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The Green photo challenge

The lovely Nina has set a photo challenge for the month of June – though we could choose our own theme, hers was green and a few of us have decided to join that theme rather than faff about choosing one of our own and fail before we’d started 🙂

My photos for this challenge can be found in my “Green” photoset on Flickr – or below!

[AFG_gallery id=’1′]

If you’d like to join us, pop over, leave a comment on the challenge page and let us know where you’re posting them – Instagram, Facebook, Flickr, your own blog or site – it doesn’t matter where 🙂

 

[lifestyle] Puppies, corsets, notebooks and sunshine – a perfect weekend?!

Burlesque (well, a Ducking Fabulous stall while wearing my burlesque gear, to support the girls who were performing at the venue), zooming around in Poppy with the roof down, puppies, lunch with a dear friend and lots and lots of SUNSHINE… it’s been a thoroughly brilliant weekend.

2013-04-20 16.58.47 She generally has a sweeter expression than this – I think she was unimpressed by the camera shoved in her face! 

While driving around in Poppy, roof down, singing (badly) to 99 Problems, I realised that even with sunglasses and a convertible, I will never be cool. This is rather a relief.

Talking of roof down, I nearly wet myself laughing when I stopped at traffic lights and a random chav yelled “oi, someone’s nicked yer roof” – I’ve certainly had more original heckles. It amazes me how much attention she seems to get, especially in this part of the country where there are much more expensive, shiny and generally showy cars around. (It’s ok – I still love her best!)

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This is serious market research. Does your outfit affect your sales?!

The Pamper Yourself Vintage fair was great fun and I finally got to meet Hattie of Whats your tale, nightingale? which was fabulous. Lovely to catch up with some of the Jems, and Annastasia was an absolute star and helped with my stall as well as dancing 🙂

I’ve done at least half my admin outside, and I even managed to sit and read a book for a bit this morning. Acquired a hammer (Dad will be relieved, he’ll have sole ownership of his again), a blue beach type chair for garden relaxing, a photo tent, another copy of the Free Range Humans book and a copy of my door key so that friends don’t have to leave when I do if they stay during the week. Excellent.

I even managed to make a summery casserole (oxymoron, no?!) in the slow cooker – so my only fail of the weekend would be choosing and writing cards for two of my favourite people in the world, whose birthdays fell on Friday and today… and then in the madness of stallholding, forgetting to take them with me to post. Silly girl… so if either of you are reading (I suspect you’re not, lol) – they’re going in the post tomorrow, I promise!

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And on that note, having filled the blank page (and many others) in the fading sun with notes for Ink Drops, the Ducking Fabulous shop and my two super secret projects, I am off to bed with a book.

I hope you all also had thoroughly fabulous weekends!

My life is no longer packed in boxes | Week in photos

Oh, it’s been a whirlwind of a week. (I wonder how often I start a blog post with that?) I’ve finally moved, I’m in, the keys have been handed back to the old flat’s agents and my new house feels like home already!

Here are the fabulous daffodils (I ADORE daffs) that Mum and Dad brought me to celebrate moving in. I feel I should point out that the curtains will be changed shortly, and I really should have been buying them flowers – couldn’t have done this move without them!

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And my very first visitors this weekend…

girlies-in-wivenhoe

Here are some (probably blurry) photos from the move – am hoping Mum took some of the chaos of boxes, as I completely forgot in the excitement!

Last morning waking up in my old flat

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(more…)

Guest post by Jenny G: Am I getting old?

As I’m fairly sure you all know by now, I have been moving house this week. Proper update coming soon, but in my absence, the lovely Jenny has written for Ducking Fabulous…

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This is Jenny and I on a friend’s Krakow hen do. *Grins*

Over to Jenny…

Recently there have been a few occasions where I’ve stopped and thought, “I’m getting old!”

Before some of you get annoyed at my suggesting I might be old at the age of 26 (nearly 27!), I know I’m not old and there are many people older than me, but don’t you sometimes get the feeling the world is trying to remind you that you’re getting older?

My moments of age realisation have included:

· Waiting for my brother outside the secondary school he works at and realising I left education nine years ago and the pupils are at least that many years younger than me.

· Remembering the days of dial up internet and times before social media existed.

