Brooch love

I've been thinking of ways to brighten up what I wear at minimal cost, because frankly there isn't a lot of money around these parts.  What better way than one of these fabulous brooches?

White travel speech bubble brooch - Madama Robè

Swallow brooch - Silk Purse, Sow's Ear

Geometric bear brooch - Sketch .inc

Yellow bunny suit brooch - Little Love Boat

Life via the medium of rainbow

Allotment Geekery

This Saturday there wasn't roller derby training because the team were playing in Plymouth, sadly as I am crawling on my hands and knees towards payday I had to go for free activities, i.e. clearing up weeds on the allotment.  Monty said we should bring our pumpkins in to avoid frost damage so bring the pumpkins in we did and very happy I am with them too.  Not only that but we had two medium sized flower pots filled with tomatoes, a basket full of runner beans, four butternut squashes, two peppers, four leeks and a large handful of spring onions.

Oh and in case you're wondering I'm going to save the seeds from the sunflower.  This one grew from the sunflowers we grew for the wedding so I want to see if I can keep the same 'family' of sunflowers growing next year 

Verity

Whilst on our weekend away we visited Ilfracombe to see Damien Hirst's sculpture Verity which is causing some controversy.  I like it.  I think it's well made, beautiful and thought provoking but I appreciate that not many people do, on the same day we visited the sculpture I read an article by Catherine Bennett in the Observer entitled 'Damien Hirst has brought public art to a new low', I don't agree but it's an interesting perspective.

Birthday

It was my Birthday on Monday, I was *cough* 27 and I've got to tell you I have some awesome family and friends.  I'm not only talking about the presents, although I received some AWESOME Birthday prizes. I'm talking about the emails and messages and phone calls, the handmade cards, the Birthday cake, the luncheons and that warm fuzzy feeling.  So thank you to everyone who made the effort I appreciate every last gesture and every kind word.

*sobs hysterically and runs off to play new Zelda game from MozzyMr*

Lynton and Lynmouth

Whilst in North Devon for our shepherd's hut weekend away we visited Lynton and Lynmouth.  On the Saturday before I managed to do myself a damage at roller derby and strained a muscle in my leg, I hobbled down the cliff but caught the cliff railway back up.

Seaside + drizzle = necessity for chips.  The whole time we were eating this fella edged closer and closer whilst keeping a nervy eye out for the competition.

Happy Shepherd Hut Holiday Postcard

This weekend MozzyMr and I spent the weekend away in a shepherd's hut near Parracombe, North Devon.  We needed some time away and as it was close to my Birthday it was a good excuse to get away from Exeter.  The hut was really nice, the views were amazing, the shower was freezing sadly but you can't have everything.  The hut was situated on a farm surrounded by sheep, horses and dogs none of which are Mozzy's favourite, in fact I've never seen the man move so fast when he thought the sheep were too close.

We built up an amazing fire in the wood burning stove, so much so we had to spend most of the night with the windows and door open.  I like to think I'm at home in the country, but even I have to admit that when I was woken up to scraping and shuffling outside I doubted how much I would actually want to live in the middle of no where.  It helped that when I woke in the morning I realised the sheep surrounding the hut looking all cute, fluffy and mostly harmless had just been a little inquisitive during the night.

Lucite Love

Bakelite or lucite, what can I say?  I'm a fan so I thought I would share my lucite list of love...

1950s Pink Lucite Moonglow Vintage Glasses from Portland Rain Vintage

Vintage Blue Lucite Flower Brooch from The Vintage Lot

Vintage Lucite Links from The Magpie Society

Lucite Serving Tray - Afghan Chevron from Pencil Shavings Studio

Allotment Geekery

Hooray hooray!  Bonfire season is upon us at the allotment.  For weeks now we have been drying out material for the first bonfire and what happened the night before?  Masses, and masses of rain.  Never the less we (MozzyMr) got some level of fire going and we are well underway clearing all of the weeds.

I think I'm a little early here but I'm getting my first onion sets in, as in first time I've ever grown onions and first batch of successional planting.  The garlics turned out well so I'm feeling optimistic about growing massive onions.  The bigger the better!

As per Monty's instructions I've cleared away the foliage from my pumpkins so they can start ripening, to carve or to eat?

Carrots.  They didn't work out so well for me.  We saw a man on Gardener's World plant them in tubs and he produced lots of small but perfectly formed carrots, mine were just small.

I have a new found love of runner beans, my gran used to grow them in such quantities that as a kid I never wanted to see another runner bean in my life.  Plus there is the runner bean chutney incident, we don't speak of the runner bean chutney incident.  

Last of the tomato crop, we must have had around 120lbs this year, not bad going.  We have a lot of passata in the freezer now...

A (couple of) Month(s) of Reading

Oh my days!  September was hectic and not much reading was to be had sadly, but here is what I've been working through during those rare moments of spare time.

1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Awesome.  But most of you will know that already right?  I'm a bit late to the Hunger Games party but I got there in the end.  My brother described the trilogy as 'moreish' and he is absolutely right.  Mockingjay is the final book in the trilogy and it's a corker combining the best and worst of human behaviour.  Katniss is a character with fight, opinions and whose ambitions reach beyond getting married *significant look towards the Twilight books*.

2. Where Did it all go Right? by Andrew Collins

If any of you listen to BBC 6 Music on a regular basis you'll know Andrew Collins.  I love it when he's on the radio and I find him really funny so when I found his autobiography in a charity shop I thought 'ooo go on then'.  This is a really light hearted book and is the antithesis to the glut of misery memoirs on the market.  Here's the story of someone who had an ordinary upbringing, and had a good time! It's nostalgic and funny, and if you have read and enjoyed 'The Tent the Bucket and Me' by Emma Kennedy you'll more than likely enjoy this too.

3. Fatherland by Robert Harris

Robert Harris is turning into my go to author for that 'in-between' read.  Don't get me wrong that in no way reflects negatively on Harris or his writing, it is in fact a huge compliment.  You know when you've just finished reading a superb book and don't know what to read next?  Harris writes really gripping stories and this is no exception.  Based in 1960's Berlin, in a world where Germany won the Second World War and Europe has been consumed by the Fatherland.  Life is full of suspicion, strange occurrences and sudden disappearances being investigated by a detective whose jaded outlook of the system makes him a target of the powers that be.   

4. Care of Wooden Floors - A Novel by Will Wiles

Bobbins!  Absolute boring, boring writing, no pace, rubbish characters and a pointless waste of my time.

Walk Home #3

These two photos are a snapshot of the 180 degree view I have from the balcony at work.  On a clear day you can see out beyond the estuary to the sea, below and in front of you lies Exeter city centre.  From here you get to watch the seasons and weather past, struggling up the hill during winter through the snow is rewarded with a ridiculously beautiful outlook.

I also get to walk along the canal on my way back home, this is the long route home and I only tend to take it when the weather is nice and I don't have somewhere in particular to be.  If I forked off to the right it would take me to the allotment, straight on takes me home.

Slightly Terrible Cat Gif

This post does exactly what it says on the tin really, little Mewster is settling in well and even dishes out the I Love You eyes from time to time!

Toadstool Duvet!

I think there are two things I should point out here, firstly I am truly, madly, deeply excited to have found this bedlinen and love it completely, and secondly love it as much as I do I cannot be bothered to iron bedlinen.  Life is too short for ironing bedlinen.  Seriously.

If toadstools and bedlinen are your thing you can find this fabulous set here.  Having just looked up the website to create the hyperlink I see they're reduced the price by half since I purchased it.  That's not annoying at all.