This time last week I'd got home from a thoroughly lovely Bank Holiday crafty weekend in Whitby - we'd had a thoroughly glorious time and the weather had been excellent too.
This was our home for the weekend, the beautiful grounds of Sneaton Castle:
After dropping our bags and crafty goods off a few of us set off down to the centre in search of coffee and cake, or in my case the largest Lemon Merringue Pie in the world!
I had a couple of bites but couldn't finish it so took the waitress up on the offer of a doggy bag - delish! It was just my luck that the dessert for that evening with our full-board menu was lemon merringue pie. ;o)
It was a bit cloudy Friday...
But the sun was out in full force Saturday - a very nice way to spend your down time, sitting out in the sun in the beautiful grounds:
Sunday morning we managed a quick jaunt down before the BH crowds descended:
Wandering around the shops again...
Along to the pier...
In search of a true lemon top, only to find it wasn't a proper "lemon top" - but any excuse for an ice cream in the sunshine and sea air!
A lovely last view of Whitby before heading back to get some more scrapping done before having to pack up and go home.
Yesterday after the rain we finally had sunshine in these parts again, which was jolly good as we were off out to celebrate my mum and dad's anniversary:
Lovely meal out, despite my taste buds still not being quite right and everyone enjoyed a nice dash of champers x 2!
Today I have been working away to finally get my Whitby Weekend project finished - and it is done!
Here are some snaps of the inside, I will try and share better shots soon - it's so rare I actually have scrapping projects to share on my blog these days that I might as well make a song and dance of it. ;o)
Behold - the album from start to finish:
...and on that note I'd best tidy up a little and get my tea made. ;o)
This time last week I was battling with my sleep-in curlers - which had left me with no sleep at all through the night - getting ready for Miss Anja's big day:
And even when the Fascinator is in place, the volume they give makes all the difference, but alas, if worn overnight the only way you can sleep is on your face (not so comfortable or good if you get a pillow crease), or sitting up like a vampire... hm...
Likewise Miss Anja and her mum were also decked out in their Monsoon finery - in fact Anja and I had almost matching outfits on - our colours matched perfectly. :)
After the Christening and lovely meal and party we enjoyed the rest of the evening with friends and family and Miss A definitely wasn't quite ready for bed any time soon.
The album and card I made were revealed and went down really well. :)
There were also some more traditional gifts included for my Goddaughter, including this fab breakfast set for when she is older:
I hope it's something she will keep, I still have my Bunnykins egg cup from since before I can remember and a little mug from my childhood.
But there were also some things she could enjoy now, a cute soft duck raffle (yes keeping on the theme!) that caught her immediate attention and some little outfits I couldn't resist:
I was really surprised to receive a gorgeous card and gift in return:
Just a really fantastic day and I was honoured to share it with Anja and her family. :)
Didn't get home until very late and the lack of sleep due to my curlers meant I was a bit of a zombie the rest of the week... so not much crafting got done.
By the time the work week ended and I got home Friday I was ready for some restorative weekend fun.
Wasn't expecting this type of April shower to have hit on Friday afternoon:
But yesterday I got down to crafty business involving some of these:
And got caught up with what I needed to do:
But I now need to get ahead but also share my catch-up projects for this week's 52 Cards challenge - I shall be back later to do just that. ;o)
So it's been a while since I shared some non-card pics.
Last weekend I went up for a visit to and some lazy time with little Miss Anja:
She was a bit of a tricky customer when it came to the camera. Every time I hit the shutter she totally changed her expression from a wide smile or laugh to a glum or confused expression. LOL But we spent a lot of time playing peek-a-boo over the top of the jungle gym and she has discovered how to roll over but isn't so keen on ending up stuck on her front after having rolled over.
We had a couple of walks out in the pram including a nice late breakfast on Sunday:
Then it was back to work Monday - I've been working from home this week on a few projects that needed some extra hours putting in. But it did mean I managed to actually see my lovely spring bulbs in daylight and notice how quickly they've changed:
Yesterday brought with it some rather nice surprises in the post.
Such a gorgeous card but also an egg box filled with a surprise I don't want to discover until Easter weekend. :) It's almost too nice to unwrap, but the suspense will win out by the end of March!
The other package that arrived was my PTI order. And best of all - no customs charge!
I really like the way dies are all packaged together in a dedicated envelope now so they don't fly about the inside of your box:
Here's a snap of what I ordered:
Lots of fun playtime ahead - well, time permitting!
I have also recently bought the pictapgo app designed for the iPhone but being used on the iPad. I really like the filters but wish it was more compatible with Instagram and would allow you to crop the image to Instagram size and save it that size. I think more playing is required, but would be great if they could make it possible to enlarge the app just like Instagram can be enlarged on the iPad so you can see everything better.
Oh well I am sure feedback from users will lead to lots of new updates and improvements, but it's rather nice to have RadLab on your smart device. ;o)
My fireplace in daylight - looking very red and white:
Got to love the festive toadstools that blend in rather well:
They look rather nice at night too:
As does the entire thing lit up:
Last year's festive flowerpot snowman came out and is amongst the bottle brush and vintage miniature trees:
My knitted angel is back at the top of the tree, however she did cause a sensation on Facebook as certain people - naming no names - thought she was rather well endowed and a Barbara Windsor fairy - I will have you know she is praying angelically, it is just an unfortunate camera angle!
The glitter church is back on the tree:
My nested festive dolls are where they should be:
And this year's new bauble purchases are looking delightful on the tree at my mum and dad's:
There will be more posted over Christmas I am sure, but here's my new Father Christmas from John Lewis - he'll be coming to live on my tree next year:
Me and my mum really do have a thing for winter scenes on baubles, especially trees!
After all that decorating I was due one of these... well it was actually one of many:
No greater excuse for a hot chocolate than decorating fatigue!