· The shock on the face of a girl in her early teens when I told her Facebook wasn’t around until my 20s (possibly marginally earlier for those of my age group who went to University) and I chatted to friends on MSN, which no longer exists.

· A Facebook moan of mine about road closures in Wokingham being printed in the local paper on their letters page – surely only ‘old’ people moan in papers!

(more…)

This week I am mostly…

Feeling: Either overwhelmed or ridiculously excited… I don’t seem to have a middle setting, and it’s rather exhausting!

Reading:

[Interview] The Paris Letters – a project that turned into a business

[Article] Why mess can be a good thing

[Book] The Secret Supper Club, Dana Bate

[Blog post] Dance to your own beat, the Be Free Community

Eating: with other people – it’s been lovely! (And the year’s first Cadbury mini eggs. Nom nom nom).

Planning: new lines of jewellery, wholesale options and a website; things to do in the new house (decorating, cooking, creating, entertaining) and some dance routines.

Dreaming of: Not being surrounded by boxes, and being a bit bloody warmer, please – the novelty of winter is well and truly over now. If we’re talking actual dreams, I dreamed of sunglasses the  night before last so we can only hope that means spring is on its way.

Coveting: Contrariety Rose’s cherry dress (yup, that’s me in the listing. I wanted to take it home!!)

Wishing: I was better at playing the ukulele and/or guitar, especially after discovering 9 year old Zoe Thomson’s guitar playing.

Working on: New fonts on the site (did you notice how much prettier they are now?) courtesy of Gemma at Jane & Philbert, and deliberately disconnecting more often, courtesy of Diane Leigh and Grace Marshall.

Celebrating: Having been 27 for a whole week today, and the launch of 15 Queen Street tonight.

Grateful for: The first shafts of sunshine, likeminded souls and my apparently innate ability to network and connect with people.

And finally tomorrow I will be: drinking hot chocolate with Rachael, finalising the packing up of the studio, making lists of the contents of the flat and working on all my websites.

On my to-do list?

– Various money-related tasks (paying bills, setting up accounts, budgeting & planning)
– House admin (let people know I’m moving, switch providers, notify of change of address, etc etc etc)
–  Try and get some kind of control over my Ducking Fabulous accounts
– everything is there, but nothing is in date order and it’s making me cross
–  Book next burlesque course
– Learn a bit more about Google Analytics
– Getting dates in the diary with friends who I’ve been trying and failing to see for months

So quite a good one ahead – and of course ploughing on with the web stuff at the day job. Which I love, but which occasionally makes my pea brain hurt.

This week I am mostly… (14 February)

Some photos from this last week:

 

Feeling ~ Loved and lucky! I have been deluged by Valentines this year, all from friends. Some were sweet, some made me snort out loud and I love them even more for it. It’s a good reminder that all love is precious and should be celebrated, not just romantic love 🙂 Two posts from fellow single blogger friends I particularly loved: Bamboozle Beauty: Valentine’s Day and Adventures After Hours: A ‘singles’ guide to surviving Valentines.

Reading ~ having just finished the last book of the Wheel of Time, a book I’ve awaited for a good twelve years, I’m all cried out and emotionally spent and am sticking to non fiction for the foreseeable future. Currently, Bill Bryson’s Made In America. (For WoT fans – it was bloody brilliant and well worth the wait, but a very emotional ride.)

The end of the Wheel of Time | duckingfabulous.com A Memory of Light | duckingfabulous.com

Eating ~ my own bodyweight in Maltesers and Bitsa Wispa. And some very nice cheese from the land of milk and bunny (I am so eay to market to…)

Planning ~ my move, the new house, housewarming parties by the dozen

Dreaming of ~ sunshine and warmth. I am thoroughly fed up with the bitter cold outside!

Coveting ~ a ticket to the Free Range Festival, silk flowers for my new house, some Moo cards for announcing the move, a teal digital radio for my new kitchen and this proper airbed

Wishing ~ moving day would get here faster, and that I was more decisive so I could choose from the photos from our shoot last week!

Working on ~ money strategies and mindfulness, and taking my own advice

Celebrating ~ the last week of being 26 – it’s my birthday next Thursday!

Grateful for ~ people who care about me, worry for me, and a magical Mum who created a presentable flat from a book and craft warehouse in the space of just one evening!

And finally tomorrow I will be ~ heading over to Mimi’s after work to meet with her and lovely Annastasia to work on some secret plans!

