Tuesday 28 February 2017

Charity shopping, a retro fabric haul.

I've bought ALL of the retro fabric, look!!

Charity shopping, a retro fabric haul. By UK charity shop blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #charityshopping #retrofabric #vintagebedsheets #retro #vintage #thriftshopping #opshopping

Charity shopping, a retro fabric haul. By UK charity shop blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #charityshopping #retrofabric #vintagebedsheets #retro #vintage #thriftshopping #opshopping

Look!  They're new in their packet!  It's too exciting!  Mum says she had this bedding but in a different colour in the seventies.  She says my Nan and Granddad had it too, in yellow and brown flannelette!  You can see the brown and yellow version on the packet illustration too.
Dorma bed sheet £3.99, pillowcases £3.49, local Salvation Army charity shop.

Charity shopping, a retro fabric haul. By UK charity shop blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #charityshopping #retrofabric #vintagebedsheets #retro #vintage #thriftshopping #opshopping

These are new in their packets too!!  They have their original price stickers on too, £5.75 for the sheet and £1.15 for the pillowcase.  I kind of don't want to take them out of the packets.
St Michaels bed sheet, £3.99, pillowcase £1.99, local Salvation Army charity shop.

Charity shopping, a retro fabric haul. By UK charity shop blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #charityshopping #retrofabric #vintagebedsheets #retro #vintage #thriftshopping #opshopping

These 2 pieces of retro curtain offcut tell me they want to be made into a cushion cover.
Fabric offcuts, £1.99, local PDSA charity shop.

Charity shopping, a retro fabric haul. By UK charity shop blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #charityshopping #retrofabric #vintagebedsheets #retro #vintage #thriftshopping #opshopping

I believe these are Marks and Spencers/St Michaels too, and they look like they've never been used.
Retro pillowcases, £1.99, local hospice charity shop.


Have you had any luck in the charity shops lately?

P.S. Check out my other charity shop posts for more!  
 
 
 
 
 

Friday 24 February 2017

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017.

I know it's only February but I've already had enough garden excitement to last me the whole year! 

Firstly I enlisted the help of the husband and we emptied the compost bin.  There's really nothing as satisfying and glee-making as homemade compost, it worked perfectly and made beautiful compost! 

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017. From uk garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblogger #polyculture #ediblegarden #suburbangarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017. From uk garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblogger #polyculture #ediblegarden #suburbangarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017. From uk garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblogger #polyculture #ediblegarden #suburbangarden

We spread the compost over most of the main garden raised bed, with really thin layers of autumn leaves and hay underneath, to create a bit of a mulchy, nutrient and structure adding, and protective layer. 

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017. From uk garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblogger #polyculture #ediblegarden #suburbangarden

But the excitement didn't stop there!  I weeded and refilled my front garden lasagna raised beds, scattering the veg plant leaves over the soil, then autumn leaves, hay, compost and finally a layer of some topsoil I had left over from when I first made the beds.  They're all ready for planting up now. 

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017. From uk garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblogger #polyculture #ediblegarden #suburbangarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017. From uk garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblogger #polyculture #ediblegarden #suburbangarden
 
And then Joe decided to demolish a funny little walled area at the back end of the garden.  There was a tree stump in it and a double layer of bricks in a square round the edge, and then some big chunks of mortar to chip away too.  I'm pleased he did this, because once we've got the paths sorted out I want my little tool shed to go in that space.  I don't have a before photo, but this is the space now. 

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017. From uk garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblogger #polyculture #ediblegarden #suburbangarden

We also dismantled the compost bin, it was too big for us, and a bit rickety around the joints.  Mum passed on this round compost bin to us, I remember it coming from my Gran's garden, and she died when I was in my early teens, so it's obviously a quality, long lasting item!

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017. From uk garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblogger #polyculture #ediblegarden #suburbangarden

And even more excitement - we rented a skip and Joe dismantled the old green shed.  It was about to fall over and looked disgusting.  I'm so glad to be rid of it.  We'll save up for a new studio shed (which may take some time!), Joe did a jewellery degree and he wants to get back into it and have the space to do it.

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017. From uk garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblogger #polyculture #ediblegarden #suburbangarden


Behind the old shed was about 2 feet of rubbish (4 children's bikes, bags of rubble, buckets, boxes, bags of junk, a wheelbarrow!) and a bank of soil mixed in with rubble.  We think the rubble is from the old coal shed.  Once Joe's dug through and removed the rubble we can hopefully take the bank way back, prune the hedge and give ourselves some extra garden.

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017. From uk garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblogger #polyculture #ediblegarden #suburbangarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017. From uk garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblogger #polyculture #ediblegarden #suburbangarden

I planted some bulbs, allium and oxalis, and some bargain echinacea - 3 plants for 99p from Aldi.

I planted my first veggie seeds too, in cut down loo rolls in this fabulous cupcake box I nicked from work to use as a propagator.  I've done a bit of everything I'm most excited to grow, just to get started, and I'll plant more over the coming weeks.  Here we have kale, pink chard, yellow mange tout, lazy housewife beans and minipops sweetcorn.