On Sunday I had a lovely trip up to see my friends and little Miss Anja - and to try out a venue for the Christening party. I was totally honoured and over the moon to be asked to be Miss Anja's Godmother! So wonderful. :oD
We then had an evening by the Christmas tree, which had been prepped Austrian style - complete with sawn off branches to create symmetrical levels and real tree candles:
And in the evening the candles were lit and it was very magical with carols in the background and the tree glowing beautifully:
Anja is a bit of an evening night owl so she loved looking at all the sparkly and twinkly things around while she made the rounds between her daddy and mummy. And I got plenty of cuddles and smiles in before heading home close to midnight! More of a Cinderella than a fairy godmother moment! ;o)
Well it has taken me the best part of the week to get used to being back home... not that I have managed to get all my washing done yet or indeed unpack everything... but thank heavens a Bank Holiday is approaching.
We saw a lot of sights on our epic family road trip this summer en route to my cousin's most awesome wedding... Any wedding that finishes at 6 a.m. with guests still dancing to this...
...and other Modern Talking hits after copious amounts of vodka (without a hint of drunkenness) and course after course of food deserves the title of Awesome. In fact the day after the wedding, well about 4 hrs after going to bed and getting up again, my brother and I were still unable to get Cheri Cheri Lady out of our heads... and kept bursting into song at the most bizarre moments... mostly while waiting for our kebab pizza to arrive at our table (the ideal afternoon-after-the-early-morning-before pick-me-up).
So I only feel it right to share the joy with you all. It was definitely the hit of summer 2012 for us! ;o)
Ah Modern Talking, really big in Poland in the 80s and it was nice to enjoy such a big blast from the past!
Oh go on... enjoy this one too:
And this one...
Oh and I think this remix only got played after 4 a.m. with the prerequisite rap section:
Anyway... here are a few of the sights we saw on our 3-week adventure (in addition to quite a few cemeteries as part of the family history research bit - shame the two big ones in Lwow were on steep hills and absolutely massive!):
Have to say this was the home of one of our favourite eating establishments of the trip - Karczma Lwowska which we later found out after visiting Lwow was the best place to eat traditional Lwow cuisine!
Then it was off to Rzeszow nearer the Ukraine border:
Boy was it hot when we arrived - it had been close to 50 degrees on the road surfaces, and 39 degrees outside - an ice cream was definitely in order!
The next day we headed off for our long weekend in Lwow, but that involved a 6 hour wait on the Ukraine border (blatant corruption despite all the notices declaring the threat of prosecution and hefty fines for even attempting to bribe an official as people bribed officers to queue jump and paid other people to carry cigarettes and booze in for them) - have never seen anything like it before. Even back in the 80s at the height of border tension between countries behind the iron curtain we never had to queue as long as this for seemingly no reason. So my advice to any travellers... don't even bother trying to drive from Poland to the Ukraine - it is not worth the hassle for the unpredictability of what you will experience on the border, but have to say driving in the Ukraine was a lot better than expected and once we were past the border we made good time to Lwow. :)
It was absolutely sweltering the entire weekend, and this was one place where we really could have done with air con in the hotel, but the hotel was a historic gem in its own right - we stayed at the Hotel George and in the room used by Honoré de Balzac no less:
You can understand why this city was the Paris of the east before the war - it is just one amazing building after another, alas not all looking like they did in their former glory, but so much has survived in its original state compared to cities like Warsaw and Krakow.
The journey back into Poland only involved a 3-hour wait on the border, where again for €50 a bloke could get you through the border quicker... whatever... we were quite happy to just wait our turn and hope for the best while keeping very close the bumper of the car in front so no one could push in from the organised border crossing system!
So once back in Poland we headed for Krakow, my birthplace:
Thankfully the weather had cooled down a bit to the mid/high-twenties in Krakow for our two-day break so we managed a lot of sight-seeing, plus a trip to the Hungarian restaurant my parents used to go to as students... one of the few places you could eat well back in the 70s.
After Krakow it was wedding-central and we hit the road for Plock for family time and gearing up to the big day:
And what a day it was. The wedding was at 6 p.m. in the church and since my brother and I were staying just round the corner we headed out for lunch in the afternoon and saw about 3 weddings take place before we had to get back and get ready for the big one! There was even a gypsy wedding that afternoon which looked lovely, but a lot more low-key than you see on Big Fat Gypsy Weddings!
So after almost a week catching up with family, etc. we headed for Gdansk - alas the weather only perked up when we were leaving, but last time we were there it was sweltering - have to recommend the Novotel Gdansk for price and location (especially if you have a car) it was a really good choice:
Gdansk too had an excellent restaurant that serves Eastern Polish cuisine plus Lwow favourites including Kvass (which has become my dad's non-alcoholic cool drink of choice and my mum used to drink it as a child - it is actually very tasty and refreshing). It was funny as we ate at this restaurant the first night and our table was across from a Swiss couple who seemed to be enjoying the various treats the restaurant offered. The next evening we ended up sat next to them again in a totally different restaurant - who knows which eating establishment we might have bumped into them at had we stayed another night. They were very good sports about it and said we should all just decide on the next restaurant and eat together. LOL
Anyway, I thought I would post this mini-trip report now (even though technically I should be celebrating my birthday this evening, but it's a "school night" and you can't celebrate properly on a "school night") because who knows what the weekend will bring. ;) Tomorrow night birthday celebrations will be in full swing, a nice Chinese take away (ooer living it large) and no doubt full-on depletion of the vodka supplies that came back with us from the wedding:
This is what every guest was drinking and managed to stay awake and dancing on until dawn.
And the other new vodka to try which I got as a present from my cousin and his very lovely wife:
We will see what the verdict is and how much sleep I get after them - I've never had a hangover from vodka, just cannot sleep. In fact after the wedding I slept until about 9.30 a.m. (so just 3 hrs) then read a book cover to cover until my brother was finally in the land of the living and ready to get up and have his "kebab".
