Treasury Tuesday....Leicester lovelies

This week's theme for Treasury Tuesday set by Abby was 'Local to you' which was a perfect one for me. If I am buying handmade then I love nothing more than to buy something as local to me as possible. If I am browsing Etsy I nearly always search for UK only. I am not sure whether this goes back to years ago when I was quite 'into' the UK craft scene and the good crafters needed as much help as they can get. There is also something about the local craft fair about it. Some of the things are good, some are bad but usually they are all made with love.

So, here is my treasury this week, my Leicester lovelies...

embroidered envelope... lucykatecrafts $20.00	Mini Cooper car - Ink a... lynseyhunter $20.00	Elephant-astic - 0-6 Mo... bellesandstork... $15.00	Leather clutch "&q... KarrahDesigns $59.00
Yellow Lavender owl dec... Beaky $14.00	Personalised Children&#... bypoppywithlov... $33.00	Limited Edition Print &... TheBotanicalCo... $75.00	Summer Breeze Hair Pins... BINAGEYER $15.50
Vintage Dominoes LoLoVintage $8.00	retro owl 2 lucykatecrafts $38.00	MERINO SOYBEAN HANDPAIN... YummyYarnsUK $10.20	Leonora - Vintage Headd... LMVintage $125.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

My favourite this week has to be the embroidered envelope (top left) by lucykatecrafts which can be personalised in colour and message. Perfect.


PS. And yes there is an elephant that has creeped in!

Silent Sunday

For Silent Sunday

Treasury Tuesday....Decorating every room

So this week's treasury was 'redecorate any room in your home'. Well we have spent the last five and a half years decorating every room in this blooming house and I am very happy to say they are all done.

That is, apart from artwork and pictures. We have some up and about and we are lucky to have lots of artist friends so our favourite piece was acquired by swapping a guitar - there's no way we could afford it otherwise! I am also known for not wanting to commit to nails in the wall. I like to be able to change my mind, so the Victorian picture rail that is in almost every room certainly helps with that.

Therefore my treasury this week is various pieces of artwork, some originals, some prints. All, seemingly quite graphic. This is because I actually struggled to find much good artwork that weren't. This weekly searching on Etsy has certainly reminded me how much rubbish/not my taste items there are on there. It also often makes me think I could do better, and maybe one of these days I should.

Anyway, enough of the blabbering here are my picks...

teal plantlife - origin... summersville $20.00	Doris Day Cow Postcard.... mimilove $3.30	I Love You Blogs and Te... jenniferramos $9.50	Retro poster Mid centur... handz $19.00
Painted Fence fine art ... seaandhorse $20.00	Typography Print art p... handz $19.00	20% OFF SALE: Alphabet ... drawpilgrim $24.00	abc rainbow - large alp... upup $24.00
Hummingbird Art - Gift ... MaiAutumn $24.00	Oak Tree woodcut (yello... michellehan $30.00	Let's bake, colorfu... PragyaK $20.00	The Banjo Bird iotaillustrati... $15.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio. 

PS. I had to include the obligatory elephant somewhere :)

Does the doubt ever go away?

The doubt is setting in again. That I am not a natural mother.

I love E to bits and often find myself crying with how much I love him but this evening I have asked Mr B to take him for a walk so that I can have some time to myself. I feel bad. He has done nothing wrong, yes he has been a bit more whingey than normal these past few days but nothing to complain about. Certainly nothing compared to the 'old days'.

He is still smiling and playing, and being his usual charming, monkey self but for some reason I just needed a break.

I have tried to think about whether it's because I am tired? No. Have not been out of the house? No. Missing adult conversation? No. I don't know what it is but I know I needed it.

So rather than catching up on Twitter or Facebook which is what I normally tend to do when I catch a few minutes to myself (when E is asleep) I have decided to do something productive and actually write a blog post. I just don't seem to have had the words recently to write anything, and I haven't been making the time. If I am honest, I feel guilty about having time away from E.

