Tuesday 31 March 2015

Wardrobe wishlists

Professional panoply

In May I will be heading over to Boston, Massachusetts for a work trip, I've never explored the East coast of the States so I'm really excited.  I will be attending a conference where sleek professional men and women gather to do business which brings out intense wardrobe anxiety in me.  These sleek people really look as if they know what they're doing, that they have their work and homelife shit together whilst effortlessly doing business and working the room.

Eeeeeeeep.  Cue frenzied web searches for potential outfits that won't draw attention to the fact that if left to my own devices I would cook hot dogs, peas and pasta in the same pan to save on the washing up and would call that dinner (Sam despairs and rightly so).  Here is what I have come up with:

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6







Sunday 29 March 2015

Introducing... the plot

So here is the most dramatic photo taken on the plot that I could find, did it catch your attention?  The allotment as I mentioned in my first post has been such a great place for Sam and I, taking it on was one of the best decisions we made.  Now don't get me wrong it hasn't all been skipping around bare foot marvelling at the delicate petals or the majestic flight of a bumble bee (in fact there has been none of that, the plot is riddled with red ant nests if you went around bare foot you'd be bitten and if you have ever been bitten by a red ant you will know that you don't think there is any majesty in those feckers *shakes fist*).

Anyway, we have had the plot for coming up to four years now, we were called to say we could have it (after being on the waiting list for a year) a couple of months before our wedding in 2011 which was perfect as it meant we went into full on sunflower growing mode!  We had sunflowers decorating all corners of the farm we held our reception on, it looked great, we were so chuffed with ourselves.

To begin with we shared the plot with two other people, the first lady drifted off to another plot pretty quickly (to be fair things were a bit crowded), the second our good friend Laura was hit hard with work and family commitments which meant the plot was a struggle to maintain.  We took over the whole thing last year but struggled to keep the weeds at bay and lost most of our motivation for it.  We gave up the left hand half (in the photo above) last year with high hopes that an enthusiastic newcomer would tackle it with energy and vigor.... Nope!  We finally saw the lady who has taken it over a couple of weeks ago she's done nothing to it since she took it on and things are becoming overgrown and the dandelion seeds are drifting onto our patch *huff*.  We'll see what happens, with that, I've told her I'm happy to take back part or all of it if she can't manage but I think she might have her head in the clouds, she doesn't realise the commitment having a plot takes.  It means evenings and weekends toiling away.  Not fun for everyone and not something you can put off until later.

This all sounds very negative, it isn't intended to be, like any sort of community thing there are so many politics involved.  But what makes it all worth while?  The seedlings poking through the soil in spring, the flowers coming on the strawberry plants which means it won't be too much longer until you're cooking up a batch of jam (seriously you cannot beat homemade jam it's epic), steaming the purple sprouting broccoli you picked from the plot ten minutes ago or taking out a tub of broad bean pesto from the freezer during winter and stirring it through your pasta reminding you of the summer sunshine when you picked and made it.

These are the things that keep me coming back to the plot and digging out the weeds and lugging the heavy watering can about.  When you work a desk job like I do there is immense satisfaction in working towards a tangible result, that steaming pot of soup packed with veg you grew, the salad packed with cucumbers and tomatoes you nurtured from seed.  It's ace despite the aching muscles and the politics!







Saturday 28 March 2015

Introducing... Mewster

Hello all, I briefly introduced Mewster in my first post but I wanted to go into a bit more detail because this crazy cat is just an awesome part of our lives (my husband and I).

First things first, and this maybe anthropomorphising Mew here but she seems to have comic timing, she'll wait until a pause in the conversation to squeak at us seemingly answering questions we put to her, she'll stick her head out through the curtains during emotive and dramatic moments in a film we're watching with a frankly vacant look on her face.

She gets stuck in things, all the time.  We've had to unhook her from the top of the back garden fence - somehow from somewhere she had found a pompom with a loop hanging out she stuck her head through the loop and was wearing it like a necklace but it got caught on some ivy growing on the fence.  I have had to detach her from the casing of the boiler, she got her paw stuck in the toaster (don't worry we don't leave it plugged in!), she jumped down the back of a cabinet the gap between the wall and the cabinet was too narrow for her to move so we had to pull her out by her back legs, she will climb underneath the fitted sheet on the bed but not be able to find her way out.  She was perhaps a jester or clown in another life?

She is a right ol' lazy bones (like most cats to be fair).  Seeking out the best sunspots or underfloor hot pipes and generally making me jealous of her sweet lifestyle.  

She endures mummy cuddles with minimum fuss, she sometimes leaves her tongue poking out when she is finished having a wash and lets you poke it back in for her.  She has learnt how to do high fives, not just when Sam and I encourage her to do so either, strangers can get some sweet high five action from Mew.  She does a good job of guarding her territory sometimes a bit too well, she'll jump up onto the extension roof that links our house with the neighbours and sit at their bathroom window...observing... creepy.

All in all?  She's a pretty awesome little beast to share your life with, if you continue reading this little blog chances are you're going to hear a lot more about her.








Tuesday 24 March 2015

Hello and welcome!

Oh hi!  I'm back, with a new blog 'outfit' - Sometimes Annie.  I used to blog over here, a little blog I set up originally to document what my husband and I were making, brewing, baking and generally crafting for our handmade wedding which took place in July 2011.  I kept the little blog going because I liked the creative outlet it allowed me but over the years it lost direction and became a chore not a pleasure.  I last posted on it in July 2014 and after a nice break whereby I lived my life experiencing life's ups and downs I feel ready to come back to blogging with a new energy and a new focus.

So let me introduce to you the things that I fancy writing about, some carry over from the other blog, some are new.  I really hope you enjoy reading Sometimes Annie (I'll tell you the story of this name another day!) do follow using either the Bloglovin button or email signup!

Our allotment plays a big role in my life, from weeding and developing the plot to planting seeds, nurturing plants and cooking and preserving what we grow.  Getting an allotment was one of the best decisions we made and one I hope we will continue to work on for many years to come.

Netball is a relatively new addition to my life, it started as a way to socialise with friends but it quickly turned into a real passion, I recently played in my first tournament, and I LOVED it! (I play Goal Shooter.)

This little beastie features big in my life, she's called Mewster.  She's no angel that's for sure but she is the daftest, funnest, most gentle cat I've ever had the pleasure of living with.  She gets herself into trouble a lot (we've had to unhook her from the toaster and the boiler, and if we let her into the spare room she has figured out how to print stuff from our computer).  She's a pleasure to live with and I'm sure there is space on the internet for another cat?

And finally... those everyday adventures from long weekends, to random finds with a bit of health and fitness thrown in for good measure.
I hope you will enjoy the ride, feel free to ask any questions, any time!





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