Blog love

Today's prompt is to discuss 5 blogs I read and love. I must confess that my taste in blogs has kind of changed over the years. Like many I was sucked into the aspirational blogs of pristine interiors and expensive clothes and the like. These days I want something I can relate to so, yes, I do follow 'mummy blogs' but that doesn't mean they're devoid of creativity, wit and wisdom.

The first blog I love and always makes me smile when I see I have an update in my feed is from Laura over at Dropstitch blog . I first met Laura on a crafty trip with Glasgow Craft Mafia peeps when I was preggers with F. I had never read her blog before then but soon became a fan and followed Laura's own journey into motherhood there. Her blog is what some may call a 'warts & all' look into trying juggle the toddler and the love of crafting but that's why I love it. It's honest and all too often I sit at night going "me too!!!"

Next up is another crafty mum. Evie Milo over at Milomade really is superwoman. Skilled in many crafty disciplines, as well as web design, Evie's work and it's ethos of reusing materials always inspires me and I love seeing her projects come to life.

I'm a bit late to the party but another one on my list is A Thrifty Mrswhich indulges my love of frugal living. Great tips and advice a-plenty and done with a nice dash of humour. As M has lost his job and I'm about to hit the zero income stage of maternity leave it truly is a case of every penny counts around here and this blog has helped a lot.

I follow quite a few Australian bloggers but my favourite has to be Lexi over at Potty Mouth Mama. I want to dislike her. She's stunning, witty, caring, clever, funny... But the truth is she's funny and honest and those 2 things will get me every time.

Speaking of which my last, but not least, blog I love is Angst In My Pants. No parenting, no crafting, no interior design, no outfit of the day posts... This is just a witty, funny woman (I do believe on reflection I follow no male bloggers!! Recommendations please!) who reads loads, loves gaming and travel. Give it a go.

A Day In The Life

I swear there could be nothing more boring than a 'typical' day in my life at the moment and this post (prompt 3 in the month of daily blogging) is proof of this.

0230 - the familiar wailing of the little one starts and, while I know he just wants a cuddle as opposed to fed, the cuteness evades me at this time of the morning. A wee snuggle while he grins and sucks his thumb and he's down and sleeping moments later (lucky blighter!)

0530 - woken for a feed I can't even be bothered with my usual browse online while feeding and so just sit there hoping he goes back down and I can snatch a little more sleep before I have to get up for the day

0600 - F starts shouting on 'DAAAAADDY' at the top of his lungs and I silently hope daddy goes to get him before his shouting wakes the other one. Disaster averted I doze until 8.30 when the youngest demands some breakfast

1205 - I recall looking at the clock and being shocked and resigned that just as I had got the whole breakfast chaos of feeding myself and the kids and showers and nappies etc out the way, the whole cycle begins again as it's already time for the lunch chaos to begin

1310 - after awkwardly nibbling a couple of fish fingers while breastfeeding junior I plonk him in the pram to go into town to post some EBay items and get some milk. Witness a ruck between two gangs of teenagers, buy some flower pots and realise I've not actually had any proper lunch.

1520 - M and F return from their afternoon play date with one of M's friends and their kids to find me on the phone to the doctor for the third day in a row (about the shooting pains I've been having and the fact I've been prescribed the third course of antibiotics since the start of May!). Decide to stick with ibuprofen and spend the rest of the afternoon playing with the kids.

1700 - K finally napping and we sit down to dinner which F decides he doesn't want. My tired state and almost constant pain mean I'm more snappy with him than usual which makes me sad.

1845 - desperate for a hot shower I leave M to sit with the kids and have a 5 minute escape/pain relief before going back down to read F some bedtime stories

1945 - M leaves to visit his parents to use their computer while I entertain K who as decided that his usual evening nap isn't happening. Have the guilty pleasures that are Man Vs Food and Storage Wars on in the background while he rolls around the floor chewing everything he finds.

2030 - M comes home and takes K up for his bottle while I potter around online and start this post. Realise that, yet again, I am missing the Glasgow Etsy Team monthly meeting but the timing of feeds and expressing just not practical at the moment.

2143 - will finish this oh so riveting post here. All that will happen between now and the end of the day is more expressing while browsing online and then, hopefully, a little snooze before it all starts again in the early hours!

Summer time

Post 2 of the daily blog challenge:

What is your favourite thing about Spring? What plans do you have to enjoy it?

Ok, so I'm obviously going to have to change this to summer, but the truth is I love the winter. I hate being too hot (luckily I live in Scotland) and love the cosy layers of winter. I'll give it a shot though!

My favourite thing is normally the lighter mornings and nights but with the kids they're just problematic. So, my favourite things would have to be:

- the smell of cut grass

- barbecue food

- music festivals

- line dried washing

- strawberries and cream

- peas from the pod

- sitting in the garden

We have no plans but really should as it will be the last summer I will get to spend so much time away from work. We are going to my parents for a few days this weekend but other than that we have no plans at all.

Back in the swing of things

I don't know if it's the fact that we're now halfway through the year or just the fact that I know I'll have to think about returning to work quite soon (more on these later), but I'm suddenly overcome with the need to GET THINGS DONE. I've booked myself another fair, I've started getting rid of my vast collections of stuff and ticking things off the 'to do' list on our kitchen chalkboard that still embarrassingly has 'Xmas' written on it (no point wiping it off now!!).

