Some simple things to brighten up a dreary January...

Almost every day since i've had my little boy, iv'e looked out of our window to see a grey sky and lots & lots of rain - the lawn is squelchy underfoot as i go to feed the rabbit, who, despite having a lovely long run complete with a roof, much prefers to stay in his upstairs sleeping area than to brave this weather! And this morning as baby boy & I were making our way up in to town to buy a few essentials, we were faced with yet more rain and hail stones to boot! So we were very glad to be home again in the warm where there are plenty of things to cheer me up! To start with, I was very spoilt this year for Christmas and had some lovely gifts:

A very kind friend treated me to these gorgeous Cath Kidston mugs - such a lovely surprise as i'm a huge fan of all things Cath, they will be perfect for a nice of cup of tea whilst relaxing with one these books, more great gifts, which i can't wait to read...

Or there's also my favourite magazines, this year i plan to save a bit of cash and subscribe to Homes & Antiques, i really should do, as I buy it every month without fail!

This fabric heart was one of many small thoughtful gifts from my gorgeous husband, it looks lovely hanging on the dresser:

Another great treat was this Yankee Candle! I love these and this one smells lovely:

A beautiful vintage tin (i have a little collection of these)

And I was thrilled to receive this fab chicken from my mother-in-law - i'd very much admired the same one in her own kitchen earlier in the year, (it's from Lakeland) so i was really touched that she'd remembered and bought one for me!

Some bright & cheerful thank-you cards arrived in the post which made me smile:

I love all things polka-dot so this diary from Tesco is perfect! Every year i make a New Year resolution that i will start and keep up with writing a daily diary - and every time i get to the Spring and it's fallen by the wayside - perhaps this year this cheerful dotty one will inspire me to keep going!

These cheerful chickens (i think they are supposed to be egg cups? ) were my bargain charity shop find for the week, £1.99 for the 5! - i think they look fab on the mantle above the log burner:

Finally...Mia came home today with a rather fabulous hat! (a present from her Nan)

She recently decorated this plate with a kit which she had for Christmas, i thought it was a great present, the pens are permanent and can even go in the dishwasher - though i think it will be much nicer out on display:

And a happy smiley baby to end the day!

My First Blog Post!

Well, after first discovering the Blogging world just over a year ago, i've wanted to start my own..but where to start??.. i've finally got a bit of spare time on my hands now that i'm on maternity leave after having our gorgeous little boy, (who is now 6 weeks old) and thought the beginning of the year would be a good time to begin - a kind of New Years resolution!  I thought i'd start off by looking back at 2011 and sharing a few favourite memories & photos.  This time last year hubby and I were discussing our plans for the year ahead, which we hoped would be a very important year for us, as we hoped to have a baby - which all went to plan and little Ethan was born in November! First though we decided after 18 months since we first moved in to our home, that it was time for a new kitchen! So February saw us rip out the old one, floor and all, and for 10 days we lived on takeaways, sandwiches and a couple of pub meals while the builders came in and put in new windows, door, and an entire new kitchen - the result was this:

In the Spring came the news that we were expecting our baby, and unfortunately with it came the dreaded morning sickness or rather "all day sickness" in my case! Though we still managed some lovely country walks:

My best friend's lovely wedding in June, where i was chuffed to be bridesmaid and asked to make the headpieces:

A lovely caravan holiday in Tenby and the local village show in the summer:

Mia & I have great fun competing in the local village show, which i have to admit can become very competative! - especially the children's Fancy Dress - Mia came 2nd as a Rubix cube:

First prize with her garden on a plate:

The birth of our gorgeous little boy in November:

And a lovely family Christmas:

I really enjoyed Christmas this year, and of course it was extra special as it was Ethan's first! We spent a lot of family time together watching favourite Christmas films wrapped up in cosy blankets and devouring the huge tin of Roses! perfect xx