charity shop challenge

one of my goals for this year is to cut out high street fashion and to instead soley buy clothing direct from makers or second-hand. thanks to twitter, a small group of some friends came up with charity shop challenge yesterday, where people are encouraged to find new clothing in charity shops & post about their finds at the end of the month. fancy taking part?

guidelines:

1. your outfit must comprise of a key-garment from a charity shop plus any other pieces/accessories etc to make up an 'ensemble'
2. annotate your outfit. include a description of the garments/where you bought or found each piece/price of charity find
3. upload your image onto your blog by the last friday of each month
4. on the last friday of the month tell everyone about it & tweet with the hashtag #charityshopchallenge
5. extra credit for those who customise their charity shop find

the image above is a few things put together in spirit of the challenge: the dress (as well as being my first purchase for myself of 2011!) was found in a charity shop in liverpool on monday, the belt is a charity shop find from a couple of years ago & the cardigan is from ebay. hooray for second-hand!

update! charity shop challenge can now be found on flickr - so if you don't have a twitter account, no worries.

us, we

so far this year i've managed to see, visit & hang out with so many of the people that matter to me. my family, extended family, all of my old flat-mates, most of my close friends from university, creative types i've met since, my best friend from school, people i've met via the internet. one of my resolutions this year was to visit out-of-town friends, & those who were close by too, & it seems i've managed to get on top of this goal already. i'm looking forward to more visits already lined up in future.

of course, it's not always so easy to be able to visit people thanks to clashing schedules, the cost of travelling and distance. there's always good old snail mail to fall back on however; not quite as great as meeting face-to-face, but one step better than an email or text message. until 5 february, if you buy any two cards in my shop, i'll send along an extra random one for free. good for writing to someone to let them know what you've been up to & how ace you think they are.

january goal

i have to say, i'm doing quite nicely with my 2011 to do list so far. made a start on quite a few items, & have even scored off #19 after a quick trip to london with my boyfriend at the weekend. wonderful! however, something i didn't mention when noting my 25 things to do on my blog was that as well as that list, i've also set myself monthly goals. this month's: buy nothing for myself.

i've made an attempt to be a much more conscious shopper of late. i've completely avoided the big guns in terms of supermarkets over the last few months (screw you tesco!) & in perhaps the last half year have bought one item of clothing from a high street chain. i'm hoping to continue these shopping habits in 2011 & beyond, & thought i'd start the year by buying no new things for myself, with the exception of food/art materials/toiletries (all of which i'm trying to buy sensibly/sustainably).

so far, so good! there have been a few temptations in the form of hand-made goodness, but rather than buying things that i know i don't really need i got excited about buying my first tube of 100% natural toothpaste (i know, what a loser). i've also not made up a mental list of all the things i want to buy come the start of february, pat on the back for me. one of the things on my to do list was to buy a plant every month, but rather than buying one, i got a cutting from a co-worker's plant which will hopefully survive our office environment. best things in life are free!

hopefully all of the above doesn't sounds terribly arrogant. i'm in no way perfect in my shopping habits but this is a topic that interests me. if it perhaps makes people question what's right for them then i don't think it's a bad thing.

ps. instances such as gap ripping off gemma correll only cement my decision to avoid the high street.

flossing

i know that as an adult i shouldn't need a reminder when it comes to flossing. however, some of us like lists, charts & little notes of encouragement. in hopes of helping with goal #13 on my 25 things list, i've made a flossing chart (inspired by eerika's creativity chart). a copy will hang in my bathroom - laminated - & i'll score off the days as i go. my dentist would be so proud (though probably more likely think me a weirdo).

ps. if you use the code HAPPYNEWYEAR in my etsy shop, you'll get 10% off your purchase if you order before 8 january. only a few days left!

hello 2011

happiest of new years to you, friends! 2010 was far & away my very favourite year that i've had. i met so many great & inspiring people, looking back over the last twelve months makes me feel very lucky. i brought the day in with my best friend & good company. we set off lanterns into the new year's sky, then huddled around a fire & ate roast chestnuts. it was excellent.

in keeping with the last couple of years, here's my list of 25 thing to do whilst i'm 25. i'm excited to get started! i'm also setting myself a goal each month in 2011, but will cover that some other time.

1. buy a plant each month - includes houseplants, flowers, herbs & edible things
2. make trips to visit out-of-town friends (& those who live close-by too of course)
3. reach 550 sales on etsy - ambitious, but a good challenge
4. add 12 new items to my shop
5. make a poster print - minimum A3/three colours
6. print tote bags - bought bags months ago, must use them
7. do taxes quarterly
8. learn to use my sewing machine - plus sub-goals:
9. make a lightweight summer dress
10. make a tie for alan
11. make something using fabric printed with my gocco
12. make fabric using spoonflower
13. floss!
14. join the library
15. avoid mass-produced clothing - buy direct from makers/second hand/sustainably
16. buy food from local sources/businesses & smaller supermarkets
17. go foraging
18. massive clear out of workspace
19. visit london with alan
20. make a recipe box
21. read the self-sufficient-ish bible & infuse it’s advice into my life where i can
22. keep lists of all the books i read & films i watch
23. redecorate the kitchen (rollover from 2010)
24. stay in a wooden cabin/tipi (rollover from 2010)
25. get a massage (rollover from 2010)

to give a little help to goal #3, if you use the code HAPPYNEWYEAR in my etsy shop, you'll get 10% off your purchase if you order before 8 january. hurrah!

thanks for all your support, comments & purchases over the last year. 2011 is going to be excellent, i know it.