Happy New Year!

Don't worry, this isn't one of those retrospective posts prevalent in blogland at the start of January. I might dress in vintage clothing but I don't wallow in the past. I've no interest in looking backwards, you'll not find me blogging about my highlights from the previous year or posting selfies from ten years ago, the past is a foreign country and all that. 

Now, where was I? I signed off on Saturday with every intention of sorting out my travel wardrobe but got distracted by a delivery from Lahore containing a job lot of cushion covers handmade from the off cuts of antique rugs and old kilims I'd won on eBay before Xmas and I spent a hour or two stuffing cushions and moving things around until I was satisfied.

The rest of the day went to plan although we ended up watching Bridge of Spies for the fifth time as it was on TV and we couldn't resist seeing it again.

On Sunday morning we didn't get up until 9am which is unheard of for me but I was too engrossed with my current Le Carré novel to leave the bed. For breakfast we ate toasted sour dough bread with some delicious artisan-made vegan cashew cheese spreads my brother gave us for Xmas*. I placed an order for toiletries with Superdrug & arranged to collect it from their Walsall branch tomorrow.

*Here's the link, it really is delicious.

WEARING: Vintage psych maxi (99p, eBay, 2007), 1960s leather coat (gift from Sarah, who used to blog as Lucy Nation), Original Mary Quant scarf (jumble sale, 2014)

 Jon needed to go to B&Q (a DIY superstore) to get something crucial for the bathroom redo and also to buy some logs for the wood burner so I went along for the ride.

Stephen Squirrel, guardian of the wood pile

After a lunch of spicy noodles I got cracking with my holiday packing. My method consists of pulling out a pile of potential garments, trying everything on and laying the stuff I'm happy with out on the spare bed. Over the course of the following week I'll whittle the pile down. One of my maxi dresses needed shortening so I fired up the sewing machine and spent an hour sorting it out. Uninspired by selection of holiday tops in my stash I turned to the internet for help, finding something fabulous from a vintage shop I follow on Instagram. The unexciting tops? Along with the three books I finished earlier in the month, they'll be redonated to the charity shop later in the week.

I consumed a total of 70 books in 2019 - the first time I've ever kept track of my reading. 

After a shower we ate the rest of last night's pizza with salad & jacket wedges and watched The Repair Shop and more of Dutch crime thriller Blood Pact.

The Guardian are right, it's a must watch

On Monday, after a Wii Fit workout, I took down the Xmas cards, fairy lights and festive greenery I'd draped over the Trechikoffs in the lounge (just visible in the photo with the new cushions) and woke Jon up for our fruit & yogurt.

WEARING: Vintage suede and sheepskin trimmed coat (Second To None, 2017), 1970s embroidered velvet maxi and Reiss wool fedora (both eBay), 19th Century Gujarati pendant (flea market find)

Jon was determined to finish the bathroom so I left him to it and walked into Walsall to pick up the Superdrug order, drop off a couple of parcels at the Post Office and stock up on fruit & veg from the market. Needless to say I couldn't resist popping into the charity shops where I found this embroidered suede waistcoat with the Zara price tag still attached for just £4.50. After a lunch of - you guessed it - spicy noodles, I had a play around in my wardrobe to see how my new-to-me waistcoat could be worn.

I had another look at my travel wardrobe, removed two dresses & a bikini from the pile and slung the three possible wraparound maxi skirts I'd earmarked for the trip in the washing machine as their hems were looking a bit grubby, then I hung them up in the utility room to dry. Bathroom more or less completed, I had a look at my favourite fair trade homewares website for a replacement bathmat and ordered a couple of hand loomed cotton chindi rugs (made using surplus fabric from the Indian textile industry) which had been reduced to £7.50 each.

After a shower (which, after only being able to have baths for the last two years, I'm loving!) we ate baked potatoes stuffed with vegan cashew cheese and watched another couple of episodes of Blood Pact.

WEARING: 1970s maxi skirt, vintage crewel work waistcoat, 1970s ribbed polo neck jumper (all Ebay), Russian folklore belt (charity shop), Vintage Moroccan atomiser pendant (used to belong to my friend Maxine)

On New Year's Eve I started the day with a Wii Fit workout, dusted the lounge and, when Jon got up, we had fruit and yogurt for breakfast. After ironing the skirts I'd washed yesterday, along with some photos of our stall set-up I submitted an application to trade at a music festival we'd not been to before which took the best part of the morning.

Jon drove over to the out-of-town pet superstore to stock up on cat food as he'd realised that a 10% off voucher he'd been sent expired the next day and I knocked up a veg sabzi for later. Izzy the postman delivered the top I'd ordered on Sunday afternoon and I was thrilled to discover that it was even lovelier than expected and it looked great with all three of my potential holiday skirts, making the decision process even more difficult.

After a vegan pasty Jon made a start on his holiday packing while I sorted out the travel toiletries and the miscellaneous stuff (torch, sleeping bag liner, army knife, guide books, mosquito coils, adaptor plugs, etc.,) Jon downloaded some freebie books for our e readers, a real game changer - I used to pack twenty books before I discovered the miracles of technology!

Frank and his giant catnip fish

Neither of us can be arsed with New Year's Eve - paying to get into the pub, queuing to get served at the bar, nowhere to sit, pissed-up strangers trying to snog you, wading through puddles of vomit on the walk home - no, thanks very much! After all, we've got a whole month of going out to look forward to. So instead, we ate our curry, cuddled up on the sofa with the cats, a packet of salt & vinegar crisps (or two packets in Jon's case) and a few cheeky drinks, watched the rest of Blood Pact, a documentary about Dante Gabriel Rossetti and were in bed just before midnight.

WEARING: Vintage Afghan dress (Goodbye Norma Jean Vintage, 2018), purple wool fedora (retail buy, 2019), 1970s leather boots (borrowed from the stockroom)

This morning Jon was up first and brought mugs of tea back to bed. I carried on reading my Le Carré novel until the cats decided we needed to get up. After checking in with the Wii Fit we had toasted sour dough bread with vegan cashew cheese spread for breakfast.

St Matthew's Hall, Walsall's branch of Wetherspoons, the town's first permanent library, built in the Greco-Doric style in 1831

Of late Jon and I have started a new tradition - instead of going out on New Year's Eve and staring the year with a raging hangover, we celebrate New Year's Day instead. It feels a bit like the first day of your holiday, when you find a bar, order a beer and, giddy with excitement and slightly jet lagged, you speculate about what adventures lie ahead.

WEARING: 1950s chores jacket (charity shop), block printed scarf (Gujarat, 2018)

After wishing the bar staff a Happy New Year and exchanging pleasantries with the clientele, we raised a pint of £1.99 Shipyard to 2020, pulled out our India guide and made some rough plans for our trip.

Hungry, Jon ordered a pulled chicken and avocado salad and I had a small vegan pizza.

We had an interesting conversation with David, a Willie Nelson lookalike, who regaled us with tales from his hippy travelling days. We declined to join him for a third pint, knowing from past experience that it would lead to a full-on session with us staggering home in the dark, hours later. Yes, for once in our lives we acted like responsible adults! We finished our second pint, bid our goodbyes and were back in the house with a cup of tea by 4pm.

Tonight's plans? Well, the viewing is looking a bit scary - Victorian thriller The Limehouse Golem followed by the BBC's latest adaptation of Dracula. Not sure what we'll eat (or if we'll bother), we're both still stuffed from lunchtime.

See you soon!