If i could have just one room meme

I've been tagged by the lovely Gina at Cold Tea & Smelly Nappies in her meme
http://www.coldteaandsmellynappies.co.uk/if-i-could-have-just-one-room/

"If I could have just one room"...Cor, this got me thinking! One room all to myself?! No kids? Wow, anything , even if its not a kid friendly place...?!

Well I would defiantly have to go for shabby chic lounge. A very impractical, white, cream, splash of purple, pretty place..... to sit, knit, read and slouch :o) Can I go there now please?!

http://www.pinterest.com/pieceoflittleme/lounge/

It would have to have a chaise longue, fresh scented flowers, a sunny gorgeous sea view ,candlesticks and lots of lovely knick-nak ornaments :o)

I can feel myself relaxing already! What kind of room would you have?
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apple day jam scrapbooking

Good morning all, and its half term , yippee! Phew. We have survived our first ever half term at big school. I don't know who is more tired, me or the kids lol! Hopefully lots of fun times this week to photo and scrapbook.

Here is my latest layout. Its of my first ever jam making success! My first attempt at jam making, blackberry jam, solidified over night :o(. However, this apple day jam is still going strong and tasting yummy. Hooray! Made with apples fresh from a friends allotment.

Materials:

apple cider papers : Bo Bunny  2012

wooden tree : Hobby Craft

buttons

gems

punched leaves

borders and phrases: Bo Bunny

alphabets: Crate Paper and We R Memory Keepers

oven glove brads

Ranger pearls

Tim Holtz distress ink

Tools:

leaf punch

Techniques:

inking

tearing

punching

ranger pearls

I was inspired by the scrap365 sketch challenge :http://sketchbook365.blogspot.co.uk/ and have entered it into the competition.

I hope you like it

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Apple Day

Hello!

So who celebrated Apple Day this Year then? Apple day is traditionally on October 21st. The first one being held in 1990 in Covent Garden, London.

We have done various things including National Trust events and Coast &Country side events which have included cider tasting, juice making, apple throwing games, apple story telling...etc but this year we decided to have our own apple weekend at home :o)

We have 2 apple trees in the garden but they are still too young to produce much fruit, (only 4 yrs old), but a friend had given me 3lb of cooking apples from her allotment so I thought i'd make some jams! You can see the results above. This is the first success I have had with jam (mine tend to solidify overnight) . Hurrah! I have even given one to a friend, so we shall see what the verdict is. 

We also had some old apples left in the fruit bowl so we did some apple painting and printing with them. The kids had great fun.

We combined our apple day/weekend with some conker and leaf hunting. We collected 123 conkers, that was good counting practice for the kids! We made leaf rubbings, conker animals, conker collages, conker rolling with paint and some other ideas from pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/pieceoflittleme/conkers/.

I love taking the kids outside for the weekends and helping them to have fun in nature. I think too many young kids seem to spend time indoors on computers or in front of the TV.

What did you do for apple day?

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101 Uses for innocent big knit hats

Well, not quite 101 uses, but there are a few I can think of off the top of my head! I am looking forward to purchasing some hats to help raise money; wouldn't it be so funny to see your knitted hats at your local supermarket...not much chance of that I suppose!

At Knit & Natter last night we knitted/crocheted some more to send away. We now have 13. Not bad for the first year of participating I think. Whether you've knitted or not, please do buy a hat, you will be raising valuable money for Age UK which is a fantastic charity  http://www.ageuk.org.uk/.

So, what can you do with them once you've bought one?

Here's a fun list of ideas!

1. Use them as egg cosys for boiled eggs or easter eggs

2. Stuff them with cotton wool and play skittles with them with the kids.

3. Use as mini dolls hats

4. Fill with chocolates or sweets and put in the children's stockings at Christmas.

5. Decorate the top of your mug tree with them

6. Place one on the top of your kitchen roll holder

7. Get matching ones for bathroom shampoo and conditioner bottles

8. Put on the top of kids classroom water bottles

9. Brighten up your washing up liquid bottles with a fruity melon one

10. Buy several and make into a garland for the kids bedrooms

11. Put an "I Love You" message on one and pop the hat on your partners desk.

Have fun with your hats
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River Cottage day

With the starting of the new River Cottage series last night (wasn't it great), I thought I'd write about the day I had at River Cottage HQ last summer (Aug 2013)!

