BLOG: Mi Ave, an Introduction

You might have noticed things look a teeny tiny bit different around here. After thinking about the future of my blog for the last month or so, I thought the answer to get my spur back into the hobby might be to freshen things up, to dust the corners lets say. Dusting is dangerous however and led me to changing my name, and therefore changing the URL. 

2015 marked the 5th year of my blog, which previously had two other names, but always the same, and really long URL. While I wanted to make the jump to removing the blogspot, having being so indecisive and on and off with the hobby the last couple of months, I didn't want to make too many steps all at once.

But nevertheless, my blog, formally Dear Ms Leigh has a brand spanking new name - Mi Ave. 

Mi Ave?

Let me explain the name - in part it's a reference to my location, in part it's a play on words. The biggest part is that it lets me merge lots of things together under the same title and find away a little longer from having a defined "niche". So basically yes, mi is a silly play on the word my, ave, being short for avenue - think journey, think the streets and the adventures that life takes you along. But MI is also short for Michigan when you're mailing out your letters. Take MI and turn it into Michigan, add the Avenue and you get one of Detroit's historic roads (actually a road with some of my favorite eating joints but that's another tale). I get away with speaking about mi life, mi adventures, mi Michigan, mi Detroit. Oh it's endless. 

Looking ahead

So aside from fixing and finishing all the bits and pieces, and all those links that need updating, Mi Ave will be pretty much the same as before, as I mentioned the blog name lets me get away with lots of rambles. I may post a little less. I may post a some more about books. Probably throw more Detroit posts that I use to hold back. Who knows, I'm just going with the flow for now. 

On the side

I've been rather lazy when it comes to catching up, commenting, engaging with you all and you're own blogs. I'll be the first to admit that. Stress has been my big issue and blogging was making me stressed too, so I abandoned it in a ditch. I'm also struggling with my eye sight and my days involve far too much computer time as it is so I've had to limit my hours in front of a screen, but I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things once I get my new glasses. 

Socially

To reflect all the new changes, I've hopefully got around to bringing (for the first time ever) all my social media under the same name(s) - MIAvenues upon Twitter and Instragram. Hopefully the moving y'all over on Bloglovin worked and I'm not just talking to myself.

So now I totally feel out of the loop with everyone's lives, feel free to update me in the comments because I'm a nosy bugger!

BLOGGING: Six Years

I'll be honest, I've started and stopped, deleted and retyped this post a couple of times. While I want to mark my little blog's sixth birthday, everything I had to say about blogging I shared last year alongside things we as bloggers shouldn't assume about our readers. Nothing much in my mind has changed, although I've taken a considerable step back when it comes to the promoting, sharing, engaging in twitter chats.

Somewhat of a blogging fail perhaps, but for me it's worked. My stats haven't really decreased. I'm enjoying blogging more than I have in a long time. There's less stress, less pressure to make it perfect, to be scheduling tweets out constantly. I don't have the time or the energy for curating that perfect look online or offline.

More then ever my blog is just a reflection of me.

An old lady with an aching back, gardening, crafting, collecting old stuff in a 28 year old's body.

Six years on any hobby is pretty neat. Until I remember I've been cross stitching 22 years but that's another story. Six years doing something so publicly, sharing so much, making many loyal readers that I call friends. 

From an attic bedroom in my student days back in Newcastle, England to being a homeowner in Detroit, USA. Life has changed a bit over the last six years. It's nice to have this place to reflect on it all.

So thank you, thank you to those of you that have ever read my rambles, shared a tweet, talked to me, come back time and time again.

Ta muchly. 

LIFE: Ongoing

Sometimes you have to take a step back and refresh a little. Which was exactly what I ended up doing with this blog last week. I tend to over think, over work, and over spend time on the internet, so a break was somewhat required. To top it all off, I came down with the comparing my blog to others sickness which was a major mojo killer. I'm more than happy to admit, I struggle with this blog, I struggle with wondering why after five years, I still can't get followers, makes you question what you share, if my life is worth sharing. Blah blah, most of the rest of the time I don't really mind that i'm old before my time, that i'm not really down with the kids, that I'm not into having the most hip thing, but sometimes ...

But anyhow. A couple of adult milkshakes (Irish Beer from Red Robin - delicious btw), a tasty burger and lots of kitty purrs and an awesome thrifty shop in the Salvos, cheered me up over the weekend. So I thought i'd return with a random things update, some thoughts, some happenings.

Like how anime knows how to make opening and closing songs that stick in your head for days ...

That in playing City Skylines, I just have no hope for people claiming they are sick when they live RIGHT NEXT to a hospital/medical clinic, I just ...

How I've become one of those people that walk around their garden every day to try and spot a new flower poking through

That I play Maximo Park on repeat just to hear people sing in familiar northern accents, well not just to hear that, because they are one of my favorite bands. Then I realised I've been listening to them for 11 years and that sometimes makes me feel old.

Speaking of music, that white marble effect vinyl looks like dirty finger prints, but that it's pretty darm awesome (i'm speaking about the Massive Attack Remix vinyl in case your wondering)

About how I filled up another four bags of garden waste and how sprouting sunflowers are taking over my garden window in the kitchen

That ordering Yorkshire tea has to be a major highlight of last week, that and some No7 and Rimmel stuff, yey for British brands

Of how Dave's Sweet Tooth Toffee (a Michigan made brand) is just mighty mighty fine

Making the most of the free Easter weekend on the Ancestry and, other than the family mystery, finding out you come from a long line of Yorkshire farmers and domestic servants.