On my to-do list this month?
* Get packed
*Aforementioned secret plans
*Turn 27
* Paint my nails
* Reply to emails and letters
* Post various things to various people, some of which are painfully overdue
* Use up as much of my freezer contents as possible
*Decorate a bra with Show Pony at 15 Queen Street

What are you up to this week? What’s on your to do list?

Moving on out…

I have been absent! But with good reason – if you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or my other blogs (Teasets to Typewriters and Etc Collective), you’ll know I was unexpectedly served notice on my beloved flat and am now in the process of moving.

Dolls moving house, via Photopin | duckingfabulous.com photo credit: Valeri-DBF via photopin cc

It’s… an experience! After the initial shock and sadness of being ordered to leave somewhere that’s been home for two and a half years, and the first place of my own, I’m actually quite excited.

Last Saturday the snow spoiled my plans – Rob was due to visit, I was going to London to meet the fabulous Miss Joyful, and I was intending puppy cuddles and maybe riding on Sunday afternoon. Snow put paid to all of this, so I had a lazy, snuggly kind of a day and read two books cover to cover. On checking my post at lunchtime, I found my notice to vacate, which didn’t improve my mood!  In a most un-Carla fashion, I threw myself into action and by the end of Saturday had booked five viewings and had a much better idea of what I was going to do next.

By this Saturday, I’d viewed a decent number of places and fallen in love with a house in Wivenhoe. Today, I’m dropping my reference paperwork off with the estate agents, and this evening I shall continue packing.

I’ll be sad to leave, but I’m hugely excited about the new house – it has a garden, a conservatory and a spiral staircase, space for my studio and it’s fifteen minutes’ walk from work. The village is utterly gorgeous – I’ll have to do a tour when I get there. No photos yet as it wasn’t listed online… it’s a wait and see one!

I’ll try and keep up the blogging during the move!

The First Annual Christmas Cookie (Craft) Swap

January 6th saw the very first of our annual craft swaps (though I’m not sure we can wait a whole year for the next one) – organised by Mimi, the idea was that all nine of us would make enough of whatever we chose for each participant to go home with one.  It ended up in January by accident, but we think we’ll keep it there as it’s so lovely to have something to look forward to after Christmas!

2013 craft swap | duckingfabulous.com

The edible things were long gone before I had a chance to photograph them, teehee – wonderful alcohol-infused vegan chocs from Annastasia at Midorigreen, and yummy chocolate fridge cake from Helen. The button magnets (genius!!) from Mimi also escaped my photo shoot as they’re adorning my filing cabinet/noticeboard in the studio!

My contribution? Kilner jars decoupaged with pin up ladies (Elvgren paintings, as he’s my favourite pin up artist) and filled with cutters, a tiny pot of ginger, my favourite gingerbread recipe and glitter. Of course 🙂

kilner jars decoupaged with pin up girls | duckingfabulous.com

It was a wonderful afternoon, full of tea and giggles and happiness, and we all went home sparkling with the joy of friendship and sharing things we’d made… a rare achievement for a grey day in January, I don’t usually sparkle much straight after Christmas!

I loved seeing how everyone interpreted “make something” differently – we had no duplicates, and I was amazed all over again at the talent within this group of women I’m so proud to be part of!

I can’t for the life of me find the PDF of the gingerbread recipe – will put it up if I locate it!

The year that was: 2012

Christmas is all over for another year, and though I’m very much enjoying the week in limbo between years in a way I thought would be impossible a few short months ago, the season rather snuck up on me this year. Sitting working quietly on Rob’s sofa before we head out to a party later, I thought now would be a good time to look back at 2012 and perhaps forward at 2013. Though that may make the post too epic, so perhaps I’ll do that separately. I’ve kept it wordy as I hope to sort a photo album out later on…

year that was 2012 copy

I saw the 2011-2012 new year in with Rob and his friends, at Holly’s house, watching fireworks and making Emily dress up as a dinosaur, accompanied by large amounts of cocktails. The rest of January shot past in something of a blur, with the highlight being Progress Theatre’s production of Neverwhere, one of my all time favourite books, which the fabulous Lou had done the costumes for.

