Snow falls steadily outside of the window. I have given up on Spring time thoughts, the weekends are for napping…
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
Monday, 25 March 2013
Saturday, 23 March 2013
Friday, 22 March 2013
Wednesday, 20 March 2013
Sale Delight!
I now don't think I love Cath Kidston fabrics as much as I used to which means that when there is a sale I normally do quite well out of it.
This is my brand new bag-sweet, pretty fabric, soft and rosey!
The way I have always loved it!
Monday, 18 March 2013
Saturday, 16 March 2013
Friends Over
This weekend is a good weekend for a celebratory dinner. My lovely, kind and very strong friend has just got her house rented out. This lovely couple had been through an awful lot and ended up with a house which they couldn’t face selling (and like lots of times of greif couldn’t find the energy to deal with it at all) but it is now rented out. They are so lovely and I know will be wonderful landlords as they really care about this house, and so wanted nice tenants too who would love the house as they do.
On Friday the burglar alarms were delivered to us as we live close to this house. The men-folk got to work fitting them-they were too good for getting someone who knows what they are doing in!
That was the final thing that needed doing and means that they can rest easy. My friend used the same place as she got some other stuff for the house and everything came quickly and was really reasonably priced. There is a great range of security gadgets that cover a wide range of prices-I have even started looking at some of the cheaper models as when TH is away I worry constantly (although it is normally because Daisy barks at the trees).
So this weekend is for drinking and nibbles, laughter, friends and the sort of rubbish conversation you can only get off with when consuming wine with friends…have a great weekend!
On Friday the burglar alarms were delivered to us as we live close to this house. The men-folk got to work fitting them-they were too good for getting someone who knows what they are doing in!
That was the final thing that needed doing and means that they can rest easy. My friend used the same place as she got some other stuff for the house and everything came quickly and was really reasonably priced. There is a great range of security gadgets that cover a wide range of prices-I have even started looking at some of the cheaper models as when TH is away I worry constantly (although it is normally because Daisy barks at the trees).
So this weekend is for drinking and nibbles, laughter, friends and the sort of rubbish conversation you can only get off with when consuming wine with friends…have a great weekend!
Friday, 15 March 2013
The Snow Outside
What an exciting couple of days of snow. It started here on Sunday and didn’t stop in our neck of the woods until yesterday…there has been no snow since so I think it is just going away slowly now. There are patches of grass in the garden, mostly around the shrubs and trees, but even more exciting than that is the fact that I can see little shoots of plants coming up! This house was in an awful state when we moved here and the garden was so neglected in general that I didn’t believe I’d have any pleasant surprises. How wrong can I be? It’s wonderful and that bout of snow didn’t put me off my spring time prep!
Save the Pennies
The move at the end of last year pushed and pushed us. We humphed and hauled box after box of ‘stuff’ from one place to another day in and day out.
It showed up how much rubbish we keep and what a waste of money and time it was getting people to drag it from one location to another. I have way too many ball gowns and fancy clothes that I am never, ever going to wear again. TH’s last job meant that there was always a dining in night or ball to head to which I obviously needed a new outfit for each time. (oh my gosh…think back to the days before bills!)
I also have loads of china and tea sets which I have collected, but I have way too much of these things and need to get rid of them. I will use ebay to get rid of the majority of things and then hit a car boot sale when the weather (hopefully) is nicer. We don’t need these things and I haven’t used them for so long I may very well sell them for buttons…quite literally!
The ebay thing was starting to cause a bit of a problem as I didn’t want to send things away too expensively, but im not a company and couldn’t really send them cheaper than I was. My friend put me onto this website http://www.anyvan.com which has been a life saver. I managed to get somebody to take items across the country for a really good price-which meant I wasn’t put at a disadvantage when bidders came a’lookin’. I understand it from both sides of the coin as I think I was actually addicted to ebay for a while when Jessica Simpson started selling her line of cosmetics. http://www.anyvan.com also say they can do house moves-which I wish was something I knew when we moved house. I really love that people can submit there prices which cuts out loads of the hard work at a time when you really don’t need to be bothered with searching through lots of sites that recommend people. Unless you know of someone that can do it, I can’t think of a better way. It also gives you a bit of power really as sometimes I just don’t have a clue of pricing structures for things that don’t get used on a day to day basis.
Hopefully it will be a help to you if you are struggling to find someone to help with a move or package, it certainly is helping me get ebay things out of the door and getting pennies in my pocket!
