specky four eyes

I've been wearing my spex all week. Not because I'm rocking geek chic and not because I have a dodgy eye infection. Nope, I've had to wear them. Because it turns out that if you don't go for your eyes checking they stop sending you your monthly supply of contact lenses. Apparently they're quite happy to carry on taking your direct debit payments but they worry you may go blind if you don't get your eyes checked so no siree to the regular delivery. 
Well I haven't been for the damned sight test because I haven't had a bloody minute in the last few months. I'm lucky if I manage to find time to have a wee at the moment!
Guess I'm gonna have to go now though....the appointment is booked. Next week...

new jumper

I had to take the big one shopping last night. She needed a dress. For a party she's going to. Tomorrow night. We had already spent most of Saturday at the second rate shopping centre nearer home looking for something suitable. The second rate shopping centre was not good enough for the big one. We had to go into Leeds. Leeds has better shops.
As luck would have it she found the perfect LBD in the very first shop we visited. And RidiculouslyHighShoesForA15YearOld in the very second shop we entered.
This left us with enough time for me to mooch around Urban Outfitters and purchase the JumperOfTheSeason. This is the jumper I will wear every single day until the sun comes out again at the end of May. I've managed to pick a good one this year. I love love love it. Chunky and black with a big neck. And room underneath for loads more items of black clothing. What could be better! 

friday feelin

When I was under my palm tree I decided that from now on Fridays would be MyDayFriday. 
Friday would be the day I do my own work, no commissions, just stuff I want to do. And sorty out day. To sort out all the crap I never have time to sort out. And relaxy day. To just sit and do nothing if I fancy it. Cos I NEVER do that. Like ever.
I read all this Mindfulness bumf under my palm tree and that was it. New me. It was the future! 
And relax.

Of course I've decided to do MyDayFriday before. Loads of times. And it appears this time is no different....another massive fail!
Not only will I be working my arse off all day and night to meet deadlines, it's looking like I'll be working most of the weekend too.

So that's it.
From October I will NOT be working for anyone on a Friday. MyDayFriday starts 2 October. I've written it down. I have to do it now.

rise and shine

The little one's new school has this policy where it is COMPULSORY in capital letters for all year 7's to go to something called "Rise and Read" in the middle of the night twice a week. If you don't turn up, or if you are late, you get "isolation" followed by expulsion followed by death-by-lethal-injection. Or something like that.
So because I can't have him wandering the streets in the middle of the night on his own I have to get up to deliver him safely to the door. Today was the first one. 
I can't believe how many cars there are on the roads at 7.15 am! I've been working from home for so long that I assumed the streets would be deserted at that time! It was flipping heaving!
Ha! Who knew?! 

autumn

So you wake up one morning and it's Autumn.
And it stays Autumn for about 4 weeks. Then it's winter.
That doesn't happen in Spring.
You wake up one morning and it's Spring.
You wake up the next morning and it's back to winter.
Then Spring. Then winter.
And it doesn't happen in Summer.
You wake up one morning and it's summer.
Then that's it for another year.

This week is very Autumn.

I really need to get myself sorted with a second home in a warm country.
Cos one day of summer just isn't enough for me.

catching up....

I'm back from my hols and feel like I never went away. As soon as my flip-flops touched down on the cold, wet tarmac at Leeds Bradford airport the sunshine and relaxation were long forgotten. So was the plan I concocted whilst sitting under my palm tree - that I wouldn't take on so much work and that I'd factor in time to do my own stuff. Ha ha as if that's ever gonna happen!

Anyway...here are a few catchy-uppy-things...

interviews
Before I went away I was interviewed TWICE! 
Like I have anything interesting to say once never mind twice.
If you fancy reading them the first one is on Sara Castro Monteiro's blog...she also interviewed lots of other lovelies including my chums Lizzie and Genine.
The other one is the fab new online magazine Design Crumbs. Page 19. But read the rest too...it's great!

lilipinso
The ranges I put together for the fabulous Lilipinso are out this month. There's a range for girls and one for boys so no excuses folks, go buy yourself, and all the kids you know, some goodies to liven your walls up!

studio shots

Some pics of my filled up studio as promised...

