There is a secret hippie in me that isn't so secret anymore ...

I have been neglecting my blog again and that will never do will it dear readers? I have had a hectic few months since I last blogged what with a funeral to arrange, a holiday to go on a few days later only to return and be ill for a week not to mention all the washing and putting away of camping gear etc etc.

Out of the frying and into the fire with a bedroom to decorate - well I paid for it and my teenage daughter and her boyfriend did all the work - okay, her boyfriend did most of the work and a very good job he did too. Why is it when you decorate one room the whole house tends to be upside down with stuff absolutely everywhere? The joys of living in a small house I guess!

We had a lovely ten days camping in West Dorset. We camped in the little village of Charmouth which is just the loveliest place. We had a week of gorgeously hot weather before it turned very British once again with grey sky albeit still warm. We had some spectacular thunder and lightening storms which can be very scary during the middle of the night when in a tent half way up a hill ...

We were also treated once again to a fabulous display by the Red Arrows as part of National Lifeboat week in Lyme Regis. We sat on the steps on the beach in Charmouth to watch this as Lyme Regis was absolutely heaving with people. 

We ventured into Lyme a few days later to have a mooch and bumped into one of the teachers at my children's primary school - small world isn't it?

No trip to West Dorset would be complete with a trip to Bridport. Oh how I love this little market town with it's gorgeous little shops and Saturday flea market along the street (there is also a Wednesday market but with less stalls). 

Whilst there I decided to have my nose pierced (for the second time as I had it done many, many years ago when I was 17). I will admit that it hurt a lot especially as it didn't go through the first time and it had to be done again! My 17 year old daughter had hers done as well and another piercing in her ear as did my 14 year old. We had them done by the lovely Linda at The Dorset Peddlar on South Street and if you ever find yourself in Bridport do pop in as the shop is amazing with it's crystals and chakra stones, singing bowls and incense and a myriad of other delightful must haves!

Also whilst in the area I just had to visit Glastonbury! Now it has to be said that I absolutely adore this place and could quite happily live there and maybe one day I just might ... It is nice as a vegan to be able to walk into a cafe and be able to find something on the menu and at Hundred Monkeys I could do just that. I had a mooch around the shops and stocked up on incense and other hippie stuff as my husband calls it before calling into the supermarket that sells my kind of thing - organic, vegan, natural and not tested on animals etc. I had a field day in there but for the life of me cannot remember what it is called.

On a sunny Sunday morning the five of us climbed up a hill and found a lovely spot under a tree overlooking the sea to scatter the ashes of my parents. As some of you may recall my dad passed away in June and it meant I could finally lay my mom and dad to rest in a beautiful place. It wasn't an easy thing to do dear readers but it was a beautiful spot and I think they would like it there.

Charmouth is a delightful seaside village and we have holidayed there many times over the years. If you are ever in the area do check it out. If you have young children they will be delighted with a spot of fossil hunting!

Back home with a vengeance and straight into a flu like bug for me which pretty much wiped me out for a week.

 Then into the decorating and a gorgeous little addition to the family in the guise of Merlin the kitten. It is just what we needed and everyone is a little in love with him except Nutmeg our tabby who never misses an opportunity to spit and hiss at him. 

My eldest daughter, Miss J has gone and got herself a place on a Bakery course and she is beyond excited. She didn't want to finish 6th Form and had decided to leave after Y12 as she no longer wanted to go to university. She will be spending the next three years baking up a storm at UCB (University College Birmingham) and she cannot wait.

All that is left for me to do now is get crafting again after making some little things for swap parcels on Instagram I am raring to go but first need to make some curtains for Miss J and Miss G's bedroom and hopefully fingers crossed I will get them done over the weekend.

I hope to share some recipes in my next blog post as I have been doing my usual amount of cooking and for six people most nights. It's not easy catering for everyone's tastes I can tell you ...

Until next time dear readers ... happy crafting, baking, cooking the natural way ... have fun and enjoy life!

Saying Goodbye ...

This week has not been an easy week for me as my dad sadly passed away on Tuesday evening. He was in a lot of pain for the last few days of his life and it was so hard seeing him like that. It still hasn't sunk in yet and it is so hard to get my head round the fact that I will never see him again. I try to gain comfort from the fact that he is with my mom again who passed away 20 months ago.

As a result of this I have done nothing crafty or painted my kitchen door with blackboard paint as was planned for this week.

I will be back soon with a few recipes for you and hopefully a picture of said door ...

