Things I Loved This Month, September 2014.

This month I've loved,

* Spending a day looking after my niece, playing crayons and splashy water games and toe biting (she is still in a toe biting stage!) and trying to make her say Susie (she can do it, she says 'sisssseeeeeeee') * my 30th birthday, I had cake, chips, curry and lots of lovely cards, messages and pressies * Harry Potter Studio Tour, Awe-some! * Ikea * Wicked soundtrack * balloon * watching Doctor Who (what do you think of the new Doctor?  I love him!), Great British Bake Off, Downton Abbey, Clarissa Explains it All and Cilla * skyping * croissants * exciting snail mail *  buying a 2015 diary, organisation! * charity shopping * new houseplants * ice lolly in the sunshine * gardening * sweet peas * being bought flowers * reading Caitlin Moran's new book * making a new display at work * jelly * watching Arrietty, Made in Dagenham * my friend from Brazil being back in the UK for 6 weeks! * seeing art by Rossetti, Frances Bacon, Burne Jones and a Rodin at Shrewsbury Museum * chocolate covered kendal mint cake * homemade vegan pizza * buying some photo prints and making a photo album * making salt dough daleks * new birkenstocks * 

I had a lovely month apart from this MURDER happening in my block of flats, which has been very scary.  Pictures and film of my balcony and kitchen window have been all over local newspapers and TV news.  I have new found respect for the police, who have been here round the clock for the past week collecting evidence and well, I don't really know what else because they don't tell me, but I did see them emptying the bins which was pretty grim.

I hope you've had a lovely (and not as dramatic as mine) month too!?

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Home Grown Harvest, September 2014.

This is what I've harvested from my garden plot and balcony this month,

I looked after my mums house while she was on holiday, the blueberries, sweet peas and single hazelnut are from her garden.  Dissapointingly, there was no nut inside the shell of the hazelnut, which is probably why the squirrels left it!  They always beat me to it!   Apart from that I've had lots of courgettes, mini sweetcorn, the last of the broad beans, and a few leaves of rainbow chard. 

Are you still harvesting anything from your garden?

Balcony Garden, September 2014.

It's definitely feeling autumnal now, but my little balcony is still giving me some flowers and food!  These little begonias have flowered all summer and are keeping my new garden fairy company (she was a birthday present from a friends mum).

I have a last few strawberries coming.

The green leaves in this planter are a chickpea plant.  I think it's too late in the season for it to actually produce chickpeas but it's nice foliage anyway. 

I moved some chive plants I had growing inside to this trough outside, they seem much happier here.  You can see that my fuchsia is still flowering too, and that I need to sweep up the autumn leaves that keep fluttering onto my balcony from a nearby tree.

I did a late sowing of rainbow chard, and am very pleased they've germinated.  I've never grown it before this year but it's one of my favourites now!

I treated myself to some lilac-y purple pansies as I was passing the greengrocers the other day, they're really pretty and should flower all winter. 

I still have sunflowers flowering too.  I love them! 

How are your gardens?  Are the seasons changing where you are yet?

from here

Charity Shopping, Retro Jug and Bowl, Kitsch Deer and Swans.

Here are some treasures I've found in the charity shops recently, 

Retro jug and bowl set.  £3, charity shop.

Very kitsch deer.  £1, charity shop.

Very kitsch swans.  50p, charity shop.

Have you found any charity shop treasure lately?

Linking up with Thriftasaurus.
 

Simple Pleasures #17.

Snail mail!  PUMPKIN BUTTONS!!! Thank you Tammy!

Library Love. Landline, The Fever, Silver Shadows, Jane, the Fox and Me.

These are the library books I've loved reading this month,

Landline - Rainbow Rowell

This wasn't my favourite Rainbow Rowell novels, but Rainbow Rowell is one of my favourite authors so I still thought it was good.  The time travel element is really timey-wimey and I kept having to stop and think about whether the main character was going to wipe out her present life by meddling with her past, a la Marty McFly.  

The Fever - Megan Abbot

An outbreak of a mysterious illness sweep through an American high school, while the characters try to work out whether it's caused by dodgy water, hysteria or the HPV vaccine.  The answer isn't that interesting, but it's a fairly interesting book nonetheless.    

Silver Shadows - Richelle Mead

I really love this series of books.  This is the 5th out of 6 books (or the 11th out of 12 if you count the first 6 Vampire Academy books that are set in the same world).  Lots of bad things happen in this book and lots of previous characters turn up, which I hope are all things to set up for the final book to tie up all the loose ends and have a happy ending!

