Well that was a rather rude, ugly, unexpected silence, wasn’t it?  I can only apologise and promise to try and do better in the future.  My blogging routine is all to pot at the moment what with studying and flatmate shuffling and excessive faffing about on my part taking place.  So while I used to find the time to write a post almost every day I’m now struggling to say hello to you lovely people even twice a week! A sad state of affairs for one of my favourite pastimes, no?

But while I might not be writing much, I have been very busy doing all sorts of other things.  I’ve finally signed up and been trained for volunteering (this is a major ‘life list’ box ticked by the way), and have my first session as a student advisor tomorrow morning.  I’m really excited about this but also pretty nervous – all sorts of nasty doubt-fringed questions have been popping into my head ever since I agreed to take it on, most of which are very definitely rocking the whole ‘who am I to give other people advice on anything?’ vibe.  But as the old adage goes, you never know until you try, do you?  Better to feel the fear and do it anyway rather than cower in the corner and regret it later.

Alongside volunteering, I’ve been on a bit of a mending spree, finally getting round to fixing a few things that have been languishing, unloved and broken in my flat, making me feel all guilty and ashamed every time I look at them.  Top of the list was my bike, which I  had roadtested by someone who actually knows what he’s doing (as opposed to me bumbling around with my pink screwdriver pretending I’m all clued up about gears).  It did cost a little bit but it was completely worth it as I’ve barely been out of the saddle since.  Cycling has suddenly become a beautiful pleasure again, as opposed to the bain of my entire existence, which is all to the greater good.  And at this time of year, when the world looks so pretty and autumnal, whizzing around on my refurbished wheels has really helped to keep my spirits high.  It also means I get to lectures on time, which is probably a sensible idea.

On Friday I pulled off my first ever three course meal, which I made for my boyfriend’s birthday.  We tucked into a starter of mussels served in a white wine, garlic and shallot sauce with homemade bread on the side; a main course of Moroccan lamb tagine with rice and a dessert of sticky toffee pudding (with the sweetest and probably most calorific toffee sauce I’ve ever tasted) and vanilla ice cream.  While I did cheat a little and use the slow cooker for the tagine, I did everything else myself, including “de-bearding” the mussels (gross).  I was stupidly pleased with the outcome and proceeded to celebrate by drinking just a little too much red wine.  Needless to say I spent most of Saturday repenting.  Oh the woe!

And so to this week.  Reading week, which is really just another name for HOLIDAY!  It’s not looking much like a holiday for me, however, as I’ve made a to-do list that actually fills two sides of A4 paper.  Included are lots of boring but necessary chores and a fair amount of homework, but there are a couple of altogether more exciting projects in there as well.  One thing I’ve been thinking a lot about lately is trying to establish some kind of sideline income to support me while I study for the rest of the year.  While I have savings from my last job to keep me comfortable I’m really not a big fan of the idea of doing absolutely nothing to contribute to my own finances for such a long period of time.  I’m not talking big bucks, but even £30-40 per week would be enough to put my mind at ease a little.  So with this in mind I’ve set about re-stocking my eBay shop, I’ve done a tiny bit of freelance blogging and I’m tentatively laying the foundations for an exciting new internet-based project which I will tell you all about at some later date.  While none of these things will ever bring me anything even remotely approaching a regular stream of income, not least because they are all so unpredictable (eBay especially) they might help, however marginally, to preserve my savings for later in the year when I might really need them.  The more I make now, the more there is for later, the less I’ll have to borrow from the big horrible bank!  That’s my current fiscal mantra, and it’s not going too terribly so far.  I’ll keep you posted!

Image above from Flickr – Zest-pk.

One of my mini-goals for July was to wear five things from my wardrobe that I’ve never, or hardly ever, worn.  I managed to complete this one (unlike some others!), and actually had a lot of fun in the process.  Here are my results…

1 – The Broken Sandals

These are some sandals I bought back in 2008.  I love them, but until last month, they had had a broken strap for ages, and had been languishing in the bottom of the wardrobe looking sorry and forlorn.  It really was crunch time for them – either I was going to fix them or they were going in the bin.  And as it turns out, as with so many things in life, when I actually did sit down to look at the problem, I discovered it was completely solvable.  My sandals were still perfectly wearable without the broken strap!  Hurrah for multiple straps!  Since I’ve mended them they’ve barely been off of my feet.  I’m so happy to have them back – they’re even coming to the States in two weeks’ time!  The rest of this particular outfit consists of: a skirt I made here, a purple wrap cardigan I got in a charity shop, my favourite bag and a scarf come sarong from H&M.