On the blog front I've decided to follow the lead of the lovely Vonnie over at Blotted Copybookand use the prompts from Rosalilium's Blog Every Day In May challenge. OK, so it's now July but see above comment about Xmas if you need a reminder of my tardiness!

I'm already a day behind (see, I TOLD you!) so there'll be 2 posts today. Here's the first:

5 Lines: Introduce yourself or sum yourself up in just 5 lines. Include a photograph that you are proud of.

1) I'm a horribly shy individual which probably explains my love of the internet and the ability to hide behind the safety of it. Honestly, come see me at a craft fair for some champion squirming!

2) I'm married with 2 kids. Even now that sentence shocks me. I never really thought I'd ever be either of those things but that's probably the eternal student in me who still wants to travel the world, go to gigs and has no clue what she wants to be when she grows up!

3) I love swimming. I haven't been in years but it's the only sport at school I was any good at and if I won the lottery a swimming pool would be top of my wishlist.

4) I hate driving. I first sat my driving test when I was 18, under duress, and failed spectacularly. I managed to avoid getting behind the wheel after that test until I learned to drive a whopping 15 years later. I avoid driving at all costs but needs must at times, especially as I managed to marry someone who also doesn't drive.

5) I love lists, hot chocolate, music, crafting, cuddles from the kids and sleep. Unfortunately the latter has been seriously lacking of late.

I'm using my husband's laptop so don't have many pics I can pick from so sort of cheated and used the pic that is also my avatar. I'm proud more of the cushion than the pic of it because it's something that took me years to finish (told you!!) but finally worked out exactly how I wanted it to and was done with no pattern, just a rough idea of what I wanted.

Gigs greatness

Back in the mists of time I thought nothing of queuing all day to get to the front of a sweaty crowd, pushed against a barrier until my ribs cracked and continually booted by crowd surfers in the name of entertainment and following my favourite bands.

These days I genuinely consider seating tickets, often miss the support act and have even left before encores to ensure I get out before the crowds. Ahhh how things have changed, not least the ticket price!!

I am still trying to find a suitably crafty way to display the albums upon albums of gig tickets I have. (Remember when they had actual designs on them?!) I've tried a giant frame, under the glass of a coffee table but still nothing seems quite right. I'll be sure and let you know when I find the perfect display but, until then, I'm quite tempted to send a few to Ticketcoaster who laminate event tickets into coasters. Perfect for a good brag over a cuppa ("I saw them in 1995 don't you know?")

The next challenge will be what to do with all the old tour t-shirts too. Quilt? Beanbag?

Home Sweet Home

Perhaps it's a case of 'the grass is always greener' or maybe it's 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' but for a long time now I have been wanting to move back to my hometown of Dundee.

I say hometown, but I was fortunate enough to have the benefits of living in the country but with the city on my doorstep. To say a lot has changed in the (many!) years since I frequented the city is a HUGE understatement and this is highlighted in the fact that Dundee is the only Scottish city to have made it through to the shortlist for UK City Of Culture 2017.

If someone had told me all those years ago that this would be possible I would never of believed it but Dundee has embraced its creative industries with a passion and pride. The amazing site Creative Dundee has plenty to prove my point and I'm sure you've all heard of the future V&A planned for the regeneration of the city's riverside. I even got to indulge my creative side when I popped home (I still call it that despite not having lived with my parents for about 16 years!) at the weekend.

Leaving the kids with my parents for an all too brief hour I rushed into the DCAto finally get to see the amazing Wonderlands exhibition by Johanna Basford and have a quick scoot around the Design Market which was running the same day too. It was a bit cramped and I had already decided my cash was reserved for Basford's book but there was a couple of stalls that caught my eye (I'll need to find their cards so I can tell you about them). All in all it was a nice but far too rushed escape.

Driving home past familiar haunts and new and exciting additions I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to move back. Where did you grow up? Do visit often? Would you move back??

- Dundee IncorpoRated - Dundee's only crowd-sourced city guide - Creative Boom Creative Cities guide to Dundee

A little me time

You know when you have one of those weeks where even the 5 mins peace you get hanging out the washing seems like bliss? Well, that's been my week. Toilet training a tantrum throwing 2 year old and containing a newly mobile and currently teething baby has been nothing short of Hell. So, it was without one shred of guilt that I announced to my husband that, after months of never making the time, I was going to check out a local art class.

Two whole hours of 'me time'. Not only that, but creative me time in a room that has no mobile reception - joy! So, practically breaking into a sprint, I waved goodbye to the brood and toddled down the road to brave my first class in many a year. As someone who is painfully shy, it took me all my courage just to find the room but once there I just enjoyed the complete calm that comes with picking up a pencil and tuning out the world.

I'm not going to pretend it all came flooding back to me but it was challenging in a good way. I can't wait to go back. I know that we can't really afford it right now (annoyingly I can only now go that my husband has lost his job so is free to look after the kids) but I think I need it for the sake of my sanity.

What's your escape?