Quirky Reads: The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k by Sarah Knight

I started off this summer with the best of intentions, I had a two week holiday booked, I had four books packed and a schedule of when I was planning to blog about them.......

Trouble is, when I got to my holiday, I was a bit too busy being on holiday and I read a grand total of one book.

Fast forward a few months and I've read another! Check me out.

This is a book my mum passed to me because she thought it would amuse me, which it did.
It has also helped me to try and readjust the way I think and what I value as important. 

Without going into too much detail, it helps you to make a decision about the things that do and don't matter in the grand scheme of your life, the things that are important enough to consume your worries and the things that aren't.....in essence, identifying the things you should and perhaps shouldn't give a f*** about.

It's not an instruction manual, its the family member or best friend you turn to when you need someone to tell you that it's okay not to do something you really don't want to, even though you are worried about what others may think of you or tell you its okay to put your own comfort and happiness before others.

Some practical advice for cracking down on the jungle of chaos we create inside our own heads as we swing from branch to branch trying to be all things to all people whether we really want to or not.

There is even a handy section on how to navigate the very very fine line between actively not giving two hoots about things that don't matter and being an asshat. 

I'd like to say that I officially have everything figured out in my head and from this moment on will be able to meander my way through life giving zero tosses I don't have to give - I probably won't, I'm not wired that way, but what I can do is have a bit more perspective about how my decisions affect myself and others in the bigger picture and maybe, just maybe, give a few less unnecessary f***s. 

A recommended read for anyone with a brain as cluttered as my own and a similar compulsive need to please people :-) 

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The Adventures of Hector and Roland: An Introduction

If you've been on my blog before, you'll know that I have a penchant for all things shoe related, but I've never introduced you to the two who make all the shoe interaction happen, the ones who do all the shoe related work....Hector and Roland. 

I decided it was time I rectified this and allowed the real stars of my shoe experiences to shine. 

Meet Hector and Roland
Yes, I'm a 27 year old woman with a minion duvet, we'll discuss that another time.

Hector, on the left already has something of a presence among my closest friends, I've spoken before of his desire to succeed in politics...standing for the important issues, as that is what feet do, they stand. He's partial to a quirky design and is willing to be adventurous in his shoe choices and enjoys being outgoing.

Fast Facts About Hector

Name: Hector McFoot
Age: 27
Occupation: Full time foot
Ambition: Politician
Interests: Current Affairs, Networking, Origami.
Shoe Size: UK 5/5.5 - US 7/7.5 - Euro 38
Fave Shoe Types: Boots, Low to Mid Heels, Unusual Designs

Roland, on the right, is somewhat more reserved. He's happy to take a back seat when Hector is in the limelight and will even write 

speeches for him. Much like me, Roland enjoys reading and writing.
 He's also partial to a quirky design but values comfort in equal measure. 

Fast Facts About Roland

Name: Roland McFoot
Age: 27
Occupation: Full time foot
Ambition: Writer
Interests: Writing, Reading, Theatre.
Shoe Size: UK 5/5.5 - US 7/7.5 - Euro 38
Fave Shoe Types: Canvas lace ups, Ankle boots, Flats.

I'll be featuring some of the their adventures, their experiences and the shoes they come into contact with on my blog if you fancy having a read.

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Quirky Reads: When Mr Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan

I randomly picked up 'When Mr Dog Bites' in a library I had nipped into to use the loo.

I'd already picked up a few books (recipe books, I'm an appalling cook so goodness knows where I thought I was going to get with those and When Mr Dog Bites.....the recipe books are back in the library and I've yet to open them) and figured a new fiction book was in order, I'd given books a bit of a rest for a few months and decided I wanted to lose myself in someone else's story.

For the past few weeks, that person's story has been Dylan Mint.
It's the kind of story I'd normally finish in one or two sittings but because I started reading it on holiday, I got a little preoccupied with sight seeing.

I instantly warmed to Dylan Mint, he's Scottish, he's funny and he's brave.  These are all traits I like in a protagonist.

Although its a primary focus in the story, I often forgot about Dylan's tourettes unless he happened to have an outburst, which in a way made me feel like he was someone I knew. It was just a part of him I knew was there and wasn't especially watching out for.

I won't go into too much detail on the narrative as I wouldn't like to spoil the story for anyone who might want to read it.
One thing that struck me however, was that just how easy it is to let one assumption take over how you think.
Dylan overheard his mother and a doctor having a conversation which lead him to believe that his days were numbered.  This assumption took over his thought process and at times his actions.
I can be like that sometimes.  I get an idea in my head and it influences me in other ways, sometimes its healthy, sometimes it isn't.

