Inspiration Monday- snuggly coats!

Over at the two birds it's Inspiration Monday.  I haven't been able to participate due to camera lead still being AWOL for some weeks but now, after borrowing CBC's flatmate's Belkon memory-card reader which enabled be to post the previous pictures for the past weeks, my own has arrived from Amazon meaning I can upload as I wish rather than waiting for the weekend so pester the flatmate!

This week it is/was Taylor Swift who looks really cute and cosy here. A perfect outfit for church on a cold morning.  Seriously, it's like an endothermic reaction in there.  SOMEHOW it is colder inside than out!

Here's my take on it!  This is my winter church coat (inspired by ex-Vogue working fashionista friend who keeps cosy in church similarly!)   Let's not mention the hat- shhhhhhhh!!!!! Sufficed to say I love it but it's not mine.  I hope the owner doesn't see this post, realise and demand it back! Still, tis her fault for leaving it in my bedroom!
Go to the link to see how everyone else styled it!

Sorry, camera battery died after taking this so it's a bit far off!

I had the most wonderful walk round my local park after taking this. It was glorious!  It's so lovely to get back to nature and away from man-made things just to revel in the beauty of creation!

How's ya doing?

Cat, mouse and rabbit!

 Remember my recent reference to dressing like a teenage girl? Here's more proof!  I couldn't resist this Sylvester t-shirt from Primark - it's so cute, it even has sparkly bits on it, big wide sleeves (I don't like tight short sleeves).  Until fairly recently, I had a Mutley and a Pink panther t-shirt which I adored, but they were just too tight.  I missed them!
   That's me being a cat by the way!  (The hat hasn't had its own post yet, but it will at some point!)



 And of course, I had to go for Jewellery to match.  Cat and mouse charms!   That cat looks a bit manic at this angle.  "Ahaaaaarwwwwwww, I shpy mousie!"

REMIX:

This weekend, aside from wearing a very glamorous long silk dress for my kids concert (more of that later), I wore it again, in a slightly different way!

 More slouchy than last weekend!  Again, I felt as comfy as anything, cord jeans as opposed to cord skirt this time!"

 It seemed unfair to traumatise little mousie again so I elected to team Sylvester with my Wolf and Moon Mirror Bunny.  Hmmmm, who would be the predator in this case?  Are cats interested in rabbits?  I'm not sure?! Can you help?!

 I'm probably not going to be able to blog at all this week, apart from tomorrow's scheduled post, so catch me while you can! If you leave me lovely messages, of course, I'll catch up as soon as I can and return the love next weekend!!

Sister craft

I love my sister, she is so fabulous and lovely and she is the only person I have ever told how to find my blog!  All the other people that know me outside of the blog, who read it, have found it by accident (and that's quite a few surprisingly!!)   I don't see her enough and I wish I did. Somehow, the combination of teaching, her job which involves shifts and child care, it doesn't happen!  She's fabulous and she's always been someone who I look up to.  She's like me in many ways- (emotions, reactions to things, some tastes) and yet so different - she's incredibly organised (she Monica, me Phoebe) , tidy, and short!  (mwa ha ha !!)   She's always been the person I look up to.  When I was a teenager, my friend Sarah made me realise this when we were talking about who our inspirations are and she said mine was my sister! 

Anyway, we hadn't spent much time together so some weeks ago, I went over to hers and we spent the day together.  It was lovely seeing her and my niece.  In the evening, we had a total teenage dinner of something like fish fingers and chips, Pizza express dough balls and then we went up to her craft room to make cards together!  She was originally my protege.  I introduced her to card making and the art of recycling and she is an amazingly imaginative and impressive card maker now! Hers look much more professional than mine.

Her craft stash is amazingly well organised- everything labelled and in lovely boxes and drawers (mine= slung in cupboards, drawers, chaos)

I made these 2 cards that evening.  One is for a certain friend's birthday, someone who has recently completed an Astronomy degree. It's not quite complete yet, but it's a start.

The other is the type of card I'd love to receive- a real girly oldie worldie charm.  The lovely streaky background is actually the old wallpaper from my sister's house. I taught her well- she saved it when they took it off the walls for crafting potential!

We stayed up till about 1 and then went to sleep.  I sadly had to go the next morning to go to my Dad's  (nice reason to go though!)

How does anyone else spend time with their siblings?   Do you struggle to spend time with someone you really love?

Polka face

Hurrah, tis the weekend to be jolly.  Fa la la la la la la la la!

 Two of my favourites- berets (black beret= LTEH 33) and polka dots!