Much of February 2012 was taken up with our much-anticipated USA road trip. Though I never finished blogging it, this was truly epic, so much so that we still haven’t chosen the photos to go on the wall – there are too many awesome memories! I turned 26 as we flew home, which was actually quite nice.

In March I met the gorgeous Anastasia’s equally gorgeous daughter Zoe. Unrelatedly, I discovered I would have to embark upon the first and only diet of my lifetime, in order to fit into the bridesmaid dress Julia had bought for me when she and Ed first got engaged. (I love her, and it was that or not be a bridesmaid, which was unthinkable. I do not love anyone else in this world enough to diet for them, believe me – never, ever again!!). To make this more bearable, I also booked a boudoir shoot for June, went to a corset party and signed up for burlesque classes. I had no idea how this would change my life…

April brought the relaunch of the Ducking Fabulous shop, dressing up as a dead parrot for a Monty Python party and my very first burlesque class. I loved it from the start – it was like recognising something that had been there all along.

May was a completely mad but absolutely wonderful month. I started it with a long weekend back in Loughborough with my uni girls I lived with, which was weird but fab; hit Paris and Disney dressed as Belle from Beauty and the Beast for Julia’s hen do; booked CybHer to give me some blogging oomph and incentive, saw Swan Lake on Ice with Hannah and revisited the Royal Albert Hall as a spectator, for the first time since I performed there in 2005 (which was lovely but very odd…). And my favourite part, a week on a narrowboat with Rob, Andy, Gemma, James and Jo – which we just happened to have booked during the hottest week of the whole year.

News of Cat and Mark’s engagement heralded June, while drinking cocktails at the Oxo tower. Which was rather lovely. I spent a day at Elstree studios learning WordPress with Andy, and we overheard and then sneakily watched Leona Lewis rehearse. Lou and I went to a Startup Saturday course, and I took the beginnings of the London Pin Up School to start to form them into an actual strategy. It went down a storm, and both of us came away feeling really inspired. I sold my first international order on Etsy, built an online portfolio (which still needs work, but the basics are there), discovered a new friend and rollerskating companion in Caroline, and took myself on a date to the Hammersmith Apollo to see Against Time – Flawless vs the English National Ballet. Some things are too good to be shared! The lovely Bluebell the bicycle also came to live with me towards the end of the month… a good omen, given that I can now cycle to work! I also slipped in the boudoir shoot, with Emily, which was terrifying but fabulous and incredibly good for both soul and self image. And I also met the lovely Craftyguider in real life, which was nervewracking but fab – we had a great time and her children are gorgeous!

July was characterised by inspiring conversations about opening a gym and generally working for oneself and escaping the City grind, puppies, celebratory dinners, long bike rides and another amazing CAE, this time in Yorkshire. Even the rain couldn’t stop us having fun, and I treasure these weekends, they’re truly three days of laughter, bant and frankly ridiculous conversations, surrounded by people I never expected to meet and now cannot imagine my life without, even the ones I only see once or twice a year. I picked up the images from my photoshoot and experienced a profound shift in perception – for the better. I cannot recommend this experience enough, and promptly booked another one for October – seeing myself in a new light is one of the most valuable things I’ve done this year.

July was of course also Julia and Ed’s wedding, and it was gorgeous – the bride was amazingly beautiful, the groom couldn’t stop smiling and the rest of us managed to hold it together until Julia’s old musical drama group did a Love Actually-style flashmob in the reception, where they’d rewritten a Disney medley for her and Ed. I bawled, but it was lovely. She’s now a Wilson and happily settled in Bristol, and I am dying to see her! (and yes, I fitted the dress, I lost almost two stone between March and July. Proud, but never again!!)

August saw me suddenly putting myself in gear and organising things – a picnic for lots of dear friends I hadn’t seen for ages, a conversation with Annastasia led to our now launched company Ink Drops Boxes, I discovered Free Range Humans and began to look at the world differently and start to work out what I actually wanted to do with my life. I was able to work from home during some of the Olympics, and I was amazingly moved by the Olympians and how well we hosted it – definitely a summer to remember. Horses and puppies and GCSE results arrived with my extended family, Janine had an amazing tea party/BBQ for her birthday (and my gazebo is still there, oops!!) and Wendy and I went up to London to see the Hurly Burly show – the first live burlesque I’d seen apart from the Fling last year. It was even better than expected!

