New Job!

Sorry for not posting for a month, I've been mega busy...

One of the reasons for that is that I'm preparing to return to uni very soon, and I have to give a talk to my whole department a week after I get back =S, then I'm probably going to a conference a week later and giving a different talk there!

The other reason that I've been busy is that I applied for a new job, then I attended an interview day with group exercises and an interview panel. I'm immensely happy to say that I've got the job!

I'll be working for Birmingham Museums Trust in 2 of their historic properties!

Sarehole Mill

(image source and info about Sarehole Mill here)

Aston Hall

(image source and info about Aston Hall here)

The position is Visitor Service Assistant, which means I'll be doing a wide range of things including tours, 'gallery duty' (where you have to stand in one part of the museum to answer questions, assist people and make sure no one is trying to steal things!), working with school groups, working on reception and the shop and helping in the cafe. I'm working 11.45-4.30 6 days a week, my day off is Monday. I'm going to keep my other job with Moseley History Group too, so I'll be working 10.30-12.30 on a Monday. This means I'll be working a total of 27.5 hours a week, plus the 20 hours I'm supposed to put into my PhD. I think it'll be tough simply because I don't have a day off (unless I book holiday), but this job is an excellent opportunity for me to get experience of working in a museum and it's only until November, so maybe I can get something with less hours after that!

I was worried that this blog would get neglected but because I'm going to be so busy, but then I realised that I'm going to be working somewhere where it's safer/easier to wear pretty clothes and they have no dress code! I'm going to be able to wear nice things more often, which will definitely encourage me to blog more =]

Also I'm hoping that since by necessity i'll have to have a routine for getting my uni work done, so i'll have more of a clear idea of what free time I can work on DIY projects in, so hopefully I'll have more things I've made to show you all too!

Right now I'm very excited about the future! I hope you will all bear with me a little while I get settled in though; I start my new job on April 13th, so expect erratic updating until May!

Of new boots, wonderful gifts and clubbing apparel

What is this you say? Another post from Cemetery Dreams, in the same week?! I'm surprising even myself!

The main reason I'm making this post is to say a massive and slightly overdue thank you to Victorian Kitty of Sophistique Noir for sending me 2 lovely blouses =]. I received them a couple of weeks ago but didn't immediately have a chance to wear either (it's back to woolly jumpers at work already). I put together this outfit using one of them today though. I really love this blouse but it's a little tight in the bust for me (shock horror) so I have to leave the top button undone. I started to think of ways of wearing it with something underneath and immediately thought of this dress:

Sorry for the poor lighting, this was taken in my old room at dad's and it gets a very bright at sunset! It makes my black tights look a slightly odd colour too for some reason. Also forgive me for not drying my hair before I took the picture.

What I'm wearing:
Blouse: Living Dead Souls, gift from Victorian Kitty
Dress: New Look, I got it earlier this year and I can't remember how much ti was
Boots: New Look. These are new. £29.99
Velvet Choker: Handmade by me.

I've just brought these great boots as a replacement for the shoes I repaired in this post which finally gave up the ghost. The soles split right across the toes on both feet so there was no way to save them =[. I couldn't afford to spend enough to get real leather, but at least these are cheaper than those shoes were! Also they are really soft and comfy with grippy soles perfect for the autumn weather.

This outfit is one I'd like to wear when I go to Leeds to visit some old friends at the end of the month, the goth scene is much bigger there than it is here and I've been promised a weekend of club nights! I'm very excited! This was just a trial run, I may decide that this outfit isn't OTT enough and add some more accessories though. What do you guys think? I wish I could order one of these ribcage belts to go with it but they are sold out at the moment.

I'd forgotten about this choker because it was hiding at the back of my jewellery box but I think I'll have to wear it more often again! I'm also going to try to get some nice soft narrow lace trim and make some more for my Etsy shop =]

A sax in the snow

You may remember that a while ago I ordered a black Gunne Sax dress from Etsy. It arrived just after Christmas but I didn't get around to taking pictures of it until yesterday.

I brought it because of the lace collar (my lace addiction is a serious problem right?) and it's potential for use in Dolly Kei style ensembles, but when I woke up and saw the snow I knew I had to take pictures, and thought it'd keep the outfit simple and warm-ish! I was only outside for 2 minutes and that was enough!

I even persuaded Ash to be my photographer! So a big thank you to him. Unfortunately I had a hard time standing up/walking in the snow which was so deep it covered my Docs right up to my frilly boot covers, so this is the only non-blurry picture!

I was really happy because I'd just found out that my brother's wife gave birth to my second nephew last night!

He was born at 10:01 pm on 17th January, weighing 7 pounds and 15 ounces =]

They have called him Lucas Karim Wall.

This makes me extra happy because I helped them pick the name. My brother is a huge Star Wars fan, as is my older nephew Logan (Ahmed Wall, he is the LAW!), so I said you should name him Luke as a joke! I think Lucas will have his name shortened to Luca though not Luke, which I think is a nicer name anyway! Also avoids the Luke Wall sounding like Luke Warm issue =P We're considerate in our family!

