A dog bit me. B-I-T me. Bit me. They had to take me to the hospital last night and they said I might have hydrophosphates!

Maybe it's because I have been watching through My So-Called Life recently (I didn't watch it as a teenager) but for the past while I keep thinking of Really Deep Thoughts that I want to blog about...but then getting to my blog and completely forgetting about them. It's pretty lame. I don't know if I'm going to be able to get to them today either, but I'm sort of hoping that acknowledging the problem might help in some way. Of course, there is a good chance that none of my thoughts are in any way deep, but prolonged time in which to think them has convinced me that they're really meaningful. Oh dear, I'm babbling now!

I've recently taken some time off from work and, in a sense, from my normal life. I've found the past year to be very difficult, and I'm not sure why. Having some time to think and to figure out why I find some things hard is really helpful. It's also good to not be at work right now, because that has definitely been part of the problem for me. I did a bit of reading about stress and anxiety and found a checklist of things that might be likely to make a person feel unduly stressed. I could see lots of things I had experienced in this list - long work hours, long commute, uncertainty at work, family conflicts, bereavement, breakdown of friendships, change. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that what I have experienced is in any way unusual. It hasn't been. Lots of people experience the things that I have experienced, and they've lived to tell the tale so I know I will too. However, it's only in recent weeks that I have come to understand the toll it has taken on me, and having some time to come to terms with that is really important. I don't want to get all serious here, but it's important for me to acknowledge that things haven't been all right, if that makes sense.

What is good is that I'm starting to feel like I can see some end to it. I know that the next few months are going to be as difficult as before - my workplace is closing, and Nic's course is finishing so both of us are looking at a changing situation. But unlike a few months, or even a few weeks ago, I think that I'll be able to find a way to handle it. That feels like progress to me.

All of the above feels a bit self-indulgent but acknowledging how I feel and asking for help has made such a difference, and it feels good to be able to talk about it here too. In truth, I have been humbled by the way in which my friends and loved ones have reached out to help me up. I've been equally humbled by the help and love that has come from unexpected and unlooked for places. I'll be okay, and it feels good to be able to say that!

Regular readers may have noticed that there has been more of a focus on sewing round here recently. The funny thing is that sewing has been really good for me - maybe it's my equivalent of basket weaving or something! When I have been feeling low, sitting down and concentrating on making something has made me feel good. I think it's the fact that I can concentrate on working out how the dress goes together, and then have the satisfaction of the finished object at the end of it. Also, of course, having some new dresses always helps as well! I did make another dress this week - it's another version of the Colette Rooibos dress

I really love this pattern. It comes together very easily and the shape of the dress makes it really comfortable and flattering to wear. I made this red version a size smaller than the turquoise one I made a few weeks ago, and it is definitely a better fit. I bought some red cotton twill from Royal Fabrics and it was a dream to sew with. It's fairly heavy so I think this dress will be autumn appropriate with some opaque tights and a cardigan. I'm currently weighing up in my mind whether to add some buttons to the neckline, or whether this will make this too similar to the turquoise one. I'll wear it a few more times and decide. Oh, and I decided to keep my Smurfette dress that delightful shade of blue. Why not - it makes me stand out! But thank you to all of my lovely readers who advised me to keep it that way.

I don't know if I'm going to get up to much blogging next week because Nic and I are off to Northern Ireland to celebrate my birthday in the bosom of my family. I'm really looking forward to it - obviously seeing my folks is going to be brilliant, and hopefully Nic and I will get up to some adventures that I can share with you when we get back! Also tomorrow night I'll be celebrating with my wonderful friends, by eating some tasty mexican food and perhaps drinking some wine.

I'm running out of things to write, but I'm going to leave you with an extract from a brilliant comic which arrived at our house this morning:

You can buy this from the Gareth J Brookes's website. And you should, it's been making me laugh all day!

You tell them nothing except where the toilets are, but you lie about that.

It definitely, truly is autumn now. As I write this I am huddled under a fleecy blanket and I'm finding it difficult to concentrate because I'm distracted by the thoughts of a cup of tea (Tea.Earl Grey. Hot) Still, I'll persevere, and then maybe I will reward myself with that cup of tea!