2 – The Chavvy Gilet

This gilet I bought in Primark many, many moons back.  I think I love it so much because it’s just so ridiculously tacky.  I mean, seriously.  Oversized fake fur collar?  Michelin Man ‘puffa’ body?  Pockets so tiny they are, in every respect, completely futile?  It’s hilarious, and it makes me happy every time I wear it.  Happy, AND look like this…

You can see the resemblance, right?  Unlike Mr Michelin, I can’t get away with head-to-toe puffdom.  So I wore my chavvy gilet one rainy evening with my absolute favourite hoodie, a pair of flowery wellies which you can’t see, and my ‘bad wardrobe day’ dress, which always makes me feel good.  Winner.

3 – The Sparkly Blazer

This jacket is one of my all-time favourite items of clothing.  A sparkly little blazer that I bought back in the heady days of 2005.  I wore it constantly for two years, and will probably never part with it.  It holds so many memories I can’t even begin to describe.  I haven’t taken it out in ages, however, so I decided to wear it on my birthday.  It came out for dinner, and then on for cocktails and jazz music in town.  Happy again.  I dressed it up with a plain grey vest, the skirt I re-fashioned here and a pink rose brooch that was a birthday present from my brother Michael.  I’ve never met an 11 year-old with such an eye for accessories!

4 – The Homely Cardigan

This little cardigan was 99p.  That’s right, 99p.  I bought it back in 2008 in a sale, but have worn it only once or twice.  I take it out of my wardrobe all the time but for some unexplained reason I never end up wearing it (does everyone have items of clothing like that?).  I discovered last month, however, having tried a little harder than usual to make this thing work, that it’s just perfect for the office.  I wore it to work several times during July, and have completely fallen in love with it.  My boyfriend told me I look ‘homely’ when I wear this.  Is that a compliment?  Worn with a plain white t-shirt and my favourite work pinafore.  It makes me want to file things and be all admin-y and productive before going home to cook hearty casseroles and bake cupcakes.  A nice way to feel, no?

5 – The Grumpy Shoes

Finally, these are the grumpy shoes.  I’ve only named them the grumpy shoes since I began writing this post, and I only did it because I look terribly grumpy in the photo below, where I’m wearing them.  In truth, these shoes don’t make me feel grumpy at all.  In fact, they make me feel rather ladylike and dainty.  I bought these at the start of 2008, but have only worn them a handful of times.  They’ve actually had a good month of it, because not only did I wear them to go round to dinner at a friend’s house, but another friend borrowed them to wear one night as well – two outings in one month, these old boys are doing pretty well!

This is me wearing them, along with an exceptionally sour expression.  There’s absolutely no explanation as to why I look so moody here - I was on my way out to dinner when I took this photo!  Lovely food and great chat and lots of laughter?  Wipe that frown off of your face!  Worn with a heart-print dress from New Look and the same purple wrap cardigan I’m wearing in photo 1 above.  Terrible photography once again, for which I can only apologise.  One day I will master lighting, I promise!

This week’s Friday 5 is most regretted purchases.  I’ve had an absolute nightmare with this one (actually, as I write this introduction I’ve only got two examples in mind!), which is curious, because I’ve certainly made some spectacular errors of judgement in my purchasing lifetime.  Anywhere, here are the five that seem worthy enough to note…

Cinema tickets

I hate it when I feel like a trip to the cinema has been a waste of money. Of course you can’t know you’re going to hate a film before you go in, but it still stings a bit when you realise you’ve parted with enough money to buy a decent cocktail or a Chinese take-away only to have a really disappointing film experience. Notable films I’ve regretted seeing are: Sex and the City 2 (enjoy a good rant here), a film called Sleeping Dogs, which I won’t go into apart from to say it was complete rubbish, and also a film called The Ugly Truth, which I saw alone last year. That was particularly annoying because I didn’t even have anyone to moan to about how terrible it was afterwards! I also regret purchasing a ticket to a film I didn’t even manage to see because my boyfriend at the time and I couldn’t find a pair of seats together (we were rather young and too embarrassed/self-conscious to sit separately). Boo to crap films!

