To The Fairy Garden and Back

Well it looks like the weather is about to take a turn for the worse here, i've just come in from tucking up the rabbit & guineas for the night and my flip-flopped feet are chilly to say the least! Still, it was lovely while it lasted! I thought i'd share some photos from our morning with Nan and Grandpa last Sunday. We went my favourite walk along the lane, where I took the "snowy" photos in one of my first blog posts - how different it looks at this time of the year! Beautiful in a different way;

As you can see i've been playing around with the collage effect on Picmonkey, the foxgloves, cow-parsley and bluebells were out in abundance;

Spot the Red Kite in the centre;

We missed Mia, who is still on holiday with her dad, but Baby Boy really enjoyed himself, taking it all in;

This really is one of my most favourite places. I grew up here, and have walked along this lane countless times. My mum used to push me along in my pram, just like we do with Baby Boy, and Mia before him. I have some very happy childhood memories playing in the woods and lanes, collecting foliage for wreaths at Christmas time and finding birds' egg shells and wild flowers in the Spring and Summer. Mia calls it a "magical place"..and it is! When my late Gran were alive she would take me walks along this lane when I was very little and tell me there were fairies. We once made a little "fairy garden", a clearing amongst the rocks. We decorated it with pretty stones and flowers - to this day my mum will still refer to it as "the fairy garden"; "we'll just walk to the fairy garden and back".

It really is the sort of place you might have found one of these, a hundred years ago;

After a lovely walk, we went back to Nanny & Grandpa's, where I took some more snaps before lunch;

The now not-so-little lambs were enjoying the sunshine;

As were the ducks and geese;

I hope you have all enjoyed the sunshine...while it lasted!

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my previous post regarding Mia being away, they mean a lot. I must admit i'm not feeling myself these last few days, and it's definitely because she's not around. I won't see her until Sunday evening, but they actually fly home on Friday, so I will feel much better when I know that she's back in the UK at least! I'm already planning lots of fun things to do with her next week, i've taken the Wednesday off work, so no more office for me until Monday 11th June! :)

Marina xx

Two Awards and A Beautiful Vintage Lifestyle Magazine!

Hello and thank you all for the lovely comments on my previous post, and a big hello to my new followers!

Well it's been a busy week! Mia has gone on holiday with her Dad for the next 7 days to Tenerife, they left on Friday and I am missing her already. I'm used to her being away, but somehow it feels so much worse when she is abroad. I've been trying to keep myself busy, so this will be the first of a few posts over the next couple of days!

First I want to say a big thank you to Gem at Treasures from the Cherry Tree for awarding me the Sunshine Award!! I love Gem's blog, I highly recommend a visit! And if that wasn't enough to make me smile, I was also chuffed to receive the Leibster Blog Award from the lovely Suzy at Rustic Vintage Country! Two Awards in one week..I am really touched, and they certainly helped to cheer me up after waving goodbye to Mia! Thank you so much ladies..I hope you don't mind but I won't pass them on just yet, as I've only very recently done this, but I'm still grateful to recieve them and will proudly post them on my blog!

Now...I really must share with you all a absolutely fabulous magazine which I've subscribed to, and which has just launched...."Pretty Nostalgic"!

Some of you may have already heard of the this wonderful mag, or perhaps even bought or subscribed to the first issue (May/June 2012), however, if not, I would highly recommend it! Last weekeend I visited the Smallholder & Garden Festival at the Royal Welsh Showground Builth Wells, where Nicole and Sarah, the founders and publishers of this great magazine, had a stand. Straight away I could see that this was definitely "my" sort of thing..as to be honest I've become a little disillusioned by my usual stash of monthly magazines of late, and I was insprired by Nicole and Sarah's effort to "have a go" and turn their publishing dreams in to a reality. Just twelve months ago, these inspiring ladies were the proprietors of a vintage shop in South Wales. Disheartened by other magazines, they decided to take the bull by the horns and have a go themselves! And the result; Pretty Nostalgic, “a fiercely independent bi-monthly home and lifestyle magazine that focuses on vintage living and nostalgic values”

I have already read my copy from cover to cover, and I cannot wait for the next issue to arrive! I saved 25% by subscribing, and if that wasn’t enough, this beautiful book, written by Nicole and Sarah was absolutely free! It is packed with inspiring quotes and wonderful pictures, which not only encourages us to re-use and recycle, but to really look at the way we view our homes.

