Is it just me or...

...do the blossoms seem INSANE this year.

We have two bushes/trees in our garden, both of which were here when we moved in.

Can you help identify them? 

They are both LOADED with blossoms at the moment and are so lovely, I would love to know what they are...

THIS ONE:

Pale pinky white blossoms

AND THIS ONE:

 They look similar (ish) but then what do I know?

Thanks in advance for ANY help you can provide...

x

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

 We put our Christmas Decorations up today... I think I might even have to crack open some mulled wine!

Excuse the poor quality of the photo's - the light was terrible... 

Twinkle light above the dining room table

Twinkle lights through to the Front Room

Don't twinkle lights just make you smile?

...and of course the TREE

Mittens & Tea

Don't hands just look alien when photographed?

My attempt at "proper" knitting - by which I mean actually knitting with a purpose!

Made up pattern - cast on 30 stitches, knitted with Chunky Wool

Love them!

There was a Christmas Local Crafters Sale in Newlyn on Sunday - so I popped along.  

Found this lovely little "Gadget Cosie" from the very talented Poppy Treffry

My new camera (Panasonic Lumix FP3) loves it!

Hope you are all staying warm in this cold snap!

Butterflies!

Back in this post- you will have seen that we have recently renovated parts of our house since we moved in!  To finish it off, I treated us to our first piece of "art!"  This was somewhat of a risk as I had never EVER seen the artist for "real" but seen her work in Ideal Home a couple of times, and also on the web and fallen in Love.  I plunged in and commissioned a piece I had fallen in love with...and have been waiting with baited breath ever since (some 5 weeks ago)

Well....today it arrived!!!  ...and I am SO SO SO PLEASED.

Colour is a little washed out - due to the snowy conditions! - this wall is actually quite green!

 

It is called "The one that got away"...see the little pink rascal top right?

All in situ above the new fireplace!

This is by an artist called Cissy Cook - and I am so happy!

Winter Wonderland

The snow from Monday had almost gone yesterday and my trip to Manchester was looking favourable.  However - this morning we awoke to this:

Our Front Steps...

 and this...

Our back garden...love all the little cat prints and bird prints in the snow

 We live on quite a steep hill that turns around a corner at the top... needless to say I thought it wise to stay at home today.  I probably could have got out - but there was no telling how I would have got on and I am just not willing to take that risk!  We probably didn't see more than about 25 cars coming and going all day - as it just hasn't really stopped snowing!  One of those vehicles was a SNOW PLOUGH!  The buses certainly decided the give it a miss

So I borrowed the neighbours kids and we built a little snowman (he was actually about 4ft high)

I leave you with a pic of Bilbo warming himself by the fire!

Hope you are all keeping warm in this cold snap!

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?

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

My new favourite utensil

Am I that far behind the times?  Do you all use these?  

I saw this suggestion on the Barefoot Contessa

My new Ice Cream Scoop
(that goop is destined to be Raspberry & White Chocolate Muffins)

It scoopes the PERFECT amount into each muffin case with NO MESS!

SEE!  No mess and all the same size ready to go in the oven

Fresh out of the oven - all nice, plump and round!

And all the same size and shape - OK now I just sound a little anal?

I have posted the recipe on my recipe's page

Talking of Autumn...

Couldn't resist...

Loving our new fire

One down...one more to go!

Been another busy few days (and more ahead my knees fear!). Work is now complete in the living room and we have almost finished putting it back together.

The floor complete - dance anyone?

The fireplace complete

The new porch door, and furniture back in

Another shot of the finished front room (you'll get bored soon)

A gratuitous shot of Bella - enjoying a bit of sun

The sofa all ready for cost evenings (typically the sun has been glorious the past few days)

The stairs - free of scary glass (handrail sat waiting to go up though LOL)

The Fireplace...

We have had a weekend of sanding, filling, more sanding, gas leak fixing (well that wasn't exactly us) and painting....LOTS of painting.

We now have paint on the ceiling and all the walls in the Front Room, as well as the fireplace uncovered for its first (draft) reveal... just imagine no rubbish in the way and skirting boards finished.

Most of the room is painted in a fairly neutral taupe (actually Natural Hessian to be precise) - but we chose to paint the chimney breast and alcoves in a mossy green (weirdly called "expectation") It looked VERY bold to begin with but I have quite fallen in love with it!

...and as an added bonus it sets the fireplace off nicely.

Still lots of furniture under covers, and cardboard on the floors, but we are getting there...

PS - what is it with names of Paint Colours... hours of amusement in B&Q laughing at paint names. Hmmm just me??

Lounge Floor Complete..

Still a little dusty...
No peeking at the fireplace still....
On the agenda this weekend: well it is our 11th Anniversary and I think we will be decorating...but what a gift!

Renovating again...

We have started the Lounge and Dining Room... This is a shot of the Entrance to the Dining Room from the Lounge before we moved in...

This is the Lounge - Note the Gas fire (didn't work and looked a bit scary)

This is the dining room...

After day one - this was the entrance way - all the thin scary glass has gone. The Laminate flooring is all up to reveal these delightful chequered tiles! Game of Chess anyone?

The fireplace and all the brickwork has gone - all chased out ready for the new fireplace! Hearth in too.

Skip ahead to Day Three and the floor is being laid... I do can't wait for the floor to be complete - LOVE IT. Still lots of decorating to be done - but that is our job!

More scary glass gone...

So - coming on nicely...

Back from Boston...and Lemon Cupcakes

Well - I am back from Boston....and my luggage eventually followed! It was great - lots of shopping, eating and the consumption of Cosmo's. The weather was HOT HOT HOT and VERY humid too. Our last day was particularly hot so we headed up to Marblehead and had lunch in the harbour there.

So this week I have been catching up. Today I did a little baking:

Lemon Cupcakes from Rachel Allen's BAKE