The things that I always bring back from a trip to Ikea

Last week we took a trip to Ikea. This is quite exciting for me, as we don't have one close by and so we need to make a specific trip. We usually only go when there is something in particular that we are after, but I can't stop myself picking up a few extras as I go round. 

Here are some of the things that always seem to make their way to the checkout:

Baskets and trays

I have a gorgeous basket in the living room which I use to store blankets, and square baskets which fit perfectly onto my Billy bookcases. I always spot some pretty storage item that I know will be both useful and decorative around the home.

Plants

Recently I've been buying fake plants as I'm not very green fingered when it comes to houseplants. Some of them are better than others but I like how they look, and they are often conveniently situated next to a pretty plant pot that suits the plant perfectly!

Ikea also sell a great range of real plants. In my final year at university I bought myself a small yucca plant, and over twenty years later it is still alive and well!

Candles

I think most people struggle to resist buying scented candles at Ikea. Every visit there is a new scent that I want to try, and because I don't burn candles very often I now have quite a stash which I need to make an effort to work through! I'm also partial to the little glass candle holders.

Kitchen utensils

I always seem to need a new wooden spatula or wooden spoon, and I find that the Ikea ones are really sturdy and comfortable to use. I usually spot some kind of kitchen gadget or storage solution that is new to me and I know would be really useful - on our most recent visit it was a set of reusable silicon food covers. I'm a huge fan of their cheese grater with a handy container underneath, I'm always grating cheese and it makes it so easy.

Rechargeable batteries

We get through a lot of batteries. We have many smart devices and sensors around the house, and my daughter has a room filled with battery powered fairy lights. We use the Ikea Ladda rechargeable batteries and we always seem to need another pack or two.

Sandwich bags

I really love the resealable Istad bags which come in a range of sizes. I don't actually use them for food, I use them for storage around the house. They are really thick and sturdy and so they are great for bundling sets of cables or other accessories that all belong together. I use them for storing stationery supplies, to keep jigsaw pieces together inside the boxes, to store my in progress craft projects, all sorts of things.

Photo frames and prints

Ikea has a huge selection of photo frames, often in unusual sizes that you can't find elsewhere. The frames are really reasonably priced too and are well made, we have them all over the house and they have lasted for years. They have some gorgeous prints too which are different each time we visit and so I always like to look through them even if I don't have any wall space to hang more!

What do you always return with after a trip to Ikea?

Photo credit Adam Kolmacka via Unsplash

Why I love my collection of vintage birthday cards

I have many collections. I particularly like to collect things which don't take up very much space, and colourful paper ephemera has always appealed to me.

My parents are having a sort out and I was delighted to be able to take ownership of a big pile of vintage birthday cards from the late 1940s and early 1950s as well as some that were even older. I just love them, they are so bright and colourful with such cheerful images.

This is just a few of them, I have several from each year as well as lots of general birthday cards and also some Christmas cards. I feel as though they could be made into some kind of framed display, especially the ones with the numbers. They would be great for a child's nursery, although unfortunately we are well past that now! I've been looking online but I can't find any ideas for crafts using them which surprised me as I think they are so lovely and I'd really like to display them somehow.

Maybe they appeal to me because they make me think of a more innocent time, when children (and adults) were happy with more simple things. Maybe a birthday card was more treasured when you couldn't just drop a quick text. 

I definitely think they deserve to be looked after and appreciated!

How to use images as journal prompts

I love writing in my journal. I write about all sorts of things - what I've done that day, things that I'm worrying about, things that have caught my eye in the news, basically just anything that has been on my mind. Something that I've been dabbling in recently is using images as prompts for a journal entry. I've not done any creative writing since I was at school, and I have no desire to publish any of my creative writing. But I enjoy the process of creating, and using writing to express myself. I thought I'd share a few ideas on how to incorporate an image prompt into your journal writing process.

What types of images to use?

A place - either somewhere familiar or unknown. Somewhere that reminds you of somewhere that you've been, or somewhere that you'd like to go.

