Five Foot Nothin' // Few Facts About Me

Good evening gorgeous creatures, I hope you're having a great week. Has anyone else cracked out the 100 deniers again already? Brrrrr, bit chilly here in the Netherlands, and for August too...(#WinterIsComing!)


For today's post I'm taking things back to basics, yes more basic than usual, and decided to share a few facts and things about little, old me (those are two facts already; little and old)! Apologies if this is boring, repetitive or narcissistic but hey, when in doubt share your flaws, am I right?! Jumping on in:

• Let's start easy, I'm a Pisces, for me that mostly means I have my head in the clouds 90% of the time, am way too emotional, enjoy being creative and am happy in my own company/ thoughts.

•  I currently live in the Netherlands after moving here just over two years ago, to live with my Dutch boyfriend. I could fill an entire book with what I've learnt about myself during this time but for now I'll offer the highlights- it's a super confusing mixed bag of emotions living away from your family and friends, learning a new language, starting fresh with work and forging a path on this crazy adventure, but it has offered so many epic opportunities and I can't help but feel a wee bit proud of myself for keeping my shiz together(ish)!

•  I LOVE to design and make things. I specialised in textiles, fabric manipulation and costume for the screen and stage at university and have had a crazy variety of jobs within this area, all of which were challenging yet incredibly fascinating and I long to find something that suits my current situation, once again in some creative field. Right now I'm learning this guttural language, working in retail (which helps said language fabulously) and am designing and making things to my hearts content in my little studio at home.

Crochet blanket I made my good friend Jenny, for her sewing studio.

Most recent make for myself, a navy, pleated skirt.

•  My current labour of love is an ongoing project- decorating my tiny studio! My fab desk is up and running and I have some great bits and pieces bringing the room together but I'm missing essential storage units and some extra final sprucing, which WILL be including these beautiful paper plants from the ever inspiring The House That Lars Built.

•  I'm scared of bugs. Like, pretty much every type of insect. But especially anything with wings, that is furry or anything that moves actually. I respect those little blighters and am genuinely sad about our current bee situation, but let's be polite and keep a nice safe distance, eh?!!

•  I procrastinate. A lot. I struggle with motivation sometimes and get real lazy so I tend to use procrastination as a means of connecting my two conflicting sides. It gets me off my butt and by surfing the web, strolling through a craft market or flicking through my fashion history books it inadvertently stirs my imagination and gets me wanting to do all the things. I also find immersing myself in Instagram beauties really inspiring and have a deep seated love with Pinterest, where I can gather images and links that I find scrumptious and can archive and display them all in one handy spot! I've recently decided to start a bullet journal, thanks to a friend of mine sharing some ideas, and have found that this combines my addiction to pretty stationary and list making habit! Win!

Since I'm prone to waffling (see above) I'm going to bring this post to a close with a quick burst round of things that I love (which took some editing since apparently I love everything) and a few of my dislikes.

Loves:

•  Road trips with journey specific playlists and a wide variety of car sweets. Rich and I do this as often as we can.
•  Bookshops and libraries... no explanation necessary, right?
•  Phone calls home. Even better; visiting my family!
•  Anything sweet. Be it homemade carrot cake cupcakes or from the emergency-late-night-chocolate-run. I want it. I need it.
•  Laughing at all the hilarious Dutch words. There are so many, but a few favourites are winkelwagon = shopping trolly, pindakaas = peanut butter (direct translation is peanut cheese!), snoepjes = sweeties, handschoenen = gloves (direct translation is hand shoes!), magnetron = microwave (transformers, am I right?!).
•  Testing out new handwriting. Not sure if this makes me a psychopath but my handwriting changes with the weather.
•  Second hand shops. I don't tend to buy lots, more revel in the history and stories that could be attached to all the old items. On the subject of history, I love historical documentaries, period dramas, museums, fiction, love love love it.
•  Writing letters to friends (and of course receiving letters!!). Makes good use of my hoarded stationary and is a sweet reminder to your loved ones that you're thinking of them.
•  Ice cream.
•  Superheroes. Comic books, cartoons, movies, make up tutorials on youtube... Loves me some superheroes.
• Which leads nicely to my all encompassing movie/ tv habit- a vast problem since my teenage years. Way too many things to name here so I'll just mention that I recently binge watched Stranger Things (OHHHH EMMMM GEEEEE!), I'm savouring the last season of Gilmore Girls leading up to the new seasons release in November, I loved the documentary about the Met Gala 'The First Monday In May' and have been laughing my butt off to season 4 New Girl this week (whilst shortening our living room curtains and crocheting a baby blanket).
•  Yoga. Specifically with Adriene! My indoor sport of choice. Cycling round the meadows surrounding my village being my chosen outdoor sport.
•  Fleetwood Mac.

Dislikes:

•  Rudeness, which can sometimes be a problem here in the Netherlands as people are much more direct and blunt. No delicacy here folks. Butttt once understood as a generally inoffensive part of the culture it helps you thicken your skin and opens communication up to a whole new level!
•  Confrontation. Not a fan. I like my drama in the form of books or trashy tv.
•  Gossiping. Yes, we're all guilty of it from time to time but there really is a time and a place and that is usually once you're home behind closed doors where it can do no harm. I don't like work place gossips. Go ahead and speak your mind, but do leave me out of it.
•  Hatred. On any level. Life is too short to hold a grudge for petty things or to send bad vibes out into the world. Just appreciate what you have and enjoy all those wonderful small moments that make up our crazy, disjointed, mish mash lives!

Let's keep the sharing going, this is a safe place so any embarrassing stories, confessions or generally interesting facts about yourselves, do tell! If you have any links to your latest posts or any similar blog posts you may have done about your lives, then please feel free to leave the info below. Otherwise, I wish you a grand old week and hope to bump into you chaps soon!