Pink Green

Finally...it's here!!

Summer has arrived at last!! I usually have a tan by the beginning of May and I'm very behind! I've had a good crack at it this weekend though, and I am feeling sunkissed and healthy now. I don't sit out much as I get hot very easily (and it's not good to burn), but I seem to pick it up just going about my daily business. Mind you, my new bench under my new trellis is the perfect spot for catching some rays!

We have just had the most relaxing and lovely weekend that I've had in a long time. My parents came to stay and we had barbecues, walks in the Cotswolds, shandies in the garden, and a picnic in the woods. I feel like I've had a whole new lease of life after just 2 days of sun and relaxation!!

This photo was taken on one of the nicest walks I have ever done.The scenery reminded me of being in Canada - pine trees and sunshine!

 

It's just as well I relaxed last weekend because I am gearing up for another exciting event. On Saturday Curio's Emporium have organised a Pop-Up Vintage and Handmade Fair in one of my favourite pubs - The Swan on the High Street in Cheltenham. There are some great stallholders (aside from moi!), a barbecue and live music. It will be good fun, and I hope you can join me there. I'll be selling a mixture of vintage and handmade goods, so there will be something for everyone!

On a similar vein, thank you to everyone who has bought something from my Etsy Shop - I now know some of the Post Office tellers by name I've been there so often! Once I have recovered from Saturday I will be listing more delectable items for your perusal in my shop, so keep your eyes peeled.

Nest week is Half Term - hooray!! We are planning a few days at home and a few days down in sunny Cornwall (fingers crossed for beachy weather), and it can't come soon enough. We are having a Jubilee Tea Party at school on Friday and various other exciting events, which coupled with a few days last week in the Reception class has meant I am looking forward to a few days on a beach with my nose in a book and my feet in the sea!

Happy Summertime to you all!!!

China, flowers and some sunshine - what could be better!

Well, I don't know where the time has gone, but I seem to have taken a longer blogging break than planned! Things have been really busy and juggling school with my Pink Green stalls and etsy shop is taking up quite a bit of time. Combined with family visitors that does not leave much time for blogging!!

My stall last weekend at the Bath Road Market was my best one yet, and was another fun day out with my little sis. The bargain china basket proved to be a hit, and as Rachel came laden with 4 boxes of vintage china all the way from sunny Newcastle I had plenty to fill it with.

Rachel also served to kick me into gear, and we managed to make the most of some sunshine to take some outdoor photos for Etsy and other projects I have got on the go.

This is one of two tea sets I have listed in my Etsy shop, and they are some of the most gorgeous ones I have had. I can't really bear to part with them but no matter how hard I try I can't find a home for any more!

Yesterday was another sunny day and I made the most of it and went to the Malvern Gardening Show with my usual sidekick for these events - my lovely friend Stacey. One of my best purchases was a bench, which we loaded up with all our other purchases and carried it to the gate. It was a very long way and caused much amusement, both to us and even to those people we bumped into by mistake. It squeezed into her VW Golf (just) and will look fab in the garden once I've had a clear up.

We had a slight disaster a few weeks ago in the storms and our beautiful Clematis Montana blew down, taking the entire length of fencing with it. It was in full bloom and was so gorgeous, but we have had to chop away the entire lot and take it to the tip. Our trusty builder was called in and is in the process of putting up new fencing, but I have decided against letting the clematis grow back as it takes up so much space and only flowers for a couple of weeks. Yesterday I managed to buy a couple of replacement plants, so I'm looking forward to the fencing going up so I can get out there and get planting again!

Before I go, I thought I should let you all know about a new, exciting venture that I am involved in. Curio's Emporium are starting a series of pop up vintage fairs in pubs in Cheltenham, and the first one is on June 2nd at the Swan on the High Street. There will be vintage and retro goods, handmade items, bands, a barbeque and plenty of other exciting things (including my stall!). If you are in the Cheltenham area on the 2nd please pop in and join in the fun. The pub is right on the St James Car Park, so it's handy if you are nipping into town too!

Have a good week,

Cathy

 

 

 

Thursday is the new Friday!

Although I have to work on a Friday morning Thursdays really feel like the start of the weekend for me. I am a creature of habit, and Thursdays always follow the same pattern. I finish work at lunchtime and then dash home for a quick sandwich. I then walk round the corner to Gail's house for art club (and I can't wait to post about my current project when it is finished!). After art club I come home in time for the girls to get back from school. I usually bake something ready for the weekend, make a nice tea for us all, and then Andy and I settle down with a glass of wine and House on the TV. A perfect day.

This is today's offering - flapjacks from the River Cottage series of handbooks. This is my friend Jan's book that she lent me and I have made tons from it. I am going to order a copy for myself as there are so many fab recipes, and this is the best flapjack recipe ever. I can heartily recommend the book - the Banana and Cardamom Cake is to die for!

Tomorrow I'm off to the Sudeley Castle fair with my oldest friend for an afternoon of shopping, coffee and chatter. I couldn't go last year and my friend made some disastrous purchases without me, so I am back in shopping advisor mode (and she's just as good, although she usually just says "You have to buy it - you'll regret it otherwise".)I'm hoping to get some bits and pieces for the garden, and despite the April showers (that are more like April monsoons) my garden isn't looking too bad.

