The 1st of Many

(Too early for pictures mummy!)

A day early but I just know I'll be a bit too whacked tomorrow to get a chance to post. Tomorrow is the first big day in our little one's life, Archie will be 1 in the morning. On the one hand it feels like two minutes since I got a rather rude awakening at 2am, two weeks before I'd been expecting it, and on the other I can't remember what the world was like before he arrived.

(A day old and looking a bit perplexed!

Like his big brother he's a total joy and his beaming face is the highlight of my day.We're off to the farm at Chatsworth tomorrow with our friend Helen and her little ones, before a birthday treat of a teeny chocolate cake and some Quavers (?!). We'll be having a bit of a family gathering on Sunday (more cake - hurrah!) so tomorrow is the outing day and the forecast is great.

Its been birthday-tastic here recently, Barney was 4 two weeks ago and no sooner has the bunting come down than its going up again.

(Barney and the Sparklers - ignore the messy kitchen!)

So happy birthdays to my lovely birthday boys. Enjoy your day tomorrow littlest man. xx

Floral wonder

Does anyone else put a jug of flowers on a table and almost think of reasons to walk past them at any opportunity for a gaze?! Its amazing how flowers can lift you spirits isn't it and they're my favourite thing about the summer (wherever it went). This bunch of gorgeous shell pink stocks were a gift from my darling sister Rachel the other day when I was laid low with the lurgy, so sweet of her. I love stocks, especially the scent and I had them in my wedding bouquet. The cold's finally on the way out and I can smell them at last.

And this is a picture of my lovely hydrangeas I've been meaning to post. I want to dry them and according to Martha Stewart (who I think is supposed to be the goddess of the American home) in her magazine (which I bought in a petrol station in Hathersage which was a bit of an odd place to see something like this) I'm supposed to cut an inch off the bottom, put them in an inch of water, let it evaporate and then let the flowes dry out. Fingers crossed.

We went to the Leek Collector's Market today with the hope of finding a few bits and bobs but it was a bit quiet thanks to the miserable weather and I didn't come away with anything apart from some lovely smoked mackerel and cheeses from the farmer's market. I've got my eye out for a glass (but not crystal cut) candlestick, a china cup and saucer with a faded pink rose design and a wicker (help!) bicycle basket (I actually saw one of these last week for a fiver and didn't buy it for some silly reason). Obviously I don't need any of things but I really would like them if I can get them for a bargain.

Talking of which - I can hardly believe this - after months of trying I have finally won a vintage paisley eiderdown on ebay! I've lost out on so many because I could only afford to splash out around £40 and they really do go for a fortune, but this one was meant for me - yippee! Its quite pale with pink and red paisleys, just right to go with my faded red gingham and patchwork quilt. Its seems a bit daft to spend money on something which is only going to sit on the end of my bed but I love it.

So off to enjoy the rest of Saturday evening, Woody does a shift sub-editing on the paper on Saturdays so although its a bit lonesome its become my regular cosy evening of reading homes magazines, cutting out the best bits to fill my interiors scrapbooks, watching awful tv like X-factor which I cannot help watching, watching lovely tv like Doc Martin and Coast afterwards and eating my favourite chocolates (After Dinner mints, not a woman of refined tastes am I?!). Bliss.

Vintage Roses

I just had to post about this beautiful card I bought on ebay. Carol makes the most beautiful, hand embossed, vinatge style cards full of roses and Victorian prints. They're delivered with a hand embossed envelope plus a beautiful gift tag and embossed envelope seal. They're the loveliest cards I've ever come across and I'm afraid the person I was going to send mine to will be getting a card from my card bag, I just can't bear to part with this beauty.

Absolutely August

The second installment of monthly pleasures...

Agricultural shows - already mentioned and the highlight of my summer so I had to mention them again. I love everything from the show pony classes, giant vegetables, garden-on-a-plate contests, hospitality stands I never get into, the beer tent I sometimes do, tractor trade stands (they're always so clean and shiny), bat-a-rat, huge pies and cakes, sheepdog trials, farmers having a chance for a chat, placid-looking bulls, hot sheep, snoozing pigs, ice-cream etc, etc, etc!

