Sorry I'm late. I had to stop by the wax museum to give the finger to FDR.

Evening all! This is just a wee quick one tonight to tell you two things. I've been off work today with the flu and am still feeling rather ropey. I'm sure a good night's sleep and some lemsip will help. Anyhoo, what I wanted to say was this. I'm doing the Shoeper Shoe Challenge this year! I did start in on the last one but sort of tailed off, but this year Amber has rallied the troops, and it's official. See the badge, there, on the right? That's how serious I am. Anyway, in the spirit of things today I counted up my shoes and photographed them:

All my children. I mean, all my SHOES

I have 32 pairs of shoes going into the challenge. Only 31 in the picture, because I've lent a pair to a friend. That number isn't too heinous, although if my little flat could talk it would probably beg me not to buy any more shoes. The challenge officially starts on the 14th February, and if you feel like joining in you should visit Shoeperwoman to find out more.

The other thing is that the other evening the lovely Emma of Ol Green Eyes gave me a Stylish Blogger award. The rules are to link back to the person who awarded it to you, tell 7 facts about yourself and nominate 7 others for the award. So here are your 7 things about me.

1. I can't remember if I've mentioned this before on here or what, but I can't swim. I'm not all that interested in learning, either. I don't like getting water on my face and would never go to the swimming pool anyway.

2. If Nic and I have been to the pub, or if we've even had a few drinks in the house there always comes a point when we put on our Kate Bush records and wig out. I am especially fond of miming and dancing along to Wuthering Heights. If Nic and I get married, this would totally be the first dance at our wedding. I am always drunkenly grateful to have found a man who loves Kate Bush as much as I do.

This video is such an inspiration to me

3. I get angry, like really angry when I hear someone whistling. Especially if it's one of those where the person is not even whistling a tune. There was a man on my train the other morning who just periodically whistled one piercing note. Why do people do this? I wanted to scream at him.

4. One of my chief pleasures in life is singing along to the theme tunes of the TV shows Nic and I watch on DVD. Especially NYPD Blue.

5. I don't fancy Johnny Depp, I think David Tennant has an extraordinarily slap-able face and watching Glee made me want to stick pins in my eyes. Sometimes I wonder what's wrong with me.

6. Watching The Wire the other night I realised what one of my biggest problems is: Giving a fuck when it ain't my turn to give a fuck. I'm working on rectifying that.

7. I love potatoes. I know it's a cliche, but I really do. I was genuinely sad when I realised that morning that Saturday was International Potato Day (or something), and I missed it!

Okay, now it's my turn to pass this award onto seven other stylish bloggers. Drum roll please...

1. Louise from Princess Prudence Diaries. She's a dandy highwayman with an excellent eye for the charity shops.

2. Denise from Love on the Streets. She's only just started to take outfit shots, but I think she's very stylish indeed. Not to mention the fact that the girl can bake. My word!

3. Arlene of All Picture No Sound. In a former life she was a dress junkie.

4. Mitr Friend - Bhushavali of The Fashion Panache, a beautiful blogger who also sews.

5. Kerry of Kestrel Finds and Makes. I wish I had her mad knitting skillz! Also her take on the Colette Patterns Crepe is the prettiest one I've seen yet, it's made me think I want to make one too.

6. Cat of Tea And Feathers. I love love LOVE her outfit shots, but even more than that I always really enjoy her thoughtful and intelligent writing.

7. Alex of Tabitha's Tales. She is just so pretty and stylish!

That's me for this evening. I'm away for a lemsip x

It's nothing but a measly footnote to The Red Shoes.

So, seriously, could Spring hurry up and get here? Wrapping up warm is nice, and all, but I am tired of feeling cold. It's cold in our wee flat, Nic and I are swaddled in blankets and I'm on my 357th cup of tea of today just to keep my fingers from freezing!

No, I'm only joking. It's only 324 cups of tea, and I don't mind the cold that badly. It's just, my nose is cold and that's apt to make me a little bit growly. I have no other reason to feel growly this Sunday evening because I have had such a lovely weekend. I love the weekends that start with me working from home, and my weekend got off to a great start as Denise called round bearing baked goods and dresses. This was a winning strategy - it's a clear path to my heart. The hours flew by and before we knew it, it was time for dinner and a film. Denise took herself off home, Nic and I snuggled up with some fizzy wine and our DVD of Say Anything, bought for £1 in CEX. Neither of had ever seen it before but it ticked lots of boxes for us both - John Mahoney (tick), Joan Cusack (tick) and John Cusack when he was still good (tick) and we both really enjoyed it. Everything about it was good so, considering we bought it pretty much on a whim I think we had a good return on our £1 investment!

Saturday being cold but dry Nic and I decided to go out for a walk. We had a quick browse in town before picking up Tom and Paul and heading across the fields to the Saxon Mill. Having been reminded of my Smurfette dress by Denise the evening previous, I decided to wear that:

Colette Patterns Macaron dress, grey tights from Dunnes Stores and Irregular Choice Oz shoes

Clearly, I changed out of the heels before the walk through the fields. These were just for parading around town in. I'm looking forward to it being warm enough for me to wear this dress without swaddling myself in layers, because it is so cute. I wasn't initially sold on the colour but having worn it a few times now, I love it. I know I don't often wear my glasses in my photos for this blog, but Franca's post about glasses made me feel less self-conscious about wearing them in oufit shots. Still, though, I really do think my face looks totally different when I have my glasses on.

The walk over to the Saxon Mill was lovely. We go through some cornfields which, naturally enough, are totally bare at this time of year. It was pretty muddy. All the same, there was something very beautiful about the starkness of the landscape. The pub itself is, as the name suggests, a water mill and I love the approach to it from the fields:

The Saxon Mill

Usually I like to sit outside but this was obviously a foolish plan on such a cold day, so we found a table inside and spent a few hours just chatting about this and that, before walking home as the dusk fell. It was such a relaxing way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Nic and I had dinner and watched some DVDs before falling into bed tipsy (more wine) tired and happy.

Today has been similarly low-key. We had a few boring chores to do in town such as renew my season ticket and buy tinfoil, but luckily the sun was shining.

Fever Robin dress and Topshop shoes

I look very un-made-up here - probably because I broke from my usual routine of liquid eyeliner, and am wearing brown eyeliner and brown mascara. I do love this dress - it is so cosy - but it still has white dog hairs on it from Christmas! It was much more pleasant to pose for this than yesterday in the Macaron because it was actually quite warm in the sunshine! That said, I did hurry to wrap up afterwards:

Sunday 30th January 2011.