I've had a really good few days. On Friday afternoon the lovely Becky came over to Leamington and we spent some time with her. We went along to see the fabulous Shanade Morrow launch her e.p in Head, before going for a coffee in Wilde's and dinner in the Oriental Star (a classy end to the evening, I feel!) It was an excellent way to spend a chilly Friday afternoon. After lots of tasty Chinese food I was very sleepy so took myself off home to watch the last two episodes of Mad Men Season 3. Now, I won't talk about it here because lots of other bloggers have done it already, and done it better, but WOW. Also, I know the obvious thing is to crush on Don Draper and I can see that, but my crush is definitely on Roger Sterling. John Slattery must be having a ball, they give him the best and funniest lines.

On Saturday morning Nic and I were up bright and early (ish) to catch the train down to London. We arrived at Leamington station just in time to catch the Wrexham and Shropshire service to Marylebone. They only run a few services between Wrexham and London every day, but I am so happy that they pass through Leamington because their trains are beautiful. They're spacious, comfortable trains and it's a joy to travel on them. The buffet car is great and Nic and I were able to breakfast on the train (apparently first class customers get free cooked breakfasts!) with fresh coffee, toast and marmalade. I'm not what you would call a trainspotter, but I am extremely appreciative of this service. Unlike other big train companies, Wrexham and Shropshire don't have any peak fares - so a ticket between Leamington and London is valid on any of their services. Although they don't set the fares from Leamingon or Banbury, I approve of and appreciate their policy. What does affect me is their customer service on board, which is second to none. If you're travelling from Leamington or Banbury to London I recommend you try to catch one of their services. If nothing else it's sticking two fingers up to Virgin, who have been doing their best to strangle this small company out of business.

Enough train talk! We arrived in London to a bright, sunshiny day. We were there because Nic wanted to go to an exhibition in Battersea Park, so we hopped on the tube to Victoria and enjoyed a leisurely walk down the King's Road to Albert Bridge. I'd never been to that part of London before and thoroughly enjoyed walking the King's Road. It's got all your standard high street shops so wasn't anything special on the shopping score, but the buildings are pretty and Nic and I stopped to enjoy the weekly food market going on outside the Saatchi Gallery. Battersea Park was gorgeous as well, and with the river behind me, Nic found a good spot for my outfit shot:

Yes! I wore my Macaron dress. I like this dress a lot, and was glad for the sunshine so I could get a wear of it in before the spring. I made this out of some cotton bought from Royal Fabrics, and thought of it as a wearable muslin when I was making it. It photographs well, and it fits perfectly after a few minor adjustments to the neckline. I really like the colour, but felt a bit self conscious when I was wearing it because I did attract lots of stares! I began to feel a bit paranoid that maybe everybody was thinking I looked like Smurfette...

What do you think? On reflection, I was probably drawing those glances because the dress is such a bright colour, but still. I think I'll wear it a few more times and see what I feel - I think if I over dyed it in a darker blue the contrast would still show up, I'd have a dress in darker blue with a pale blue yoke. I'll have to think about it, I suppose. Anyway, I knew we'd be doing a lot of walking so I wore my trainers, and I'm glad I did - we must have walked for miles.

Nic was a little bit disappointed by the exhibition but I was very glad to be able to enjoy the sunshine in the park:

The tea pavilion in Battersea Park. Sadly it was a bit too cold to enjoy this!

Some pigeons sunning themselves on the roof of a little boat house on the lake. Not pictured: the ENORMOUS spiders inside the boat house.

Nic in front of the Children's Zoo

After an ice-cream in the park and some lunch in Battersea we took ourselves down Cheyne Walk to Imperial Wharf to catch some free jazz. This was pretty good, because Nic was able to enjoy seeing Tony Kofi for free, but the setting was really strange. The free jazz festival was being held in the plaza of some new apartment blocks on the river. The surrounding restaurants and bars had set up outside so there was lots of food, and lots of people around but the tall buildings blocked out the sunshine and created a wind tunnel effect so it quickly got cold. Still, the music was good and the riverfront walk was stunning. As well as having a great view of the river itself we watched a helicopter take off from a landing pad on the opposite bank and I was childishly excited by this!

After meeting up with JP and H, we headed over to Little Venice to have a few drinks there before catching the train back up to Leamington. That was lots of fun, we had a few drinks in the Warwick Castle, I taught H how to crochet a granny square while Nic and JP plotted some writing. It was really good, and the Warwick Castle is a great little pub with Keats poems framed in the toilets!

