Well, here we are again! I can’t believe how quickly a year has gone by since my last post (a review of 2018)…I notice that I only had one (unofficial) resolution last year, which was to actually use some of my growing collection of notebooks. I’m pleased to report that I did manage to use some of them, and rehomed others which I had too much ’emotional involvement’ with to ever use them!
As expected, the first half of this year was mostly taken up with wedding planning. Even though I thought I was keeping it low-key, our relaxed, informal, colourful plans still took rather a lot of time to sort out. Might do a future post about the wedding itself if anyone’s interested?
Wedding achievements are kind of joint achievements as of course M was involved in all of them, though I’m going to take most of the credit for the wedding itself, thank you very much!
– We made our own wedding rings with Oxford Etsy captain Christina Made It
– We had an engagement shoot with the wonderful Kevin from Potter’s Instinct Photography to help me get over my camera fear before the big day!
– We had a lovely minimoon in the middle of nowhere in almost-Wales (turns out we were just about in England instead of Wales, where we thought we were staying!), including going horseriding and unexpectedly having one of our best lunches ever at a local pub
– We went to Split in Croatia for our actual honeymoon, which was enjoyable despite baggage mishaps and delays!
I did also manage to achieve some things which weren’t wedding-related!
– I continued to write for the Paralympic website, adding another sport to my repertoire
– I designed the regatta posters for City of Oxford Rowing club for the second year running
– I went skiing for the second time, to Val d’Isere, and decided that twice is enough for me!
– We saw the amazing Amelie The Musical at the Watermill Theatre
– We celebrated our anniversary at a spa and followed it up with a Valentine’s Day three course meal at IKEA (which was great fun)
– We did the rounds of some National Trust properties, including Mottisfont, Cliveden and Westbury Court Garden
– We decided to do a sugar-free January which was quite educational for us (and forced me to finally learn how to make bread, as most shop-bought bread has sugar in it)
– My success with bread led to more bakes – hot cross buns, malt loaf and stollen.
Etsy/making related:
– I started selling my jewellery and prints at The Oxford Artisan Distillery‘s monthly craft markets
– I was lucky enough to be chosen to have a stall at the Oxford Etsy Made Local market for the third year running
– I designed and made a selection of new items for my Becky Button shop, including hand-painted animal jewellery and new recycled acrylic jewellery
– I celebrated my ten-year anniversary of having an Etsy shop
Creating:
– I was part of the @CreativeSprint Instagram takeover, creating a Matisse-inspired piece of wall art with help from M
– I learned how to make a ring and an intertwined hoop necklace at a local silver class
– M and I treated ourselves to a pasta-making class from Jericho Kitchen, hosted by the very lovely, enthusiastic and knowledgeable Ursula Ferrigno
It’s been an interesting year but I’m definitely looking to get back to achieving lots of things again!
I’ve been giving a bit of thought to any New Year’s Resolutions or goals I’d like to set for this year. The run-up to Christmas was rather busy so I’ve not had as much contemplative time as I might like. So far I’ve come up with this one, as part of Doodle a Day January:
I’ll see if I come up with any more over the next few weeks. I find it’s helpful to have something to aim for or work on. A joint resolution is probably to get the house finished – it’s proven to be quite a long-winded renovation project. M moved in about three and a half years ago, I moved in almost two years ago, and so we really need to just get it done and get on with our lives! Wish me luck 🙂
Becky
Becky Button 