Drifting Towards the Weekend!

Here's a small seletion of Driftwood Signs I'll be selling on Saturday at the Mothers Day & Easter Craft Fair.

All driftwood was collected in Dorset and the Scrabble pieces were bought from local Chairty Shops, I love buying crafting items from charity and giving to a good cause.

Prices for the signs will range from £10 to £25, remember to bring some pennies as it's a cash only event.

Happy Wednesday my lovelies. xx

Crafting for the Weekend

(Easter cards)

I've been a busy little bee this evening, making lots of lovely cards for the Mothers Day & Easter Craft Fair this Saturday.  Here's just a selection of the cards I'll be brining.  They will be £2 each or 3 for £5.

(Mothers Day cards)

(General card selection)

I really hope you can join me on Saturday, click here for the Facebook Event.

Happy Tuesday my lovelies. xx

Easter Craft Fair

I wanted to give you all a little heads up that this coming Saturday I'm going to be selling at an Easter Craft Fair.  I'll be selling my Handmade Silver Jewellery, driftwood signs, cards and framed illustrations.

I'll be posting some photos of some of my wares over the next few days so keep an eye out.

The details of the fair are as follows:
Saturday 2nd March
12pm-4pm
St Marks Church Hall, Wallisdown Road, Talbot Village, Bournemouth
Entry £1.

There will be lots of other lovely handcrafted items for sale from other local artists and crafters.  It's sure to be a great little event, with lots of goodies to buy for Easter or Mother Day gifts, or simply for yourself!

It will be a cash only event so please remember to bring cash, for more info on the range of pricing for my jewellery, signs, cards and pictures please check out my facebook event.

I really hope you can join me!  I'm really excited as it will be the first time I've taken my Handmade Silver Jewellery to an event.

xx

Friday Fancies & Weekend Temptations



(Tuesday Lunchtime walk with The Boy)

Another busy week passes!  This week I've been super busy at work, planning activities for Fairtrade Fortnight (25th of February to 10th of March), sorting out the logisitics of a food recycling pilot, organising training, finalising a Sustainable Careers fair, writing literature and designing posters, and generally running around at about a million miles an hour!  On the home front I've been preparing for a sale I'll be doing on the 2nd of March (more about that next week), the general round of chores and last night The Boy and I went to Coast to see Bones Brigade.....awesome skate film, great venue, shame about the lack of coffee and cake though!  Oh and I managed a nice walk with The Boy one lunchtime when the sun was actually shining!  I'm so lucky to live and work right by the sea.

I've not been online much this week but here are a few things which have caught my eye:
This advert is amazing!
This basketball playing otter is too cute!
I want these oven mitts
This dress would be beautiful in summer

On the topic of summer I'm looking for a great Cocktail bar in Toronto?  Any suggestions?  I'm going in June and although I don't like to drink much I LOVE cocktails so thought I would treat myself.

This weekend, The Boy and I are going to an auction viewing this evening, out for Breakfast at Cafe Bosca Nova tomorrow before I work like crazy to prepare for the event on the 2nd of March.  Sunday will see more preparations and hopefully some family time or a walk if the weather is nice.  What are you lot up to?

If you're at a lose end this weekend:
Brighton - Brighton Craft Fair - an eclectic mix of arts and craft by local artists, happens on the last Saturday of evey month
St. Andrews - Carnaby Market Vintage Fair - only £1 entry and apparently it's going to be the sale of the century!
Solihull - Solihull Vintage Fair - again only £1 entry!
Macclesfield - Treacle Market - Arts, antiques, crafts, food & drink!
Alderholt, Dorset -  Vintage and Craft Fair - lots of lovely goodies!

Happy Friday my lovelies. xx

Tuesday is Food Day - Little Pickle Deli Cafe

Todays Tuesday is Food Day is dedicated to the amazing Little Pickle Deli Cafe.  Owned and run by the lovely Karen and Andrew it's situated halfway between Boscombe and Pokesdown and offers the most amazing food in the friendliest of atmospheres.

They recently ran a competition to win a Vintage Cream Tea and The Boy was one of the lucky winners, so at the weekend we popped in to claim our prize.  Greeted by the wonderfully smiley Karen, I thought there's a face I recognise and realised we'd sat next to her at the Valentines Day acoustic gig at The Crooked Book just down the road.

With a fantastic array of sandwiches to choose from, The Boy and I went for a selection of Ham & Salad and Coastal Cheese & Chutney.  We watched the world go by and absorbed the lovely atmosphere whilst our tea was prepared and then it arrived......