It showed up how much rubbish we keep and what a waste of money and time it was getting people to drag it from one location to another. I have way too many ball gowns and fancy clothes that I am never, ever going to wear again. TH’s last job meant that there was always a dining in night or ball to head to which I obviously needed a new outfit for each time. (oh my gosh…think back to the days before bills!)
I also have loads of china and tea sets which I have collected, but I have way too much of these things and need to get rid of them. I will use ebay to get rid of the majority of things and then hit a car boot sale when the weather (hopefully) is nicer. We don’t need these things and I haven’t used them for so long I may very well sell them for buttons…quite literally!
The ebay thing was starting to cause a bit of a problem as I didn’t want to send things away too expensively, but im not a company and couldn’t really send them cheaper than I was. My friend put me onto this website http://www.anyvan.com which has been a life saver. I managed to get somebody to take items across the country for a really good price-which meant I wasn’t put at a disadvantage when bidders came a’lookin’. I understand it from both sides of the coin as I think I was actually addicted to ebay for a while when Jessica Simpson started selling her line of cosmetics. http://www.anyvan.com also say they can do house moves-which I wish was something I knew when we moved house. I really love that people can submit there prices which cuts out loads of the hard work at a time when you really don’t need to be bothered with searching through lots of sites that recommend people. Unless you know of someone that can do it, I can’t think of a better way. It also gives you a bit of power really as sometimes I just don’t have a clue of pricing structures for things that don’t get used on a day to day basis.
Hopefully it will be a help to you if you are struggling to find someone to help with a move or package, it certainly is helping me get ebay things out of the door and getting pennies in my pocket!
Sunday, 10 March 2013
Spring in my Step
I have a confession; I have my ‘Easter head’ on. My mind is on Spring, and Easter celebrations and the idea that I will come home from work one day and it will still be bright and sunny. We are lighting the fire less and less, although the heaters are still on. I do have to say that part of that is because the house was so wet and cold when we first moved it, but now it’s becoming nice to have the windows and doors thrown open wide, so I imagine we will need less heating as we really get into March.
After Christmas I always feel like I should be dropped straight into Spring or at least allowed to hibernate, so I have slowly been biding my time and I can feel now-after the stress of pre-Christmas moving-that this house will be good to us.
I am longing for pastel shades and daffodils, leaping lambs and gardening. Spring, to me at least, is about having energy. This is a season for being busy and hardworking. It must be about digging and planting. It must be about cleaning and brightening the place up, and I can not wait to get started.
After Christmas I always feel like I should be dropped straight into Spring or at least allowed to hibernate, so I have slowly been biding my time and I can feel now-after the stress of pre-Christmas moving-that this house will be good to us.
I am longing for pastel shades and daffodils, leaping lambs and gardening. Spring, to me at least, is about having energy. This is a season for being busy and hardworking. It must be about digging and planting. It must be about cleaning and brightening the place up, and I can not wait to get started.
Thursday, 7 March 2013
All work and no play.....
Its grey, dark and gloomy outside, but I’m off again tomorrow so it can’t bother me. TH is very ill with the flu (its not even pretend this time!) so I have been getting lifts into work, which has been a godsend. Unfortunately (or possibly luckily) this means I get into work at 6.30 and don’t arrive home for another 12 hours. I have quickly ‘banked’ enough hours for a day off, and I think I’d really rather take it while TH is poorly and needs a bit of looking after, rather than saving it for later.
It means I can catch up on a Mothers Day make and get the house nice and tidy as it’s obviously really slipped with poor TH being in bed all night and day. I hate it when the house doesn’t look welcoming or cosy. I would never ever want to be the sort of person that couldn’t have people round because the house isn’t nice. It has to be either tidy ‘enough’ with good friends and too much tea and cake so they don’t notice or just pile it all in another room if the only options are mess or friends. I am house proud to the extent that things are clean, but I don’t spend all day scrubbing. I would rather spend my time re-arranging some flowers or organising a book shelf. Sometimes I can spend ages organising guest soaps in a room and utterly overlook bed linen needing to be put back on a stripped bed. So tomorrow I will take care of The Husband, I will have time to make the cookies for my Mum and decorate the little lavender sachets for Mothers Day, I will get the house back into order and I will do this all in my own time. Never has a prospect been more exciting.
