Life has a habit of motoring along and before you know it another decade is reflected the rearview mirror.
Sixteen years have passed since the whole family last managed to get together, which is far too long!
We are a somewhat scattered brood and that makes it a little bit more difficult to organize a reunion but earlier this year my beloved mother decided that the time had come for us all to gather once more and a date was set.
We had a tremendously fun and fabulous weekend. Three wonderful days packed with laughter, yummy food and amazing Swedish summer weather...PERFECT!
Top left: Dennis (my niece Annelie's boyfriend), Emma (my little brother David's girlfriend), Johnny & David (my brothers), hubby Mark, Per (my brother), Jes (my sister Jessica's husband) & Me
Middle left: Astrid (Jessica & Jes' daughter), Ewa (my wonderful mum), Benjamin (Jessica & Jes' son), Jane (my brother Per's girlfriend
Bottom left: Gunnar (my awesome dad), Jessica & Marie (my sisters) and Annelie (my sister Marie's daughter).
Also featured in the picture Tintin the dog.
The weekend in pics...
On Monday afternoon Mark and I took a train up to Stockholm and strolled around in Gamla Stan for a few hours.
On Tuesday morning we left the clear blue sky behind us and flew back to a cloudy Glasgow.
I wish I could have scooped up the glorious Swedish summer weather and brought it back home with me.
We had such a lovely time and a unanimous decision was made to get everyone back together again for my niece's graduation next year, can't wait!
I love my bonkers family :)
I will leave you with a beautiful song by Sweet Laredo...
Hope you are all doing grand and that the sun is shining where you are.
Thanks for your lovely comments on my last post, they are much appreciated.
Last Monday Mark and I bought our first ever car, an 11 year old Vauxhall Astra that we named Cato after Cato Wong in the Pink Panther movies.
It's an old banger that will see its life out with us going to dive sites and markets.
Hopefully with a bit of luck and TLC it will serve us well for a year or two.
Yesterday we took Cato for a spin along the beautiful Firth of Clyde coastline and when the sun decided to make an unexpected appearance we stopped off for a little picnic on Irvine Beach.
We sat on the beach watching adult gulls dive bombing for fish and baby gulls perfecting their flying skills.
Unlike when we went to Largs back in January the gulls on Irvine Beach were totally uninterested in sharing our lunch, they were just surfing around in the sea breeze, having fun.
Besides gulls, we only shared the beach with a handful of dog walkers and a dude with a metal detector.
Next time we go I'm definitely bringing my swimming costume. I'm Swedish so I am used to water temperatures akin to an ice plunge pool, it's good for you.
During lunch we talked about one of the things on our bucket list, namely sand boarding in Egypt.
Many moons ago Mark was a professional snowboard instructor so surfing on sand should be easy enough for him. However despite me growing up with regular winter sports days at school, I never quite found my ski legs. I was more into ice hockey & curling.
To tick the sand boarding off the bucket list would require a pocket full of pennies but you can always find fun stuff to do for free or on the cheap while you save up for the big amazing adventures.
Free fun is the name of the game and the gulls are masters at it.
I'm on a mission to have as much free fun this summer as I possibly can.
We didn't have any money when we were kids and we still managed to have more fun than you can shake a stick at, so it can be done!
Tigger jumping off the dunes = free fun
What I wore: 60s psychedelic maxi dress, 60s suede waistcoat, 70s suede jacket, suede pixie boots, African mask necklace, retro sunnies & Hello The Mushroom tote bag. This is a fave combo of mine.
We enjoyed a lovely few hours on Irvine Beach and we will definitely visit again soon.
If you are in Glasgow you can get there by car in about 45 minutes, the train will take about 40 minutes from Central Station and costs £8 for an off-peak day return.
I have been playing rather a lot these past few weeks and because of this my selling endeavors have suffered somewhat.
So today I will mostly be found glued to the computer, listing fabulous frocks in my Etsy store.
The past few weeks have been immensely hectic but also very rewarding and fun.
I am thrilled to announce that both Mark and I are now PADI Rescue Divers, huzzah!
The course consisted of one classroom session, three pool sessions and the open water grande finale at Dogfish Reef,Loch Fyne last Sunday.