Trade shows and Ink Drops dominated September, including nearly running out of petrol halfway home from Birmingham and discovering that “vegan” and “just irritatingly fussy” make for a very relaxed approach to eating out together! I started applying for more craft fairs without really believing I’d have time to do them, but knowing I had to start somewhere to build up my attendance again. I did a double take when I realised a whole year had passed since the Romania rally, and had a whole host of lunches out with amazing people to try and get over the shock!

September also brought news of a new job, handing in my notice to the City at last, and my first Escape the City workshop, plus a new friend. Ironic, as I’d already left… but we’ve now formed an entrepreneurial support group which is fabulous. I managed to squeeze in two burlesque shows – one at Proud Cabaret, with work ladies, and one in Chelmsford with my best friends, both of which made me squee and want to work on my own routines even more. Having handed in my notice, I was quite overwhelmed by the outpouring of support, and intrigued by comments that I was brave.

October. Cabaret, cabaret, cabaret – my first burlesque performance! Rehearsals with the girls, rehearsals at class, class as normal. Costumes, feathers, glitter, panic, then elation as I stepped off the stage. The performing bug is back! Another boudoir shoot, this time with much more idea of what I wanted, followed, and Lou and I had a hilarious evening trying on all our outfits and accessories for it. I spent a lot of the month working on a helicopter presentation (who knew that a LAMA was a helicopter and not a furry animal with wings?!), had a Bare Escentuals make-under and found a glorious new liquid lipstick (in red, of course), had our first Escape the City meetup, and then left work in a blaze of tears, a vintage mannequin and a THREE KILOGRAM Kit Kat (photos of that to follow when I find my camera card). Straight in the car up to Nottingham where I spent quite a lot of time in stunned “has it really happened” kind of mode, and we spent the other half bankrupting ourselves in Lakeland and making chicken and tarragon pie and chocolate spoons. Not to be eaten at the same time, obviously. I subscribed to Simple Things in honour of my new, slower lifestyle.

1st November was our official launch date for Ink Drops, and the 5th saw me start my new job at the university. After a whirlwind month of being accepted to fairs, my first Ducking Fabulous stockists, a night of cocktails at Karen & Dave’s, the Free Range festival, a tassel making workshop (including making new friends and learning to twirl them!) with the fabulous Alex/Fanny Darling, a VIP trip to the Hollywood Costume exhibition to see the Ruby Slippers with Caroline, and frequent long “what the hell just happened” conversations with Lou (as Contrariety Rose and Ducking Fabulous found fairs and stockists at almost exactly the same time), I hit the end of the month with a big party for my aunt’s 40th and some much needed puppy cuddles the following day, before my first fair at Curves gym on the last Wednesday of the month.

December saw the beginning of fair season proper… it has been insane but so much fun! Leigh involved Val and Ellie, plus Anna and Dan had their stall behind us. Again made lots of friends, learned lots from both stallholders and customers, and managed to sneak in staying the night before with Val and dinner & putting the world to rights with Ellie on the day. New collaborations are looming, I’ve started burlesque again after the break and there are exciting plans going on there for a troupe and some performance, I’ve discovered edible glitter, I’m heading to another burlesque performance on Saturday night after my final fair, there’s a graduates’ Free Range group which is providing the most amazing platform for likeminded people to chat, give advice and generally work through this incredible new life together… and in the last week before Christmas, I packed in a shopping day with Mum, Olympia horse show with Ellie, and lunch and coffee with dear friends.

Christmas itself was gorgeous but quiet, and Christmas Eve and Boxing Day were spent with the extended family, the giant kit kat and a sense of relaxation. I’m now up in Nottingham with Rob till New Year and trying to decide what make up Little Red Riding Hood would wear, for a party this evening. Cocktails feature heavily in the next few days 🙂

From my breakdown in February to my overarching, incredible happiness, sense of self and enjoyment of every day now – it’s been a transformational year. I don’t think I could start to put into words what I’ve learned, discovered and found – but I do hope 2013 is as incredible. I’m looking forward to seeing what it brings, though less resemblance to a rollercoaster would be great…

This time last year, this time this year…

This time last year, like today, I was heading over to Chelmsford after work to join old colleagues for their annual Christmas dinner.

This time last year, I had somewhat lost the Christmas spirit. I stepped off a train, late, hot and flustered from the sardine-can interior, and spent the entire evening fielding calls from taxi drivers for the event I’d organised for some directors and their clients.