We spent a very pleasant afternoon yarning with Lysy and The Scientist. I made some rocky road, and plan to spend this evening curled up with my book, some veggie stew and yet more tea! Emma from Ol' Green Eyes kindly awarded me a Stylish Blogger Award, so if you check back tomorrow I'll do my post about that, and pass the award on to some more stylish bloggers. Until then, stay warm and don't have nightmares.

There is no doubt a new dress is a great help in all circumstances.

In a break from tradition, I'm actually going to credit the quotation I've used for today's blog header. The wonderful Noel Streatfeild - the author best remembered for her children's books, but who also wrote a considerable amount of fiction for adults - coined this maxim. I stumbled across it this week while reading Linda Grant's book The Thoughtful Dresser:

I got an email last week from my friend J, she had dashed it off in a hurry having just been struck by her pressing need to recommend this book to me. Am I ever glad she did! I'll give you her description of it, she sums it up far better than ever I could:

There is a book dedicated to being a clothes lover - about that transcendent joy of materials and wearing, buying, looking for and at - clothes and how they shape your world, your image in the world and the sheer unalloyed deep joy of the cut of a skirt or shade of leather... Just get it - if I still had my copy, I would have sent it to you.

It is simply the best treatise on what clothes are - so much more than functionaries of warmth or signifiers of Tribes... It is called 'The Thoughtful Dresser' and I am convinced that you will appreciate it like I did.

Of course, J was absolutely right. I rushed straight to the library and borrowed this and come payday I'll be buying my own copy. Grant's love for clothes and fashion and style comes pouring off the page - she is an incredibly enthusiastic writer with an appealing colloquial style. And she writes about clothes in an incredibly thoughtful and intelligent way, thinking about adornment and the evolution of fashion, and what it means to both men and women to adorn themselves. Included in the book is the amazing story of Catherine Hill, a woman who is testament to the importance of dress and our need to be clothed in beauty. Grant also writes well about just how much fun fashion can be. It's something I have come to discover in recent years, which is why J recommended the book to me, I think. So go and get yourself a copy, and head on over to Linda Grant's blog.

I have not one, but three outfit shots to share with y'all this afternoon so sit down and make yourselves comfortable. Go and get a coffee, maybe. I have one at my elbow. I'll start with what I wore to the Sew Make Believe social on Wednesday night:

Fever La Caletta dress and Bertie Sardinia shoes

Hhm... I forgot to take the red eye out of this photo. But that's what happens when you're taking photos at night, I suppose. Anyway, you can probably tell from the creases in the skirt that I pulled this out of the wardrobe, it hadn't been worn for a while. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this dress. I love the colour, and it's made from a beautiful silk but it creases like a bitch. Also, despite being a size 12 it comes up very small (see Retro Chick's post on this issue, by the way) Anyway, that's what I wore. I think I've worn this frock all of about four times though so this definitely is one that I might rehome. Incidentally, I had an excellent evening at the social and came home with some delicious treats courtesy of Caroline - a jar of toffee fudge sauce and another of home made pickled onions. Thanks, Caroline!

I was back in the office on Thursday - thankfully that stupid wee bitch next door decided to hold it down on Wednesday night so I got a good night's sleep. It was sunny outside but COLD, so my choice of footwear was not the wisest for Thursday. It stayed dry, though, so small mercies and all that:

Fever Rose Garden dress, Bettie Page belt, grey tights from Dorothy Perkins and Irregular Choice Mermaid shoes

Don't be fooled by my doubtful expression here. I LOVED this outfit. Seriously, it made me really happy. This was my second ever Fever dress and the one that kicked off my love for their clothes. It came with a self-matching fabric belt which I've never been keen on, and I have tried it with a variety of belts, but I love it with this white patent belt from Bettie Page.

Okay, I'm looking a bit cheerier here

I wore the dress with my Tara Starlet petticoat, and I felt very prettily retro all day. I think this look worked well with the Benefit Flirt Alert lipstick I bought before Christmas and the Barry M Nail Paint in bright red I bought after Dollface recommended it.

It was still COLD today but I so enjoyed wearing the Rose Garden dress that I decided to give another spring dress a whirl:

Fever Poppy dress, blue tights from TK Maxx and yet more Irregular Choice mermaid shoes

I don't love this outfit quite as much as Thursday's, but this is another dress that benefits from the addition of that Bettie Page belt. And of course it gave me the excuse to wear another pair of Mermaids!

Okay, with that I'm off. The lovely Denise is on her way over bearing cake for an afternoon of tea and cake and chat. I hope to get out and do things this weekend, so I might have more in the way of news the next time I post. Until then, have a lovely weekend!

Friend Friday: Blogging Mechanics

Another set of Friend Friday questions and answers, folks! I sort of stole Amber's title for it, because it made me laugh.

What technology do you use in blogging? (Computer, camera, video camera, tripod etc)

My blogging is VERY low-tech indeed. Up until a few weeks ago I was taking photos with my mobile phone and just putting them on my blog with no editing or cropping or anything. I think that was working fine, though. I have a really nice HTC phone with a fairly good camera app, so I was having fun playing about with the various retro settings and suchlike. The only issue was that it doesn't work all that well in low light and can be difficult to focus. When my little sister got a new digital camera for Christmas she gave me her old one and it has made getting photos that bit easier, although in terms of megapixels it's less high-tech than my phone. I have been cropping photos and adjusting the contrast where necessary using iPhoto and I usually write my blogs on my by-now-rather-ancient iBook G4. It's becoming increasingly obvious that it's on its last legs, or it is approaching its last legs, so I might have to look at buying myself a new laptop in the not-too-distant future.

One of my outfit shots taken with the HTC vignette app. I really like the overall style, but not necessarily the best for capturing the details of the outfit - in this case one of my gorgeous Fever Dita dresses

What computer and online technology do you use? (blogging system, photo storage, photo editing tools etc)

Again, I am fairly low tech. I set my blog up on blogger and sort of regret that because I think I would find wordpress a better platform for me. Unfortunately someone else has registered dollyclackett.wordpress.com as a blog, and I don't want to change my url to dolly-clackett.wordpress.com (although I have registered it just in case) I do find blogger an incredibly frustrating platform to work on, though. Uploading photos can really screw with the formatting, the 'preview' tool is completely useless and I don't like the commenting system. I will possibly look at importing it all over to a better platform at some point in the future but I'm muddling along for now as best I can. My experience has definitely improved since I've been using my flickr account better for uploading photos onto the blog. I've been having mixed feelings about Disqus but I think it's still definitely an improvement on blogger's own built in commenting system.