Haircuts

I sorely regretted getting my hair cut from shoulder to cheekbone length when I was around 13. It was HORRIBLE. I vividly remember the feelings of panic welling upside me as the hairdresser KEPT ON SNIPPING and feeling absolutely terrified at the thought of asking her to stop.  So of course, I sat there, completely mute, while a pile of my hair grew ever-larger on the floor beneath me.  It was such a nasty experience – I remember coming out of the salon and promptly bursting into tears, before rushing home to sit infront of a mirror and will my tresses to grow back. I’d have given almost anything. I’ve had a fear of radical haircuts ever since, and the worst part is that a photo of me with this repulsive ‘do still hangs on the wall in my parents’ living room. The shame of it all…

Hairdyes

Hmm, another hair one…I had a minor identity crisis at the very beginning of 2006, which resulted in me dyeing my previously highlighted hair jet black.  It was awful, and to this day, I can’t think what possessed me.  Anyway, said identity crisis was over and done with within two or three months, but I still had terribly dark hair.  So I decided to lighten it, by myself, at home.  After some internet-based research, I realised that this would involve bleaching my hair almost white, before dyeing it to the intended shade, enticingly labelled ‘honey brown’ on the box.  This I duly did, but the ‘honey brown’ part never quite materialised.  Yep, I spent a while with hair that was practically orange.  Like an orangutan.  Thankfully my friends and family were nice enough not to comment at the time, but some one actually recently said to me ‘Remember when you had orange hair?  That was hilarious, eh?’  I was so terrified of dyeing it again for it falling out, that I just learned to live with it.  I now shiver at the thought.

Alcohol

As a general rule I don’t drink heavily these days, so when on the odd occasion I do overdo it with the tipple and wake up the next morning with a hangover, my overwhelming feeling is one of regret (this comes a close second to nausea).  Regret for the purchase of that last gin and tonic!  It always happens when I go out with my friends from home: our catch-up sessions always end in pissed-dom for me, which is fine at the time, hell it’s freaking FUNNY at the time, but it’s never quite so amusing the next day when I’m on the train back down to Edinburgh.  I will learn one day!

Books

Finally, I’ve made a few stupid book purchases in my time.  Before I went to Rome, I decided I wanted to learn EVERYTHING about the Roman Empire, so I bought a book all about it.  Did I read it?  Did I hell, I read my Lonely Planet guide instead.  Similarly, I made a New Year’s resolution last year to lean more about Scotland, as having lived with two Mancunians who knew way more about my home country than I did myself I had decided my ignorance was too much to bear.  Again, the book I bought to educate myself is still sitting in the cupboard, probably never to be read.  Next to that copy of ‘Tai Chi for Dummies’.  God, I really can be an idiot sometimes….
More Friday 5 next week!  You can enjoy the other girls’ posts by checking out the Friday5 hashtag on Twitter.  Happy weekends all!

Image above from Flickr (intended to signify a face of regret!) – ohskylab.

Happy Mondays everyone!  I hope you have all had enjoyable weekends, and are excitedly anticipating another week!

My own weekend was by turns relaxing and superbly productive.  On Friday night I went to the cinema to see Inception, which was *amazing* (yes I know everyone has said that, but it was), and on Saturday I had dinner with one of my old flatmates and her boyfriend, which was both delicious (the food) and hilarious (the company).

I baked a batch of lemon cupcakes on Saturday afternoon, which were tasty, if not altogether aesthetically pleasing (this is the defining feature of my baking – tastes good, looks a bit wonky – absolutely nothing like the beautiful creation above), and I had a nose around some of the charity shops in my area, picking up a fantastic long-sleeved print dress in one.  It needs a tiny smidge of work on the sewing machine, but it will definitely be a great addition to the USA suitcase (three weeks and counting!!).

I also got round to dyeing a few bits and pieces of clothes that I haven’t worn in ages.  I bought a white cardigan a few months ago which mysteriously turned a dingy shade of grey after only one wash, and I also have a sundress and a couple of shirts that were looking slightly tired.  The dress was that awful shade of bubblegum pink - eeeeugh!  A blast of terracotta dye, however, and everything is ready to shine once more – one of the cheapest, yet most effective, reinvention tactics there is, I’m convinced of it!

Alongside dyeing (not dying), I donated a carrier bag of unwanted clothing and a couple of old books (I think I’m safely passed the stage in my life where I’ll feel the need to read Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, thank God) to the local Shelter shop, and a few small bits of furniture to the Bethany trust.

This week, I have a number of ‘boring but necessary’ things to do, which are thankfully offset by several things I’m really looking forward to.  In the boring but necessary corner, we have sorting and posting off documentation for uni next year; making an appointment with a careers advisor to discuss finances and listing a bunch of new stuff on eBay.  I was so busy cupcake baking and enjoying myself at the weekend that I completely missed out on the two free listing days – fail.

In the ‘really looking forward to’ corner, however, I have: a vintage fashion fair tomorrow evening at a hotel in the West End; swimming/sauna-ing on Wednesday after work; cushion cover-making with the gorgeous Ikea fabric I wrote about here, and a little bit of writing practice as well, hopefully.

What about you?  What does this week have in store?

Thanks to everyone who left a comment on Friday’s “Choice: Friend or Foe?” post (below).  It’s comforting to know that I’m not the only person who doesn’t deal well with having too many options!  As always, the input of readers to this blog is much appreciated, and the simplest of comments really can make my day, so cheers guys!

