Landlocked Mermaid

When it comes to my clothes, there are some things which I am just loathe to throw away. Even with my sister giving me her judgey look while I cling to something which has not fit me for years. There is still hope that I may one day be able to say no to biscuits and slim down! I'll give you a minute, let the laughter die down. If the title wasn't a give away, I am on about t-shirts here. Over the years, between Qwertee and gigs I have amassed an impressive collection of t-shirts which have a weird amount of sentimental value. However, I am very good at shrinking shirts and they don't always sit on my frame well at the best of times. And, they get old. So when it came to gutting my wardrobe, this seemed like a great way to weed out the ones I don't wear anymore. Except, I really didn't want to throw any away. While they may not sit right on me any more, the t-shirts were still in good nick. I managed to wrangle a few by "demoting" them to pjs. Sti...

My partner and I like to watch a lot of SORTEDfood . It's funny, there are some great recipes, and I little love them all. They have a food made three ways video and recently we found their one on ice cream which reminded me that I used to make ice cream all the time! I know it has done nothing but rain these last few weeks, but it is June after all. And if that is not the perfect time to start making ice cream again, I don't know what is. A summer treat In the past I have made a raspberry ripple, chocolate, and bubblegum (at Dylan's request before they went vegan). Last weekend at the Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park I had a caramel and honeycomb ice cream. I decided I wanted to recreate that, as I know how to make honeycomb . But feeling a little more decadent, I decided to go for fudge instead of caramel. I kind of messed up the fudge by getting impatient and not heating up enough, so it did not set properly. But hey, it was going into ice cream and...

Over the last nine or so months, I have been slowly making changes in my life so that I depend less and less on single-use plastics. It's not been as hard as I feared; it was all very daunting at the beginning with so much to change. But it's amazing to see how much I've already done and what ideas I have to further it all.  Jay cloths --> Microfibre cloths I have actually had a load of microfibre cloths for ages. My Nan gave me a packet when I moved into my flat. I used to use them as tea towels, with varying success, so when I moved in with my partner they just got chucked in with the rest of the towels and largely over looked for the ones which actually dried stuff. But when I was considering jay cloth replacements my brain finally kicked into gear and remembered what they are actually good for! They are great for cleaning down the counter, soaking up spills, and don't scratch the hob. And I have enough that I can rotate them every few days and not...

The Ideas I love this time of year. Hallowe'en is my favourite holiday. I am one of those people who will actively deny that Christmas is a thing until at least November 1st. And more than one year I have left my Hallowe'en decs up until December. It just reaches a point where there's no point taking them down without replacing them! Now, this holiday is a minefield for avoiding plastic pollution. The decorations are plastic. The pre-made costumes are plastic. The sweets are bite-sized and wrapped and wrapped and wrapped in plastic! It is a daunting amount of plastic which goes into Hallowe'en and I am glad I have a few months of experience with reduced plastic living, because otherwise this would be a headache. I don't have to worry about hosting a party this year, my sister has claimed that one. But I would like to do plastic free trick or treating, I will definitely be dressing up, and I want to deck the house in bats and ghouls! At this stage I ...

Over the last couple weeks I have been scrolling deep into Pinterest for recipes. Not for food, I google those, but for beauty and cleaning products. I have been compiling a board, you can check it out here ! I've been toying with the idea of making my own products since I couldn't find a conditioner bar which suited me. And I've finally had an afternoon free where I can make a mess and have some fun! All the ingredients. I decided to start with three, mostly because I was limited by ingredients. But I figured that was a good thing because if I am terrible at this or they don't work then I haven't spent much on it. But if they do work, then I can venture onto bigger things! The three I have gone for are: Hand Scrub Deep Hair Conditioner Facial Sugar Scrub Ingredients aside, I went for these three because I have a greater need for these. My job is hard on my hands - so much cracked skin! - so I need to pamper them more often. ...