What is your process for taking pictures?

This depends on how much time I have! Nic takes my photo so I try to decide on where is best to pose, given the amount of light and time etc and then we just get on with it. I want to make more of an effort to add variety into where we choose for location and stuff, and even how I pose for photos, but this will be something I evolve, I think.

When it comes to backdrops for your pictures, what do you consider? Do you scout locations of shoot the same spot daily?

As I said above, the amount of light. This has been a real issue because this winter has been so murky – until my sister gave me her camera it was extremely difficult to get photos that didn't look totally rubbish. I like my backdrop to be not too busy – at the moment most of my photos are taken in front of my wardrobe doors because there's some space there and also the light is okay. When the weather is better I prefer to get the photos outside. I really like the photos taken on the front step of our building because I think it's such a pretty backdrop. I also like the photos from inside the arboretum. I think I'm lucky in where I live because there are lots of good locations – it's just finding the time and the good weather to be able to get out and shoot there.

I really like the way the front door frames the image - I think this is a good location.

If you could splurge and get one new piece of equipment, what would you be buying?

I will need a new laptop at some point soon-ish. Before that though, I'm going to buy a semi DSLR. I probably wouldn't use all of the functions of a DSLR but I find not being able to play about with focus etc on a point and shoot really limiting. I'll probably buy a second hand one so it won't be too much of a splurge, but I'm definitely heading in that direction ☺

So, there you go. I'll be back a bit later today with some outfit shots and general chat.

That pillock from Sainsbury's was on again, he's never off, him. Cooking another panful of shite that only his mates will eat.

So, yeah, I took the day off work today. Not for any devil-may-care fun reasons but because I didn't get any sleep last night. Luckily my manager was very cool about my last-minute request to use a day of my annual leave, and after a long sleep in I feel like I can salvage the rest of the day. Yes, my noisy next door neighbour was at it again. The downstairs neighbours I mentioned before are often noisy - they don't seem to understand how loud the bass is on their speakers - but the girl in the flat next door is just a spoiled little brat who doesn't care how loud she is. She's been irritating since she moved in, she can't seem to walk up the stairs without bellowing to someone on the phone about how many stairs there are to her flat (we live on the top floor) and I can always hear her coming from the front door. She makes 4am booty calls to her boyfriend and then cries, loudly, when he doesn't comply. Last night I went to sleep as normal only to be woken an hour later by her and her friends coming home from a night out, pissed and stoned. Fair enough, who hasn't made a bit of noise coming home from the pub? But she just would not quit, and after I went round and asked her to keep it down her friends thought it would be hilarious to make more noise. Nic and I ended up sleeping on the living room floor to get some peace. NOT HAPPY. I'll be phoning the letting agency today to make a complaint, but I registered a complaint of my own when I got up by playing music very loudly in my bedroom. FOLK MUSIC. That ought to have pissed her off. I know that's passive aggressive but the direct and polite approach didn't help. Wee bitch.

Sorry about that rant, my dears, but I feel better for getting it out of my system! It is nice to have an unexpected day off, and I've been reading this morning while Nic works and it's all been very pleasant. I plan to spend the afternoon planning out my sewing projects for spring, and doing a bit of reading. I thought I'd wear something comfortable for lounging around the house:

Colette Patterns Rooibos dress, self-made, and Topshop double t-bar shoes. That's the smile of a woman who has had only had about 3 hours of sleep

I do love this dress. It was the second Rooibos I made and I still think it's a little big. I want to pay more attention to fit and tailoring in my sewing this year, but with this style of dress it isn't such an issue. I've worn this lots since I made it and needless to say I love the pockets.

I also really love the neckline at the back - I think the way it scoops down is so pretty! I have two of these dresses and will definitely make another. I'm all in red today, wearing the third pair of red shoes I've bought this month:

Topshop red double t-bar shoes

These were an impulse ebay purchase on Friday evening, and they arrived on Monday. How's that for good ebaying! Clearly I didn't need them, but in my defence they will go with almost everything I own, so whatever. I'm rather partial to the double t-bar as well, it makes them that little bit more unusual.

So, other than my noisy neighbour rant up above I have been having a very uneventful week. Work has been grand, and busy, but actually pretty enjoyable. I can't tell you what a relief it is to actually be enjoying my job again. As our organisation is based in the West Midlands and many of us are facing redundancy, we're being given money to undertake training courses to boost our CVs. A few of my colleagues have decided to do the Prince2 project management course, and it's actually a really good deal. It would be expensive to pay for it yourself (I think around £1500-£2000) and of course it looks great on the CV. I have a meeting with the people who are funding us next week and I'm a bit torn - they'll pay for any training you want to undertake providing it can be completed in 20 weeks or less. So I'm trying to decide whether to take the practical option or to look at something else. My job is not under threat but I still qualify for the funding - so I don't have to worry so much just now about the practicalities and am considering a course in web design or even in sewing and dressmaking. I've got a bit of time to think about it, anyway.

Right, I'm off to have some LUNCH. Nic is very kindly making me some vegetarian sausage sandwiches. YUM! I'm off out tonight to the Sew Make Believe social, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing my lovely ladies. I may even get changed, so watch out for an outfit shot tomorrow. What an exciting life I lead, eh?!

Sometimes the only sane answer to an insane world is insanity

As Nic and I have been having a quiet January due to lack of funds, we've been hitting our collection of DVD boxed sets pretty hard. The other night, while watching an episode of The X-Files, it struck me that the 90s were a good time for TV crushes. In my opinion maybe even better than today (although it's hard to argue against Jon Hamm, there. Wow.) So, for your reading pleasure I present a list to you of my TV crushes from the 90s. We’ll start with my inspiration for this blog.

David Duchovny – Fox Mulder, The X-Files

I still love David Duchovny. In fact I think he's improved with age, and Californication is one of those shows that I didn't think I would like but ended up loving. And for me it all started with The X Files. I used to think my crush was solely on Fox Mulder – that intelligent, creative and rather weird FBI Agent and to begin with it probably was. There's just something that little bit fragile about Fox Mulder, something that you want to protect. And yikes, but the man is attractive. Look at him. Go on!

Look at him. YUM.

