Shoe Dye Reveal

In a previous post, I mentioned that I wanted to dye a pair of shoes navy this month as I didn't have a navy pair that were smart enough for most occasions. I had bought some navy shoe dye on ebay for just over £5 which I thought was pretty reasonable.  After testing a different pair that didn't take well to the dye, I decided to dye these flat brogue-type shoes, as I have another pair of tan brogues that I wear a lot and these never seem to see the light of day and have been in the shoe basket for months getting squashed out of shape.

These flats however, took very well to the dye immediately that it was put on.  You had to wipe the shoes with white or methylated spirit first before applying the dye, and wear gloves as it can be harmful to skin.  Hence the pink rubber gloves.

It was really simple to use.  I just decanted some into a yoghurt pot, as it stains crockery, and used the brush supplied to apply.  It is very runny though and at first I tried a two tone effect but some of the dye ran into the area I was going to leave tan, so I had to dye the whole shoe navy.  The result was pretty good, although I did need to apply a several coats the following day as there were patches where the dye hadn't taken so well.  I wouldn't hesitate to try it again on other shoes.  This particular dye can only be used on leather, not suede, nubuck or synthetics.

One word of warning, however.   It is very smelly and stupidly I first applied it in the kitchen in the evening.  As a consequence, we had to let the puppy sleep in the living room as I think she may have been affected by the fumes if we'd left her in the kitchen.  I used it outside for subsequent coats.

Once you've applied one or two coats of dye, and once the shoes have dried, the instructions say to polish the shoes with your normal polish.  I happened to have some polish so I applied it the next day after the second coat had been applied, but unfortunately didn't wait until it was properly dry so it effectively removed some of the dye from the shoes.  Hence why a few more coats had to be applied.  Anyway,  the finished result looks like this.  The colour is lighter in the photograph and they look patchier in the photo than in actuality, when they are a lovely dark navy.  I'm pretty pleased with them. 

I had to change the laces to complete the look and didn't have a navy pair but this black pair I had in the shoe cleaning box will be fine for now until I get some the right colour.   So for a reasonably small sum,  I have some navy shoes now that I can wear this summer from some that would probably have languished in the shoe basket, getting more squashed out of shape and never seeing the light of day. 

An Easter Holiday Shopping Trip

A couple of days ago,  having promised my daughter that I would take her shopping, to spend some money she was given for Easter that was burning a hole in her pocket, we headed off to the local shopping centre.  I probably should be encouraging her to save her money, but as her birthday and Christmas both tend to come together, she really enjoys it when she gets a voucher to spend at any other time of year.

Anyway, off we went.   I noticed on entering the car park that the 2 hours free parking no longer applied and a charge of £2.50 for up to 2 hours was now in place.  I wasn't best pleased, but as we were staying longer than that I guess I couldn't really complain, but it will make me think twice about going so often in future, and I may use alternative or cheaper places to park nearby if I'm just making a quick visit.  I know this may sound very miserly, but I think that if they want you to come and shop there, they should make it as easy as possible.

As soon as we got to the shopping centre we went for lunch, as it was past midday and there is nothing worse than trailing around the shops when you are hungry and grumpy.  Once we'd eaten we set off in earnest, first stop Primark.  I can't resist a look in here whenever I pass.  On occasion you can get some amazing bargains if you are selective.  We spent quite a while in there actually, probably nearly 2 hours.  It was pretty busy and hard to get around past hundreds of people, not to mention the trying on of clothes and standing in a long queue for the till.  We started in the children's department and then moved on to the women's department.  We picked out a few things for my daughter - a pair of pink shorts, beach kaftan (a tad optimistic at the moment I know), a purple hoodie, a jewelled sweatshirt and some new socks. All for approximately £27. 

In the women's department  I saw a lovely pair of brocade printed trousers and a sheer navy spotted blouse.  After trying them on I decided I would indulge myself.  £26 for the two.