Image above courtesy of Flickr – chotda.

I read an interesting article the other day about choice, and why too much of it leads us into making bad decisions.  It was written in the context of the UK Government’s ‘Big Society’ idea, and its concomitant policies on allowing citizens more choice in relation to things like healthcare and schooling, but the idea of ‘too much choice’ really stuck with me, and the more I think about it, the more I come to believe that, in my case at least, too much choice can often be a bad thing.

It’s pretty easy to see that I’ve always had a bit of a problem with choosing.  I’m too much of a weigher of options.  As a kid, I would endlessly agonise over what to spend my hard-saved pocket money on, while my sister would have absolutely no qualms about making snap decisions and sticking to them regardless.  My reluctance to choose applied to all types of things – from cassette tapes to Tiny Tears dolls to sweets.  I remember once choosing a packet of Foxes glacier mints for a cinema trip, on the (well thought-through, I thought) basis that they take a while to eat and so would sustain me for the whole film, only to become completely bored of them after eating about two (I obviously hadn’t factored ‘taste’ into my weighing process), and ending up wishing I’d picked something a bit nicer, albeit faster to disappear, instead.    

The thing about choice, in the consumer sense of the word at least, is that it often makes for confusion, and the more choice you has, the more confused you becomes.  And too much choice seems to be everywhere I look.  I want to buy biscuits from the supermarket, but there are shelves and shelves of the little blighters staring back at me.  Shortbread or digestive?  Chocolate or plain?  12-pack or 6-pack?  I am instantly overwhelmed by the choices available, so I panic, and decide not to buy any.  I go out to dinner at a restaurant and have so much trouble deciding what to eat that when the waiter arrives to take my order I close my eyes, stab an index finger at some unidentified place on the menu and shriek ‘THAT ONE’.  It’s incredible the trouble that such a seemingly easy thing to do can cause me.

And it’s not just shops and restaurants.  The internet is a major cause of my stresses over choosing.  Just the other day I was looking for some tissue paper on eBay.  How many results do you think come up when you search for the term “tissue paper” on this, the website designed to make all our shopping lives that bit easier?  At the time of writing, it was 9278.  That’s right.  Quick show of hands please – who has the time to analyse 9278 types of tissue paper and decide which is the right one for their purpose?  I spent around 20 minutes searching through a tiny fraction of the listings (all of which were by and large the same) and after about two of those 20 minutes had come to the cold realisation that my life would have been a lot simpler had I just headed straight for the nearest stationery shop, which would probably have housed a total of two types of tissue paper, either of which would have done the job in hand just perfectly, bought one of them and then forgotten all about it.  The walk there and back might even have done me some good.  Wikipedia is another source of angst.  At my fingertips lies the power to bring up information on almost every conceivable topic known to man, most of which I would probably find to some degree interesting.  So where do I start?  Well, nowhere, it seems.  Crippled by the sheer number of options laid out before me and the desire to read EVERYTHING, I often end up opening so many tabs that it’s impossible to concentrate on just one single topic.  Many a Wikipedia session has ended in brain frizz and ‘shut down computer’ because of this.  Don’t even get me started on search engines.

Now I’m not stupid enough to believe that everyone experiences difficulty with choosing, and I’ll freely admit that my problem is most probably my often over-cautious personality.  It demands I weigh up options, whether I like it or not.  We might be talking about choice but that’s one area where I have none whatsoever.  Nor am I advocating the demise of choice.  Choice, and the freedom to choose are, by their very nature, good things, and those of us who have them should never for an instant forget that there are plenty of others out there who don’t.  It’s incredible that we have the freedom to eat different things everyday, or to wear different clothes to everyone else, or go on holiday, or go to the cinema, or stay up late, or watch trashy telly, or sew or read or bake or run or cycle…  The freedom to choose allows us to be the architects of our own lives, to live according to the beliefs we hold, and to be different from everyone else.  It also makes for an interesting and varied society.  But it does occur to me that perhaps the freedom to choose can go too far, at least in the realm of consumer choice.  When there’s so much on offer that the mind gets itself in a tizz and there’s confusion, tension and ultimately panic – is the freedom to choose still so great then?  As I find myself in Tesco, agonising over which of the six types of chopped tomato on offer I should buy, I can’t help but think that, in some situations at least, a little less choice would do me a whole lot of good.  

*Since writing this post, my ability to choose what I want to read online has led me to finding out that there is a book called ‘The Paradox of Choice: Why Less is More’, by Barry Schwartz.  I think I need to read this, pronto.

Image above courtesy of Flickr – daiwilliamsuk.