The beautiful lantern at the Warwick Castle

Nic and I were able to catch another Wrexham and Shropshire train back up to Leamington, and finished off our evening with a curry from the Millennium Sweet House. It was a long and tiring day, but it was so much fun. I loved seeing a bit of London I haven't visited before, and just getting out and having an adventure did an enormous amount for my general mood.

We've been having a much quieter Sunday, starting with a much-needed lie in. We did some chores before having afternoon tea with Lysy and The Scientist, and now Nic is cooking us dinner. I'm back to work tomorrow, which I'm feeling a bit nervous about, but I am consoling myself with the thought that in a week's time I'll be at home in Northern Ireland with my folks. I am so ridiculously excited about getting home, I'm going to be hanging on to that thought all week!

Now, with that I think it's time for that cup of tea. It's only fair. Now, I wonder if I can get Nic to make it for me?

I guess what I'm saying is at some point, we've all parked in the wrong garage.

I got a blog award!

I've taken a break of a few days away from the internet. It's been really nice, actually. I was able to focus on getting some other things done and, when I came back to the land of the internets I found that the lovely Karen from Did You Make That? nominated me for a Beautiful Blogger award! This pretty much made my day, as did the very lovely write up she gave me. Her blog is one of my favourites and her sewing skills and sense of humour have inspired me in my sewing endeavours as well, so thank you Karen!

So, the rules are that I share seven little known facts about myself, and nominate five other beautiful bloggers for the award. Here we go...

1. I really hate talking on the telephone

Amber has talked before about her phone phobia, and I share this. When I was a teenager I used to spend hours and hours on the phone to my friend Emma (who I spent all day in school with) and my friend Miranda (who I never met) and that just seems unthinkable now. I mean, I love talking to people, but there is just something about the phone that I avoid. The absolute worst thing about my job is when the phone rings. I have a work blackberry and the sound of it ringing (or, of any blackberry ringing) is enough to bring me out in a cold sweat. I just can't explain it.

2. I fear losing my accent

My family always tease me when I go home about how English I sound. Now, I know that isn't true and that I definitely do not have an English accent. However, I know that in my nine years over here my accent and my intonation have changed. I partly blame teaching, I had to slow down and make myself a lot more clear for a classroom full of rowdy children. I can feel myself picking up the threads when I do go home, and maybe that's just the way it's going to be. I know I have never sounded just exactly as my family all do, even when I was living at home but still. I'm proud of my Northern Irish accent and I don't want to lose it!

3. I can't swim

I was just never able to learn. I couldn't manage to float and I really hate having water on my face. I'm not too bothered about learning, either. I think even if I could swim I wouldn't bother with going to the swimming baths (chlorine and humidity - yuck!) Maybe I'd like to be able to swim in the sea, but I don't know. I think I'm unlikely to fall in the water and drown, but if I had children I would learn to swim, I suppose in case one of my children fell into the water.

4. I don't like bad boys but...

When it comes down to it, Mr Big beats Aiden every single time. I mean, I know why he's a bad idea for Carrie, but I love Mr Big:

I think it's just that I love a man in a good suit!

5. I am a feminist

Okay, so maybe that one isn't little-known but I think it's worth saying anyway. I shave my legs, I wear dresses and high heels and make-up, and I am a feminist. I'm proud to say it.

6. I love chips

I'm stealing a bit from Karen, here. She mentioned chips. I love vegetables (just as well, as I am a vegetarian) but chips from the chip shop are my favourite treat. Potatoes in any form work for me, but I love chips. For a while I ate fish, and I don't any more, and occasionally I really some battered haddock along with my chips. I usually settle for lots of salt and vinegar and HP sauce. NOMS.

7. I have a weakness for crockery

I like to collect Hornsea pottery. There are only two of us living in our little flat but I have about 20 cups and mugs. I do drink a lot of tea, to be fair, but mainly I just have a weakness for nice tableware.

I really struggled to think of seven interesting things! I don't know how well I succeeded, but on to the important bit...the other beautiful bloggers I'd like to nominate:

Second Hand Shopper

Lovely Caroline. I discovered her blog quite by accident, and ended up finding a truly excellent friend. I got lucky that she lives in the area, and even luckier that she is so cool. Her blog is full of interesting posts on style, fashion, education...everything you can think of and more.

Princess Prudence Diaries

Louise is another real-life friend. I love the way her sense of humour, and her fun attitude to life shine through in all of her posts. She's a vintage fiend, a marvellous photographer and an all-round star.