As a wedding anniversary present my husband and I went. It was also a welcome day out without the kids for the 1st time in 4 years, yes, FOUR years!! I love River Cottage and what it stands for too, and I've watched all the series, so where better to do a cookery course?! Plus, being a mum, I'm always wanting to feed my munchkins the best food and embed in them a love of cooking. I thought this would inspire and equip me a little better.

So the day of the cookery course arrives and I think "are the kids going to be good", "did I pack enough lunch for them", "are we leaving home early enough", "will it be worth the money", "will it be fun too", "what should I wear"?????...

Well, yes yes yes. We had a fabulous day with like minded people :o). After our arrival by tractor, down the hill from the car park, and after our welcoming snack awaiting us of scrambled egg on toast with a hot cuppa, we cooked four dishes.

Our Chef for the day was Andy, and working with him was Chef Leon. They were excellent teachers, they didn't talk too fast , they were very encouraging and made the day informative and interesting, as well as fun. The first meal we made was a "snack" of pigeon on polenta. This was delicious, even if I did make it my self , and we even had fresh flowers on our tables to add to the experience! I've not eaten pigeon before. It gave my husband and I the confidence to try cooking it at home.

We then made a starter of home-made bread, minestrone soup with home-made pasta, fresh veggies picked from the River Cottage garden. We followed this up with mackerel and greens, and then finished with blackcurrant ripple ice cream, yum!

I've never made from scratch before. it was surprisingly easy and really good fun. we were allowed our own artistic license to design our pasta shapes. ..I think I still need a little practice as bows and twists were rather chunky!! still tasted great though!

The mackerel came as a whole fish we needed to fillet. I've never really realised what a beautiful looking fish it is until we saw 20 of them ready to be used, all glistening and shining. Andy showed us how to go about the filleting and advised us on freshness of fish, knives, sharpening and obviously kitchen safety. It was a very open atmosphere where you could ask questions.

The desert was fun to make. We all made our own custards , joined forces and created one big batch of ice cream using River Cottage blackcurrants. The ice cream was DIVINE! The best I have ever tasted, so smooth , creamy and fruity.

We had such a fun time, cooked loads, ate loads and made nice friends. We even got a chance to look around the River Cottage site, meet the chickens, and go inside the house/veg garden for ourselves :o).

I would definitely do another course there. In fact whilst we were there there was a meat curing course too, that smelt and looked amazing, so I might have a go at that at our next big anniversary!! I am cooking more with the kids and being more adventurous in my own cooking now, also going for fresh and made from scratch more often as it tastes SOOOO much nicer doesn't it?!

I suppose the only grumble I would have was that the wine with the meal, (you could order wine if you wanted to go with your meal), actually arrived after we had finished eating! Also, i would perhaps prefer to have the handouts at the start of the day so you know what bits to take notes on, and what bits are already written down for you. other than that it was a great day out.

If you fancy a River Cottage course then take a look at their site.

http://www.rivercottage.net/shop/

How about you? Have you been on any cookery courses? Did they inspire you? Would you recommend them?

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The Big Knit

Good morning! 

So have any of you heard of The Big Knit?  I hadn't until yesterday... I came across it whilst reading someone else's blog.

The Big Knit involves knitting little hats for "innocent smoothies" bottles. The deadline is the end of October. In November and December innocent will top all their bottles with these little hats and sell them :o) 25p from each bottle goes to Age Uk - http://www.ageuk.org.uk/

Age Uk use the money to help the elderly keep warm and active during the winter months.

Its a great cause. I just wish I had heard about it sooner. Next week at "knit and natter" I'm hoping some of us might knit a few to send off.

You can see above what I have managed to do so far!

There's the wooltermelon one and the doodles bobble hat. The bobble hat was pretty straight forward to knit...the pattern is on the Big Knit website. The wooltermelon one was not as easy as it looks! It was my first try at beading. I don't really think it worked...and I'm not sure why! The beads have fallen into the inside of the hat, so you can hardly see them. Maybe the beads were too big? Maybe I didn't thread them on correctly? A bit of You Tubing tonight I think, to see if I can rectify it :o)

Knit a few yourself or have a go at the knitting game on the website. 

http://thebigknit.co.uk/

Any beading advice gratefully received

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getting ready for christmas

On my new weekly schedule, Tuesday is my day for blogging...can you tell?!!

I've just finished my handful of autumn that i wrote about last week, and here is the result.

