My sister’s four-month-old puppy, Chopper, is currently having a very ferocious barking session at a bumble bee, bless him!

Anyway, I haven’t really done a “life update” in awhile, so that is what this post is, I suppose. Not that there is really anything overly interesting to report on, except that I’m going to be 21 tomorrow. But, nevertheless, I should be able to ramble on for a couple of paragraphs about stuff. *

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had been struggling with anxiety and depression, and I’m pleased to say I am making great progress on both of those issues. It’s a great relief to be getting back to my normal self and to also be taking an active role in getting to the bottom of my anxiety. It can be incredibly crippling at it’s worst, as anyone who’s experienced it will know, and I’m a firm believer in being self-aware and working on my issues instead of letting them get the better of me.

With the depression lessening and cooler weather setting in, I’ve found my interest in crafts has come back. I’ve started a new project: a teddy bear for one of my grandmothers. She loves teddy bears and I’ve been commissioned to make her one (by my mum), so I have something that is (usually) relaxing to do. A friend of mine asked if I could take photos of the process, which I have been doing, so look out in the near future for a post. I’ll probably do progress posts instead of one big post as there might be a lot of images!

In other news, my obsession with the 1930s, 40s and 50s is back in full-force, in particular the 50s. I keep trawling TradeMe in the hopes of finding a brilliant vintage dress, but no luck thus far — the sizing is usually wrong on anything I find myself drawn to, so unless I can be sure to drop two dress sizes soon, there is no point in buying them. I refuse to buy anything I won’t or can’t use (except for the hair brush that came with the vintage brush and mirror set I got a few years ago**). Well, usually, anyway. I don’t know what I’d do with the copies of Punch magazine, from the 1930s, that I saw in an antique store today, apart from looking at them repeatedly. Is that a valid enough reason to go back and get them, do you think?

*Smilies. I must find some nice ones to replace the default WordPress smilies. Can you recommend some designs?
**Second-hand hair doesn’t appeal to me…