Well, I didn't do too well blogging everyday in May. I managed 15 posts on the chosen topics and 2 random ones.

I did think at the start that I it was a bit of a stretch to think I'd complete the whole thing but I have enjoyed it. It's nice to write about different subjects and it's been a great way to find new blogs to follow, and to get to know bloggers I've been following for a while a little more.

My favourite posts were the Dream Destinations. Not only did I love digging through my photos of travels past but my passion for travel has been reignited. I can't think that I'll be going anywhere soon but the promise of it has inspired me to save and plan.

Huge thanks to Elizabeth for organising this and my apologies for my poor effort.

Dear 13 year old Hazel,

Hiya, I know how you hate to be told that you don't know it all, but sit still for a moment and listen. You're 13, when you reach my age you'll understand that you'll never stop learning, you'll never stop needing advice and you'll never stop growing...

One day you will stop wearing nothing but black, you'll stop back combing your hair but you'll always love and cherish that locket you're wearing.

Try to remember these things, they'll help, I promise.

- It's okay to do things at your own pace but don't allow fear stop you doing things.

- Learn to have those difficult conversations.

- Take lots of photographs.

- Learn to drive as soon as you can.

- Don't drink tequila.

- When people are mean, it normally has more to do with their own issues than it has to do with you.

- Be kind to yourself.

- When someone you care about talks, stop and listen. Really listen.

- Keep a journal - write down all the good stuff.

- Travel as much as you possibly can.

- Never drink on an empty stomach.

- Don't ever get a credit card.

- When you're an adult no one really cares about the size of your boobs.

#BEDM 22

I hope I don't sound smug and make you want to hurl things at me when I say this, but I'm pretty happy with what I am doing right now. Freelance graphic design had always been something I'd thought about and had tucked away neatly in the 'maybe one day' pile at the back of my mind. But being faced with redundancy at the beginning of 2013, with local design jobs as rare as hen's teeth, I decided to go for it.

The one thing that held me back in the past - and this is going to sound utterly, utterly ridiculous - was not really knowing how I would deal with all of the admin and accounting stuff. As it turns out there is an abundance of information available. All it took was a Google search, which tells me that I didn't want to make it happen badly enough. Most people say "I should've done it years ago" when you talk to them about being self employed, but for me I think the time was right. I wasn't ready before. It all fell into place, the stars aligned, the ducks waddled into a row and away I went.

I'm currently gathering content for my website and pinning office interiors on Pinterest - planning my move from the dining room table upstairs to our spare room.

Having missed so many #BEDM posts last week, I've decided to pick and choose from the topics rather than try to catch up on them all.

I rarely do food posts, in fact this is probably the first, but I'm going to share my favourite recipe.

I go through phases of liking different meals but at the moment it's Smoked Haddock and Bacon Chowder. It's prepared in a slow cooker and is so easy. I serve it with crusty granary rolls.


25g butter
1 finely chopped onion
300g diced potatoes
4 rashers diced smoked streaky bacon
750ml boiling fish stock
125g sweetcorn
1 bay leaf
500g smoked haddock
150ml double cream
salt and pepper
(serves 4)

Heat the butter in a large frying pan, add the onion, potatoes and bacon and fry gently, stirring, until just beginning to colour
Transfer the potato mix to the slow cooker
Pour over the boiling stock, add the sweetcorn, bay leaf and salt and pepper
Pop on the lid and cook on high for 2-3 hours or until potatoes are tender

Skin the fish and press it just below the surface of the stock (cutting in half if needed)
Pop the lid back on and cook for a further 30 minutes

Lift out the fish and break into flakes
Stir the double cream into the soup and return the fish
Ladle into bowls and enjoy!


For breakfast I love pancakes, streaky bacon and maple syrup with orange juice and a cup of tea. It's my all time favourite breakfast - except for smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on wholegrain toast but that's our traditional Christmas Day breakfast (neatly covering yesterday's #BEDM) - and yes, I tried it for the first time after Carrie ordered it for brunch on SATC, but the sweet and savoury mix is just irresistible.

