Sweet

Today we are having double glazing fitted here at the Bramble house. We've had draughty single glazed aluminium windows since we moved in more than 20 years ago. We had hoped to afford replacement wooden sashes at some point. That's never going to happen (currently over £20,000 for a terraced house!) we now realise, so have opted for UPVC in green on the outside to give the illusion of painted frames as a compromise.

It's cold here so I decided to do some baking to warm myself up and keep myself busy.

I subscribe to these chocolates (yes, you can subscribe to chocolate!!!) and get twelve 35g bags a month.

I have a bit of a backlog so wanted to bake something where I could use them up.

And this is the recipe I chose - I must be the last person on the planet to try it and I can see why people rave about it.
It took thirteen packets of the chocolate to make the cookies and they are very rich, and massive too!
I was looking forward to eating one with a cup of tea, but as I've been nibbling the broken bits and now feel in need of a lie down from an overload of sugar, I shall save that treat for later!
Have you tried this recipe?
What do you think of it?
As the double glazing is going to take five days to fit I'll have to think of other bakes to keep warm - maybe a slightly healthier one next time (or maybe not, I am going to be the teenagers favourite person this week if I carry on like this!!)
Thanks for visiting.
xXx

Reasons to be Cheerful

I have started this post so many times, in my head, on paper, the computer...

Like many people I struggle in the winter months with 'low mood' (and to be honest, at other times too).  This is why I blog less during the winter even though I plan to blog more in the run up to Christmas!

I don't think I'm a full blown pessimist but nor am I a raging optimist either - I'd like to change that so after reading this article

(don't forget you can click on the pic to enlarge)

I have been listing three things everyday that have made me happy.
Some days I have struggled to find three things, and that's not because good things haven't happened...

Here are some examples of good things that have happened recently:



  Breakfast in bed courtesy of Mr B
All of us eating dinner together
Two new magazines delivered
Sunny weather
A friend called in to see me at work
Got lots done at work
YB made dinner
Enjoyed Meet and Make
Saw a squirrel in the library garden
New follower on blog

Today's will be:



Received a new magazine
Listening to music (The Beautiful South) on my Christmas present radio and Ipod dock.

 Whether or not I'm listening to music is a good indication of how I'm feeling. I love a good sing along but don't play music if I'm really down but I'm going to change that because how could I fail to be cheered by a sing-song?
I'm hoping number three will be that Mr B didn't work late!


How do you cheer yourself up?

This isn't meant to be a glum post but a post about appreciating the little things in life and doing so more. I am lucky to have a lovely family, great friends, a nice job, somewhere safe to live and so much more. I just need to remember it more!

This postcard (bought because I love typography) has been in my kitchen for a year or more, it's about time I took more notice of it!!

Thanks for visiting.

xXx

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you all!

xXx

Beautiful...

I just had to share this beautiful image of a snowflake with you

click here to read the fascinating article and see more stunning images of snowflakes.

Have a cool (sorry!) day

Thanks for visiting

xXx



I'm in the mood...

..for Christmas!!

For the first time in weeks I actually feel well and have some energy. It's taken me until now to get into the festive spirit and today, for the first time this year, I feel jolly and Christmassy.

I've spent the day so far tidying and cleaning, and have even enjoyed it (maybe I'm not better after all!). Enjoying the housework has come as a massive shock to me for sure!!

I have just received the last of the five deliveries I had arranged for today as I knew I'd be waiting in for an engineer so I'm also feeling organised and, OK, maybe just a tiny bit smug!

I'd like to share with you the gorgeous decoration I received from the swap organised by the lovely Ladybird Diaries.

Joy, who has a fabulous blog and is a talented crafts person made me this crocheted hanging decoration. As some of you know I love crochet but can't crochet myself so this is perfect for me.

Apparently, Joy made her own sparkly yarn by mixing in shiny thread which I am very impressed by, and couldn't imagine how she'd done it until I saw the picture on her blog, and also how she managed to get a perfect round shape.

Joy also generously sent me a box of chocolates that didn't last long enough to be photographed!

This is what I sent to Joy

I'm off now to catch up with your news and then wrap some presents whilst the casserole for dinner cooks in the oven.

So, this is what it feels like to be organised - amazing!!

How are you doing with your preparations for Christmas?

Thanks for visiting

xXx

Evening out

Despite having a stinky cold I'll soon be heading off here

to do this

really looking forward to it, and hoping there will be a shopping opportunity too!