Seeing images of the Yorkshire Wolds (my former part of the homeland) on a history show and just seeing fields after fields, that feels a LONG way from the burbs of Detroit 

That Michigan weather being all over the place - thunderstorms, rain showers, snow showers, sunny days doesn't help my mind in settling

So that's been my week.

BLOGGING: Don't Assume Your Blog Followers ...

There always seems to be a LOT of presumptions and assumptions thrown around and about blogging these days. That you need to blog a certain way, feature certain things, you have to be in it for the money. It often focuses on us, our blog, our writing, our style, but what about those that read your blog, those followers that come back time after time. Why are we making assumptions about those?!

Across the board it's time to stop the assumptions of finding this perfect reader we all seem to be after and remember why we started blogging and more often that not, just blog for ourselves.

So stop assuming that your blog readers;

Only use bloglovin
Please please please, I say this as a reader, link out your blog URL during a blog chat, not your bloglovin page. I'm pretty clued up and I'm sure if you're blog savvy you'll have a BL link on your page. While BL is really popular, it's not the only way to follow a blog, I know because it's not my preferred way (I only "follow" a blog on there because of the pressure of having to look like I follow your blog and so I can enter all your competitions - I actually use Feedly to read everything). Linking your BL link is just an extra annoying step for me, and my time is precious.

Want you to constantly talk blog

Obviously as a blog reader myself, if I have a liking for your blog I'm more than happy to follow you across different social media. Mainly because I'm nosy but I want to see what else goes on in your life - the things that you might not always get around to blogging about. But constantly talking blog all-the-time gets draining and I'll unclick. Throw a line out to your followers, engage with them, see what they get to too, it'll certainly help breach that reader - blogger bridge.

Are dumb

Regular readers are pretty wise, a hint of an undisclosed sponsored post can be smelt a mile off or a sudden 180 to constant PR posts. Integrity is a huge part of blogging, to me at least and regardless of how long you've being doing it for, you have to keep it real. So don't try and sneak out a sponsored post and pass it off like you didn't get something in return, your readers trust your words (or they should if they don't have any reason to doubt you) so respect them.

Are always following for the right reasons

Cynical to say but some "followers" may not be there for the right reasons, they might be fake, they might be just following and pay no attention to your blog and just hope you follow them back or because you wanted to reach a milestone and they are part of your follower quota. In other words, do things to make people follow you for the right reasons - you're approachable, your personality, your topics and just maybe because you let your blog grow organically over time.

Will always be happy

You can't please everyone in life so why expect to do so on your blog. You'll have readers that love some topics and hate others. Then you might have others that love every single thing you do, or they might just dig your photographs. Basically what I'm trying to say is that you can't make everyone happy with every single post (although if you do that's pretty awesome) so don't stress about trying too. Blog to make yourself happy - share the things that make you tick, that make you smile. 

Mind if you take a break

Life gets in the way of blogging at times, it's just a factor you have to deal with, but don't assume your readers need you to blog every single week if you can't handle it. If you can that's a high five to you, but sometimes we all burn out, we get bloggers block or you just go on holiday and you want to leave your blog standing for a while. It's fine to walk away for a week or two, most readers may not even notice because while we might love your blog, we're probably following far too many others to even note when one might not blog for a couple of days.

What do you wish people wouldn't amuse about blog readers?
What as a reader, do you wish more bloggers did or didn't do? I'd love to hear!

LIFE: Call This a Hello

Sometimes you need to step back and get back down to the basics. We can all get a little too caught up with sharing the must have thing, that product you just gotta run out to the store and find or just sharing that huge hot chocolate we had the night before. Sometimes we just have to stop and say hello.

The past couple of months my followers have increased (yey) without me really trying (double yey). But when you stumble across a blog, a couple of years in, they have a substantial back catalog of posts, it's a little hard to really grasp what they are all about. Even with the help of an about me page. So I thought, hey why not just have a break, say hello and talk about myself for a little, and even perhaps get you to do the same down in the comments (see I like comments - there you're finding something out about me). 

So what might you know about me already? You might have worked out I live in Michigan, right outside of Detroit, you might have worked out I wasn't born in the US - in fact I'm a Brit, from a super small rural (narrow minded ahem) town in East Yorkshire. I'm 28, a little scared of turning 30, Michigan has been home for nearly three years (come November) and I share my home with my guy and my two kitties - Ed, who is fat, purs like a motor and speaks with a Russian voice - don't ask, and Smoky who is super timid and playful, aka tiny face, smokes, teeny tiny ickle bickle.

Anyway so once upon a time I met an American guy (online - controversial I know) and we got talking, fell in love and five years later we're still together. We managed the whole long distance relationship malarkey for just over two years. I filled out lots of paper work, paid lots of pennies, had interviews and moved to the US in 2011. Joe is my comic book geek, he's hell bent on corrupting me into liking comic books, Transformer toys, Star Trek and model trains. And he's succeeded. It's a good job I love him.

In a previous life I lived in Newcastle in my university years - four wild years of partying, drinking too much and studying even more in both geography (BA) and sociology (MA). My one university regret is not exploring more of the region which in turn sparks my passion for visiting and documenting the places on my doorstep (and showing them all off here). I'm a firm believer of a couple of things - you don't need to travel far and wide to see amazing things, live life with your eyes open and always look up, but you probably want to look down too, just so you don't trip up.

Saying that I have a lot of issues walking into things - sign posts, a couple of pillars in Target. You get the picture.

Aside from blogging you'll find me picking around estate sales, getting far too attached to vintage postcards, taking far to many photographs, taco bell is my weakness, I have stress issues, often found trying to craft something, pretending that I know something about gardening, cross stitching, being sarky about something. I enjoy whiskey and playing my music on old vinyl records, lots of vinyl records.  I treat chocolate digestives like gold dust and I always enjoy runny eggs. You get the picture. 

