If You Have the Chance to Splurge. . .

. . . then do it with purpose.

In the past few years I have pro-actively stopped wasting money on multiple ordinary purchases. I don't buy clothes because I pass them in the store and say "Oh, that's a nice top". For me to buy something now, I have to be floored by it when I see it. I have to be able to envision it in my life. I have to find it extraordinary and practical. . . and I must say, this new way of living has saved me pennies and made me happier.

I love shoes and hand bags (I am female after all), but I don't have to have every pair of shoes I like and every bag that would match that one top. It has to be something I love on its own. I suppose in a way, that nowadays I have to look at each purchase I make as an item that must be able to stand independently and be fantastic while also working well together with at least 61% of anything else I own that it could be paired with. With the money I don't waste spending frivolously on something I would only end up donating to a charity shop, I am able save up and buy something nicer that can last a lifetime.

Let's talk handbags. I've spent the past almost one third of my life in the United Kingdom. I've found that recently if I buy something over here I want to look at is as "a life souvenir". This means that it has to be something very British, Welsh, or English. It has to be something that will remind me of the UK. It can't be something I could get anywhere. I've purchased a few Cath Kidston hankies as souvenirs in the past year. I love them to bits and I decided recently that to really ice the cake I should save up and treat myself to a Cath Kidston handbag.

Cath Kidston "Candy Flowers" Day Bag

Handbags to some people (and a lot of men) may seem ordinary. What's the point of spending a chunk of money on something that you just carry your junk around in? Well, if one thinks about it, a lady's handbag goes around with her all day long. It's almost like another arm. So what's so wrong to have one that really brightens up your day by it's colorful design? Not so much in my opinion. I'm certainly not one of those gals that has to have a hundred to pretend she's happy, so I consider my interest to be healthy. Either way, bags by designers such as Cath Kidston or Amy Butler don't run supermarket cheap. They most certainly don't cost in the range of Dior or Gucci, but they do cost more than Target or Tesco. However, the price is there for a reason. They are thoughtfully designed and well made. Take care of it, and it will last you a long long time. That's what I like about things. It's actually better economy.

Amy Butler "Josephine" Bag

So, I popped down to London recently and I most certainly treated myself to my first ever Cath Kidston bag. It is so beautiful! Although 100% practical in every way, I could totally put it in a box frame and hang it on my wall. . . it's that lovely. The stitching is gorgeous and even the zipper on the inside pocket has a leather pull. I told A that you could tell the quality of a handbag by the fabric they chose for the lining. The fabric in my new bag is the same gorgeous print inside as it is outside. It's a Day Bag to hold at your side or on your elbow, but it's so thoughtfully designed that there's just enough room to put it over my shoulder should I want to wear it that way. I love it. I love it just as much as my gorgeous Amy Butler bag that my mom got me for Christmas a couple of years ago. They are now both running neck and neck as my favorite bags. I'm really glad I worked hard and saved my pennies so I was able to have a little splurge. It means so much more when you have to wait patiently for something you want. Most good things in life happen that way.

Ciao Bella!

This little lady has found a new home! I'm going to miss her. She has been one of my favorite clothespin dolls that I've made. I'm posting this as a sort of personal documentation of her existence, but I'm really excited that she'll bring someone else a bit of joy. As a relatively new Etsy seller that is really just running my shop in a spare time/spare tire sort of way, it's really really exciting for me to make a sale. It's so neat thinking that something you loved making is something that someone thinks is worthy of trading their earnings for. I feel so blessed sometimes that I have an interest and love in making and creating things, and having someone love what I make is a really unexpected bonus. I'll miss you little acorn hat lady!

Fabric Dreams!

If you know me, you may know that I am seriously obsessed with buying quilting fabric. It's really bad. It's really bad, because I don't buy all of it just to quilt with. I find fabric designs. . . and fabric designers. . . to be unbelievably inspiring. It feeds my creative spirit to gawk and drool over beautiful fabric.

Recently, as I realize that my degree in painting is just about useless on the career front, I have become more and more interested in the notion of designing my own fabric line. It's becoming a dream that I don't just want to stay a dream. I know it would take a lot of hard work and research, but my interest has been sparked.

Even more recently, say in the past week or two, I have realized that I want more than anything to use my inspirations of places I exist in to be my subject matter. For example, should I do a line about Cardiff, the beach, the mountains? I wouldn't want them to be obvious, but subtle influences in a genuine "Taylor Kate" sort of print.

While I keep dreaming and starting to research, I think these ideas will be my focus. I need to go buy a Moleskine notebook.

Neat Things in "Ugly" Places.

One thing I always try to make sure to do in my life is to try to find beautiful things about "ugly" places. I put that word in quotations because I really don't like to use that vocabulary. I rarely think something is ugly, and usually if I do it's 99.8% of the time in reference to someone's attitude rather than a physical object or being. For example, terrorists are ugly and bulldogs are not.

However, if someone was going to use a word to describe the rather *ahem*. . . charming. . . neighborhood I live in, I would not be shocked if they used the word ugly. However, I have spent about four or so years of my life looking out of my windows in this part of town and have found many beautiful aspects in the architecture. . . the doped up people, however, I will refrain from commenting on.

I love how it really shouts out the city's history here. This place was once home of the world's biggest export docks. . . or something like that. It all has a lot to do with coal mining, the working class, and some wealthy people raking in all the expensive business deals. The houses and buildings here are terraced. They're all small. They look like they've been painted a thousand and three times with the changing shops on the bottom levels. A few brick buildings didn't get pebble-dashed or plastered with horrible trends passing through time. Even though I'm pretty sure most of the fire places in the terraced buildings have been boarded up or turned into gas fire places, I love love love the chimney tops on the roofs. They look like something from Mary Poppins. I love the triangles on the roofs that look like ric rac with triangles covered in slate tiles in between each peak and valley. I love the smooth bend of the street lights. I don't know why, but they just look so fresh and modern because of that curve. It makes a funny juxtaposition tucked into the street of rather nineteenth century architecture. I love old and new mixed together, and the street lights aren't even that new. So there you have it. . . I do try to enjoy living in the crappy part of town. :)

Has anyone else found anything pretty special in a not so beautiful place?