71/365

Grace in small things.

1. The Wonder Hill Market today at Tooting Tram and Social. What a cool venue, what a lovely, warm atmosphere (met lots of lovely sellers and bumped into Sinead from Crafty Fox and got to see her brand new fox cub - what a teeny cutie), and what a sweet surprise at the end! I had started to notice a few dapper young gentlemen and some very stylish vintagey ladies milling about, checking out all the stalls. And I wondered, where did these people come from all of a sudden? This is not your every day Tooting look. Then, a swinging song kicked out overhead, and the aisles of the market became a stage for swing dancers. Hence the dapper and vintage. Good fun.

I love that woman's dress.

2. Fresh fruit, muesli and yoghurt for breakfast. Mmm...

3. New pillows! Tempur pillows! And the matching bed coming soon! My back hurt ever so slightly less this morning when I woke up. I think.

4. Another free day full of lots of tiny power. One highlight of all I did: I turned one of Marcus's old snagged jumpers into my no-snags jumper. Easiest upcycle ever.

5. I've started making things for my new home. They will be photographed just as soon as I get to go make that new home mine.

66/365

Grace in small things.

1. I totally made Dhari a pair of bird wings (from this tutorial). It took me hours, but it turned out to be something truly special. And, as I'm a tiny-bit of a hippy, I really like that his first cape is bird wings and not a superhero one. Not that there's anything wrong with superheroes - I just like nature better.

I made it with some fabric my mom gave me ages ago. She used it as table cloths for some themed party she had, and thought it might make cute banditos. Sadly, while I love gingham for banditos, it was the wrong fabric. But I found a use for it finally! And I have loads more left over, if anyone else wants to make some matching bird wings. Or, if you want me to make them for you (or your toddler, whatever). But it'll cost you, because like I mentioned before, it takes hours. :) Pictures to come.

2. We had a glorious (and very busy) trip to the USA. Sunshine, family, friends, dinosaurs, legos, boats, pancakes...I could go on and on, but I won't. I'll just leave it with this:

3. Just found out yesterday that the twins are both boys. I will be totally outnumbered, but this is going to be loads of fun.

4. So far so good on the sale of our flat. Hoping it gets done quickly! I'm ready to get into that house!

5. Dhari let me sleep in a little bit today.

64/365

Grace in small things.

1. Yesterday, at the bus stop, Dhari made a stranger guffaw (it was an actual guffaw, I kid you not) by randomly shouting out at the top of his voice, "WHAT IS GOING ON????" Her response, after the laughter, was, "What IS going on? The bus should be here by now." Sometimes Dhari clearly annoys grumpy people on public transport during rush hour. But he mostly makes them smile. And that makes me happy.

2. Sunshine! Days and days of it! Yay! I know there's a drought in the UK at the moment, and this is a big problem, but there is a silver lining behind this lack of clouds. It's called Vitamin D and happy Londoners.

3. Wet felting Easter eggs out of beautifully hand-dyed Falkland wool. It takes ages, but is really very meditative.

4. Dhari and I will be going to a funfair this afternoon with our buddies, Hazel, Sophia, Alexander, Claire, Jack and Maisie. Dhari is so excited.

5. Growing things. Dhari's really getting into this. At the moment we just have mustard cress growing in an egg cup on the windowsill and some watercress seeds lurking under some soil on the back step, but soon we will have a complete salad, once we plant the tomatoes and sweet peppers. Hahah!

54/365

Grace in small things.

1. 30+ people came to Thanksgiving! Awesome! No leftovers. Not even salad.

2. I went on strike and marched with some old work buddies on Wednesday. It was something I felt strongly about, and would have moped around with a heavy heart for a week if I hadn't done it. I think I was the only person from my school that went on strike (that more and more popular - but completely unenforceable - no strike policy), which is partly why I nearly didn't do it. Let's hear it for swimming against the tide.

3. I made the Purl Bee advent calendar.

It took me 10+ hours and I'm super chuffed with how it turned out and Dhari is really excited about it. He keeps saying, "I want it to be December 16th!" (there's a Green & Blacks white chocolate peeking out of that one)

4. Using sheets of actual wool felt for crafting, instead of the nasty acrylic stuff you get in most craft shops. It just feels so wonderful to the touch and the colours have a warmth to them that acrylic simply cannot achieve.

5. Scott and Regan's wedding in Cumbria. I heart Cumbria, most notably the Lake District. Even in the last days of November, it is beautiful.

52/365

Grace in small things.