His hotness is such that it survived all those ponderous Mulder voice-overs about the nature of the universe, and even the finale of The X Files which has got to be one of the worst pieces of television I've ever enjoyed watching. Even the two movies, Fight The Future and I Want To Believe were rendered watchable by Duchovny's sexiness and overall charisma. What’s made my crush endure is the fact that he seems like such a funny guy. His guest spot in The Simpsons along with his co-star Gillian Anderson is hilarious and he is extremely funny in Evolution and the aforementioned Californication.

I honestly can't think of a caption for this one.

Okay, so he did have some sleazy times in the 90s with his sex addiction and all, but Duchovny seems like a good, funny guy. My love for him is strong. I want to believe.

The X Files was particularly crush-worthy TV. I think they figured they needed the hotness to balance out all the icky stuff and the mytharc waffle. I have a soft spot for Mitch Pileggi as Assistant Director Walter Skinner. He clenches his way through each performance, is totally uptight but is seriously buff. I love the chemistry between him and Mulder and an episode is always improved for featuring a bit of Skinner. If he's doing something angry, all the better.

Skinner, clenching.

Of course Gillian Anderson is amazingly beautiful as well. In early seasons she's spectacularly badly dressed, but I think I prefer this to the polished Scully we see in the recent X Files film. Her hair! Also, she's a pretty awesome female character in that she's always into the action. There's room in my heart for Scully as well.

Special Agent Dana Scully. I hope working with the hotness that is Mulder made all the bad shit that happened to her that bit more bearable.

John Shea - Lex Luthor, The New Adventures of Superman

This next one is a bit of a cheat because I didn't follow Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman when it was broadcast in the 90s. I did watch it off and on, but I didn't love it. Still, my crush here is 90s based so I'm going to include it anyway. It isn't Dean Cain, although the show does everything it can to make you crush on him. No, I love John Shea. He seems to be having so much fun as Lex Luthor. He's determined and evil, but he's smooth and charming and very, very funny.

Evil, but so very charming

I've been surprised by how charming Lois and Clark still is, and I think John Shea is a big part of that. You can really believe that this Lex Luthor could have so much power and that he could have charmed his way to it. Some of the plots (most of the plots) are completely ridiculous but Shea steals every scene he's in. I think he's aces. John Shea even turned up in an episode of Sex and The City. He's one of my very favourite guest stars, in an hilarious turn as Dominic Delmonico, the man who broke Samantha's heart.

Jimmy Smits - Detective Bobby Simone, NYPD Blue

I've written numerous times before about my love for NYPD Blue, and prepare to hear about it again! Like Lois and Clark, this programme wasn't really on my radar in the 90s because I was a bit too young. Nic and I affectionately call it NYPD Blue-y, but I'm ever so glad to have come to it as an adult. Not least because it gave me the chance to discover the immense hotness of one Jimmy Smits. Now, I'd seen Smits in action in The West Wing, as Congressman Matt Santos (apparently one of the inspirations for this character was Barack Obama) but I was so deep into my crush on Richard Schiff (what?! Beards are hot, let me tell you) that I didn't pay him much attention. However, the younger Smits, playing a good cop who can occasionally be badass, with a bit of a sad back story? HOT. My nickname for him is Jimmy Fits, because I am that classy.

FITS

Seriously though, he is a very beautiful man, and Bobby Simone is a fantastic character. Smits seems to excel at playing the good guy who isn't the boring guy. Simone could have been just a foil for Sipowicz but Smits made him more than that, it's a beautiful thing. One of the great things about NYPD Blue is you frequently get to see Smits in the buff, as well. Go and check it out.

Daniela Nardini - Anna Forbes, This Life

The Americans have been getting all of my attention thus far, but I did have love for a few Brits as well. I did watch This Life in the 90s. I was a bit too young to really understand it, but not too young to develop a massive crush on Daniela Nardini as Anna Forbes. Even then I realised that Anna was a mess, but I loved her. She's feisty and beautiful, and has that amazing Scottish accent to boot. Watching it again a few months ago I was impressed with my own taste, there. She's a consistently interesting character.

The beautiful, charismatic Anna Forbes

I also had a soft spot for Miles. Yes, he was a twat and he had stupid hair but Egg was also a twat with stupid hair. I could never understand why everyone fancied Egg so much. Miles treated Anna badly and he was spoiled and annoying and his hair was SO STUPID, but Jack Davenport was and still is a beautiful man.

Miles, and his stupid hair.

Patrick Stewart - Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation

Obviously Star Trek: The Next Generation brings us back to the American end of things, but it should surprise no-one to learn that my crush was on the amazing Patrick Stewart as Jean-Picard. Picard. What a man. The man that inspired this song. He is an intelligent man, a man of character, a man who can DANCE.

Moving from topic to topic. Quite hypnotic.

He looks pretty damn fine in a uniform, as well.

I think that part of the attraction for me is definitely linked to the fact that Patrick Stewart seems to be such a cool person, with a real sense of humour. This comes through in his performance as Picard and in everything else I've seen him in. And, like Duchovny this is a man who has improved with age. What a man.

I could go on for days because clearly, I am very crushable. I know I've missed out some of the more obvious crushes of this era – Jordan Catalano, that guy from Party of Five, Pacey Witter (although, Pacey does get my vote) What can I say? I have individual tastes. Let me know in the comments if you share my feelings, or if you'd like to reminisce about the 90s men and women that got your hearts racing!

I failed to exploit the potential of the cross-head screwdriver. It was publicly pretty shameful.

So, here we are around at Sunday once again. This week has gone by so fast, but it's still over a week to go until payday. There's just no logic in the world, is there?!

Today Nic and I had planned to go over to Coventry, where the wonderful Louise was hosting a Crafty afternoon and Nic was going to go to the pub with her husband. We didn't make it, because after going to bed ill in the hope of waking up better, poor old Nic woke up feeling even worse. I had been feeling under the weather for most of the week and, while I am grand now, he seems to have picked it up. So for him doing anything other than shivering under a blanket on the sofa was really out of the question. On the plus side, it did mean I got to practise my nurturing skills by bringing him cups of tea/lemsip, putting on DVDs for him and generally fussing like a mother hen. It's disappointing though because I was really looking forward to getting my craft on and eating some cake!