Still love love loving it...and it's still dead tidy :)

dotty wren calendar

My turn to do the calendar this month....get your free personal downloads on the Dotty Wren blog and I'll be back from a holiday near you soon x

hola & adios

That's it folks. I'm done. If you want any work doing see me in September. I'm off to sunny Spain to sit on my bum and do nothing. Via a day at the races tomorrow ...with an overnight stay. Cos I know how to make my packing really stressful.
Adios. See you in September x

my new studio

So when we bought this house in 2003 it had a construction at the back that the estate agent's bumf called "a garden room"
That was bigging it's part up somewhat. The previous owners, Betty and Geoff, had built it themselves using random bricks, stone and sheets of glass that they'd found somewhere. Or stolen. It had a {deliberate} hole in the wall at one side to let the cats wander in and out. I don't think they realised it would also let in mice and slugs and a million insects. They were a bit mad.
Inside the unplastered bricks and stone were painted gloss yellow. Cos they obviously got a good deal on gloss yellow paint 20 years ago and used it all over the house. It had a nasty lino floor and cat hair. A LOT of cat hair. 
Anyway I cleared it out, painted it white, had a desk and shelves built and used it to work in for a few years. Till the roof started leaking. All over my stuff.
Albert from next door patched it up and I still kept my stuff in there. But I stopped working in it. And I always had to move everything out of the way if it rained. Which happens a lot in Yorkshire. 
Gradually it became a bit of a dumping ground for all manner of crap that I shoved out of sight whenever anyone came round.

I asked my handy friend Stuart if it could be patched up. He looked at me like I was some sort of idiot and said the bloody thing needed knocking down and rebuilding.

So that's what he did.

This is how it looked the day before he came to knock it down... 

I shifted everything out, filled 3 wheelie bins and dumped the rest in every room of the house.

Then it looked even worse...

It had a concrete floor so there was nowhere for all the water to go. Underneath all the clutter it was smelly and damp. I had to throw loads of stuff out. Which was handy cos there was like 12 years worth of crap in there!

This was the roof...

And the outside before Stuart knocked it down...

Then in June and July this happened...

 (Here is SuperStuart hard at work)

And this happened....

And finally...THIS!!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!

I put all my stuff back in last weekend. All tidy and hidden away in shiny white cupboards.

I'm SOOOOO pleased with it. I just lock myself in there now and don't come out much. 

I'll take pics of how it looks now it's finished another time cos I'm off to bed...but for now feast your eyes on my little shelf....

july 15

So. That was July.
I know...it's practically September.
What can I say? I'm busy ok.
But I do have a brand new shiny white office. I'm so excited :) I'll show you photos. When I get a minute...
(that's not meant to be one of those annoying teases, I just haven't got time to faff about sending photos from my phone to my computer at the mo...)

british summer time

I don't understand those people who won't put the heating on in summer.  There are bloody loads of them about. People for whom it is against the law to heat their houses between May and October. I reckon I'm well and truly in the minority going by the rule that if it's cold you just crank the heating up. Even if it IS the end of July and you should, by rights, be wafting round in a bikini. We live in Britain and the weather is generally a bit crap. 
Anyway. It's been flipping freezing this week. The heating is ON.

moving on up

I wasn't the only one with a busy week. The little one had a zillion school things going on this week. He had a PJ and chill day (teachers' skive day), a bowling trip, an oscars award night & prom and a leavers church service. Followed by a weekend at scout camp.
Poor little bugger is knackered, he fell asleep in the car today!

The school has been really fab with all the leavers things. They've done some ace stuff that the kids will always remember. My fave bit was after the prom. They all came into the playground with a helium balloon that they'd attached a message to and after a big countdown they let them all go. I sneaked a peak at the message he'd written. It said "I am really upset to be leaving primary school" Aw :( Many tears were shed!
He doesn't actually leave till Tuesday so plenty of time for more crying I reckon.

super mum

My head is gonna explode this week with all the things I have to do/remember/organise/sort out/turn up to.
I have kids finishing early on different days, a sports day, non uniform days, bowling trip, leavers service at church, prom night and my last ever assembly - after going faithfully every week for the last 10 years dontchaknow!
There are also a zillion birthdays to remember and buy for and the little one to sort out for scout camp on Friday.
And on top of that I have sh*t loads of work on and my newly built studio needs painting before the electrician arrives on Saturday.
Like I have time to do that! What am I? SuperWoman?

busy

Happy Monday people!
I'm very incredibly super mega busy this week. Ha like I'm ever anything else! Got loads of school stuff on though. The little one leaves primary school in 2 weeks so there are loads of leaver things I MUST attend at the old school and starter things I MUST attend at the new school. And I have a charity meeting I MUST attend. And a mid week evening spa thing that my sister's taking me on. I MUST attend that one!
And I'm totally booked up with work. Till September. Juggling away as usual.
Better crack on. 

butter-flower

Here's a pattern I made out of the doodles I did the other day. 
I'm saying doodles for Dotty Wren Sue. The overuse of the word on instagram is really annoying her at the mo. Personally I find yummy more irritating. Especially when used to describe a colour palette. Or a view. Or a baby. They are NOT yummy. Stop it! 
We have all agreed though that the most annoying of all has to be nom nom. There's just no need!