Friday Fancies & Weekend Temptations

Wow, that was a loooooooong week!  It started off with a virus on my work computer......well 5 viruses......and I'm not sure if it got any better!  That was until The Boy surprised me on Thursday lunchtime with an early birthday pressie!  A pretty new (old) Raleigh racer!  I've called her Belle as the kind people in the Wheelie Great Bike Store gave me a free bell as a birthday present.  I rode her to work today and she is sooooo much fun.......we're going on lots of adventure this summer!

What are you up to this weekend?  I'm having my hair cut, it's in desperate need and I want it to look nice for my trip to Toronto in 2 weeks!  Eeeeek!!!!!!  The excitement is ratcheting up!  I'm also going to be doing a spot of silversmithing and seeing lots of family and friends so it's shaping up to be a good one.  Plus it's a Bank Holiday so a whole extra day of fun!

If you are in Bournemouth why not pop along to one of these events:
Rollapaluza at the Getting About event
Thai Food Festival


This week I've been coveting:

//This beach waves hair spray.  Brought to my attention by the amazing Orchid Grey

//I want this beautiful herringbone satchel/rucksack

//These Gap white denim shorts were so tempting I've already bought them! (30% off voucher in this week Grazia!)

//This American Vintage dress would be perfect for my holibob!


And finally some fun links from around the web:

//I love this kitty!

//This cat scratching post if awesome!

//These perfectly timed photos cracked me up!

//This Vietnamese warm beef salad recipe looks delicious, perfect for the transitional season of spring.

//56 things to do instead of spending money

//Cat Beards!  The best internet craze EVER!

Happy Friday my lovelies. xx

Broad Norfolk - Bishabarnabee

This weeks Broad Norfolk word of the week is one of my all time favourites and was probably one of the first Norfolk dialect words I learnt.......

(Piccie frome here)

Bishabarnabee; Ladybird. (Also Bishy-barny-bee and Barny-bee)
It is said to be a corruption of Bishop Bonner's Bee, a Bishop who has an unenviable reputation for having  been responsible for the burning of martyrs during the reign of Queen Mary.  It is likely that the fiery colour of the tiny beetles wings led to it being given this local name.

I love how this word rolls off the tongue, it reminds me of childhood and is a word I love to teach my Friends children.  I love the little creatures and even have a brolly which is a barny-bee.....I love to see the faces of people smiling at my brolly as I walk in the rain!

Happy Wednesday my lovelies. xx

Another perfect weekend....

This weekend was perfect.  A day bimbling round secondhand stores with The Boy, a cake sale, a dinner date and cinema with a friend, breakfast with the girlies and an afternoon in my silversmithing studio.  My weekend was full of food and I didn't cook once!

What did you get up to this weekend?

P.s........isn't my friends little girl just adorable.........food coma extraordinaire!

Happy Sunday my lovelies. xx

Friday Fancies & Weekend Temptations

(Photo from here)

This week I've been running a bike week at work trying to get more staff and students cycling to Uni (don't the vintage ladies above look amazing in their rompers!).  It's been really fun with lots of activities going on.  I've also had some dental work done and ended up with severe face-ache after they struck a nerve........but there is a silver lining, the day at home has allowed me to do a bit of planning for our trip to Toronto!  Have you ever been, or do you live there?.....I'd love to know your thoughts on what is good to do/where to eat/anything!

The Boy has bought a few vouchers for eateries locally so this weekend is likely to be spent eating and silversmithing.....plus I'm taking my friend to my favourite local eatery, The Living Room, for breakfast on Sunday.  Plus I'm hoping to drop in to the Great Christchurch Bake Weekend and I'm really hoping for some cuddles with a friends new baby.  Oh and I really need to plant out my veggies!  What are you up to this weekend?

Some things I've been lusting after this week:
//More slubby biker jackets, this one in bright yellow! (I know, it's the same as the one I've got....but when something works!)
//Pastel nail like these, I don't like polish on my fingernails but these could really tempt me.
//This bag, it would be perfect for taking to Toronto! 
//These pumps, there is nothing I like more than tan accessories!  Wouldn't they go well with that bag!