I'm a bit of an expat blogger - even though the term expat bugs me a little, a Michigan blogger, a Detroitish blogger, a Yorkshire blogger, a lifestyle blogger. I'll throw out a recipe, a kitty picture, some rant or another. But most of all this place, this blog reflects me. It's a mixture of all these things, it's a mix of everything any anything that makes up me and my life. I'm not trying to be a big blogger, or have everyone love me, I'm just trying to be myself and find the words to make them all come through the screen.

Most of all I'm glad you're all here for the ride, whether you've been here from the start or you started reading three days ago. I just want to say thank you, thank you for all the comments and shares and everything else. 

If you like what you see you can always find me in a couple of other places;

bloglovin // instagram // pinterest // twitter 

So that is enough about me, come say hello, and if you have any questions you'd love me to answer about myself or my blog, feel free to drop them into the comments! :)

BLOGGING: On Using a Bridge Camera

People judge you in the blogging world. They judge you a lot. One thing you get judge about, is the camera you use. They really shouldn't, but they do. Far too often bloggers feel they need to have a DSLR to a) take "good" photographs and b) to be a "proper" blogger. As much as I would love to own and use a DSLR, I can't justify the price and I can't see me owning one for a long way, so what do I use? Well for the most part, I use my trusty Fuji bridge although not all the photographs which appear on the blog are taken with it, I throw in camera phone and our GE point and shot photographs in to mix everything up a bit.

But also a lot of people don't know about bridge cameras, so I thought I'd share some of the pros and cons of this type of camera, and if you're looking for a new one, why it might be a great camera for you.

Light

Bridge cameras seem to pass a lot of people by but they are a great alternative to a DSLR for a number of reasons. Basically bridge cameras slot between your standard digital compact and your DSLR, offering in the process advantages from both. If you want the simplicity of a point and shoot, but not the price of a DSLR, a bridge might be the camera for you. 

Ren Cen, Detroit

I brought my Fuji Finepix S3300 Bridge back in 2011 (I think) from Argos for about £180, they tend to be less than £300 depending on the brand and model so they are considerably cheaper than your DSLR models. With a sizable LCD screen, they can fit in a full range of focal lengths from micro through to telephoto without the need to change lens. One big advantage is that they let you shoot in manual and raw, so they can be a great basis for learning how to use a camera away from the auto settings which is something I've loved being able to do since owning my camera. But don't worry, if manual isn't your thing they offer a full range of auto settings too.

Dragonfly, Au Sable river

Granted they can have issues in low light and they can be slow to focus - mine struggles a far bit with landscapes for whatever reason. Mine doesn't have a rechargeable battery, so it does eat them up, but nothing that can't be limited using lithium batteries. And while they are smaller and lighter than a DSLR they aren't cameras you can just throw in your pocket, so just like a DSLR if you're after sneaking some food photographs in a restaurant, they don't make it that easy to disguise.  

Forty Point Lighthouse, Rogers City

For me, a bridge suits my needs as both a blogger and as someone who loves to take photographs just because, then again I'm not a typical blogger (I don't own anything by apple and I don't use instagram). But if you do want to make the step into having a camera you have more control over, but want to save pennies, a bridge might be the way to go.

So while I feel I get judged about not being "proper" because I don't have a DSLR those are the reasons why I do love using my bridge. It's practical, has the advanced settings so I have the flexibility and the opportunity to have more control over my photographs but they also take photos I'm pleased with.

LIFE: I Am Blank Because

Remember when I stumbled across that things I am, things i'm not post, well after stumbling in a similar manner over I'm blank over on Little Miss Momma, I thought why the hell not. I'll do this one too. I always find these types of posts a great way of seeing a seek peek into the person behind the blog, so hopefully you might find it a helpful insight into what i'm like outside of the blogging world. 

I'm weird because

• i've never read/watched anything harry potter related, nor do I intend do, same for twlight
• i don't have dreams to visit NYC or disney 
• while i'm britsh, I hate roast dinners ... especially yorkshire puddings ... urgh
• i hate talking on phones, i'll never answer and I never check my voice mails, so my phone is nearly always on silent
• apple sarnies are the best, as are cheese and celery sandwiches
• at a month short of 28, i've never tried or learnt to drive a car
• i can write backwards - like mirror write, it's hard to explain
• i grew up being called weird because I could and would cross stitch, but apparently that's super cool these days. funny how things change

I'm a bad friend because

• i take forever to reply to emails
• i'm probably too honest and just say what I mean without really thinking
• i'm a bit ranty

I'm a good friend because

• whenever I do get around to replying to emails, it'll probably be a pretty long one
• if you're having a bad day/need advice, i'll just say it how I find it
• stay true and i'll stick by you - i know only too well about friends dumping me
• to be honest, i probably could do with working on this ...

I'm sad because

• you can't get bakewell tarts or fish fingers in america and i've been craving them both all week 
• bills ... enough said
• sometimes stock just vanishes aka i loose things too often
• i've just finished the last bit of chocolate in the house
• tonight's take out was on the bland side
• stress and my worry head stop me from doing things
• i can't go into my garden without being bitten alive
• neighbours like weed killing through the fence onto my garden
• sometimes i feel the urge to blog when i have nothing to blog about and i can't remember the idea i had for a blog post while falling asleep last night
• i had to take down a bird feeder because squirrels literally gnawed it apart

I'm happy because

• will and grace marathons
• long weekends with the husband
• sarah water's new book the paying guests is pretty darn awesome so far
• people still follow, read and comment on my blog after five years - it still amazes me

I'm excited for

• hockey season (roll on october)
• digging my scarves out
• fall tv seasons restarting (agents of shield i'm looking at you)
• painting the deck blue 
• fall leaf colours - we get spoiled in Michigan (you can see some snaps from last year here)
• planting spring bulbs
• making the move to more organic/green body and beauty products
• hanging a christmas wreath on my front door, oh no i mentioned the "c" word ... oops

Why are you blank? I'd love to hear how you'd answer these statements.

