My reading seems to have slowed down a bit this year - possibly because I'm just always so tired that sleep has become the chosen option once I get into bed at night. I am still loving historical books though and The Road to Nab End is a great example. Rather than fiction though, this is actually an autobiography of historian William Woodruff and his early life in Blackburn, Lancashire. There seem to be so many books about people growing up in the East End of London (or at least I seem to have read a lot set there of late) that it was actually really refreshing to read about what life was ... read more
Big Red Breakfast featuring Baked Eggs on Salsa
Breakfast - the most important meal of the day. Everyone knows this saying don't they, and whilst not everyone agrees with it breakfast is a meal that is certainly never skipped in this house. I don't know about you, but I find we're all just hungry in the morning and certainly the kids and I are pretty grumpy if we don't eat pretty soon after getting up! To me having a good breakfast inside you before starting the day is hugely important and that's why I'm pleased to support Warburtons and The BHF, who have teamed up to help to educate the nation on the importance of maintaining a healthy ... read more
Inspired by Knickers Models Own
If you follow me on Facebook (click here if you aren't and don't want to miss out!) then you'll probably have seen me sharing posts by the wonderful Knickers Model's Own. In memory of her late mother, Caroline is challenging herself to wear a new outfit a day based only on things she can buy in a Cancer Research UK shop. She's doing amazingly well and has also attracted a lot of media attention in doing so. Inspired by her I've been shopping myself in the charity shops of St Albans... ... read more
Introducing Glitterbelle
In so many ways Little Miss C is such a girly girl - a huge fan of princesses, pink and anything sparkly. It's funny in a way as I'm not sure I can remember having that sort of phase myself, but it's what really seems to make her happy right now. She was therefore delighted when the latest review book from Parragon turned up - Glitterbelle The Sparkliest Princess Ever! Glitterbelle lives in a palace at the top of a hill with her Mum, The Queen, and her Dad, The King. She's not exactly a fan of a typical fairy tale princess life though and Glitterbelle much prefers to whizz round on her ... read more
Years of stitches
I'm trying so so hard in 2015 not to start new craft projects without finishing off ones that are already in progress. I have to admit to being one of those crafters who starts lots of things with great enthusiasm, but struggles to actually finish them. Hopefully this year will be different and I'm trying to start as I mean to go on. This blog provides a great record of projects that I've started over the years, but it can also be a bit scary when I then look back and realise just how long they have been going on for! LMC rocks the hoodie look! Back in March 2012 my ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Learnabout… Coin Collecting
Is it possible for there to be a hobby that makes stamp collecting look sexy? If so then coin collecting probably fits the bill. I kind of understand stamp collecting - all the different pictures, shapes and sizes, plus the old fashioned romantic idea of letters bearing these stamps travelling round the world in the days before email. But, to me, coin collecting just seems somewhat dull in comparison. The Ladybird Coin Collecting book was first published in 1976 and therefore covered British coins up to the then new decimal currency. As well as detailing lots of British coins up to ... read more
Banner Making with Super+Super at Drink, Shop & Do
I had quite simply the most brilliant time at the Super+Super workshop at Drink, Shop & Do last week. I'm under absolutely no obligation to blog about it again, but I came home absolutely buzzing from it and therefore want tell you all about it. Firstly, the workshop itself. As I said last week it was put on by the publishers GMC to promote the two new books by Super+Super: Embroidery and Printmaking, and a review of both books will be coming soon. The aim of the workshop was for everyone to make their own banner on the night - either embroidering it or printing a design on to ... read more
First makes with my Cricut Explore
I dropped some pretty unsubtle hints to Mr C for what I wanted for Christmas last year. Ever since I went to the Handmade Fair back in September I've been longing to get my hands on a Cricut Explore. I saw Jen from Mum in The Mad House demonstrating one on the Cricut stand and I was completely blown away by what it was possible to do with it. Luckily for me, Mr C responds rather well to unsubtle hints (even if I did go as far as emailing him a link to one on the Hobbycraft website and an email containing a discount code too!) and come Christmas morning there was one very large box wrapped ... read more
How often do Brits bathe?
This is one of those subjects that I don't really like to put too much thought into. Many years of commuting on public transport and spending time with my nose in a stranger's armpit tells me that not everyone is a shower a day person like me sadly. Those people at LateRooms.com have done their research though and some of the results are rather shocking! I mean, who knew that the average Yorkshireman has 7 and a half times more baths in a year than most people? Or is that just because shower technology hasn't reached Yorkshire yet? Disclaimer: This post was brought to you in ... read more
Calming down after Christmas with a bedtime story
I don't know about you, but after Christmas here it seemed like the kids went more than a little bit loopy. I'm not sure if it was all to do with life being really busy with lots of friends and family to see over the holiday, or going away, or the influx of new toys for them both, but this year it's really taken a while for life to get back to normal. I've often found that the only time of the day that's been more predictable was just before bed. That nice bit of time when all the stress of getting them upstairs for a bath is behind you, and all that is left is a good old bedtime story and ... read more