Forever Amber

Amber is awesome, and so are her blogs. She blogs for a living, but I'm linking here to her personal blog. It's full of humour and whimsy and her voice is inimitable, funny and engaging and smart.

At Home With Mrs M

Mrs M is another local blogger. She's amazing on Twitter, as well. She writes recipes and reviews, and her blog is full of variety. She's funny and clever, and I always enjoy reading whatever she writes.

Squeezegut Alley

Well, this one just reeks of nepotism because this is my lovely Nic's blog. I'm shameless, though. Also, his blog is excellent. He's only been blogging for a few months but his blog is excellent. He writes about mystery, movies, jazz and comics. I'm always full of pride and admiration when I read his writing, I think his blog is wonderful.

Anyway...that's my Beautiful Blogger awards!

I don't have anything extremely exciting to write about, I've been having a quiet week. I saw my lovely Sugar Plum on Tuesday, which was wonderful. I was feeling really low again and she picked me up like a treat, it's always such a tonic to see her. I haven't been out of the house much, so I haven't done much in the way of outfit shots but as I'm feeling a bit chirpier today, here's what I'm wearing:

Fever Daisy dress and Irregular Choice Matronix shoes

I love this dress, although I think the way the print falls on the bodice makes it difficult to photograph. This was another ebay find, a bargainous £7! It's a good vanity dress as well, because despite it being a size smaller than I usually wear it fits like it was made for me. I love the length of it and the pencil skirt, it also has the cutest little vent in the back. So, all in all £7 well spent I think!

I'm also going to give you a sneak preview of what I'm going to be wearing tomorrow:

It doesn't photograph that well on the hanger and it needs a good iron, but it's a Macaron. It's another dress pattern from Colette Patterns. Again, this was a really enjoyable dress to sew up. I made a mistake initially with the pleats, and also I had to make the neckline wider because my head is just too big to get through the neckline as drafted on the pattern! Also I hope that the wider neckline won't mean that I cover the top of the dress with makeup when I take it off at night. The blue is really bright, brighter than I had initially planned but I like it all the same. I'll sew this up in darker colours for the autumn as well, I think. And I'll post photos of me wearing this at some point over the weekend.

Now, I think after all of that heavy thinking (!) it's time for me to have a cup of tea. Have a lovely Friday, everybody!

They want me to let you know the gravity shelf is in remission. The laser death team got recalled.

Hurrah! Another Monday over and done with, and only one more to go until I am on holiday again. I'm in a terrible habit of wishing the days away at the moment, even though I know it's a totally counterproductive way to spend the time. I get a bit like this in the autumn, at the moment it's partly because of my general state of mind but I think it's also the sense of anticipation I always seem to feel at this time of the year. I am really looking forward to getting home to see my folks, though. Having been ill, I'm looking forward to the comfort of sleeping in my bed at home and waking up to the sounds of the countryside. I've been feeling really homesick, and hearing some lovely Northern Irish accents will be good for me. So will a week of eating potatoes, no doubt!

I worked from home on Friday and, despite some minor IT related stresses, it was a pretty nice day. The previous evening Nic and I went out for a date to a new South Indian restaurant around the corner. The food was amazing, and the service was incredible as well and Nic and I had so much fun. We had planned to follow dinner with a drink in Wilde's, but after an enormous meal all either of us could think about was going home. So, we had our date on Friday evening instead. I love Wilde's. It's in a basement at the top of the parade, and it boasts that it's Leamington's oldest wine bar. I can't really think of another wine bar in Leamington but, whatever, Wilde's is really nice. And because Leam is pretty small you can usually be guaranteed to bump into someone you know in there. Last time it was Meg and her lovely man and on Friday night it was Lucy, which was a delight.

Nic and I were up bright and early on Saturday morning. As well as being the Leamington Food Festival, it was also Birmingham Zine Fest. On our way along to the station, we had a quick browse around the food stalls that were set up in the Pump Room Gardens. I'm not a big foodie, so I can't say if it was any good or not but we did manage to bag some tasty free olives before catching the train. Birmingham Zine Fest was really cool. There was a fair being held in The Victoria on Bright Street, so we went along to that first and spent some pennies on zines. I hadn't read a zine since I was a teenager and my friend Miranda and I attempted to collaborate on one, and I had forgotten how cool they can be. We met some seriously nice people, bought some fantastic zines and Nic came away feeling really enthused about writing and creating something like that for himself. In fact, a sketch he did was printed in a zine that was published that day but he's going to write about that himself over at his blog Squeezegut Alley so go and read it there!