BLOGGING: The Writing Process

Today I'm sharing my unworldly experience when it comes to blogging. After being tagged Kelly who's blog Adventures in Tea and Cake always makes me hungry! I was actually surprised how much these questions got me thinking. As a hobby blogger I don't necessarily really think about my blogging, writing process call it what you will, so it was interesting to take a step back and think through it all. 

What are you working on?

There's always posts in the working on phase and I constantly feel the struggle to try and find my voice, have my personality spilling out the computer screen. But for whatever reason it's so hard for me not to write formally - at least that's how it comes over when I reread my words. Some see the light of day long before others. I have a couple of posts from our short trip to Bay City lined up - historical homes to former train stations. Digging up old photographs for more snapshots, more expat themed posts and room tours. There's even some old Detroit and Pittsburgh posts that have been sleeping in my draft folder that need finishing. They'll get done eventually. 

How does my work differ from others in the genre?  

Aside from sitting under the lifestyle blog umbrella I don't think my blog necessarily just fits one genre. I'm not a typical expat blogger (I don't get the chance to jet set around the country/world like many in that "niche") but since joining in the expat revelations link up I do like the challenge both myself and the conceptions that expat life is all merry and happy.  

While I might not be a stand out blogger on anyone's reading list, but I do hope to show Michigan and particularly Detroit in a new light. Michigan is never a stand out place on anyone's must visit list when it comes to the US and Detroit is always seen in the wrong light so I love trying to challenge those perceptions. 

I guess I like having my fingers in lots of different pies when it comes to topics and the longer I blog (five years plus now) the more I throw caution to the wind and just share what I want regardless of the stats.

Why do I write about what I do?

In short because it's me.

My blog has always reflected my life - the adventures, the everyday, the good and the bad. Life happens first, the blogging comes afterwards. Topics, themes they've always shadowed what's surrounding me - whether it was being in a long distance relationship, getting a visa to being that Yorkshire lass in the US. 

But it's more than that, blogging is just one of my hobbies, the hobbies fit and feed content be it tackling the garden, DIY, collecting vintage compacts or listening to records. I always want to keep this space real, personal and me, and the only way I know how to do that is to share my everyday life and adventures. For me, that's my freedom when it comes to writing. 

How does my writing process work?

In short - things happen first, blog post comes after. I tend to work off and around the photographs as I find them the best way to stimulate the words. For tags, questions or posts about a particular place I often work out of my notebook before I can even think about typing. Jotting down words, emotions, things I need to fit in for me I find that more productive than staring at a screen and hoping the words come to my fingers. 

Like I said before, sometimes a post will get worked out and published within a day, sometimes they sit in draft form for months. I don't like to rush my posts out just because something happened there and then. Sometimes they need curing, they need going over to get the feel just right. Sometimes I have the pictures and not the words to express the emotions behind them. 

As I'm not one big on organisation that's as far as my process as such goes. Blogging fits in around everything else - a spare 30 minutes here, and hour or two on a Sunday as and when. For me, that seems to work best, those are the ways that keep me energized to keep blogging rather than forcing myself.

*               *               *

It seems like everyone has more than likely been linked into this hop by now - but if not, consider yourself tagged. Either way i'd love to know how you get around to writing up those blog posts, while you're at it, i'd love to hear what you love, or even hate (play nice) about this blog of mine!

BLOGGING: 5 Years of Thoughts About the Blogsphere

During that little blog break, I did a bit of thinking (not a lot because it hurts) about the whole blogging malarkey in general. What creeped into my mind? Well, everything from wondering if it was time to call it quits on blogging, why blogging is celebrated as being such a fun and loving community when on the other hand it can be as bitchy as a playground, to the role and position of blogging within my life.

As someone who is in her late 20's, out of her depth at times in another country, a wife, now with the chores of keeping up a house, with bills to pay, things to explore and working for myself, it's hard to balance everything and run a blog - which is why for me at least, this will always be just a hobby - one of many.  Yet July rolling out marks the 5th year of this space. A space to share my experiences the good and the bad. From being a student to being a Yorkshire lass in Michigan. Over five years you start to notice things. 

Like all the drama of the last couple of months, be it people bitching about each other on certain forums to twitter. Then on the other hand people declare with glee the sense of community. Not that I want to be a Debbie Downer, but there's no balance. It just doesn't sit right - if there was a super tight community, why would we then take to shamming and tearing each other apart? Agreed not everyone does this, but we always seem to find fault with each other - love hating big or small blogs, those who undertake sponsorship, those how do or do not comment, return comments and the like.

While blog chats can be a great source for networking, sharing ideas and meeting like minded people. Sometimes they all seem to be telling you to blog a certain way - you have to be in it for the money, you have to have a fancy camera, you have to be do, this, that and never ever this. Blogging seems to be full of far too many rules, especially for what is for many, a hobby. With pretty much a three week break from blog chats, I can't say I've missed them, in fact I've grown a little cynical about them.

There's too many follows for follows, too many unfollows when you don't return the favor (especially on twitter), too many comments purely left to spam a link. Where has the sharing, the commenting, the sense of pride we have in ourselves and the wider blogsphere gone? We always seem to pit ourselves against each other - the big verses the small blogger, those who accept advertising and those who don't, the younger verses the older blogger, the hobbyist verses the professional.