I have been really inspired by these lovely ladies and their “have a go” attitude, which has certainly paid off! It just goes to show that if you really put your mind to something, anything is possible, even in these uncertain economic times!

They will be out and about this Summer, and you can catch them next at the Royal Bath & West Show, Shepton Mallet Showground 31st May – 2nd June, and the Vintage Nation, Brighton, Saturday 9th June. You can also check out their wonderful website here! I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!

Marina xx

A Day at the Caves

We had a lovely time last Saturday when we visited the Dan-yr-Ogof Showcaves in Wales as a day out to celebrate Mia’s birthday (this has become somewhat of a birthday tradition!)

We had been a little worried that the day wouldn’t be all that suitable for Baby Boy, or his pram in particular, but there was in fact plenty to occupy him, including the dinosaurs, and we even took him in to the large Cathedral Cave! Being such a laid-back baby, it didn’t phase him one bit, despite the spray from the waterfall and that it was dark in places;

There was plenty to do and see, Hubby & Mia went to the first cave as it wasn’t suitable for very young children, while I took Baby Boy to the restaurant for a feed, and then we went to see the Dinosaurs and Iron Age Village;

We were so lucky with the weather, the dinosaurs looked fantastic and the views were spectacular from the foot of the “Bone Cave”;

After visiting the gift shop (Mia couldn’t wait!!) and emerging with a selection of fossils and precious stones and a tiny, soft dinosaur for Baby Boy, we went to see the animals at the Victorian Farm and Museum;

The Museum Farm Shop was very interesting, and the talking-models very lifelike, Mia loved these!;

As usual, I headed straight for the Donkeys! This pair were here last year too, and I love that you can get right up close and make a fuss of them;

Mia was facinated by the Emu eggs;

On the way home we went to Pizza Hut for our tea, another birthday treat! Mia ate loads, but it was my greedy husband who over-indulged, and much to our amusement had to have the "sick-bowl" on standby the whole drive home - luckily it wasn't required!

Marina xx

Weekend Catch Up!

Firstly, thank you all so much for the lovely comments and hello to my new followers!

Well as you know, we had a little family party on Friday evening to celebrate Mia's birthday and i've already shared the finished pictures of the Titanic cake! We had a really enjoyable evening, and Mia had some wonderful gifts. This year she had opted to have a select few smaller presents as opposed to one or two substantial ones, and had presented us with her "list" some months ago!

I've probably mentioned her obsession with "weird dolls" previously! And this one was no exception! She has deemed it her "favourite present", and cost the grand sum of £1.99 from the local Oxfam shop!! She had seen it in the window back in February and had begged that she have it for her birthday. I gave in, nipped back to buy it, and she'd been hiding at the back of my dresser ever since!;

Just look at that face!! This caused a great deal of amusement to our parents and in-laws when she opened it!

Two Polish wooden dolls (circa 1950's/60's), from Ebay. She collects these after finding her first one on a vintage stall last year;

Some "Titanic" goodies;

This Turtle Necklace which she spotted in Tesco and promptly added to her list!; (I love it too - I can see myself borrowing it from time to time!)

And some lovely cards;

A helium Balloon to match her dress!; - I had some fun trying to carry this home the 10 minute walk in the wind..imagine crazy lady, pushing a pram through the Tesco car park, whilst trying to keep hold of a huge Hello Kitty balloon which is desperately trying to blow away in the wind, and you will get the picture! It actually managed to escape from my clutches at one stage and by some miracle I managed to grab the string just before it whizzed off in to the sky..my heart was in my mouth, I must have looked ridiculous! Baby Boy looked very amused from his pram.