Lets hope Saturday morning I have a bit more of a lie in, but I'll have my Kindle with me just in case!
...and the weather has stayed rather nice the past two evenings so I have been sat out reading a couple of books:
Which was OK - the ending was kind of abrupt but it had a few funny moments... not as funny or as enjoyably silly as Becky Bloomwood (the early days) but ok...
And...
The third book I have tried in the Desperate Duchesses series by Eloisa James - a break from regency stories to go back to some Georgian shenanigans... rather good, but I like a break between these books rather than reading the entire series in one go. Think they are more enjoyable if read at a sedate pace too. :)
And finally I might as well share some of the pics from the Olympic Torch Relay that passed near me at the weekend.
So much for thinking that by getting to the Olympic Torch Relay route half an hour before it was due to pass by that I'd snag a spot in front of the park - almost! The crowds were out in force and it was great to see the pavements paved with people as far as the eye could see.
I even got a high five from this kind PC - well, between his royal waving...
Next came the Torch Relay bus.
Followed by the mascots...
Then the sponsors, didn't manage to snag a free bottle of Coke but the cheerleaders were revving up the crowd.
There was a little wait for the next bus... as folks threw themselves into the road for a quick pic!
The green flags got snagged before they reached us...
And then it was a blink and you'll miss him moment as our very proud torch bearer (Paddy Cronesberry) zoomed passed - he looked pleased as punch. :D
And now I'd best zoom off - final ep of the current run of Silk to enjoy...
Despite the freezing temperatures and gloomy weather in these parts, we are trying our best to keep the celebrations going.
I finally got my bunting up at home, although the pound shop bunting for outside has had an epic fail after 2 days and has come down round the other side of the window.
However, at least my DIY Blue Peter-stylee tissue paper fan decorations are up:
Excuse the lack of paint on the window sill there, the old paint has peeled off rather badly after all the rain.
Inside I have the lounge decked out with more bunting.
It's lovely stuff - you can never have too much. The one reflected in the mirror was from Sainsbury's and was very nice for just £2!
Love this M&S calico bunting, great for the mantelpiece. :)
And I had to add my jubliee-inspired card as the centre piece!
Yesterday ma and I braved the cold weather and rain for walk down into town to see if anything was decorated and basically, we fancied a nice lunch!
Loved this retro chic bunting in one of the windows. It's navy blue and white and really pretty.
I am amazed people were sat outside eating!
Even though it was cold, it didn't stop us having dessert at the new ice cream parlour that has opened. I had an almost patriotic sundae - no blue bubblegum ice cream to complete the tricolour homage.
Today attention was focussed on our jubilee afternoon tea.
I started early by doing some baking:
Red velvet cupcakes...
With cream cheese frosting, of course.
Then headed over for family get together and ended up combing the sideboard for items to use on the table (there are lots of items in there that my grandma had had passed on from further up the family tree). Earlier in the week my dad had been looking for the fabric bunting that had originally been used in my great-great-great uncle's saddler's shop in Wakefield for Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee - not in our possession, but residing safely with my uncle in Cornwall instead. :) Too fragile to use these days, but how amazing for it still to be around and kept all these years eh?
Anyway, back to this afternoon...
First of all I had to get my cupcakes finished with their toppers.
They looked fab on the cake stand.
It wouldn't be afternoon tea without a few Mr Kipling fancies. ;)
Continuing on the sweet theme I tipped those lovely limited edition M&Ms into the commemorative teacup and saucer I bought ma... she didn't mind. ;)
The sideboard yielded some wonderful items that were most apt:
The King George VIth coronation mug for our cutlery.
The Queen's silver jubilee mug for the dessert forks...
And of course lots of nice white and blue tableware for the savoury section:
Was rather happy with how my knock-off M&S roast beef, horseradish mayo, and yorkshire pudding sarnies came out. Thanks to Aunt Bessie on that one! Also afternoon tea wouldn't be complete without some scones (cheese in the case - my fave!) and a good cup of tea afterwards.
We were well and truly stuffed and there are plenty of left-overs to enjoy tomorrow.
Mind you I need to bake my brother's birthday cake in the morning and use my final Jubilee decoration on it, can't wait!
So in the run up to my scrappy weekend away I was adding the finishing touches to my packing, the star attractions for my planned projects arrived in the post:
The remaining bits and bobs of Crate Paper's Story Teller and Pretty Party lines. I planned to get at least 2 mini-books made.*
*I always seem to be good at the big thinking, not so hot on the "doing".
Come Friday morning I was packed and ready:
...for what must have looked like a 3 month expedition rather than a 3 day weekend away.
Considering the monsoon weather forecast I didn't think I'd need to pack these:
There was a moment where this was consumed:
Which could have adversely affected productivity, it certainly affected the speed with which I could stamp the individual letters of Polish names! Polish Countdown must be a barrel of laughs... can I have a consonant please Carol, and another.... and another... and another....
But it was probably why I never got round to using these:
We did take a break from scoffing cake and shuffling paper on the Saturday afternoon and even managed to see some of these:
Plus have a moment in the sun:
But then it was back to work in order to actually finish, ok... mostly finish the one and only project I got done!
There are just a couple of little finishing touches needed then I'll get it photographed. :)
The thing I learnt this weekend (apart from the realisation that yes, you can indeed have too much cake) which I shall pass onto any other Crate fans, was not to use Staz-on, chalk ink, dye ink, Versafine or pigment ink to stamp onto the new shiny Journaling stickers.
NO INK dries on these stickers; I went through an entire arsenal of inks trying to find one that worked - nada, zip, zilch.
The only thing that works is a journaling pen. :o( I really wish these stickers were still matt as you could stamp away to your heart's content, but shiny stickers... do not like.
But I have been lucky enough to see it in real life.
What am I talking about?
Well, the wonderful Olympic-themed yarn bombing that magically appeared last week along Saltburn pier.