Blogging shouldn't and for me won't be about blogging x amount of times a week, it's not about begging for followers to meet a milestone, undisclosed sponsored posts and the like. Don't get me wrong I love blogging, I love the friends I've made through it, I love having my space to type and share - but like I mentioned previously, blogging for me is just a hobby, like cross stitching, crochet, gardening, collecting vintage stuff.

What about you? What keeps you blogging? What are you loves and hates about the blogsphere?

LIFE: The Small Things #7

I probably should try and make these things posts a little more of a regular feature. Mainly because they give a much better snapshot of my everyday life. They come to feature the things, the photographs that you might have missed on twitter or might not otherwise ever appear on this blog. They come to cover the everyday, little events, the day to day happenings that come to make up my life.

Enough of the rambles - here's my list of the recent little things;

• Reading - the first book I've picked up in months - black lake, pretty good so far 
• Watching - Frankenfoods - were they mash up two foods you might not necessarily consider eating together - certainly a show for some giggles 
• Trying - some Pinterest inspired home made bird feeders - if any bird(s) actually use it, it'll feature on here eventually 
• Eating - tasty BBQ food samplers at the Ferndale's Pig & Whiskey (a BBQ and whiskey festival) this weekend and some yummy peach crepes from the Original Pancake House
• Pinning - lots of ideas for making the garden bird, bee and butterfly friendly
• Crafting - not so much - my craft box still needs unpacking
• Going - back to using Saturdays for hitting estate sales, it's been too long!
• Loving - owning a house, just because
• Hoping - to get back into my work routine without being distracted too much by the garden - but after finding that I have at least one teeny tiny bar of wireless signal in the garden, maybe i'll work outside more often
• Enjoying - some caramel flavored moonshine
• Listening - to Weird Al's, just because
• Thinking - and wondering why people are still letting fireworks off, two weeks since the 4th of July ...
• Finishing - my office come craft room decorations, it'll be a work in progress for a while (need to work on storage/shelving) but finally have my vintage advertisements and postcards on the walls. 
• Finding - that hanging picture frames is a pain in the behind

How are things with you?

2014 Blogger Challenge

After blogging for over four years now, I'm always on the look out for new and exciting things to share with you, but it's actually surprised me that in four years I've never really undertaken any blogger challenges - weekly or monthly. So for 2014 I thought I would challenge myself to joining the 2014 Blogger Challenge which is being run by the lovely Gaby over on Another Girly Blog.

The idea is of blogging around the two topics sent out monthly and hopefully will get me thinking and sharing things that I wouldn't necessarily think about otherwise. 

You have until December 9th to sign up through Gaby's blog (more info here). 

Are you joining in?

VINTAGE: Postcard Memories

Heidi doesn't like Christmas, university, lawyers nor her life she declares, in fact the only thing that seemed to make her excited was a gift of train tickets "home" from New York. Buying and collecting postcards you get an odd glimpse into personalities, occurrences and social histories. You find postcards offering general chit chat to full diary entries of a days events. Say like Heidi and her series of five postcards mailed to Bill up in Stony Brook, there's no suggestion of their relationship - perhaps brother and sister or old school time friend, it's certainly open and confessional. You glimpse a hint at Heidi's life, she seems a little dramatic speaking often of lawyers and schools. I often wonder what Bill penned back in response. 

Surprisingly I've never mentioned my other blog here on Dear Ms. Leigh. It's not so much a blog, but Vintage Postcard Memories is basically a visual collection of postcards found across the internet sitting happily alongside postcards I've sold and ones I've added to my unintended collection - the ones that end up too battered and busied to ever sell alongside being a sucker in keeping Chicago, Detroit and Yorkshire postcards. Anyway after gaining over 100 followers on there I thought i'd give it a shout out if vintage postcards are your thing too! 

Myself, I normally store my vintage postcards in an old scrapbook I came across or pinning and poking them between things to have them on show. Recently with help of some bakers twine and paperclips I managed to hang some across my dresser/desk. I have wild intentions of hanging them from wall to wall in my when-we-buy-a-house spare room come office come craft room.

If you have a tumblr leave me a link - i'd love to give you a follow! 

LIFE: Ask Me Anything - Part 2

So it's time for the more lifestyle responses, you can find the answers to part one - the more vintage based ones here. So here we go!

So many things you write about and say on twitter remind me of ... well ... me. So, I want to know, are you a Libran? 

Louise 

Yes, yes I am - very much a librian through and through. Although I often feel I get rather ranty and carried away when I get headed about a certain topic on twitter which is often about politics, maybe I should, maybe I shouldn't, but it feels better getting it out of my system! 

How did you and Joe met?

Elizabeth 

Surprisingly you ask this, because I actually don't think I've ever mentioned how me and Joe met on my blog which is a little strange seeing I've blogged only a couple of months longer then I've actually known him. We - like many these days met online and neither of us were looking for love at the time, but we got chatting and I realized even just through msn and emails and so on that he was one special kinda guy and 9 months later we met up and that was that. Aside from explaining the truth to the visa people - they rarely bat an eye when you mention finding love online, we have numerous tales to describe how we met to others - to some they don't "get" the meeting online and falling in love lark so we just mention meeting at university or through work or something along those line. But yeah, he is one of the best things to have ever happened to me, he's a very special soul. 

What's the hardest thing about moving? And does it get easier? Did you settle in okay or was it a bit of a shock? 

