Looking fairly festive!

View from our Spare Room on Monday morning!

Most of the snow has now disappeared... a little left on the grassy area's.  

Don't think we are in store for any more - I hope not as I am off up to Manchester on Thursday morning!   Fingers crossed

xx

Chilled Sunday...

Coffee just fills the kitchen with a comforting smell....Mmmm

On Friday night about 11pm, we had the biggest hail shower I have EVER experienced.  It lasted a good 20 - 30 mins!?! and ended with a very dramatic and very FINAL flash of lightening and loud clap of thunder!  When it was over - we were left with about 3cm's of small white balls EVERYWHERE.  Sometime in the middle of the night we had a light dusting of snow too - so we awoke on Saturday morning to a thin blanket of white - all be it mostly ICE and not actual snow!

Last night we walked to some friends - or should I say slid/skidded to some friends for dinner... it was quite an amusing journey!

So...today was definitely a Sunday to just brew some nice coffee, and spend a little time in the kitchen.

Home made muesli!

I made our Muesli for the week...

Baked a gooey gingerbread, and had a stew bubbling very slowly in the oven all by 3 o'clock!  Very satisfying .

The fire is now lit and I am not moving away from it (we are due more snow tonight)

Happy Sunday everyone - Stay safe in the snow if you have some!

In the garden...

Goldfinch on the teasles

Growing up, and even now I love visiting my Nan & Gramps house, as they live in a Bungalow on quite a large plot of land and get LOADS of wildlife (birds, squirrels, hedgehogs, foxes etc etc).  Now - we pretty much have the same - who knew I was such a lover of bird watching (man it is SUCH a time waster)

When we first started looking for houses in Cornwall - we looked mostly in town.  We (read I) fell in love with a lovely old 3 storey town house, but it wasn't to be.  All of these houses had one thing in common - NO GARDEN to speak of.  We initially didn't think much of this as you had a sea view.... I mean a sea view - what more could you want???

Cute little Bluetit.  I did have one of the Coal tit - but it is just a BLUR 

Well.... now we have moved into the house we are in (slightly aware from town and the seafront - but we do have what estate agents call "a sea glimpse")  WOW how important is the garden???  Er VERY!  We love our garden.  We are lucky enough to be only Semi-attached (end of terrace) and also on a corner of the road so our garden just happens to be one of the biggest! 

Spotted in the garden today:

• Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Long Tail Tit (so so cute)
• Blackbirds (Mr & Mrs)
• Magpie, Jackdaws, Rooks
• Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch
• Black Cap
• House Sparrow (Mr & Mrs)
• Dunnock, Wren
• Robin
• Pied Wagtail
• Collared Doves
• Herring Gulls

Wow - that is quite a list!!!  Here are a few photo's (varying quality as they are quick little things) 

Female finch of some kind?

Paris - you have my heart...

...especially at this time of year.

My very good friend and I usually take a little girlie shopping trip to Paris this time of year - at least we have for the past 5 years of so.  This year I have not managed it, due to all the house demo and decoration.  Don't get me wrong - I love that we have done the house, but now it is getting close to Christmas I am beginning to miss our little trip.

I will miss our visits to Fauchon, Laduree and Le Bon Marche 

(all food related you might notice)

All the inviting and somewhat extravagant window displays, the sparkly Eiffel Tower and just the general feel of the city in Winter.  We have made several trips at other times of the year also... but it is not the same and we have now most definitely settled on Winter visits.

Oh and eating in our most favourite of restaurants La Terrasse

Ho Hum - I have just lit the fire, so that makes up for it!  

(I have change my background just so that I can get the feel)

It's not even Christmas yet...

I have very satisfyingly kicked my Christmas list's BUTT this weekend, all thanks to the world wide interweb!  I love virtual shopping - the crowds are so considerate and you don't have to queue for a coffee.  Don't get me wrong - I do like a spot of "real" Christmas shopping too - but I have seriously got Christmas more under control now after a little virtual retail therapy!  I am heading to Manchester to see Biffy Clyro in concert with a good buddy early December so I will definitely get my Christmas Shopping fix then (at the Shopping Gigantor that is the Trafford Centre).

This weekend we looked after our friend's little girl - she is SO adorable and was VERY VERY good - she should most certainly be on Santa's Nice list!  So when some of my hard earned Christmas loot arrived courtesy of Amazon on Saturday morning - the box was just too good (and BIG) to pass up...

Busy with the felt tips!

Peek-a-boo

Hubby had to take a rear shot to get his handy work in (The Chimney)

Aren't the boxes always the best part at that age... ok ok - any age - we have fun too!!

My first wrist warmers...

I am calling them wrist warmers as I would certainly be playing a little fast and loose with the words glove, mitten or even fingerless gloves - but I am giving them a go.  This all started with a trip to M&S with my mum where we saw these lovelies.  They were super soft, super snugly but also super expensive.  Now you can tell my brain has started to turn crafty when the next words out of my mouth were "that is crazy, they would be so easy to make!!"

So - next stop is my local knitting shop!  ... 45 mins later (quite what we were doing I don't know) - I purchased some King Cole Mirage 872!

The gloves didn't have thumb holes, or fingers.  Basically just a knitted square sewn up one side with a hole left where the thumb sticks out!  So here I go....I have started! 


I love how subtle these colours are...

I have done a few rows of rib at the bottom (my first RIB STITCH ever!)  and then plain stocking stitch.... I will finish off with a final few rows of RIB I think.... watch this space, it may take me a while

Learning to Crochet...?

A bit of a question here really...I would like to learn to crochet, can anyone recommend a beginners book?  Not sure if it makes a difference but I am left handed.  All suggestions GRATEFULLY received...can you tell I have been watching the BELOW??

Kirstie's Homemade Home

This has just started on Channel 4 - so that is me set for a little while...