I already posted pics to Facebook but a few folks asked to see them so here they are again. :D
We had glorious weather for our little Saturday outing, felt almost like summer except for the cold wind! LOL Ah, but this is the north east and we are tough ol' birds up here. hehe
Anyway, here are some of my favourite scenes:
The olympic rings.
"The Human Race" complete with knitting needle to hold up the banner. :D
A paralympic athlete.
The synchro team which I just loved!
Mr Pommel Horse
Love those swimming trunks!
Not sure if these are divers or water polo peeps, but great legs! hehe
Love the weightlifter and the detail on those trainers.
Miss Beach Volleyball is looking very energetic.
I had two partners in crime on our little outing:
Can't beat a trip to the seaside and of course fish and chips and a Beckleberry's bubblegum ice cream, the best bubblegum ice cream I've had in a long time. Apparently sold by the tub in the MetroCentre, will have to take a freezer bag with me next time! hehe
Yesterday after some rain in the morning things turned decidedly brighter:
They also involved a good few steps - and a certain two little girls and one very excited Jack Russell who made it to the top in very short order!
But the climb was well worth it - I even wished I'd brought my shades it was so sunny.
We had a lovely afternoon stroll round the park and then home for tea and an evening in with:
In complete contrast I have been having a rather lazy day today since the weather has been really yucky - snow after rain and it has been pretty cold. So I managed to get one of the books due back at the library read from cover to cover and also finally got my defrosted Quorn mince into a lasagne for tea. :)
Anyway, I think a soak in the bath is imminent and then I look forward to enjoying Homeland tonight. I also see that Ingolrious Basterds is on right after so not a bad TV night. :)
Think I shall put my new Emeli Sandé album on while I enjoy my soak:
Then it's back to the grind tomorrow - ah Monday's don't you love 'em?
This one gets my vintage-festive-sparkle-lovin' heart a-fluttering! Just love it.
The entry for the 6th looked at Christmas past and Christmas present, and this was my merging of two traditions, Polish and British:
Now I rather wish I'd gone and bought that set of Nativity Russian dolls in John Lewis, but they were £20...
The baby Jesus is just so cute!
On the 7th last year I was not having a stress-free time of it:
Snow = no going anywhere, never mind shopping in an actual shop! My car at that time was living under a couple of feet of snow in front of the house.
So there definitely wasn't much chance of things being simple!
On the 8th I managed to get out and about with the camera and took some lovely photos in town - I just love shop displays, I am sure in another life I would be a window dresser... how cool a job would that be?
Just delightful:
And talking of Windows... the window this year at Fenwick's, Newcastle was a sight to behold, the pics aren't too bad considering it was dusk and there was the glare of other shops on the windows:
Cinderella in her pumpkin carriage.
The white rabbit who seemed to be very late for an important date!
Plenty of choice at the Mad Hatter's tea party! Bet there was some cheeeeese cake on that buffet table.
Me and ma tried to get in on the action talking to the mirror, but didn't quite manage it!
Right I'd best scoot as I'm supposed to be out for dinner tonight!
So like I said the other day, my Christmas shopping has so far been a bit of a failure. For other people.
But not for myself and the house.
I finally got my little Sheep-deer from TK Maxx. The first time I saw him I thought he was a reindeer, but on closer inspection when I went back to TK Maxx this week, he is in fact... more of a sheep. I may yet make him antlers...
I managed to stock up on some nice baking items. Some fab baking cases plus accessories, including mini cases which needed a mini muffin tin. Some silicone jelly like baking moulds in Ikea, some nice sized silicone hearts that can either make 4 separate heart cakes, or 2 heart sandwich cakes... festive jelly beans for decrating, and some Christmas sprinkles in Lidl that looked just perfect.
I also finally have a domed cake stand - for £9.99 from IKEA. Hurrah.
More seasonal tableware was purchased in M&S with these red felt coasters and matching placemat.
Keeping on the red theme, I now have a lovely little slow cooker to get me through the winter months and free up the hob and soup pan for other things. :)
I finally managed to find a long and wide scarf in Zara... and didn't break the bank on it. To date all others were too short for wrapping round a few times and creative knotting...
Yesterday the delight that was Boundary Mills yielded a nice shoe shopping experience - so many pretty Hush Puppy shoes in one place. I bought the above in purple, plus:
...in dark brown, and these:
Which are a little bigger than the others, but I think will be fine with an insole or even thicker winter tights. :)
And finally, thanks to Jean, I have been reunited with a good-sized bag of Candy Corn M&Ms:
In addition to the shopping, there has been some making:
It started last weekend with our "annual" gingerbread house-making afternoon... which included an emergency dash for new gingerbread cabins when the IKEA gingerbread houses were opened up and all broken, but will make great cheesecake bases! So as we got to work on these little houses, complete with the white gunky icing included, it was a real fight to keep all the walls and roofs attached...
Lola just watched on hoping to hoover up any victims of the gingerbread house collapse...
Wednesday night I went with Becky to a craft night at her church and we made:
This lovely little flowerpot snowman, who I am sure will appear in many upcoming Christmas-themed snaps.
And this lovely felt heart ornament, in which I finally learnt to blanket stitch - it could have been tidier, but I am sure I could make some more of these with different felts, especially in nordic colours... and cut the hearts with my nestabilities. :)
And although not made by me, had a lovely lunch out in Tynemouth yesterday with my friend Kel, hot chocolate dessert for her:
And the most delicious cherry and almond scone for me:
I loved the chintzy decor in the shop and it was like a real Christmas shabby glam grotto. :D
And speaking of making, I had best get on and get a few projects done while we still have daylight available!
I thought I'd share some photos I took this past week while the weather was glorious.
First up a couple of shots in my garden where autumn colours have definitely arrived:
The blueberry bush all red now complete with a very welcome visitor.
