Street art and graffiti, Birmingham.

I spotted some cool street art in Birmingham this week, 

The last 2 photos are the side of the old Birmingham library building, it's currently being knocked down so this will probably be the last time I see it.

Do you have  interesting graffiti and street art where you are?

Don't forget to check out my other street art photos!

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My second hand, charity shopped wardrobe.

Most of my wardrobe is filled with second hand clothes, here are some of my recent charity shop outfits, 

I rediscovered this fabulous seventies crochet shawl in a box when we moved.  We lived in the same house until I was 27 and we had lovely lady neighbours on each side, Aunty Betsy and Aunty Rose (they both had husbands, Uncle John and Uncle Bill, who sadly died years ago).   Aunty Rose had a fabulous vegetable garden (she still does, she's still digging aged 90 odd!) and Aunty Betsy had a wonderful vintage wardrobe.  I'm lucky to have inherited some of her lovely things over the years, this is one of them.  Look at that fringe, it makes me feel giddy!  

This second hand cardigan has just the right amount of softness and I wear it loads.  

99p plus postage, Ebay.

This was from a tiny charity shop that has a pound rail, my favourite!  I love mustard at the moment and this top was originally from Next.  I'm going to chop that annoying elasticised waist off though!

£1, charity shop.

These lovely brown T-bar shoes looked like they hadn't been worn.  The brand is 'ecco', who make exactly the kind of granny shoes I favour for my wide, high-arched little feet.  

£3.99, charity shop.

Tell me about your favourite charity shop outfits?!  

And check out my charity shop finds on Instagram!

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Make one small change - switch to biodegradable cellulose kitchen sponges.

Adopting eco friendly habits can be easier taken one small step at a time.  Lots of small changes add up to a big difference.

Think about how many sponges and cloths you use each year to clean your kitchen (and bathroom!).  Now think how satisfying it would be to throw those sponges and cloths into your compost bin instead of the landfill bin!  

Cellulose sponges are made from wood or plant pulp, so they biodegrade.  I contacted Spontex when I saw the label on their 'Moppets' sponges said 'biodegradable sponge' to ask if I could dispose of them in my compost bin.  They got back to me to say that should be ok, so long as the sponges were cut into small pieces.  Own brand cellulose sponges are widely available as well as Spontex ones, and both kinds have biodegraded fine in my compost bin.  

Do you use eco-friendly cleaning materials?

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Charity shopping, the one with all the retro animals.

Here are the latest animals to join my menagerie of charity shop creatures,

I picked up these tiny friends to go on my printers tray shelves, if I ever decide where to put them up in this house!  (I used to have the shelves in the hallway of my old flat and they were full of whimsies!)

50p each, charity shop.

One day I'll plant a tiny plant in this donkey's little cart!

£1.50, charity shop.

I collect these Hornsea Fauna deer or rabbit pieces, and I Love this one! 

£2.99, charity shop.

Have you bought any thing cool from the charity shop recently?

Linking up with Flaunt it Friday.

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Photo an hour, January 2016.

The day set for this month's photo an hour was Saturday 16th January, and I posted my photos on Instagram throughout the day.

Photo an hour is organised by Jane and Louisa and you can find round up posts on both of their blogs.

Here's my day,

8am - It's a frosty morning.

9am - my slippy walk to work!

1pm - Part of a poem printed on the path on my way into work.  I didn't take any photos in the library today, we learned 2 weeks ago that the council's proposed response to government cuts could mean closing this branch, I was too sad to take pictures.  

2pm - slightly more cheerful, I can never resist the charity shops on my way home.

3pm - Fleecy nightie is on, fleecy blanket is on, yummy mini spring rolls have been cooked for me and are being consumed.

4pm & 5pm -  I was having a little snooze on the sofa!

6pm - I woke up to find a programme about The Gladiators was on the telly.

7pm - I'm doing an online course in business and administration, my next assessment is due on the 19th, I have left it to the last minute to do!

8pm - Still doing my boring coursework, under 2 blankets because it's soo cold and with some much needed motivational chocolate!

9pm -  My gorgeous husband-to-be came home from work with a bag of chips to share from the Chinese.  By this point I was distracting myself from coursework by looking at things to do on our honeymoon, we think we're going to go to Aberdovey.  (what do people call their fiances?  I think the word fiance is soo cringey!)

That was my day!  

Did you join in this month, let me know I'd love to see!

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J-17 magazine, early noughties fashion.

You know I love a bit of retro, and now I'm old enough that things from my childhood are considered vintage.  Now I know how my mum felt when I was into 1970's hippy stuff in the 1990's and she told me the seventies were only 15 years ago!

I recently discovered a folder full of torn out pages from early noughties copies of J-17 magazine (they would be from around 1999-2002), and I thought I'd share some of them here for posterity. 

Did you read J-17 in the late nineties and early noughties?  I spent ages studying the photos and then sticking stickers, bindis and glitter all over myself!

Check out my other retro photos and patterns if you like these!

 

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My garden, January 2016.

I've been making an effort to pop out into the garden for 20 minutes or so every time the weather is nice enough to.  I've been doing a lot of weeding, especially of the gravel on the driveway!

I've weeded the bed down the side of the house and then covered all the bare soil with fallen leaves I raked off the lawn.  I read somewhere (I can't remember where!) about using fallen leaves as a mulch over winter, to protect bare soil from getting too weedy and to add nutrients to the soil as they break down.  I'm giving it a try this year, I'm all for free soil improvement!

I'm still picking home grown rainbow chard and spinach beet, as well as spring onions and some herbs, which I'm pretty happy about.

