Books

Here are the books I got for Christmas. A delicious pile of bedtime reading!




and a smaller pile of cookery books for the kitchen. Did anyone else get any good books? Pin It

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2006 was a great year for me and I think 2007 will be a great one too. My website is days away from it's grand launch and I have hopes, dreams and wishes that I plan to make realities this year.

I have made some great friends and contacts through my blogging and I am so grateful to all of you for your kind words and comments throughout the year. I wish each and every one of you a joyous New Year Pin It

Christmas Day

Well Christmas was wonderful. A chaotic, shambolically wonderful time was had by all. Stockings and presents were opened, toys played with, a delicious Christmas dinner was cooked by me, (for the first time), and was delicious thanks to Jamie Oliver and his wonderful turkey recipe. It was all over too quickly and as you can see, one little girl almost didn't make it to Christmas dinner as she fell asleep in her plate! I woke her up and she ate about 15 brussel sprouts!!! Paul got his hair back for Christmas, which is what he has always wanted. I have a pile of the most delicious books to read and as one of my New Year's resolutions is to read more books and less magazines I may be blogging less in 2007.

Boxing Day was a much more relaxed affair. We played with toys, went for a cold brisk beach walk and came home to a lovely meal and a spirited game of Monopoly.

The day after Boxing Day I had my Father and his family here which meant more presents and mayhem and then the day after that we had 13 extra people here as Paul's family came. This time we went out for a meal as I was all cooked out.

Tonight we are having a New Year's Eve party here so I will wish you a very Happy New Year. I hope 2007 is a happy and healthy year for you all xxx

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Taking a leaf out of Tatty's book I thought I would share this slide show with you. I have had many swaps lately and all the parcels seem to have arrived at once. It was like Christmas had come early!

I got vintage glass baubles, a lucite brooch, buttons, ribbons and lace, a handmade miniature vintage dress and vintage embroidery patterns and cheeky plaster dog ornaments from Carol. An owl mug, runner and satin pillowcase, a book of Shakespeare's birds and a vintage postcard from Eren. A bird handkerchief, card, Alain Gree book, owl tea strainer, chirping bird keyring and vintage bird soaps from Tats and a handpainted glass bauble, little stocking decoration, handmade card and candy cane from Sarah, my secret Christmas Fairy. Such beautiful things, a real delight to receive and open.

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My little man (or heads are harder than hearts)

On Sunday a terrible thing happened. Whilst out Christmas shopping Alfie had a bad accident. We were in a clothes shop and Alfie, as is his way, found a quiet place to sit and play on his game boy whilst we do the boring shopping. I was in a changing room trying on a dress whilst mum was in the shop, inches from Alfie, pushing Lizzy in her pram when she suddenly heard a woman shouting for someone to fetch an ambulance and a child screaming. She was just thinking 'oh poor woman, her child is hurt', when she saw it was Alfie who was coming towards her with blood all over him. She screamed for me and as I ran out of the changing rooms I knew something awful had happened. I found my mum cradling poor Alfie in her arms while he screamed in pain, blood spurting from his head and pools of blood everywhere. It was the worst thing I had ever seen in my life and I was so shocked I just didn't know what to do. Luckily there was a woman who had been coming into the shop at the time of the accident and had seen what had happened and now she was calmly and coolly instructing everyone what to do. Whilst Alfie had been playing on his game boy he had leaned back onto a shelving unit behind him when a large and very heavy ceramic display hand had fallen onto his head, breaking one of the fingers as it did so. I didn't know at the time that heads bleed a lot. I do now. I thought I was going to lose my little boy, that he was bleeding to death and there was nothing I could do about it. The ambulance seemed to take forever, which it didn't, I just wanted them to arrive and make him better. They took us to the hospital where they glued his head back together.

Alfie is back to his normal bouncy self but it has left me (and poor mum) very shaken. I keep going over it, having flash backs to seeing his little face frightened and covered in blood and the realisation that there is only so much you can do as a mother, the rest is out of your hands.

My first instinct was to stop blogging and spend my time cuddling my children but of course that is just ridiculous. I have cuddled Alfie so much in the past few days he is getting fed up with me. I am cramping his style and he has games to play!

