Where on earth have I been? Life updates and future events!🍂

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the blog! I must first address the fact that I've not really posted anything for almost 1-2 months, however there's been quite a lot going on since my last event in Leeds, and now things have started to settle a bit more, I can sit down and actually tell you about it all. If you are already subscribed to my mailing list, you'd have already had some brief updates on everything, so this blog post is so I can go into those updates a bit more, and of course, announce my next art event! So, I'll start with the first update, which is incidentally the biggest...

I now live in Malton!

Yep, that's right! After almost 13 years of my life in York, myself and my husband made the big decision to move out of the city and relocate!

I guess the main question would be 'why did we decide to do this?' Well, it was for a few reasons, but the most important one was due to the dreaded 'cost of living crisis'. I've loved living in York since I started University in 2009, and before the pandemic, I don't think I ever imagined living anywhere else once I got back from my time overseas. Unfortunately, it is no secret that York is not cheap. It's probably one of the most expensive placed to live in the North of England, and post-2020, it's only gotten worse. Rent, food, travel, the works! Even a bus ride from our old place to my work wasn't saving me much money anymore. It'd also be nice to own our own place, rather than rent the rest of our lives, and right now, it doesn't seem like it's possible in York. We had to move to a place where it was more plausible, and since we've been familiar with Malton for the past couple of years, and already had connections here, it seemed like the best option.

I have to be honest.... it was sad for me to move out of York, and I'm still experiencing those lingering feelings of grief for the city I called home for such a long time. I'd built up quite a few connections around our local area, and I even managed to have a regular gym routine (surprisingly) and local haunts that I loved going to. You don't actually realise how much a place meant to you until you leave it behind, but at the same time, you're eager to experience something new, find new connections, so you can be conflicted. I have to be honest though, while I did have some connections, I wasn't part of any big local groups or organisations, and as for going into York City Centre itself, it was only ever for work or a fleeting visit, so I was living there, but didn't really engage with local events as much as I used to. Malton's pretty close to York anyway, so it's easy to get in when I need to, and with close friends nearby and lovely shops and cafes to go to, it's not going to be too difficult to adapt.

It's still early days, having only moved 2 weeks ago, but so far, it seems to be going well. And I'm keen to find out about the local events, and whether I can enquire about exhibiting my art anywhere. For now though, I'll take enjoying a coffee and walking the fields, while the weather's not too cold.

So, with that being the biggest update, here's the second one, as it's another reason why I've been so quiet lately.

We got quite sick indeed! 🤒

You know that saying 'when it rains, it pours?' Well, that was certainly the case for our moving week. Combine the stresses of moving, pre-planned work events, re-organising all the utilities and going to the tip every other day, this resulted in both me and my husband coming down with a terrible flu/cough....3 days into our moving week!!! I tell you, I was NOT having a good time at all!

It's hard enough having to move, pack, unpack, ensure the cats are doing okay, register for all new local services, and everything else that comes with moving to a new area, but throw sickness on top of it??? No fun! Obviously, it's taken longed to get used to our new area, being all cooped up, and we even had to miss a family get together because of it.

At least now I can say that after plenty of Lensip, hot soups and reruns of Red Dwarf, we're now about 99% better! I'm just happy to see the end of it, as it was a very bad strain, and now we can finally get out there and see a bit more of Malton and the surrounding areas.

And finally, with that out of the way, I can give the third and final update, which is thankfully to do with my art! Hooray!

I'm proud to announce that I'll be returning to the Leeds Corn Exchange in November!!!

It's another fair with the Little Fox Charity Craft Fair, but this time, I won't just be there for the Sunday....I'll be there the whole weekend! November 1st and 2nd!

It's honestly such a pleasure to get to do these fairs, and it's been a great way to get more involved with other independent artists, and also get my name out there a little bit more. I did really well in September's Fair, so I hope to replicate the same success again. I just hope that I have enough art prints to last me both days!

The Fantasy Fungus and Fungi Collective prints will be available (depending on stock levels) at a slightly cheaper price than advertised on my Etsy Store, and I'm hoping to also have a few new pieces available for sale, so if you want to be the first to own some of the more limited items, come on down as soon as you're able, as once they're sold, that's it!

Apart from this event, I'm also in talks for another Leeds based event later in November, but that is still to be 100% confirmed, as this could clash with something closer to home. Furthermore, I'm planning a limited sale on my Etsy in late October in honour of Halloween, so be sure to subscribe to my blog or follow my socials so you can be updated ASAP. 🎃

Okay, I think that's all I need to update you guys on for now, so thanks again for your patience while I sort myself out, and I hope you're all having a great October!

Until next time, stay well and healthy!

All the best from Laura, aka ThatHungryArtGirl 🍄

FYI, in case you didn't know, this is what me and my husband look like! This was us at the Little Fox Fair in September. Not bad looking, are we?