My front garden raised bed seems to be doing well.

My bulbs are popping up, I've got daffodils, crocus and tulips.

Here's the garden, views from each end.  I have it in my head to paint the green fence white once the weather's drier, I think it'll really brighten up the garden and I can't bear to look at the multi-tone green fence for another year!

There are lots of flowers still in bloom, and lots of plants seem to be putting out their spring buds already.  I'm a bit worried.  Is this global warming?  I have my fingers crossed that a frost won't come along and kill all the plants, or if it does then they manage to grow back!

How has your garden been this winter?  Any exciting plans for your new year growing?

Some of my gardening posts you might have missed, filling a raised bed with the lasagna method, make cork plant labels and my visit to a beautiful walled garden.  

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I found it by the bins #2.

 

You can often find me wombling*.  A great place for finding rescue-able items was the communal bin area by my old block of flats, and that's where I found this pretty bird garland.  It was soaking wet when I found it, as it was raining pretty hard, but a bit of a clean and a dry later it looks good as new.  I think it looks lovely in my hallway.

Check out my other bin finds!

Do you womble?

*Definition of wombling:

"Collecting things out of skips, bins, abandoned flats and rubbish tips which can be put to good use. Named after the Wombles kids TV show, where the Wombles recycled things other people threw away. "

from urbandictionary.com

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Top eco-friendly new year's resolutions for 2016.

If you're looking for some inspiration for an eco-friendly new year's resolution then you've come to the right place, here are my ideas for 2016.

Switch to Ecotricity.

Climate change is being caused by the use of fossil fuels, so vote with your money and get your energy from Ecotricity.  Ecotricity provide green gas, green electricity and put their profits into building new sources of eco-friendly energy.  We've been supplied by Ecotricity for nearly a year and their service has been brilliant.  Even better, if you use this code when you sign up, we'll both get £50 to spend at Ecotopia - my referral code is RAFE-G7W4H

Buy unpackaged fruit and veggies.

Save plastic by buying your fresh produce loose or make or buy some reusable bags to put it in.  If you really can't buy it loose, remember you can recycle some plastic packaging in the plastic bag collection bins in big supermarkets.  

 

Grow your own. 

Growing your own fruit, veggies and herbs is a fun and delicious hobby, that saves food miles and stops pesticide use.  You can easily grow strawberries or herbs in a pot, or try all sorts of exciting varieties if you have more space.  Start this spring with a few seeds and see what happens!    

Stop washing your hair.

I've been 'no 'poo' for nearly 2 years and my hair is so healthy!  Washing your hair without shampoo saves all the energy that goes into producing it, and reduces the amount of chemicals your hair, body and the environment is exposed to.  I use lemon juice, cider vinegar, bicarbonate of soda or aloe vera to keep my hair nice and clean. 

Buy only second hand or fairtrade clothes.

This was the challenge I set for myself in 2015, and I pretty much stuck to it (apart from too much temptation in the Lindybop sale, a H&M cardigan I needed to buy quickly for a wedding outfit, and some undies).  As well as charity shops, Ebay is a good option if you're looking for something specific and I like Nomads online shop too.  The UK throws away 1 million tonnes of textiles each year, so it's worth reducing and reusing the clothes you buy.

Use your local library. 

Your library is full of lovely books, for free!  Borrowing them will save you money, and sharing them saves resources.  And using your library shows your support for council services that may be under threat from government cuts. 

 

Go vegan.

Going vegan is one of the best things you can do for your health, the environment and animals.  Eating vegan can lower your carbon footprint by 1 tonne a year.  The Veganuary campaign has lots of support and information, why not take up the challenge to go Vegan this January.  There are always loads of yummy recipes and tips in Vegan Life Magazine, but there's a special article on going vegan in this month's issue that's worth checking out.  You can subscribe to Vegan Life on paper or digitally.  There's also a handy app for digital subscriptions.  If that's all too much why not try a weekly meat free monday?  

Check out my easy, small changes for more eco-friendly ideas, or maybe make your resolution to do an online action for an environmental cause every month!  

What's your new year's resolution?

Disclosure - I have been provided with a free digital subscription to Vegan Life Magazine in return for reviewing this publication.  I even have my own page in the vegan bloggers section of their lovely website!  All opinions are, again, my own and always will be.

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Easy green actions and articles, January 2016.

Here's this month's round up of easy eco-friendly actions and articles,

Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace have joined together to create a petition asking the government to invest in more protection against flooding. 

"It’s clear that climate change is making our weather more severe: there's only so many times politicians can call rainfall "unprecedented" and not see the bigger picture of climate change.

But the Government isn’t investing enough in flood defences, isn’t planning properly for extreme climate change and is keeping us hooked on climate-changing fossil fuels."

foe.co.uk

Make a green heart to show your love of the planet and your support for climate action, as part of the Climate Coalition's Valentines day campaign.

 photo from fortheloveof.org.uk

Sign Sum of Us' petition to say no thanks to the TTP deal.

I would LOVE to live in this vertical forest apartment block in Italy.

 photo from realfarmacy.com

Sign this online petition to ban microbeads in the UK.

If you fancy going vegan this January then check out Veganuary.

" There are so many reasons people decide to try vegan.  For most, a love of animals is the catalyst. Some people want to feel better about themselves and the impact they make on the world. Others would like to set themselves a challenge, and many combine Veganuary with their ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ and see trying vegan as the healthiest start to the year. Whatever your reason, we’re here to support you.  So try vegan for a month and discover a whole new world of taste and flavour. We guarantee that, by the end of the January, you’ll feel fantastic!"

veganuary.com

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