Faces and people - either that you recognise or of strangers. Close up individual portraits or family groups. Sitting still or taking part in an activity.

Natural images - plants, flowers, water, sky, landscapes.

Objects - modern or historic. Things that you own or would like to own. Something that reminds you of someone or something in your past. A single object or a large collection.

Seasonal - images that remind you of a certain season, either a season of the year or a season of life.

Where to find suitable pictures?

Postcards - ones that you've been sent or ones that you spot while out and about.

Your own photographs - favourite photos with memories attached to them, or pictures that you've taken of things that caught your eye and sparked your interest. I recently found an old photo in my parent's things that I couldn't help but write a journal entry about!

Magazines and catalogues - inspirational and aesthetic images or mundane advertising shots.

Online - I source my blog photos from Unsplash, or if it's for your own personal use then you can just do a Google image search and print. If you want to save potential writing prompts then Pinterest is a great way to group images that you've found online.

Photobooks or other collections of images - I recently bought a little book of tiny stickers and realised that they would be ideal for journal prompts!

What sort of things could you write about?

Describe the image as you see it, and write about where you found it. Why did it catch your eye, and why did you choose this one over others? Is there one part of the image that particularly draws your attention?

How does this image make you feel? Think about the emotions that you feel when you look at the picture. Are they positive or negative? Does it make you think of something that you'd like to change about your life, whether that's a place you want to visit, an experience you want to have, or a change that you'd like to make to your surroundings.

Is there something that you've noticed in the image that isn't obvious at first glance? Maybe something seen in reflection or something in the distance. An expression on a face that doesn't feel quite right. What have you seen that a casual viewer might miss?

What happened just before or just after this photo was taken? What might have happened in this place in the past, or might happen here in the future? Why was the photo taken at just this time?

Why was this photograph taken? What else could it be used for?

What are the relationships between the people in a photo? Or the subject and the photographer? How do they feel about each other, are they friends, acquaintances or strangers?

What does this image remind you of in your own life? Something in your past, a dream, a memory or even something that hasn't happened yet.

Write from the perspective of a person in the photograph or even an object. What can they see, how do they feel, what are they thinking about?

Use the image as the starting point for a short story or poem. Maybe a location, a character or even just an emotion. This might even help you to learn something about yourself, maybe some challenges that you are facing or something you need to overcome.

Photo credit Thought Catalog via Unsplash

Things that I miss in a digital world

I've been having a bit of a sort out recently, and going through some of my stashes of mementoes. It's made me feel a little sad at how much has been replaced now that there are digital alternatives. Maybe the options are more sustainable, and easier to use for the customer, but I think that we are missing out! Here are some things that either no longer exist, or that I feel won't be around for much longer.

Catalogues

The other week I received a Lakeland catalogue in the post and I was unashamedly thrilled. So many gorgeous pictures of Christmassy things to pore over. We took a trip to Ikea and I felt bereft that you can no longer pick up a catalogue to keep on the coffee table at home (I just looked it up, the last physical Ikea catalogue was printed in 2020). Yes, webpages and apps are more up to date with current prices, special offers and detailed information, but nothing beats flicking through colourful shiny pages filled with inspirational images. 

Physical tickets

I love keeping tickets to things - theatre, cinema, concerts, museums, travel and so on. I have a stash of cinema tickets from the 90s when I used to go every week with my friends, no matter what was showing. My books are filled with concert tickets that I've used as bookmarks. Now you enter a venue with a QR code, and once inside you never look at it again. 

Alarm clocks

I loved the battery alarm clock I had as a teenager. It was cube shaped and had a dial on the top which you could turn to see the time in different countries around the world. I loved looking at all the exotic countries and imagining what people were up to. I've tried to source myself something similar but I can't find one that I like. I have Echo Dot next to my bed which displays the time and acts as an alarm clock but it's just not the same.

