The first full weekend of the month saw England play (and beat) Sweden in The World Cup. I watched the game alone as Andy was gearing up for harvest and working all day, everyday. He hadn't started working into the evenings but as kick-off was a 3pm, he missed the game.

I sat down with an elderflower spritzer and picked up my knitting (standard practice when watching football, yes?). I can't just sit and watch football, I have to have something else to do (I used knitting to ease the tension of the England vs Columbia penalties). By the end of the game I realised that I'd finished my third lion. Apt, right?

It seems like an eternity ago already, it's a shame we didn't make the final, but didn't the England team do us proud?

The Sunday was all about pom poms and writing blog posts. I always have 20 - 30 posts in draft, some which need updating as time goes on - my seasonal list, or my Day Zero updates for example, and others that I just need to get on and finish!


The following Saturday was Latitude. I camped at a site in Dunwich with friends on the Friday and Saturday nights. On the Friday I made my way to the campsite to help set up the tents in the afternoon. Whilst my friend returned to Ipswich to pick up his kids from school, I spent a few hours on the beach. I read, I napped a little, and I made a sea bouquet for our tent - something every tent should have!

The evening consisted of a BBQ on the beach, and sitting around a bonfire until 1am catching up with friends I haven't seen for far too long.


The next day we didn't get to the festival until 2pm and our first stop was to find food! I don't feel like I explored as much of the festival as I normally do. I didn't go into the forest at all, and there were lots of new things that I just didn't get time to check out.


I did meet up with Sophie though, and we fell back into our normal Latitude routine of bouncing between the Radio 6 tent and the main arena, with trips to the bar in between. I then found the friends I'd arrived with and headed to the main stage to watch The Killers. They were awesome. The 2 hour wait to get out of the car park however, was no fun at all. It was chaos and there was not a single warden around to help. Luckily I wasn't driving so I was able to get some sleep in the back of the car.

On the Sunday I got up surprisingly early considering I didn't get to bed until almost 2.30am. The day consisted of slowly packing up the tent, whilst drinking mug after mug of tea, and making my way home.

Andy was at work until late and I arrived home to an empty house with a touch of the festival blues. I made a pom pom wreath to keep myself occupied.

I'm hoping to go to Latitude for the entire weekend next year. I feel like I missed so much by only going for one day, but I did enjoy the camping tremendously. It's years since I've been.

The third weekend of the month was one I decided would be just general pottering and with a little being sociable thrown in.

The Saturday was all about pom pom making, and in the evening I went to friends house to watch a scary movie. The film was IT, which was rather good and thankfully not as scary as I thought it would be. Then we watched a documentary about a haunted farm house in the middle of nowhere. It was terrifying, and then I had to drive home to my farmhouse in the middle of nowhere... I had to have a cup of tea and a sit in the garden with my friends until I felt brave enough to drive home alone. In the cold light of day this seems ridiculous, at nearly 1am in the near pitch black it seems totally reasonable.


Sunday I made more pom poms (have I mentioned how addictive it is?) and Andy was working close by so he popped home for lunch, which was a lovely and unexpected surprise. Later I nipped to my  brother's for a while and came home with an abandoned knitting project to frog and make into more pom poms.


The final weekend was dedicated, once again, to pom poms. I made my biggest one yet - 14". Saturday was Photo An Hour and Sunday consisted of more pom poms and the making of a Malteser cheesecake for my nephew's 18th Birthday BBQ the following day.

...................

It was my wish at the beginning of the year to avoid that Sunday night feeling of a weekend wasted. My goal was to have a plan in place for the coming weekend by each Friday evening. July seems to have been largely dominated by pom poms (if you're wondering about the pom poms you can read more here. Long story short - I had a load of green wool that needed a use, I decided pom pom wreaths were the answer, and I'll be selling them on a craft stall in September, October and November), but it's also been a good month for seeing friends I haven't seen in far too long.

For my summer capsule wardrobe I decided to have a monthly edit, instead of keeping it the same for three months. Doing so means I can swap things around each month and wear more of my summer clothes.

My July Capsule was lovely, full of lots of colour, and things I don't get the opportunity to wear very often. For August I removed a few things that need mending, a few things I didn't wear and added some new (to me) items and some things I purchased last year that have yet to be worn.

With the glorious weather we've been enjoying it's been lovely to wear my summeriest of summer dresses and skirts. I'm hoping this month will be more of the same, we've had some rain and a few grey days, can we have the sun back for the rest of the month now please?

I realised in July that I probably didn't need 36 items for 31 days, but I couldn't bring myself to eliminate anything more from this month's total of 34. I have too much that I love and want to wear. Which isn't a bad position to be in really.

This is the first week in my August Capsule.

