All posts filed under: Life

August ten on the 10th

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A lovely day for today’s ten on the 10th. We headed into St Louis to explore a junk shop we like and to visit The Upcycle Exchange to check out some new yarn they have in. We lunched at the Everest Cafe on The Grove and came home and made a ‘base’ in the garden! The ‘base’ was built with supplies we got at the Upcycle Exchange and lots of imagination. I am going to do a post about it next week with lots of photos. Here are today’s terrific ten. A wonderful window at Anthropologie. I keep seeing this cool guy and managed to snap his photo today! Flowers on a painted screen, only slightly spoiled by water damage.  Still lovely. Vintage luggage on a barber’s chair. Lovely vintage Singer sewing machine. Best doll face I have seen. This can had dates in it still! Love this peacock. Piles and piles of wool at the Upcycle Exchange. Cumin seeds and sweet thingys at Everest Cafe. A fun day filled with treasure. You will be …

Taking Stock 1.

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    I found this cool post on one of most favourite blogs Meet Me At Mikes and I copied the list and filled it in.  It was fun!  Want a go?  I will put the blank list at the end. Making : A pink necklace Cooking : Nachos Drinking : Coffee with frothy milk Reading: The Sisters Brothers Wanting: Rain and maybe some thunder Looking: At the cloudy sky Playing: Cluedo card game, Chomp, Game of Life Wasting: Paper when I try to sketch Sewing: Minions and scarves Wishing:  I had a pile of fabric to sew Enjoying: Marmite and cheese sandwich Waiting: For school to start Liking: Salty crisps/chips Wondering: If I should colour my hair red? Loving: My new bead mix, all vintagey pinks Hoping: I get some jewelry ideas to make Marvelling: At all the flowers in my garden Needing: That coffee Smelling:  Jo Malone Blueberry Wearing:  Flip flops, cargos and t shirt Following:  ‘Under the Dome’ Noticing: It is cool outside Knowing: I can make it when I think of …

Sno cones

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Sno cones. They get me through swimming. There, I said it (kinda), I don’t like swimming. Which is unfortunate because we go almost every day. I dislike the clothing rules, I would happily jump in if I could wear leggings and a t shirt, or any all covering item.  In fact if someone could invent fabric that didn’t cling like plastic wrap when it gets wet, that would be great! I hate hate hate the chlorine in my eyes and my hair (getting drier and drier here). Not to mention the tight, dry chlorine skin effect. Maybe this is as close to Botox as I will get, the chlorine tightened face.  Tight but dry, lovely if you are going for the reptilian look! I digress, (don’t get me started on swimming, now you know). Sno cones I do like, I like to choose the crazy flavours and see what mix I can make.   The crunchy icy treat with way too much colour and sweet syrup. My favourites are ‘coffee and cream’ (here in Brentwood …

The art of celebrating the small stuff.

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I am so happy to be part of the ‘Declaration of You‘ blog tour.  The book is new on the shelves,  looks amazing and I can’t wait to get my grubby little paws on a copy!  “The Declaration of You, published North Light Craft Books and available now, gives readers all the permission they’ve craved to step passionately into their lives, discover how they and their gifts are unique and uncover what they are meant to do! This post is part of The Declaration of You’s Blog Lovin’ Tour, which I’m thrilled to participate in alongside over 200 other creative bloggers. Learn more – and join us! – by clicking here.” I enjoy celebrating the successes of life, my life, your life, their life, big or small.  Sometimes I can celebrate the unsuccessful if another opportunity presents itself instead.  Celebrate the knowledge that somethings just aren’t meant to be your success, because your door is just around the next corner.  A few more steps to your celebration of that achievement. Celebration is a big exciting word, it …

Grow it. Eat it.