1. Dhari loves Where the Wild Things Are.

2. Sold a Raj bunting at the beginning of the week to a lady who seemed REALLY EXCITED!!!! about its impending presence at a party. Yay! I sensed the warm fuzzies in the purchase, so I threw in a little freebie. That's always fun.

3. Have had fun with this little up-cycle project:

So easy. I love a bit of immediate gratification. I did mine with the pretty decorative tape I bought at Renegade Craft Fair. Here's the finished product:

4. My mom and dad will be here this time next week.

5. Tenerife was awesome. I read a lot, laughed a lot, drank a lot, and basked a lot.

51/365

Grace in small things.

1. Been selling a ticky tock a week.

2. This time tomorrow, I'll be on a plane to Tenerife for Reegers' hen do! Bring on the sunshine and poolside cocktails.

3. I pretty much like my new job, for the most part.

4. Welch's grape juice is on sale at Waitrose. Yum.

5. Am tearing through the Millennium series. It's not my preferred genre, but the stories and the characters (especially Lisbeth) just suck me in.

splish-splash, simple joys

47/365

Grace in Small Things.

1. Finally getting back to doing this post again.

2. Barbecuing it up at the Cutting's on Saturday. I'm only a bit disappointed that I didn't manage to get Adele's Pay it Forward gift (from twelve-thousand moons ago) done in time to hand it over. It's still just two pieces of awesome fabric pressed and draped over my dining room chair. I think maybe I've subconsciously decided that I just like looking at the fabric all day and that's why it isn't done. Anyway, even without the gift, the BBQ was fab, complete with bunting and twinkly lights and lots of lovely new people to meet.

3. That paper chain is getting shorter and shorter every day. I know that's the point, but it still makes me happy. And Dhari loves it too.

4. Busting out the Wii Fit again after something ridiculous like 951 days of gathering dust in the corner of the room. The little animated Fit Board man had all sorts of cheeky things to say about that. Snarky little bugger.

5. Ticky Tocks. Dhari and I gave one as a birthday present to Jack, who loved it and gave me the perfect tagline for them. "It's just like my daddy's!"

44/365

Grace in small things.

1. That moment when, on an evening out, Dhari transitions from over-tired to hilariously delirious.

2. Finally finding a halfway decent Mexican restaurant in London. For some reason, people who are not Mexican simply cannot do proper Mexican food. Who woulda thunk? Mexicano Loco in Victoria was, in my opinion, satisfactory with good features. Which is a major achievement, as Mexican food in London goes.

3. Getting to hang out with Carol and Debbie! Carol's off next week to work in Nigeria for a while. Gosh I'll miss her.

Erm, does anyone else think the "Burberry" table cloths are a bit of a weird presence here?

4. With every item I cross off my list, I seem to add two more. Initially, I am consumed with panic, but then I get excited to do another exciting thing! (granted, I probably won't get around to it for a few months, but still...)

5. I'm all signed up to do another market in a pub. Yay! It's not until June though, because methinks May is going to become ridiculously busy here pretty soon.

40/365.

Grace in small things.

1. Felafel wraps for Easter lunch, especially when the spicy hot pickled veg is homemade from scratch and the felafel is too, and you get to watch the cook make it expertly with an Israeli felafel mould that's been around for ages and "only gets brought out on special occasions".

2. Dhari's first Easter egg hunt. So cute.

3. The hallway is painted! It is no longer yellow! And I helped!

4. Dhari keeps playing the intro to "To Die a Virgin" by Divine Comedy, over and over again. It's a sound clip from an old British TV show, of a woman saying, "If there's a war, I'll sleep with you before you get get killed - that's what maidens do in books, and I'm a maiden." And then a man replies, "Oh, you do seem to go on about your virginity. Virginity's nothing - you can lose it on a bicycle." She responds, "I didn't know that! I must be careful - I'm going to get a bicycle when I get to London." Dhari seems to think it's really funny.

5. I got my lovely Mother's Day dress (handmade by Sue Bradbury) in the post today! Yay!

39/365

Grace in Small Things.

1. I've started a cross-stitch project. So far it's taken me two days just to transfer the pattern. There must be an easier way, I just couldn't figure it out. But I'm way excited to start stitching and see the final product! It will be one of my Facebook giveaways, which I let fall by the wayside there for a while. Oops.

2. Going to a funfair yesterday with Dhari, Sophia and Hazel. I took Dhari on loads of little kid rides, including the caterpillar train, the teacups and a little train roller coaster (which he loved at first, but then at the 4th or 5th time around he decided "I don't like it! I don't like this one!"). I was hoping he'd come off saying, "I ain't afraid of no rolly-coaster!" But he didn't.