After spending some time at the zine fair, we headed down to Digbeth to the Warehouse Vegetarian Cafe for lunch. It was delicious, and when we were finished the sun had come out, so Nic took my outfit shot for Saturday:


Darling dress, Marks and Spencers patent belt and Bertie Orkney shoes

Those shoes should be comfortable because of the little heel, but they ended up really rubbing the back of one of my ankles. By the end of the day, I had a fetching cut and blood on my stockings. Classy! After lunch we had a browse around the vintage shops, before taking advantage of Heritage Open Weekend to visit the Back to Backs. It was pretty good, but seriously crowded and so after a short time there we decided to check out what was happening in the Arts Fest, which was also on over the weekend. I don't go into Birmingham terribly often, but we really did have a lovely day out. We finished off the day by a cup of tea in the railway buffet in Moor Street station. Call me old-fashioned, but I was really tickled by the station crockery:



Some other photos I took on Saturday:


Nic picking out some delightful ornaments in Selfridges


A case of eyeballs in the Back to Backs. Not quite sure what the significance of this was...



Some lovely architectural and artistic features at The Custard Factory


The obligatory photo of me posing in a hat

We ended our evening with pie from Urban Pie, a science fiction film and some cocktails:


For some reason I felt really blue when I woke up yesterday morning and found it hard to shake off all day. It might have been down to having been tired from a long day in Birmingham, and certainly the anxiety dreams I'd had all night didn't help. I was feeling really strange and teary all day but luckily I had Nic around to help to cheer me up. We spent some time pottering around at the food festival and enjoying the intermittent sunshine. We had some free (and delicious) food from Kayal, and bought some cheese but I think it's usually the case that these food festivals are better for meat eaters. There were four hog roast stands, and not a great deal for vegetarians, but that was fine. As I said, I'm not really what you could call a foodie. Instead, we visited some of the properties that were open as part of Heritage Open Days and enjoyed a drink on the terrace of the Grand Union restaurant on Clemens Street. In anticipation of doing a bit of walking, I wore my red cowboy boots. They're in need of a bit of polish, but I think they look pretty good:



We had a quiet evening in with dinner, a Spencer Tracy film and a bath. It was what I needed and, although it didn't quite chase the blues away it certainly helped.

I've been struggling a fair bit recently with feeling low and anxious and, while I have been feeling generally better recently, I felt very low on Sunday and today. It's stress related and I'm doing what I can to make things better and to think more positively. I had some time off work, which helped. I've been trying to talk more about how I am feeling and what it is that's causing me stress - there are a lot of things, all of which are out of my control. I suppose the only thing that I can attempt to control is how I react. I'll be honest, I'm finding it hard and that's why my posts have been sporadic. I'm trying hard to get better, but it might be a little bit up and down around here in the next while.

I'm hoping I'll have a good week, and there are some good things lined up. A guest post for Squeezegut Alley on a subject very dear to my heart, spending time with friends, and maybe a trip to London on Saturday. And right now? Some cuddles with Nic on the sofa, and an episode of NYPD Blue.

To tell you the truth I don't much like anyone outside this town. And there aren't many families down our street that I can stand.

I almost couldn't believe it when I woke up this morning and it was actually Friday. This week has seemed that long, partly because it's been my first full week at work for a little while. I've been working from home today and it's been grand - there is something really nice about not having to venture outside on a dull, grey day and something even nicer about not having to catch the skanky train to a skanky station!

Due to getting back into the swing of things at work, I have been having a quiet week and I haven't taken any exciting outift shots or anything. It isn't that I haven't been wearing anything exciting (well...) more that I've not really had the inclination. Today I decided to pair my Rooibos dress with my favourite pair of tights:



The tights were quite a bargain, 50p from Dorothy Perkins in Folkestone to protect my legs from the wind and rain in May! No shoes, because I've been at home all day so haven't been wearing the shoes. My hair is pulled back in a teeny pony tail - I'm not sure if it suits me but the hair has got to that awkward inbetween length and I don't know if I want to cut it shorter or trim it and let it grow out. In any case, I'm away home in two weeks time and my little sister can cut it for me, so I'm holding out til then!

Nic finds it difficult to get the camera on my new phone to focus, so apologies for the slightly fuzzy photo, but I thought I'd stick in a wee close up of the covered buttons I made at the sit and sew last week:



We popped out for a quick browse in the charity shops this afternoon and I picked up a few vintage patterns. I think they're probably all from the 70s and at 30p each it would have been mad to resist!