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017. From uk garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblogger #polyculture #ediblegarden #suburbangarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017. From uk garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblogger #polyculture #ediblegarden #suburbangarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017. From uk garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblogger #polyculture #ediblegarden #suburbangarden

All my seedlings live in the conservatory for now.  In the terracotta pots are peppers, tomatoes, giant bulgarian leeks and a couple of lipstick peppers that have hung on since last year.

I've planted some pretty polyanthus too.

Diary of a suburban edible garden, February 2017. From uk garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblogger #polyculture #ediblegarden #suburbangarden

How are your gardens this month?  I hope they're as Exciting as mine! 





Tuesday 21 February 2017

Make one small change - use vegan dental floss.

Making one small change at a time can make becoming eco friendly loads easier.  Lots of small changes add up to a big difference.

Make one small change - use vegan dental floss. From uk vegan and eco friendly blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #vegan #ecofriendly #vegandentalfloss

Buying this vegan dental floss is the result of wanting to find eco friendly floss, but not quite being able to find any.  All the biodegradable options are made from silk, which isn't vegan (they kill the silk worms when they remove their silky cocoons).  

So this is a better choice than standard dental floss, but it's still not the best choice.  It comes in a plastic box, with a metal cutter and the floss is synthetic.  But it's made with a lot less chemicals than the floss I used to use.  There's no petrochemical coatings, or teflon, or dodgy antibacterials, parabens or other nasty chemicals, which are bad for your body and the planet.  This vegan dental floss just has natural mint and tea tree, xylitol and vegan wax.  The outer packaging is a recyclable card box, but as I bought the floss online it came in a padded envelope and had to be transported. 

I'll keep looking out for a better option, but sometimes it's just a case of waiting for the market to catch up with what you're looking to buy.  I'm unwilling to give up flossing, after 10+ years of orthodontial treatment I'm really into looking after my teeth!  This is an imperfect small eco friendly change, but it's a small step in the right direction at least.


Don't forget to check out my other small changes to help you live a greener life!


Friday 17 February 2017

What I ate in a day, a day of vegan meals.

This is what I ate on a lazy Sunday.  All vegan and all yummy,

What I ate in a day. A day of vegan meals from vegan blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #vegan #veganblogger #ukveganblogger #whatIateinaday

Breakfast was a 'bacon' sandwich.  These Vbites Cheatin' rashers are OK, but better if you sprinkle some smoked paprika on while they're cooking. In a toasted pitta with lots of ketchup and a glass of OJ.

What I ate in a day. A day of vegan meals from vegan blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #vegan #veganblogger #ukveganblogger #whatIateinaday

My only real plan for the day was to pop round the supermarket with mum, which I did, then treated myself to a little crispy snack and a sit on the sofa when I got back.  Paprika Pringles are my downfall.

What I ate in a day. A day of vegan meals from vegan blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #vegan #veganblogger #ukveganblogger #whatIateinaday

Lunch was organic rice with sautéed mushroom, onion, garlic, spinach and cashews.  I was even organised enough to make two portions, one to take to work for lunch the next day.

What I ate in a day. A day of vegan meals from vegan blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #vegan #veganblogger #ukveganblogger #whatIateinaday

I had great plans to cook potato and leek bake for tea, but I just didn't get round to it and Joe was late back home from work, so I whipped up a quick and easy baked potato, beans and a little side salad instead.  I know there's a lettuce shortage at the moment, but all winter I've been able to pick up English grown lettuce for 75p from my local market and it's nice to have a salad occasionally! 

What I ate in a day. A day of vegan meals from vegan blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #vegan #veganblogger #ukveganblogger #whatIateinaday

I bought a little vegan chocolate bar as a treat when I was in the supermarket earlier in the day.  I love these Moo Free Bunnycomb bars - they're just like vegan crunchies! 

Don't forget to check out my other vegan blog posts for more vegan meal inspiration! 


 
 
 

Tuesday 14 February 2017

Eco friendly articles and actions.


Happy valentines day!  Show some love for the planet with these easy online actions and inspiring articles, 

photo via scathingly.brilliant.blogspot.com

I love Kate from Scathingly Brilliant's introverts guide to activism.

Sign Friends of the Earth's petition to stop fracking in Sherwood Forest.

The Green Party are asking Theresa May to keep freedom of movement between the UK and the EU.

Climate change is an ever more urgent threat. 2016 was the hottest year on record.
But Donald Trump has threatened to pull the US out of global climate agreements and has packed his team with fossil fuel executives and climate change sceptics.
It’s going to be tough, but let this be a turning point...we can keep the world on track to stop climate change. Millions of people around the world are with us.
quote via foe.co.uk

Pledge to do what you can to fight against climate change in the face of the Trump administration. 

Read about how Costa Rica modernised and saved itself from poverty, without hurting the environment.  


photo via The Guardian

As a Brownie and Rainbow guide leader I loved this little documentary about Radical Brownies.   

Ideally I think plastic packaging should be banned altogether, but until that happens sign this petition asking for a deposit scheme for plastic bottles

A billion black plastic food trays go to landfill every year, use Friends of the Earth's action to tweet supermarkets asking them to change to recyclable plastic.  

I post these kinds of things on twitter all month, so find me there if this is your kind of thing too!