Make full use of Orange Wednesday codes every week in January as it's coming to an end and there's quite a few films I want to see (Birdman, Fox Catcher, Wild).
7. Get a game of badmington once a week.
8. Try one new veggie recipe every week.
9. Buy black tights.
10. Oh, and, decent ones permitting, apply for jobs, two a day at least.

Doable I reckon :)