Writing letters

As part of my degree I spent a year studying in Germany. I had quite a lot of free time, and I kept up a steady stream of written correspondence with my husband-to-be, my family and lots of my friends. I loved checking my little letter box and discovering a handwritten letter from home, and I've kept them all. These days communication would be more frequent via WhatsApp or social media updates, but it would be fleeting and transient. The age of bundles of love letters is gone forever, it's just not the same scrolling through short and insubstantial text messages. Of course there's nothing to stop me picking up a pen and writing to my friends, but they are busy people and I don't want to burden them with the thought that they would then have to take the time to write back to me!

Stamps

Stamps used to be so pretty! I know that Royal Mail do release special themed stamps, but I never see them because most letters that I receive just have the postage printed directly on the envelope. 

Photo credit Ali Bakhtiari via Unsplash

New album releases on cassette and CD

It used to be such an event going out to buy the CD when a new album was released, and listening to it while flipping through the little booklet that came with it containing the lyrics and photos. Now I listen to a new album release on Spotify and it's just not the same. My daughter tells me that you can still buy physical albums for bands which come with posters, photobooks etc. - but we don't even have a CD player any more!

Postcards

I've written before about how I love to collect postcards, and I remember sending and receiving postcards from all of my summer holidays. Now we just share regular photos in the family WhatsApp groups.

Paper maps

Whenever I visit somewhere new I always try to find a map to keep and remind me of my travels, I have boxes filled with maps and leaflets that I love to sort through. You can sometimes still get a map in a touristy place, but of course it's much easier to use an app that knows exactly where you are. You lose the souvenir though! I particularly enjoy looking at old maps of places like theme parks because they change so often and it's a little slice of time. But they are being slowly phased out and I know they won't be around for much longer.

Real dictionaries

I am very tempted to buy myself a physical copy of the Oxford English dictionary. I used to have several, including a huge one which was decluttered years ago. I'm sure that there's a dictionary app that I could use, but when I'm reading I don't want to be distracted by my phone to look up an unfamiliar word, it would make it harder to get back in to the book again.

Photo credit Joshua Hoehne via Unsplash

Packets of printed out photos

It used to be so exciting going to get photos developed, seeing how well your shots had come out and reliving all those holiday memories. You can of course get photos printed but it's so much more effort deciding which of the hundreds of photos to print, working out how to upload them, and trying to find the best deal when it comes to price. I also feel that the quality isn't as good as when printing from film. Most of my old photos are in boxes with some of my favourites in albums, and I love going through them. I need to make an effort to print out more of my digital pics!

What do you miss that now has a digital replacement?

Things that I've written about in my journal recently

I took a bit of a break from my journal over the summer, I'm not sure why but I just got out of the habit a little bit. But when the work started on our extension I wanted to pick it up and write some entries about what work had been done and how things were going. So that has been the main focus of my journal over the last few weeks, just to have something to look back on in the future. Not just a factual account but also how I've been feeling about it, and things that I'm looking forward to about the new space.

But I've also found time to write about plenty of other things! I made this very simple collage after feeling a little bit sad at the state of my poor garden, which is now a big muddy wasteland. I used some botanical collage elements and pretty floral washi stickers to remind me that soon I will have a beautiful garden!

For the first few weeks of term the road outside the school was closed and so I had to drop the children off in an adjacent street. I've walked this way plenty of times before, but sitting with them in the car when we arrived early gave me the time to properly notice the abandoned church which has been decaying slowly over the last few years. It is up for sale but it's really big, which is probably why it hasn't sold as a conversion project. I quickly drew a very small part of it to remind me, I'll be interested to see what happens to it over the next few years.

A couple of weeks ago I was delighted to receive a Lakeland Christmas catalogue through the post. I  like looking through the catalogue more than visiting the shop, which is good as there isn't one that I can easily visit. But a Lakeland concession is opening soon at the garden centre down the road, and I'm very much looking forward to having a look round. In the meantime I spent a lovely quiet evening cutting out my favourite aesthetic Christmas photos and gluing them down to create an inspirational collage.

