Blog Archives

British lifestyle blogger

Fourteen years of blogging – why do I do it?

Happy Birthday When I Grow Up blog! Yes, if you can be bothered, you can click on the ‘Archives’ button over there on the right and see my first feeble offerings beginning on the 7th April 2004. I don’t know anyone who’s been blogging that long! We didn’t even own a digital camera then, so none of the posts have photos to go with them for a while! Many people talk about needing a creative outlet as their reason why they started a blog. Well fourteen years ago I had recently done my A-level Art and was on my second year of a part-time degree in Creative Writing with a novel about to be published; so I can’t really site that as my reason. My kids were eight and five, but ‘Mummy blogging’ wasn’t yet a thing, let alone a thing that occurred to me to want to do, so talking about parenting wasn’t my impetus either. At the end of the day, I suppose it all boils down to the simple love of writing…..

circus fashion

Could The Greatest Showman film spark a circus fashion trend?

(Alternative title: Clowning about in the woods!) I became a little suspicious back in November when I had the chance to browse some well-known high-street shops in a city. I noticed that the stripe trend had turned vertical, and wider, like circus tents! And combined with ruffles, the effect of these details does point to the circus! It’s been known to happen before with a popular musical movie: Do you remember the 1920’s fashion trend of 2013 that well and truly kicked off after the success of The Great Gatsby? I for one am not complaining, I love everything about the circus, particularly the wonderful clothing!….

Teen mom

How I’d do things differently if I wasn’t a teenage Mum

I’ve never really considered being a Mummy blogger – I’m not sure why – it just wasn’t what I wanted to write about; however this topic of conversation came up in the car a while ago, and as it was Mothers’ Day on Sunday, I thought I might do something a bit different and write about the subject in a blog post! Yes I am in a category. I am a statistic of the 90’s. I was a teenage Mum….

Monthly Memoir – August

August 31, 2016

The very sad truth of the matter is that if I am writing this at the end of August, that pretty much means that summer is over. The leaves on the willow are mostly yellow already and flowers are sparse in our garden. It’s been a lovely summer, but a very busy one so I’m making a note to be more prepared next year. It began at the beginning of June with frantic sewing of bottle bags for Glastonbury Festival; then I just had a week to get ready for the three week American road trip; then I had two weeks to fulfil two custom orders for Oshun and get ready for my stall at the New Forest Fairy Festival; then I had two days to catch up on housework before my parents came for a a few days; then I had four days to make a mermaid wedding dress ready for a photo shoot in Cornwall. Which brings me up to two days ago! I’ve still got a couple of Khaleesi costume orders to make, but once those are done I can calm down a little. Oh and then it’s my daughter’s eighteenth birthday party. I’m hoping I get one or two days to relax before Christmas! ….

Monthly Memoir – June

What a tricky month June has been in the world of politics. I think it is a real shame we left the EU, but just as I thought we might be ok, Michael Gove puts himself forward for the leadership. I think I would have to leave the country if that happens! Anyway, for me it’s been my busiest month of the year, as I was making cup carriers and bottle bags to be sold at Water Aid stands at Glastonbury Festival. I’m not entirely sure how my sewing machine coped, but in the end I delivered two hundred and seventy-five altogether….