.....A 3 tier extravaganza of yumminess!  Sandwiches, warm scones with clotted cream and jam, coffee & walnut cake, and double chocolate brownies!  

All of it was delicious, but I have to say the scones were some of the best I've ever had......and I've had quite a few I can tell you!  Not only were they warm but they were moist and light on the inside, with a delicately crunchy crust.  Perfect!

(Done!)

 

Needless to say hardly a crumb was left on the plate! (Well we did actually doggy-bag up the brownies and take them home for tea!).  

(Very happy after our amazing Cream Tea)

What a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  I'd definitely recommend the cream tea, and having eyed-up the food of the people around us I'm definitely going back to try; The deli board, veggie burger, steak ciabatta, wedges.........

Thank you Karen and Andrew for a fantastic, and very filling, cream tea......we had to have a little walk on the clifftops afterwards!

xx

Over the Weekend

Chores//Chats with friends//Charity Shopping//Card making//Cream Tea//Cafe lounging//Clifftop walks//Clear blue skies//Chasing Paragliders//Cuddles on the sofa//Coffee//Cake//Cuddles with SootyCat//Chores again!//Cleaning kitchens//Cake baking//Changing sheets//Cleaning windows//Celebrating Birthdays//Cabriolet driving!

This weekend was brought to you by the letter C.

Hope you all had as great a weekend as we did. 

Happy Monday my lovelies. xx

Daily Skincare Routine

A few people have asked me lately what I use in my daily skincare routine, so I thought I'd share it with you.  For info I've got combination oily skin and am prone to the occaisional breakout.

*1.  Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish, toner, and light moisturiser.  Liz Earle is AWESOME!!!!  The Cleanse & Polish and toner are suitable for ALL skin types (believe me, my dry skinned friend and I both use it with great results!). The Cleanse and Polish is applied to damp skin and removed with a muslin cloth and warm water....It's great at removing make-up whilst also being gentle and non-drying.  The toner is beautifully refreshing and the moisturiser comes in different grades for different skin types.  Plus it's made using botanical ingredients and smells beautiful!

2* Liz Earle Eyebright.  This is not only a gentle eye make up remover but a treatment for tired eyes all in one......perfect for people who are stuck in front of a computer screen all day!

3* Bare Minerals Oil Control Primer.  I use this becuase I have oily skin and without a mattifying primer my powder would simply slide straight off my face.  This is the best primer product I've tried lately, it's light and non-clogging and does a great job at helping me stay shine free during the day. 

4* Bare Minerals Foundation SPF 15.  Now, I would call this a powder, not a foundation, but there you go.  I swear by mineral powder, not only is it free of nasties but it also acts like a treatment for your skin whilst your wearing it.  Plus, if you are rubbish at removing make up of an evening, like me, it's so pure you can even sleep in it!  Genius!!!!

5* Maybelline Gel Eyeliner.  I bought this as an economic product in order to try gel eyeliners, and I loved it.  I'm sure there might be slighly better ones out there but I don't see any need to pay £20 or so for an eyeliner.  The brush that came with it was a bit big and clumpy so I bought a Mac brush for about £15 which will last much much longer than the eyeliner!

6* Clinique High Lengths Mascara.  I hate Mascaras, they never last long enough and are so expensive!  This is my favourite, I like the effect the brush creates.  I'm lucky to have long eye lashes and this brush coats each one perfectly without clumping them all together.  It gives a nice clean look.

7* St Ives Blemish Control Scrub.  I use a face scrub every other day in order to slough off dead skin cells to help prevent spots.  I used to use the Clinique Face Scrub but when I got made redundant I opted for a cheaper scrub and this one does the trick nicely.  St Ives make different scrubs for different requirements, invigorating, hydrating, etc etc. 

8* Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask.  Once a week I do a face mask to help remove impurities and keep me blemish free.  I love this Liz Earle one, it leave my skin feeling fresh and bright.

So that's pretty much my daily routine, I don't wear much make up, if it's a special occaision I might dabble in a bit of eye makeup (lately I've been trying to master Cat eyes.....great tutorial here) or lip gloss but apart from that I like to kep it natural.  Oh and I use a bit of bronzer int he summer!  Between switching to Liz Earle and Bare Minerals my breakouts have reduced dramatically and my firneds often tell me how good my skin looks.

Do you use any of these products?  I'd love to hear what you think.  Do you have any products or brands you swear by?