Right that's two sad posts, I promise I will be back with some festive cheer. Pin It

Leslie Harpold

If like me you were enjoying Leslie Harpold's wonderful advent calendar and wondered why it suddenly stopped on 7th December I am sorry to say that the lovely lady who was the creative genius behind it died suddenly. You can read more about her here. I never met her but I feel very sad for her family and the world at large for the loss of such a wonderful person. Pin It

Christmas Time, Mistletoe and Martinis

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Yes it's time for our Christmas Drink's party once again! I have been working on the invitations using the image above. Now I just need to find a suitable vintage cocktail dress.

This post is like an echo of Tat's, as we have been living parallel lives it seems, immersing ourselves in all things Christmassy. In fact it must be the lives of women all over the world at this time. We have put up our tree and decorations, the usual mixture of 'Rustic Country' and 'Shabby Chic Kitsch'! Lots of hearts, polka dots, red and greenery along with a few new additions this year. One being these two vintage looking cuties.



and this gorgeous snowy street scene that has little candles behind that flicker in the windows.




The little woollen trees look right at home here with the other decorations I have had for years








We have also been to Alfie's nativity where he played the Angel Gabriel. He was marvellous, we were all so proud and he took his role very seriously, so seriously in fact it was hard not to laugh! He paraded past the watching crowd, leading shepherds, wise men and angels to the baby Jesus. As he did so he looked straight up at us with a very sombre look on his face, holding his star aloft. The only way I could get him into his costume was to tell him it was in no way a dress, more like Jedi robes and he should think of himself as the Angel Obi Wan Kenobi. I think that did the trick!

Leading the Angels

On stage far right. Job done, I'm off!

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Vintage Christmas Swap

A few days after the deadline, but finally my Vintage Christmas Swap parcel is ready to go to my swap partner. I decided (today) to make a stocking from a lovely 1950's fabric I had with a contrasting pink polka dot lining and some matching rick rack. I popped all the packages inside and now fingers crossed that everything arrives in the USA safely and before the big day!







My urge to be creative is so strong that sometimes I have to just leave everything and sew. Hence the kitchen is a mess, we ate factory made quiches that could be heated up in the oven (an absolute no no in this house as we have our own eggs to use up), my poor baby fell asleep in her highchair during supper as she hadn't had a nap and my ironing pile is out of control! I often wonder when I look at the blogs of 'perfect' women, who seem to have the most beautifully ordered homes and yet create the most wonderful things on a regular basis, how do they do it? Are their homes chaotic too? Are we all conspiring in the myth of the 'perfect' woman? Or is it just me? Pin It

To see what this is all about go over here. Pin It

Advent Calendar

Check out the advent calendar in my sidebar if you haven't already done so, it's such fun. Pin It

Vintage Fabrics

For those of you interested, here's a link to see my latest fabric haul. All these fabrics are for sale so do let me know if you want to buy any. Pin It

Vintage Fashion Fair

A great weekend. On a wet and windy saturday night we went dancing when our friend Wendy joined forces with The West Coast Soul boys and held a great Soul/Funk night. It was lovely to hear a lot of old School and a few new tracks too. Lots of dancing and home late (me on Diet Coke as per usual!). It was a fabulous venue right on the sea front at Westward Ho! When we emerged we were just bowled over by the sight of the waves as the wind sent them in crashing on to the rocks. It never ceases to amaze me that I actually live here.




Next morning I had to be up early to go to Exeter and the Vintage Costume Fair with mum and the little ones. My friend Liz had sent me some complimentary tickets as she had a stall there and had promised to take along some fabrics for me. Liz seems to be the first person I see when I arrive at textile fairs and I can always spot her from her beautiful 1940's dresses. She has impeccable taste and I have bought some delicious fabrics from her. I came home laden with my purchases from her and the other stall holders. I didn't get much of a chance to browse the clothing sadly as Alfie had an attack of extreme boredom and we had to leave!











We did some Christmas shopping in Exeter and, man, it was busy!