In memory of my dad, Harold, who passed away on 25th June 2013

Out with the old and in with the new ...

Some of you may have noticed that it has been some time since I last blogged - quite a long time in fact - months even and I hang my head in shame. I have no excuse other than time has quite simply flown by and each passing month has blended into the next.

I have given my little blog some serious thought and decided to give it an overhaul and let it reflect what I am about and the direction that my life is taking.

So, with that in mind I have changed the name from A Handmade Lifestyle to A Natural Lifestyle as I try to live life as naturally as possible and I have a Facebook page with the same name https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Natural-Lifestyle/134840500025915. I am vegan and I eat a mainly plant-based diet and I am also an avid juicer. I have an abundance of recipes that I am hoping to share with you all and even if you aren't vegan you may want to give some of them a go. I am often asked what I eat as a vegan and I will be able to showcase this on my blog. I also want to share my up-cycling successes as well as the crafty things I make and sell on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/mandyjanegordon?ref=si_shop as well as Folksy http://folksy.com/shops/AudreysAttic.

I'm a bit of a free spirit and bohemian at heart and I like to give out positive energy as I believe that if you do it comes back to you in abundance. I love the outdoors and camping and love being at one with nature. I love making things and this could be anything from a bag to a cushion to a tub of gorgeous smelling body butter. I do not use any product that has been tested on animals be it toiletries or cleaning products. I try to buy organic where possible and locally in season produce.

I also love vintage and charity shopping not to mention a car boot sale here and there and I am in my element bringing home my wares to transform.

That is a little bit about me and my life and I do hope that you will pop back to see what I am up to and to check for recipes and crafty ideas etc. I do promise to blog more regularly from now on ... promise!!

Glastonbury, where I should be living!

From A Room With A View ...

I cannot believe where this month has gone to ... it has simply flown by ... and Christmas is almost upon us once again.

When I started this blog I promised myself that I would blog at least once a week and almost a month has gone by since I did so I hang my head in shame ...

So, what have I been up to I hear you say ... Well, I have managed to complete the bedroom make - over and all that remains for me to do now is make the patchwork curtains and get shelves up but the drill has broken and there are no funds in the pot at the moment to replace it so they will have to wait.

It is also a year (on the 26th) since my mom passed away suddenly so I have been a bit melancholy for the past few days and tomorrow would have been her birthday too. It has also been the month that saw 16 year old Miss J tell a boy that she liked him as more than a friend as he has liked her for a few years now and had almost given up so he is very happy! It is also a few weeks closer to Master J returning from a term at university in Finland and in fact he will be home three weeks today. To say I am excited is THE understatement of the year!!

November has also seen me making Christmas cards, decorations, gifts and start planning a possible change in direction for me next year. As much as I want to continue selling the things I make I am finding it increasingly difficult. I sell on Etsy and Folksy but have barely sold enough to cover my costs this year. I also have a business page on Facebook and although I have almost 1000 likers and people always say they like my things it just doesn't seem to help sales. I don't know whether to start doing craft fairs or not. My prices are very reasonable I think compared to some sellers who charged £85 upwards for a cushion but seem to sell a lot of them ... the jury is out at the moment but I need to come up with a better way to make some sort of living ... any ideas and tips gratefully welcomed ...

So ... a few pictures of what I have been up to ...

My patchwork wall which I LOVE!!!

I do love a bit of bunting don't you?

A bit of order at long last above Mr Handemade Lifestyle's wardrobe as all my crafting things were just shoved up there but I "borrowed" Master J's vintage suitcases and hid my stash in them instead.

My corner of vintage delights ...

A very small stack of my many books of deliciousness ... I really must get the shelves painted as well tut tut!

A few more of my handmade moss stitch scarves ... I have sold the last batch so only have these three left at £15 each.

Some painted pebbles have also been completed this month as well as ...

Jars of Christmas Chocolates for a friend's children as well as my own. I just need to do a vegan one for Miss J.

Christmas decorations were made for a Christmas swap over on Faith, Hope & Charity Shopping's blog.

A selection of covered 2013 diaries and notebooks have also been made and are priced £5.50 plus p&p.

And finally, some poppies were knitted and the money donated so all in all quite a productive month after all. Next on the to do list is a bag for my friends daughter for Christmas as well as a cushion for a friend and something for my sister as well ... best get back to it then ... thanks for reading this and I promise not to leave it so long between posts again xx

Up, up & Away ...

Last week saw me and the family get on a plane and fly off to Finland for a few days. It was the first time we had, as a family, been on a plane and the first flight ever for Miss G.