This time last year, I went home to a flat that closely resembled a storage facility with a bed in it, and didn’t get my Christmas decorations up until halfway through December because I was just too tired.

This time this year, I am already feeling festive. I will change and do my hair and make up, put Poppy’s roof down if the weather stays dry and drive over to Chelmsford from my new life. I’ll enjoy every drink, every moment and every snippet of conversation with my phone firmly switched off.

This time this year, I will go home, sort out my stock and box some up for Tea & Sympathy, and then tomorrow after work deliver it and collect my takings from the last batch.

This time this year, I have a full size Christmas tree, which I’ll spend tomorrow evening decorating, and a home I love and can entertain friends in.

Perfection. And I still can’t work out how I made it happen so quickly!

 

Catching up with myself!

With stock in the ever-fabulous Tea & Sympathy in Colchester, soon to be in the gorgeous Make, Do and Mend in Chelmsford, supplying goodies for a friend’s daughter’s pop up college shop and four fairs starting Wednesday evening, it has been a little manic here at Ducking Fabulous HQ for the last couple of weeks.

Some of my printed domino necklaces in progress – I’m very excited about this batch!

I’ve also been working hard on Ink Drops Boxes with Annastasia from Midorigreen, which has been lovely, and punctuated by hilarious Skype chats involving unintentional Lucozade highs. If you love all things handwritten, pop over and see the site and our blog, and if you’re struggling for presents, why not have a look at the shop – a surprise box of beautiful stationery might be the answer!

Christmas preparations are also starting – this weekend I will be at the Betty Blue Eyes vintage and handmade fair in Leigh-on-Sea (and visiting two lovely friends who live in the area at the same time) on Saturday, and at Mum & Dad’s sorting out Christmas trees and decorations on Sunday… they have bought a new tree for their new, higher-ceilinged abode,  and I get the old one, which will fit beautifully into my flat… somewhere. I’m excited for sorting through decorations, most of ours have stories – will try and post about some of them nearer the time.

Right now I am mostly revelling in the incredible feeling of being surrounded by likeminded people and full of inspiration… it’s a feeling like no other!

Other things that have made me happy this week…

A rainbow on my way to work | Househunting | Tentative plans to borrow a greyhound | Dinner and Christmas decoration making at Mimi’s | A fabulous night with family for my aunt’s 40th birthday | puppy cuddles | the Free Range Festival | a festive Saturday in London with some of my uni girls | chocolate muffins | stories of my parents’ lives and travels before I arrived | starting on the overhaul of this site | getting my boudoir shoot photographs back | tassel making workshop and learning to twirl – the best Thursday evening I’ve had for ages! | Contrariety Rose’s mini-boutique in Creative Crafts in Reading | roof-down driving on a Tuesday evening | impromptu dinner and giggles with my parents | fairy lights | stocking up on Lush’s amazing seasonal soap | treating myself to a couple of books I’ve wanted for a while | MAC’s lip primer

So an all round fabulous couple of weeks! I am trying very hard to resume regular, twice a week posting – watch this space 🙂

Cabaret Night: my first burlesque performance

It’s been, amazingly, a whole month since my first ever burlesque performance. Cabaret night had been excitedly planned, panicked over and squeaked about for quite some time, and then crept up on us quite suddenly!

Any of you who know me in real life or follow me on Twitter will be aware that although I’ve loved burlesque, corsets and the pin up style most of my adult life, and have danced most of my life, joining a burlesque dance course was quite a big step. A step that, once taken, I couldn’t understand why it had taken me so long – I think was born to prance about in a corset and high heels with feathers in my hair!!

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I dance with some of my closest friends, and lots of lovely friends turned up to watch us dance, among them Lou and her sister, who also ran a Contrariety Rose stall on the night… IMG_9467and some of my uni girls who schlepped all the way up from Oxford, Kent and Southend… bless them! Was lovely to see them though I was far too overexcited to actually have a proper conversation!

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Here are some more pics of us dancers…

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And we made it into the Essex Chronicle the following week!

It was a glorious night (I also had a Ducking Fabulous stall) and I came off the stage wanting to go and do it again, preferably immediately! Definitely have the performing bug back again after so long away from the stage – and can’t wait to start classes again in January!