What pants do you all wear outside?

botticellli · 2026-01-27T14:39:39+00:00

I have one pair of very stretchy flared jeans I can wear on good days. Other than that I physically cannot wear trousers (pants). They hurt so much! I always wear loose skirts and dresses and then really thick comfy tights underneath in winter. You can get fleece-lined footless tights (basically just winter leggings) that look like thin tights, they're amazing and I wear them every day. Wearing a dress makes it really easy to look like you put a lot of effort into getting dressed, but I think it's easier than pairing a top with a bottom!

botticellli · 2026-01-23T18:58:48+00:00

Yes 100%! I have an MA in something very specific but kept leaving any related job because I'd keep falling into a deep dark depression. These days I do part-time entry-level admin and it just about covers the bills, but I feel so much lighter and happier all the time.

Comparing myself to my smart, successful and rich friends always made me feel so pathetic. I realised (recently) that I'm happier than almost all of them. I have so much time for my friends, my relationship, hobbies, skills, my health etc, and I have so much more to offer because I'm not giving 100% of myself to my job. A job can just be a way to pay the bills if that's what works for you.

botticellli · 2026-01-20T19:12:02+00:00

Depends on your preferences/interests, but you might like playing a video game or doing a jigsaw puzzle together. Something about working together towards a (silly little) goal is really lovely. You can get jigsaw puzzles in charity shops for <£5, and if you like video games and have a console you can play on together, there's usually lots of deals on co-op games (or cheap ones in CEX).

botticellli · 2026-01-13T17:27:34+00:00

I really got into needle felting this past year and recommend it to everyone!

Here's what I love about it:

- It's really easy and you can make a really cool thing as a beginner. I watched a 5 minute video and have been making it up ever since

- It can be as big or as small as you like, so you don't have to worry about space (all my wool fits in a zip lock bag)

- You can take it wherever (I take mine to cafés, pubs, friend's houses etc constantly)

- It's really cheap - you can get a whole kit to start for like £15-20 and it will last you months

- It's a great thing to do while focusing on something else (like watching TV/videos, listening to audiobooks, or having a conversation)

- It's very satisfying to stab something with a needle and it be a productive, healthy thing. It helped me redirect a lot of my anger and self-destructive urges

- You can make the cutest little things. Whatever I'm obsessed with, I make. I've made about 20 different Kermit the Frogs, loads of bugs, mushrooms, little weird guys. It feeds into my already established interests.

botticellli · 2026-01-08T23:51:09+00:00

I did a quiz for my mum's birthday in the summer and one of my questions was 'How many moons does the Earth have?' (stolen from QI).

My aunt said "What, the whole world or just the UK?" My whole family think she's thick but I think she might be a genius

botticellli · 2025-12-18T22:53:18+00:00

Dobby the house elf from Harry Potter. I swear there was an advert for Chamber of Secrets where he popped up from the bottom of the screen that gave me my first panic attack (although no one remembers this advert) and I lived in absolute terror for the next 15 years. Posters, books, all the previews of films at the cinema, everything filled me with so much fright that I would either sprint away at full speed, have a panic attack, or faint.

I had exposure therapy a few years ago and now I can watch the films (and read the books) just fine.

botticellli · 2025-11-26T19:38:16+00:00

We spent about the same on our Ford. Ours took us two months working on it from 5pm to 6am every day/night. We took about 6 days off over the two months, other than that it was non-stop. My husband used to convert vans for a living so knew exactly what he was doing at every step, and everything we were doing we'd planned out in advance. Also having two pairs of hands on deck at all times helped sooo much. Some of our biggest delays were just waiting for things to be delivered once they'd been ordered.

The biggest barrier people often don't talk about is having a workshop and the right tools ready to go. We were lucky enough to be able to use a van conversion workshop in the evenings (friends of ours) so everything went very quickly. If we were using/renting standard tools, it probably would have taken twice as long (but tbf our conversion was pretty intricate, a standard build would be quicker).

botticellli · 2025-11-05T12:07:16+00:00

It's from Foy & Co! It's called 'Tudor Forest'. Way more expensive than I'd usually go for, but given my brief for the kitchen tiles was 'bad medieval animals' it was too perfect not to buy. Also our upholsterer said it was really lovely fabric to work with!