To say that the course was physically demanding would be an understatement, there were times when I was seriously wondering if I'd be able to get through it.
To surface an unresponsive diver, giving rescue breaths and towing him or her to the shore whilst removing their and your own gear, then dragging them onto the shore before performing CPR and instructing others to contact Emergency Services (or having to do this yourself) is a TALL ORDER! However when you succeed in doing it, you feel totally flipping awesome.
The Rescue Diver Course made me realize the utmost importance of personal fitness and also that I still have to gain a fair bit of diving experience before I get to grips with the Dive Master Course.
So the aim for the coming months will be to go diving whenever the opportunity presents itself.
There are plenty of great dive sites to explore here in Scotland and with any luck we will have a great summer of doing just that.
I'm also hoping to do a few more courses with Aquatron; the Search and Recovery one is at the top of my list.
This time the fair was held in the fabulous Wasp Artists' Studio in The Briggait, which is a tremendously impressive, wonderfully light building and hands down the best venue we've ever had the pleasure to trade at.
Much like the last Judy's we did, we were kept busy pretty much from the beginning to the end and our complimentary necklaces and lollipops went down a treat.
I'm not sure when the next Judy's will be held in Glasgow but the fair floor manager on the day said that there might be one in Edinburgh during the festival and hopefully by then we will have a car.
Here is my May (thus far) in pics...
The first thing we sold at Judy's last Saturday was the 90s knitted RAVE hat. May it go forth and have a wicked summer on the head of the wee girly that bought it.
The obligatory SIFOS (seller in front of stall) pics.
Cut-offs are evidently still going strong. I remember tutting at the prices of these when Vix (VOTE VIX) and I went to the London Fashion Weekend in 2010, I think they've come down in price since then?! Tallula Vintage had some exceptionally pretty frocks up for grabs but alas I am still on a buying ban.
Tania was our delightful stall neighbour on the day. Her fabulous Etsy shop is stocked to the hilt with eclectic vintage finds and upcycled discoveries. The fetching retro print curtain in the £3 bargain bag of another seller made me think of The Queen of Curtain Couture (VOTE VIX).
I had to take a sneaky-snap of this fabulous shopper because I loved her psychedelic print mini frock and hippie head-chain get-up. So much vintage and retro finery under one roof...truly something for everyone!
I wish every day was a Judy's day :)
What I Wore: 70s psychedelic print dress (Chiswick car boot sale), 70s suede waistcoat (Vintage dealer friend), layered tights (99p stores & Aldi), African mask necklace (Princess May car boot sale) and suede pixie boots (gift from my mum-in-law).
On Sunday I brought my camera to the dive site in the hopes that I'd be able to take some cool snaps of us after the Rescue Diver Course but as soon as we left Glasgow the sky ripped open and it poured down pretty much the whole time we were at Dogfish Reef, so no luck there.
To be honest I was too shattered afterwards to even entertain the idea of acting photographer or even pose for pics...Yes, I really was that tired ;)
We managed to take a couple of pics in the morning before we set off.
This is what the house looks like the day after diving. Drysuits & BCDs in the bathtub and a plethora of gear drying out on bath towels scattered throughout the flat. It makes me feel very proud to see these pages of my training record signed off and I think Mark and I will have yet another wee celebration when our PADI certification cards come through.
Before wrapping up, I'll just share a little picture medley from when we went to see Maiden Scotland play here in Glasgow, they ROCKED!
Last time we lived in Glasgow back in 2000 we had a band together with Dave who is pictured with his lovely girlfriend Emma and Allen who now plays bass for Maiden Scotland.
Hope you are all doing grand and if you haven't already VOTE FOR VIX!!!
I'll love you and leave you with the soundtrack for the Rescue Diver Course :)
I did my scuba review with Aquatron in readiness for the Rescue Diver Course, stayed with Mark's mum in Ballachulish for few days to give her a wee hand with the spring cleaning, then we had Little Birds Market, I attended a Social Media Event with Business Gateway, hooked up with lovely Sara of Hello The Mushroom and Lynsay aka Miss West End Girl in Edinburgh, went back up to Ballachulish for a days diving in Loch Leven with Mark and Ben, studied HARD for the Rescue Diver Course, went to the first ever Aquatron social evening and started the Rescue Diver Course.
