On January.....

Oh January.

Month of new beginnings,allegedly.

The feverish pace of Christmas behind us,not even a sliver of tinsel remaining to remind me of the festive season,all packed away for another year.Dark mornings,candles in the kitchen and coffee.Lots of coffee.

I started well,made a list of things to do,started the big declutter,eating healthily,going for long walks to blow the cobwebs away,but Oh My life,I feel so weary.Flat.Life is very quiet,almost silent.I am not complaining,merely observing.I need to motivate myself.

Or do I?

This week Lucy is off school poorly,so I have been confined to Barracks,I have been working,but not as much as I should have,instead I have slept a little later than usual,snuggled with my child and watched TV,today it rained,I baked scones and we had afternoon tea and watched Blithe spirit,I played around on pinterest,looked through the seed catalogues and planned my summer garden.I cant wait.

Maybe my new beginnings can wait a little longer.

On clearing the clutter,letting go and looking forward....

As anyone in this business will tell you,it is possibly the most thrilling feeling,searching and finding beautiful vintage pieces.Indeed it is quite the loveliest of jobs,not always easy I hasten to add,but one that I love so much it has almost become an addiction.I simply cannot resist the lure of a long loved item nor the sweet scent of nostalgia,it makes my heart beat just a teeny bit faster and often has the ability to completely make my day.Sounds wonderful doesnt it? Well yes.It is,apart from the fact that sooner or later it gets a wee bit out of hand.When I had the shop,the love of my life as you may recall,I had lots of space to indulge my compulsive buying habit,but now of course,although I have a large storage unit,there are times when certain items sneakily find their way into my home.Lots of them.Added to which,it would seem I have a compulsive clothes buying disorder.I know not why! I read somewhere that a cluttered home equals a cluttered mind.Amen to that one Sister!

 Therefore I have started this new year with a cunning plan! I need to get rid.To not allow myself to become personally attached to items I find attractive,if I do not have any use for the said items,they must be sold.This week I have decluttered the kitchen cupboards,from now on they will house only useful items,as utterly delightful as the vintage teapot in the shape of a crinoline Lady is,I have never used it,nor will I to be honest,she needs to move on and so do I.

Today I undertook possibly my hardest task.The wardrobe.Oh sweet baby Jesus what a task that was,when in Gods name did I think I would wear the leopard print skirt or those boots with tassels? The words mutton and lamb even sprung to my own lips! I have been ruthless,if I havent worn it in a year I probably never will,so out they have gone.I feel free.

I do not think I am in any danger of becoming minimalist,however I can feel something shifting,it is more than a clearing out of junk from the house,it is the realization that 'things' cant make me happy,not for long,I am letting go,sorting the wheat from the chaff,so to speak and it feels good.I have a long way to go,wait till I start on the books! wow now thats a bit scary! but Oh how good am I going to feel and how tidy will my life be?

Looking forward......

New beginnings..............

A very Happy New year to all of my lovely blogging friends and readers!

May 2012 be the best ever year for us all,filled with Good health,good friendships,sunny days,plenty of laughter and may our hearts be filled with Love.

Gena xx

The post festive Limbo.....

So! How was it for you? I am of course talking about Christmas.That one day of the year that we all rev ourselves up into a complete frenzied state over.Every year.

 I imagine for most of us it was a pleasant enough day,lovely for those with young children,there is nothing more enchanting than hearing those squeals of excitement on Christmas morning,letting all and sundry know that " HE HAS BEEN!!!!" For some of us the day may have been tinged with sadness,missing loved ones whom we have lost.But generally we make the most of it,stiff upper lip and all that and we soldier through the day  wearing a party frock and a pinny.

And then....Boxing day,hurrah more food and drink,the tree is beginning to wilt and Oh My God people are becoming mildly irritated,teeny little frissons of  disagreement are starting to surface,over who OWNS the REMOTE CONTROL!!! Gods sake!and then a whole week of not doing that much, I am turning to drink mid afternoon because my mantra for the season has become " It must be six o clock somewhere" and whilst sipping a glass of bubbly,I reflect on the weeks,nay months I spent,shopping, organizing and frankly resenting.I didnt use to feel like this,did I ? and then my thoughts turn to my body.My poor God forsaken body.I have been shoveling food and drink down my neck like we are approaching Armageddon (actually thats another worry) and suddenly I feel the urge to go jogging and eat salads,Right now!! because I am panicking,but of course I dont,because I will do so immediately in the New year! wont I? 

I am not sleeping properly,I do not like being out of routine,I am struggling to concentrate and therefore find it difficult to immerse myself in any of the books I have stacked up by my bedside.I am thinking about next year and what it will bring,I want somebody to tell me it will be great.It might be.It will be.I want it to be here now,I have done Christmas,bring it on.

