Festival of Thrift

Guys this is probably my last ever weekend in York! It's all steam ahead for the move to Cornwall and we are just awaiting a move-in date. More details about our unconventional choice of abode in a later blog as I'm still in York at the moment.

Today I went to Darlington with Ryan to visit their Festival of Thrift and take part in some workshops. I heard about the festival last year in Simple Things Magazine and went with Sam for her birthday weekend (I wrote about it all here). Ryan was busy and couldn't make it last year so he was excited to get stuck in today. We signed up for workshops in tapestry and cheese making just to have a go at something new, plus they were reasonably priced!

After a frustrating start (for Ryan) we managed to make a mini-tapestry in the hour that we had and learned a few bits of terminology and skills. We're not sure what to do with them now as they aren't exactly a work of art or an effective wall covering! Cheese making was less hands-on and I drifted off into a daydream a couple of times, however I was surprised how easy it is to make your own ricotta cheese.

 

 The festival was full of quirky individuals selling all sorts of stuff! There were some familiar faces from last year but still loads of new things to see and do. Ryan enjoyed stalking the goats in the petting farm... he has a goat obsession lately. I liked all the hand-made homey things like cute bunting and cross-stitched animal cushions. As usual the food looked and smelled delicious - we tucked into a hand-made, freshly cooked pizza for our lunch. If you live in the North I definitely recommend that you go next year!

In with the new

After what seems like months of sorting my life out and getting my butt into gear, I feel like things are finally happening! We're off to Cornwall again tomorrow to finalise all sorts of things, ready for our big move, which is really exciting. The winds of change are a-blowing. 

Image from Pinterest

New house
As we don't actually have anywhere to live yet, other than a tent, this is definitely a big focus. There are plenty of places to choose from in the area we are looking at and the rent is reasonable. On Tuesday we have a gazillion property viewings so fingers crossed there is one that we both like.

This will be home number seven for me! Since I left home I just can't seem to stay put. Ryan's address list is longer still, I'm sure he is in double figures. Finding a place to live can be so fun because I'm a massive geek and love choosing somewhere cute and then arranging furniture and organising for hours and hours. At the same time it is so inconvenient because of packing.

Urgh. Packing. Boxes. Packing. Blah. I dropped a wardrobe door on my foot today. Ouch. Packing

As I'm on the topic of houses, I had a quick look through my old blog posts and found a couple where I wrote about moving home; just incase you wanted to read about my house in Third year of Uni or my Harrogate Home. Feeling rather nostalgic, I also made a little room timeline for you all. I know, I know, I'm a home-stuff geek.

 Wolverhampton - First Year of Uni

Second Year of Uni - Third Year of Uni

Harrogate - York

 

New job
While we are in Cornwall I am also going for my first day at the Eden Project, which is WHERE I WORK!! Still so so so excited about it by the way. I've been invited to watch a school workshop before signing off all of the important paperwork and stuff. It will be great to see what I will actually have to be doing in a few weeks time! Teaching is something I do love to do so I'm eager to get stuck in and teach some fun workshops about the environment. I'm also dreaming about the fact there will be no marking at the end of the day - gone are the days of my ninety book 4 o'clock appointments... for now!

image source

New skills
There's no point hiding that fact I've had a lot of free time lately as September has been jobless. It kind of feels like those early Uni days where it hasn't quite hit you how many assignments you should be studying for and it's perfectly fine to still be asleep at midday. When I was teaching I had to fight for free time so it's nice to be able to things I want to.

I do like to try and learn new things and I want to dedicate more time to doing things I like. At school I really loved art lessons but when it came to GCSE choosing time I had to drop it in favour of other things. Now and again I like to engage my creative side and sometimes I can impress myself! My blog has been looking a little tired lately and I wanted to give it a new look, especially with the whole 'new' vibe I've got going on. I did a little research into blog headers, html and photoshop and managed to design myself a new blog header! I'd love to hear your thoughts about it and any tips for future designs.

Next weekend I'm back in York again for what should be the LAST time before moving South. I'm visiting the Thrift Fest in Darlington with Ryan where we've signed up for some of the workshops. Ryan decided on a cheese and yoghurt making session for us to do and I opted for the more girly tapestry making one. Maybe we will learn something useful or maybe we will just have fun trying! I went to Thrift Fest last year with Sam and had an awesome time. I blogged about it here if you'd like to find out more.

Choosing happy

Back in July I made the difficult decision not to apply for teaching jobs for this September. After three years studying for my Primary Education degree and completing my NQT year I wasn't sure I'd chosen the right path for me. Strangely it didn't feel like a waste of time as I learned a LOT in the past four years but I had no idea what I wanted to do next. All I knew is that I wanted to do what makes me happy :) I decided to stop applying for jobs I wasn't interested in and instead search for something I'd love...

Images found on Pinterest.

Me and Ryan had intended to move to France together so I'd spent the Summer looking at potential properties and studying for a TEFL qualification so I could teach over there. However, September rolls around, I don't want to move to France, I am still living in a friend's spare room and I am jobless. Honestly I did feel like a bit of a failure, especially when friends were going back to their schools and getting excited about their new classes, but I was determined not to give up!

Despite having no job and no concrete plans, we spent the first week of September in Cornwall because we were still on the hunt for somewhere new to live. Our trip also had a secret agenda which was really hard to keep quiet! I'd been invited to an interview at the Eden Project for an Education Assistant job which was SO COOL AND EXCITING! It felt like fate that I'd found an education job in Cornwall, let alone somewhere as awesome as Eden. People who know me well will know how perfect this opportunity was for me.

After months of feeling like my teaching skills aren't good enough, worrying that I'd chosen the wrong path and crying on Ryan's shoulder far too many times, my week in Cornwall really renewed my confidence. I got the news that I passed my TEFL course with an amazing score whilst wandering around Newquay and the team at Eden were incredibly complimentary of my experiences and skills during my interview. My voluntary work at Oxfam and York Castle Museum didn't go amiss!

 

Images found on Pinterest.

Fast forward to me sat in my room in York, eagerly watching my phone for hours on end; I finally get the call to say I didn't get the Education Assistant job. Instead they want to offer me a flexible Education Officer role because they really liked me and want my teaching skills on their team. You can find out more about the awesome role here - Education Officer Career Profile. I'm so excited to teach about stuff I am actually passionate about in the beautiful biomes amongst the plants. I'm also hoping that David Attenborough or Bear Grylls pop along again sometime soon ;)

The Core (Where I will work!) Image Source

So now I have an amazing job, my confidence is sky high and I'm moving to Cornwall with Ryan.

Choosing happy = A success!!