My former white hydrangea now in very Prima-like shades.
Then I took off for a stroll round the park - it was seriously hot, but an interesting combination of summer heat and autumnal smells and colours and leaves.
It took a lot of walking, but I finally found a leaf that wasn't green or brown!
The light was just lovely through the trees, there were crunchy leaves everywhere.
All the way to the bandstand.
I experimented a bit with the AF mode to try and get the leaves on the ground in focus and the rest blurred, really like how this one turned out, just a shame the leaves aren't more interesting leaves. Can't have everything! ;o)
This is what they looked like from a distance, so it shows things can look a lot more interesting when you shoot from ground level.
I did have a go at trying to capture the sun coming through the leaves but it was a bit hit and miss.
And finally as I was just nearing the end of my stroll, a conker fell from the tree in front of me and the spiky shell broke open to reveal a shiny new conker. Alas didn't catch it in a photo, but I picked up the conker and took a photo of what was around. Yet another pretty leaf. LOL
Now I'm just hoping the promised sunshine returns this afternoon. It's a bit cooler this morning with the rain, but I would still like the sun to stick around a bit longer!
After a bit of rain this morning (which I made the most of by reading the book 3 in Julia Quinn's fab Bridgerton series from start to finish) the sun has been shining ever since.
The other day I managed to get a few shots at the park on my long walk before my camera battery died.
It was really beautiful. A tad breezy but it was so gloriously early-autumn weather.
I just loved the way the light fell through the willow trees and the sky reflected off the water.
Almost a shame to think that we are gradually saying goodbye to the summer...
Mind you I have plenty to keep me busy as the nights start to draw in.
It's back to photography class on Monday plus I received my latest order from A Million Little Things filled with lots of new additions and some restocks of old favourites.
In fact most of my order was MME papers I'd not managed to snag, as I am a real MME addict now, I also finally got the collection pack of Emma's Shoppe from Crate and yes, my most favourite AC Christmas papers. Those glazed snowflakes are just delicious! I really hope Jill can keep the shop going - it's hard times but it would be awful to lose such a wonderful store that has served so many scrapbookers all over the world all these years. Faultless customer service and amazing value. I'm keeping my fingers firmly crossed.
But in the meantime I need to get my latest AMLT stash hit sorted and arranged into its new home. :)
Time sure is flying at the moment - the weather has been mostly glorious this week. Why wasn't it so beautiful when I had my two weeks off work eh?
Bit difficult to enjoy it from a seriously hot office at work. :o(
However I am hoping Saturday will have some lovely sun to enjoy.
I have some pics I need to go through from a couple of Staycation outings.
But since I seemed to be in a bit of a stash shopping mood last week, I decided I needed some new stuff to go with the stamp purchases!
I think any packing for tomorrow night's crop will be revolving around this little stash. I am so happy with the MME pads in particular as the designs in the Away We Go pad are by none other than my fave MME designer - Zoe Pearne, lots of chevrons and fab background designs and even a bit of woodgrain. I'd not been able to find pics of the contents of these pads so I am really happy with what I went with. The Lost and Found 2 pads are lovely too - lots of card ops there! And the Echo Park one will be nice to play with, I bought the 12x12s of my fave designs as a back up plan.
And speaking of tomorrow night's crop, there's a cake I need to go and try level - hopefully it's cooled by now and once the frosting is done I can finally pack for the crop... maybe. ;o)
Just as I was getting used to being a lady of leisure during my staycation. :o(
However I do have some nice things to look forward to this coming week (but they are towards the weekend - typically!).
To round off my staycation I managed to get through a few reads and a departure from the Hist-Ro was a great "chicklit" book - cried my way through much of the latest Ciara Geraghty book - between the funny bits... I loved her first book, Saving Grace, and the second was good too, but this one had me crying very early on and I just had to read it all as soon as I could, didn't want to put it down. {sigh}
I've also got another chicklit to start tonight if I can stay awake long enough:
But first I need a good soak in the tub, went up to Bamburgh today in a rather scenic fashion and although it was initially sunny the clouds soon descended so I doubt any of my pics will have come out too well... Not like this:
I have been a bit awol from the PC of late but here's how my week has looked.
My blueberries started ripening at the weekend, I'm afraid I ate the best before realising I should have taken a photo! Oops.
Finally one of my lavender plants has flowered again - the others are still recovering from the snow we had this winter I think.
I have a little helper in the garden munching its way through the aphid population, I hope.
Saturday I was a busy baking bee - I tried out Nigella's lemon syrup loaf. It was very good indeed! But I am still after a nice crunchy tart glaze for my lemon loaves rather than syrup.
In case the lemon loaf wasn't enough for afternoon tea, I also made strawberry cheesecake cupcakes.
I needed to borrow a teapot of all things, still haven't bought one, but it was a nice spread with lots of catching up.
Afternoon tea also included some Razberri Stolli mixed in with my posh raspberry lemon pressé!
The weather was still stunning so we headed over to the park to walk off some of the calories.
Sunday was the day for an outing... down the coast.
A quick stop at Sandsend before heading onto...
Whitby!
Where everyone seemed to have descended. It was heaving but lovely nonetheless.
The weather was perfect, well perhaps a bit too hot, there wasn't much of a breeze and I ended up with quite a rosy complexion!
We managed to enjoy our fish and chips for lunch without too much interference from these guys. Although that was shortly after one had swooped down and taken a whole burger from someone's hands just as they were about to take their first bite!
We even went up to the abbey, where there was thankfully more of a breeze then hopped back in the car for the next stop.
Robin Hood's Bay - where I am sure we burnt off the fish and chips from the climb back to the car. We were there just as the tide was coming in but my oh my, I was actually pretty surprised that I made it back up the steep hill considering the trek down seemed so long. LOL
Alas no pics of the sheep on the drive home through the moors but it was a lovely day out, and I just needed a few days to recover! LOL Here's hoping the weather of last weekend makes another appearance - who knows Sunday could be bbq day!?