It is this state of Limbo I have found myself in you see,Whilst I am loving having my family around me,there is a part of me that just cant relax,my mind races sometimes,my feet are in the starting blocks for next year,I want to run and yet I know we should be thankful for each waking day,I am truly,I continue to count my blessings.And yet...I seem to be suffering from some kind of post festive blues.This will pass,I know it will,but until it does....A chocolate anyone?

Oh Christmas tree!........

So....its two weeks before Christmas,as regular followers will be aware,for me personally Tis the season to be totally disorganized and this year...with bells on.You would think,having given up the day job (see prev posts) I would have more time on my hands,therefore presents should be bought,wrapped and stacked neatly around the tree.The tree.Oh Holy Mary Mother of God.

Daughter and I bought the tree on Friday afternoon,it was standing proud outside of the local greengrocers,gleefully we handed over our cash and then stood staring in abject fear as we realized how utterly enormous it actually was and how small our car appeared in comparison! After struggling home with it,exhausted we attempted to hide it in the dining room until we could muster the energy to wrestle it into the stand.Fast forward to Saturday,tree too big for stand,Irate husband wielding a blunt hacksaw,me lugging a bucket of soil into the sitting room.Deep Joy.

But I digress,By now, Cards should be written in flowing gold script and tossed in a   gingham lined basket,ready to be posted on a cold and frosty morning.Homemade mince pies ala Nigella, cooling in the mad pink kitchen.Nay.Nay,Nay and thrice Nay.I am a complete slut in the festivities department,Hence,at this point,panic is starting to set in.

The trouble is...I truly dislike shopping,I know,I know..I am a woman its supposed to be my reason for living,but its not.I find it tedious in the extreme.Big stores are soul less places to me,I derive no joy whatsoever from shopping malls or their ilk,all very impersonal to me,I prefer to give small thoughtful gifts any day,handmade wherever possible, or a carefully chosen book perhaps,I love to incorporate old with new,a pair of beautiful vintage champagne glasses filled with handmade chocolates and a mini bottle of bubbly,or perhaps a 'cosy afternoon basket' one of my favourite gift giving ideas,pack a small basket with a lovely old movie(Mrs Miniver for fellow vintage girls buy for pennies on Amazon) good quality hot chocolate and a vintage china cup,homemade shortbread(or bought depending how sluttish you are this year)a pair of fluffy socks,and Bobs your Uncle! who wouldn't love it? beats a M&S voucher any day.

However,I will get there,it will all come together,probably on Christmas Eve,when I will be telling anyone who will listen that next year it will be different,I will be better organised,infact,I will buy my cards in the sales and write them out in January! Ha! Watch out for flying pigs folks!  

And its getting better! ......

I ask you,what more could you ask for on a chilly November afternoon? And yes,that book is Christmas at Cold comfort farm,those of you who know me will already know that Cold comfort farm is one of my very favourite books of all time,penned by the glorious Stella Gibbons.I almost fainted with sheer excitement when I spotted this on the bookshelves in Asda this morning!

Happy happy days!

Decisions Decisions .....

 Well Hello! Tis me again,the invisible blogger,but for those of you who do still follow me (and I thank you for that I truly do) here is a little update on my so called life at the moment. It is infact going extremely well,after months of ridiculous procrastination,I took the Bull by the horns and resigned from the day job,it was surprisingly easy,all that faffing about and worrying and I swear to you the Company did not give a hoot.So anyway,I did this in order to concentrate on my little Vintage Emporium www.thesefoolishthings.co.uk

 I attended the Newcastle vintage fashion fair on Sunday,had  a good day and met some wonderful people,I am spending my days sourcing more fabulous vintage lovelies,photographing them and soon will be updating the site.For the life of me I cannot fathom what took me so long!

In other news,It is horribly dull and decidedly chilly here in the bleak North,whilst I embrace the cosy candlelit evenings,I am not so fond of stepping outdoors,mainly because of my complete lack of appropriate clothing! How I loathe and detest getting wrapped up and wearing jeans and jumpers for what feels like forever! So I am swanning around in Vintage furs and high heels for the moment,not so sure what the dress code will be when the snow arrives.

I am still searching for alternative storage facilities for my Vintage stock,at the moment it is housed in a storage unit,which is fine in the summer,but Oh my life...the winter,it is like a huge refrigerator,I am slightly reluctant to take on another shop,but I would dearly love to rent space in somebody elses shop,just a room would do,mainly for storage and perhaps to use for my photographs.Friends in the Newcastle area keep your eyes open for me please.I am sure there is the perfect little home for me somewhere.

So! The times they are a changing for me,its all good,I feel happy and blessed and am looking forward to the next chapter!.....you will keep reading with me wont you?