1. Crochet
There has been a bit of a flurry of new babies recently so I have been busy creating crocheted blankets to gift to them. I follow a very simple pattern called C2C (corner to corner) which is basically the same stitch repeated over and over again which creates a triangle shape. Once you have reached a width that you are happy with you carry on with the same stitch but instead of increasing at the start and finish of each row you decrease to fill in the opposite side of the triangle to create a square blanket. I started making these blankets about a year ago after getting frustrated with the more traditional granny square style crochet. I had seen a friend use this pattern so I found a You Tube video by Bella Coco and hey presto within a very short time I was up and running. I am now very confident in using this stitch so I am planning on trying to teach myself something new in the coming months.
This is something I mentioned before in one of my Florida planning posts and its since become a firm favourite in our house. Tom and I don't watch much television at all as there is hardly ever anything on that we want to watch. We are not into reality type programs, soaps or crappy Saturday night tv (in fact anything with Ant & Dec is an absolute nono for us - don't hate me!! lol). There is the odd series, documentary or film that we will flag up but other than that we tend to just have music on in the background. We started watching Florida vlogs last year and have now built up quite a list of people to follow, at present our faves are The Tim Tracker, That Florida Guy, Damian & India, See Shaun Vlog, Krispy S'Mores, L&R Dreaming and Louandhan. There are also a few new additions to my playlist that we have yet to start watching, just waiting for current selection to finish before we start
getting to know Joe and Donna, The Reeves Family Adventures and Will & Lelly. I follow most of these people on social media too and what a lovely, friendly and helpful bunch they are.
3. New Camera
I had been hankering after a new DSLR for quite some time and I had my eye on the Canon 750D although I had been a little reluctant to take the plunge as it was somewhat out of my budget. I did some research and was considering a cheaper camera but I kept coming back to this baby time after time. Originally I had seen it vastly reduced in the lead up to Christmas but of course afterwards it went back up in price. Anyway I had been watching online for a deal to come up and lo and behold last week Currys came up with an offer that was too good for me to resist. I have yet to give it a good try but my first impressions are that I love it! Now I just need to find a good tutorial on how to get the best out of it, could do with some better weather too!
I am a bit of a skincare junkie and over the years I have tried loads of different products, from High St chemists to high end designer brands you name it and I will have probably tried it. Like a lot of people I was rather taken with wipes and micellar waters, being so quick and easy to use they fast became somewhat of a staple bathroom product for a while. However I started to notice that my skin was looking a little dull and tired and I realized that whilst wipes and waters may be quick and easy they are really not good for your skin (or the environment) and neither will effectively remove all the daily grime and make up that can build up. I decided that I needed to invest a little more time into my skin so I reverted back to a routine that includes using a cleansing balm to get rid of make up followed by a cream cleanser to remove the last of everything (FYI on days when I have little or no make up I don't bother with the balm). At present my fave cleanser is the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, its something I have used in the past and I have to say I now have a whole new love for it. Thanks to the naturally active ingredients my skin is looking and feeling so much better, its radiant, hydrated and nourished. Yes this kind of routine takes a little longer but its totally worth it to have a happy and healthy face.
This one feels like a bit of a cliché but as I am getting older I really do feel like I am starting to appreciate everyday life a whole lot more than I ever did before. Life is not always a bed of roses nor is it full of the perfect Instagram shots but on the whole I am healthy and happy and I have a fabulous husband by my side who loves and supports me in everything I do. I used to get upset and stressed over the smallest things but not any more! I now try not to let things get on top of me or stress me out for no reason. Things that I have no control over or people that cannot be kind or supportive are not worth the energy and upset they can cause. Life is too short not to be happy and whilst I appreciate that we cant all be happy and jolly all of the time I do try to find something positive in each day. I refuse to let other peoples negativity get me down anymore, this is MY life and I will live it doing the things that make me happy.
Love and hugs, Jane x
1 comment
Promised I would read your blog!👍🏻👍🏻 Fab posts. Looking forward to reading more 😍😍
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