Saturday 28 February 2015

Things To Do 2015

Hello! How is 2015 been treating you? 
My year so far has been very busy, mostly due to being given extra responsibilities at work, which is great, but a bit more time consuming, but means I haven't had much energy for much else!

So I know it's very late to do a resolutions type post, unless you factor in Chinese New Year "Happy Year of The Goat Everyone!" (which I do as my day job revolves around scheduling for China) but this is, well at least I think it is, a little different. This post is essentially a list of my goals and plans for 2015 things I want to and in some cases have to do. I thought posting them here would help me to clear a bit more head space as my mind is swimming with stuff to do at the moment and it's become quite overwhelming, so I hope blurting it all out here will calm me down and combat the constantly creeping anxiety! Right here's what I have planned...

~ Plan out my new Allotment ~
Late last year I finally got the keys to a new allotment I was really sad to leave the old one but it was certainly time for a fresh start and I hope  some fresh enthusiasm. 
New allotment, I've got it covered

The new plot is a ten minute walk away from where I currently live and is much smaller than my old one in Walthamstow, which should make it more manageable. It will need quite a bit of work to get it in good order as it's covered with grass and brambles, but I am confident that it will be harbouring a luscious victory garden very soon!

~ Leaner and Greener ~ 
As I mentioned above I have been feeling a bit anxious of late, it's nothing new, anxiety is something that's been part of my life for as long as I can remember as I'm prone to panic attacks. This year I have decided to try and address this issue in a different way than I have before by looking at my diet. I have always found that caffeine and sugar play a major role in aiding my anxiety so I want to cut them out as much as I can. I have also decided to eat more veggies and the easiest and supposedly healthiest way to up your veg intake is to drink fresh pressed juices.

Red wine at work!? Ok, it's actually Apple and Beetroot juice

After watching Jason Vale's Super Juice Me, an amazing documentary about how eating right can radically change your life, I was inspired to get out my juicer and recipe books and start juicing again. I did Jason's seven day detox about six years ago when I first bought my juicer, and it worked wonders on shifting the pounds, but it was the hardest thing I have ever done! I think the reason I lost so much weight was as soon as I could eat again I ate super healthy from fear of ever having to do it again! Six years on I decided to do a three day detox (which was more manageable but no more fun) to help kick start my healthy eating plan, and seeing as I have made it to the end of February and am still eating healthily, I guess it's worked! I can't say I am bursting with energy but I certainly feel calmer and a bit healthier than I did, so that's progress!

~ Zen Yoga~
I was very lucky to win the giveaway hosted by the gorgeous May over Christmas and so I am hoping very very soon to pop along one of May's fabulous Cat Pose Zen Yoga classes, as they sound like just the tonic I need to recover from the last few months and reaffirm my resolve for positive mind in the future. I have already been practising her 3 minute Yogic breathing technique which you can watch on May's youtube Channel, and it has really helped to calm me down when I am feeling the stress about to kick in!

~ Bicycle Bicycle ~
The last few months travelling to work as I do by bus (is it weird that I go to work on the bus and then spend all day designing mini ones? If only the big ones were as reliable as the small!) has reminded me of one thing; you really can't rely on buses, especially when they keep going on strike. After multiple six mile walks each way to work and back I decided it was time to seek alternative arrangements, so I have bought myself a folding bike, which will either get me fit, or get me killed!
My new steed
Theoretically it should get me to work in the same time as taking the bus, but without the cold long waits at the bus stop. I have opted for a fold-up bike in the hopes that if it all gets too much, or is raining too hard I can nip on the bus with my folded, yet still very cumbersome bike, I envisage many bruises on my far too sensitive shins!  I have already purchased my bike but now just need to pluck up the courage to tackle London's roads! Meep!

~ Get on an Aeroplane  ~
I am terrified of getting on an aeroplane, just typing this is making me feel queasy. While I am attempting to address my anxiety I feel it's time to be brave and face my biggest demon and get myself on a plane. I have three flights booked for this year, the first is be in May coming back from Rome on a family trip (never been abroad with my family before, exciting) and the other two will be in September when we are all are going for a long weekend to Germany, to see my brother take part in the Berlin Marathon. Deep breath!

~ Parlez Vous Francais? ~
The holiday that my family are taking will involve a few day in Paris (my favourite city, le sigh) so I want to attempt to impress my parents with a bit of French vocabulaire.

Last time I was in France, I used my school girl French to order a meal from a lovely restaurant only to have the waiter laugh in my face, and tell me to speak in English, it was really off putting (I promise my French is not that bad) and lets face it rather rude! Needless to say this knocked my confidence, so once I returned home I decided to invest in some help in the form of some audio CD's by Michel Thomas, it's now finally time to give them a go!

~ Project Audrey ~
I was sent a Boden catalogue a few weeks ago, the moment I opened it I was lusting after their gorgeous French 60's inspired dresses, classic Capri pants and striking Breton tops, all which are stunning but waaaay out of my price range!