So, with that the case my Sunday has been very low key. I did manage to get some crafting done in that I finally cleared my mending pile. There had been four dresses staring balefully at me from it - two needing zips fixed, and two needing other small repair jobs. Now I just have to find hangers for them! Lovely Nic was able to wield a camera in my direction to take an outfit shot as well:

Fever Mocoa Lily dress, purple cardigan from Warehouse and KG Camara shoes. The necklace and the ring were both freebies from Aspire Style

I'm never sure about this dress. When I bought it I was a little bit bigger and now I'm not sure it fits well. I have altered it a little, but I'm still not sure. I love the colours and the print, and it's really easy to style but I think I might give it away. What do you guys think? I love the shoes, though. Every time I wear these I wish I'd bought two pairs, and I have never seen them again anywhere. Ah well, I suppose that's one of those valuable life lessons.

It's cold again in our flat (no wonder poor Nic is feeling unwell) so we've been making heavy use of my Bagpuss hot water bottle. So much that he's starting to take on some distinct character traits, like not wanting to be ignored:

Look how sad he is on his own! Like the slow loris when his tickles stopped

Someone else has picked up on this bid for attention:

With it being so cold, I haven't been doing much proper sewing, but I have been keeping my hands busy, and have been working on some crochet. It's a nice way to keep warm as well, making a blanket.

My granny square blanket-in-progress

Well, I'm off to make my poorly man some vegetable soup. Have a lovely week, everyone!

Yo, Charisse, you stone cold fox. What up?

Whew. What a week! I have been really busy at work this week, and I have been fighting off a cold as well. With the help of some lemsip and lots of nursing from Nic I am actually starting to feel better today. I hope that doesn't mean a downward spiral into illness over the next few days. Ah, now I've said that I bet I have totally jinxed myself!

Although it has been busy, this week and last week have been good at work. I feel much more confident there than I have done for ages. The work I've been doing since I came back after Christmas hasn't exactly been exciting – it's mainly been proof reading – but I feel like I'm doing a good job, I'm getting things done and I'm working well as part of my team. All of that totally eluded me for much of last year and I can't pinpoint exactly what has brought about this change in my attitude. Our circumstances are still uncertain, although there is a very strong chance my job will transfer into an executive agency in a few years so my job is safe until at least then. So that's part of it. I've made more of an effort to integrate myself into the team, and that has definitely helped too. Even dear old Angry Colleague has warmed up to me, and I think I just generally feel happier and safer. I hope it lasts, but I'm sure it will. I'm telling myself it will, at any rate.

As I said in my Friend Friday blog, I've been trying to really think about why I make the choices I make, and why I react the way I do to some things. It's not to berate myself for anything, rather to better understand what makes me tick. A big part of this involves talking about my feelings rather than dwelling on them. Surprisingly, this isn't something that comes all that easily to me. It took me months to be able to acknowledge to myself that I was struggling with work, and some time after that before I could talk to anyone about it and the result was it affected my physical health. I've been really lucky in that my friends and colleagues were able to help me before it got any worse. A much more tricky proposition has been dealing with how I feel about more personal things. More tricky because in some ways these are issues I have felt more comfortable talking about, but the talking about them just added to the problem. I'm probably being frustratingly vague, here, I apologise! But there will be a dress to look at further down the page so hang on in there. What I mean there is that the talking didn't usually have a positive outcome, in fact I think it often made things worse. I've been exploring ways to talk more positively about how I am feeling and what it means, and I know that all sounds a bit new-agey and self-helpy, but it was definitely something I needed to do. I needed to get out of the harmful cycle of obsessing about things, talking obsessively about them, and being unable to escape them to the point of extreme self doubt. Because I think that's what it amounts to: self doubt. Worrying obsessively about things I can't control or even really understand just means I have permission to doubt myself and be hard on myself. I'm trying to stop that, and I do feel better for it.

I apologise if all of that is really boring, but you my lovely readers were all very supportive through some bad times for me, so I thought I'd let you know where I was now on that front. I haven't made new year's resolutions as such, but all of that feels like an ongoing project, to break certain destructive patterns.

So, on to other things. It's been a beautiful week, weather-wise which has undoubtedly contributed to my good mood. I don't mind the cold if the sun is shining, and it has been. I haven't been terribly inspired on the outfit front and I've been getting home too late to take photos but on Thursday I wore my beautiful Vintage Allure dress to work (with a camisole underneath for modesty) and I felt fabulous all day. That dress is such a winner, gin or not I think it's one of the best dresses I've ever bought! Normally Friday is my day to work from home, but I had too much to do yesterday so I went into the office. It was nice, but I definitely prefer working in my pyjamas on a Friday! Still, I had a good day and managed to get all my work done so skipped off home feeling very happy indeed. Nic met me at the railway station and we went to buy our dinner from Millennium Sweet House. I had such a fun evening - Viv and Lysy came round, ostensibly to watch a film and eat cake. Instead we drank champagne and ate cake, and after a while we were joined by The Scientist. It was brilliant. Nic and I fell into bed at 4 am after spending at least two hours dancing around our flat to Kate Bush and watching Kate Bush videos on You Tube. I can't tell you how happy it makes me that Nic always wants to put on our Kate Bush records when it gets to a certain point in the evening.

So, after our extremely late night I wanted to have a very relaxing Saturday, and dressed accordingly:

Fever Prairie Pocket dress, red cardigan from Marks and Spencer and Irregular Choice Lick Me shoes

I have to confess, this dress is one I frequently forget I own. I bought it in the Fever sale a few summers ago for the ridiculous price of £18 and it's a really practical, comfortable dress. The big pockets are fun, but a bit of a hazard - I've managed to rip one in the past by catching it on the handle of a cupboard in Nic's parents' house. Luckily for me it was easily mended! The dress is sleeveless and it's cold, so you're seeing my cardigan today.

The obligatory shot of me modelling the pockets. POCKETS!

The other night I thought I'd invest in some flat shoes, and bought these ones on ebay. I struggle to find flat shoes that don't feel really frumpy, and these seemed like a fun alternative. I hate the fact that the name of the style is 'Lick Me' (ugh) but I love the fact that they're red patent, and they have unicorns on the soles:

Nice while it lasts, although obviously it won't...

These shoes are patent, and although they were brand new they're from a few years ago so the leather is really stiff. The result is, these things hurt when I wore them today:

Don't be fooled by their innocent exterior, these are evil!

I'm fairly sure that they will stop hurting once they've been worn a bit, but still: ouch! Actually, they haven't done any lasting damage to my feet - they stopped hurting as soon as I took them off (after wearing them to go out and do the shopping and go to the library) so I'm sure they'll be fine. And they're really cute! Still: flat shoes are secretly evil. I've got one more photo from today, mainly just to show you the Benetint stain my sister gave me for Christmas in action:

The rest of my day's excitement has been limited to returning my library books, picking up some new library books and doing some grocery shopping. I am pleased with my books, however - I finally managed to get my ordered copy of The Thoughtful Dresser by Linda Grant and am already half way through it. It's a wonderful read, and I think I may finish it this evening. Tomorrow I'm off to Coventry for an afternoon of crafting and cake with Louise, so I will catch you all after that.

