Adventures in Exeter #4

On a rainy day there isn't a lot to do in Exeter. We wanted to go out but didn't want to spend much money so it was inevitable that we went to the Museum. I apologise if some of the photos are familiar, I have blogged about it before but never mind hey?

I wanted to go (again) to see the Gilbert & George exhibition. If you did A Level Art you will remember their crazy faces and blasts of colour well. There was also an exhibition on 'Intimate worlds', which was exactly what we thought it would be. Both exhibitions were really interesting, my favourite part being the winged penis and the comments section, who knew Exeter folk were so saucy? Sadly you couldn't take any photos as the art work was on loan from the Tate. 

My favourite part of the museum is always the taxidermy, I love me a stuffed and mounted animal/insect. It's amazing how the tiniest of insects are preserved like that isn't it? Plus the range of colours are just mind blowing. 

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Sarah

xx

Plant Pot Make Over DIY

A few weeks ago I saw a picture on Pinterest of some DIY painted terracotta pots. As we're in the process of building decking around our little shed on the allotment, I've been making plans of what to put on it, think table and chairs etc. but also plant pots full of flowers and herbs, things that smell nice while we're sat admiring our little plot and the view over Exeter.

Plant pots can be stupidly expensive for the nicey nice ones, and despite hunting around the tip pretty much every week, I hadn't found any liked. So I thought I'd buy some cheap terracotta pots and jazz them up myself.

source

You will need:

Terracotta pots (frost proof), I chose a variety of sizes ranging from 50p-£1.50 in Wilkinsons and Poundland

Emulsion tester pots

Paint Brushes

Masking tape

Elastic Bands

Old newspaper

1. Clean up the pots remove any stickers etc.

2. Use the masking tape to create the desired patterns that you want to achieve on the pot. If you want smooth lines & a wavey effect I recommend using an elastic band for this. I didn't and ended up with some rough edges.

3. Paint, paint, paint. I did 3 coats to get a smooth, thick finish.

4. Leave to dry. 

It's as simple as that!! I'm intending to get a couple more and paint them in a few more colours. I spent less than £10  for the pots and materials, and ended up with 8 pretty pots that I'm looking forward to fill.

It's nice to have actually made something that I've seen on Pinterest too.

Sarah

xx

Adventures in Exeter #3

As promised I am back with a few photos from our recent mooch around St Bartholomew's Cemetery and the Catacombs. The catacombs, which are tucked away under the city wall, were originally built to accommodate 1,400 coffins in individual vaults on either side of the wall, segregated into Anglican and Dissenters, during the outbreak of cholera in 1832. Amazingly, before it was closed in 1949, the cemetery and catacombs had 17,552 interments.

There is always that moral dilemma about whether or not it is appropriate to photograph someone's grave isn't there? But I did so please don't judge me. Apparently you can go on proper tours of the cemetery and at one point you could go inside the catacombs. I am definitely going to look into this further, it would be fascinating (and morbid) to see the infrastructure from the inside. 

There is also a great view of St Michaels and All Angels church from the city wall, so we headed over there when we had finished exploring the cemetery. I love how black and white photos can turn something from being beautiful to spooky. I tried to find the house that my great grandparents used to live in, but I'm not sure if it has been knocked down or if my memory was rubbish and it was a bit further away from where I was thinking, hopefully the latter. 

We ended our walk with some stupid 'selfies' and getting angry at children that were scaring the swans and geese. Evidently I am an old lady and I do not appreciate shitty little kids scaring the wildlife ;)

Sarah

xx

Adventures in Exeter #2

On Sunday we headed out the door for another mooch around the previously unexplored parts of Exeter (or the parts that we hadn't been to since we went on school trips and couldn't really remember. I'd been wanting to go to the Catacombs for ages and Rich had been fancying a nose at the street art in the various subways near my house. 

With twisters in our hands we headed to the river to see what the latest graffiti was like under the bridges and in the subways. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but you have to admire the detail and colours that go into street art. I can safely say that there are some seriously talented people around. It's one of those things that you never want to be painted over because someone has spent so much time doing it, but at the same time you can't wait to see what the next wave of art brings. 

 

The zombie/skeleton girl is my favourite, she reminds me of a Misfits album cover so much, and her outfit is pretty cool too.

I love this photo of Rich, one for the wall I think.

Like the plonker that I am I didn't realise until I'd taken about 10 photos that I had left my memory card in my laptop, so all photos are courtesy of my iPhone, no biggy! I will be back with photos of the catacombs soon.

Sarah

xx

My happy place

One evening last week when the weather was particularly lovely, Rich and I went for an evening stroll at Topsham. Topsham is by far my favourite place in Devon, a small town on the Exe estuary, lovely shops, great views and gorgeous houses, it is my dream to live there some day. If you like beautiful sunsets, you won't find a much better place to see one than here, the light and the colours over the estuary are amazing, it was no surprise that I look quite a lot of photos. 

A particular high light of the evening was making friends with this little fur ball. This cat followed us for ages, we would walk and he would follow, when we stopped to take photos he would rub against our legs, and I wanted to take him home. I also found a load of sea glass on the beach = win! 

 

 

 

We stayed until the sun was gone and then headed home, via Waitrose to get ice cream. It was a great night, so peaceful and beautiful. I'm looking forward to many more evenings like this over spring/summer.

Sarah

xx