Finally I leave you with a view of the sunset taken on Friday night whilst out with the kids. I have much to do, check you later x


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Advent

Well it's the first of December, the day when we can start to talk about CHRISTMAS!!! The children received their advent calendars this morning. A nativity one for Alfie who is obsessed with the nativity right now. They are practising their nativity at school, he is to play the Angel Gabriel (my little Anakin-Skywalker-turning-to-the-dark-side is to be the Angel Gabriel, hahahaha) and they are holding it in the barn at The Big Sheep, such fun! Lizzy had The Snowman, which immediately prompted Alfie to dig out the video which he watched (for the 1,000th time) with Lizzy. This is one of the most beautiful little films and I remember taping it from the telly when I was expecting my first child, now, some 17 years later, my little ones are still entranced and I have to say I adore it too. Jasmine had the Cadbury's one, at her request, 'there's nothing like Cadbury's at Christmas mum' she said. I have to agree, I'm a Cadbury's girl myself.

Lizzy watching The Snowman in her Jimmies and sheep slippers!

I am finding it difficult to blog at the moment, time just doesn't allow. I don't take blogbatticals, some days I write, some days I don't, but life is just so hectic right now that I barely have time to straighten my hair! One of the reasons for not being on the computer is that I have been sewing little things for Christmas, which if you want to you can see here. If you are related to me, DO NOT LOOK (yes Roxy, that means you!) I have also been working on my website which still has a few teething problems but will be up and running soon no doubt, watch this space.

In my mind there is nothing nicer than handmade goods and there are some wonderful places to buy Christmas cards and gifts on the internet. Apart from the wonderful Lily and Agathe, of which you are all aware by now, (unless you have been living on the moon!), there are beautiful cards to be bought from Red Flannel Elephant, designed by our very own Gretel, Cherry Menlove has a wonderful site selling cottage chic handmade items and of course Niki has some beautiful reworked vintage handmade items that are just adorable. Pin It

Gael Garcia Bernal

Can I have this one for Christmas pleeeeeeeeeeeeease? Isn't he just beautiful, sigh. Pin It

Warholized!

Jazz and I stayed up far too late messing around. This was the result. Fun huh? Well that's my fifteen minutes used up then! Pin It

Textile Fair

I went to a great textile fair in Ilminster on Wednesday. There were some beautiful fabrics there and although I was quite controlled I bought a huge amount! My website is almost live and save for a few glitches is looking good. I just needed to buy more stock to make sure there is enough diversity for everyone. I have lots of 19th Century French fabrics but my collection of good quilting cottons from the 1930's and 40's was dwindling. For those of you who want to see what I bought go here. Pin It

Turning Japanese

Morning all. I was woken up early this morning by one boy with a toothache and a small girl who just wanted to be up and about. So, stumbling into the kitchen to sort little people out I decide to tackle the huge amount of ironing that is making its way across the kitchen floor. I put on the kettle, whilst waiting for it to boil I switch on the computer. Major mistake, whoops! Oh to hell with it, who needs uncrumpled clothes anyway? I shall just pretend that they are a Yohji Yamamoto creation! I am currently into all things Japanese. For example take these beautiful little wooden dolls that I found in a charity shop yesterday. They are called Kokeshi but I know little more than that. I just loved their little faces. There were about 6 more but I left those for someone else to buy. The brightly coloured one on the end I already had, I bought it at another charity shop months ago, and she has sat by my computer ever since. Her sisters are much older but I think they look just wonderful as a set.




Whilst on the Japanese theme, I got these beautiful little Japanese lunch bags from Tasha. We were involved in a swap where I sent her some vintage fabrics and she made me a bag from one of the pieces. I was totally surprised when I got three of her gorgeous little bags! They are so well made. Just how lucky am I?


