An overdue catch up

Oh I've been a rubbish little blogger this year haven't I?

Things were a bit mental work-wise at the start of the year, but I'm more or less back in control and with that has come thoughts of writing again. I've missed this space and how it was slowly turning in to an online scrapbook of all things I adore. I've come back a few times over the last few months just to trawl through the archives and rediscover the things I did years ago. And it was while I was doing this that I realised how future me would regret not keeping this blog updated.
So I'm back and what have I been up to?

Well. Do you temember these girls?

No they're not coming back. Although we are getting chickens again and I could not be more happy about it. I never wanted to rehome our last brood if I'm being completely honest, but money was tight so we had to scale right back. While we still have to stick to a strict budget at home, finances aren't nearly as worrysome. So chickens here we come!
We'll be getting bantam hens this time around as we don't have the space to section off half the garden like we did before. Three bantams will fit perfectly in the little coop we have and they can live happily at the bottom of the garden under the apple tree. They'll get the sunshine, whilst also getting plenty of shade during hotter days, cover during wet ones and will have a section of the flower bed for dust baths. Hopefully this will result in some happy hens.

Some work needs to be done first though. The coop needs a little TLC and I want to make a 'bottom' for it so that they can scratch the dirt without actually burrowing deep enough to escape under the fence and in to next door's garden! I also want to extend the coop's run to give them a bit of extra space.

That little lot should keep me out of trouble and if it doesn't, there's always Me Made May.

Me Made May (#mmmay16 on Instagram) is a challenge which happens, unsurprisingly, every May. During which time you are encouraged to try and wear more of the clothes that you've made for yourself throughout the month. Some people post photos of their outfits, although you don't have to do this. This year I decided to take part and pledged not only to wear my handmade clothes more often, but also to go through my wardrobe, identify any items that I needed and try and fill those gaps with clothes that I'd made myself.

When I went through my wardrobe I found that I really needed some new pyjamas as I'm still using my woolly Christmas ones! They're starting to get a little thread bare, not to mention too warm to be comfortable. I need a lighter coat for the warmer months too as I spend a lot of the time roasting in my current one . I'd also like a dress that I can just throw on when it's really sunny outside. Something that's both comfortable, flattering and colourful. I don't ask for much! So I raided my stash and found a polka dot jersey that's just perfect.

I love the cut of my Edie dress pattern so I'm going to tweak that and make an off the shoulder, ruffle dress with it. That will check the comfortable and flattering boxes, while the fact that it's bright yellow will satisfy my craving for bright colours.

And that's me! These are just a couple of the things keeping me smiling this month and I'll be back with another update soon. Pinky swear.