Friend Friday: Blogger authenticity

So, inspired by Franca of Oranges and Apples, Erin of Work With What You've Got and Amber of Forever Amber, I've signed up to the Friend Friday thing. I'm always interested to read their answers, and I thought it'd be nice to diversify my own blog a little bit. This week's theme is around the idea of authenticity in the blogging community.

Most readers and fellow fashion bloggers value authenticity in the blogs they read. How would you describe blog/blogger authenticity?

This is a tough one to answer, I think. I don't think any of us really expect the blogs we read to document every part of the blogger's life with total honesty, you know? Certainly, with my blog I'm authentic in that I talk about my life and what I'm doing, and sometimes that means talking about the shitty bits and the boring bits but I'm always just writing about a little bit of my life. So I don't think authenticity necessarily = honesty. I suppose how I think about it is whether I can hear someone's voice in their writing and through their photographs or blog design or whatever. That's what I think of as 'authenticity'

When it comes to your blog, how do you infuse it with that true/authentic feeling?

Quite a few of the people who know me in real life as well as reading my blog have said to me that they think I write in the same way that I talk, and I always take that as a tremendous compliment. I try to describe things just as I would if I were talking about them, or putting them into an email or a letter to a friend. Well, maybe with a little bit less swearing! And, as I said above, I talk about what's going on in my life even if it is a bit boring or crappy. I don't expect that of every blogger, of course, but I know the blogs I keep coming back to are the ones where the writing reflects the everyday aspects of that person's life. I also like reading about what people are interested in, so I write about the geeky things I like too. The fact that silly things make me laugh is reflected in my blog's name, and the titles I choose for my blog posts.

Have you stopped following a blog in the last three months? What made you lose interest?

Yes! I won't name names, obviously, because I don't want to name and shame. I stopped following a lot of 'vintage lifestyle' blogs because some of them - and I do just mean some of them are a little bit too good to be true. Also, I find the politics of some of that a little bit queasy for me. I've also stopped following a blog that was just about being negative. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a bit of a rant and I enjoy reading them too but you have to have a bit of positive-ness in the mix or it gets a bit...sour, or something. So, to sum up - I don't like preachy, I don't like moany, I don't like perfect.

We can't communicate effectively on our blogs something we don't live in real life. What are some ways that you try to live an authentic life?

I try to get out there and do interesting things. I don't do them thinking 'oh, this will make a good blog', this is something I try to do generally. It's hard at this time of the year when it's cold and I have no money, but I am trying!

Nic and I at the Giant's Causeway

The other way I try to live an authentic life is to really think about why I make the choices I do, why I feel the way I do about the things that happen, if that makes sense. Over the past few months I've been making an effort to turn negative thought into positive action, and to try to break some destructive patterns I was stuck in. On the whole I think that's helping me to live a more authentic life, in the sense that I am trying to be more honest with myself.

Give a shout-out. Which bloggers do you think are truly genuine, and why?

The bloggers I mentioned above - well, I've been inspired by them because I think their blogs are fantastic. They each have a really distinctive voice, and I'm always excited when they have published a new blog. I've been really enjoying reading Emma's blog Ol Green Eyes because her voice is fresh and distinctive, she writes about what she gets up to and her photography is excellent. One of my favourite blogs is Did You Make That? - Karen is hilarious, and she's really honest about her crafting journey. I'll be meeting her in February and I'm very excited about it! I was delighted when Arlene started blogging again and All Picture No Sound is constantly interesting, funny and fun. In the past year I've been lucky to make some real-life friends through blogging and Twitter, so I know with good authority that Caroline of Second Hand Shopper, Lauren of A Typical Atypical, Kate of All Five Horizons and Louise of Princess Prudence Diaries are as awesome as their blogs are. And last but not least, a real-life friend who became a blogger is Victoria, whose blog Victoria Deloria is honest, funny and well written.

Whew, that's my first one of these done. It made me think, which I think is a good thing! I'll be back at the weekend with some outfit shots - this week has been hectic at work and I've had no time... but I'll have some fun and wear something pretty on the weekend, I promise.

Why should I listen to you, anyway? You're a virgin who can't drive.

Today was apparently 'Blue Monday' or somesuch - the most depressing day in the year, or something. Look it up if you like, my internet connection is being annoying and I've lost patience with trying to Google it myself! I was feeling okay when I dragged myself out of my bed this morning, although the grey skies and gloomy mist made me see how other people might have been feeling a bit low. By mid morning the sun had come out, I had some fresh coffee and a pain au chocolat and everything was looking a little bit brighter for me. I hope this Blue Monday has been kind to the rest of you as well.

I actually had a pretty good day. It was one of those where I had lots of quite boring things to do, and I had to stay later than normal to do them. But the day flew by, my to-do list was complete so I was feeling pretty smug and happy as I took myself home. Hurrah!

I have precious little in the way of news. Nic and I had another quiet Sunday. We did a bit of window shopping in the morning, going into some of the more expensive shops that I don't usually frequent. I reasoned that as I wasn't buying anything anyway, I definitely wouldn't be tempted to if the item I was looking at was more than I could usually afford anyway. Do you follow my logic? It was fun, if only for the sheer number of 'what is this exactly?' conversations we had to have. I think the worst offender was probably a 'belt' from Noa Noa that looked like the bottom half of a waistcoat. Anyhow, it was a nice thing to do on a mild Sunday. I took one of the dresses I bought when I was at home over Christmas out for a spin:

Emily and Fin Anya dress, pink tights from Pretty Polly and Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Lady Dragon shoes

Isn't this dress a cutie? I bought it in a little shop in my home town called Aurora. I hadn't noticed it on the rails but when neither of the dresses I took into the fitting room suited me, the owner picked this one out for me to try and I loved it. It helped, I think, that I was wearing these tights when I tried it on because they are the perfect match for the pink at the top of the dress. And, it has a secret weapon:

Pockets! Yes, I know. I am that easy to please. Like the Dita dress I wore the other day, this is a simple dress with some nice detailing around the neckline.

I like the pink and grey animal print and the pleats in that fabric. You might be able to just see the diagonal seams and the neckline comes down in the same v shape at the back as well.