I really love that this one can be a coat or a dress. I quite fancy making the dress, although maybe not in the yellow of the pattern diagram!


I love the version of this with patch pockets. Not pictured on the front is the fact that this pattern also includes pieces to make a blouse!


This one is just cool. I mean, I don't know how the high neck would look on my figure but it was too cool to leave in the shop!

I have been planning all sorts of blog posts this week but other things have got in the way. I've been looking for and applying for jobs, doing a bit of knitting that I'd like to get finished and just catching up with myself. Being back at work isn't as hard as I thought it might be, but it is tiring. I'm definitely getting better, though. I'm still feeling some of the physical effects of stress, and am some things difficult but on the whole I feel like I'm getting myself and my positive outlook on life back, and I am enjoying things again.

There are lots of nice things happening this weekend. Tonight Nic and I are having chips and watching It Came From Outer Space before settling down to catch up with New Tricks on the iplayer. I am rather ridiculously excited about this. Regular readers will know of my love for James Bolam so some new Bolam... you can see why I'm looking forward to it! Tomorrow we're going to have a look around the Leamington Food Festival on our way to the station, and then we're off to Birmingham for the day. I'm hoping to repeat the success of my last Birmingham vintage shopping trip... needless to say I will tell all if anything exciting happens!

So, have a lovely weekend, all of you. I'll catch up with you soon!

Computers don't make errors. What they do, they do on purpose.

I am having a lovely lazy Sunday morning. Nic is getting a little bit of work done, and I'm stretching out like a cat, I used to hate Sundays but now they are one of my favourite days of the week. We have no major plans for today, maybe a walk along to the tip shop to donate some VHS and hopefully buy a few plates, as I'm hoping to gradually replace my plain white Ikea dinner plates with more interesting ones. Anyway - maybe this is fodder for a future blog!

It's been an unexpectedly tiring week, but it has been really good and I can gradually feel myself getting better and more positive. The beautiful sunshine at the end of the week certainly helped! On Wednesday afternoon Nic and I walked back over to the Saxon Mill. It's a gorgeous walk in the sunshine through the fields, and sitting outside by the river with a drink is one of my favourite things to do in the summer. The last time we were there was when JP and Hannah came up at the end of July, and we were curious to see if the crop circle we spotted then was still there. Despite the crops having been harvested, you could very clearly see the crop circle still on the ground so we ventured down to investigate. Neither of us could get a satisfactory picture of it, so I'm going to link you to one from some crop circle conspiracy theory website:



I have no theories about the creation of crop circles but many years of watching The X-Files did lead me to hope that if I looked up I'd see some sort of alien spacecraft overhead, or at the very least David Duchovny with a large torch. I didn't, so I had to make do with some lovely coffee and biscotti from The Saxon Milll. It was a really pleasant way to spend the afternoon and I experimented a bit with the vintage camera app I downloaded for my new phone (which is not an iPhone)


A little ladybird on the leaves of the shrub on our table


Nic wondering how the crop circle came to be there

I slept really badly on Wednesday night (maybe it was the exposure to the crop circle that did it?) and wasn't feeling at my most tip-top on Thursday, but all the same Nic and I decided to go out for a date in the evening. I finally got a photo of me in the Cezanne dress (this being the third time I've worn it) and decided to get in a pair of Shoe Challenge shoes before it gets too rainy to wear them any more:


Thursday 2nd September 2010: Fever Cezanne dress and Irregular Choice Oz shoes


Shoe Challenge Shoes number 31

Actually, that photo of the dress is not at all representative but, as it was dusk, it was hard to get a better one. Still, this gives you an idea of what it's like on! I like the shoes with this dress - I think they clash, but in a way that pleases me! We had a very good time on our date - we'd planned to go for one drink in Wilde's and ended up running into my friend Meg and her gentleman friend who were doing exactly that, so we had sort of a double date. It was really good to catch up with Meg and I got to sample one of the cocktails in Wilde's - a very decent Cosmpolitan. Nic was less impressed with his Tom Collins, but it was the first time the barmaid had made one.

The weekend had been pleasantly social as well. On Friday evening we went along to the wonderful Somerville Arms to see Sugar Plum and N, Caroline and Dapper and Nat. As usual with an evening in the Somerville I looked up and suddenly realised it was very late and time to go home - I think this is always the marker of a good evening out! I needed to get home and get some beauty sleep because I needed to be up bright and early to do some baking ahead of the Sew Make Believe sit and sew that on Saturday afternoon.

