Another month, another post and I think I’m getting into the swing of blogging - dare I say it - regularly ! Two posts a month seems feasible though; a little round up post to capture work and play highlights then the odd ad-hoc post to share any specific projects or news. That feels like the right amount of waffling to me… and hopefully it’s enough to keep you interested and coming back for more!

I document most day to day happenings over on my instgram accounts - @sunshine_jo for more yellowy, sunshine and business-shaped things and @jo_wants_adventure for all outdoorsy, food-shaped adventures and day to day happies. So I guess you can always follow along over there if you prefer the less wordy updates!

Anywho, March was a pretty full-on month full of nerves and excitement around my first wedding fair but before I get on to work, I’m going to share my favourite play time moments…

play time

stop! paddle time.

After a few months of no paddling and wondering how to take it up again, Claire and I got in touch with local SUP legend Anna (SUPer Whale) who runs regular SUP sessions / socials and is just an awesome ambassador for the sport and SUP community.

I don’t know why it took me so long to get in touch really, imposter syndrome? not feeling like I was good enough to join a SUP crew? Stupid brain gremlins got in the way, that’s for sure! Anyway, we got in touch and arranged a little session out on the river together and I am SO HAPPY we did.

Not only did it rekindle all the excitement and love I have for Paddle Boarding once again but meeting Anna and hanging out was like being with an old friend. We had the best afternoon on the river and it got me thinking about how and when I could buy my very own board… dangerous!

No swans were harmed in the making of this…

Run, Fat Jo, Run!

After successfully healing my foot through regular physio sessions (thanks to Alex at PhysioFit!) and training (albeit very slowly), I actually managed to complete my 3rd ever half marathon. The Cambridge Boundary run is a smaller event the week after the Cambridge Marathon, it’s a bit on roads but mostly off road and it’s also around half the price! It was a great route and I enjoyed seeing more of Cambridge during my suffering!

I struggled and was slow. I don’t think I trained hard enough through fear of injury and boy, it was cold! Oh and guess which dickhead decided to run in a vest? YUP, This one! I usually get so hot when running and granted I didn’t feel the cold too badly apart from when the wind blew… but it was much more windy than I bargained for!

Still, I did it, I even beat my previous time by a minute or two and I got a cheeky little medal at the finish line. We also went to visit one of my favourite places for lunch afterwards, La Latina Bustaurant. I soon forgot about how tired and cold I’d been when the tostones arrived! YUM.

A’DAM!

The month ended in a perfect way, with a trip to Amsterdam! I LOVE The Dam and even though I’ve only been once before, I’m happy to say it’s somewhere I’ll never get bored of going back to. (When can I go again already?)

This time I tagged along with Claire and her housemates and we had the best time exploring, eating all the pizza (and avocado), going to Keukenhof Tulip Garden, popping in to see Banksy at the Moco Museum and enjoying our incredible AirBnB in the ‘posh’ neighbourhood.

Keukenhof Tulip Garden - so much Amsterdam in one place!

work time

MARCH MEET THE MAKER 2019

I’ve really struggled with social media this year, I’m not sure why but I think a lot of people have been feeling it. So I was super chuffed when I realised it was time for March Meet the Maker to start again. It certainly helped me to get back into the swing of sharing more about my work and engaging with other makers again.

This years take on ‘Flat Lay’ with the help of my awesome Hello Dodo tee!

Usually I set up a little hashtag or folder on my Facebook Page so I can look back on all the prompts at the end of the month (and share it with you guys here) but this year I forget completely! I suppose it didn’t matter much though because I was only really posting once a day so you can just scroll back through my instagram feed to see how MMM 2019 shaped up!

Behind the brand… oh IT ME!

TELL ME ABOUT IT… STUD

Knowing that I was off to Amsterdam at the end of the month with several other trips planned shortly after, I was trying my best to get more stock of the newbies ready and I had hoped to launch everything officially in my online shops before I left…

Making lots of studs for you guys to mix ’n’ match!

..and although there was A LOT of jewellery making going on behind the scenes… unfortunately the only things I got listed in the shop before my jollies were the updated ‘You are my Sunshine’ and ‘Smiling is my Favourite’ pins! OOPS!

MOST CURIOUS…?

So, are you curious? Do you want to know how my very first wedding fair went? Eee! Well the short of it is… AMAZINGLY! I had such a lovely day, it flew by as I was painting lovely couples and chatting to my hearts content. It really was over in a flash but the venue, the organisers and all the fellow stall holders I actually managed to chat to were just wonderful!

All the hard work, prep and my past experience paid off and I felt like I was in my element on the day. I didn’t get a huge number of photos myself but I plan to sit down and go through them so I can write a proper blog post about my experience, as well as writing a bit more about the wonderful creative friends and family who helped me pull everything together.

So… you have that to look forward to next time you visit the blog. Come back again soon!

☀️