And you guys know me well by now, any excuse to prance around town in my Lady Dragons and I'm going to take it! We got home just before it started to rain and had a lovely, naughty, calorific lunch of toasted bagels with fried eggs, mushrooms and baked tomatoes. YUM! We went for a walk around cold and rainy Leamington when it got dark before settling in for the evening to watch Clueless.

My dinner is nearly ready so I'm going to sign off in a minute. Before I do, though, you might notice something different about the comments. I've installed Disqus, which should in theory make it easier for me to respond to individual comments and it should make it easier for people who aren't on blogger to comment. Please let me know if it causes you any problems. Word round the internets is it can be a bit buggy but I thought it was worth a go. I'll be back later in the week, my pretties xxx

Some day, I would like to travel to Thairabia and see those pyramids.

So, my dear readers. I have a question for you all. You can answer privately, to yourselves. You can leave me a comment or send me an email. Or you can skip past this bit and get to the frocks, it is totally up to you. Here's the question:

What is good cinema etiquette?

You might recall that yesterday afternoon I said Nic and I were going to see The King's Speech. I was able to finish up work in time to go to the 5:30 screening and I thought this was grand, because there wouldn't be all that many people there and we'd be able to watch the film relatively undisturbed. I was wrong. The cinema was just as full of dicks at 5:30 as it would have been at 7:30, and these dicks made me very angry.

Okay, I am exaggerating a bit. The cinema wasn't totally full of dicks. Nic and I just had the misfortune of sitting close by a group of them. We chatted about it when we went for a drink after the film and Nic suggested that maybe some people don't know how they should behave in a cinema screening.

We were sitting in the middle of a row fairly close to the front. The people all around us were talking through the bajillion adverts and I can't say I took too much issue with that. This is partly because I find the advertisements irritating, and partly because the lights haven't come down yet, and people are still coming in and it's all fine. The house lights came down and the trailers started. Now, I consider this to be part of the cinema experience and I wish people wouldn't talk through the trailers but I concede - it's not the film itself, it's not what I've paid my money to see so I can live with people chatting and making sure their phones are on silent and whatnot. Partway through the trailers (annoyingly it was in the middle of the trailer for True Grit, which is a film I actually do kind of want to see) a group of girls were shown to their seats at the end of our row. They asked the woman who was sitting at the end to move up and she did, ending up next to me. Both these girls and this woman irritated me for the entire film. The woman didn't make noise, but she spent most of the film sending text messages so the lit-up screen of her phone was in my peripheral vision all the bloody time. Now, I check my phone a lot but I couldn't understand this. She'd paid to see the film, it wasn't that long, why did she need to keep looking at her phone? She irritated me further by sitting between me and the girls on the end, because as the film progressed I really wanted to have a quiet word with them.

I'm not exaggerating here, now. These idiots talked the entire way through the film. The whole way. They whispered, so maybe they thought nobody could hear them, but they just would not shut up. In one of the closing scenes, when the Royal family are waving at the people from the balcony of Buckingham palace one of them sat up in her chair and waved as well. During a scene where someone sings, one of them sang along. One of them would not stop slurping her drink. I was murderous. Murderous, I tell you, because I liked the film and wanted to be able to concentrate on it.

As far as I could tell these girls didn't think they were doing anything wrong. And no-one around them was telling them to stop. I include myself in this, and I am angry with myself for it (although I usually will ask people to stop talking in a film - when I did this during a screening of the first Sex and the City movie I was called a 'fucking bitch') That said, stupid phone woman was in my way which was making it difficult. I wonder if it is simply the case that no-one has taught these people how to behave in the cinema. I often think that in public spaces, that people behave exactly as they would at home with no understanding that there are other people around them. You know, when you see someone talking loudly on their phone in the library, or someone taking up two seats on a crowded train because they're doing their make-up, or when you see people going to Tesco in their pyjamas. The cinema thing might be like that, but it is tremendously off-putting. It didn't totally ruin the experience for me, because I did enjoy the film, a lot. But I would be interested to hear what you guys think - what constitutes acceptable behaviour at the cinema?

So anyway, after the film Nic and I went for a drink in the Sausage before coming home to have something to eat. I hope my rant above doesn't give the impression that I didn't enjoy my evening, because I did. I enjoyed the film (when I could bloody hear it grump grump) and I really enjoyed talking it over with Nic afterwards. After dinner and some Laurel and Hardy we had an early night in bed with our books. I've been reading two books this week, one of them being Barbara Trapido's most recent novel Sex and Stravinsky.

In the past few years, Barbara Trapido has become one of my favourite writers. Her novels all have a fairytale taste to them, like a sprinkling of magical realism and Sex and Stravinsky is no exception. I was sort of hoping to encounter some of her previous characters as her other novels are all linked, but instead was charmed by all of the new characters I met. I finished the book this morning in bed and it's given me the notion to revisit her others.

After reading the last chapter and having breakfast, I finally got dressed and started my day. As I mentioned a while back, I have quite the girl crush on the fabulous Sarah Nixey and spent some of my teenage years wishing I could look like her. So today I took inspiration from the cover of The Worst of Black Box Recorder:

Sadly, I don't even own this one and it is disgustingly expensive on amazon. Sigh!

The rather beautiful Dita dress by Fever Designs arrived on my doorstep on Monday. I actually wore it to work on Tuesday, but couldn't photograph it. Still, it was no hardship to wear it again:

Fever Dita dress and Bertie Sardinia shoes

I adore this dress. It's why I have three of them (for real) and I think these photos don't really do it justice. It's super comfortable to wear as well as being figure-hugging in the right way. I love the shade of red here too, it's deep and luxurious. The neckline has some nice detailing as well, with interesting diagonal seams:

I was getting dressed up for the sheer fun of it because Nic and I had a traditionally relaxed Saturday. We did the grocery shopping and had a browse in the charity shops before coming home to do some housework and watch a film. It might not make for terribly interesting blogging, but I love spending Saturday in this way. With that I'm off to bed. Goodnight all!

I've finally stopped crying but that's only because I started vomiting.

It's Friday, and it's been quite a week. It feels like last weekend was ages ago, but I suppose that's what going back to work will do for you. It's been fine, even the getting up in the morning has been all right, but work-wise this week has been tedium to the max, because I've mainly been proof-reading. I very much admire anyone who can do it as a job, because at the end of my first day of it I was ready to...well, I was going to say something extreme like 'stab myself in the eye with my pen' but that's a lie, it wasn't as bad as all that. You get the picture, though.