 I'm smiling now. because I am freee!!!! I was not smiling this morning.  I went into see a colleague to give her a copy of the maths investigation.  She greeted me with "Is this something I can do easily and understand that wont be too diffficult?" in a highly aggresive sounding voice.  At which point I looked at her and said, "Good morning?".  Her reply was "I'm not in the mood for it!" even more aggressively and proceeded to rant at me about how my work was too hard.  I really felt upset and furious.  It's not the other stuff,  I understand the pressure, I understand that it's hard and she's stressed, I understand how hard it is too teach Maths investigation and how the children just don't get it.  I'm also sorry that I only gave it to her that morning- she doesn't e-mail me the plans for the rest of the maths so I only managed to ask her about it yesterday lunchtime and then I had clubs so I couldn't do it later. I'm very sorry if I am causing her extra stress and difficulty in any way.  But it was the response to Good morning, the most basic of greetings.  It was the aggressive tone.   There is a way to speak to your peers and colleagues and it isn't that.  What would you do in the situation?  I find it hard not to take it personally even though colleagues have said she's just like that and I still find myself thinking about it.

Yay, the blue, sparkly bracelet collection went for an outing!


Cheer me up, tell me something that will make me smile lovely bloggerkins!

Only Smarties have the answer

Oops, I've just noticed my Christmas cards are still up- can you see them?! I'm such a slattern when it comes to noticing small details like this (A great word- thanks Landgirl 1980 or Lakota or someone for introducing me to that!)

 Is it wrong that I bought this cardigan purely for the Smartie buttons?! It doesn't seem your typical Agnes b purchase!

 I wore this shirt to school last Wednesday and was admired by colleagues who immediately thought of their young daughters (ooops, I dress like a teenage girl is the general consensus!) so when I found a rogue Size 6 version of it in Primarni on Saturday, I snapped it up for one colleague- only trouble is, BOTH her daughters are fighting over it now!)   Hurrah for Peterpan collars- long may they remain in the shops!!!!

 WHAT is this pose?  I look in need of the bathroom?!

 And yes Chris, this is the YMCA!

 Rock-chick earrings!

Topshop sale bargain Star necklace will match my Cath Kidston star earrings to perfection when I er- find them!

Tomorrow, I get to make yet MORE dinosaur music!  Except this time we are making up Dinosaur ostinati and a song!

Tempeh tempeh!

My favourite vegan/vegetarian food is without doubt- TEMPEH!

This protein product is the following: in the words of Wiki:

"Tempeh (English pronunciation: /ˈtɛmpeɪ/; Javanese: témpé, IPA: [tempe]), is a traditional soy product originally from Indonesia. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form, similar to a very firm vegetarian burger patty. Tempeh is unique among major traditional soy foods in that it is the only one that did not originate in the Sinosphere.

It originated in today's Indonesia, and is especially popular on the island of Java, where it is a staple source of protein. Like tofu, tempeh is made from soybeans, but tempeh is a whole soybean product with different nutritional characteristics and textural qualities.[1] Tempeh's fermentation process and its retention of the whole bean give it a higher content of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins. It has a firm texture and an earthy flavour which becomes more pronounced as the tempeh ages.[2][3] Because of its nutritional value, tempeh is used worldwide in vegetarian cuisine; some consider it to be a meat analogue" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh

 I don't find it very often, but a lovely healthfood shop in Stratford shopping centre (whaaaaatever Westfields, you're too generic!) stocks it.  I first tried it in Indonesia- it comes in soooooo many different forms- it can be sweetened and eaten like a sort of 'fruit and nut' mix, big chunks of it battered like a burger, marinated in spicy-Sambal mata-sapi (seriously hot sambal!)  or a myriad of other variants. It is FAAAR superior to tofu and I am a big fan of that!

I had some in the fridge so I decided to marinate it in Szechuan sauce (another packet from the big cupboard clearout.  Best before date was 2 years ago but as you have realised, it was fine!)

 I fried garlic (lots!) and then chopped courgette, red pepper, chinese leaf cabbage into chunk and added them in.  Subsequently, I threw in the tempeh and moved it around a lot. The Szechuan sauce made its own sweet way into the mix fairly soon after (as you judge fit!)

 Meanwhile, a squirming mass of Clearspring organic soba noodles (yes, more casualties in the cupbaord clearout- only 10 months out of date) were burbling in the other saucepan.

 The two were united in a marriage made in heaven with some dried, fried garlic on top

Bon appetit, Szechuan Tempeh!!!

Have you tried it?  You must!

Oh, to join in the tempeh appreciation and learn how to make your own (see it's THAT cool!) go to http://www.tempeh.info/ 

Strip the willow!

Have you ever been to a ceilidh?   By this I mean a Scottish dance where you dance traditional country-dances to traditional folk music?  

I absolutely adore this form of pastime.  I'm happy to dance traditional English country dancing or barn-dancing or the proper Scottish stuff- anything really!  What's the American version called?!

