Update On Our 'Homely Home'

I'm still working on making our rented flat as homely as possible.  Whilst there is one thing we unfortunately can't do, which is put up pictures as we can't put holes in the wall, there are a few changes we have been able to do.  We have tried those Command Hooks for the pictures, but so far only one has actually worked so I might need to play around with that a bit more.

We now have two covers for the sofa as I brought an extra one from a charity shop and we also have two table clothes for the coffee table (also a charity shop find).  We rotate these to keep them clean, but it also means that we can make the room look slightly different each time, which works with my restless brain.  We've also changed the candles a little on the coffee table as well as adding a cup that I had made when I was looking after my niece and nephew.  I haven't decided what to put in there yet, but it's a nice little personal touch.

One of the most awkward things about our home was the amount of stuff we had tried to fit under the desk and which I have to squeeze between whenever I use the sewing machine.  It also meant that the chair couldn't fit under properly, making it awkward to walk by.  To make this area work better I've removed the two storage boxes that were there and move the contents of them elsewhere (more on that later).  The empty storage boxes I've hidden beside the sofa and am using as a type of stand for my craft projects bags.  It's much easier to use that space now.

We've added a bookcase (borrowed from my Dad) to our sitting room area and filled it with the smallest books we have, including what was left in one of the storage boxes under the desk.  The ornaments that were on the collapsing side table have now been placed on top of the bookcase and the side table moved closer to the sofa and now contains my knitting projects and our wedding photos.  There's something about books that makes a space so much more colourful and we both really like this area now.

There's now quite a bit more space on our old bookshelf and I'm using that to store the craft items that were previously under the desk as well as the stationary that was in the other storage box, which I've put into these recycled paper totes I'd found in Wilko's.  Doing all this has actually meant that I've been able to take a proper look at what I have and organise everything into categories a bit better.  There isn't much I'll need to buy in the future and I was able to get rid of some things I wasn't using.  These bookshelves will obviously change a little as we go through the books and crafts, but I plan on letting the spaces that appear remain until we're back down to just one bookcase again.

The next real project is to sort out the airing cupboard which has literally turned into a catch all area for things I'm not sure where to place.  I definitely need to give it a good declutter for starters and probably move all the cleaning products to underneath the sink with similar items.  I can definitely move the food dehydrator to the back corner as we don't use it often enough for it to be at the front.  Then I'll need to find proper storage for my tools and the plant pots that we got for when I replant the cacti.  I think I can reuse a storage container I freed up when I reorganised the car boot, but a proper tool box is probably a must.

Unfortunately not my cat.

Our flat definitely feels more like our own place now and it'll keep evolving and changing as we do.  We have had to be quite good with our storage as we don't have a lot of space to store all our things and when there's two people there's always quite a lot of things, but we're getting better at that.  All we need to do now is remember where we've cleverly stored a number of these things when we need them.

A Trip to Brittany

One of the perks we get from my husband's job is good deals on ferry trips to the continent and, when coupled with the fact that we got two nights at a hotel as a wedding gift and which included hotels in Europe, that meant that we were able to take an relatively affordable trip to Brittany.  We knew this was going to cost a bit more money than we should really be spending at the moment, but we wanted to enjoy ourselves one more time on a long weekend before things became a bit more tight financially speaking.

The ferry we took was a return to Roscoff, going over on Friday night and returning on the Monday afternoon.  We would be staying two nights at Morlaix at a place called B&B Hotel (which turned out to be more like a motel) and, as we didn't want to bring the car, we just got a bus from Roscoff to Morlaix and back again.

The first thing we did once we were off the ferry was to go straight to a cafe, the Cafe Ty Pierre, and have breakfast, which included a lot of bread and large mugs of hot chocolate.  I had already realised that it was probably going to be almost impossible to miss out gluten and dairy, or at the very least butter, on this trip and I'd accepted what affect that was going to have.  It was worth it though and you can't go to France without having the bread.

We were catching the bus to Morlaix at lunch time so we had a wonder around Roscoff to get an idea of the place and see what things we wanted to have a better look at when we were back on the Monday.  We also brought some postcards because it's always good to get them done early.   Roscoff is a really beautiful little place and I'd happily spend a whole day here doing not much except for eating.  

Once we got to Morlaix we went straight to the Tourist Information place, unfortunately missing the market we were hoping to have a look at, to find out what was open over the next couple of days and where everything was.  They confirmed what we had already suspected when it came to what would be closed on the Sunday, though it turned out more would be closed than we had originally thought.  However, we were given a map which had a couple of recommended walks around the town which would take us by a number of historic sites there.

As we still had time on the Saturday we went to see two famous houses in Morlaix, La Mason a pondalez and Mason de La Duchesse Anne.  Both are lantern houses, so called because the central space goes all the way up to the roof which has windows in it.  This allows light to fall onto all areas of the building as the side rooms also have windows.  Neither of the houses had much in them and there weren't any rooms set up 'as it would have been', but they were amazing to look at and the craftsmanship of the items that were there were really beautiful.  We also had a look at some of the shops as we tried to find gifts for people (and maybe a few things for ourselves as well).  Morlaix is another beautiful location, but we decided to save looking around it too much on the Saturday so we could have a proper nosy about on the Sunday.

