Ahh, it’s payday! Always a highlight in the month. Despite spending my weekend in bed with a cold, I have woken up in a good mood the past 2 days. I’ve spent today on a mission to GET STUFF SORTED!

Tonight’s post is a bit rushed as I went to see a friend after work but that’s ok. I need to accept this for what it is. The pictures will always be a bit dodgy and taken on my camera phone with less than ideal lighting but that’s also ok.

So on with the list…

1. I found this vegan friendly chilled latte in Asda yesterday and grabbed one to have for my breakfast today. I wasn’t really sure how the coconut milk would work with coffee but it’s not a very strong taste along side the coffee. I think it’d probably be even nicer over ice but being that this was drunk on the bus to work today that wasn’t happening! There are a couple of others in this range so I will be sure to check those out too. At £1.69 it wasn’t super cheap but hey, it’s good for a treat and it’s still cheaper than getting an iced latte from a coffee shop.

2. I spent last night laying out pages for a split zine that I am sending to my co-contributor for assembly. Hopefully it’ll be ready for Sheffield Zine fest which I purchased my train ticket for today as well. The fact that I finally pulled my finger out and got this finished is a mini victory for me because I have been putting it off for so long. I was pleased how quickly I got back into the flow of doing the layout when I got started last night. It was a nice way to spend a Monday too specially as I watched 2 episodes of the latest seasons of The Great British Sewing Bee while I did it.

3. On Friday I went to see ONSIND at Ort cafe in Birmingham. They were touring with Spoonboy and Jesus and his Judgmental Father who were also very good and well worth a listen. The venue worked really well for this gig and there was a really good atmosphere. I really wish I was more articulate about this stuff but I’m not at the moment . It’s just good to hear people singing about things that matter to me and know that I’m not half as alone as I would have had myself believe.

4. If you are wondering what this is even a photo of, well I wouldn’t blame you – what this represents is the financial overhaul that I’ve been working on over the last week or so. I’ve changed to a SIM only phone deal, cancelled my monthly unlimited bus pass and switched to one that is about a 5th of the cost which will do for getting me to work and back. It’s got to the point where I don’t want to be paying out for stuff just for the luxury of being comfortable and feeling I had all of the available options, all of the time. It feels a little scary if I am honest to be making these changes but also quite empowering.

I also found out that because I work at a uni, I can get an NUS extra card for £12 a year even though I am not a student myself. Baby steps, but this year is about change and this means changes must be made.

Anyway, I have more things to do before it’s bed time, so till the next time…

Hello again. Tuesday seems to have come around fast this week. I have Friday off as annual leave so I guess this means I’m already halfway done with my working week.

Here’s this weeks tiny things

1. Although I’ve already mentioned nail varnish in TTT #2, I’m not actually that into painting my nails. I’m certainly not someone who always wears nail varnish. I tend to prefer nail stickers to polish and I loved these ones I wore at the weekend that I brought from Wilkos. The black and white colours also meant they matched with whatever I have flung on for work this week. They are a bargain at 99p and easy to apply, it’s just a case of sticking them on and then filing the excess parts of the stickers off with an emery board. Wilkos do a couple of different designs in these stickers as well as some non gel ones. I really liked these ones though for the hearts, hounds tooth and glasses motifs especially.

2. I tidied my bedside table! This was inspired by meeting up with my lovely friend Sarah at the weekend and belatedly exchanging Christmas gifts. She brought me a lovely cat dish, and the bunny night light. It’s made my bedroom feel cozy in the evenings when I am sitting up here reading, or watching programs on my laptop.

3. I came home today to two pieces of lovely post from friends. I love getting post and sometimes coming home to a door mat covered in letters and packages can be the high point of the day. It also justifies me buying so much stationery to use in my replies.

4. I cast on these new mitts today. They are the Black Lodge Mitts, which are of course inspired by Twin Peaks. I’ve been trying to use up yarn I already have at home and this was an ideal make as I had enough of all 3 colours left from other projects. I’ve been working on the chevron part tonight while watching “The Secret World of Lewis Carroll” on iplayer. It’s really interesting but a little unsettling, although it hasn’t told me much that I didn’t know. I didn’t realise there was an Alice day each year in Oxford though, so this has been added to my list of things I want to do.

I’m home alone this evening, so I’m off to cook my tea (vegan pie and mash) and carry on knitting now.

Till next time…

This week has been a bit of an odd one and I found myself feeling pretty glum on my way home tonight. I feel a little better now I am home and cosy for the evening. Tuesdays seem to feel like Mondays for me lately and I wonder if Monday night I am just full of euphoria at making it through the ‘worst’ day.

Anyway, here’s this weeks list

1. I’ve been getting a new bus to work for the last few days and it means I can leave the house slightly later and no longer have to change in town. The only issue is that the times it arrives seem to vary a bit so I need to get it for the whole week to see if it (generally) gets me to work on time. I already get the same bus home in the evenings and it made a huge difference to my day when I discovered it. It means my journey time was cut in half and I’m in favor of anything that gets me home quicker!