These tulips are stunning in real life and have been flowering for ages.

These violas have flowered their socks off too, and you can just make out the apple blossom in the background.

A stray yellow bulb.

The bees love the clematis, which is in full bloom and is so heavy it is in danger of pulling down the trellis.

 The tulips aren't confined to the outside either. These ones go perfectly with the pink grapefruit I have for breakfast. I didn't grow these ones!

I have updated my Etsy shop again - this time mainly with vintage textiles. There are curtains, tablecloths, pillowcases and a range of other bits and bobs that will be added to over the next few days. This is one of my favourite tablecloths but I have so many that don't get used I thought I'd part with a few.

Also on the business front I am having a stall at the Bath Road Market again on Saturday 5th May - please pop in and say hi to my sis and I if you are in the area.

 

Back to it!

Well, the fun and frolics of the holidays are now behind us. Grace went back to school today, I had to pop in for a few hours for the Inset Day, and Ruth and I are properly back tomorrow. Normally I feel ok about going to back to school but we have had such a lovely couple of weeks, but they didn't feel long enough, and I could quite happily have another 2 weeks off to potter around with my little family.

Ho hum, needs must and all that. The Summer Term is my favourite and we have new topics, new trips and hopefully sunshine for playtimes, so it isn't that bad really!

I had my second stall at the Bath Road Market on Saturday which went really well again. It was busy in the morning,but then tailed off a bit in the afternoon, but that was fine as I had the chance to chat and eat cake with my lovely friend Stacey who came to help out (the paella and cake were the draw for her I think), and still made lots of sales in the busier bits. An all round successful and fun day. Lots of other friends popped in to say hi, and I met some lovely new people too. There are definitely worse ways to spend a day, and I had a large tin of money to take home at the end of it!!

My next fair is May 5th, when my fabulous sister is coming down especially to help as she had so much fun the last time. I am so lucky to have so much support, encouragement and enthusiasm from friends and family.

So, I'm really back into it, and have listed a few more things in my Etsy Shop, including these adorable little dogs! There's more to come too, so watch this space!!

I hope you've all eased back into the new term ok and have happy holiday memories to keep you going until Half Term!!

I love holidays!!!

I've taken a slightly longer break than planned from blogging - but I'm back! The last week of term was crazy busy, and time ran away with me. I don't know why everything seems to happen at once. I did decorate for Easter, but forgot to take any photos but looks pretty much the same as last year and the year before - I like to create traditions for these things. Same goes for Christmas and birthdays. I'm a creature of habit.

On the last day of term we headed up to one of our favourite spots for a week in a cottage. Northumberland is one of the most beautiful places - full of castles,

sun,

beaches,

snow,

happy dogs,

happy children,

book shops,

and copious pubs for lunch, cafes for hot chocolate, a cosy cottage for cosy evenings, and the opportunity to just chill.

Easter weekend was spent with family on the way home, and then the girls stayed with their grandparents for a couple of days while Andy went back to work and I started getting organised for my second stall at the Bath Road Market, which is this Saturday. Eek.

The last fair was a great success and a fun day out. I'm sad to be losing my sidekick and seller extraordinaire - my sister, but several friends have offered to come and help out, keep me company, and let me buy them cake as thanks!! The Thai food for lunch was a draw for a couple too! If you are in the area please pop in and say hi. You could even join me for a piece of cake from the cake stall - my diet starts on Monday when I go back to school, so I will be making the most of it while I can!!

 

 

Spring in my step...

I'm still so elated that Spring is really here! It really lifts my spirits and gives me energy. I think I may suffer with a tinge of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and I am definitely happier in the sunshine. Having said that, it is absolutely pouring here at the moment and I am still feeling happy, so who knows?!

No school trips this week, but Design Technology day, which involved making rainforest animals out of bubble wrap, tin foil and paper mache. Next Friday is Art Day, which means more Year 3 chaos, and then only a week until the holidays!! Woohoo!! I will need a rest by then!

I baked yesterday - oatmeal cookies which were meant to be oatmeal and raisin but ended up being oatmeal, cherry and choc chip. They didn't last long - the girls both had friends over today so there isn't even a crumb left.

Andy and I had the rare treat of lunch out on Thursday at Cafe Rouge, followed by a quick pop into Fat Face where I HAD to buy this gorgeous bag. I haven't treated myself for quite some time, but I was in need of a bag for Spring (Andy failed to see this need, but I ignored him).

I did some other bits of shopping too this week - some for my Etsy shop and some just for me. Despite the fact these dogs have seen better days I couldn't leave them in the shop, and they are now sat on my kitchen table waiting for the perfect spot. The bird candlestick I am going to incorporate into my Easter decorating. Andy disagreed with those of you who said it wasn't too soon to decorate for Easter, so I have agreed to wait for a few more days. I do listen to him sometimes!

I hope you are all having a lovely, Springy weekend.

Cathy XX

Is it too soon to decorate for Easter?!