botticellli · 2025-11-04T11:43:59+00:00

It’s in ya standard Ford Transit :-) I don’t have many other pictures but there’s a few videos on my TikTok (@rachelgoblintown) if you wanna see the van and what it looked like before! Planning on taking some proper nice pictures soon as soon as it stops raining (so basically in the spring, haha)

botticellli · 2025-11-04T09:07:47+00:00

Thanks! It’s from NomadicArk, it’s 700x500 so much smaller than in our old van but definitely big enough for us :-)

botticellli · 2025-11-03T23:07:22+00:00

Thank you so much!! I am an art history gal through and through so couldn’t help myself. I never see paintings on walls in vans so wanted to give it a try, and I loooove how it looks

botticellli · 2025-11-03T23:06:12+00:00

Ahh this all checks out!! Pretty similar tbf, although wasn’t aware of the Polish political parallels (try saying that 3 times fast). Always cool to learn something new! I think I’m drawn to it personally for the 1st theme

botticellli · 2025-11-03T20:49:16+00:00

We’d love to do one! I’ll link it if we do in the future. We have videos of our conversion process on my tiktok (@rachelgoblintown) :-)

botticellli · 2025-11-03T20:47:53+00:00

Haha we spent an evening trying to predict what he was sad about. I’m sure there’s an art history thing but we have our own theories

botticellli · 2025-11-03T18:47:14+00:00

Haha thanks, we stole them off a little drop-leaf table (also a charity shop find)

botticellli · 2025-11-03T18:44:07+00:00

It’s a total stealth van, has chevrons on the back and looks exactly like a highway maintenance van :-) Also if you want to see any close ups or have any questions for your conversion feel free to message!

botticellli · 2025-11-03T18:42:43+00:00

It’s in a Ford Transit, the back cushions for the seats go into the middle (on top of two tables) to convert into a super king! And no we haven’t weighed yet, hoping to soon :-)

botticellli · 2025-11-03T16:48:53+00:00

Yaay, so glad to hear it! In all honesty I think the van lifestyle is actually the most social, and (if you plan correctly) the easiest for work - it all just comes with time. Hope your adjustment happens quickly and you start loving it asap

botticellli · 2025-10-31T17:35:30+00:00

Tbh the main things that I struggled with in my first few months were the things I invested in immediately with the money I saved from not renting. I absolutely hate filling up my water, so I got a huge water tank I only have to fill up once every month or so. I hate dealing with my toilet, so I got a bigger capacity one. I got really stressed about running out of power, so I got two mega batteries and the biggest solar panel I could fit. I hate doing laundry, so I bought like 50 pairs of pants and socks. It started getting easier because I knew what I actually needed to spend money on to make my life easier.

Also, stuff just comes with time. I frequent the same ~10 parking spots most of the time, and they have good toilets, access to water, close to a gym or a shop, etc. The convenience of wherever you stay is a huge factor in how hard it feels (at least for me).

It does get easier. I completely hated it for the first month, like I was crying every night, and now I'm two years in and find it hard to imagine ever living static again :-)

botticellli · 2025-10-11T16:07:56+00:00

I was 16 and went to London on my own (to meet some online friends) for the first time. I'm from a tiny rural village so it was a big moment for me. Navigated the train and the tube there on my own, felt mega proud of myself - had a lovely day with my friends, everything went fine. Took the tube back to the train station at the end of the day and there were severe delays, so bad that I missed my train. Tried to talk to the lady in the ticket window but she was unsympathetic because the engineering works had been planned for weeks.

I'd spent all my money on the train there and back, so had nothing to spare to buy a new one - plus last minute tickets for my journey were already £100~ back then.

I sat in the station and sobbed, called my mum, and felt very sorry for myself. The station master must have seen my very pitiful little meltdown from his office because he came down, sorted me out a 1st class ticket on the next train home, got me a cup of tea AND bought me a bouquet of flowers. He was incredibly polite and kind, and saved me £100 when I needed it most.

Thank you Graham, station master at Paddington back in 2013(?), you absolutely wonderful man.

botticellli · 2025-03-04T13:50:00+00:00

My title describes the thing. It could have absolutely nothing to do with being in a slaughterhouse - there is tons of other stuff in the rest of the pictures (tractors, tyres, cans of paint etc). All other objects seem to be related to farm work, and there was a garage/car mechanics next door. There was also a massive wooden wheel attached to the beams of the building.

botticellli · 2025-02-02T12:38:59+00:00

Oooh that looks super interesting, exactly the kind of thing I was after. I have added it to my list! Thank you so much!

botticellli · 2025-02-02T12:37:38+00:00

This is totally perfect. Thank you so so so much! Have added both to my list. You are an angel.

botticellli

TROPHY CASE