In between doing all of the above, I've sandwiched Frocktasia's online selling activities, although I have to admit that they did suffer somewhat last month with everything else being so full on.
Never mind, onwards and upwards is the motto for May.
The Rescue Diver Course is going very well, so far we've done the classroom & two pool sessions.
There is still one pool session to go and then it is the grande finale at Loch Long on the 18th, the day after Judy's. Mark and I are going to be well and truly cream-crackered after that weekend I can tell you.
I've been wanting to do this course for ages and although it is hard work and a lot to take in, I am thoroughly enjoying it :)
Here's a medley of April pics...
It was fab hanging out with Sara & Lynsey in Edinburgh, the weather that weekend was AMAZING!
We popped in to Armstrong's to peruse their fabulous selection of vintage & retro attire.
This was the day after Edinburgh, like I said we were blessed with some truly stunning spring weather. This was our first ever UK saltwater dive, so far we've only done open water diving in freshwater. It was also the first time we dived in our Scubapro drysuits. Was it cold? In the water...you bet :)
The visibility in the Loch wasn't all that great on the day but I still managed to see crabs, sea urchins and loads of brittle stars. After the dives mum had cooked us a wonderful meal of yummy veggie chilli and rhubarb crumble that we devoured in her garden.
Last Friday I went to the first ever Aquatron Social Evening to listen to Annie & Martin talk about tips & tricks for underwater photography and videography. These guys are so knowledgeable and enthusiastic. I'm so pleased for Mark that he gets to work with such a fab bunch of people. Then on Saturday the Rescue Diver Course started with the classroom session, behold my neat freak course work and Annie's adorable wee dog :)
To round off a pretty perfect month, Mark and I decided to go walkies on his day off.
Tuesday felt like the first day of summer here in Rutherglen, so we made our way to the Linn Park and the fabulous White Cart Walkway...
My awesome Hello The Mushroom tote bag got its first outing, thank you Sara :)
I'm so chuffed that we ended up living within striking distance of so many awesome parks.
It makes the outdoorsy part of me jump with joy.
A celebratory cartwheel display...
Hurrah, spring/summer is finally here :)
Hope you are all doing grand folks?!
I will leave you with a cover tune that makes me smile from ear to ear and throw some odd shapes, enjoy :)
At the beginning of every month I think to myself...
"This month I will start blogging again!"
but so far this year it has all kind of fallen by the wayside.
Stocking my Etsy shop & just generally trying to get into the swing of running Frocktasia as a proper business has been an all consuming pursuit for the past wee while. A painfully slow crawl up a very steep learning curve but I believe things are finally starting to slot into place & even make a bit of sense.
Frocktasia had a fabulous outing at Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair at Glasgow Student Union last month and it was by far the busiest market we've ever done. We will definitely attend every Judy's here in Glasgow from now on and hopefully (once we get a car) branch out to the one they do in Edinburgh too. The next one in Glasgow is held at Wasps Artists' Studios on the 17th of May the day before Mark and I are off to Loch Long with Aquatron to do our final day of the Rescue Diver Course and hopefully bag our certificates.
Mark is working at Aquatron Dive Centre now; what started as a Dive Master Internship turned into full-time employment and he couldn't be more thrilled if he tried.
The move to Glasgow has been a marvelous thing for both of us so far, long may it continue :)
Our wee pitch at Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair last month. A wheel came off one of our bags en route to the venue so we were pretty flustered by the time we got there. We had some jolly nice stall neighbours on the day though, Scott and Ross from Breaking Pop Vintage.
Last Sunday we were back at Sloans for another lovely day at Little Birds Market :)
Vintage scarves & ties have turned out to be a big hit with our market and fair customers.
One thing I really miss about London is its awesome car boot sales and markets. I'm running a bit low on scarves at the moment so I thought I'd check out the local car boot sale but it was pretty dreadful in comparison to the ones that I used to frequent down south. Maybe it will get better once the fair-weather sellers come out in force, if not I'll just have to jump on the bus and go for a cheeky wee boot sale buying weekend in London.
There is an absolute glut of charity shops here in Glasgow but I'm yet to find a real treasure trove.