I know I've been a bit quiet this week - well I've not had much to report. The weather has been ghastly but I have taken a few snaps of various things and have been rummaging away in my photo folder today trying to delete the naff snaps and play with the decent ones.
First up, it's Father's Day and I baked a batch of coffee and walnut cupcakes to take round:
They're from the Baking Magic book and will hopefully be the perfect post-Sunday-roast treat.
Although he professes to having no "favourite" cake, coffee and walnut is apparently on my dad's top ten list... although he seems to have liked all the cupcakes supplied to date! This recipe used glacé icing instead of buttercream so will see how that works overall as I've not made glacé since I was little.
In the garden it's been really easy to miss the changes in my roses (which I totally love).
Here's one of the Evelyn rosebuds opening one night, by the next evening they looked like this:
Indoors my mini peppers have finally started to turn red:
Wednesday night we were meant to be out and about for photography class shooting at the beach.
Well, 3 of us were there before the weather turned and it was called off and we had to return back to the classroom.
Managed to get some post-fish and chips shots though while the clouds rolled in:
The surf was up and a lot of folks were out enjoying the waves.
This is my favourite shot of the pier, it's so atmospheric and I love the little raindrops in the corner too.
And there are some of those mad surfers, although to be fair they were dressed for the weather better than us!
Anyway, I'd best get the cupcakes boxed up and be on my way. ;o)
Since it's photography class tomorrow night, I thought I'd best transfer my photos over onto the PC.
Last week's class was the first one where I actually had a go with manual mode... there were a lot of duff shots (a lot!), but I am starting to get the idea of adjusting speed to suit my aperture.
Here are a few of the pics I took on our evening shoot:
I rather liked this guy, it looks like he's standing there with his thumbs in his belt loops... well if he were wearing jeans!
Love the contrast of the colours here, I think I am one who prefers things on the darker side so I can lighten them up accordingly - much easier than working backwards from something that is overexposed. Or maybe that's just me.
Managed to snap a bit of dramatic sky, wish I'd been able to get more in the shot though.
Did try a bit of depth of field shot, but think I should have changed the AF area to a specific segment at the bottom so the rest was then blurred. Plus the sky came out white rather than with a hint of blue so wondering how that can be corrected in the camera...
I also have had my camera on manual since and have been snapping away at home. Especially in the garden before the gales!
My poor roses don't look quite so delicate and pretty now, and it's a good job I moved the bbq into the conservatory yesterday as I'm not sure where exactly it would otherwise be today...
And in other news for chick lit readers... I have a recommendation:
Started at the weekend and definitely an un-put-down-able one, since I stayed up until almost 2 a.m. today to finish it but had to admit defeat for the last 4 or so chapters and finished them before work.
But I put 4.5 stars on it - since if I stay up to read something on a "school night", there's a reason!
Next up on my list is Jill Mansell's latest one and it has had great reviews, so I am very hopeful (but fingers crossed not another 2 a.m. to bed event tonight!).
Well, according to my brother and his stern look (which incidentally meant he needed to stick his forehead in the camera to get his point across)...
In fact my mother proved how dangerous taking photos can be when she fell backwards down the garden steps... thankfully no major injuries - but blimey it was a shock and a half.
Miraculously she only has a few bruises today including her pride, but has been laughing it off since the arnica gel started working and there will forever be a joke in there somewhere...
But there were photos...
And they all started with breakfast.
The eggs, including my latest additions from last year's stay in Poland.
While I was retrieving items from the sideboard, I unearthed this fish plate which used to be my grandma's, acquired by someone in sunny Spain and brought back to the wilds of Yorkshire... thought it was time for a bit of nostalgia and somewhere to put the egg shells when we cracked our eggs!
My brother's contribution to the table - we had a designated driver at the table and in fact after just two shots my brother and I admitted defeat.... I fear we're getting too old to keep up. ;o)
There was plenty of food on hand to assist in soaking up the vodka though.
After breakfast there was time to mellow out and enjoy the morning...
Including soaking up some rays in the garden. I think I may have had a teeny nap whilst reading my book... but can't be sure. Whatever happened, the morning passed rather quickly!
But it was just so sunny and warm...
Even the honey bees were out en masse making the most of the weather.
By mid-afternoon it was time for some chocolate - seriously, we lasted until the afternoon before there was any chocolate eaten.
My malted chocolate cupcakes that were a real pain in the proverbial to make due to exploding batter and then ultra-gloopy frosting in the hot weather of Saturday afternoon/evening at least tasted nice.
I must say though, this was my favourite sweet treat of the day. The raspberry brownie cheesecake I made. Again the cream went a bit runny in the heat when I served up, but it tasted delish. Next time though, I will halve the recipe as it's a huge pan and then when you have the cheesecake layer and cream. Well.... there was just loads of it!
We had a persistent visitor throughout the day. Kizia's nemesis... The Gimzo.
Poor Kizia, she was not nearly as impressed to see him around...
And that's about it. Needless to say, no one had much of an appetite today!
I've not even opened my chocolate Easter egg yet.
I think I might be off chocolate for a bit longer. hehe
Roll on the next Bank Holiday is all I can say - rather happy there are only 3 days until my next day off. ;o) I haven't had a lie in at all during my week off, yet today was the day where I really felt like I could have slept the morning away, if it wasn't for the fact I was wide awake at 6.30 a.m. and totally knackered by 8.30...
I suppose some of that was down to staying up until 2 a.m. in order to finish this:
What can I say... I am one of these people that when they get into something they just have to finish it! If there are any more of her books I deffo need to read, give me a shout, I added a few new chicklit titles to my reserves list at the library - there's plenty of room for more!
Anyway, no doubt tomorrow, when I need to be up for work, I shall need the alarm to wake me. But in the meantime, I'm off to chill-ax for what remains of my hols.