We also found a pair of red pumps each at £6 per pair.  Matching, as we both liked them.  We'll just have to remember not to wear them together, but who cares if we do.  I thought they'd be nice for dogwalking in the summer.   Finally, I also got a nice pair of sunglasses for £2 which I'd seen in the fashion pages of a magazine and had liked on sight.  Here's a picture of some of my purchases. 

I must admit that when I got to the till I was quite surprised at how much I'd spent, but we did get quite a lot of nice things that we will enjoy wearing so I'm not going to stress too much.

Having spent so much time and money in Primark I wasn't keen to spend much more, but I did purchase a Nivea Tinted Moisturiser for  £3.66  with factor 8 SPF, which someone had recommended in a comment on a blog post I'd written.  (Thank you Peas and Carrots).  It was so reasonably priced I had to give it a try.   Whilst looking, I was amazed at how much make up has changed since I last really had a good look at the products on offer.  I've used the same products for years and not really explored new options, but there seemed to be a whole new genre of beauty balms and mousses that I had never come across before.  Fascinating.   My daughter spent some of her money on some makeup which she is mad about at the moment.

We also had a look in Accessorize which my daughter loves and she bought herself a couple of small bits of jewellery.  I must say that they do wrap things nicely in there.

Next, I tried on a few pairs of shoes and found a lovely pair of high heeled trainers, which at £65 I needed to think about.  I might go back for them at some point, but I did find some cheaper alternatives that I liked in another store, although not quite as much.  That's the trouble with shopping.  You often end up coming back with more on your wish list than when you started.

Our last stop was good old WH Smith, where my daughter bought herself a book, some MicroMoshis and a magazine and I, inspired by the Great British Sewing Bee bought a Burda pattern magazine which had enough patterns in it to make yourself a whole new wardrobe, for the very reasonable price of £5.50.  I'm hoping to make some of them.  This particular magazine was Burda Easy which is different to the ones I've seen previously and the patterns look far less complicated.  It had patterns I liked for a blouse, vest, skirt, trousers, shorts, dress and various other items so hopefully will prove very cost effective so long as I use them. 

In case anyone is interested, they had a great half price offer in there, for the book from the series of the Great British Sewing Bee, making it £10 I think.  It looked like it had quite a lot of nice ideas in it too, but as I'd already bought a pattern magazine I didn't indulge further.  It is probably on offer in other stores around the country too.  Whilst there I saw one guy at the till buying two copies, which is what drew my attention to it.

After a quick stop at Asda on the way home to make sure we had some food in for dinner tonight, we headed home weary and all shopped out.  One promise kept and one very happy daughter, who just loves a good shopping trip, and ended up coming home with far more than she ever thought she would.

Aims for April

The month of March for me was focused mainly on getting some garden tasks done and getting the allotment cultivated in time for the inspections at the end of the month, the time for which has now been extended until the end of April.  I think I managed the latter satisfactorily with a final visit on Good Friday - fingers crossed!   April will continue on this theme of gardening, assuming the weather facilitates this, getting more garden jobs done at home and keeping up with sowing and planting out at the allotment.

In April, however, the focus will also move back inside my home, as I will be clearing the dining room of clutter and spring cleaning the house in time for some family visitors mid month.  This will have to be done during the Easter school holidays seeing as the first two weeks of the month fall within these.  The dining room will need to be turned into another spare bedroom for our visitors and transformed from it's current role as a general dumping ground.  Here's a couple of before photos of it's current state. 

 

Hopefully if the weather improves the clothes horse can be put away and I will be able to use the washing line, clearing valuable space.  The bikes will need to go in the back garden and other things will either be given away, thrown out, stored under the bed or another space found to house them.  I'll post a photo when we finally get it tidied for our guests.

My spring/summer wardrobe will finally come out of storage this month, and any winter clothes packed away until next year.  I might keep the odd cardigan or sweater out in case of another cold spell.  I'm intending to have a bit of a cull of some of my winter clothes, and send some of them to the charity shop, as a few things are getting a little tired and outdated or don't fit too well and have hardly been out of the wardrobe this winter. 