My shopping lust soon fades when all I'm faced with is rails upon rails of second hand F&F, George & Atmosphere.
Don't get me wrong it is not like I'm running out of stock or anything, I have a storage unit full of fabulous threads to "shop" from for the foreseeable future :)
I made these necklaces to give away to our market customers last Sunday as 'Rock Up Early Rewards'.
To this months Little Birds Market I wore a fabulous 70s frock by Susan Small and a pair of suede pixie boots that my awesome mum-in-law gave me when I went up for a flying visit last weekend.
Palma has a well stocked Etsy store where you can peruse and shop her spectacular collection of vintage jewellery.
That pretty much wraps it up for this time and if my past track record is anything to go by my next blog post will happen after I've done Judy's at Wasps Artists' Studio, my Rescue Diver Course and my first ever proper dive in Scottish waters but who knows I might surprise you all and blog more frequently from now on?!
....and then again pigs might fly ;)
Here I am diving (and looking freaky) in Wraysbury lake last year, hopefully the water in Loch Long has slightly better visibility.
I can't believe it is March already, time is speeding past like Jay Kay in a Koeningsegg One:1.
At least it is speeding towards lighter and warmer times.
Today I've been busy adding more stock to the Frocktasia etsy shop. My target is two hundred items before the end of the month, so I've got a few days of hardcore work still ahead of me. I'm trying to coordinate my online selling activities in with my market outings, so any stock that is featured in a market preview and doesn't sell on the day can go straight onto etsy. So I'm having plenty of photo session with Barbara before the markets and then getting stuck into editing, taking measurement, writing descriptions and finally bringing it all together into a listing after. Online selling is a whole heap of work but it is also were you reach the largest number of potential customers, so it simply has to be done.
I would love to be able to survive on doing markets alone but it's just not feasible, especially since I don't have my own transport & even if I did, I'd have to learn how to drive it first.
Speaking of markets, last Sunday we were back at the fabulous Little Birds Market at Sloans...
Frocktasia's stall at Little Birds Market.
Mark and I absolutely adore this market. It is very easy for us to get to in the morning, (just a five minute walk to the station then a twenty minute train ride and another five minute walk) when you are weighed down like a Himalayan Sherpa, stuff like that really matters. Sloans is situated slap bang in the middle of Glasgow and the Little Birds team headed by the very lovely Vicki work their tail-ends off to get people through the doors. We had some fabulous customers on Sunday. My heart always skips a beat when someone comes back from the powder room with a smile on their face, hands over the garment and goes " Can I have that please"...I love it!
We had Curtise's identical frock twin on our rail on the day , it didn't sell so it will be joining the other frocks over in my etsy shop.
A couple of weeks ago we were at another market called Granny Would Be Proud and there we were delighted to meet the gorgeous Jenni of Retro Rainbow Vintage, a fellow vintage lover and trader based near Glasgow. Jenni started selling vintage online when she fell pregnant five years ago and haven't looked back since. She runs a very successful eBay store and does the rounds on the Glasgow market and fair scene. On Saturday we are both doing Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair held at Glasgow University Union and Jenni, being the very experienced & professional seller she is, has already posted her preview folder on the events page. I on the other hand have only half-arsed sorted my stock out. I'm sure I'll get up to speed at some point in the hopefully not too distant future. At the moment it pretty much nonstop GO GO GO!
Jenni and her rail vintage fabulousness. On the day she was wearing the most exquisite blouse by Gunne Sax, she has an expert eye for a stunning vintage garment this girl.
This was me on Sunday morning en route to Little Birds wearing the same old dress that I wore to our first ever Dandy Lion Market a year ago.
I'm looking very anemic, bring on the spring sun!
Leslie is doing a special Mother Appeal fundraising edition of The Dandy in partnership with Oxfam on the 22nd of March, so if you happen to be in London that day do pop along, I can highly recommend a visit.
Tomorrow Mark and I are heading up to the storage unit to pick up some fresh threads for Judy's on Saturday and then I'll be flat out prepping for the event, I am so looking forward to it.
Hope you are all doing grand folks.
I'll love you and leave you with the amazingly talented Meat Loaf...
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