And finally I was helping my parents sort through some things at their house and I came across this amazing photo! It was in the 'throw out' pile so she's not a relative of mine, and no-one knows who she was or why they had the photo. I must admit that I've partly shared it here just in case someone might find it as part of an image search and be able to give me some more information! I just love it, that expression on her face. I wrote a little bit about why I liked it so much and who I imagine she might be.

Free things that I collect

As much as I aspire to minimalism, the truth is that I also want to live surrounded by things that inspire me and that bring joy to my life. I'm not a big shopper, and I've realised that most of the things that I enjoy collecting are things that I've picked up for free over the years. I love appreciating the little things in life, and saving small souvenirs that remind me of the places that I've been and the things that I've seen. 

Here are some of my collections:

Postcards

I have a huge collection of postcards that I've picked up over the years. Some of them are flyers for university events, and many of them came from trips to the cinema back in the 90s when they used to have racks of free postcards advertising all sorts of things. I used to come home with a bagful! If I ever spot one while I'm visiting somewhere I have to pick it up, I just love all the different designs and how advertising has changed over time. I currently have most of them stored in a deep plastic folder, but I do have a few favourites pinned around my desk and a large postcard display hanger in the utility room.

Business cards

In this digital age these are quite often still around, especially in pubs and restaurants. If I spot one at the till while I'm paying I surreptitiously slip it into my wallet, usually to stick into my journal later! They are a lovely reminder of the places that I've been.

Pens

I can't resist a free pen, and some of them have become my favourites to use. I have a great one which I picked up at a hotel that we stayed at in Florida last year. It's chunky, it writes smoothly, and when I use it I'm transported back to a lovely sunny beach and a relaxing pool.

Notepads

I can't resist a hotel notepad, especially if it has the name of the hotel on it. I also have a few sets of postcards, envelopes and writing paper purloined from various fancier hotels that we've stayed in. I keep the pads in my desk drawer to grab when I need to make a quick note of something.

Pretty boxes and bags

I keep any kind of attractive box or bag, especially gift bags. I've never bought a gift bag, I always seem to have the perfect one to hand when I need it! I use pretty boxes for storage, or I use the lids as trays in drawers for smaller items. I also keep a stash of plain boxes on hand for sending out eBay parcels. I quite often buy things like biscuits just for the tin that they come in, I do love a decorative tin and I always keep my eyes open in the post Christmas sales.

Beach finds

Shhh, I know that you aren't supposed to bring home shells and stones from the beach. But I think everyone that has visited the seaside has at least a few in their home, and I am very discerning with what I bring back. Also, most of the things that I collect from the beach are not natural materials, for example I love to search for colourful sea glass or marine plastic.

Tote bags

My husband often comes back with these from work events and we have quite a collection. I can't bear to throw them out! I don't tend to use them for shopping, but they are very useful for filling with charity donations and I hope they come in useful to the shop as well. Now that plastic shopping bags are harder to come by it's always useful to have a spare one or two that you don't mind not getting back.

Do you collect things that you come across in your daily life? 

How our orangery extension is looking now

A few weeks ago I shared a photograph of the hole in the side of our house. We are currently in the process of adding an orangery extension to our house, a project which we've been planning and saving for almost since we moved in nearly 12 years ago. Work started two months ago, and now we are finally at the stage where it is really starting to take shape!

We have a roof with the two lanterns in place and all the doors and windows are fitted so the structure is sealed and already feels warm even though there is no heating. Yesterday the plastering was finished, and the inside is starting to look amazing!

Now the plaster needs to dry and the next job is to put in the flooring. Firstly a foundation floor in the extension area, then to remove the old tiles in what was the kitchen and dining room and lay matching tiles throughout.

As you can see in the pictures, the wooden partitions are still in place. They've done a brilliant job at keeping the dust out of the rest of the house, and although it has meant that the kitchen has felt a little dark and depressing it did mean that we could carry on in the rest of the house without being in the way of the workers. The boards are due to come down later this week, and I can't wait to get a proper look at what the final space will look like!