A key theme in When Mr Dog Bites is friendship,  Dylan's fierce loyalty and warmness towards his best friend Amir is a central part of the story.  They look out for each other, they protect each other, they want the other to be happy and they communicate that warmness through a very relatable and warm laddish banter.


The author has a few other books and after reading 'When Mr Dog Bites' I'd defitiely be keen to give them a go. 

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Crafty Monday.

Crafty Monday 

 

I've been lucky with my new job that I joined a few weeks before Easter and got two mandatory holidays as a result....I've also been lucky that I get both of the May bank holidays as well.

Today was the first of those May bank holiday in Scotland today and I had the day off work.

I didn't want to waste the day being lazy but didn't fancy navigating my way around tons of other people spending their day off in busy places either.

Instead, James and I headed to a pottery and ceramics workshop a little bit out of the way and spent the afternoon painting.
As you can see from the pictures, James is far more artistically gifted than I - his wizard is amazing.

I have literally zero artistic flair or talent for anything remotely crafty - give me a post-it note and I can fold it into a swan, crane, bat or cat but anything beyond that and I'm hopeless so I'm really happy that my humpty dumpty turned out alright!

There was something really therapeutic about spending the afternoon painting and paying attention to all the little details in the ornaments and turning them into something with a little bit of character.

It was an activity that ended up being relaxing and fun. 

Today's Footwear

These are not shoes.....they are quite clearly socks.
But they are awesome....and glittery....and Powerpuff themed.
I felt the need to share! 

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New Beginnings.

It's been a little while since I last put anything on my blog, reality sort of took over at some point in February and all of a sudden I looked up and it was nearly the end of April!

Although not much has changed in the last few months, in some ways, lots of things have changed for me. 

Just a few months ago, almost all of my posts were quite focused on how crappy I was feeling about struggling to find a job of any sort, let alone one that ties in with my degree, I was going for interview after interview and getting nowhere fast.  I kind of reached a stage where with every no thank you, came a metaphorical kick to the stomach or a crying session.

Then one day at the end of February - something clicked - someone said yes and in March I started a new job and one that uses my degree.  I'm loving learning all about my new role and the place I work.  I'm a much happier Rachie in that respect.  Gone is the feeling of worthlessness, the feeling of failure and in its place is a whole new sense of excitement.

I'm hoping I can take this feeling and channel it towards injecting a new lease of life into my blog.  I started it as a bit of self therapy and slowly adapted it into a bit of a hub of general Rachie-ness.  Which is fine, except somewhere in the middle it became self therapy again and got a bit heavy.  There is nothing wrong with expressing my feelings or using my blog to do so, I just don't want it to become my dumping ground for everything rubbish I feel.

So I've decided I want to set myself a bit of a schedule of fun - more book reviews, I haven't properly opened a book in a while and I'd like to change that.  

I wanna take my blog on some journeys with me and more importantly I wanna have some more journeys.  They don't have to be far traveled expeditions they just have to be new and fun. 

The other thing that's changed for me since the last time I posted is that I've aged.  Last week I had a birthday and it stirred a bit of a change in me.  I don't mean that now that I'm 27 I'm going to suddenly start changing everything about myself but its instilled a need for a little bit of confidence in me.

A few weeks ago I was mildly irked because I was in a situation where I was the youngest looking person in the room and it had a definite impact on the tone of voice and manner that people had when interacting with me.  Not in a horrible way, if anything it was encouraging and kind - but it also made me feel like I was a child.

While I still sort of thrive on the feeling that the 'proper grown ups' will look after me and make sure I'm safe, I need to recognise and remember that I'm one of them, even if at times others don't.
I don't think I'll ever be 27 going on 47, if anything I'm 27 going on 17 but I need to learn to identify the times to remember I'm a lot closer to 30 than I am to 20.

It's a work in progress. 

Today's Shoes

This is a bit of a blurry picture but these beauties were a birthday present from James.
They are Vans Slip Ons and I adore them!
Especially the purple check pattern which kinda matches my recently dyed purple hair.
I haven't worn them outta the house yet as I only got them yesterday and I'm still wearing them in but I look forward to taking them on their first excursion soon. 

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My Favourite Things: February

I'm not sure how interesting my post about my favourite things in January actually was for anyone who read it, 

but I enjoyed writing it so I decided to do it again this month....or again this month lol. 

It was kind of cathartic, not only to focus on some positive thought but also to reflect on how fortunate I am in times when I feel a bit sorry for myself - I have a lifestyle that allows me to have favourite possessions - I don't take that for granted.

I've linked to them where I can in case anyone is interested.

Clothes 

February was the month of skirts - I've acquired two this month! 