Happy Sunday my lovelies. xx

Friday Fancies & Weekend Temptations

Wow, another week rolls by.  This week has seen rain, snow, very little sunshine, and a lot of coffee!!!  I'm trying to cut down and drink more smoothies.......I'm making slow progress, especially seeing as it's still brassic outside!

This week I've been dreaming of spring and thinking about our home.  We're hoping to build an extension maybe this summer or next so I've been looking for inspiration.....and low and behold the Toast 'House & Home' catalogue dropped on my doormat!  Their stuff is so beautiful, if a little pricey!  I love the natural tones, and the slightly rustic nature.  Here are my favourite images from their lookbook.

Other things that have caught my eye around the web this week:
*I love this kitchen Cheat Sheet, so useful!
*Is this me?  I really hope not.....I must unplug more!
* A great breakfast idea.
* I really want this sugar shaker by Camila Prada.....so sweet (pardon the pun!)
*I've never owned a pair of Hi Tops, but these Vans could be just the ticket! Tan leather, my favourite!
*I love a man in a cummerbund
*This is just too cute!

Things to do this weekend:
*London - Imagine Children's Festival Real Food Market.  The normal Market but with kids size portions too! 
*Brighton - Art Deco Fair. I'd love to go to this.
*North Suffolk -Stonham Barns Car Boot Sale

This weekend I'm hopefully going to The Little Pickle Deli Cafe, The Boy won a vintage afternoon tea for two in a competition on their facebook page!  Woohoo!!!!!  Yum yum! I'll probably do some chores, hopefully do some silversmithing, and on Sunday The Boy is DJ-ing at a friends party........so Monday is going to be a hard day!

What are you all up to at the Weekend?  Have any of you been to The Little Pickle Deli Cafe before?  What did you devour?

Happy Friday my lovelies. xx

A Valentines Surprise

 

So The Boy had a Valentines surprise up his sleeve.  He took me to an amazing little local cafe/book shop/secondhand heaven, The Crooked Book!  He'd been there last Saturday and seen that they were having two local acoustic bands play on Valentines.  He managed to keep it a secret from me all week, no mean feat I can tell you!

We got there early, knowing it's only a small cafe, grabbed a coffee (decaf) and yes, I had a chocolate brownie too, and we pitched up on the sofa.  The bands were great, both female duos, the first with a guitar, cajon, and two beautiful folkie voices, the second (The Black Book Dahlia's) with a guitar and female voice, with more of a jazz vibe to it.  Both bands were beautiful, and what with the lovely setting it made for a fantastic Valentines indeed!  Here's to some more live music in The Crooked Book!

Thanks to the bands, The Crooked Book, and of course The Boy for a fantastic Valentines!

xx

Happy Valentines

My Grandparents on their wedding day

Happy Valentines my lovelies!

Hope you are spending some quality time with the ones you love, be that partners, family, friends or pets!

Wedding day kisses

Pancake Day is upon us!

(Illustration from here)

Today is pancake day my lovelies......bring it on!

I'll be eating American Pancakes, not crepes, and smothering them in Maple Syurp.  Check out my previous blog post here for the recipe.

What type of pancakes are you going to have?  And what will you be smothering yours in?

(Piccie from here)

Happy Scoffing. xx

The Weekend That Was......

So the weekend came upon us with full force!  Here’s what the Boy and I got up to……

Friday: Meal out for a friends birthday, Japanese food, sushi, sashimi, skewered meat platters, tempura, wasabi, miso soup, rice, green tea//cocktails at a local bar, dancing, people watching and much giggling, much photograph taking!//well earned sleep! 

(Photos actually taken on Thursday when I cooked these for another friend!  And yes, I did have French Toast twice in one week!)

Saturday:  cooked breakfast for the Birthday Girl, French Toast with fresh fruit and maple syrup, yum yum!//walkies with friends, spoke to a few cows, froze our butts off and swiftly returned for coffee and cake!//chores//food shopping//girlies round for supper whilst the boys went out for a meal (‘The Last Supper’, one of them is about to have a baby any day now!)//Pad Thai, popcorn, sweeties and a film//Amazing news that some of our closest friends are 4 months pregnant (shocked and very excited, I can’t wait to meet the bump!)//8 hours sleep!

Sunday: Lay-in//sofa lounging//lunch//chores//visit to my sister-in-laws new home (actually their grandparents old bungalow, lovely to see her living there)//hair washing (complete chore!)//pie & mash//Series 3 of The Killing with the Boy on the sofa!   

Phew!  That was a busy one, but full of fun, friends and family.  Perfect!

What did you guys get up to at the weekend?

Happy Monday my lovelies. xx