Jane, the Fox and Me - Fanny Britt

This is a really beautifully illustrated graphic novel, about a bullied girl who finds solace in the story of Jane Eyre.  Really lovely.

What have you been reading?

My local library service (who I just so happen to work for) have been busy opening new branches and introducing E-books and E-magazines.  What are your local libraries like? 

Simple Pleasures #16.

Home grown sweet peas. 

Easy Green Actions, September 2014.

Here's this months round up of easy, green actions,

 

Friends of the Earth have a petition asking David Cameron to stop fracking in the UK. 

Greenpeace have an anti-fracking petition to sign too!

Sign this petition to ask Bayer to stop lobbying against regulations that would end production of pesticides toxic to bees.

If you heard about or took part in Zero Waste Week, and are looking to continue reducing your household waste then why not sign up for the Rubbish Diet and slim your bin. 

If you have any causes or actions to add then let me know in the comments and if I like it I'll add it in.  And feel free to share any of this info (or the whole post) wherever and with whoever you like - if you sign any of the petitions and use social media then please consider using the share on facebook or twitter options that pop up, it increases the reach of these actions and awareness of these issues even further.

Charity Shopping, My Second Hand Wardrobe #1.

All my clothes, or nearly all my clothes, come from charity shops or ebay.  

I thought I'd show you some of the lovely things I've bought second hand recently.

 

This dress was originally from Debenhams, it's a little big, I didn't try it on because there was a big queue for the changing room, I might take it in using my sewing machine.  £2, charity shop.

This cotton Florence and Fred dress is lovely and cool for the summer.  £2 plus postage, Ebay.

I have lots more to come! 

Do you buy second hand clothes?

Harry Potter Studio Tour, London.

It was my birthday last week and as a treat my mum took me to the Harry Potter Studio Tour near London.  I Love Harry Potter!

Here are some (a lot!) photos of my trip.

  

 

I thought Diagon Alley was going to be my favourite part, but it was actually looking at all the sets and costumes and behind the scenes stuff.  Which is odd, as I've only seen the first 3 films and am by far a much bigger fan of the books. 

Because it was my birthday I got to open the doors to the great hall at the start of the tour, and I got a special birthday badge too (to go with the one my mum bought me!)! 

It was a magical day out!

How to Recycle Plastic Bags and Stretchy Plastic Film. Zero Waste Week, The End.

My challenge to myself to do 'one more thing' to reduce my household waste as part of Zero Waste Week was to recycle stretchy, plastic bag type plastic.  

As promised here is a months worth of plastic, destined to be recycled at the supermarket, in the container for recycling plastic bags.

Magazine 'envelopes',

Parcel wrappings, 

Fruit, veg and bread bags,

Plastic carrier bags and plastic wrap used for packaging,

And toilet roll wrappers.

If you're wondering how I know whether the plastic can be recycled or not, then the answer is that I was guessing and if it was stretchy and plastic and like a plastic bag I put it in.  Quite recently Shropshire Waste tweeted a few tips on types of plastic that can go in carrier bag recycling points (here, here, here and here).  This week, while doing some Zero Waste Week research I found this blog post from Shropshire Composters, and this list from Recycle Now.  Which pretty much confirms what I was doing, and lead me to discover I can put empty plastic cereal bags in the recycling too! 

Some plastic film wrappers have helpful symbols on them too, this blue bread bag even tells me to 'recycle with carrier bags at larger stores'.  You can't get more helpful that that!

I will definitely be carrying on my new recycling habit now that Zero Waste Week is over.  Did you take part in Zero Waste Week this year?  I'd love to hear all about it?

Don't forget, you can still find inspiration for ways to reduce your waste or go zero waste on the Zero Waste Week twitter, facebook, pinterest and website.

Zero Waste Week.

This week is Zero Waste Week, the theme this year is 'one more thing'.  Is there one more thing you could do to reduce your household waste?

My pledge is to recycle stretchy, plastic bag type packaging in the plastic bag recycling receptacles you can find in the supermarket.  Although I knew you could do this, it always slips my mind, so I'm making a real concious effort to collect it all up in it's own designated bag and take it with me once a month to the supermarket.  I started my challenge a little early and have been collecting baggy plastic for a while.  At the end of the week I will show you a months worth of recyclable plastic bag type plastic, saved from landfill.

Are you taking part in Zero Waste Week this year?  You can find inspiration for ways to reduce your waste or go zero waste on the Zero Waste Week twitter, facebook, pinterest and website.