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I bought a single cucumber plant back in April, popped it in one of the raised beds next to the garlic in our back garden and left it to it’s growing thing. Then the weather got cold and rained and rained and the little cuke was looking a little droopy. I harvested my garlic and left the cucumber plant the run of the bed and now it is growing like a crazy plant. Cucumbers all over the place getting big and green and fat! The garlic is being stored in the basement and is drying nicely. Of course the mint is on a garden take over mission which I really don’t mind, it is contained to one end of the garden so it can grow and grow and I can make tea and tzatziki. Tzatziki is calling the mint and garlic and cucumber tonight. Here is how I make it. A bunch of mint (mine is starting to seed but that just makes the bunch pretty! I only need the leaves) Half a big fat …

New York Photos from my June visit

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I had a very interesting, informative and  photo-ful trip to New York and Brooklyn last month. Some highlights were the Punk exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum, Coney Island even with the Mermaid Parade chaos, Tinsel Trading (my new favourite shop) and seeing friends and friends. My trip into the big city on Friday.  The Met for Punk Chaos and Central Park  for a sunny walk with a lovely friend. I came across Tinsel Trading as I was heading from a magazine shop to Muji and I am so happy I did, the place was amazing, I wanted to move in there!  Trims and buttons, vintage and ribbons as far as the eye could see all displayed in old cabinets and drawers.  Gorgeous.  I came out with some beads, silk ribbon and metal thread.  I thought I was rather restrained, I hope you are proud of me! Coney Island colour and fun! My last day in Brooklyn.  I had to visit the Momofuku Milk bar and Union Market.  I picked up some international magazines and caught …

My Grandma was ace!

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My Grandma was ace!  She was a baker, knitter (you know the professional knitter who can watch TV, hold a conversation and still knit a pair of socks) and a gardener.  Her name was Mary and she lived in Waddington, Lincoln, UK. My Grandad owned a red Mini and whenever me and my brother went to stay for a week over the summer, we loved going on a trip into town (the heady destination of Lincoln) in the back of the  mini with Grandma and Grandad. The first thing that springs to mind when I think about my Grandma is that she was a wonderful cook and especially her baking.  So many delicious pies and cakes and biscuits.  She always welcomed help from me as far as I remember, even when I was little I would help sift flour and put the weights onto the scales. She had a little stool which I could stand on while I was helping and I am happy to be the proud owner of  it now.  Lovely reminders like …

June 2013 Photo a day

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I cannot believe how fast June has zipped by (I am sure I say that every month!).  At the same time, when I look back at the photos from the beginning of the month, they seem so long ago. We have been on holiday to Cape Cod for two whole weeks, then I was back in St Louis for about 10 minutes and I was off to New York for the Alt Summit and a lovely weekend in Brooklyn. It has been hot and cool and wet and stormy. I followed the A Month of… prompts from Just B Australia for most of the month, but by the last week I was back to Fat Mum Slim.  Apparently it is harder to break a habit than I thought!  I do enjoy the FMS prompts though even though they do circle round on a regular basis, but that just makes for a new photo challenge, n’est pas?! Well, here are  my June daily snaps. 1. Tea 2. Story. 3. Fabric 4. Party.  Pie from Marion’s Pie …

St Louis Art Museum Grand Re-Opening and ‘Stone Sea’

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This weekend I am joining in with Tasha Chawner’s weekend photo prompt.  The latest prompt is ‘hands’.  I wondered what I would use for the photo for a while, then stopped thinking about it. While we were at the St Louis Art Museum‘s grand re-opener, there was a stand where they were making seed bombs, using mud and clay with grass and flower seeds.  So my youngest got in and started rolling up seed bombs and getting nice and dirty in the process.  Well, here were my ‘hands’.  Busy making good things happen. We have been looking forward to seeing the new wing of the museum open as we have walked by it regularly as it was being built. We were not disappointed.  It is a lovely airy, cool space and smells of new wooden floors.  It is almost a museum in itself with the wide variety of art on show. It was a joy to see some of my favourite pieces all housed together, from Chuck Close’s  ‘Keith’  to the ever beautiful ‘Betty’ by …

Alt Summit NYC June 2013

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I have consulted my notes, chosen a few photos and here is my Alt Summit round-up. Of course it was an amazing experience and my brain was and still is full to the lid with people, information and ideas.  Mission accomplished, but how was the day? When I arrived at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, I shared the elevator with a very peppy young man who jumped in (yes, almost literally) and told me the news that Dolce and Gabbana had been arrested for tax evasion.  Next floor he jumped (yes, again) out.  Morning news flash – complete. I found a seat and a coffee and took it all in for a minute or two. Over breakfast there were lots of crafts on offer to make while you munched on your granola and downed as much coffee as possible (that part may have just been me, following a nervous and sleepless night).  I made salt scrub, started a thread bracelet and got an embroidery kit and immediately began to wonder how I was going to transport …