Monday 30 December 2013

A Year of Ethical Fashion


I've decided to sign up for 'A Year of Ethical Fashion', which has been launched by Pip Lincolne on her Meet Me At Mikes blog.

Here's the Year of Ethical Fashion (#YOEF) pledge for 2014...

If I'm looking for things to wear I will only:

a) Buy from ethical makers or
b) Buy second-hand or
c) Make it myself  or
d) Wear things I already own or
e) Borrow or swap garments with friends

I had been thinking about doing something along these lines myself, but it will be so much more powerful to be part of a group!

If you want to join in, you can sign up here and there is also a facebook group.

People are going to take a variety of different approaches to this. Some folks are planning to do a lot of home dressmaking, but I am more likely to wear things I already own, buy second-hand and buy from ethical makers.

Here is an example of the kind of ethical fashion I tend to wear. This second-hand denim jacket came from a dress agency.



Over the next year, I'll be trying other options for ethical fashion, including ethical knickers, jewellery and fairtrade footwear. I'll be writing about this on my Minibreak Mummy blog.

Here are the ethical fashion blogposts I've written so far:





Sunday 29 December 2013

Magpie Monday - Russian Dolls


When I first saw this set of five nesting Russian Dolls on the shelf in the Cancer Research Shop yesterday I thought they would make a great gift. Then I decided that I could not bear to give them away!

The proper name for these is Matryoshka. They are thought to represent motherhood. I just think they are very beautiful! With raspberry red shawls and teal skirts, they combine two of my favourite colours. And of course my son is enjoying playing with them too. And they only cost £3!

I am getting back into the swing of thrifting after the chaos of moving house. There are some really good charity shops near here. But I have promised my husband that I will only buy things I really love.

Linking up with Magpie Monday at Me and My Shadow - it is lovely to feel part of an online community that cherishes pre-loved finds!


Saturday 21 December 2013

Filofax Mini 'Urban' Organiser - why it's the perfect Filofax for me



I've been using this Filofax mini 'Urban' organiser for a year now and it is fab!

I previously used a pocket size Filofax but decided it was too much of a compromise - too big to take everywhere with me and too small to write decent notes in when I'm at work. So when I spotted an 'Urban' Filofax in mini size on eBay I thought I'd give the mini size a go.

When this mini Filofax arrived I realised that it would be perfect as an everyday wallet, as it has credit card slots, a compartment for notes and a zipped section for coins. I love the charcoal grey fabric and the dinky size.

The pencil was a birthday present from my husband and I bought myself a year planner and some lavender notepaper from Rymans. I then got some lovely lilac dividers from Maudie Made on Etsy.

The vertical year planner is great for giving me an overview of what is happening throughout the year, including holidays and work commitments. It works much better than trying to view this information on an iPhone screen!

I also write 'to do' and shopping lists in my Filofax rather than on the iPhone. It seems much less effort to jot things down on paper than it would be to open up an app, type something in, save it, etc. Plus ticking things off a list always seems more satisfying on paper than on a screen!



I previously wrote about this Filofax here