coughs, sneezes, ribbon and wrapping paper

Well, I've been ill with a throat and chest infection the last week or so (now there's a cheery Christmassy note to begin on) but the doctor prescribed me some new meds yesterday and I swear they're kicking in already. So I've been a recluse the last few days, sitting by my Christmas tree, too weak to even munch on a mince pie. And that's the way life is isn't it? Just when your diary has reached full capacity and you should be darting here there and everywhere around town you're feeling like crap and sat on your settee under a blanket with your pajamas on. So you roll with it, wrap a couple of presents, watch Love Actually (suggested by Emma), listen to the She And Him Christmas album on repeat (think I may have OD'd on that one now) and wait to feel better again. 

And though in a prefect world I'd be busy as a bee in a mad Christmas social whirl I can be grateful for a cosy chair by the fire, a very lovely family and some twinkly fairy lights. 

Hope you're not letting the winter coughs and sneezes dampen your Christmas spirit! XXX

signs of Christmas

We haven't decorated or bought our tree yet (that's a job for this weekend) but the signs that Christmas is here are popping up all over our home...

I had a sweet conversation with my hairdresser last week about the 'magic' of Christmas. She believes in it, and so do I. Can you feel it yet? Is it making your world twinkle a little more?

I really believe that there's something in the air this time of year, and even though I'm dog tired and sleep deprived (little pregnancy moan) I'm still feeling that Christmas glow. Hope you are too!

holly and mistletoe make

I'm definitely feeling the Christmas spirit these last few days, it's been cold, frosty and the streets are suddenly full of twinkly lights - it's my very favorite time of the year! But I've suddenly realised how time is flying by and how it's now or never when it comes to achieving my Christmas goals. So with just an hour to spare this afternoon I managed to squash in little festive project I've been thinking about these last few weeks. And it felt good to get things done and start and finish a project in one go - rare for a busy (disorganised) girl like me! 

First I cut out some template shapes out of white card-

Then I pinned the shapes to some green felt...

...and cut around the templates-

Next, I added a few stitches to the holly leaves...

...and then sewed on the bells... and finished!

It's a quick and easy make that will look very merry hung around the necks of those bottles of booze I'm giving as gifts this Christmas - or they could adorn my door handles at home, or hang on my tree, or be attached as little extras to my best friends' pressies... don't you love those Christmassy colours? Getting so excited!

Needed-
Card to make the templates
Pins to attach the templates to the felt Green felt
Bells or buttons for the berries (my coloured ones were from M&S)
Needle and thread to sew on the bells
Thread to make the loop
Wool to stitch the holly leaves (optional- looks great without too)

Christmas make

We made these sweet little gift tags for Edie's teachers with just a few supplies we already had hanging around the house. They're super simple to make and Edie helped with the rolling out and the cutting. Edie used a straw to pierce the holes for the ribbons before baking and I used letter stamps for the initials (I painted them in with black acrylic paint when they were baked but they would have looked just as gorgeous left plain white).

This is all you need to make a plain white version:

White polymer clay ie. Fimo
A rolling pin
Cookie cutters
A straw (for making the hole)
Something for stamping (I used letter stamps for initials but any pretty or interesting stamp will look ace)
Ribbon

And for the extras:

Acylic paint
Tiny paint brush (for painting in the letter)
Letra set (for the 'Mr' or 'Mrs')
Clear acrylic Matt Medium or varnish (to seal the letra set and paint)
Large pretty beads (for extra decoration)

I love these tags all the more because they're something that kids can help with that don't look like they've been made by a child (not that there's anything wrong with glittery Christmas paper angels and Father Christmas faces made with paper plates and cotton wool- I love those things the best but it was lovely to make something that Edie thought was 'like the ones in the shops...').

Definitely well worth the effort! Happy making.

home in the afternoon

Today Edie was home from school. The house was warm, the kettle was on, we put some Christmas songs on the record player and settled down. I got none of the things done that I had planned but hey, that's life.

Our making session turned out perfectly (but boy do you need eight hands to keep a project under some kind of control with a three year old). It was more fun than I thought you could have with a poorly girl sent home from school. 

