Day Fifteen: A Day in the Life

So I'm just about half way through the Blog Every Day in May Challenge... I actually can't believe it's already mid-May. I don't know how that happened, or where the year has gone; I must have hibernated through a few months, or something. Anyway, before I start rambling on about the weather like a little old lady, the challenge for today is 'A day in the life. (Include photos from throughout your typical day- this can be a photo an hour, if you'd like).'

Well, a typical day in my life is currently likely to be a little different to the average person. 
I can't stray far from my bed, due to the amount of pain I'm in. Sitting up in a chair is quite simply agony, and I struggle to remain on my feet for long because the pain is just that extreme. I'm pushing myself to leave the house as often as I can with a family member, but generally, my limit is an hour out of bed, and mostly the destination is the supermarket. How dull?! 
As the pain is so relentless, I also find it difficult to sleep, and have become nocturnal. I'm lucky if I manage to fall asleep by six am, and then have such broken sleep, I often don't rouse until three or four in the afternoon. It's not ideal, but I've made it work.
So my day runs from about 4:30pm Tuesday afternoon until 6:00am Wednesday morning...

Technically, these photos were taken the evening before my day, but I wanted to include them. I popped to the supermarket with my sister on Monday evening, and on the way home there was an enormous rainbow across the sky through the storm clouds. In fact, there were two! I took these photos with my iPod; I wish I'd had my camera with me as it was beautiful.

I didn't fall off to sleep until almost 9am yesterday morning, which was really frustrating, but I managed to read several chapters of the book I'm reading, 'Instructions For a Heatwave' by Maggie O' Farrell. I'm really enjoying it. I continued to read when I awoke late in the afternoon.

I filled in a little more of my Listography book. I started filling in the page of 'celebrities I've encountered'; although I'm struggling to recall them all. I worked in retail in the Cotswold's, and celebrity customers were a common occurrence. For instance, I sold pet ducks to Ronnie Barker on multiple occasions, and pet chickens to Jeremy Clarkson.

The Graze box I forgot to cancel came in the post. If anybody wants a free Graze box on me, go to Graze.com, and use code: DXQZDF6D!

I spent some time writing out birthday cards for a few friends' birthdays.

I then spent three hours or so making album sleeves to package a couple of discs I burned for friends. This photo sadly doesn't make them look that good, as it was taken about 10pm when there wasn't daylight to capture them properly.

I watched a few programmes on TV during the evening including The Big Bang Theory, Family Guy, and The Hunger Games.

I spent an hour catching up on Tumblr, and all the amazing images on my dashboard.

And I briefly got absorbed with Pinterest, repinning photos of cute puppies, outfit inspiration, quotes, and Modcloth dresses. The photos of the dog eating an ice cream are my current favourites of the week.

I then worked on putting my Wednesday Wish List post together, using Photoscape to bring all the pieces I'm coveting together and turn them in to a collage. I rarely use a template when making wish list collages like this; I arrange them all by hand to get the look I want.

I discovered a website called Art Box whilst catching up on my reading list. They're a company who sell stationary, clothing, and other gifts, including a huge selection of Moomin products. I wanted to buy it all, but settled on a couple of boxes of Moomin bath confetti (one for me, one for a present) for now. I then found a Care Bears folder which I plan on giving to my sister for her birthday as a silly, novelty gift, as she loved the Care Bears growing up. Who didn't?

And before I went to sleep, it was time for my fourth and last dose of medication of the day.  May I add, this is prescription medication, (not recreational), for my back injuries.

And after I took the last dose of medicine, I shut off the laptop, and settled down with my book again until I fell asleep.

And that is pretty much my Tuesday in a nut shell.

Fabulous Little Known Shops and Sellers

Sometimes I like to wear fashionable pieces which can't be found on every high street in the country. I've nothing against mass produced fashion at all- obviously I frequently shop from well known brands, it's just I don't want to turn up to a gathering or night out and see six other girls wearing the same dress with the same necklace as me. Nobody wants to feel like a mannequin in a high street window.

Granted my personal style is a little different to that of the average small town girl, but I still enjoy scouting out unusual pieces to accessorize with. That's just who I am. I love to wear quirky jewellery, especially pieces I know nobody else I know is likely to have. I usually head to Camden to source some rare handmade gems, but I also take advantage of the Internet, too.

And today, I've decided to share a few of my new favourite online shops with you lovely lot. Well, it would be rude to keep such lovely things to myself now, wouldn't it?

Enjoy!

Ali Buttons Jewelry

I stumbled up on Ali Buttons' shop after seeing photos of her wearing amazing quirky outfits on my Tumblr dashboard. I loved her style, so I hopped on over to her blog to follow, and discovered most of the clothes she modelled were for her shop! Obviously, I couldn't help myself and had to have a look, and immediately fell in love with everything.

 She sells plus size skirts made from the cutest, quirkiest patterns, which I long to purchase (and hopefully will in time), and also a great range of jewellery from gorgeous adjustable button rings to cardigan clips. Basically, I would own it all if I could!

Sweet and Lovely

Sweet and Lovely is an online shop ran by Kate of Scathingly Brilliant, which is another wonderful blog I found through Tumblr. Her vintage-inspired, pastel loving style clearly influences the jewellery and other products she makes, and they're all, well, sweet and lovely! I adore her sweater clips, which I plan to investigate further by purchasing one when I have the funds. I can't help thinking how perfect they'd be with my yellow polka dot AX Paris dress in spring and summer!

Flapper Girl 

I became aware of Flapper Girl a month or so ago, and am smitten with their 'Lady Ties'. They're inspired by actresses from the 1920s and 30s, and come in so many different patterns and colours. The above are a few of the ties I love, but there are many equally beautiful others to choose from. They're designed to be worn under collars, and I think they're an amazing way of completing an outfit. I hope to purchase one or two soon.

Kitschen Sink

I discovered the Kitschen Sink shop after Rachel blogged about her Bambi skunk brooch a few months ago.  Kitschen Sink sell some amazing kitsch accessories, and these brooches are my favourites. They're handmade by Rowan Grant using pages from damaged vintage books, and are all one of a kind- and not to mention, utterly adorable, too!

The Nearsighted Owl/Femme Club

I've been following The Nearsighted Owl blog for a few months now, and not only do I feel inspired by Rachele's posts on body positivity and fatshion, but I've also fallen in love with the crochet collars she's started making for her Etsy Shop. I have a soft spot for collars right now and these two have to be my favourites. They look so soft and vintage; and would look perfect over dresses, cardigans, and tops. She has many others for sale, so head over and have a look.


Well, I hope you've enjoyed this post, and I hope you'll check out a few of these great online shops. They really are all too wonderful to keep to myself . I'm pretty sure I'll be making a few purchases when my Christmas shopping is all done.

Have you shopped from any of these shops before?

Can you recommend an Etsy or other online shop I might like?