Rebecca 

Moving to the US was and still is a bit of a shock, more then I would have ever considered back in the UK - it's more cultural and political attitudes that are the shock more than anything and just having those "wow i'm in the US" moments. One of the hardest things was detaching myself from all the material things I grew up with and having to choose what to leave behind - I shipped some important things over before moving but all I brought with me was a suitcase and a backpack. Weirdly I felt sad about all the books I left behind, but luckily the most important things - the childhood teddy, photographs and a lot of the items from my memory box I manged to bring. As you reestablish and create a life for you in your new place it does get a lot easier - but there's moments that catch up with you and you stop and think. I feel very landlocked living in the US - even though I live in the Great Lakes region the sea feels very far away and the whole vastness of the US is very daunting at times and even though I've been around the south east of Michigan to Chicago and Pittsburgh I feel like I haven't seen anything. 

Top five things to do in Detroit?

Gillian 

I could fill a top five in just places to go and eat in and some of these places are in the suburbs as well as say downtown but it's hopefully a good mix.

My first would be to visit Belle Isle where you'll find America's oldest aquarium which is getting a new lease of life and there's nature parks and museums alongside great views of both the American and Canadian river fronts. Secondly to take a walk along the Riverwalk which runs along a good stretch (and is increasing) along the Detroit River - it's one of the few cities globally which doesn't have a road running along the river so it has great wide footpaths and gardens and also a nature park. Speaking of parks we have some great Metroparks out in the suburbs my particular favorite being Kennsington - you can hire boats, go for walks and feel like you're in the middle of nowhere. Back in Detroit if you head to Greektown (they also have a shop in Royal Oak) you must pop into the Astoria bakery which makes the most divine and incredibly huge desserts and cakes - you'll be a kid in a candy shop because you won't know what to choose! Lastly the Henry Ford museum complex in Dearborn is a great place to visit - they have everything you would ever want to know and see about American history and culture. 

Now Catherine asked a great load of questions about moving and life in the old USA so i'm going to break them all down!

What's the food you miss most?

Some days it's proper fish n chips, other days it's quavers or tartar sauce (US version tastes horrid) to pickled onions - luckily one of the closest stores has a good section of "English" food in their import aisle so I don't have to live without my brown sauce or decent tea bags. I use to miss naan bread but I got to baking my own so you kind of make do and mend. Proper sausages are certainly lacking over here though. I know a lot of British people have a dislike for American baked beans over Heinz but I have to say I do prefer my American sauce of baked beans

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What's the biggest cultural difference between the USA and the UK you've noticed?

I would have to say it's probably between the gun debates and laws and religion. We all grow up very isolated against guns in the UK and here it's your born right to own one for that day when the government is going to turn on the nation and take all your rights away (i'm being serious people really do think that). And sadly every time a horrid event happens like Newtown it's never the time to talk about gun control and then the next event happens and it's still not the right time. I have a hard time working out why you'd feel the need to own a gun, I just don't think they solve anything but there you go. Secondly with religion it's a much bigger deal here and it's unsettling how much of a role it has in politics - I did write a big post about the religious differences between the UK and the US which explains it in a lot more details.

What are people's biggest misconceptions about you as a British person? 

Hmm this is a toughie - I can't say I've come across many or not at least ones said to my face although questions do generally go along the line of "are you from London", "have you been to London" questions about the Queen. On wider example a some on the right side of the politics field would and do see the UK as a socialist country (they think the same about Canada). So we're all socialist because of free healthcare . There was a recent facebook debate with a local newspaper posting on facebook a local cities choice of changing a road layout to adopting more roundabouts and people saying how they don't want to be turning European because of such an action. It was an interesting, and somewhat funny debate.

Are there any words or phases people call you up on and have you picked up any American sayings?

A lot of the time people don't understand me and it has got to the point where I just make Joe order stuff for me. I don't say tomatoes the American way (as in the toe-made-o) and that calls people up a lot. I don't recall really picking up any American sayings aside from calling a garden a yard really, although me and Joe are rather multilingual in British and American English terms i'm rather stubborn in refusing to use American terms.

So there you go - hopefully you all know a little more about me and my world. As always if you ever any questions or ideas on topics you'd love my to write more about (be it vintage to migrating) feel free at any time to drop them into a comments box!

LIFE; Expat to Expat Q&A

I seem to be getting on a roll with the whole question and answer kind of posts so I thought I would carry on the theme and link up with the expat Q & A post that I found on Belinda's expat blog Found Love, Now What?. The questions are all cultural based, so whether your an expat or not, you might find some interesting points of difference between my British homeland and life here in south east Michigan. 

1. What was your favourite season back home and is it the same now; why or why not?  

I've always loved spring - it's a sign of what's to come, of all the bulbs starting to pop through and the pretty blossom on the trees. I'm far, far more welcoming of autumn now after releasing just how warm it gets in Michigan that it's nice to have cooler days. Plus the shades the leaves go here are just incredibly beautiful.

2. Is there a place you would want to move to based solely on the weather?

Not partially, although somewhere with a mix of weather and seasons is always welcome. 

3. What is a piece an article of clothing that you had to buy for your new home due to the weather? i.e. galoshes, winter coat, etc

Proper winter boots, my New Look fashion winter boots really weren't suitable for the amount of snow and ice in Michigan. And the snow isn't like the UK snow, it'll snow everyday for weeks and just add up to the amount already there and refuse to melt because it just gets so cold. 

4. Have you found the weather stereotypes of your new home to be true?

I'm actually not aware of any in all honesty ....

5. Is there somewhere you would never live based solely on the weather?

The Amazon rain forest or the Arctic - yeah not my cup of tea. 

6. What are you looking forward to most this spring?

Being able to craft again at night as the nights get lighter, being able to go out without a coat and seeing the squirrels around the apartment complex again.