I've been leaving the house in the dark and getting home in the dark, so I don't have any outfit shots for you from this week. I'm working from home today, though so here y'all are:

Fever Pansy spot dress, Bettie Page belt and Irregular Choice Hermia wedges

I don't like this picture, but it's so murky outside that I'm afraid this is the best of a bad bunch! I do like what I'm wearing, however. This dress fitted perfectly when I bought it in March or April of last year but when I was unwell I lost weight and I hadn't really been happy with how it looked since. This morning I paired it with the white patent belt that came with a Bettie Page dress and (you won't be surprised to learn) the Tara Starlet petticoat. I was so happy with how it looked I added my Hermia wedges to keep the whole thing monochrome:

Irregular Choice Hermia wedges

The petticoat works especially well because it brings the skirt to a more flattering length on me. I tell you, that was one of the best £9 I ever spent!

I will be accessorising this outfit with my glasses later on as Nic and I are off to the cinema this afternoon. Its convenient location around the corner from our house and the fact that I am working from home mean that we can go to an early screening and hopefully have the place to ourselves! We're away to see The King's Speech, partly because the reviews have been so mixed and largely because I have been reading rather a lot recently about this era so it appealed to me. I'm reserving judgment because I get the feeling it probably won't be very good, but I've enjoyed my last few outings to the cinema so I'll still enjoy the experience I'm sure.

I'll keep this short and sweet as my lunch is calling to me. Enjoy your Friday, my dears and I'll be checking in again over the weekend so come back soon!

You can't be a successful dictator and design women's underclothing. One or the other. Not both.

You guys, I have found fame at last. This week has been very exciting because, not only has my photo been on the Hagan's website but Nic and I were also in the local paper! My sister emailed me the photo, I'm not sure which paper but I think it might have been the Tyrone Times. Finally, my star quality has been realised!

Nic and I in Hagan's on New Year's Eve

From the Hagan's website. This is me with my sister and my cousin. I am really pleased that the Hagan's watermark has a Santa hat on it. That is attention to detail, people!

Well, I'm back to work tomorrow. That fact isn't sucking as much as it might (although, you know, I will probably feel differently when my alarm goes off tomorrow morning and I have to get up in the dark. But still.) This is mainly because my holiday has been long and relaxing, and Nic and I have just spent a really pleasant weekend. It was murky outside and I was too gosh-darned lazy to have my planned day out on Saturday but that was okay. I stayed in my pyjamas until a disgraceful hour crocheting, drinking coffee and watching DVDs before getting dressed to go out for a stroll around Leamington with Nic. We had a few errands to run, and wanted to take a turn around the bottom of town. I was still feeling excited enough about my petticoat to want to build another outfit around it, so I wore this:

Fever Daydreamer dress and Firetrap Desire shoes

I bought this dress last year on ebay but have only worn it a few times. Caroline has it too, and she commented that she thought it needed an underskirt to balance it out. She's totally right, and I think the way the skirt hangs was one of the reasons why I didn't wear it very often. You can see it on Caroline here if you'd like further proof that it looks good with an underskirt! I shall be wearing this more often, because I felt nice and princessy all day. I accessorised the dress with the beautiful necklace Kate and Rich gave me for my birthday, and the pretty Benefit lipstick I won in Emma's giveaway at Ol' Green Eyes:

I've been experimenting with velcro rollers to give my hair a bit of volume. I quite like it like this.

I got a bit of crafting done on Saturday afternoon while Nic did the washing up, and we had a really fun evening. I made curry, and then we watched one of my Christmas presents with a big bowl of home made popcorn and some gin and tonic. Nic gave me DVDs of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and Bad Day at Black Rock because I love Spencer Tracy. Last night we watched Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. I won't talk too much about it, because Nic is planning to write about it over on Squeezegut Alley so instead here's a picture of one of my favourite actors:

Lovely old Spencer Tracy.

Today was bright and sunny and the perfect day for a good old ramble around Leamington. I enjoy walking through the residential parts of town and looking at the variety of architecture. The sunshine meant that the town was full of smiling people, and I felt an enormous sense of well-being and optimism. It's amazing what a bit of sunshine can do for you! We walked along to one of Leamington's hidden treasures, Lansdowne Circus. It's a beautiful little hidden close of pretty houses, with a secret garden in the middle:

The secret garden

Nic was doing some research for something he's writing, and I thought I'd take advantage of the sunshine and the pretty surroundings to get an outfit shot in natural light.

It's that coat again....

Today I wore one of the Fever dresses I bought in the Brandalley sale. The other one is on its way (they were awaiting stock, apparently) so you'll see that in due course. I was very, very pleased with the ridiculous bargain I got on these dresses. One was £13 and the other £11 and they are both still on sale at full price in some stores. On top of this, Brandalley have sent me a £10 voucher so essentially I got these dresses for £7 each. Sweet!

Fever Botanics lace dress, red cardigan from Marks and Spencer and Bertie Sardinia shoes

It was cold enough to merit a cardigan, and also I'm not totally sure about the sleeves on this dress. I might remove them so it looks more like a shift dress, what do you think?

I accessorised the dress with the beautiful necklace I won in Emma's competition:

I was also ridiculously tickled by the fact that the print has red and fuschia in it, so when it's warm enough I'll be able to wear this frock with my Lady Dragon shoes. I am so easily amused, it's not even funny. Anyhow, the walk through town was invigorating and interesting. When we got back I did some chores and got down to some more crafting. I haven't made new year's resolutions as such, but I have decided that there are lots of crafty projects I want to work on this year. One of them is underway - a stash-busting granny square blanket to get my crochet eye in again. I have a list of projects I want to make as well, starting with making another version of the Colette Ceylon dress in red as well as another Simplicity 2591. I'd also like to venture into making some clothes for Nic, and have my eye on the new Colette pattern for men - the Negroni shirt. I'm going to be saving money and staying in, so I may as well use the time to do some sewing! I'd also like to do a bit of stash-busting and find a use for some very interesting patterned cotton. So I'd expect to hear a bit more about sewing round here in 2011.

The other not-quite-resolution I've made for 2011 is to have lots of fun. That might sound a bit generic, but I lost too much of 2010 to not having fun, and I don't want that to happen again. I'm making a conscious effort to make sure to enjoy life. So, with that in mind I'm away to cuddle Nic and watch The Fugitive. Because what's more fun than Harrison Ford jumping off a reservoir? Harrison Ford jumping off a reservoir with a gin and tonic, that's what. Until next time, my friends. Goodnight!