When it comes to desserts, I can't pick just one. Chocolate fudge brownie, trifle, cheesecake, pistachio ice cream, Christmas pudding with cream, profiteroles, bakewell tart and custard, fruit salad. Or we could talk about a cheeseboard? Brie. It's not safe for brie to be in my company, especially if grapes are also present.

I'm hungry.

So, having started #BEDM a day late, I managed 12 days before faltering. Day 13 was a horrible day. My boy cat, Socks, went out at 8pm the evening before and stayed out. And then again the next night. At first I was mildly distracted by his absence but this slowly turned into traipsing around in the rain calling his name, to sobbing and feeling sick. And when he turned up he was as bold as brass, demanding food as if nothing had happened. Little git.

He has since been punished with regular cuddles of varying duration. He hates that.

Anyway going back to the post I was in middle of writing, #BEDM 13 was about being 'green'. I do all the normal reuse / recycle stuff and I buy second hand clothes and have been looking into ethical brands too.

After the great shoe throw out, I decided to find me some eco-friendly summer footwear. My first port of call was Spartoo, as this is where my first pair of 'green' boots came from.

Once I managed to find the eco-freindly shoes on the website (it took me a while to find the tab - under 'Styles' fyi) I fell in love with these, they're Dream in Green, like my boots, but they're £70.99. Yikes! That's a lot for such a small amount of shoe! There wasn't a lot else in the eco-friendly range of summer shoes that took my fancy (loads of Birkenstock type footwear if you like it, but I'm not keen) so I popped over to Sarenza to see what they had to offer.

I haven't shopped there before, the eco-friendly tab was much easier to find (nestled neatly under 'women').
These canvas shoes are cute and a possible contender for replacing my Rocket Dogs and at only £25.70 are a good price too. They come in a variety of nice colours but I had to chuckle when I saw they were referred to as 'sports shoes' - what type of sport could you possibly do in these? These were the only shoes, out of 829 styles, that I would consider buying for the warmer months. To be honest there were loads of winter boots in the mix that caught my eye - at more reasonable prices - so maybe I'll end up a seasonal eco-friendly shoe shopper?

My next stop was Style Is, I remembered seeing some nice shoes there... I was greeted with more Birkenstock types, some lovely winter boots but little else for the price I had in mind.
I like these but the colour is so wrong for me, £60.00. They are available in black and grey however I'm not sure they're versatile enough and maybe a bit 'smart' for summer day wear and *whispers* how do they stay on your feet?


LOVE these but £62.50. I'd be happy to pay £20 - £40 for a pair of cute daytime summer shoes, I just don't think I'm going to find it the form of eco-friendly footwear (although I will keep looking - I'm aware that my search has hardly been extensive).

Javari have a good selection, which you can see here, but nothing that met my criteria. From what I have seen so far, there's a reasonable amount of choice but few that appeal to me. I am fussy when it comes to footwear. Eco friendly winter boots on the other hand are right up my street, such a shame I already have more pairs than I can fit in my wardrobe, although that's good news for my wallet.

Any brands you'd recommend for a fussy, style seeking shoe addict?

As a kid I collected lots of different things, stickers, pencil sharpeners, buttons, bits of pottery dug up in the garden - all of which are now no longer in existence but I do have one collection that has emerged as an adult. I didn't set out to do this, it just happened.

I collect charity pin badges. It started when my brother left home and I finally got my mitts on the big bedroom, in packing up my stuff I found several badges and chucked them all in a box together. That was the beginning.

At last count - 88 in total

I designed these two badges for local charities, the one on the left is about 14 years old now!

 

One of my favourites - a cat - of course it is.

Two pins in one - double whammy!

Balls *sniggers*

I think I'm drawn to them because they're small, I know how ridiculous that sounds but I have a love for tiny things. Doll houses fascinate me and it could explain my love of tiny clutch bags that are utterly impractical and fit nothing more than a lip balm and a single key inside. Given the choice I go for the smaller version of something every time*. I LOVE a travel size anything.

* Except mini skirts and cakes.