It means I can catch up on a Mothers Day make and get the house nice and tidy as it’s obviously really slipped with poor TH being in bed all night and day. I hate it when the house doesn’t look welcoming or cosy. I would never ever want to be the sort of person that couldn’t have people round because the house isn’t nice. It has to be either tidy ‘enough’ with good friends and too much tea and cake so they don’t notice or just pile it all in another room if the only options are mess or friends. I am house proud to the extent that things are clean, but I don’t spend all day scrubbing. I would rather spend my time re-arranging some flowers or organising a book shelf. Sometimes I can spend ages organising guest soaps in a room and utterly overlook bed linen needing to be put back on a stripped bed. So tomorrow I will take care of The Husband, I will have time to make the cookies for my Mum and decorate the little lavender sachets for Mothers Day, I will get the house back into order and I will do this all in my own time. Never has a prospect been more exciting.
Mothers Day
Just after Christmas I bought something in the sales for Mothers Day. However a couple of weeks ago my Mum announced she would like something ‘handmade’. This may have been the first choice for many of you, but my Mum is normally really into beauty products, lotions and potions.
So, here I was, completely set aback and stumped as to what to make. There are still some aspects of the house in turmoil and the location of fabrics or even the most basic of sewing kits was one of these. The only thing for it was a trip to a craft shop to find something to make with not much time left. After a little bit of thought I have planned to make some lavender sachets as it was something my Great Grandmother made. Granny would always make these up and send us off with them whenever we visited, so I think my Mum would like that connection on Mothers Day. Another reason for this plan is that I can make them quickly, and so put lots of pretty detail into them. The Husband is poorly right now and because of travel restrictions I am doing 10 hour days at work as well as making things for TH to have throughout the day, and our tea together in the evening.
I am also making up a batch of Mums favourite biscuits, which means I can do something on Saturday when I have more time. Our original plan was for Mum, my Grama and Brother to come out on Sunday, but with TH coughing and sneezing non-stop I really don’t think it will be the best environment. Plans will have to be re-made so that we can meet up somewhere, so I am quite frantically looking at Mothers Day lunches-and the weather this weekend isn’t going to be nice….wish me luck!
So, here I was, completely set aback and stumped as to what to make. There are still some aspects of the house in turmoil and the location of fabrics or even the most basic of sewing kits was one of these. The only thing for it was a trip to a craft shop to find something to make with not much time left. After a little bit of thought I have planned to make some lavender sachets as it was something my Great Grandmother made. Granny would always make these up and send us off with them whenever we visited, so I think my Mum would like that connection on Mothers Day. Another reason for this plan is that I can make them quickly, and so put lots of pretty detail into them. The Husband is poorly right now and because of travel restrictions I am doing 10 hour days at work as well as making things for TH to have throughout the day, and our tea together in the evening.
I am also making up a batch of Mums favourite biscuits, which means I can do something on Saturday when I have more time. Our original plan was for Mum, my Grama and Brother to come out on Sunday, but with TH coughing and sneezing non-stop I really don’t think it will be the best environment. Plans will have to be re-made so that we can meet up somewhere, so I am quite frantically looking at Mothers Day lunches-and the weather this weekend isn’t going to be nice….wish me luck!
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
London Calling
The Husband and I are really quite different when it comes to organisation. There are list people, and there are those that like the uncertainty and sense of adventure. The first group of people are more than happy to plan every spare minute and create list after list detailing where exactly they will be on any given day at any given time. I am one of these people. The second group of people have within their midst’s my husband. I don’t understand him, and he doesn’t understand me-at least when it comes to this.
I am more than happy to take on the responsibility for big events and holidays, and with the everyday running of the home we just muddle along, I guess like every other couple out there.
We are planning a trip to London for our anniversary in October and have already booked the flights. The accommodation needs to be found and paid for-but we really are on a budget as we are going away in the Summer and have made preliminary plans to head off in Winter too. The months of these events are getting closer and I am counting down the pay days! With this in mind we decided to start searching for a London Bed and Breakfast. We thought that this would be a dependable way to find a cheaper option. I found the website good to use as I really like it when a site has lots of options to narrow down a search (…this is a godsend to list makers)
There are a few places that we like the look of and seeing as we are really just looking for a place to lay our head between visits and tours we are more than happy to forgo a free shower gel! The locations are great and that seems to be the thing that matters most to us anyway. Whenever we’ve went somewhere before we’ve always ended up eating our tea at an interesting looking place we have found while out and about-so we never really make full use of hotels. It’s just a matter of picking which area we like best… Right, just need to get The Husband to ‘sign off’ plans and we are go!