The items are now hanging up along our fireplace giving us that warm and cosy autumn feel. My favourite is the pumpkin, the hardest was the conker, the least realistic is probably the filed mouse on the left...my mum thought it was a bat...oops, i think i needed to do lighter coloured ears!

I still haven't braved knitting some oak leaves yet to go with the rest of the items, not sure whether its a bit too ambitious.

I'm starting to think about my Christmas knits now. The kids want me to knit full size stockings for them...eek. I rather fancy knitting a Christmas garland and some snowmen for the fireplace. The latest copy of the knitting magazines have inspired me! I'm a sucker for buying knitting mags I'm afraid!
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Me time

Happy Tuesday everybody!

So who has had some "me time" in this last week? Spent some time on their own with themselves, hobbies or in their favourite "me time" place...no jobs , no chores, no responsibilities....

So I'm not the only one then who has a mere shadow of a memory from when they had time to themselves last month, last summer or last year even...?

This weekend I sat down and wrote out a chart of our weekly activities, jobs & chores.

Now that munchkin no.1 is at school, we seem to have more to do than ever. There's the reading, phonics practice, writing practice, collages about this or that, after school clubs, swimming lessons, friends back for tea, mountains of school uniform washing... how did I ever think I would have more time once he was at school full time?

I don't know which is worse for loosing out on "me time": working mums who are always juggling jobs and home, or "stay at home" mums who are always at home surrounded by toys and an untidy house ,and feel they should be doing spectacular activities with their munckins and hosting super coffee mornings for others?

What I do know is that "me time" is important. You cannot be on call 24/7 without stress accumulating. If we are to give kids/work/partners the best of ourselves, we need time to rejuvenate, be at peace with ourselves, unwind and nurture our souls.

The Oxford dictionary describes "me time" as:

'time spent relaxing on one’s own as opposed to working or doing things for others, seen as an opportunity to reduce stress or restore energy'

so why do we feel so bad about taking time out? 

There's the perception that we are lazy, selfish, have our priorities wrong. Or maybe we don't take "me time" because we don't like ourselves very much? 

I am challenging us to schedule "me time" each week, even everyday, what? yes everyday. In order to look after ourselves and cherish ourselves. In my weekly planner I referred to earlier on, I have scheduled me time 5 days a week. It ranges from half hour slots during a nap time, or an hour in the evening when the kids have gone to bed. 

A couple of days after starting this i feel the benefit already. My jobs /housework time is more productive, and when the stresses and strains of the week come upon me i always have in the back of my mind the next "me time" is coming soon. The next step is to encourage hubby to do the same...perhaps take it in turns to play with the kids for an hour at the weekend before we go out for the day as a family.

What to do in "me time"?

Well, it takes a bit of practice, but there's a few things I like to do .

1. Knitting for myself

2. Scrapbooking

3.Reading

4. Theres a spot by the sea I like to drive to and sit and look at the waves. 

5. Having a costa hot chocolate in the supemarket cafe.

6. Meditation
7. Taking photographs

Cherish yourselves this week by planning time to do your jobs AND have "me time". It can be done!

What others say about "me time":

"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.”
― Marilyn Monroe


Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”
― Gautama Buddha



“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.”

― Dalai Lama XIV



"It's often said that a mum is the engine room of the family. But even if she's running on Duracell batteries, she can't survive at optimum levels if she doesn't have a bit of time to herself"

-Daily Telegraph Nov 2008

what do you like to do for "me time"? 
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5 creative kids things for autumn half term

Heeeeelp, its half term soon!

Ok, so , i got up this morning and thought hooray! its the weekend. Don't you just love the weekend?! ...No rushing breakfast (what breakfast), no rushing to get dressed, no rushing to walk to school. Bliss, a whole day of chilling with the kids. Time with the kids is so precious now.

Then i thought i'd start planning half term - only 3 weeks to go, yey! What did we do last year for autumn half term? What did i used to do with the kids before the whole school chapter started?

So don't panic when it gets to half term because here are 5 creative things you can do with the kids.

1. Geocaching.

The kids and I love this. Check out the official website.  http://www.geocaching.com/ . It tells you more about it and will show you where there are caches local to you.

Basically you find where your local ones are, either on the website or download the app to your mobile phone. Then go out with your mobile phone which will direct you to them using the phones GPS signals. The caches to hunt for are all shapes and sizes, from the size of a finger nail to big lunch box size ones. They are hidden all over the place in towns , countryside , residential areas and holiday locations ...ALL OVER THE WORLD! So you will never be short of a cache to find. The large ones are best for kids as they have toys in to swap. The mini ones are great for adults as they are such a challenge to find.