When the sun shines and the garden starts sprouting my thoughts turn to Spring cleaning. As I have had a fairly hectic week the Spring cleaning is still just at the thinking stage, and it can wait for a week or two, but the gardening has started already!

I spent most of yesterday afternoon in the garden tidying away the remnants of the Winter, and it is so uplifting to see buds budding and shoots shooting. I planted some primulas and violas that have been waiting for a week to be potted out, and I had a few spare to bring inside too. That prompted me to do some small-scale rearranging inside and make a pretty display in my sitting room window.

Still on a Spring theme is this little Sylvac lamb on my mantelpiece, who looks like he is wearing a collar but actually his head must have fallen off at some stage. I nearly got out my paper eggs to hang on branches, but thought it was maybe a little too early.

After yet another school trip, this time to the Living Rainforest near Newbury, and various jobs and appointments last week it has been lovely just to potter at home and be domesticated. The thorough deep clean can wait a while. I made Jamie's 30 Minute Chicken Pie for tea and I've listed a few more items in my Etsy Shop whilst sitting looking at this view.

All is well with the world.

Just in case you are in the mood for a shop, or just some vintage eye candy, here are a few of my latest additions to Etsy - all with a Spring theme.

Have a great start to the week,

Cathy XX

 

 

 

Shop Update

I've just spent a happy hour updating my Etsy shop, and have taken the leap and listed some handmade jewellery at last (having been nagged by several people for quite some time!). Here are some pictures of the first few I've listed. I have more, but I wasn't happy with the light in the photos so I'm going to take them again, and list some more bits and pieces in the next few days. These are just a few necklaces that have made it into my shop.

I'm also getting a bit more into Facebook and Twitter, so please feel free to follow me (not that I write anything mind-blowing, but I do retweet funny pictures sometimes!!). With the help of Andy, my sister and brother-in-law I am finally getting to grips with technology! At long last!

Sorry this is short and sweet - I'm still trying (and often failing) to juggle domesticity, craftiness and teaching assistant stuff. Why aren't there more hours in the day?!!

XX

Another busy week...

...and what a sunny one it has been too! I'm very glad it is Friday so I can relax and chill a bit - there hasn't been much of that this week. The girls have very hectic lives which require organising, plus Andy has just changed his shift pattern which is taking some getting used to (it took me 3 years to master the old one, so it's not looking good!). I had a very pleasurable but exhausting school trip to Bristol with Year 4, World Book Day costumes to make, plus another school trip next Friday to look forward to, plus visitors this weekend to prepare for, plus my Etsy shop to update, so it is all go Chez Pinkgreen!

The sun has really helped me to get stuff done though - I am much more productive when it is bright and cheerful outside. This little crocus has made me smile all week - it is left over from when we had a lawn instead of gravel and it has battled through the lining and stones to bloom in solitude.

Another thing making me smile this week is this little heart made for me by my lovely friend Gail. She runs our art club, but has gone to Italy for a few weeks leaving us art-free for a while. She made this as an end of term present, and it hangs on my china cupboard to inspire me to be more 'arty'!

So, hopefully we will have another sunny day tomorrow. I bought some violas and primulas to plant out so the crocus isn't quite so lonely!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend XX

 

 

 

My Lovely Little Sister...

Well, what a weekend! My lovely sister Rachel came all the way down from Newcastle to sunny Cheltenham to give me a huge kick up the backside and get me back on the road to selling. And selling we did! In quite some style!

This is my stall at the Bath Road Market on Saturday with Rachel, seller extraordinaire, behind all the pretty stock. We came home considerably richer and with much lighter boxes having met old friends and made new ones, eaten the biggest piece of Banoffee Cake I have ever seen, swigged copious cups of tea, eaten Thai Curry for lunch, and laughed our way through a very sunny day. Everyone was so friendly and encouraging, and I can't wait until the next one.

Yesterday was spent recovering and walking in the Leach Valley in yet more sunshine, followed by a huge roast chicken and Eve's Pudding in the evening.

Rachel cracked the whip some more yesterday too, and made me have a big sort out of stock. I have listed a couple more bits and bobs on Etsy, such as this gorgeous biscuit tin,

and this cute little primrose yellow jug. I have got tons more stuff to get photos of and list, and as my handmade jewellery sold so well I am going to list some of that too when I have a few spare moments, so watch this space!

Rachel left this morning after a scrummy breakfast at Cafe Rouge (we are all about the food when we get together), and I am feeling a little bereft without her. Andy is cooking chilli for tea, followed by a catch up TV session of House and Upstairs Downstairs with a glass or two of wine to cheer me up. Lush!

Something else I have been busy with is making 2 lots of 6 metres of bunting for a very dear friend who I went to school with, and who is embarking on a really exciting venture. She really is living the dream and has bought a VW campervan which is currently in the process of being turned into a vintage ice cream parlour which can be hired for weddings and events. You can check out Polly's Vintage Ice Cream Parlour here on Facebook. Please go over and say hi!

You could also like my Facebook page while you were there if you wanted to!

I hope you have all had a happy Monday. Thank you to everyone who said hi on Saturday, and to all my new readers. Please leave me a message so I know you've dropped by!

Cathy X