I am more than happy to take on the responsibility for big events and holidays, and with the everyday running of the home we just muddle along, I guess like every other couple out there.
We are planning a trip to London for our anniversary in October and have already booked the flights. The accommodation needs to be found and paid for-but we really are on a budget as we are going away in the Summer and have made preliminary plans to head off in Winter too. The months of these events are getting closer and I am counting down the pay days! With this in mind we decided to start searching for a London Bed and Breakfast. We thought that this would be a dependable way to find a cheaper option. I found the website good to use as I really like it when a site has lots of options to narrow down a search (…this is a godsend to list makers)
There are a few places that we like the look of and seeing as we are really just looking for a place to lay our head between visits and tours we are more than happy to forgo a free shower gel! The locations are great and that seems to be the thing that matters most to us anyway. Whenever we’ve went somewhere before we’ve always ended up eating our tea at an interesting looking place we have found while out and about-so we never really make full use of hotels. It’s just a matter of picking which area we like best… Right, just need to get The Husband to ‘sign off’ plans and we are go!
Monday, 4 March 2013
Everywhere I Look Around
The Husbands Birthday is very soon and I can't help but plan and organise it along with all of my Easter ideas.
Sunday, 3 March 2013
Spring is in the Air
I just couldn't help myself.
I am in L.O.V.E. with everything pastel at the moment. I am supposed to be planning a Birthday tea for TH and then an Easter 'get together', but I am too busy looking at utterly delicious pictures.
Saturday, 2 March 2013
The Treats You Buy After Pay Day!
I have very dry hands, it doesn’t really help that when I get nervous I seem to scratch at my poor thumbs making them even more scraggly and rough looking. I work with paper a lot and that takes all of the softness and sweetness away from your skin, which really is a pest as I have always worked with paper or material which tends to do the same. I have tried all sorts of creams and potions and when I was younger would wear mitts to bed loaded with nappy rash cream in a bid to have baby soft hands.
My work drawer is filled with lotions and most surfaces at home get covered in containers of hand cream until I pile them into my bag or decant them back into bathroom cabinets. I have fought this battle too long and spent too much money on a variety of products. I think I have finally learned what any sensible person could have told me a long time ago:
If you find something that works, stick with it.
If you know it is expensive and it works, save up and use it.
This is what I am now going to do. I have spent lots of money on many different things when I really could have stuck with one thing all along. It is a total false sense of austerity. I now use a sugar scrub especially designed for your hands as well as l’occitane shea butter hand cream. I apply it throughout the day and I think my hands are getting better for it. I also have changed out all the soaps in the house for l’occitane ones and even carry soap for work as we have some industrial strength one in the toilets at present. I’m not a beauty blogger-nor do I think I could ever be one (I’m a wee bit too lazy for that), but I am evangelical about things that work just right.
Birthdays Are Coming
Birthdays are the most wonderful sorts of days, only surpassed by Christmas Eves in which everybody joins in the excitement. When I was little Birthdays meant wearing a badge on your blazer to school proclaiming your new age. Birthdays were for friends for tea and a party at the weekend in the village hall. They were, quite literally, for jelly and ice cream and musical statues. I hear from friends with little ones about extravagant events and if that’s the way its going, I’m sure my nephews would think I lived in utter poverty with just a game of pass the parcel and party songs which were solely meant for twirling to.
It is TH’s Birthday soon and this year it falls during the Easter weekend. We are having about ten people over and I’d love to do a really pretty theme. I hope to have the house covered in pastel colours and hopefully it will be a nice weekend as we plan to have a BBQ. The kids can be entertained with an egg hunt, and the grown ups entertained by some pretty drinks! I’ve got these cute little glasses and some of those paper straws I’ve seen everywhere. I also bought some Happy Birthday bunting and I think you get really sweet paper plates etc. now so I will get those too. Hmmm, I just need to get a present, eek!
It is TH’s Birthday soon and this year it falls during the Easter weekend. We are having about ten people over and I’d love to do a really pretty theme. I hope to have the house covered in pastel colours and hopefully it will be a nice weekend as we plan to have a BBQ. The kids can be entertained with an egg hunt, and the grown ups entertained by some pretty drinks! I’ve got these cute little glasses and some of those paper straws I’ve seen everywhere. I also bought some Happy Birthday bunting and I think you get really sweet paper plates etc. now so I will get those too. Hmmm, I just need to get a present, eek!
Friday, 1 March 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.JPG)