School holidays - well just before school starts for us and although our routine has gone totally out of the window it's nice. Now we've actually had some nice weather it's been brill to get out early and go paddling and fishing, exploring the lanes and take time to enjoy the day rather than haring around quite so much.

Clothes - usually this time of year fills me with dread clothing wise. I'm not the possessor of a slender figure so bikinis, strappy tops, flimsy fabrics and I are not the best of friends. However, thanks to the dragons that are Trinny & Susannah, I think I've finally learnt how to dress myself in the summer without looking quite so much like a blancemange pouring over the side of a dish! The winter is so much easier with cords, woolly tights and knits but the summer is so tricky. I've finally worked out how to shop on ebay too and have got myself some gorgeous bargains from the likes of Boden and Kew which usually are beyond my budget or I miss in the sale. All the lovely blogs I've been reading have inspired my inner vintage style and my clothes are going in that direction too. This is my current fave, a Boden skirt, summery but not sloppy - I hope!

Haymaking - because of the bad weather its haymaking frenzy around here. All the farmers are taking advantage of this lovely break in the rain and we've been tractor spotting with a vengeance on car journeys. 10 points for a tractor, 15 for one with a trailer and 20 for a comby (not many in our neck of the woods). Competition is fierce! It's lovely rural scene and I do love to see fields with the old style rectangular bales. Sure the round ones are much easier for the farmers to deal with but they do remind me of these lovely Enid Blyton books I was totally immersed in as a child.

Birthdays, Bikes and Blogging

Four years ago this little bundle of black hair and beautiful blue eyes appeared in our lives, Now a blonde, funny and adorable little boy, Barney had a brilliant birthday in Wednesday. He's thrilled with his bike and workbench, complete with working toy drill from Grandma and Grandad, and is busily setting about unscrewing all the fixtures and fittings in the house! Happy Birthday Bodger!



Had a lovely family birthday tea after a great day at the Ashover Show. No cattle, sheep, goats or pigs because of the F&M outbreak but it was a gorgeous show, really traditional and held in mown fields surrounded by hedges and oak trees. Lovely weather and plenty of huge tractors to keep the boys entertained. I got half and hour to wander around the marquees and spent most of it in the Home Produce tent drooling over the cakes and jams. I love the fruit and veg competitions, longest bean, biggest onion, best set of tomatoes and all that. Aren't these eggs just lovely! The cut flower section was pretty impressive too, there are always beautiful dahlias at these shows. Must put them on the garden-to-be-list (I like the old fashioned pom-pom varieties). I just love Agricultural Shows and would go to one very weekend if I could. Its so lovely to discover a new show that not been commercialised or gone too corporate and still felt like a real celebration of the countryside.

Thank You!

This is so lovely, a big thank you to Kimberley for the Nice Matters Award. I now have the enviable task of passing it onto 7 others which is great. It's so nice to know that other people enjoy my random musings! Another huge thank you to Kimberley for my Pay It Forward gift, some beautiful terracotta napkins with the most delicate white lace edging. They're so lovely - haven't had a chance to take a picture yet but will do very soon. Also a quick apology - my pay it forward gifts are just being made now. Been a busy couple of weeks but they'll be on the way to the winners soon.

Mothering moments

This post is a thank you to my lovely mum. We had a smashing day together with the boys yesterday in the lovely village of Alstonefield. Nothing more exotic than a potter around the village church (where somw of my ancestors married and are buried mum tells me), sandwiches and ball games on the village green then ice creams at Hulme End.

It was so peaceful, relaxing and really fun. Thanks Mum! I really enjoy sharing moments like these and watching my two little ones having such fun with grandma was wodnerful. Its only as you get older you get to know your parents as real people isn't and since having the boys its helped me get to know mum even better. Only now do I really understand how much of what makes me, me, is what has been passed on so generously. I'm probably embarrassing her to death here but who cares - love you lots mum!

With the sun shining and nothing more to do than just enjoy ourselves it was very precious and I'll have very fond memories of a lovely day for years to come.