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If you're wondering why I am looking so darned good it's because I have gone Beta babies! I pushed that darned orange button, threw caution to the wind and went for it. Hell, you only live once ;-) Pin It

Back to life, back to reality

Well I came back on Friday but have been so busy since then I just don't get five minutes to blog! I have also been making some crocheted corsages, which I shall show over at my crafty blog soon, so that has kept me very busy most evenings. I made these a few years ago and sold many at a craft fair and on ebay but this time I want to change them slightly, add leaves and a vintage button middle. Anyway............ I had a great time in Essex. Saffron Walden is a gorgeous little town and I had a whole morning to kill as Paul was busy with a business client and Amanda had her Italian class. Saffron Walden has the loveliest shops, lots of nice charity shops, antiques centres, an old fashioned toy shop and a traditional sweet shop amongst others, so I was in my element. I had some great thrifty finds.

A 1950's money tin, a vintage christmas biscuit tin and a vintage highland shortbread tin




Some vintage Christmassy fabric, an old polka dot darning mushroom and 2 vintage books




and my favourite, a Gabriella Miller jug for £2.25. I saw the same one at the Country Living Fair the next day for £45.00! Perfect for my bathroom.




Then I took the kids to the park for some fun on the swings and a little run around...........




before meeting up with Amanda and having lunch together. Then on to her house that she moved into 2 years ago. I hadn't seen it before as Amanda always comes down to see us as she often drops her 2 eldest boys off at their dad's, in Cornwall. She lives in a beautiful big rambling Georgian Town House right in the heart of Saffron Walden. The pub is 2 doors down, the shops a mere hop and skip away, Waitrose is practically in her garden, so convenient.

We had such a great few days catching up. We never run out of things to say, in fact Amanda is one of the finest raconteurs I have ever met, her stories about her friends, family, neighbours and life in general are always fascinating. Her husband is the funniest man ever so I spent a lot of time in his company crying with laughter. He has the most subtle, dry sense of humour that if you didn't know him you may not realise that he is being funny, once you click into it he has you in stitches! Alfie and Elliott, her youngest son, are great mates and you hardly knew they were there once they were together (actually you did because Alf is pretty noisy but he and Elliott were in their own world) and Lizzy was just happy pootling around finding little things on Amanda's shelves that she could redistribute around the house! We had great food, lots (and lots) of wine and great company. Who could ask for more?

Anyhow, here they are, that lovely pair, outside their house (where a random, passing, old lady shouted out 'say SEX' when I was trying to photograph them!)

And here's one of all of us

I met up with Tatty, Lettuce and RW at the Country Living Fair. It was wonderful but so rushed! We need another meeting so I proposed a Thelma and Louise type roadtrip for RW and Letty, I think they're up for it, and Tatty will be coming to stay in February so I will have her all to myself then.





Thanks to Lettuce for the photo x


Right I must be off. I have been to an antique textile fair today and found many many beautiful fabrics. My website is about to go 'live', hold onto your hats!!! But that's for another day! Pin It

Essex bound

I don't know why I am sat here, I should be packing and tidying up before leaving, but I feel the need to say goodbye! We're off today to stay in a wacky sounding B&B and then with friends who live in the lovely town of Saffron Walden in Essex, then a day out in London later this week to attend the Country Living Christmas Fair and meet up with some fellow bloggers. It's an annual event for me and my friend Amanda and I am due for a child-free adult orientated day! See you all when I get back. Be good now x


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Unexpected

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The internet is a wonderful thing and blogging especially. You can hook up with some great like-minded people. One such person is Wendy, or as I know her, Woo. Although I have never met her I definately think of her as a friend. I have sold fabrics to Wendy for years now and she is a a good customer. More recently she has started a blog and she also has a website where she makes beautiful little things from the gorgeous fabrics she buys as well as stunning handknitted items. She recently bought some fabrics from me and today I received payment for them but in addition she had added some gifts. I was so surprised and touched by the attention to detail, she knows me very well.

She sent me some beautiful hand dyed embroidery silks for my applique projects

some vintage silk fabric including some vintage kimono silk

a card of sweet vintage buttons

And a gorgeous hand knitted cobweb scarf in a soft grey mohair wool finished off with tiny red beads that look like pomegranate seeds. So beautiful, soft and warm and, of course, in this season's colour!

I felt like the luckiest girl alive. Isn't it the nicest thing to get unexpected gifts through the post? It was a wonderful surprise. Thanks Wendy, you're a gem x Pin It