Once these had been looked at and we may or may not have brought some cakes from a patisserie we headed to the hotel.  We had brought some noodles with us to have for our dinners to try and help save some money on this trip, but we did take a quick trip to a supermarket to get some more food as we weren't sure where we would be able to eat on the Sunday based on the information we had been given.  That trip to the supermarket did involve a quick nosy around a craft shop that just happened to be on the way.  Then it was back to the room to relax and knit.

The next morning we had a little lie-in followed by breakfast at the hotel before heading back into Morlaix to explore.  We came across a market on the way in, with mostly just food, which we had a quick nosy around and brought some local cheese.  Even though there wasn't really anything we could take home with us I still love looking at what's available at these types of markets and what type of things people eat in different areas.

There were two different walking routes recommended around Morlaix and we decided to do a mixture of the two going by whatever we thought we'd be interested in seeing.  The first port of call (ha ha) was the little port where we had a nosy at all the boats, our latest obsession, and had a look around the outside of the Quay of Leon the Manufacture which use to be a tobacco factory but has now been converted into multiple public spaces.  We then headed back to the centre via Fontaine des Anglais (a spring that was said to run with the blood of the English after the local people attacked some invading English) and up to the viaduct which you can walk across.  Obviously I'm a little funny when it comes to heights but it was still a really amazing way of seeing the town and great to be able to get so close to such a structure.  

On the other side we headed to the Eglise St Melanie (Church of St-Melaine).  I wasn't sure if this was going to be open as it was a Sunday, but it was and I'm glad as I think this is now one of my favourite churches based on the architecture and mostly the decorations on the inside - specifically the painted ceilings.

Then it was back to the centre, pass the closed museum and up the Rue des Vignes which we wondered up purely because it looked pretty.  Unfortunately the route we planned to take after was closed, so back down the rood we went and then took a route that took us pass the Eglise St-Mathieu (closed), up to the Chateau Square with another good view of Morlaix, back down to the Theatre du Paysde Morlaix, a mini up and down to the Lavoir Collobert (an open wash-house from the 18th century), and then up a very steep walk up to the Eglise St-Martin (also closed).

By this time it was definitely time to have afternoon tea, but as it was quite late and the cafes seemed to be closing we ended up going to a bar, the Bar le Taylor, to have a couple of very tasty European beers.  Then it was back to the hotel, after buying some macaroons and more cake from a place called Stephanie Giraud (and I can confirm that it's a place that's definitely worth visiting) to have more noodles and pack for a travels back to the UK.

Monday saw us walking to a very early bus back to Roscoff, thankfully via a bakery that was also open early and did some yummy croissants and baguette.  We were worried that as Tuesday was meant to be a Bank Holiday that there wouldn't be as much open in Roscoff as we had hoped, but thankfully we were wrong.  So, after a lovely hot chocolate at the cafe again, we wondered along a part of the water front we hadn't explored yet by the Biological Station of Roscoff and sat for a little while enjoying the views.  

By this point the church was open and we got to have a look inside.  This church was also beautiful and had a similar type of painted interior as Eglise St Melanie.  I remember seeing somewhere that British churches use to be painted in a similar way, but that this was changed after the reformation so it's been really interesting to see how they might have looked in the past.  After that we had a quick look through the shops for more gifts (and we might have also brought some things for ourselves) before having lunch at one of the creperies, which produced nice food but they put us in some dark corner to eat - maybe we weren't the type of people they wanted to advertise eating in their creperie.  

There was still a bit of time before we had to get on the ferry so we decided to visit the Mason des Johnnies & de l'Oignon de Roscoff, which was basically a museum on the Johnnies who use to travel to the UK to sell onions from the region and, though small, is more interesting than you might think.

Finally we headed back to the ferry port and back to Plymouth and what turned out to be quite wet weather.  It was a very short trip, but we still managed to fit a lot in whilst still having quite a relaxed time.  The only thing I would probably change was our bags.  We didn't really bring anything we didn't need (apart from a couple of tops for me) bit they still weighted enough to make walking around with them on our backs for an extended period of time uncomfortable.  I'm not sure how I'd change that, but I'll think of something before we travel again.  And we definitely want to do this again in the future.  We will need to save up for it though.  It probably helped that, as usual, we lucked out on the weather.

Changes to my Wardrobe

A little while ago I wrote about what my plan was for my wardrobe moving forward.  I'm still working towards this plan, in fact I'll hopefully complete it by the end of this year, but when I was looking at my wardrobe the other day I suddenly realised that I have a lot more clothes than I had originally planned to have or had in the past.

Obviously I also have work gear as my job is outdoors in all types of weather and some additional items like thermals that I keep for work, camping, or if we travel somewhere cold, but I'm not going to include them here.  In fact, the small amount of clothes I have for work compared to the large amount of non work clothes is bordering on hilarious when you think about the fact I spend more time at work.