I'll be back with more pics of the sweet little project we were working on tomorrow... 

just for you

Just to let you guys know that I'm currently offering free p&p over at my Etsy store with the code TINSEL. And you'll get a free postcard and cute 'fine and dandy' pin badge with every order. And that's it really.

the future and the past

I have this little life growing inside me and right now I feel so happy and positive for the future. But I also know that things aren't gonna be easy when this little fella joins us. I know it's tough being a mum, I remember how my whole world was turned upside down three and a half years ago after the birth of my girl. I remember how I was swept away in a whoosh of emotions that were certainly not all good ones. Not good ones at all.

But I also remember the wonder, the beauty, the love of a new child. And I remember how it is to fall in love with your child, straight away for me, yes, but also slowly, building as you get to know your child, and you're knocked for six by how freaking awesome they are.

       

      

       

       

       

        

More awesome than I could ever have hoped.

After all, nothing good comes easy. 

Here's to doing it all over again...x

never, ever make it again, OK?

We went to see the sweetest show about an adventurous mole on Sunday. Edie loved it and seeing her face light up with big smiles was priceless. 

We also...

...took a ride on a train, ate a cheesy/chocolaty lunch at Madame Fromage and later, when we got home, we ate my homemade pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie for dinner. The pie went down a treat but not so much the soup. Edie forced down a few mouthfuls with her nose wrinkled and then said, 'I really love it, mummy, but never, ever make it again, OK?'

Righto then. 

That's fine. 

a head start on goals for December

 

I don't want to jump the gun here, but I know how time flies and you can bet that those people who get Christmas all wrapped up with their home made goodies and bulging diaries don't start the planning on December 17th. Oh no, in fact they've probably left suckers like me wayyyy behind already. Every year I have these plans and every year I fail to achieve at least half of them. This year is going to be different, right? Right.

So here are my Christmas goals...

• make some gorgeous gifts for my girl friends

I have some ideas for this brewing. Just have to order some stuff and I'll be ready to rock. 

• have a Xmas soiree

A small one, but a very Christmassy one. 

• make something sweet I can wrap up in little cellophane parcels and tie with festive bows

Thinking of toffee... or truffles... or fudge...

• go a carol concert

Easy! I love a good ol' sing along. Got plenty of lovely ones to choose from.

• go to a Christmassy show

With my girl. Just got to choose which one.

• buy handmade

Yep, I have been snooping around on Etsy this very morning.

• decorate my window with snow flakes

A bit like how Buddy would in Elf. Only less.

• go and see Father Christmas on his train

Booked and eagerly anticipated. Here.

I have purposely kept my list short and achievable to prevent the likely outcome of me looking and feeling like a tit when I fail to cross them off. I should be able to achieve these few goals easily enough leaving plenty of time and space to attempt some other lovely seasonal things I have in mind.

What are your goals for this festive season? Are you making, doing or trying anything new or special? If so then get to it now! It's closer than we think.

Boy? Or girl?

My motherly instincts were bang on the money and the little human inside my tummy is indeed a boy!!! We're very excited to be getting a little brother for Edie, who's already insisting that he will be her baby and will live in her room. I told her that she won't be wanting to share her bedroom with a baby who cries lots and poos everywhere but she is adamant. Her first reaction after being told she was having a little brother was shout out in a slightly menacing voice, 'Oooo, I can't wait to TICKLE HIM!' Poor little thing, he doesn't know what's gonna awaiting him. An already obsessed 3 year old mini-mum. 

I admit I felt a pang of nerves when they told us I was carrying a boy. After all I'm a girl, I've got an amazing, smart, funny daughter and I know a little about girlie bits and bobs. The thought of having a little man running around the place makes me really happy but I also feel a little as if I'm stepping into the unknown. Luckily that pang of excitement and nerves was very quickly replaced with an overwhelming joy. It just feels so right for us to be having a boy, like we've been waiting for him all this time. We're so lucky to getting the chance to experience bringing up both a girl and a boy; so exciting!