3. Summery days like today. Ooh, sunshine.

4. The tea cupboard. It's the only spot in the flat that isn't cluttered. Thanks Marcus!

5. Charlie Brookers The Hell of It All. It makes me laugh so much I can't really read it on The Tube. You're not allowed to smile, let alone laugh, on public transportation.

36/365

Grace in small things.

1. Sitting in the sunshine with Dhari, both of us singing along to Father Goose and playing tents with the sawaar kameez scarves. Again! We've had nearly a week of this. Awesome. (plus, according to a very reliable Facebook source, all this sunshine is due to the magical workings of a newly-built playhouse in Kingston...Dhari can't wait to try it out).

Dhari's Downward Facing Dog?

2. Taking baby steps toward the "Keep what you love and get rid of the rest" way of living. I hate being surrounded by clutter - it stresses me out - yet I don't want to live somewhere that feels like no one lives there. You know what I mean. So, yesterday, Dhari and I wandered down to the charity shop and offloaded some of my things that I don't love. I kept Dhari, by the way.

3. I put some white azaleas in my "backyard" flower pots and relocated my herbs to a disused window box. Things are starting to brighten up back here! This weekend, I hope to hit up the market near my flat to buy some inexpensive, but cheerful flowers for the rest of my planters. I'll probably be going for purple because that's my favourite.

4. Taking a moment to paint my nails. Three coats!

5. A nearly finished Easter basket (that - I am ashamed to admit - was started in February).

waldorf inspired play

One of Dhari's favourite things to play with is my sawar kameez scarves. Today, according to him, he was a little fairy flying around (with Kaiser Chiefs on in the background, of course...which is not so Waldorf inspired).

34/365

Grace in small things.

1. On Sunday, hearing Dhari shouting, "March again! March again!" because he had so much fun at the March for the Alternative with his daddy on Saturday.

2. Starting the day with great intentions to get things done. I've managed to tidy my bedroom, dance around the (now tidy) lounge with Dhari singing "Don't Dumb Down" by the Rumble Strips (yes, Dhari got his ukelele out), clean the bathroom, re-list an item on Etsy and start this blog entry. For me, this is an achievement!

3. Staying out late on Saturday night to celebrate Ben and Jane's engagement and then having a midnight curry on Brick Lane. Yum.

4. All the compliments (mainly on Facebook) I got on my new tiny hair. Always very fun. A random man in Chiswick called out, "Crackin' eyes!" when I walked by on Saturday. It's a great compliment, but then, you always have to wonder, where is the line between an honest compliment and street harassment? Surely, it's defined by the way the comment makes the receiver feel. If it makes you smile, it must be a compliment. If it makes you uncomfortable, then harassment. For me, it made me smile, mainly because I get a kick out of the adjective "crackin'", because I associate it with Gavin and Stacey. What do you think? My clever friend Kate explores this very question here.

5. The way Dhari sounds like Snuffleupagus when he's really focused on something. He also sticks his lip out, which is a distinct Chappelow trait.

Support Comic Relief with babybandito

I've decided to embark on a special crafting project for this Red Nose Day. Every day I will work towards festive bunting that demands proper support for mothers and babies in sub-Saharan Africa (using Waterpenny's adorable "Protesting Animals" design). In keeping with the spirit of Red Nose Day, I will post a daily picture of a red-nosed me and my bunting-in-progress here, on my blog. In addition to this creative endeavour, I will also be donating 50% of my takings from any red item in my Etsy shop to Comic Relief. 


Please support me as your cash really can make a huge difference to the lives of vulnerable people across the UK and Africa. I have chosen my target as £182 because that is how much it will cost to pay for a maternity nurse in Tanzania to attend a seven day training course on child delivery care to ensure the safety and health of many mothers and their babies. Did you know that 40% of all child deaths occur in their first month of life? With properly trained nurses, maybe the little bubs will have a greater chance of survival. 


To donate, visit my Red Nose Day page. Thanks!

18/365.

Grace in Small Things.

1. Rollerskates that light up when you skate. I didn't get any (cause I wasn't the birthday girl), but they still bring joy and happiness. With those rollerskates on, the birthday girl gets to literally light up a room when she rolls in.

2. When partying = exercise.

3. Homemade biscotti. With cranberries, hazelnuts and cashews. Nom-nom-nom.

4. Random acts of DIY and the sense of accomplishment they bring.

5. Dhari's new favourite phrase is, "For goodness sakes." And he knows it's hilarious when he says it.