Is this silly? I feel it shouldn't be silly, surely everyone is entitled to some time off but it's not like I am at work. Mr B is at work, 5 days a week, 9-5 and whilst he can't wait to see and play with E when he gets home in the evening, he is entitled to some time on his own too.

I just don't know what the balance is? When I mention to Mr B how I am feeling, he always jokes - well you go to work for me tomorrow and I'll go to the park etc. And to be completely honest I would love to swap for the day. To do something other than just be a Mum. It's not that he doesn't understand or isn't supportive. He couldn't be more supportive. If I arrange a day out at the weekend with a friend, he won't mind, and when you look back over the last few months it is me that has had more time with my friends, away from E than what he has (in my defence, I am just better at organising things than he is!).

I don't know what the solution is. In the next few months I will need to start doing some days of work in the week (who knows where that is coming from, but that is another post altogether) and that will give me time away. Then, I will probably be complaining about not seeing E enough, and focusing on all the things I am missing out on!

There really is no perfect solution is there? Am I over thinking things? Any advice? I can't be the only/first one to feel like this can I? If so, then I really am a crap Mum.

Silent Sunday

For Silent Sunday

Treasury Tuesday....Beautiful blues

Another week, another Treasury Tuesday.

This time the theme is blue and I have chosen to pick things just from the UK. I hope you like my choices. I am enjoying this weekly excuse to browse the internet ;) I just need to try really hard not to buy anything!

You can see some other blue themed treasuries at little red buttons.

Flowery 50's painte... StillLifefurni... $140.00	Blue Fingerless Cable M... KittyKatPurls $25.00	Pair of Poole Pottery T... AllysAntiques $33.00	scandi - screenprinted ... summersville $5.00
Sea Green See Blue Ipad... breagha $55.00	Vintage BINGO journal /... thepapergarden... $14.00	Hand Printed Carribean ... RusticCountryC... $35.00	Pride and Prejudice Boo... JezebelCharms $40.00
Sylvia... tiny wee croc... EmmaLamb $17.00	Porcelain Dish - 99-365... seaurchin $80.00	Blue Cotton Elephant TheHunnyBunnyC... $42.00	Retro Blue Swallows Pri... Philippinka $6.50

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Silent Sunday

For Silent Sunday

Treasury Tuesday....Wonderful Wood

This Tuesday I am taking part in Abby's (little red buttons) Treasury Tuesday. We all know that I love an alliteration and I also quite like Etsy :) If you haven't heard of Etsy then where have you been? But, seriously it is a great website for finding unique handmade items. It is an International site with the majority of sellers being in the US but you can search just in the UK, however it's not usually a problem as most ship to the UK for reasonable rates.

A treasury is simply a personally selected group of items, favourites so to speak. The theme for this weeks 'Treasury Tuesday' is Wood, you could probably tell that from the pictures below, and I have decided to pick items under £30 (the prices below are displayed in $). You'll notice that some are for me, some for the home and some unsurprisingly for E. I hope you like my selection. x

SALE Walnut Scallop Bir... Joannarutter $32.30	Blue Arrow - Wooden Tri... lucie0ellen $11.00	organic Camera - natura... littlesaplingt... $25.00	SCOOP & SORT Colors Wo... applenamos $22.00
White Wooden Bracelet bhmakes $33.20	CHARLOTTE-Huge Wooden H... BlondeChick $29.00	Wood Toy Train Set Natu... greenbeantoys $35.00	GEEK recycled-wood sign WilliamDohman $42.00
Deer in the Forest - Wo... peppersprouts $25.00	5-piece organic SAFARI ... smilingtreetoy... $48.00	natural Elephant Teethi... littlesaplingt... $12.00	10 pc LOVE Guest Book P... BellaPuzzlesTo... $45.00
Letter E Wall Wooden Ha... OldNewAgain $32.00	1960s carved antelope Lilsparlour $8.00	Midcentury Danish Moder... BadCatBoutique $28.00	UNFRAMED 8x10 Sweet Ele... petitcollage $15.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.