Seeing so many lovely outfits re-inspired me to get cracking on my Audrey inspired wardrobe plans. so watch this space!

~ The Vintage Pattern Pledge ~ 
As much as I hate deadlines, I've come to realise over the years, that I am powered by them! More often than not, the only way I will finish something is to have a set date to finish it by, so signing up to the pledge will give me albeit a loose deadline, but one to which I'm more likely to stick to and it should help keep me on track with my Audrey plans!

~ Organise My Sewing Space ~ 
This mission has after years of deliberating actually been achieved! I have finally settled on my perfect space, post soon to follow!


~ Bust Those UFO's ~
I blogged a while back about all the unfinished projects I had found lurking around my home, and to date, I have made little impact on banishing them, so a new year and a new start on getting them out of my way and into my wardrobe!




I am planning to attack one project a month, either finishing it off, calling it quits and re-purposing the fabric or in some cases where they don't fit me, finish them and sell them on Etsy or eBay for someone else to enjoy, which will hopefully give me a few pennies for mooare fabrics!!

So they are my plans, some are exciting others are terrifying, but hopefully, they should make my year an interesting one!

Wendy x

16 comments:

  1. The lengthening days are making me itch to get my fingers in the dirt again! I can't wait to see what you do with your allotment! :D
    I'm rather afraid of flying myself so I can empathize with you.
    France?! What fun!
    Oh, I love Boden. Sadly, I can't afford their lovely things either. (Unless they're reeeeeeally on clearance.)

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  2. Best laid plans! I am excited to follow your allotment too :)

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  3. Hello Wendy,
    oh it's been a while! Well we seem to have oh so similar 2015 plans.
    I just love the look of your new allotment, I love the planning side everything else seems to take its time.Good luck! I love keeping up with others who grow their own.
    Go with the juicing, it is something I really took on last year and its really brilliant, Jason Vale has so many recipes, I find I choose two or the ingredients list gets a bit full on.
    GOGOGO 2015.

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  4. I'm so happy to see you back blogging! You've got a busy year ahead of you and I envy you your trip to Paris. I have anxiety and panic attacks, too, and changes made to my diet have really worked. While I do drink caffinated tea, it's on the low side - definitely no breakfast teas! Drinking more water certainly helped as did eliminating processed foods from my diet. I try to eat as healthily and as organically as possible. I find that eating homemade baked goods are easier on my system than store bought. I also found upping my protein intake made a difference.

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  5. wow that's some list!! I hope you achieve everything. Good luck with your bike journeys in London..... you're very brave!!! I'm thinking of getting a bike but to scared :( xx

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  6. Thank you Joe! Yeah I'm just a bit apprehensive about it I will admit, I am planning to wait until it gets a bit lighter in the mornings & evenings before I start, to give me the best chance, I know I am going to struggle at first but hopefully it will get better, fingers crossed! xx

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  7. Thank you Miss Michelle! I figured I have to tackle my fear of flying head on, as I hate not being able to travel to all the countries I want to, so hopefully once I have tried it I might even like it or at least not hate it quite so much! x

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  8. Hello Lovely lady, its wonderful to have you back in blogland! Planning is totally my favourite bit, that and eating all the veg!! I am really loving the juicing so far, I have taken to reducing the ingredients too at least until I have some home grown goodies, as it became a bit costly, (I have never eaten so much broccoli, just to save the stalks for juicing!) but worth it! xx

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  9. Thank you Sarah! I am so, so glad to here that changing your diet is helping you! Eating cleaner has certainly taken some the kick out of my anxiety! I got so bad over Christmas, no doubt fuelled by all those sugary foods, I knew I had to do something, I just wish I had started this years ago! xx

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  10. Good luck with the list! I hope your plane flight goes well, you'll see some amazing places.

    Boden stuff is great but pricy - I always wait for stuff I like to go into Clearance, then you can get stuff at knock-down prices. It's rarely Primark-cheap, but it IS good quality.

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  11. Good luck with this list! And it's great to see you back to blogging too! <3 I'm excited to watch your gardening adventures!

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  12. Good luck with your list! Some fun things on there. I cycled in London for a few years, just never ever take on buses or lorries and develop your 360 spider sense...keep looking and listening. Then you'll be fine! I'm interested to hear how you get on with easing your anxiety through diet as it's something I've struggled with too.

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  13. Thank you Laura! and thank you for the tip, I'm certainly going to keep my eyes and ears on everything! So far cutting the caffeine has had the biggest effect on my anxiety, once I got over the few days of complete exhaustion (had no idea how addicted I was!), I've felt quite a bit calmer, its not gone but its certainly lessened it! x

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  14. Thank you Mim! ooh I shall have to keep my eyes on Boden's website for clearance items, as there stuff is soo lovely!!

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