We flew via Ryanair to Tampere which is a really lovely little town. The reason we went there ...

was to see Mr J who is spending a term doing International Politics at Tampere University. He's been there since August and won't be home until Christmas so we went to see him. It was about 1 degree when we got there and -4 when we left but it didn't feel as cold as it did when we arrived back in the UK.

The Finnish people are very friendly and laid back and are happy to speak English and I would thoroughly recommend it for a city break. We stayed in an Omena hotel which sleeps four people in a room and it was around £40 per night. They have no reception or staff apart from cleaners so that keeps the cost down. It was clean, well thought out and functional. We only need it to sleep and shower in really don't we?

It's the first time I'd seen a double decker train so I had to take a picture!

The Three Musketeers together again and a lovely Finnish church in the town square.

A bit of Finnish writing for you - haven't a clue what it says and how cool is that chair?

On our last day we woke up to snow! Miss J and Miss G couldn't get up and dressed quick enough and we were outside by 8am! They had their picture taken with Santa (aka Mr  Handmade Lifestyle). The picture below this is the local theatre.

Sadly, before we knew it, it was time to board the shop in the sky (those of you who have flown with Ryanair will know what I mean!!) and head back to England ... 

Cold enough for soup?

It's been a busy old week once again ... I've been tidying up the almost finished bedroom but still need to put the bunting up and find a place for some of my treasures. I've also begun work on transforming a small metal dogs bed frame into a luxury double dolls bed and today I will be making some paper flowers for a lovely lady who will be 88 on Saturday.

I felt rather chilly earlier on in the week and decided to warm myself up with a batch of soup. I had some courgettes and leeks waiting to be used up so I went for a Courgette & Leek soup.

This is a great soup which most of the family likes with the exception of Miss G who is so fussy it amazes me but she did eat it with some persuasion.

The recipe is suitable for vegetarians/vegans as we are a household of vegetarians and vegans (I'm the vegan).

Here's the list of ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 leeks, trimmed and sliced
900g (2lb) courgettes, grated
1.3 litres (2 3/4 pints) hot vegetable stock
4 short sprigs rosemary
salt and black pepper

1.  Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the onions and leeks and cook for 5-10 minutes. Then add the courgettes and cook for a further 5 minutes. Give them a good stir as well.

2. Add the hot stock and 3 sprigs of rosemary and bring to the boil. season with salt and pepper and reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Once all the veg is cooked remove from heat and allow to cool for a short while.

The picture above shows the grated courgettes and any vegetable waste goes into my little compost caddy.

4.  Remove rosemary stalks from the soup and spoon some of the soup into a blender and whizz it to the consistency you prefer. Continue doing this until all the spoon is blended.

5. Serve immediately in warmed soup bowls with some delicious bread.

I do hope that some of you lovely readers will give this a go as it really is a delicious soup. I will be sharing more recipes over the weeks so keep a look out for them. I was going to share a gorgeous, moist carrot cake recipe that is vegan but the evidence was eaten before I could get the camera out! I will try again soon.

Knit One, Purl One ... Ooh I've made a scarf ...

I have been a busy bee lately. What with trying to redecorate my bedroom and carry on with my crafting of gorgeous things to sell, I have been left with no time to do anything else.

My bedroom is coming along nicely now and here is a sneak peak ... it's not finished yet and it will get a blog post all to itself when it is ... but here's a taster ...

It's getting there and is looking better than the Barbie pink it was before!

So, I have spent this week putting the finishing touches to some of the scarves that I have been making. They have been made in a supersoft chunky wool in a range of colours. I have knitted them all in moss stitch which is a favourite as I just love the texture and it gives a bit of interest to the scarf as well I feel. At the end of the scarves I have added some hand made crocheted flowers as well.

I have managed to finish four so far and there are three more that need flowers sewing on to them.

This is a gorgeous caramel coloured one with flowers in autumnal tones and a dark brown scarf with sunflowers.

This is a gorgeous teal colour with lilac and white flowers at the bottom. 

And finally, a very dark purple with matching flowers.  All these gorgeous scarves are now for sale on Etsy and Folksy. My shop name is Birdy in a Pear Tree should any of you be interested.

.https://www.etsy.com/listing/111847962/chunky-caramel-hand-knitted-scarf-with?ref=v1_other_1

http://folksy.com/items/3711718-Chunky-dark-brown-hand-knitted-scarf-with-applique-flowers

Thanks for reading xx