I'd love to hear any of your experiences of bringing up boys, especially how you think they're different to girls. Or do you think we focus too much on the sex and should just treat each child as a unique human being in their own right, regardless of gender? 

Hooray for boys! (And their big sisters!) 

excuses for feeling pathetic

These last few months I've been struggling a little. I've been exhausted, nauseous and emotional (more so than usual). My boobs have their own list of ailments and complaints that I won't go into here and my skin has had more break-outs than it ever did at 15. 

And now, 20 weeks down the line and feeling a hell of a lot better, I'm finally ready to type the words... I'm up the duff. Knocked up. Pregnant. 

I had my 20 week scan this morning. 

I had the feeling all along that there was a little boy in my tummy. And was I right? I'll let you know tomorrow, when I've had time to digest the matter myself, and mull over the new status quo due in our house sometime next April. Is it another girl to make it three to my husband's one? Or are we going to be a house of equals; two girls, two boys?

Whatever the case, we're happy and blessed to be adding to our little family. 

Ouch, but my boobs are bloody KILLING.  

Kirsty Logan and The Light Eater

 

A little pack of short stories from Glasgow based writer Kirsty Logan arrived in the post last week. I'd heard Kirsty reading one of her stories on Radio 4 one morning and loved her way with words. I found her on Twitter, started following, and when she mentioned selling little packs of her short stories I tweeted back that I would love one. 

It's always lovely to get something exciting in the post and I was thrilled with Kirsty's little package which she had clearly taken time and effort with.

Here's an excerpt from The Light Eater -

'A light bulb blew; she went to change it but ended up sucking it like a lollipop. She enjoyed its gobstoppery taste, and had soon eaten the rest of the bulbs in the house. Lamps mushroomed up from every flat surface - and there's no good in a darkened light. Each day she visited the hardware shop and walked home with bags full to clinking. Her eyes were always full of light; with each blink she caught gold on her eyelashes.

One night she opened her mouth to yawn and saw that her path was lit. Up she jumped, pyjama-ed and barefoot and followed the light across streets and playgrounds, fields and forests, all the way to the edge of the land.'

Kirsty's words are strung together like they were always meant to be, her writing is beautiful and solid, making the unbelievable believable. I'm going to re-read my little selection again tonight, in front of the fire, and see how they can inspire me to create something new and beautiful of my own. 

taking a break from talking

When I get the chance to I can talk. A lot. And right now Im getting the chance to talk a lot on a daily basis thanks to a retired builder who is kindly working at our house as a favor, finishing off our plastering/tiling/painting and so on. I can happily while away several hours deep in conversation with this guy whilst he slaps paint on our hallway walls. In fact we've just finished a lengthy conversation about child-birth. We cover all manner of topics. 

Anyway, there are, of course, a million other things I should be doing, like sorting out my middle room, which is one of my goals for November. So while he's on his lunch break, enjoying his pie, I can pop over to Pinterest and add to my 'workspace' board. 

And so here we go-

Now if I could just click my fingers and make my study/workspace/middle room suddenly awesome I would, but I'm not Mary Poppins and so I guess some actual work is needed. 

Starting, that's the hardest part, eh? 

goals for November

•organise the study

This is a task which has been long overdue. Our middle room has become a bit of a dumping ground. I need organisation, I need a vision, I need a plan. I need to get a Pinterest page dedicated to sorting out this muddle of a room which could be so much more.

•set the alarm each morning and actually get up when it goes off

Yep, I'm definately not a morning person and jumping out of bed when it's still dark outside it so not my style. But these days, with a little girl in nursery, I have no choice. Alarm bells it is then. 

•prepare my clothes each evening ready for the next day

This would definately help with my morning struggles, and it would go some way in preventing me looking like a bag lady when I approach the school gates. I used to do this, in my pre-child/ pre-move days and somehow, in a house without a wardrobe, I have completely given up the ghost.

And a treat if I achieve my goals-

from Zu- found via Jen's blog

How much do I want this print? Enough to achieve my goals? We shall see. But it sure is pretty, isn't it? 

