I Heart Pintrest

Addicted to Pintrest at the moment, it is definitely using up an exorbitant amount of my free time, probably ought to try and do some of those craft ideas I have pinned instead of adding more pins.
Anyhoo, thought I would share some of the fab ideas and pins I have come across:

  

Clock that knits a scarf every year

True

Woven plastic bag basket

Just too beautiful

 

Wow, didn't know that

Fun idea for spring, birds use the wool for their nests

 

This is so me!

Hope you are having a good start to the week x

 

 

 

Hama Girl

You may know that I am a fan of the Japanese fashion sub-culture known as Mori Girl.  Mori girls like to dress as if they live in the forest, with loose fitting, flowing clothes made from natural materials.  There is a fantastic description on this blog if you would like to know more. 
Whilst browsing some Mori girl websites I came across another Japanese fashion sub-culture similar to Mori called Hama Girls, this blog says that:

"Hama girls are the sisters of mori girls who live by the sea:

• layers of clothing that is tattered by the wind
• colours of the sea, blues, greys, whites, sea foam and deep green
• tousled and sun bleached hair
• long walks on the beach, watching the sun rise and sunset, collecting the treasures of the sea
• adornments that are made of found objects, smooth driftwood, sea glass, shells and feathers
• the ocean is freedom

You will find the hama girl wandering the beach, feeling the sand between her toes, the waves against her legs, the wind in her hair, tasting the salt in the air, her heart filled with yearning as the sails of the ship disappear beyond the horizon."

 I love this!  I don't live by the sea, but I would love to, and if I did I can just see myself fulfilling this description. 

Here are some lovely photos all from the above blog that epitomise the Hama Girl style:

 

 

 

I am pretty sure I will be doing more blog posts about Hama Girls in the future, I can just see some coastal themed Etsy treasuries and some Polyvore collages in the making.  Stay tuned.

Tiny houses

A while ago I wrote THIS blog post about tiny spaces.  There must be something in the nations consciousness about wanting to retreat to a small space because there have been two programmes on TV recently on such a topic.  First was Kevin McCloud's Man Made Home, where he builds a small portable shed from trees on his own land and furnishes it with a bespoke chair and bed.  He is able to cook on a hob which is supplied from methane gas gathered from an outside toilet and bathes in a bath made from aeroplane parts.

And then there is George's Clarke's Amazing Spaces.  Clarke investigates other people's small spaces and builds his own from an old 1970's mobile home.

What is it about small spaces that we are all craving?  Is it that we are all becoming over whelmed by the bigness of our lives these days?  We live in a global community; we eat food and consume goods from the other side of the world, our friends and family are scattered across the country, sometimes the world, many people don't even know their neighbours.  

The expectation is that as we progress through life, we will get more money and more stuff, then we need more space for all our stuff so we buy a bigger house which we fill with more stuff.  But all this extra stuff and space is not making us happier is it?  I remember reading that, as a country, we are far richer than we were 50 years ago, and yet cases of depression and increased. 

It seems to me that there is something clicking in people's subconscious that is driving us to crave a simpler way of life, one where are needs are met simply and practically.  The smaller space also encourages us to venture outside and become closer to nature where we are cleansed and healed from the constant bombardment of information, images, sounds and things that is the modern life. 

I already live in a fairly small space, but I still crave a little shed or caravan where I can escape from...what?...Life?  I am not sure, what I want to escape from, perhaps it is just the chaos and confusion of life which you can shut out more readily in a small space, or rather there is no room for it to come in!

So lets fantasise a little about tiny houses and little spaces and pretend we can shut ourselves away and be alone with our thoughts just for a while before we have to face reality, messy, chaotic, big, reality.

Happy Monday

Been thinking a lot about living a simpler life recently and have enjoyed looking at photos and watching videos of tiny homes.  This is a particularly lovely film, live the bit with Janine Alexander and her portable home.
Fantasising about living in a little caravan or something, or a small wooden house, Little House on The Prairie Stylee:

 

Would you like to live in a tiny house of couldn't you stand it?  How much stuff would you have to get rid of in order to live in a tiny house?

Hannah Spearritt a Mori girl?

So I used to be a MASSIVE fan of S Club 7, and by "used to be" I don't mean that I am no longer a fan but that S Club 7 are no longer together *Boooo!* I still love their music though, I mean who wouldn't lyric like "Hoochie Mamas show your nanas".  So anyway, imagine my joy when I stumble upon THIS article on the Daily Mail website declaring that S Club 7 were reuniting!!  What could be better?  My instant thought was "please don't let them do a gig before I have weaned Orren!" Closely followed by 

"Do my eyes deceive me or is Hannah Spearritt dressed in a decidedly Mori girl style?" As if I didn't love S Club 7 enough!!

Loving her style, layering, white tights, lacy trimmed skirt, suede boots, definitely Mori.  Hope you are all having a great weekend, any other S Club 7 fans out there?

I just found this on a lovely blog today and although it isn't really the right time of year, (a month or so too late) I thought it was really quite interesting and wonderful.  There are loads of things like this in the Bible, nothing is irrelevant, nothing is for nothing,

Why Did JESUS Fold the Napkin?

This is one I can honestly say I have never seen circulating in the e-mails so; I'll start it. If it touches you, you might want to forward it.

Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection? I never noticed this . . .

The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes.

The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.

Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!'

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple out ran Peter and got there first. He stopped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.

Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.

Was that important? Absolutely!

Is it really significant? Yes!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day.

The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every

Jewish boy knew this tradition.

When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it.

The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.

The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, "I'm finished."

But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because . . .

The folded napkin meant,

"I'm coming back!" 

1950s Kitchen at Basildon Park

My lovely parents came to visit at the weekend so the hubby and I thought it would be nice to take them on an afternoon out to the beautiful Basildon Park.  Basildon Park has an impressive Georgian Manor surrounded by glorious parkland. The property was restored in the 1950s by Lord and Lady Iliffe.  Sadly hubby and I didn't get to see the interior of the house because the little Mr was being fussy, he didn't want to be carried and we weren't allowed to take the pushchair in, so we strolled around the gardens while my parents looked round the house.   When they came out my mum excitedly told me about 1950s kitchen in the house and said that I would love it, I couldn't leave without having at least a quick look so we went it the exit and up to the kitchen. It was the best thing ever!  Complete with a woman dressed in a 1950s apron baking biscuits!  I whizzed round taking photos of the vintage loveliness and now I want to paint all my kitchen cupboards green and attach aluminium handles.

Fantastic picnic hamper, I actually saw one of these in a charity shop once but couldn't justify buying it when we have such a small house and no where to keep it.

Lovely range cooker,

 Original 1950s recipe books,

 Fabulous mixer,

 1950s house wife? loving the apron,

Look at the cupboards, just look at them, love love love, the colour is fantastic, they were metal and beautiful,

 How fun is this mixer cover?

A cupboard full of 1950s goodies,

Love this tea set, and is such beautiful condition,

There was also a 1950s living room set up in the stable block, how awesome are these chairs? Actually saw some like this in a junk shop a while ago,

Do you love the 1950s?  I would love to go back there, except for the sexism of course.  What did you do this weekend?