When I was in Year 1 (5-6 years old) at primary school, many of my PE lessons at school were spent learning Country-dancing- I definitely remember learning the OXO dance and the Square dance.  They were always so much fun as though the routine might take a while to learn, the movements were not difficult!

My teacher was so enthusiastic about it that it rubbed off on me and I become positively giddy at the prospect of a barn-dance or Ceildh nowadays! 

The two main sources of my ceildh barn-dancing nowadays are at churches- usually fundraisers or at weddings.   I guarantee if you tell me about one and I am free, I will find a way to be there!!!!

It's such a great workout- I can happily exercise vigorously whilst dancing this type of dance for around 4 hours without batting an eyelid!   If you were looking for a form of exercise and discover your local church/village/community hall is having one, I strongly recommend going along- even if you have nothing to do with the church/village/community or think you'd know no-one, they are so much fun, and invigorating.  My friend A, featured in some of the below pictures, also loves them and when her husband was in Afghanistan, we rocked up to a village ceildh in her village, she'd never been to any village events and we danced non-stop for about 4 hours- everyone wondered who we were I'm sure, but were quite happy for us to join in the fun!

We held one at my church during harvest time and I managed to get 11 friends to come along.   The exciting thing here was that I was part of the ceildh band- we consisted of accordion, guitar, violin, drums and moi on recorder and Irish whistle.  The tunes are so catchy and bring a smile to your face!

 The only downside was it meant I got to dance less than I would have liked!

 But it was great fun just to be part of the atmosphere!

 If you want to try something new this year and have never done it, then try this activity- great fun!  If you're in Scotland ever, look for one.  Or with Burns Night coming up, you might find one going on!  I'd love to spend my New Year's eve at one- there are many happening- that's what I spent my Millenium new year's eve doing!

Oh and wear loose clothing, maybe of something floaty like silk (like my Antik Batik skirt above) make sure you have layers so you can strip off when you get too hot and flat shoes- DO NOT wear heels- the last one I went to, some woman stepped on my ANKLE in her stillettos, gave me a MASSIVE bruise and inadvertantly ripped the button and eye off my ankle strap of my New Yorkers!!

Go on then- share your country-dancing experiences!!!!

Have maps- will turn into envelopes! (January pledge to make!)

As you may have ascertained from my sidebar, I have signed up for A Monthly make at Annie, the Felt Fairy.  This is where you pledge to make one item each month.  I really liked this idea as though I periodically make things, I wanted to make it a regular thing, and also challenge myself to try different things!  If you want to join the fun, go and click on the pretty button!!!!  You can see a myriad of more skillful offerings at the flickr page!!!

I'm a big of a blogtechnophobe as you may have realised from the lack of super-duper flashy things on my blog and highly boring header.  I envy you, the people I follow who have beautiful, pretty unique headers.  Any ideas how to solve my technophobia! Anyway, I felt quite proud of myself managing to actually add a button to my sidebar and then I experimented with adding a few links to some of my fave blogs!  I've only managed a few so far as it took my ages to go to my follow menu and paste links etc, so I will add to it as I go along- please don't be offended if you're not there yet!
Anyway, back to the make for January: 

An obselete road-map turns up in the recycling bin?  Turn it into envelopes and writing paper!  Better still, match up the map-envelopes to friends/family who live in that area and send them letters in those envelopes!

Be afraid, be very afraid! A letter may wing itself towards you any day now in one of these beauties*! Char has already received one! There's another 100 pages in this atlas!

* I am of course being slightly sarcastic about myself!

Can't see the wood for the trees!

Don't worry, I'm not overwhelmed or depressed, I'm just posing as a tree!

Neutrals is the theme- Tammy at Silverstyle has a link-up for Trending through the decades and this week's theme is neutrals!  I think that the beige, brown and tweed counts!   In the past I used to love wearing brown a lot- I was even given a title, "Symphony in Brown" when I was at Uni by a guy who liked the brown look I wore sometimes!  I ike wearing white in the summer and autumnal shades in the winter! The tank is a 2nd-hand purchase as are the earrings!  Everything else is older!   I can't wear these wretched beige suede shoes at the moment- I wore them in torrential rain and somehow lost the sole of the heel on the right foot! HOW??????

Yay, off for a walk!
Enjoy your Sundays my dears!

Nostalgia!

In the great clean-up, clear-out of the cupboards, I have come across some worrying finds!  One- a dried pasta sauce with the best-before date of 2002- I took it in to school to eat for lunch (cheese and broccoli- honestly, it's not going to hurt me is it?) to the horror of my colleagues but didn't have a bowl big enough to cook it in! The other find was that 'Smash and crack magic sauce for ice-cream, you know, the one that hardens to form a chocolate shell!  You must know this if you are a child of the 80's!   I enjoyed it on Wispa ice-cream.