And they both have pockets!!! I love pockets!!! Pockets!!!

This little beauty came from Cath Kidston,
I really like Cath Kidston stuff but some of it can be a little out of my price range so I my purchases there are generally now and again - this was an early birthday present from Mum. The print reminded me of London - I've been a few times with my friend but I've never actually been to the Palace so I've never seen a Palace Guard up close but I figured this was the next best thing! 

This skirt is a Hell Bunny skirt and I absolutely adore it, I have another two skirts this length, one is pink with black polkadots and the other is black with zombie pin-up girls.  It does all the right things to make me feel comfortable and pretty and has a 50s vibe to the cut that goes well with my shape. 

The circus themed print is really fun and colourful!
My phone camera hasn't done it justice at all but its beautiful.

Feeeeet!

Yes - these are socks, I like socks. Socks and me go way back.
However, socks can be a massive annoyance to me, once you wash them they go a bit stiff and dry and start to lose a little of their comfort with each wear.  I bought these a few days ago in Accessorize when the socks I had on were catching on my shoes and causing my shoes to dig into my heels - ain't nobody got time for that!  When I bought these they instantly felt like my feet had met their sock soul mate. Yes, that's a weird sentence - do I care? Nope. 

Books

The Ladybird Book of The Hipster by J.A HAZELEY and J.P MORRIS - this book is part of a recently released series of Ladybird books aimed at grownups. 

 As a kid I was read a lot of ladybird books that I really enjoyed.  This series pokes fun at some topical things in the modern day but in keeping with the style of writing in the ladybird books I read as a child.  I found it really funny and would definitely read some of the others in the series. 

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Dear Wee Rachie: Learn to say no.

Dear Wee Rachel, 

Learn to say no.

No is a great word, use it! You are great at using it! Whether it’s your brother asking if he can use your room to watch TV (the TV you have in there right now is pants, so for context, you end up with Gran Brown’s big ass telly at some point, never mind why) or Mum asking if you have or will tidy your room. 

At some point over the years, I can’t really remember when, you develop this compulsive need to please people, to have them think that you are effortlessly nice and will always say yes and find a way to help them if you can.  Don’t misunderstand me, it’s not a bad way to be but sometimes Rachel, I could have kicked you hard in the face with a thousand stilettos - you’ll never own any because you’d break your neck and you’d look like an idiot, but that’s irrelevant. 

Saying yes is fine, being nice is a fantastic thing to be, but this fear of saying no is not even close to being acceptable.   

People will still like you even if you say no, you don’t need to let Mark and Toto (don’t even get me started on the stupid nicknames the kids you spent your days with at school had) talk you into letting them have the money you brought with you for lunch, what the hell are you going to buy lunch with? No wonder you have no energy and fall asleep in class, you muppet! 

They aren’t bullying you – they like you, but don’t think for a second they aren’t taking advantage of the fact you don’t like saying no.

You don’t need to carry Jamie and Graeme’s English work in your bag every day because they have dirty P.E kits in their bag,  if they have messy essays that’s their problem, tell them no! 

You don’t need to supply everyone in your class with a pen just because they asked you and they know you have enough pens to start a sustainable stationary business. Of course they’ll like you, you’ll be Pen Girl and Pen Girl is a cool thing to be (I’m sorry, it doesn’t come with a cape, in hindsight that would have been epic – sorry!) but when you reach the stage of allowing literally every single person in your English class borrow a pen from you on a daily basis because you don’t want to say no, you are letting people abuse your kindness and walk all over you.

There are probably other slightly more important examples in your upcoming future of when you really should have said no but I won't give you a hard time for those - screw ups are part of how you learn not to be an asshat.

I get it, I really do! You are afraid if you say no people won’t like you or want to be your friend or think you are nice or think you are 'socially acceptable'. 
I want to impress upon you that saying yes doesn’t make a damn bit of difference! 

There will still be people who dislike you, get used to it.   There will be people who think you aren’t a nice person, so what? 

 Stop saying yes to things you don’t want to do or it will turn you into someone you don’t want to be.  Start saying no to things you don’t want to do and become the person you do want to be. 

The people worth having in your life will still like you, the people who know you will like you for you - whether you say yes or no.

It’s not all bad, sometimes not saying no when you want to works out great, you didn’t really want to say yes when Gillian asked if you wanted to help out at youth club and it’s one of the best things you ever said yes to.

P.S – Wear what you want! I’m not suggesting you should turn up to your Gran's house in an outfit made from barbed wire and a dustbin but don’t save your stripey socks or funky shoes for a day when you won’t be in a class with any dumbasses, dress like you! 

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