7. Where you live, what is your go to outfit for spring?

Normally tank tops and cardigans - or at least that was last years spring outfit, currently spring this year is being below average in warmth, so coats are still needed. But certainly when it gets warm in spring, you're dressing like you would for summer in the UK. 

8. What is one thing or event that you miss that happens back home at this time of the year?

I'm from a town in the middle of east Yorkshire that doesn't really do anything so i'm probably not missing anything that specially happens in Spring - probably missing something fun in York though they normally have something going on in the marketplace on weekends - say farmers markets and ice carvings and such. 

9. If your hubs could bring home a bouquet of any type of flower, what you pick?

Hmmm roses, tulips or big happy daisies. 

10. What does your perfect Saturday look like?

Haha every Saturday is my perfect Saturday going to estate sales although that does mean waking up early, driving nearly 100 miles around the metro region, buying quirky vintage stuff. Saturday nights tend to be our weekly date night so we either go out for a meal or order a take out, snuggle on the sofa watching films or chill out to vinyl, phones are generally banned on Saturday nights too. 

Bonus Question - Are there any special holidays in your new country in the month of May?

We have Memorial Day (27th) which is a public holiday and Mother's day in the US is always the second Sunday in May. There's certainly no May Day bank holiday.

Spring in Michigan - bluebells, sunsets and birds

What's your favourite season?

Ask Me Anything - Answers Part 1

Honest I haven't forgotten about my request for questions and then answering them - I just constantly suffer from a backlog of posts to publish and never want to overburden you all too much with my random posts. For lengths and interest sake i'm spiting the answers into two - this being part one is more focused towards the vintage answers. So here goes - feel free to keep asking any questions in the comments box!

I've always wondered whether you have always had a background in vintage or it's something you've grown more fond of since moving to America
Alice

Vintage has been second nature to me - I grew up with a preference for black and white (or early colour) films and with The Beatles on constantly in the house to attending WW2 themed air shows and the like. But I grew up being told not to buy things I didn't need, so I never spurgled or treated myself to pretty vintage things like I do now and then through my teenage years, vintage kinda fell behind me wanting to "find" myself through music culture rather then going down the vintage route. It wasn't until I inherited some pieces - a 1930s sewing machine, lots of vintage crochet patterns and my vintage compacts that I really took a turn in celebrating and rehoming vintage. Joe and moving to the US has certainly opened more doors and I appreciate and love vintage all the more because of it - be it the films, music, lifestyle and items. Although I don't style myself constantly in a vintage style, buying vintage is now my go to choice for most household pieces - especially with saving for a house and needing things alongside just not wanting to have the same as everyone else.

I'd like to know your five dream dinner party guests (living or dead), what you'd feed them and what you'd have playing as a soundtrack!
Vix

Tough question! I think my guests would have to be Bebe Daniels, my grandad, Ginger Rogers, George Harrison and Clark Gable. We'd have a huge home made Indian curry night with a speakeasy feel with cocktails and early jazz playing.

I'd love to know if you're a 'collector' by nature? 
Jem

I've always as far as I can remember have collected something - once it was badges then keyrings, to newspaper clippings of my favourite bands to of course vintage powder compacts. For the sake of my bank balance I do try and limit my collections just a couple of main things I chase - for example the compacts. I'd certainly say we, and i'm saying we because luckily me and Joe share and have passions to collect the same items - are very keen collectors of vinyl in having over 200 records which you might have noticed me talking about lately, to having smaller (but certainly growing) collections of vintage cookbooks and piles of vintage crochet and knitting patterns, tea cups and apparently silver trays - we seem to have more then any one would really need.  I do want to rehome and keep more then I ever can and I get sad when I can't. Haha.

Part two - the answers to the  more personal based questions will be coming (hopefully) next week. But if you still have a question or even questions you'd love to ask, then feel free to leave them below!!

Immigration ... moving "guilt"

Source

A couple of months ago I looked into something that's been termed "immigration guilt" - that feeling that sometimes overcomes you when you reflect on moving countries and you consider and remember all that you left behind. While in my instance it can be related to moving countries, but it can just as likely be in relation to moving within the same country, moving to a new town to a new place maybe for a new job or to start at university, anywhere to start anew. 

Books, articles and websites on the subject wrap immigration guilt up with self identity, self representation of the old and new, the turmoil of relocating, questions of how does one cope with your idea of "self" in your new setting. In actuality I've experienced and internalize this sense of guilt into questioning how people in your former life and location cope, particularly parents without you, others have described questioning if migrating was the right thing to do. Its like homesickness, but much more self questioning. For me it's not that I regret, nor do I question my motive or decision to leave the UK - it was the right thing for me, for my relationship and where I am in my life. But, I left at a time where my friends are growing up and i'm not there.

Maybe it's partly selfish - I've just thought that as I sit here typing this out but with us now looking for our first house, America increasingly feels like home, and the UK not so much, my ties are slowly being cut from the homeland and sometimes it hurts - but it's natural and it's okay for it to hurt. Friends from school and university are now, like myself in our late twenties, a few are getting married, even more are having babies. One of my closest friends who I've managed to keep a friendship going with since moving is getting married in May, and while i'd love to be there, money doesn't allow. Another has been married and had a baby in the time I've being living in America. It's not that I'm jealous of them, but you can sometimes get wrapped up in this sense of guilt because you want to be there, but you can't. It can reach the point whereby you over idealize people, places and events through the "if only". Social media can make this worse and while it helps that you can keep in touch easier with people, flashes of their life on your timeline, their going out, going to weddings, showing their babies makes you feel even more remote, you're just watching their life from afar. But you have to handle the emotions and move on, other people's lives won't stop because you moved. Harsh but true and in fact they might be thinking the same about your own life and experiences as you share countless photographs of all the new places you visit, foods you try to new people you meet that they don't know. They might be hurting just as much as you because they can't be sharing those new experiences with you. 