Its a giant world wide treasure hunt.

 Look over there mummy - we've found the cache!!

Some of the geocaches are really cute for kids like this duck one!

Sneakiest we've seen...drilled into a fallen piece of bark!

smallest cache we've seen

2. Leaf printing pictures/autumn posters

Go and collect some gorgeous autumn coloured leaves and print stick and play with them. last year we made an autumn collage and learnt all about the seasons.

3. Go conker hunting to play conker games - 

This website has some great info about conkers and different games to play. my kids love hunting for conkers and then hiding them round the house for me to find.
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/conkers.html

4. Apple days 

I have never been to a bad "apple day" ...not yet anyway. We've been to various ones over the years, but i think the best so far was by the National Trust at Killerton, Devon. http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/killerton/things-to-see-and-do/events/. This year it is on 19/20 October, if you get a chance do go along

We were able to make our own apple juice, do apple throwing games, buy apple and blackberry crumbles & apple sauces, listen to apple stories for the kids, take part in morris dancing, wood turning for the kids...it was excellent.

Look out for ones local to you.

Apple art

 Apple throwing games for the kids

Morris dancing

5. Pumpkin carving 

I've not actually done this with the kids yet, but I really want to try some of the kid friendly designs out there. Check out this one of Hello Kitty by pinkblondgittery. My daughter would love it. Plus I've always wanted to try a pumpkin soup or yummy recipe to warm the bones on a damp autumn evening,

http://pinkblondglitteryhellokittyobsession.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/hello-kitty-halloween-c.html

What creative ideas have you got for half term?
Have fun
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gorilla fun

*The Great Gorillas Project - for Paignton Zoo's 90th anniversary

This summer we were challenged to

take part in the Gorilla trail around Torbay and Exeter! There are 30 life size Gorillas decorated by local artists to spot, and 20 or so half size ones, decorated by schools, to find too. Artists include Kirstie Allsopp http://kirstieallsopp.co.uk/ from Channel 4's Handmade Britain!

The idea is to raise awareness of and funds for gorilla conservation. All 30 of the gorillas will be auctioned on Wednesday 6th November for charity.

If you spot all 30 life size gorillas before October 13th 2013, you can enter a competition to meet Paignton Zoo's real gorillas :o) more info here:  http://www.greatgorillas.org.uk/

                                                                  montage of our 30 gorilla finds

Well, we finished our trail on Sunday, and the kids have LOVED it! Munchkin no.2 cried on the way home because she wanted to see another one, and i had to tell her she'd seen them all now! We have had hugging, kissing and dancing with the gorillas we have met! (the kids, not me!)

The kids favourite one was "Hanky Panky on Holiday" which is in Torquay near the library. He has a hanky hat, shorts and sandals on! My favourite was probably "Poirot", in Hoopers shop window, Torquay.

It is decorated as a murder scene from one of Agatha Christies books; very clever. Although "Darth Vader" in Harlequin shopping centre; Exeter was very clever too, and there are activities (games/colouring) for the kids to do there too. "Skins" in Exeter was pretty amazing too.

                                                                                    "Skins"

There is also a mystery gorilla, "Lilo", to find. "Lilo" moves about every 2 weeks i think. We managed to spot him when he was in Torquay.  I think he is now in Brixham...?!

                                                                          "Lilo"
Well, we had lots of fun and visited lovely places to see them all. There are 2 weeks left to go, so if you get a chance, do pop out and see a few before they are moved back to the zoo. Its a fantastic art exhibition
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Basic pizza dough recipe

Basic pizza dough

This is enough for our family of 4. My recipe is a mixture of ones i have used over the years, tweaked, amalgamated and adapted to suit us. The kids love to help me make it.

12oz plain white flour
1 teasp salt
7g packet of dried yeast
1 teasp caster sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
8fl oz hot tap water

Method: mix all dry ingredients together, mix in wet ingredients. kneed for 5 mins. Leave to rise in a covered bowl for 1hr 30. roll out. cover with toppings. cook on 200'c for 15 mins

Toppings: we use oregano, salt, pepper, ketchup, tomato purée, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, sliced beef, spring onions, red peppers, cheese...that's our favourite and the moment!


I hope you like it!
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