So, this is my wardrobe right now:

• Jumpers and cardigans - I now have two cardigans, one for warmer weather and one for colder, and two jumpers, again one for warmer weather and one for colder, all made by me.  There's one more I want to make but that'll be it on the knitted jumpers front.  I also have a fleece which I use when walking and camping, and a hoodie that I like to wear now and then.

• Trousers and shorts - I have my homemade 1940s style trousers that I basically wear all the time, a pair of outdoor trousers which I usually only wear when we're walking, and a pair of trouser I got from Niger twenty years and which I still wear.  I don't see me ever getting rid of these, they'll have to fall apart first.  I did make a pair of more tailored shorts as I had planned (paperback shorts), but then decided to make a second pair using fabric with the map of middle earth on it for walking in.

• Skirts - I had only really planned on have one or two of these, but I now have four.  The first is a Ra Ra skirt I've had for years and was made in the UK, the second is a black one that use to be my Mum's which I'd borrowed for a funeral and she'd told me to keep, the third is the skirt I made using the left over fabric I'd had of goldfish fabric, and the last is of course my wedding skirt that I was meant to have shortened already but still haven't had the heart to.  

• Dresses - this is still the same one as I had before and which I plan to replace with one of the same style I'm making myself so that it actually fits properly.  I had only planned on having one dress but there are some styles I would like to try and make so it might go up to three in the future.

• Long sleeved tops - I have more of these than I had originally planned with a shirt I brought from Brewdog, one that was brought in support of the British Wildlife Trust, and two other long sleeve tops I had gotten from charity shops as I wanted just some plain styles.  I do wear all of them, but I don't really need this many so I'll just not replace them when they get old.

• Short sleeved tops - I also have too many of these, but I also wear all of them as well.  I have two pieces that I made which are the wrap top I made whilst trying to work out the top of the wrap dress and of course my wedding top, the rest are either brought mostly to support a organisation, had for ages like the purple top I wear when we go walking, or that I got second hand either from a vintage shop or from my Mum.  As with the long sleeves I just won't replace these as they get old.

• Strappy tops - I think I have the right amount of these.  A skin toned one which I did buy new as I couldn't find one in the charity shops, a charity shop find that I love but has gotten to manky I should probably throw it out, and a black one I got at Brewdog and which I really love the style of though not all the logos.  I actually think I might make one out of some of the yarn I have left over, but I'm in no rush to do that yet.

• Shoes - weirdly I have more shoes for warm weather at the moment than cold, but I guess that fits for Devon.  For what I use them for I think I have the right amount, though I probably won't replace ones that get destroyed unless I feel like I need to.

• Outer wear - this is pretty basic.  A tailored jacket, a waterproof jacket, a zip fleece, and a gilet.  I don't feel like I need anything more than that.

The make up of my wardrobe now (not including shoes and outer wear) is 14 brought new, 6 second hand clothes from charity, vintage shops, or from family, and 11 homemade by me.

I definitely have more clothes now than I actually need, but I do actually wear all the pieces so I don't see me getting rid of any of them any time soon.  I just won't replace them once it's time to get rid of them.  I did think about maybe going for a capsule wardrobe and putting some of the other items away for a bit, but I actually enjoy having the choice and being able to layer up depending on the weather so I don't see much point in that for now.  The next thing I'm going to sew is the wrap dress to replace the one I already own and once that is done I will have completed the list of things I had planned for my wardrobe at the start of 2021 - I managed to get through that a lot faster than I had originally thought.  My ideas for my wardrobe are still the same as then, but it has become bigger than I had planned.  It does make me wonder how it's going to change in the future.

October 2022 Budget

Well October shot by fast.  Is it really November all ready? At least things are starting to get back on track when it comes to our finances.

As always our own emergency funds and credit cards are where they need to be and we where able to put just over £700 into our four month emergency fund, which I'm very happy about. It might be building up slowly, but at least it is going up.

We did have a slight hiccup, especially one week where I forgot to take cash out so we used our cards instead, when it came to our groceries.  It definitely shows what a difference using cash instead of just swiping your card makes to how you spend your money.  The eating out is also connected to some family time and we're happy to spend money on that.  Despite that we have managed to mostly keep to our budget so I'm happy with it despite that.

One positive is that fuel has been been quite low this month, despite the actual cost of fuel not being, mainly because I haven't needed to drive as far for work this month.  We've also been pretty good on our spending, though again family time and there has been a start to Christmas shopping which does feel a little bit early but there we are.  My pension payments have been a little higher this month as I've been trying to catch up on that week I missed.  I should only have to do it for another month and then it can go back to normal.  Obviously I'll need to keep an eye on this though, as it may be that we just can't afford it.  

So October hasn't been quite as good as we could have made it, but still better than previous month's and we're getting onto the habits that will help us work better with our money.  Only a couple months to go now and, apart from a little long weekend we have planned, I plan for us to be well behaved on those months.