Pocket Money Buys and Giveaway Result

Saturday meant another trip to Bishops Castle to collect the clock we had left there for repair a couple of months ago. It wasn't good news as the clock continues to stop for no good reason. We know that it would be easy enough to buy a new clock but this one belonged to Rob's Gran and he would be incredibly sad to see it replaced. We still had to dodge showers although I'm sure the weather forecast had said otherwise. But we did manage a picnic and as usual I managed to spend some money, both in Bishops Castle and Church Stretton. I found the picture in Bishops Castle and am planning to use it in the lounge when it is redecorated later in the year. I found the two spotty mugs in Church Stretton. (We have a bit of a thing for spots going on in this house.)



Church Stretton also has a large antiques centre with prices to suit all pockets. It was there that I found these glasses. They are repro but only cost £6 for all six which I think is very reasonable. I'm sure that they'll get lots of use throughtout the year but thought they might be quite nice to use for mulled wine at Chistmas.

It's also time to announce the winner of the Cath Kidston bag. I put all names together and just drew one out. And the winner is - Lisa at Knitty, Vintage and Rosy. I'll be in touch for your details Lisa and get the bag in the post to you by the end of the week. I'm sorry I can't give all you lovely ladies one of these bags, I know how difficult they have been to get. To be honest I'm a bit put out because I haven't been able to find a floral one to keep for myself!

Cath Kidston Giveaway

I'm not caught up in the whole Cath Kidston thing but I am quite taken with these bags she has produced in conjunction with Tesco. They are made from recycled plastic bottles and profits from their sale go to Marie Curie Cancer Care. I believe that some branches are selling out fast so I've decided to give one bag away. If you would like this blue spotted bag for yourself then please leave a comment on this post by midnight on Sunday 13th July. I'll draw a name and announce the winner next week. Good Luck!

A Room With a View (Or Not as the Case May Be)

Last week I was tagged by Deborah of This Vintage Life. My task is to show you the view from my kitchen window. Well this one made me laugh! Do I have views of rolling countryside? No. Do I gaze out onto undulating hills? No. Maybe I can see a beautiful forest stretching into the distance as far as the eye can see? Not on your nelly. Everyday as I stand at the sink and peel the vegetables or wash the dishes my eyes feast on.............a wall! Well here goes with the views from my kitchen. Firstly I thought I would show you the window with all of its clutter and all of the stuff I always seem to need.


Next up is the view from the window itself.

I've also taken a couple of pictures from the kitchen doorway and the dining room so that you can see a little more of our exciting view.





See, I told you it was exciting! Thanks Deborah - it's been fun to do. I'm not going to tag specific people - but if you can come up with a view better (or worse) than a wall then please join in and let us have a peek.

Bits 'n' Pieces

I received this gorgeous bunting in the post last week but as yet I've not decided where to put it. For photographic purposes it's lying on the bed at the moment and I just don't think it would be practical if it lived there. Your suggestions are welcome. Bunting is one of those things that you don't really need do you? I am however a great believer in that famous William Morris quote. 'Have nothing in your homes unless you know to be useful or believe it to be beautiful.' (Apologies to Morris experts if I've added or missed out words there). I justify most of my buys using that maxim - and therefore I buy a lot of things that I believe to be beautiful and it's all Willaim Morris's fault! Althought I'm not sure that he meant that I should buy everything that is beautiful - perhaps he was the World's first de-clutterer and I can assure you that no de-cluttering goes on in my house.

This weekend has been a bit of a waste really. On Saturday I was at work all day and on Sunday the weather really didn't co-operate. Although the day was bright, the wind was so strong you really couldn't garden or do anything useful outside. Rob ended up acting as taxi driver for Josh and his friends who went to Games Workshop for their weekly dose of wargaming. That left me free to play so I made some of Tamasin's chocolate brownies


and some lemon curd.

I love this lemon curd which bears no resemblance to the awful gloop that's sold in the shops - and it only takes 4 minutes in the microwave. The problem is I never get to eat any myself as I'm always making it for friends or it just gets given away before I can get to it.

Playing Hookey

We had plenty we could do on Saturday - gardening, cleaning, washing, cooking. But the sun was shining, it was warm and you just have to make the most of the weather don't you? We decided that a day spent in Chipping Campden and Broadway would set us up for the rest of the week. That's our excuse anyway.

I love the mellow stone of the Cotswolds which looks beautiful in the warm sunshine or on a rain-soaked dreary day. The main street has a good selection of shops and houses that open straight out onto the pavement. If you are very naughty like me, you can usually peep into the windows and see the lovely interiors inside. I would also like to know why the Hollyhocks grow so much straighter in the Cotswolds. The ones in the picture above are straight and upright - one downpour of rain and mine will be lying on the garden dejectedly!

We had a leisurely walk around the shops and gazed at the properties we could never afford.

We met this cheeky little fellow too!

And of course - you can't have a nice day out without a nice cup of tea.

Favourite Day

I can't spend much time blogging today because it's my favourite day of the month - yes, Country Living has dropped onto the doormat and as usual the sound made me rush to the door to tear off its cellophane wrapper, get rid of all the advertising bumpff inside and settle down with a coffee just to flick through the pages until I find time this afternoon to sit quietly and lose myself for an hour until Josh arrives home from school with ripped trousers, unspeakable stains on his school tie demanding food and drink. Bliss.

I must show you the parcel I received from Nonnie's website Linen and Roses.

Waiting inside for me were these two dear little embroidered badges which I shall put onto my denim jacket.
Anyway, it's time I went to find some lunch, settle down and drool over the gorgeousness inside CL - at least until my gorgeous son arrives home from school and brings me back to the real world!

Shopping Day, Lazy Day

Saturday meant that our local farmers market was in town and these two bunches of Sweet William were amongst the lovely things there. It's always a pleasure to shop with the smell of herby sausages sizzling away or the spicy fragrance of samosas further down the street hot and ready to eat. There are preserves and plants, wine and cakes and on occasion we have even seen 'tree rabbit' for sale. My favourite stall is the vegetables and although not organic they are the best veg ever! The grower is local and doesn't use the usual array of pesticides and chemical fertilizers and you can really taste the difference in the produce that you buy. After all that activity though, when we arrived home we felt that we needed a little sustenance with a coffee and a Danish pastry.



I did summon up the energy later on arrange those flowers. They produced two lovely big arrangements - and all for £3.50.