The First Steps in Making Home

I am so glad to be back!

Having expected to publish my first post from The Welsh Valleys on October 30th when my internet was due to be connected, (a whole other story) I have updated this a few times not really knowing when I would get it out there to you! As it stands, my internet STILL isn't connected and I am working on a 3G signal to get back in touch with my online community. Baby B has gone off for his first day back at nursery (NOT pre-school) after a bit of a hassle with it all and Littlest B is napping, so I couldn't think of anything better than a bit of nap time blogging!

SO…here I am. Welcome back to Crafting a Daydream and my new Making Home venture. Boy it’s been a journey to get to here!

A List of Lists

Lists. A subject that has been topic of tweets between myself and others many a time.

I'm a HUGE list fan. I write lists for everything. It strikes me as the sort of thing that one either does with enthusiasm or just, well, doesn't. 

Generally, I don't spend a huge amount of time writing lists as I add to them as I go but I find the small amount of time spent on adding to them means that I can prioritise and not forget things. I used to keep a 'to do' list when I was in employment and it made for smooth running of my daily tasks and helped me to be efficient. Sometimes however I do wonder how much time I spend on list keeping and whether or not the time would be best spent on getting jobs done!

My lists normally consist of one for my childminding business, one for house admin stuff, a shopping list, a crafty list, a blog/virtual world list and a general 'things to do today' list. Of course I then have a wish list and a 'big ideas' list.  Sometimes though, I feel the need to separate a certain list into subcatergories to enable me to prioritise better. Of course this is my crafty list.

My crafty list consists of crafts for home, gifts for people, things to make for stalls, ideas based on crafts, tutorials I want to write and of course, crafts I want to try! They are all jumbled up together and as a consequence, when I do have an hour on an evening to get stuck in, I don't know where to start! 

My current task at hand is attempting to get the house super organised before the big move so I do feel a list overhaul coming on. I hope that I can start being more organised and spent more time on the crafty list! 

So how about you? Are you a list keeper? Do you never keep a list? What works for you in terms of time management and er....not forgetting things?! I wonder what sort of productive systems I can put in place to avoid list keeping. I'd love to hear your tips and ideas. 

Mrs Crafty B 

Real Cornish Pasties and Deadly Seagulls

During our recent trip to Cornwall, we decided that it would be acceptable to eat our weight in fish and chips, ice creams, cream teas and of course, Cornish pasties. The hunt began almost immediately for the ACTUAL best one. Actually we found a good one and stuck with it, but that version doesn't tell you about the evil seagull/s! So....

On a few occasions, we enjoyed setting up base on the beach in Looe which is a beautiful coastal town and fishing port in south-east Cornwall. On the first day that we did this, we scouted out the yummiest looking pasties from the numerous shops claiming to be making 'the worlds best Cornish pasties' . We pretty much hit the jackpot first time as we decided on an open front shop in an old fishing cottage on Buller Street which had a view to a couple of the ladies making up the pasties.  We left armed with a box of delicious large Cornish pasties (it was massive and filled me up for like two days!) and headed back to the beach. By now we had learned to hide from seagulls and we hid inside our little dome tents scoffing our faces with the yummiest pasties ever. 

Our final day in Looe was again marked with a visit to 'Sarah's Pasty Shop' where I took a picture (my sister included, NOT a stranger) of the shop. You can't quite see their lovely Cornish blue display! Following this picture, we headed back to our beach base and decided, as I had a cup of tea, to sit on the wall. In our naivety, and despite our conversation about seagulls pooping on your head en route to the beach AND having an near miss with such poop during said conversation, we were completely oblivous to the evil blighters circling above our head and as Hubby B screamed "WATCH OUT" we did the girliest scream ever as a seagull dove straight at my sister snapping the food bag out of her hands followed by us chasing it down the beach. Can you say free entertainment? 

So the moral of this blog post, well, there are a few points really. Firstly, visit Looe, it's fab. Secondly, visit Sarah's Pasty Shop on Buller Street and enjoy a lovely freshly made Cornish Pasty. Thirdly and probably most importantly, watch out for those bloody seagulls!

Here's a picture of a little sign we acquired for the cloakroom door in our new place. It's in the utility which is the only room that already has a theme decided for it. Can you guess what the theme is? 

Mrs Crafty B

*This was not a sponsored post. Sarah's Pasty Shop did not ask for or request this post and all opinions are my own. I certainly did not get a free pasty (but if they want to give me one on our next visit, I guess that'd be ok).

Sunny Summer Holidays and New Life Chapters

A few weeks ago, had I been updating my blog, I would of been telling you about all the new Crafty B's group which were up and running. The Crafty B's week was looking a bit like this:

Monday
Hardwick Crafty B's 7.15pm till 9pm

Wednesday
Craft Cafe at 19 The Coffee House 9am till 11am

Thursday
Re-Imagine Craft Cafe 10.30am till 12.00pm
Mini-Makers Re-Imagine Craft Cafe 12.30pm till 2pm
Mini-Makers After School Craft Cafe at The Ark 3.30pm till 5pm

Saturday
Occasional craft day in Bourn 11am till 4pm

In the last month however, we have had some big life changing news and a two week break away so instead I'm going to tell you my news and er....brag about my holiday.

A while ago Hubby B started applying for jobs around and about the country. Although I wished him the best from a career perspective, I felt nervous about where our family would end up if anywhere other than Cambridge, so I put it to the back of my mind and continued with all of my big plans for Crafty B's. When he was offered a job in Cardiff the feelings were not straight forward. Excited. Nervous. Extremely sad to be leaving our home in the village where we married and had our two children. Now as we make plans to take a leap onto the property ladder and relocate to Wales, the rollercoster of emotion continues with the constant readiness to get going on this adventure. It's amazing how much needs done and how little time there is to do it! In 8 weeks, Hubby B starts his new job, commuting from Cambridge with a four night stay over whilst I continue getting ready to move at the end of October. 

We have started the clearing out of as much stuff as possible (need anything?!) and organising each room and whilst caught in a whirlwind of paper work, filing, organising, clearing out, mortgage and property chat we are trying to continue life as normally as possible. Hubby B working long hours, Baby B's being cared for here at home, keeping up with friends and family, family time, housework and of course the daydreams of how we will decorate our new home!

Two weeks in Cornwall gave us time to enjoy the important things in life and to reflect on what we were doing and how to go about doing it with as little stress as possible. Whilst we enjoyed beautiful sunshine and ate FAR too many pasties, portions of fish & chips and ice creams we chatted about what had to give back at home. We don't tend to live life at a steady pace! Unfortunately that meant that upon returning, I have had to call time (all too soon) on some of the Crafty B's groups that I have started. It makes me sad but I know that all of the Crafty B's will understand and I'm sure that there will be some summer activities that I'll be buzzin' about before we go.

So a new chapter of our life is beginning and I will be finding my place in the big wide world again over in Cardiff. Crafty B's will continue, just in a different format and Crafting a Daydream will be updated more regularly I'm sure, as I craft away to create our first 'owned by us' family home.

So here's your call to action. I need house moving tips! I've got the basics down....a travel box with the kettle in and some cake OBVIOUSLY but what else do I need to do or think about. Get in touch with your top tips PLEASE!! Comment below or email mrscraftyb@gmail.com. I'll compile a list of the best tips for a future blog post so don't forget to include your details/twitter handle.

Who's up for a new adventure then whilst I continue to craft my daydreams?!

Mrs Crafty B