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Overall it is something natural to feel, emotions are emotions, it would be worse to hide them, to ignore them and bottle them up. It's ok to move be if fifty, five hundred or five thousand miles, have moments of homesickness, feel bad about not being able to share in life's journey, to reflect but most importantly to carry on living your own life. Relocating is hard, it's a period of reflection, self evaluating and change but also new possibilities and a battle between your old self and the new - it takes a while for the two self's to settle and have a part of yourself in another place - that's part of the fun of relocating.

"I am two, one looks back

the other turns to the sea" 

Gabriel Mistral 

Ask me anything ...

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So this may be an epic failure or a huge success, but I've noticed other bloggers doing similar posts and while i'm not one to normally follow if it helps you get to know me, the girl behind the blog a little more all the better. I know I've been blogging on here for four years but there might be something you've always wondered or been dying to ask and now is your chance.

Basically I'm turning this post other to you - so ask me anything. Maybe about moving to the US, American life, vintage stuff to any hobbies or bad habits I might have. Literally anything. The nosier the better I say and I'll answer them all in another post (as long as I actually get some questions that is ...).

Leave your questions below in the comments box.

Dear Ms. Leigh

Vivien Leigh - Source

You may have noticed me playing around with headers and name changing for the past couple of days, I've been rethinking the name of my blog for a while and ever since feeling more at ease about blogging in the last week or so I thought a change name was in order. But actually coming to think of a new name is all but easy. And attempt after attempt I finally change up with Dear Ms. Leigh.

I somewhat wanted to use my own surname but then I didn't want the entire world knowing everything about me, so I replaced it with the surname of possibly the actress that made me appreciate vintage, the black and white world and the 1930's much earlier then I ever realized - Vivian Leigh. Everyone (or at least they should) know her from playing that insurmountable female force of Scarlet O'Hara in Gone With the Wind - a film we always had a version of since I was a child, a film I could watch and never tire. She was an actress of an incredible era, she had a presence and a beauty on screen that I have never seen since. She was possibly caught in the shadow of her husband Laurence Oliver and her reputation for being difficult and her troubles with bipolar disorder went before her. Nevertheless the films she did make are timeless, and so is her beauty.

Dear Ms. Leigh will still feature the same lively mix of vintage, baking to crafts and being that English lass in the US. Hopefully the warmer months ahead will allow my camera to go on more adventures and these pages, however virtual will come to document growing up with a vintage flair.

Blogging When You Have Nothing to Blog About

Blogging can be evil at times, you blog a little less each week, you get a decreasing amount of views and comments which ultimately leads you to blogging less and less. Then you get to the point where i'm at and you wonder about giving up completely. I've been blogging for four years - i've had loads of things to blog about, but since the drama of moving to the USA and the completion of the long distance relationship i've always felt i've run out of things to say or that because i'm not here, people don't want to hear what I say.

I'm not fashionable, i'm not into make up, I'm into vintage not because Cath whatsherface Kidson made it fashionable, I was into it way before then, I love my music playing from a vinyl record but I'm just as happy listening to Trivium and Machine Head after listening to Motown. I'm too much of a contradiction that I don't think people can relate to me as a person or to where I am both geographically and in my life. I know you're meant to "blog about what you like" well I did on Monday with the 1920's magazines which I thought additionally my readers would - apparently not. All makes me just want to pack it all in.

This year i'm 27, I'm busy with Hook Stitch Treasure in it's numerous forms, we're saving our pennies for a mortgage and hoping to buy a house this year, I'm married. I don't have countless nights out getting drunk to blog about, Saturdays are estate sale hunting days (and my blog posts about what we find go down like a lead balloon) and this endless, snow filled winter Michigan is throwing at me leaves us going out around the state less and less. Then again i'm in Detroit and well, not many people care to read about that place either while I'd love to write more about Detroit and Michigan but then I think "what's the point?".

It feels like I need to apologise for being grown up and settled, for my love for proper vintage and for where I live. Because it's not fashionable, because i'm not fashionable.

And I don't want to do that. 

Not at all.

So I don't know what to do.

Blogging in Your Life

Image from weheartit. 

Not having a phone for over a week got me thinking about the place of social media - especially blogging within a bloggers life. Many may not agree with this post but I felt it important to share my views and just get my rant out of my system. This week life has been up in the air with an impromptu visit from the mother in law and Joe having extra time off - so for me blogging, twitter and etsy goes on the back-burner (ebay doesn't because that's where I gain my income from). And this I don't mind - i'd rather be spending my time with my husband, family and friends rather then constantly blogging and tweeting - for me it's great to have that time away and be able to back off.

Now the issue - for my rant steams from when people can't back off from blogs and social media and the line behinds to blur so they constantly say sorry for having a life, doing things and not blogging for three days or they haven't blogged three posts within a day. It might be Christmas Day but people still need to blog, they still feel the need to rant on Christmas Day how a certain advertising button application isn't working - It's Christmas day does it really matter? Granted I sent the occasional tweet on Christmas Day but I certainly didn't blog or read any blogs - I didn't even turn the computer on. I know and I do back off at important times. 

Maybe it's because the reason for the mother-in-laws visit up to Michigan was for a funeral and it got me thinking. I'd rather be spending time with those important to me then feeling the constant need to be virtually updating my life. Don't get me wrong I love blogging and I'm really chuffed to have the followers and readers I do - but I additionally hope they realize blogging isn't my life. Life comes first.