Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow...

...and we've had some! This is the worst winter I think the UK's seen for a while. The snow has stayed around for the last 3 days, and some parts of the country are -17 degrees which is colder than Russia! My walks to school have been beautiful and really refreshing and the roads look super white. Really beautiful. Pity it's so dangerous and this country is not cut out for heavy snowfall, so I've not taken the car out all week. It does have the downside that you can't do what you want to because of the trecherous conditions, but it makes you walk more which has got to be good, and apparently walking in snow is the same as walking on sand, so I'll have thighs like a championship tennis player by the end of the week....yeah right!!

Here's the road I walk down to school in all it's sparkly glory, and my road underneath.

I found my Christmas photos on my camera and wondered how it could have been nearly 2 weeks ago  since my daughter sat down in front of this monumental pile of presents! (these were for 8 people, not just her!)

                                                      

And my little sister riding away into the sunset to find her Prince Charming...(snigger)

                                                  

My short hair is starting to grow out a bit and I bouffed it up into a mini beehive for Boxing Day! I love this picture of P, me and my Mom. :) 3 generations of us girls. Love P's face!!

N x

Christmas Eve

Wow, I can't believe it's Christmas Eve already! I've been getting food ready most of the day for our little family drinks and nibbles party tonight. I love having my family round altogether. My Grandad is coming too, and a couple of friends so it'll be a lovely night, before we have to usher them all out, sprinkle Rudolph's magic oats on the garden (so he knows where to stop), and get to bed for an early start in the morning!

I've actually baked 3 batches of Christmas Ginger Cookies today, taking inspiration from the blog and programme I watched yesterday! Some are to hang on my little cookie tree from the garden, and the others I boxed up with ribbon and a christmas tree label for my parents and sister as a little extra present! I love making things for people.

Here's the recipe if you want to try it:

*50g unsalted butter
*2tbsp golden syrup
*100g light brown sugar
*1 egg
*150g plain flour
*1tsp bicarbonate of soda
*1/2 tsp ground ginger
*icing sugar to decorate

1-  Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F, Gas 4. Mix the butter, syrup, sugar and egg in a large bowl.
2 - Sift the rest of the dry ingredients together and stir into the mixture. Form into a dough, adding more flour if it is too sticky.
3 - Roll out the dough on a floured surface until 6mm thick and cut out your cookie shapes.
4 - Put the cookies onto a non stick tray or one lined with greaseproof paper and use a skewer to make holes in the top if you are going to hang them.
5 - Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are golden brown and take out of the oven and cool before threading with embroidery silk or ribbon and dusting with icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas, lovely people. I hope yours is healthy, happy and without hangover!! See you on the other side!

N x

Make Up, Make Up...

I have to show you a picture of my Christmas Pyjamas that my sister got me. We both had the same pair. We looked like twins, even though there is 12 years difference between us. This is me in bed on Christmas night before I had to change because they were so warm! Rather fetching I think...


I had my back turned for 2 minutes yesterday when P and I were in my bedroom. My make up drawer was open... this is the result...

Expertly applied by a 5 year old using Mommy's red lipstick. 2 minutes to put on, 20 minutes to get off... happy days!!

2009 has started well. I've FINALLY got a new CD player fitted in my car and now we can at last have our favourite music on when we're driving. It's been about 9 months since my old one packed up and listening to the radio is great but there's nothing like being able to put on some good old Tom Jones and Rod Stewart and singing along at the top of your little voice whilst cruising in the frost! If only we could all hang some moves like Tom...



I'm not a fan of New Year's Resolutions because I think they put undue pressure on me to behave myself, but this year I am giving up chocolate for a bit (or until I've lost all the pre-Christmas chocolate podge) and I want to take up horse riding again. I really miss it, and haven't done it since I found out I was pregnant with P, 6 years ago. I used to ride every week and there is something wonderful about connecting with a horse. I love it. I'd love to join our local gym to be able to go swimming a bit too. I feel like I need to get fit, but hey, I'm expecting a good spring and summer for my fascinators and tiaras so I might not have the time! (fingers crossed.) I've also vowed to put my photos in albums this year. I was looking at some the other day and found this from when we took my Dad to Paris for his 60th birthday, 4 years ago. This is him and P at the foot of the steps in Monmartre. She looks so tiny!


I have a big week on this week, and into next. My tiara shoot has been organised for 14th and 15th January with John from Waterham Studios who I shot my last website photos with. I can't WAIT, but I have a lot to make and organise which will all take place when P goes back to school this tuesday. I've been waiting for ages to get my tiaras shot on person and I'm staying over this time so there won't be as much time restraints. Watch this space for the results. This is one of my fascinator ones that we did last year with a 40's theme which didn't go on my website.