And if that ordeal wasn't enough, later on I made the same journey with 5 more helium balloons, which against all the odds actually made it home in one piece! Mia was thrilled..a strange combination of skulls and Hello Kitty, but she loved it!

We all had a lovely evening, and the Titanic cake went down a treat!;

We also had a great day out at the Dan-yr-Ogof Showcaves on Saturday, which I will post about tomorrow. I hope you are all having a good week!

Marina xx

The Finished Cake!!

Well, I DID IT! I've spent the day painting the sea and adding the finishing touches to the Titanic, and managed to finish by 3pm!

Ta-Daaaaaaaahhhhhh!!;

What do we think??!

Now i'm quite a perfectionist, and this cake is by no means perfect, BUT - I have to admit, I'm very pleased for my first ever attempt! As I said, i've never made anything more than a basic jam-sponge, and hadn't a clue how to ice or marzipan, so all in all, I'm chuffed!;

We have the "Heart of the Ocean", lifeboats and a choppy, icy sea!

It's been a busy week, but SO worth it after the look on Mia's face when she walked in and saw it on the kitchen table! She was thrilled! And insisted on us playing the Celine Dion Titanic theme song once the candles were lit and before she blew them out!;

We had a lovely family party, but I will post on that tomorrow. I'm off to bed now to try and get a little sleep at least (Baby Boy is teething at the moment!), as we are off to Dan-yr-Ogof Show Caves in the morning as a Birthday treat!

Have a lovely weekend xx

Titanic Cake...24 hours to go!!

Well, as I predicted, it's now gone 11pm, and here I am, the rest of the house fast asleep, and I'm still working on the cake! I have, at least, made something which resembles a ship;

Please ignore the spaghetti strands poking from the top of the funnells, these won't be there come tomorrow.

I still have to attach the ropes, and add the sea, but the lifeboats with people and the "Heart of the Ocean" are all ready and waiting.

The food colouring hasn't painted on too well, i'm hoping it will look better in the morning, but, overall, I'm pleased! It's certainly NOT perfect, and i'll never be a brilliant cake decorator, but I think Mia will like it! And that, after all, is all that matters.

Well that's me done for today, I'm exhausted!! I will post this time tomorrow with hopefully a finished Titanic Birthday cake!!

Marina xx

P.S. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for the lovely, encouraging comments, they have really meant a lot! xx

Titanic Cake Update!

Further to my previous post, here is the Titanic Cake so far!;

I’ve covered the sponge in marzipan, moulded the two half’s together, sculptured the two ends in to a boat shape, and covered it with icing. It may sound simple here, but I have to say it wasn’t all plain-sailing! I’d never covered a cake with marzipan or icing before, and the marzipan especially, well, lets just say, it’s a good job the icing has covered it!!

Still, although it would never win “best in show”, as a first attempt, I’m quite pleased so far! It’s not a crumbled mess yet – which is encouraging!! Mia sampled the bits that I’d cut away to make the boat shape, and said it was yummy!

Next I need to marzipan and ice the top layers of the cake (already made) and place them on to the base of the ship. I will then be painting with food colouring, adding the funnels and making the lifeboats from icing. The ship will be placed on a “sea” of blue icing, tiny people will be rowing out on the lifeboats, birthday candles will burn from the funnels and I will be making the “Heart of the Ocean” necklace (from the James Cameron film) from blue icing and the diamante chain from edible silver balls. This will be placed at the foot of the cake board with Mia’s name upon it.

All this needs to be completely finished for our little family party with parents’ and parents-in-law on Friday evening!! When I read that back I think, as Kirstie Allsop would say, “I don’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell”…or perhaps that should read “ice-burg” !

Will keep you posted!!

Marina xx