So now I have a nephew named after Star Wars to go with my nephew named after Wolverine =P (my brother denies that's why they chose the name, but they chose it after watching X-Men so he's lying =P)

Expect pictures when I can go and meet him - hopefully next week!
(advance apologies for me going all mushy - I'm reallllly not maternal or broody but my nephews manage to overcome this and make me coo like a mother hen anyway)

As we go round the sun again

I've stolen the title of this post from a song written by the band my college boyfriend was in, because I liked the lyric so much it's stuck in my head for 5 years (I'd post the song, but none of them would thank me for it).

I hope that you all had a lovely holiday season and are enjoying the beginning of 2013. I hope this year brings much joy and happiness to all of my readers!

I'm very much looking forward to the next year which I hope will be full of exciting things like fieldwork for my PhD, volunteering with my local history group to help digitize their archives, presenting my first conference paper, attending a short course about Human Osteology (one of the modules that got cut from my masters), setting up my Etsy shop, maybe even buying a house with Ash (excitement, terror, feelings of bank account emptiness approaching =P)

Normally I don't make New Year's resolutions or make them and forget them by the end of January, so this year I'm going to make it simple for myself:

Look after yourself better.

I've not been eating properly, often skipping meals, eating too much junk, not enough fruit and veg. I need to change that. I can see it's effect, not just on my body, but also my mental health. I suffer from hypoglycemia; I get low blood sugar easily, it runs in my family. When I was young with low weight and a high metabolism this meant I had to eat every 8 hours or start to shake and get dizzy. Now my metabolism is slower and I have larger fat reserves I don't get sick so easily so I thought it was less important to eat regularly. Recently though I've noticed that when I skip meals I start to get generally unwell after a couple of days, especially that I get anxious and depressed more easily because I'm putting unnecessary stress on my body which is fighting hard to keep my sugar levels normal.

My weight is higher than my 'ideal', but right now I'm unconcerned by that; although I feel big and cumbersome I know that I'm still within a normal BMI range and objectively still quite small. I do however feel that my fitness really is too poor (I get out of breath walking uphill far too easily!) so I am going to try and do more exercise. I'd like to swim more but unless I can fit it into my daytime schedule it will have to wait until the night's are lighter (I hate walking home from the pool in the dark; it's not the best area of town). In the meantime I will try to do some simple exercise like hula hooping or sit-ups at home!

I'm going to try to do a few other things to look after myself better too like change to a sulphate free shampoo; I recently had a bad reaction to a face-wash which contained sodium laureth sulphate so I'm starting to think that the reason my hair is kind-of crappy is because my scalp doesn't like it either. I might even get wild and try to remember to take my multi-vitamins =P

I was going to post lots of pictures of the home-made gifts I gave to everyone, but realised I forgot to photograph almost all of them before hey got wrapped! None of the necklaces and only a couple of the sock animals got photographed, oopsies!

Here are the pictures I did remember:

The  cat was for Anya; I like making cats, although they take such a long time, because I made the pattern myself - I didn't think any of the sock cats I saw online looked cat-like enough!

The owl with the top hat was for Ed who just got engaged earlier this year, at an owl sanctuary! I made Flick, his fiance, that I've known since school, an owl with a veil to go with it! Cute huh? I wish I had a photo of them both together.

Things that made me happy in the last 3 days:

1. The computer issues I had were caused by a faulty charger; the computer itself is fine. Luckily I had a spare charger!

2. The feedback on the 8,000 words I submitted to be read by my advisor (who has ignored me all year and didn't replied to my emails) was actually good. It ended with the phase 'could easily achieve doctoral standard'!

3. The panel agreed with him! I'm now unoffically a PhD student! =] =] =] =]

4. After the panel I went to see some friends who had just finished their exams. We've arranged to celebrate next week. I'll finally get to see the Avenger's movie!

5. My journey to York for the conference went really smoothly. I even got some work done on the train.

6. When I arrived in York there was a rainbow in the sky. Seemed like a very good omen!

7. I got to see York Minster with the last rays of sun reflecting off its windows and no tourists anywhere in sight.

8. I met the other people attending the conference in a pub just behind where I stood to take that picture. They were all really nice and interesting to talk to.

9. We went for dinner at Ask Italian and it was really good food. Also the building is beautiful.

10.The conference itself was great and I learned a lot. I made a tonne of notes and got a lot of ideas for my thesis.

11. My mum met me in York. It was nice to see her and she gave me this incredible Victorian mourning brooch:

The panel in the middle is difficult to photograph but it contains woven hair. This was a lock of hair from the person who had died, worn in order to remember them. The surround is made out of Jet, which was used for mourning jewellery because it's black.
Victorian rules for mourning were very strict (at least among the upper classes). A widow had to wear mourning for 2 years,'full mourning' included a veil and dresses made of crepe (because it was black and lustreless- shiny fabric was not appropriate for mourning). Towards the end of the 2nd year it was acceptable to wear 'light mourning', which could include grey and lilac as well as black. During the period of mourning it was seen as disrespectful to attend public events.
The amount of time for mourning was set; 2 years for husband/wife, 1 year for parent/child, 3 months for other relative (e.g. uncle, aunt, cousin).
Anyone wishing for more information about mourning jewellery should check out this book here. This one has useful information about mourning customs.

12. I saw Dark shadows yesterday with a friend. I actually quite enjoyed it, because its funny and silly and the blood is so fake (I'm petrified of real blood). Not the best film ever but entertaining enough. I haven't seen the TV series, which probably helped me enjoy the film!