My decorations have all come down today. It takes agest to put them up, ages to take them down, but I feel cleansed! My lounge looks twice as big and tidy. Kris helped me put everything in the loft so it's all back out of the way ready for this December... which will be here before we know it!

N x

Where'd It Go?

Is that it? Is Christmas over for another year? It seems to have flown by in a flash! We had a lovely Christmas at my parent's house with my family. Santa really did come to us... well, mostly P who had her usual huge pile of goodies which she opened as soon as possible!


Christmas is always special with kids around and we did the whole "has Santa been?" routine. I'm sure Mom still does it for us too, even though we're all grown up now. We woke up at our house, opened some presents here, gave the cat his present and got dressed and went to Mom and Dad for the rest of the gifts. It was lovely.


Santa brought me lots of lovely things, a bag, some Ugg boots which I've hardly taken off they are SO comfortable (thanks Kris!) and perfume, a jacket and a lovely necklace from P. I also had Betz White's Warm Fuzzies book from my sister along with a brilliant knitting book called Stitch 'n Bitch which is fab and a must for anyone who knits.

P had a new bike, rollerskates, and the whole padding to go with it all which sort of takes up most of the excitement time, so when she's finally padded up she's too exhausted to get mobile! She actually sat and had her Christmas lunch with her cycling helmet on and looked gorgeous!


Mom did a fantastic turkey and all the trimmings (although the carrots were burnt to a crisp... but we won't mention that! Sorry mom! :)), my sister did one of her speciality cheesecakes and I did... well I made my super dooper tiffin. (scroll down link for recipie) That was a good contribution! You can't go wrong with chocolate!

Mrs P and her famous cheesecake!:


I've avoided the sales, it's horrendous to park apparently, and spent the time inside! It's freezing here! I had a lovely scarf from Santa which is soft and gorgeous so I'm wearing that at the moment.

Seen my lovely cousin's wife Emma today and met her sister at my Grandad's with Emma and Neil's son Fin. He is gorgeous and we spent a lovely hour with them before they fly back to Cyprus to where Neil is stationed in the RAF. He's in Afghanistan at the moment working and we can't wait to have him back, which will be in January. I'm so proud of him and it must have been terribly hard without him at Christmas this year for Emma and the children.

So, all in all, Christmas has come, gone and we're onto New Year! We're off to my sister's house tonight for some food and a family get together which will be fun.

Hope you all had a nice Christmas too!

N x

Driving Home For Christmas

Well, it's Christmas Eve, all the presents are wrapped and Santa has taken them all to deliver over to my parents house for tomorrow morning. We always spend Christmas at my Mom and Dad's house and have dinner there, but this year, and for last, we are out for Boxing Day lunch which will be lovely. My parents are still suffering from their bouts of flu and chest infections so it's going to be a quiet Christmas for us, but P has all her presents, most surprises, and I'll help out with the lunch and the tea, so Mom will be able to take it a bit easier.

I finally finished knitting P's Rudolph toy in time for the big day and I have to say, I am really REALLY pleased with it. It's SO cute!


So, we'll be snuggling up and watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in a minute, and waiting for Santa!

Have a great Christmas, I hope you get all you wish for.

P.S - My drive takes approximately 2 minutes to go 'home' for Christmas :)

N xxx

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

I'm quite proud of myself. I've made quite a few presents this year for friends and family. The latest are these felt flower brooches for P's school teachers. There's the main teacher, the teacher in training, and 3 other class room assistants that help out occasionally and she wanted to have gifts for them all, so I had such fun making these last night whilst watching the compulsory wednesday night viewing of Desperate Housewives. I LOVE that programme! Here are the brooches. They are so versatile and can be pinned on bags, jackets, in hair, or on belts. I really like them.



Our tree's been up for a week and a half now and it's really lovely to have just the lights on. It's put me more in the festive mood and I've done 99% of all my wrapping and put the non-P presents under the tree for giving out as and when and P's done some wrapping too and given out her little presents to her select few friends that we got cute wooden bookmarks for this year. I got 6 and told her she could choose friends to give them to and she surprised me with one or two which is nice. You always want your children to have friends and be happy at school and it's little things like this that make you realise that even at 5 they have forged relationships with other people enough to want to put them on their gift list. There were 2 boys in this year's list! Cute.


I can't believe it's Christmas next week. This year has flown. A friend and I were doing a positive and negative list for 2008 and mine came out mostly positive for this year with the most important area being in my personal growth. I've learnt a lot, thought a lot and slept a lot in 2008 and I think it's done me good. I feel in the best mental shape I've ever felt and I can honestly say that I'm so happy being me although it's taken a lot of soul searching and not been an easy journey, and is one that will continue for a long time to come. My relationships with family, friends and clients has improved and I would say that I'm mostly content with my lot which is something that I've never been able to say before.