Jealous?!

What other nostalgic treats can you think of, or do you miss? 

Thursdays are for thrifters- red wine and fork! (with a dinosaur for good measure!)

Greetings one and all!  I'm going to be linking up to Meagan at Spunkychateau for Thursdays are for thrifters! Thank you for the kindness regarding "The shorts!"

I'm really excited as tomorrow with Year 2, they get to pretend to be Foley artistes- if you don't know what they are, they are the people who make the sound-effects to go with TV/film to make it sound real- e.g. when someone runs up the stairs, they dub the sound of the footsteps in sync with the movement- well they've been learning about dinosaurs this week and they're going to watch this clip of a sound-designer showing how to create sound-effects then research and do their sound-effects to the clip.  Go and have a go yourself! I love the fact I get to teach it twice!!!

This outfit features 4 thrifted items, 3 recent.  Firstly,  I bought the following items in charity-establishments 2 weeks ago- such cute kissing boy and girl earrings, a swinging heart necklace and a porcelain flower brooch (not in the outfit!)

This fork bracelet, bought at a country village summer fete last August. It was obviously someone's old bracelet and was very tarnished- a bit of elbow-grease solved that!  Yes, it really is a silver dessert fork!

A red-wine coloured cordhuroy mini-dress (threeeefted ma loves!).  Ultra comfy.

Non-thrifted parts of the outfit are my vain Irregular Choice Penelopes and navy school tights! (technically thrifted since my Mother gave them to me after not needing them!)

Here is the jewellery in action (and an attempt at hairstyle! I've been wearing this headband in my hair with my hair down for years but never tried it with my hair up.  Thanks for the inspiration Lauren!)

And voila, the whole ensemble! (Ahrgh, how did I forget the hat!!!!!!!!! It is serendipitously the same colour as the dress- Tescos, the night before buying the dress!!!)

How has your day been?  Wonderous I hope! Mine has been pretty cool- this afternoon I taught my Year 5 groups for the first time- I'm giving time to some pupils who are sort of middle-ability but are kind of 'stuck' at a level in their writing, giving them intensive sessions to work on their targets.  It was great- they were sooooo enthusiastic and really seemed to enjoy the activities- today was creating complex sentences by adding chunks of information (subordinate clauses)  to add more description to characters and working on characteristics of people- using extended vocabulary!  I love teaching writing- how I have missed it!

What have you enjoyed?

Bye-bye Birdie!

 Hello!  Due to cool techy friend, I managed to upload some photos via a clever multiple-memory card reader!   And I managed to make it outside to take a photo!  I'm jumping on Char and Alex's shorts bandwagon and featuring a pair I bought in the sale at that old favourite Primarni!  With an old Primarni turquoise top, Vera-Moda bird vest (sale from local Boutique), M&S boots, turquoise Christmas present necklace, hair-flower and assortment of glittery turquoise bracelets- appealing to my inner-magpie!

Along with Forever21 tights I must share a slight bug-bear here- admittedly, these shorts are obscenely short (and indeed, I do feel that perhaps they are too short) but why is it that lovely knitted tights only make the pattern go up so far?!  I've got so many lovely pairs of patterned-knitted tights that only have a pattern going up a little above my knee- I might be a giraffe in the leg-length stakes but still!!!  That said, I'm pleased that Tescos have recently improved their patterned tights plain to pattern ratio though!  Anyone else have similar issues?

 I bought this top loving the photographic-style print of the birds- so vibrant although it wrinkles a little annoyingly!!!  Speaking of birds, my little friends have recently deserted me- no sign of Mr Blackbird and his tuneful family or the tame robin- tis sad- I miss them!  I've been leaving food in the garden but to no avail- no response except from a couple of perpetually mournful wood-pigeons.  Oo OOOOOOO Oo Oo-Oo!!! (Get a new tune you miserable losers!)

Has the wild-life been inspiring you recently?! 

Let them eat hats 31- 1920's style cloche!

Around 2 years ago, when CBC and I first started going out, we went to Marylebone High Street for the afternoon.  We came across a handmade market in the grounds of St Marylebone's and I found a hat stall by a designed called Orizu.  They were beautifully made, in a wonderful 1920's quirky style with a corsage of your choice.  When I debated colour, the maker suggested, when I said I had a purple coat (pictured- Debenhams Petite collection- only Petite fits my shoulder despite being a tall lass!) , that I buy a green one with the purple flower.  They're not cheap- mine cost £45 (I couldn't believe I spent so much on it) but they are so fun. 

These photos don't do the hat justice, but check out these Orizu hats of the same type on Etsy.  They look so nice here!

If you really like this and you would like to buy one from Orizu, they are on Etsy, here is my exact hat!

Was it money well spent or am I totally crazy!?