Have you got a goal or two for this month? What would make your life lovelier? And what would you treat yourself with?

X

bed with a book

Having spent the last three days under a duvet with some foul virus or other I'm overjoyed at having the energy to tap away at a keyboard today. My body is slowly regaining the strength and will to rise up off the settee and make it to the kitchen for some ginger beer, or the bathroom to wash my hair, or just the other end of the settee for the TV remote.

But whilst being busy being ill I have managed to finish off a book I've been reading, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. 

And I found my new favourite quote, I don't know why, it just kind of jumped out at me...

'I couldn't tell the difference between what was real and what I wanted to be real.'

So, The Night Circus, a girl called Celia, a boy called Marco, and an enchanted circus where carousel creatures come to life, fortunes are told and wonders are witnessed. The perfect book for a weekend spent under a duvet. 

'We lived strange lives, chasing our dreams from place to place.'

Full of quotes to gobble up and note down, 

'I am tired of trying to hold things together that cannot be held. Trying to control what cannot be controlled. I am tired of denying myself what I want for fear of breaking things I cannot fix. They will break no matter what we do.'

I really liked this book, but what I really fell in love with was the circus itself, Erin Morgenstern's construct is so detailed and breathtakingly beautiful even the most non-magical of souls will surely be swept away. Maybe that's why sometimes, for me, the plot and characters pale a little in comparison. But that's just testament to how glorious, sparkling and magical the fantasy of the Night Circus is.

Read this book if you- 

       -believe that anything is possible

       -make wishes

       -know there is more to this world than meets the eye 

(yes, it does, especially when you're holed up indoors, for whatever the reason)

And now I'm feeling the need to curl up under the duvet again. Another day spent indoors, warm and cosy and getting better slowly. 

sweet dreams...

'sweet dreams' by goldlion

floral wreath original britthermann $150.00	Fairisle Knitted Blanke... rcadesign $70.00	Woodland photography gr... bomobob $30.00	FALL SALE vintage 1930s... Luncheonettevi... $12.80
Decorative Pillow -Herc... ColetteBream $89.00	Crocheted Lace Stone, B... Monicaj $35.00	hand knit womens wool s... sockysocks $19.00	Linen bed cover extra-w... LinenCrafts $185.00
Apple shaped cushion/so... studiomeez $42.00	bell jar beccastadtland... $24.00	Vintage Crochet Bedspre... ethanollie $150.00	Wooden Wick Candles tha... BluebellsbyNic... $12.99
Vintage doily upcycled ... ChevronBloomSt... $22.99	His and Hers Cat Nap Pi... Xenotees $30.00	Original modern geometr... NATHANIELGIBSO... $300.00	Block Printed Leaf Quil... hinshelwooddeb... $99.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

One of the many, many, many things I took for granted pre-baby, back when I was a care-free, flipperty gibbet of a fool, is a good night's sleep. Eight long blissful hours of uninterrupted sleep... back then that was a functional necessity, now it's the freaking holy grail. 

I go to sleep, I wake up, I pee. 

I go back to sleep, I wake up, I tell my daughter that yes, she can have that phantom cake (she's a food related nightmare sufferer), I get into her Ikea child's bed with my feet poking through the metal bars at the bottom and I go back to sleep. 

I wake up with every bone in my body aching and my feet freezing, I go back into our room where our bed feels like heaven and I go back to sleep. 

I wake up, I pee... and repeat until morning.

How long can this go on for? I suspect that when Edie (and the next one) are sleeping through the night I'll be onto the menopause, or incontinence, or some such sleep wrecking thing and so I fear the golden years of sweet, delicious, uninterupted sleep are gone. And I need my shut eye, I mean I really need it. Baaaaaaad. 

But what can I do? Besides hiring a nanny for the next five years and hooking myself up to a catheter for the next five months bugger all. But that's ok, just like you accept that you'll spend more on your child's shoes than your whole wardrope you just get on with it. 

And so if I can't a good night's sleep I've decided I at least deserve a pretty/comfy/cosy one.

And so here are my Etsy picks for a beautiful bedroom, if not a beautiful night's sleep.