I hope 2009 is even better!

N x

The Toothless Wonder

How exciting! P's first tooth has fallen out! She is officially called Gappy now (which she hates!) and looks hilarious, but so cute! Thank goodness it didn't fall out before the wedding or the photos would have been ones to remember with her grinning her head off with a big gap! I can remember when she got that tooth. It seems so long ago now, and this feels like a bit of the end of an era and she's growing up so fast.


I've not felt well this week. There's a few bugs going around here and both my parents and Kris have really bad colds and aren't well at all. I've just been really tired and felt under the weather so seem to have slept lots and lots.

I've managed to do nearly all of my Christmas shopping but have it all to wrap up now which will be good as I'll remember what I've actually bought people. P, as usual has too many presents but her main presents this year are a new bike off Nanny and Grandad and some inline skates from Grandy (great grandad). She'll be happy with all of that and it's all a surprise. I have a letter from Santa that I've written and put in the fireplace for her to find tomorrow morning which should be fun. We have a real open fire so Santa really can come down our chimney!!

Her Christmas play at school was so great and she was a light. Not typical Nativity, but she had a glowstick and sang a song which was so cute. I videoed it all and can't wait to watch it again.

My fascinator that I made for Somerset was the wrong colour when my customer received it. It wasn't the right match with her outfit (the colour match on her computer screen was different to mine which can sometimes be an issue) so I made at her request the same fascinator but in black and she's thrilled with that so I'm really pleased.


Ed, my friend, is a photographer and runs workshops teaching other budding photographers how to shoot models. He was running one last weekend with a Christmas theme and asked me to make him a huge Santa sack so that he could photograph Chaana his model coming out of it. It was so much fun to make and ended up being enormous! Here's the results with him modelling superbly!


I've also made a couple of other felt tree ornaments and finished off my friend Jo's requests for a felt brooch and a crystal headband for presents for her to give family which has been fun making. The Happy Tree is for my friend Rick (made up to emulate the Happy Trees that one of my favourite bloggers and shop owners Paper and String makes). I always joke he's miserable so this is to put on his desk at work to remind him to cheer up, the robin is for Mom and Dad.


I'm still knitting my Rudolph toy for P and just have the arms, ears and antlers to do now then have to make it up and stuff it and hopefully he'll be ready for Christmas day! Here he is in bits, body, head and two legs. Poor thing!


Finally I found this on my computer when I switched it on the other day. I really do love being a mommy :)


N x

Somewhere Over The Rainbow...

My Tamara Fascinator was used in an Etsy Treasury this week by a lovely seller called Rachelaakmama who sells THE most amazing party favours. She says:

"Paper Cakes are great because they are both a centerpiece and a favor for your guests to take home with them! You can fill the cakes with anything that you like! For example, party favors, candy, stickers, little toys, small gifts, snacks.... etc! "

They are SO cute and a brilliant way to be unique.

This one is called Paper Cake Red Hat Society Cake and costs $16 and I love it! -



This was her Treasury with my Fascinator in it. It was made up of Etsy Wedding Team members, of which I am one, and you can see it here live until Saturday.


I'm hoping my pot of gold is at the bottom of this beautiful rainbow that I could see out of my lounge window earlier today. It was even better when I got into the school playground as the clouds had cleared a bit and it was a full semi circle and really bright. Unfortunately we had to have the rain to go with it and I got soaked but it gave me a smile.


I sent off my fascinators to Dubai and Somerset and as our Post Office has closed down (*sob) I had to find another one to use. It's so strange when you use the same Post Office for years and know everyone to have to start again. It felt really sad, and I didn't like it!

Viktoria Fascinator - To Dubai


Jane Fascinator - To Somerset


P's school has their Christmas Fayre tomorrow and all the kids have been in Christmas themed clothes today. P wore jeans and a red top with a white cardigan and Rudolph ears! There is a catch though... as always. To qualify for Christmas clothing you had to take a mug filled with something in for the Fayre so that they can sell them. We decided on a Christmas mug filled with Christmas chocolates and a Rudolph on top. He looked quite happy! I also had to send in a gift for the Girl's Lucky Dip. I sent 3 stretchy headbands tied with a pretty ribbon.


I've been getting crafty with felt and made some decorations for Christmas presents. I've LOVED doing these and want to do more. It's so relaxing cutting and sewing and been lots of fun. Now I just have to part with them and decide who to give them to!


Kris and I are off to look for a new sofa tomorrow. It's all sales here so hoping to grab a bargain!

N x