It was cheat's baking, really. A while ago an acquaintance of mine gave me a recipe for bran loaf and it's so easy and satisfying that I have made it loads of times since. I call it cheat's baking because, apart from putting all of the ingredients into the bowl there is no effort involved at all. You don't even have to measure anything, it's brilliant.


Easy Bran Loaf
1 cup of bran flakes / all bran / sultana bran (whichever you have in your house or local shop. I've used bran flakes myself)
1 cup of flour (of any kind. I like wholemeal, but anything works)
1 cup of milk (again, any kind of milk. I've made this with soya milk and it works fine too)
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of dried mixed fruit

So, you need to put the bran flakes, sugar and fruit in a bowl. Pour in the milk and leave the mixture to soak for an hour.
After an hour, stir in the flour. You can sift it, but you don't need to. Be lazy!
Put the whole mixture into a loaf tin and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees/ Gas mark 4 for an hour

This is really nice served warm with a bit of butter on it, but it is so moist that it's also great without. If you wrap it in greaseproof paper and put it in your cake tin it'll keep for a while, but you'll probably want to eat it before then. In fact, I might have some for my breakfast!

The sit and sew was a great success. It was the first one I'd hosted in Clackett Mansions and we had a smallish group of ladies along. I was able to use my Hornsea teaset (and coffee pot), which pleased Zoe a lot. I spent the afternoon sewing bias tape into the hem of my Rooibos dress, and then making some buttons out of the contrast fabric for the neckline. Lysy got started on a Fireman Sam costume she is making for her nephew, Zoe did some patchworking, Zoefruitcake worked on some cross-stitch while Sandi did some knitting. We were joined a little later by lovely Mama Kate who was making some crochet granny squares. The time flew by. One of the really good things about the afternoon was the fact that, as we were all working on something, there were natural and comfortable silences, and lots and lots of easy chatter as well. I'm really looking forward to the next one in October.

In the evening Nic and I made enchiladas (YUM) and popcorn and attempted to watch The Pelican Brief. We gave up on it after an hour and came to bed, because that film is SO BORING. It really shouldn't be, because I love the idea of the plot, but after an hour bugger all had happened and the dialogue was so painfully bad I couldn't take it any more. Also, I was getting really fed up of all of the leaps of logic we were supposed to make to watch it. So, the President is in hospital and there are no secret service operatives guarding his room? He's able to just open up the window and lean out to his fans in the street? That would happen? Clearly not. Also, if I watched my boyfriend be killed in a car bomb and thought that I was the target, I wouldn't be getting into any lifts, bad wig or not. I'm just saying. Still, it's a shame because I like Julia Roberts, the director is a good one...but the film sucked. The popcorn was delicious, however.

Okay, time for me to get up and about and do something with my Sunday. Have a nice week, everybody!

Not my face, I'm doing a photo shoot tomorrow for Vision Express

Oh, HELLO. Well, I suppose a few of you might have been thinking that I actually had dropped off the face of the earth for real, because despite my promise in my last blog that I'd get back on this....well, as you can see, I didn't. I've had a really tough few weeks and had some much needed time away from things. I'm starting to feel much better now, and the sun is shining, it's September...I have lots of reasons to feel positive, I suppose!

So, here's my usual disclaimer about how this entry is just about what I've been up to. Feel free to look away if you need to, I promise I won't cry too hard. As I said, I've had some time out and it has been really good. I've spent a fair amount of it sleeping, and reading, to be honest. I've also done a bit of sewing, most recently making the lovely Rooibos by Colette patterns. I've blogged about it in more detail over on the Sew Make Believe blog so I'll try not to repeat myself too much here! I bought some lovely turquoise cotton from Royal Fabrics in Leamington and decided to make the contrasting facing and collar detail out of some of the fabric I bought when Nic and I were in Paris in June. Cutting the pattern pieces out took a bit of time, but satisfyingly enough the dress itself came together quickly on a wet Wednesday afternoon, in time for me to wear it to the Sew Make Believe button necklace workshop that evening:



Like the Ceylon dress, this one was very enjoyable to sew and I'm really looking forward to making it again. I think I could stand to make it a size smaller, which is what I'll do. The turquoise one fits grand, and I am really happy with it, but I really like the idea of making a more fitted version of this for the colder weather. Unsurprisingly, I'm thinking of making it in deep red...at least it will feel at home with all of my other red clothes, I suppose! I've bought a few more Colette patterns from Sewbox, the rather lovely Macaron:


