Knobs *chuckle*...

Anyway, in the spirit of 'just get on with it' I've been trying to find time to tick off some of those little jobs that need doing around the house. In truth it's not going very well considering we're half way through the year, but I'm trying.


My most recent project was to build and paint Andy's bedside table (which had been sitting flat packed in the cupboard under the stairs for months). Cheap and cheerful though it is, it's better than the small and somewhat inadequate Ikea storage unit he'd been using since we moved in three years ago.


I decided to re-paint mine while I was at it, so I popped on my deccy clothes and got painting. I'd had some decorative knobs kicking about in the junk end room since we moved in three years ago (purchased for the wardrobe doors we ended up removing) so I used them for my bedside table and purchased some manly chrome ones for Andy (pretty glass flower knobs not really being his thing).

And ta-dah! Two new bedside tables and something crossed off the list.



Which leaves me with a handy Ikea storage unit to use in my office, perfect for all my little bits and pieces. I'm thinking of going Pinterest on it's ass and doing something like this, i.e paint it and add some handles. I have three of the flower ones left so I'd like to use those and maybe mix and match in some others?


But then that's just another thing to add to an already long list of things to do... Do you enjoy DIY or do you leave it to the man of the house / the professionals?

Love

I'd been mulling over the idea of doing my Wearing it All challenge again, but I couldn't seem to make up my mind. So, in the spirit of my motto for 2014, I decided to just get on with it.

I started last week and have worn almost all of my jeans already - foolish! But it has been nice to think about what I put on in the mornings a little more.

The rule is simple - I have to wear everything in my wardrobe before I can wear something for a second time. The only items that are not included are those that have been put away for the summer.

Looking back through my posts on doing this the first time, I played a game of still got / not got / what was I thinking!? / I wish I still had, and I realised how much I enjoyed this challenge. I found that it made me evaluate what I had in my wardrobe and get rid of bags full of clothes that I didn't like and no longer wanted. Some things hadn't even been worn.

The challenge helped me to change my thought pattern when buying dresses and skirts. Instead of thinking 'a tan and a cute pair of sandals and this would be fabulous', I've learnt to ask myself 'how will I wear this and, more importantly, will I actually wear it?' I have rarely tanning and the rubbish British weather to thank for this. A number of items have been put back on the rails as a result, which is one of the things I was hoping to achieve.

This time I'm looking to do a little streamlining and find some new ways to style what I have.

Here's my first week. The first outfit was to see if the jumper I'd shrunk in the wash was salvageable. Although it is a different shape now, it still fits.


I'm giving the jumper (bottom left) back to the charity shop as the sleeves are a little short and a bit too wide for my liking, I should've tried in on. After discovering that I wasted roughly £240 last year on things that didn't fit or didn't suit me (and couldn't return because they came from charity shops or eBay), it was obvious that I need to try before I buy where ever possible.

The jeans (bottom left) are going too, with only 2% elastane they lose their shape in no time at all (note to self - always check the labels), so my wardrobe is two items lighter already.

The final outfit is a dress I haven't worn since the summer, I had no idea how to style it for cold weather as it's short sleeved, drop wasted and quite wide but my one and only sale purchase - the long grey cardigan - was just perfect. Not too bulky but with enough room for the dress to sit nicely underneath. It might not do much for my figure but it's so comfy to wear that I'm not at all bothered.

I'll be keeping a record with a weekly Wednesday WIA#2 post. Wish me luck!

Love

I have been pondering resolutions and goals, wishes and hopes for 2014 and I realised that a lot of them are the same as for 2013. Namely to start (and finish) the multitude of things I've been meaning to do and finish little jobs around the house. I constantly have a to-do list as long as my arm and I'm always busy but I don't feel as if I ever make much progress. Hence my motto for 2014.

Having read and enjoyed many resolution posts over the past few weeks I have compiled a list of my own, nicking a few along the way.

See something cultural once a month.
I loved Harriet's idea of seeing something cultural once a month. She did this last year and visited some great places so this is going on my list. I hope to drag Andy along with me when I can and if not I'll rope in some friends (I don't see nearly enough of them these days).

Make more of an effort.
I chuckled reading Jenny's resolution 'to make more of an effort', nodding in agreement as I read. Now that I work at home I do tend to just pull on a pair of jeans and drag my hair into a ponytail most days. My boyfriend must wonder what happened to his previously well turned out other half. I totally agree with Jenny when she says she feels better when she's made more of an effort. This ties in nicely with my desire to wear more of my wardrobe. I'm contemplating another Wearing it All challenge. I enjoyed it the first time around and my wardrobe has changed a lot so it could be fun to do it all over again.

Do nice things.
I thought that Su's idea of A List of Nice Things was a fabulous idea (found via Jo). She takes time to do something nice once a month. I promptly added this to my list of things for 2014 - I'm counting a nice thing as anything that I don't have to do, that takes me away from everyday life, even if only for a few hours.

Don't just pin, do.
I decided that I should spend less time pinning and more time actually doing / making / creating some of my pins. I have a boards called Projects and I've yet to try even one of them, not to mention the recipes I haven't cooked and knitting and crochet tutorials that have gone untried. One a month sounds good to me.

Learn a skill.
I like the idea of learning something new, taking a course, meeting people and having a useful skill at the end of it. I'm thinking flower arranging, upholstering or dress making - it depends on cost, time and location but it's definitely worth some investigation.

Obviously I have the standard 'eat well, move more' type resolutions but I always fail at these. Having read this Red Online article, about making bite-size resolutions, I decided to make small daily changes instead. I'll let you know how it goes.

I hope that this will give me plenty of things to look forward to in 2014 and that by the end of it I'll have finished many outstanding projects (hopefully), have a tidier home and a healthier diet and lots of new recipes mastered.

How are your resolutions holding up?

Love