I couldn't wait to wear my new (to me) cropped jeans and wore them two days in a row - some might say that you shouldn't be seen in the same thing twice, but I couldn't care less, they're so comfy!

The lace top in the first outfit is one I purchased in May last year. When I realised this it immediately went into the capsule. It works well with the high waist of the cropped jeans.

The next day I wore them with a pre-loved top that's been around a while. I wore this for two days in a row too, again firmly sticking two fingers up at anyone who tries to tell me 'you can't be seen wearing the same thing twice'. Absolute piffle. Why can't we all just agree that everyone wears their clothes more than once and it's insanity to pretend otherwise.

I also wore my sequin top and denim shorts for the first time, and used my newest purchase - a mustard coloured shoulder bag - because I couldn't wait to give it an outing.


As the week drew to an end I wore a long floral maxi. I've not worn this before. I bought this imagining I'd wear it on a faraway beach at sunset (this beautifully illustrates the dream world I inhabit most of the time). The last time I was walking on foreign sand was in the Sahara, and this would've been most impractical. Before that I was in Zanizbar for my best friend's wedding 9 years ago. My point being that I rarely find myself on distant shores, so pottering about in it at home and nipping to the shop will have to suffice, and let's face it, in this heat I could be some where abroad.

What's your favourite item in your summer wardrobe?

The 28th was #PhotoAnHour day in July. I took part, posting throughout the day on Instagram. But I don't think it was a very exciting day for photos as they mostly contained wool.

6am
It was too early to get up. Andy was already up and breakfasting before heading out to work. I read in the glorious coolness of the morning after a storm.

7am
The beasts were fed.

8am
I had the day to myself, what lay before me was a pile of wool, and a slight pom pom addiction. 

9am
I could see how the day was going to go... still in my pjs, I hadn't had breakfast, and I'd been awake for three hours, but ... pom poms.

10am
Yoga time. I've started to do at least 15 minutes a day and it's wonderful. And, yes, I wear flip flops a lot.

11am
And on it went (at least I was up and dressed by this time). 

12pm
I had help of the feline variety.

1pm
Lunch. And tea. And pom poms. I ate later than usual because I was so engrossed.

2pm
The cats bring them in, I take them out again. I wasn't sure if this was the one that had been living behind the dishwasher for two days, or a different one. Later on another one sauntered into the lounge.

3pm & 4pm
Feet up, film on. I knew this was going to be a ridiculous film, full of bad one-liners and improbable escapes and feats of strength. But a film is meant to be an escape from reality, right?

5pm
Another film, cat on lap.

6pm
Pom Pom wreath finished. I'd continued to make and attach these whilst watching the DVDs, I couldn't stop until I'd finished.

7pm
He knows when I want to take his photo. He was snoozing and looked really cute. But he refuses to let me capture it on camera. If I point a camera at him he licks his bottom.

8pm
I didn't take a photo because I was doing my evening pottering - a general tidy up, putting the dishwasher on, giving the cats their nightly treat - before going to bed early. 

9pm
Finishing the day how I started it. Bed, tea, book. Andy arrived home just before 10pm.            

Thanks to Jane and Louisa for hosting.

July was glorious wasn't it? I'm glad I decided to split my seasonal capsule wardrobe into three, I've loved wearing lots of items I don't usually get to wear but there's a lot more in my wardrobe that deserves to see the light of day.

I don't know if it's the slight tan I've managed to achieve, my new attitude of 'life's too short', or if it's just the sun shining so consistently but I've been feeling good. Really good. Body confident and happy in my own skin.

I can't explain it as I still have the same 'flaws' as I had last year, in fact I've gathered a few more, they just seem to matter less. One thing I do know is that putting on an outfit each day that I love has, in some small part, added to my current frame of mind.

Long may it continue.

These are a handful of the outfits I put together from my July Capsule. I read somewhere recently that capsules are full of style classics, and therefore can be rather dull and uninspiring, lacking in any amount of fun. Pah! What nonsense! I've had great fun with this capsule.


I'm looking forward to the coming months with added enthusiasm, the sun is shining and life is good.

For the third year running I'm taking part in A Buyer's Archive inspired by Elise, to keep track of my spending on clothes and accessories.

THIS YEAR

Once again all of this month's purchases are pre-loved, and all of them will be in my August capsule.


Fat Face denim shorts £4.25
I actually purchased these last month but forgot to include them in June's round-up post. They're a lovely length and really comfortable.

Khaki cropped jeans £10.99
I mentioned that I was looking out for a pair of these, and these were the exact ones I had in mind, having seen several people wearing them on Instagram. I found them on ebay for a buy-it-now price of £10.99 (free postage) and bought them without a second thought. They turned up just in time for the cooler weather (and when I say cooler I mean not tarmac melting hot!).

Jigsaw sequin top £3.20
I had a hankering for a sequin top too. I am a little annoyed that the ebay seller didn't mention a mark on the back of the top, and that some of the sequins are missing, but it's still a nice top, and it was only £3.20. I like that it's a dull sequin, so it has a sheen rather than a sparkle.


LAST YEAR

Next striped top £4.79
This has never been worn. It's lovely but doesn't suit me.

Blue shirt, £3.25, originally from H&M.
This was a great purchase, it's light and easy to wear and goes with so much of my wardrobe.

Floral shirt, originally from Oasis, for £3.25
This hasn't been worn either, again it's nice but just not very me.

Floral skirt reduced from £60.00 to £25.00
A sale bargain, excitedly worn the day after I purchased it. But not since. But I will, maybe for my traditional birthday breakfast at the local greasy spoon cafe?

Yoshi 'Yes' bag
Originally £65.00, down to £30.00 with a 20% discount, making it just £24.00. It's been used a lot and will probably be around for a while.


Total for July £18.44

Total so far for 2018: £242.66

Total at this time last year: £392.39

Left of £600.00 budget: £357.34

I've got more than half my budget left with five months of the year remaining. And I've purchased more pre-loved items than new this year, score currently stands at 14 new vs 23 pre-loved.

What have you been buying this month?

Look out for the #buyersarchive hashtag to see others taking part. 

People are often intrigued by the life of a farmer, I think it has something to do with being at one with nature, working outside, a sort of hunter-gather type thing.

A lot of people say it's a profession that appeals to them, but it's more of a lifestyle than a job. Andy was born to it, and I can't imagine him doing anything else.

My life as a farmer's wife is not a traditional role. I don't help on the farm on a daily basis, I'm not 'hands on'. The farm is arable so luckily we have no animals to tend to. I say luckily because it means he gets at least one day off a year. Christmas Day is the only day I can guarantee he won't try to head out to work, but I'm sure he would if he thought he could get away with it.

I've spoken about harvest on here before, and I often mention that we don't get a lot of time to spend together, but I do think that because of that, the time we do have together is really special. It's hard to take something for granted when it doesn't happen very often.

What being a farmer's wife means, for me, is that I take on the responsibility for everything in the home. I do the decorating, gardening, and sort out things like having a water softener installed, or arranging for cavity wall insulation to be installed (fitted? put it? what do you do with cavity wall insulation?).

My role is sorting out all the life stuff that Andy doesn't have time for, it might sound very 1950s housewife, but I see it as important as it helps Andy to focus on what he needs to do. Farming is becoming increasingly difficult, there is so much to do, all the time, everyday. It's relentless, and if I can help him by making sure his clothes are clean, there is food to eat, and I remember to send birthday cards to his extended family, then it's the least I can do. We might go about our days separately but we're a team.

I do end up doing a lot of things alone because Andy is working. Evenings out, weddings, dinner parties, family events. It can be a solitary life, but I'm comfortable in my own company so it works for us.

I would like to see a little more of him though, it has to be said.

I help on the farm in small (very small) ways, I taxi him between farms, and I am an escort driver when he's moving large vehicles, usually at some ungodly hour of the morning when the roads are mostly clear.

I've learnt to drive a loader, albeit only on the farm. It's not something I ever imagined doing, much like using a ride on lawnmower, and having a genuine need for a pair of Hunter wellies. I never imagined that I'd cook pheasant and venison, let alone that which I'd probably seen wandering outside in our garden. And I didn't know what grain diving was until I met Andy.

The life of a farmer's wife has many quirks. Sometimes sitting in tractor cab with him while he works constitutes a date, and when we drive anywhere you can guarantee we'll take the scenic route so he can see what's going on on other farms (something they all do). And you can never watch Country File without him shouting at the TV. And he'll point out all the historical agricultural inaccuracies in any period drama you watch.

In the summer I'll only see him during daylight hours if it's raining. Last year I got up really early one morning to do a carboot sale and he said to me 'it's nice to see you standing up and wearing clothes'. He'd been going to, and returning from work, after I went to bed and before I got up.

His pockets will almost always contain grain, and I find it scattered all over the house. My kitchen floor will only ever be clean for the time between washing it and Andy arriving home, and we have to do everything spontaneously because making plans is impossible - everything depends on the weather.

When everyone is hoping the sun will shine I often find myself wanting rain, scanning the sky for grey clouds. And I've discovered it's possible to have too much weather. Torrential rain, heavy hail storms, high winds, and snow can all have a devastating effect on crops. I've never been more aware of the weather than I am now.

It's a unique way of life but I wouldn't have it any other way. Sometimes it's hard, but I'm very proud of what Andy does. I'd like to help more, I just need to continue to find ways I can do so.