Also, the somewhat intimidating Lady Grey coat:


I don't really need another coat, but I love the way this one looks. Also, I'm thinking that it will be a good way to learn new sewing skills, especially as I will have the help of a whole bunch of other seamstresses - I'm going to (attempt to) participate in the Lady Grey sewalong over at Gertie's Blog for Better Sewing so if I come unstuck in matters such as choosing lining fabric etc, I'll have the exploits of other sewists to call on for inspiration.

Despite the nasty weather, I was really looking forward to getting away and spending some time by the sea. Nic and I had planned to spend the bank holiday weekend with his parents in Kent, so on Friday we took ourselves down there. We had a horrible journey between here and London, but once we were on the high speed train out of St Pancras it was all good. We got down a bit later than we had intended, but in good enough time to go out for a walk on the seafront and for a few drinks with Nic's brother Dom. We got to bed early after an episode of Kojak ready for an early start the following day.

Nic had found that the library at the University of Kent in Canterbury had some documents he needed on microfilm, so as we were down that way we took a little research trip out to the campus. The campus is up on the hill above Canterbury and is a delight of 60s architecture (just like the campus of my alma mater) and there was something a bit eerie about being on a practically deserted campus out of term time. The library was nice, and using the microfilm was really cool - it made us both feel a little bit like Mulder and Scully! Most importantly, it was a useful trip. We walked down into Canterbury, along some mysterious woodland paths and through some residential areas, ending up along the river:



The sun was shining and Canterbury was really busy. It's such a pretty town, but I wasn't really feeling in the mood for crowds so after lunch we headed over towards the bus station so we could go and visit Nic's grandparents in Dover. We had just missed a bus, so killed some time in Fenwicks by messing around and trying on clothes:




I quite fell for this bright yellow coat from Benneton, despite its very impractical
colour



We spent a wonderful afternoon with Nic's grandparents before heading back to Sandgate for the evening. The Sandgate Festival was on over the weekend, and we'd had such a good time there last year that we were really looking forward to repeating it this year. The lovely Dan and Vic came over to spend the evening with us, and we were joined also by Dom and his lady M but our plans to watch the fireworks by a fire on the beach were scuppered by rain, and so instead we retired to the pub and spent the evening there. It wasn't quite what we had planned, but it was a really good evening all the same.

Sunday was very quiet and relaxed and on Monday the sun came out again, so Nic and I decided to make the most of our last full day by the sea. We walked along the seafront from Sandgate to Folkestone, stopping for a paddle and a look in the rock pools:


As we got closer to Folkestone we realised that the Leas Lift was back in operation so we were able to take it up to the top of the Leas. It's a water powered funicular railway, and it had been closed down some time back so I was very excited to see it up and running once again! It's a very short journey up to the top, but worth the experience of hearing the water and being able to look out to sea. Once again, we met up with Dan and Vic and spent a really pleasant afternoon pottering around Folkestone. Our plan to have tea at the Grand Hotel didn't come to pass due to there being a large vintage rally going on outside, but this turned out to be really good fun anyway. I found Morse's car (or at least, one very similar to it)



Sadly this wasn't Don Draper's Coupe de Ville


I was too busy posing on this bus to be much good as a clippie, as you can see I let this young man on without a ticket...

We finished our afternoon in Folkestone with an ice-cream in the sunshine, another ride on the Leas lift and the walk back along the seafront to Sandgate. It was such a gorgeous way to spend the bank holiday!


Nic and Dom enjoying the sunshine


My dress got really wet because of the big waves...but thankfully it dried quickly!

Yesterday we decided to break up our journey by stopping in London. Nic bought some comics but this time I didn't buy anything from the Fever shop, which is most unlike me! I was much too hot and sweaty from being on the tube to feel much like trying on the dresses, I think. We had some much needed refreshments in the teashop at the LRB, including some truly delicious rhubarb cake:



And, I'm going to include this picture for no reason other than it really made me laugh:


I'm back to work tomorrow so today Nic and I have just been lazily enjoying the sunshine... I'm just about to have a cup of tea and a snack and then we're off out for a walk to the Saxon Mill. I'll just leave you with a few photos from this morning, as Leamington is so pretty in the sunshine: