Pink Green

Happy Monday!

Today was the first day back after half term, and the first Monday I've had to work since last July due to my peculiar working hours, but I now work every morning until 12 which is bliss. I can then come home and potter for a few hours before the girls get home.

Today I went out for a cream tea with a friend to celebrate her birthday later this week, and had the best scones ever. I was too piggy to stop scoffing and take a photo, but they were mighty fine! We did a spot of shopping too and had a good gossip, so a good start to the week despite having to work!

They joy of working part time means that I have time for setting up my small business again. It is several years since I did anything much really, but I am really getting stuck in and am so thrilled with how many sales I have made through Etsy and Ebay. Fingers crossed for Saturday at the Bath Road Market too! Hope to see you there!

These are just some of the treasures I have been listing on Etsy, and I have to say that quite a few are very hard to part with. I have been very good at accumulating things to sell, rather than things to add to my overstuffed house, although I did succumb to a little Etsy shopping myself from here and got these gorgeous bits and bobs through the post last week.

The tiny bird stamps are for my new art class project which is a mosaic made from tiles that I will be making myself, and I am SOOOOO excited about getting cracking on this one. It will be a few weeks as we are still doing watercolour landscapes, but I am already formulating a plan for my mosaic in my head.

I just loved the packaging of the stickers, and the sticky backed fabric is so pretty. I may use it this evening to make a little something I have in mind.

Hello to any new readers by the way, and please leave me a comment. I am always keen to find new blogs to follow too so if you have one that I don't comment on it probably means I haven't found you yet! I am still having problems with comments but hopefully that will be resolved. You can always contact me through Etsy if you can't leave a message here.

Have a fab week - the weather is meant to get warmer soon! Yay!!

Fabulous Friday!

Happy Friday, readers! I'm sorry for the gap in blogging(if you noticed) but I have been away for a few days with no blogging time or accessibility. As it is half term week and my grandmother's 91st birthday we went up to Leicestershire to celebrate with the birthday girl at my parents house. She had a lovely afternoon tea party and really enjoyed herself (as did we).

My contribution to the tea party was Rocky Road - a great stand-by in this house as it is quick to make and is delicious! It is basically 200g dark chocolate, 75g butter and 2 tbsp golden syrup melted in a pan and then poured over crushed digestive biscuits and mini marshmallows (as much as you can coat in the chocolate mixture). I didn't have enough mini marshmallows so I used some flumps and cut them up. Pop in the fridge until cold and then cut into squares. Then try not to eat it all in one go! I'm sorry there is no picture of teh finished product - it was dark when I cut it up and it lasted less than 5 minutes on the table so I missed my window!

While we were away we visited some of our usual haunts - Melton Mowbray market (where you can buy cows, sheep, ferrets, vintage bits and bobs and the best rapeseed oil in the world), the Outwoods, which is great walking for us and the dogs, and Bradgate Park, which I think I have mentioned before but is one of my most favourite places in the world to visit. It brings on such nostalgia for me as we used to have picnics here on a weekly basis when I was a child. It hasn't changed at all - the trees are the same, it is filled with deer, birds and children on scooters, and they sell great ice cream in the village!

(Sorry for the hazy photo - this was the best I could do facing the sun!)

Andy and I came home on Wednesday, leaving the girls with their grandparents until the weekend, so we have had some unaccustomed time alone! It has been bliss, although I am missing the girls and will be glad to get them home. We went to see Reginald D Hunter last night, and I laughed so much I ached afterwards. Tonight we are going to my favourite restaurant ever - the Daffodil for their tasting menu. I'm drooling just thinking about it!

Andy went back to work this morning so I have taken the opportunity to list some more vintage treasures in my Etsy shop. Thank you so much to everyone who has already bought something - and if you haven't I'm sure there are things you'd love ;-)

These are just some of the things I've been photgraphing and listing, and some bits have been put aside for my stall next week.

Don't forget to come and say hello on Saturday 25th at the Bath Road Market where I am having a stall with my lovely sister. We will be there from 10-5 and will be trying to stay warm!

I'll be back in a day or two with some photos of the parcels the postman has just delivered - I actually squeaked when I opened them!!!

 

More Spring Cleaning!

Although the sun wasn't shining and the temperature felt more Baltic than Spring-like I was gripped with the need to clean again on Monday. It is a rare event and I can go weeks without lifting a duster, but I had a day to myself and the desire to be dust free was upon me, so I made the most of the urge and not a dust mote is to be seen (well, downstairs anyway!). I even cleaned the windows and washed the glasses on the window.

My house is often pointed out as being the one with all the pretty glasses in the window by my friends and the children who skip past on the way to school. I love these glasses and the way the sun sparkles through them when it deigns to shine. I also love the way the many mirrors in here reflect them and I can see them from different angles as I walk around the room.

These ones are on the window that used to be our outside window from the dining room before we had the kitchen extension. We loved the window so much that we decided to keep it rather than having a door put in - our windows were made by a friend and put in not long after we bought the house so we are quite attached to them. A huge improvement on the aluminium double glazing that was there before!

Well, I hope you are all staying warm and cosy. It could be a two-hot-water-bottle night tonight, and I am regretting the decision not to allow Bodie on the bed. He makes a great foot-warmer, but he prefers his basket.

Cathy XX

Lazy Weekends

Our weeks seem so chaotic at the moment that we have been making sure we have lazy family weekends to recover! We have had the perfect weekend - lie ins, walks with Bodie, comfort food, the fire lit all day, knitting, sewing, more comfort food, TV and wine. Perfect all round really.

This was brunch this morning - cooked by Andy, so it tasted even better as I didn't have to cook!

I finished a little bit of knitting, inspired by a text from my sister who is having traumas of a mousey kind (serves her right for living in the countryside!). Let's just say it is fortunate she has a brave husband to rescue her from the savage Geordie mice!

I've been busy this week listing a few bits and pieces in my Etsy shop too. Thank you so much to everyone who has bought something - it was a bit daunting starting a new venture but having sold some items has made me even more enthusiastic to make a go of it.

I've also taken the plunge and have got a stall at the Bath Road Market on February 25th, so if you are in the area please pop in and say hello. My kind and supportive sister has offered to escape the mice and help me for the day so it will be a fun day out for us both too. It is also the Blind Lemon Vintage Fashion Fair at Cheltenham Town Hall, so if you were thinking of going to that it is only a short walk up through the park to get to Bath Road, so you could even combine the two!!

Well, I am off for my favourite comfort weekend dinner - Nigella's Greek Lamb Stew, served with feta and thyme. My mouth is watering already!!!

A Cosy Weekend

I love weekends like this one - it is cold and grey outside so we have hunkered down and stayed warm, apart from a brief excursion with the dog through muddy fields. I cooked a huge roast chicken for lunch with Apple and Pear Eve's Pudding for dessert. It didn't hang around long enough for me to get a good photo, but it was delish!!

I was up with the sparrows this morning - something I also love at weekends. I find it so hard to get up during the week, but at weekends I like nothing more than being first up and sitting with a quiet cup of tea watching the sky change. This was how it looked at about 7.30 this morning. We have snow forecast, so keep your fingers crossed - I could do with a few snow days at home at the moment!! I did manage to finish my hot water bottle cover last night after frogging the part with the buttonholes about 4 times, so I am ready for the cold snap!!

I made the most of the time at home to list some more things in my etsy shop. Some of these things I am finding it hard to part with as I love them so much, but I really have run out of space. There are only so many sherry glasses and sugar tins a girl can use!

Please hop on over and have a look. There are loads of other new listings, plus a new category - Vintage Textiles!

I hope you are all having a cosy weekend too, and battening down the hatches ready for the snow!! Stay warm,

Cathy XX

I'm sure cats aren't this embarrassing!

Andy and I had a very rare day yesterday where we were both off work together and both the girls were at school. We decided to make the most of our childless day and head for to one of our favourite pubs for a walk with Bodie and a spot of lunch.

This pretty pub is 'The Tunnel House' at Coates, near Cirencester. We have been many times and the food and atmosphere is brilliant. Unfortunately yesterday as we arrived in the village we were met by the Beaufort Hunt, which made Bodie wild with excitement. However, we were headed in the opposite direction and made it to the pub without becoming too embroiled with horses and hounds (although there was a hairy moment on the canal path when we thought they were on our tail but fortunately they were the other side of the hedge!

A delectable meal was had by Andy and I, plus a fab pint of beer each, and Bodie kept our feet warm under the table. After lunch I took Bodie outside while we waited for Andy to settle the bill. A very lovely man who looked just like Tony Adams (former England and Arsenal football player for those who aren't footie fans) walked past with a dalmation with whom Bodie decided to have a little overfriendly action. I was very apologetic, and the lovely man was very kind and friendly. It was only when we got home that Andy looked up Tony Adams and we discovered that he lives in Coates and has a dalmation. Embarrassing that a) we weren't sure it was him and b) that Bodie was inappropriate with his dog. Oh the joys of being a dog owner! The one consolation was that Andy didn't have the opportunity to make me take a photo of Tony Adams. That would have have been even more mortifying!

(This is from the internet by the way - he was in tweed yesterday rather than a football strip!)

So aside from our brush with footballing royalty I have been trying to restore some order to my basement workroom (the before photos are excruciatingly embarrassing, and I'm not quite at the after stage), take more photos for Etsy, parcel up some ebay sales and manage the day job! I'm off to the pub tonight for a well earned glass of wine and a gossip (well, it is over 24 hours since I was last in a pub!) with a very lovely friend.

I hope your start of the week was less embarrassing than mine! See you soon XX

Over Christmas my lovely family sat me down and told me it was time I pulled my finger out in terms of my 5 year plan and what I am actually going to do with my life. Being a Teaching Assistant is mostly a fun job, but it doesn't pay brilliantly and it can be draining at times too. I need something to run alongside that is fun but may also make me some money. I come from a whole family of speech and language therapists, but that isn't really something I could retrain for at the ripe old age of 36, and my lovely dad thinks I should run my own business - something he did very successfully for 30+ years. My sister and her husband came up with tons of ideas, as did my mum, as did Andy, and the girls even joined in for good measure.

Faced with all this encouragement I decided to take the plunge. Well, actually I am starting with very small steps, but if you look at my side bar you will see a link to an Etsy shop!! After several years of deliberating I have taken the plunge. It has taken me all weekend to get it set up, and I have had a ball. It is going to be mainly vintage things for sale, with probably the odd handmade item as time goes on, and I have masses of photos of new stock to add, but from tiny acorns grow huge oak trees!

My Etsy Shop!

So, watch this space for new items and updates. Please have a look at my shop - I know there aren't many things listed at the moment (just 11 to be precise) but as today is my day off and I am fired up, hopefully there will be a few more things to take your fancy before too long!!

Early Spring Cleaning

Every Spring I go crazy clearing out clutter and cleaning all those places no one sees, and I think due to the unseasonably warm weather we have had recently the nesting bug has kicked in early. On Saturday, with Andy working and the girls both tied up with friends, I had a rare window all to my self in which to indulge my cleaning desires. Anyone who knows me will know that the desire to clean doesn't come often so I needed to make the most of it!

The kitchen was my main target, but as with all these projects there is a knock on effect!

(Before)

This cupboard houses our everyday china and glasses, and had got precariously out of control. Unfortunately in my rush to crack on I forgot to take a before photo until I had cleared the worst shelf - the plates looked like the leaning tower of Pisa.

(After)

The open shelves (below) had got the smeech and grime from cooking on them so everything was washed and sorted. I decided to move the jars of food stuff from the cupboard onto the shelves, which is where they were originally, and this is working much better for us now.

(Before)

 (After)

This is my new baking cupboard, having been a store for all sorts of kitcheny bits and bobs before. I forgot to take a before pic in my excitement, but it wasn't pretty! The tins on top are for dog biscuits and bonios.

And these are the spice shelves above it.

Unfortunately when clearing out there is always the problem of what to do with all the things you haven't found a home for. Such as these bits and bobs.

I'm systematically listing a range of things on ebay to clear out some clutter, and I have a plan for some of the other bits and pieces. I recently acquired 7 boxes full of vintage china (over 250 items) which I am slowly finding homes and uses for, or selling on those bits that aren't any use. I'm lucky that Andy just raises his eyebrows as he is forced to carry in boxes of junk from the boot of the car and then leaves me to get on with it. Despite having to step round the boxes in the basement and the dining room. He's very long suffering!