Have a great evening

&

thank you for visiting

xXx



Christmas Shopping

On Saturday myself and Mr B took ourselves off to a nearby town that was hosting this

I thought it would be a good place to find some Christmas gifts.

And, I did buy this

for me

(the pier in my hometown).

And these  

for me

(wish I could have afforded the original paper cuts, but love the handmade bag/envelope - going to pinch this idea!)

 We then had a stroll around the town and I bought this vintage string dispenser

you've guessed it - for ME!!

Not quite the shopping I was planning, but I came home happy!

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

 

Yesterday I made some cards for the next craft fair

inspired by the letterpress designs I so love,

and these packs of note cards

And a few more Christmas cards,

my favourites being this

and especially this one

As always, thanks for visiting, reading and commenting.

It means so much to me...

xXx

...and, relax...

Hello,

how are you all?

(How did your craft fair go, Ali?)

I've missed you whilst preparing for the craft fair but I'm now gradually catching up with all of your news.

my stall

I'm pleased to say our craft fair was a success, with many lovely customers and talented makers.

I made a respectable amount and met some super people.

I was very restrained and only splashed out on a vintage watering can for a mere £7. Unlike the first craft fair I did when I spent almost all of my profit at the fair!!

 

Things to remember for the next fair are:

1. Do not believe your 15 year old when he tells you that having 4 friends to stay the night before the fair will not cause any problems as they will be quiet!

2. Remember to eat properly the day before so that you don't wake up at 2am with a rumbling tummy!

 

It was strange to wake up yesterday (Sunday) and have nothing to do for the craft fair - it was nice to have a 'day off'.

But, by today I was itching to make something so I made some cards.

My stock is very low so I'll need to get back to the making properly soon as the next craft fair is on the 14th December - not that far away.

 

Thanks for visiting

xXx



So Much to Do, So Little Time...

Why is it that, even though I know way in advance that a craft fair is approaching and seem to spend hours making things, I'm always frantically rushing to catch up in the weeks beforehand?!

source

As usual, there are going to be things that I wanted to do but have run out of time - embroidery pictures, button jars, lavender pillows, postcards, printed greetings cards.....etc.

Fortunately, another fair will be here sooner than I think!

 

I want to share with you a Christmas envelope from the swap organised by the talented Pen. I forgot to photograph mine before sending it off, if you're interested you can see it here. I doubt I could have photographed it as beautifully as Pen anyway!

And here is what I received

 

I love it and it will certainly be on display come Christmas, something else seemed to have sneaked into the envelope too - thank you Pen. I so enjoyed this swap! All of the envelopes were wonderful, well worth a look.

 

Well, off to do more hand sewing. I thought I'd cracked it by borrowing this DVD from the library to watch whilst sewing

and, as much as I loved it, it didn't turn out to be a well thought out choice as it's in french with subtitles and I was so engrossed that didn't get a lot of sewing done!

Have you seen it?

 

Thanks for visiting, and to all my followers new and old.

I'll be back soon.

xXx

Time flies and a thoughtful gift

Is it just me, or is time moving at a ridiculous rate at the moment?!

I worked on Saturday and yesterday was such a grotty day weather wise that I didn't leave the house. So what did I get done? Well, ehrm...good question! Very little - no craft, no baking, no watching Dave on Strictly - I did manage to devote a couple of hours to organising our next fair as I'd sort of let things slip a little! Oh, and I did read some of my book but that's about it!

Talking about reading and books, I must share with you this gorgeous bookmark made (and designed) especially for me by Chrissie. It's such a thoughtful gift - Chrissie knows I love crochet but can't crochet myself, and chose my favourite colour for the design. I am in awe of those teeny tiny and neat crochet stitches - thank you Chrissie.

 

 

 
The bookmark is right up there with my favourite, made for me by Youngest Boy several years ago - can you read what it says? "It's lovely to get away from the children to read my book" Aaah!


For those of you that can crochet, Chrissie has generously shared the pattern here.

 

I do think a pretty bookmark deserves a pretty book which is why I chose to photograph it in Lucy Worsley's fabulous book (we are big Lucy fans here in the Bramble household, we went to a talk she gave at our local theatre a few weeks ago and she is an excellent speaker - very entertaining) rather than the novel I'm currently reading!

 

Thanks for visiting

xXx