Another item on my 'to do' list, will be to sort out the shoe basket in the hall, as mentioned in a previous post.  Currently it is overflowing with winter shoes and boots.  A clear out of any wornout or outgrown shoes and boots is well overdue, as some are way past their best.  I have a tendency to hang on to things I like until they virtually fall apart, but I'm taking a leaf out of the book of other bloggers and finally clearing as much space in the house as possible.

On the subject of clothes, I want to make a few more clothes for my spring/summer wardrobe too.  A top and a dress at least would be great to add to what I've already got.  In addition, as I have no expensive haircut to pay for this month, no big birthdays to buy gifts for or glasses to get lenses for,  I can possibly afford to treat myself and my daughter to a few bits and pieces to wear this spring/summer.   This should complete my spring/summer clothing needs, but often I do find other things I like and decide to add them at various points through the summer.  I have also decided to try to dye a pair of leather shoes/sandals for the summer, so I am hoping to do this too, so that I can get more use out of them.  I'll keep you posted about progress. 

On the fitness front, I'm intending to keep up my current number of classes which is about 4 or 5 per week (once the Easter Holidays are over), but I want to try cycling the 10 mile round trip to the gym at least once per week and also using my bike to get around and about more, such as to the allotment, local shops, excursions, etc.  I'm also starting new netball playing sessions once a week after Easter, which has been organised by one of the mums at school.  I'm not sure if I'll stick with it yet, as I was always more of a hockey girl at school, but I'll give it a go.  It might be fun.  I don't intend to wear a short skirt though.  My legs are way beyond that now.

Other than the above, I am aiming for a relatively frugal month, sticking to buying only what is necessary if I can and paying as much as possible off credit cards. What are your plans for April?  Do you have any aims or things you want to achieve?

A Holiday Lurgy

I seem to have come down with a bit of a cold for the start of the Easter Holidays.  Typical.  I'm snuffling and sneezing all over the place.  It's not too bad and I suppose, I've got to get one sometime over the winter.  Maybe it's the clock change that has affected me.  I dosed myself up with cherry menthol lozenges yesterday and spread decongestant on my handkerchief to help stop the runny nose.  The smell always reminds me of being a little girl and having it rubbed on my chest.  I'm hoping it's not going to be a really horrendous and debilitating one, but I might need to take it easy for a day or two and try to eat my way out of it.  Shame!  Luckily an Approved Food order arrived yesterday, with a few treats to indulge myself with over the next few days.

I also cancelled my aerobics class yesterday morning, as I didn't feel up to it, and wanted to spend time with my family in the holidays.  Sometimes a complete break from your usual routine is better than anything else, especially when you need to recouperate and take stock.  You then look forward to getting back to it, when you eventually do.  I very much feel like staying at home and pottering for the next few days.  Catching up with ironing and washing, a bit of reading, maybe some sewing and watching the TV from under a duvet, with hot milk and paracetamol.  Sometimes it is nice to have an excuse to take it easy and slow down a little.

A Slow but Sunny Start to the Holidays

Yesterday, I had planned on getting lots done around the house, and even possibly the garden.  Sadly, it didn't all come to fruition, due to a slow start caused by my waking obscenely early as the result of  a bad dream and not being able to get back to sleep.  I won't bore you with the details of the dream, but needless to say, when I did eventually get up properly at 8am I was very tired and grumpy and the day got worse before it got better.

By about 11.30 am I got around to walking the dog.  My daughter, with a bit of persuasion, agreed to join me and we headed off to nearby open spaces and parks.  We had a good walk which picked me up a little.  When we got back, due to having little food in the house, my other half suggested lunch out at a local cafe, which made a nice change, so off we all went and enjoyed some very nice food.  On the way back I bought a few bits of food from the local shops and then hung out my washing for the first time this year, when I eventually got back.  It was lovely to see it hanging out in the sunshine even though it was still bitingly cold.