The rain held off, in fact the weather was really mild and we managed a long walk down the beach and through the sea mist...
Then we headed off for our prize, a lovely ice cream. Or in my case a rather delish bubblegum sundae.
Most delicious, I have a real soft spot for bubblegum flavoured ice cream. But next time I will definitely be trying the lemon meringue sundae!
Today I have finished off watching Emma - it has to be my favourite BBC adaptation of any period book... I just love, love, love it! Perfectly cast, the costumes are exquisite, the photography so rich, and the music just wraps it all up nicely. Even the opening credits are fab!
I also watched Iron Man 2 whilst making a few cards, one of which is for a special request from a family friend, so I can't share it until I know the recipient has seen it.
But here is a sneak:
The perfect excuse to use some of my new seam binding from The Ribbon Girl. :o)
And now, I'd best go get an envelope sorted for this creation so that I can drop it off with my mum and dad when go round for Sunday dinner.
So finally the weekend and a very good excuse to escape the house was meeting up with my mum for lunch out on her name day.
But first I needed to get a bunch of photos printed for my Christmas journal.
No problem, I thought. I could try out the little shop at the end of my street that does instant photos.
Ha! Unfortunately plans had to change when the lady looking after the shop couldn't find the key to the Kodak machine and asked if I could come back Monday. The reason companies like Kodak invented instant photo machines was probably because people wanted their photos... instantly.
So I hopped on the bus toward town to meet up with my mum and do some window shopping (and hope that the tiny Boots there would have an instant photo machine).
We did some seasonal browsing:
Then hunger prevailed and we went for lunch, which included some very nice desserts!
Ma had Crème Brûlée, while I had sticky toffee pud!
After more browsing around the shops I hopped back on the bus and went homeward bound but carried on further to the next big town so that I could see if the Boots there had a Kodak instant photo machine which was up and running and waiting to print my photos!
And, thank the lord, it did.
So now I have at least seven days of my Christmas Journal that I can be getting on with. ;o)
On a side note, can I just take a moment to say that I never thought having a cat flap (even though I don't have a cat) would ever be a blessing.
Well, when my back doors got jammed by snow and ice, the cat flap provided the only means with which to remove the ice block (with the aid of a stainless steel soup ladle and a screwdriver). MacGyver would be impressed... Who'd have thought it, escape by cat flap! But at least my outdoor lights are strung up along the back wall now. Just wondering where we'll find my kitchen scissors that my dad put down somewhere, and which promptly disappeared into the snow. Will have to wait for the big thaw I expect!
And working from home - but at least there was some sunshine today so I went off for a little wander to stave off the cabin fever!
A good few inches of snow fell over night...
But walking with some blue sky made it all the nicer!
Especially when the sun came out between the trees.
It was quite magical.
And quite nice to have the park almost to myself!
Save the odd group of sledgers!
But it was very nice to come back home into the warmth... even if I had work to do! :o)
And continuing with the snowy theme... Here's the other card I made for the Ribbon Girl colour challenge:
Papers: KI Memories Tag: KI Memories Twill: The Ribbon Girl Stamps: Papertrey Ink Die: Papertrey Ink Pearls: Prima Other: Stickles, Distress Stickles, 3D glitter paint, 3D foam, Copics
Typepad still seems to be having a little mood on... the post I wrote yesterday didn't publish until today but at least I can add pics to my posts again!
So back to the weekend... Saturday I had a lovely afternoon out on the coast with Zoe and the girls including a trip to a beach I've never been to:
It might look rather hot and pleasant in the pic, but the water definitely wasn't warm! LOL
After a quick stop for chips by the sea on the way home Zoe and I headed out to see this:
The kid in it was very cute, Jason Bateman I rather like, but Jennifer Aniston - still playing the same character in every movie I see her in. There must be a non-Rachel-Green role out there for her right?
Also I quickly overdosed on pick and mix during the trailers, never mind the movie! Not good.
Yesterday I attacked this:
My very well-stocked To Be Read pile from the library, I feel quite lucky that the lending limit is 20 books in my area, it certainly comes in handy when reading series!
And here's what's at the top of my pile and first due back at the library:
Hopefully it'll be tons better than the Elusive Bride (the second book in this particular series and really disappointing) - the first one seemed to be on loan from the library constantly since mid-June so I've only just got it! Fingers crossed it was worth the wait, but I think I will need a break from Stephanie Laurens land so that her writing, characters and plots don't get too muddled and stale.
So here we are in September, my fab holiday to Poland via the Baltic coast seems a dim and distant memory now... but I've actually transferred pics from my little camera to the PC and am hoping the pics on the SLR are much better as I didn't take that many with my little Lumix! Oops.
So here is a snapshot of how my holiday looked:
A stop off in Bremen centre to see the sights, including the very famous statue of the Bremer Stadtmusikanten (The Town Musicians of Bremen) - I remember this tale from the book of fairy tales I had as a child, it was full of fairy tales that aren't that commonly known in Britain but were great none the less!
Next up the view from the lake of our hotel in Schwerin, complete with hot air balloon. Really wish we'd had time to venture into Schwerin itself and its amazing castle - maybe next year as this hotel was definitely a highlight and one to revisit!
The reason we didn't stay long in Schwerin was so that we could get to the island of Rügen and in particular Sellin and it's wonderful pier! Another blistering hot day....
At the Amber Palace in Poland they had all manner of photo-worthy sights, including a lovely lily pond where at long last I managed to catch a lily pad in full bloom!
It was so hot at the hotel when we arrived, the sky was really hazy so no blue sky pics that day... but it was sweltering!
After a brief stop by the sea we got to Gdansk - the hotel was perfectly positioned on the river - amazing views, never had anything quite like it. But when we went out for our evening meal I totally fell in love with this lampshade at the restaurant. They had photo transferred imaging on the chairs, walls, etc. of traditional Polish/Gdansk artwork/sights - including Kashubian needlework, I really think Ikea needs to get producing this lamp shade, it would look perfect over the dining table.