And some more cool links from around the web:
//The Compendious Coffee Chart - Coffee is my life! 
//Litre of Light Project - we are trying to link up with this project at work, so cool.
//What a week of groceries looks like around the world......note that UK and USA feature very little colour....other than the packaging that is!
//Check us out on the River Cottage website....there is even a quote from me!
//An interesting video about brand readjustment!

And don't forget about the giveaway I am running! (open to ALL readers).

Happy Friday my lovelies. xx

Outfit of the Day - Neon Coral Biker Jacket

What I wore:
Slubby Biker Jacket: American Vintage
T-shirt - American Vintage
Jeans - Uniqlo (ultra-stretch)
Trainers - Vans Authentic Lo Pro
Jewellery - Mardle Made
Sunnies - Ray Bans Laramie

Where I wore it: To work

I recently got this jacket and I LOVE it!  It's a real step out of my comfort zone, colour-wise, but I really think it works.  It's such an easy style to wear, I recently wore it on a girlie day out in London but it's equally as versatile for work.  Do you have anything neon in your closet?  Would you wear it to work?

I've also been loving my new Mardle Made earrings, they are a prototype for a new collection I'm working on.  I'd love to know what you think of them.

Happy Thursday my lovelies. xx

Word of the Week Wednesday - A 'mardle' about Broad Norfolk!

Those of you who have been with me for some time will know that I am a Norfolk Girl, born and bred.  I moved to Dorset after university and still miss Norfolk to this day.  I miss many things about Norfolk (previously blogged about here)but most of all I miss the accent and the regional dialect, known as Broad Norfolk.

Broad Norfolk was first noted in the 17th Century and, although still used by many, it is slowly dying out.  I'm sad to say that when I left Norfolk I seem to have left my accent behind too.  I still use the dialect words I grew up with and everytime I go home it only take 5 minutes in the company of my Dad and my accent returns.  

I often get comments about the words I use which are not known here in Dorset so I thought I would add a feature to the blog.......Word of the Week Wednesday.  Each Wednesday I'll post a Norfolk Dialect word....and hopefully together we can help keep this dialect alive.

There can be only one word to start this new feature...........



Mardle; 1. to Gossip, Idle or have a Casual Chat.  2. A village pond.
In use we might say "we had a rare good ol' mardle, he and I"

I love the word mardle, I love how it rolls off the tongue.  

I thought the use of the word mardle for a blog name was perfect.......because lets face it blogging is really just a good ol' chat with friends.  Mardle Made jumped out as the perfect name for my jewellery business because I learn't to silversmith in a group and we'd have a good ol' mardle as we went about our jewellery making.  Mardle Made was born!

Do you have a dialect where you live, or come from?  I'd love to hear about it.  What are your favourite words?

London and the Lovelies

(Tracey, Claire, Liv, Suse, Me, and Lisa behind the lens!)

This weekend I popped up to Guildford to see my lovely friend Susie Stickgirl.......you might know her as Bargainista Fashionista.  It was a super important visit as we were heading to London to meet the girlies in order to celebrate Susie's pregnancy!

The vivacious Claire made all the arrangements and the day began with beautiful hand massages at the Jo Malone counter in John Lewis (otherwise known as Johnny Lu Lu's!).

After a wander round Johnny Lu Lu's and into Waitrose, looking for the blue-wrappered dark-chocolate tunnocks teacakes (epic fail by the way,) we headed to Comptoir Libanais for a Lebanese mezze lunch.

(Piccie form here, we ate it all too quickly for photos!)

Three mezze sharing platters later and we got to giving the radiant Suse her gifts......the most beautiful of which had to be a crochet baby blanket, handmade by the very talented Lisa (see it in all its glory on her blog).

After all that food we headed to Liberty to walk it off whilst looking at beautiful trinkets and luscious longings.  My favourite was this cheeky little bird house!

 

After all that shopping it was definitely time for a coffee stop-off and luckily we happened to find ourselves in the vicinity of the Nordic Bakery........and their cinnamon rolls!

After stuffing ourselves silly it was time to say goodbye and head back to the train station.  I can safely say a fantastic day was had by all, and something we should do more often..........a booking for afternoon tea is already in the offing!

Do you have regular girlies dates?  What sort of things do you get up to?

Happy Monday my lovelies, thanks for a fabby weekend. xx