Today is not going to be as productive a day - I've got the lurgy so I'm wrapped up on the sofa and may just manage to tackle some knitting and dozing. I haven't been able to keep a cup of tea down yet and getting the girls sorted with breakfast was a challenge. Hopefully it is a short lived bug and I can get back to being productive again. The knock on effect of cleaning the kitchen was that heaps of stuff got moved the the dining room. That's my next before and after project so watch this space!!

P.S I have been trying to leave comments on several blogspot blogs and it won't accept my open id - does anyone know if it is a general problem or just me?

I love Fridays!!!

It's the weekend - hurrah!! I only work Friday mornings so my weekend started at 12.15 when I left school. I thought I'd make the most of the sunshine to take a couple of photos to share with you (although having said that the photos still seem to be lacking bright light).

The minute the Christmas tree is taken to the council shredder I itch to get on with the Spring flowers. These are some bulbs that I got from Lidl for £1.99 each, or 4 for £5. Well, it seemed silly not to get the 4 for £5, so we have crocuses in the kitchen,

narcissi on the mantelpiece in a pretty pot given to me by my lovely friend Clare,

and muscari (or grape hyacinths) in the window as camouflage for Bodie to watch the neighbours cats behind. It is better than telly for the dog with very little brain, and so he spends hours watching, just in case he can make Archie from across the road glance his way with a volley of blood-curdling barks. Fortunately for us and the neighbours, the cats tend to keep out of sight, but if they do stray past they give hime a cursory glance and then carry on about their business.

I'm tackling the knitting with a vengeance and a little help from YouTube. The decreasing had me stumped, but not for long, and I am whizzing through the back now. The pattern is from the very delectable and inspiring 'The Gentle Art of Knitting' by Jane Brocket, and was the pattern I thought the easiest to start with. I feel the need to progress from scarves, and this has been the perfect speedy project. The wool is Patons Eco Chunky and was a bargain in the wool shop sale.

So, this weekend is going to be spent knitting, baking and bathing in an attempt to keep up with my New Year's resolutions - it's so much more pleasurable than getting thin and fit!!

Happy (Belated) New Year!

Happy New Year! As usual I am behind the times and a week overdue, but hey, better late than never! I have great expectations of 2012. I feel it is going to be a good year in the Pink Green household.

A juxtaposition of Spring flowers and Christmas fairy lights!

2011 wasn't a bad year to be fair. It wasn't amazing, or one that stands out as one to remember per se, but it wasn't a bad year. Lots of things happened, good and bad.

So, bring on 2012 - a new year and a new set of resolutions!! I have the least self discipline and control of anyone I know so my resolutions usually go out of the window by about the 16th of January (or thereabouts!), so this year I have veered away from the usual 'get fit', 'get slim' boringness and have gone for resolutions that are a bit jollier. So this year I am aiming to be nicer to myself. This involves long baths, more fun family time, more reading, more creativity - in fact all round more

FUN!!

 

So, I have many plans for 2012. I am bored of crochet (I can hear gasps ricocheting through the internet as I type this), so have decided to tackle knitting in a bigger way instead. I am going to plan my garden and make it beautiful again this year (last year was the best ever, despite Bodie's best efforts to keep the garden cat free whilst paying total disregard to the planting scheme beneath his feet). I am going to bake more. I am going to give serious thought to my future career. I am going to laugh more. I am going to drink wine only at weekends. That one won't last by the way, but I thought I should show a little willing!

Hmmm - in need of some tlc I think!

When I was a student doing a degree in Literature I used to read 5 books a week. Now, it is more like 2 a month, and they are usually just my 2 book club books. I miss it. I have decided to read instead of watching crappy TV that is just a time filler. This is my current read - a challenge due to the subject matter, but totally gripping and will be rated in my new book journal (courtesy of my Secret Santa from work) with a 10/10. If you are a tad squeamish I'd give this one a miss though!

More pertinent to this blog, I am going to blog more. I missed it (again) and I like the way it makes me think creatively. I enjoy writing, and I enjoy taking photos, and I love the way it is a diary to go back through and think "I'd forgotten that". I also like the sense of community it provides so I am going to start leaving comments again. I have kept up with all the blogs on my reader, but on my phone, so I have not been leaving comments for a while.

So, I have several schemes and plans afoot. Watch this space!