Gdansk at night - an amazing place, the city doesn't seem to stop, lots of street musicians, lots of looking up at architecture, lots of yummy smells - the sights just go on, and on...
One of the views from outside our hotel from a tour boat, that former warehouse is now a nice hotel over the river, not sure they had air con. like ours did (a total blessing when the temperatures were in the mid 30s!).
Oh and how could I forget the cake? Many cake-tasting exploits this holiday... yumyum.
Quite fittingly for this year we made a visit to Chopin's birthplace in Żelazowa Wola. Beautiful grounds and thankfully it was the perfect weather for wandering - not too hot for a change, only the high 20s!
And there we are... back in the UK...
Back to my garden where my Italian beans had finally appeared and were ready for harvesting (they tasted most delicious on Sunday and I had some tonight with my tea).
Room made on my dining table for a couple of new purchases - I love the blue and dot pattern of Boleslawiec pottery... I also have a little milk jug and salad/fruit bowl to match. But I am still holding out for the huge vase we saw last year but didn't buy!
Also that jug is the perfect excuse to take advantage of buy 1 get 1 free offers on flowers. Nothing quite like some glads to make an impression!
And it looks like I'll be on a watermelon diet this week... not that I'm complaining. I bought a small one in Sainsbury's yesterday (nothing compared to the 5.3 kg one I lugged from the shop to my auntie's in Poland!) and chopped it all up ready to eat at home and work. Best enjoy it now while it's still seasonal. :o)
And aside from that?
I managed to read 15 or so books - yes still in regency romance land... and speaking of, I'd best get back to the current one. ;o) I am sure the obsession will end soon!
Yep, Saturday I'm off on holiday and the past week has been fraught with last minute washing, sorting, shopping, and various other pre-holiday chores... I hate the few days before going on holiday as once you've packed you just want to be going already!
But, I am no where near packed, I will be doing that tomorrow night... oh joy.
Instead I have been busy finishing off some projects for various things before I leave.
And what sights will be on the agenda this year?
Well, off to Poland via the Baltic coast this time, so hopefully visiting Rügen in Germany en route:
For some reason the pier at Sellin reminds me of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang...
I think Usedom is also on the planned stop-off route...
We're entering Poland right up at the north, and heading along the coast and staying here:
Hopefully some stops by the seaside en route to Gdansk where we're staying two nights on the waterfront:
Then we head south to visit my Grandma and family... :o)
The camera batteries are all charged so I hope to get some fab pics! Only taking two lenses this year... no zoom this time.
Oh and one of the projects I have been working to finish is a gift for my grandma:
Anyone who goes to my local crop will be amazed to see that I've finished it, because it has come to every crop I've been to since March... gradually being filled up but never finished - until last weekend! LOL
It's a kraft binder from Paperchase filled with their kraft pages (quite thin and I would recommend getting those clear adhesive ring defenders from Smiths to provide added protection for the pages) combined with Basic Grey's Kokeshi and a good many photos from last year. :o)
I am rather partial to these alpha stickers from Prima and the bling/pearls you get with them.
Also I added my first attempts at the Cuttlebug quilled flowers.
The one on the spine isn't great, but I know where I went wrong with this one!
The inside is quite straightforward - same layout on each page...
Plus stickers/rub-ons for extra detail...
And I had and still have a lot of black rub-ons...
...white ones too, to use up!
And there it is standing up...
And now, I'm not sure whether I should head off to bed, or watch episode two of the BBC's recent adaptation of Emma, I really enjoyed it on its original airing, but am loving rewatching the DVD. Excellent cast, wonderful costumes and settings, beautifully filmed... and I just love the silhouette credits at the start and end!
There is a wonderful park. It was originally a Victorian park and has been renovated to some of its former glory in the past few years. It's piratically at the end of my street, just turn the corner and cross the road and you're there - I always wanted to live near a park or open space.
Ma and I went for a wander today after lunch. It hasn't been the warmest of days but it was nice to get out and see so much lush green-ness. Here are a few pics!
There's a fab band stand and it looks like there will be plenty of concerts in June onwards so I shall have to take a blanket and book with me and sit out and enjoy - weather permitting!
Ma doing the tourist thing... hehe tennis courts, an excellent play area for kids (I was quite jealous of the tyre zip thing), bowls club, a lovely café with lovely homemade cakes (one to try another time)...
A lake complete with barnacle geese (and babies) and...
Mama swan keeping her eggs warm...
When the sun came out it was glorious.
And I love this time of year with the blossom on the trees.
Just wish the weather would improve - especially temperature-wise, the heating has been on a lot in the evenings!
Anyway, I had a big cleaning session this morning - very domestic goddess, and now that I've had my tea (a more healthy choice over last night's yummy fish and chips) I'm putting a DVD on and getting down to trying to reacquaint myself with my stash. :o)
Not sure the museum was open but it must have been a lovely place to live back in the day when it was like this:
There were plenty more icicles to admire:
This peacock was trying to get as much sun as possible:
And this pygmy goat looked rather at home in the snow:
There were plenty of folks out having fun, skiing, snowboarding and of course sledging, even a dinghy was being used as a sledge down the hill - looked like quite a ride.
Then went for a walk down by the frozen river, the poor coots and moorhens didn't seem to like walking on the river so much:
It was rather beautiful down there, very enchanting:
The village looked very picturesque up on the hill:
And I have to say, I don't mind if it snows more tonight it's been lovely out there seeing people enjoying the weather for a change! May have to dig out my salopettes!
So, I think I am off for a hot drink and will have to catch up with my card a day creations!
This year my own personal challenge is to be creative and inspired each day of the year... so here I'm sharing just what's inspiring me and making me think creatively, plus whatever I manage to make.
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