2. This was actually supposed to be a photo of the totoro drinking flask that I got as a Christmas gift but has actually turned into more like a picture of a personal corner of my desk. I have 2 calendars up – the one you can barely see is the ‘my sad cat’ calendar. If you aren’t familiar with the twitter account @MYSADCAT, then I suggest you check it out. If you want to know a little more about the melancholy cat behind the pictures, he goes by the name of the Bear and there is a wonderful piece about him by his owner Tom here. Also pictured is my solar powered owl, who swivels his head around all day long, a postcard from Stay Home Club and my other calendar – a sheep one that came in a previous kawaii box. The drinking flask has been great because a) it has a handy strap to carry it with so I don’t have to juggle that, a hot cup of coffee and trying to scan my ID card to get back into my office b) it’s not too big (400ml) so it doesn’t feel like a struggle to finish and I keep keep track of how much I am drinking by tracking on my fitbit and c) IT HAS A TOTORO ON IT!

3. Speaking of cats…I was actually trying to take a picture of this blanket but my cat (Cabaret) wanted to get in the photo. He then proceeded to climb all over me and dribble. Back to the blanket though – this is actually a bit of a personal ‘hurrah’ moment because this week I finally started edging this blanket which I have been working on, on and off for probably close to 10 years. I promised myself that I would finish it this year and I’ve accepted that I can’t find anymore of the pink yarn so cannot add on more hexagons so edging time it is! Once it’s fully completed, I’ll post a proper photo of it.

4. Lastly, this is an awful photo as my bus started moving just as I took it – but it lifted me up a little to realise that it’s almost not dark when I leave work now. I wont go so far as to say that it’s light but I do seem to be catching some pretty looking sunsets which must mean it’s not fully dark.

And now I am going to go and watch more Parks and Rec, because I can’t get enough of it.

Till next time…

Here I am again, 1 week in. I haven’t done much else with this space as yet but I have a few ideas kicking around. Just waiting for the energy and inclination to kick in.

Here are this week’s tiny things;

1. I got this nail varnish free in my kawaii box last month and I put some on at the weekend. I must admit, I mainly picked it out because it was a fairly dark, opaque shade compared to the other polishes I have and my reason for wanting to put on some polish was that I had had a hair dye mishap and dyed my fingernails (and fingers) a rather scary shade of purple.  The MOST exciting thing about this polish was when I went to bed last night and realised it glows in the dark! What can I say, I am easily impressed!

2. One of my closest friends gave me this spoon necklace at the weekend. If you are curious as to why I would be wearing a spoon, you may wish to have a read of the spoon theory.  As a bonus, this one is special as it has a crown on it so ties into my love for Alice in Wonderland.

3. Bandcamp! this is becoming one of my favorite places to buy music from. As their tagline says – it allows you to buy music directly from the people who make it.  It also means that you can access your library of everything you have brought from there via their excellent app (I use the iTunes version but I’m sure there are other ones)  There are loads of songs you can download for free on there or just give what you like to the artist. My latest listens on there are Fashnu and Spoonboy. You can also check out the excellent Deathsex Bloodbath who I may or may not know and may or may not have performed on stage with.

4. Lastly, this feels a little like product placement but this chocolate coconut milk from Tesco is great. Before I was vegan, I was never a fan of milk so I don’t tend to have cereal, milk in hot drinks or anything else particularly milk based (aside from froothy coffees when I am out somewhere that isn’t work or home) A glass of this seems like a decent way to get calcium and other good stuff. It’s also not too thick so feels quite refreshing to drink, unlike something like a milkshake. I suspect in summer I could use it at the basis for a good cocktail too.

Till next time…

The idea behind this post came to me earlier today so I thought I would strike while the inspiration was fresh.

I have been struggling physically and mentally lately. I thought it may do me good to look each week (or so) at the little things that have helped to make my life brighter and the small achievements I have made.

1. I sewed my stay home club patch on my ukulele bag this week. It’s gradually getting filled up with nice things and looks less like the boring black bag I brought.

2. I’ve been using some tiny cat stickers I brought off of ebay for 99p to decorate my diary and plan for future events. My diary is by Flow and is absolutely beautiful.  It’s helped me feel more centered to have things to plan and look forward to as well as stopping those awful “have I double booked myself?” panics. I find having cute things to plan with really soothing – it appears to my stationery geek side as well as my inner administrator/secretary!

3. The new Sleater-Kinney album arrived in my mailbox today and I’m really enjoying it so far although I’m kinda letting it wash over me rather than focusing on the lyrics as yet.  I’m so excited to see them when the tour the UK in London and Manchester.

4. Libraries! Oh how I love you. I am lucky to have a couple that I can visit.  This is my currently to read/reading pile. I love being able to find stuff I never knew existed as well as things I have wanted to read for a while. I’ve been keeping a list in the back of my diary of things to look forward to. My city’s library has a really good online catalog too.

Till next time…