The puppy spent most of the day in the garden.  She just didn't want to come in the house.  She definitely likes the sun and sits in it at every opportunity. She seems to be a bit under the weather at the moment, as she seems to be off her food.  She's happy enough but we're keeping an eye on her.

As my daughter spent the afternoon playing out with her friends, the afternoon for me was a case of catching up with jobs around the house, doing a bit of work for my business and finishing unpacking from our weekend away.  Then a trip to the library to return a couple of books, renew a couple and take out a couple of new ones.  The new ones had a bit of a parenting theme going on and a bit of a green theme judging by the colour of both covers.  They look the sort of books you can dip in and out of easily which I find useful as I don't always have a great deal of time to spend reading at any one time.

Once back from the library, a bit of banking and I felt like I had finally caught up with myself and felt settled back into London life.    The only thing that marred this feeling was that a neighbour across the road was burgled today, in broad daylight and none of us even saw anything, which is very worrying.  Sadly, this is quite a common occurence in this part of London, but this in no way negates the disruption and loss of security felt by the victim.  It is a horrible feeling to know that someone has been in your property and taken your things.  Especially when they then usually sell them for a pittance to buy some drugs, which is often the case in these parts.

On a slightly less disturbing note, I looked forward to ending my day by putting my feet up with a glass of wine whilst I watched the first episode of The Great British Sewing Bee and I secretly hoped it would provide inspiration for another spurt of clothes making this month.

Easter Holidays

Having spent a relaxing Easter weekend up in Yorkshire, we returned to London yesterday evening to enjoy the remainder of the Easter holidays.  Quite often we have taken ourselves away for at least a week during the Easter holidays, but this year, save for the weekend we have just spent, we have no special plans and can just please ourselves.  We may catch a few more days away between now and the arrival of some family for the final weekend of the holidays, but if we do, it will be a last minute affair with accomodation booked a few days before.

Now we have the dog, getting away, especially abroad, is not quite as simple as it used to be, as we may be slightly more limited by the availablity of dog-friendly accomodation and still need to arrange a pet passport.  We may just stay put and spend a leisurely couple of weeks in London.  London in the school holidays is almost like a different city.  The roads are markedly less busy.  It is hard to believe that this might be the case, but it is.  I guess many families make an exodus on holiday, to second homes or to stay with relatives outside of the capital.  It always amazes me how many people must drive their children to school here, but I guess  that not everyone is as fortunate as we are to have the school at the top of the street.

My partner, being self-employed, cannot always spare the time away from work to escape for a week during every school holiday.  Such is life.  My daughter and I will, however, enjoy extended lie ins allowing us a little more time for reading, spending time at home, the odd visit to a museum, shopping trip and other spontaneous activities.  The dog will still need to be walked and the shopping and housework will still need to be done, but our routine will blissfully be of our own making.  Sometimes it is just great to have a complete break from school and everything and everyone connected with it and spend more time as a family.  One treat we have promised ourselves, is to try out a new Italian restaurant that has opened down the road and which looks very inviting.  I have also promised my daughter a trip to the local mall to spend some money she was given for Easter, but other than that there are no commitments to date.  If you have children still at school or college, what are your plans for the holidays?  Do you go away or stay at home?

Easter Weekend....

 

I telephoned my sister in Australia to wish her a Happy Easter and we caught up on each others news.

I went to the allotment and cultivated it ready for inspections (which have now been postponed until the end of April)!

We had a dog training session with our puppy in the park.

We packed up and went to stay with my partner's parents in Yorkshire.

We had an Easter Egg Hunt.

We went to a Car Boot Sale.

We visited my other sister and swopped Easter eggs for the children, had the chance to catch up and we introduced her and her family to our new puppy. 

 

We visited some friends who have just started up their own business.

The puppy had some lovely long country walks.

We travelled back to London.

We had a lovely Easter Weekend.  I hope you enjoyed yours.