A Taggie for Shai

My first attempt at a 'Taggie'!

It is not difficult to make but I got some guidance from 'the ribbon retreat'. I used a baby blue fleece with the letter 'S' appliqued on and a tartan cotton for the backing. The ribbons are a mixture of textures to help soothe baby Shai. I sewed the ribbons a total of three times to make sure they are secure and not easily removed by pulling, chewing and general wear and tear!

Now, I can't wait to visit baby Shai, to have a cuddle and to leave him with his taggie for sleeping cuddles.

Warwick Castle with little ones

Our day out at Warwick castle was fantastic!

Our little 'Mike the knight', MJ, is fascinated by castles, knights and weapons at the moment and his father is fascinated by the Medieval period, so a trip to Warwick castle seemed like a winning idea.

Here's a little summary of what you might like to know before you make the worthwhile trip...

1. Cost- The entry fee is expensive for a family but there are ways around paying full price, such as booking online 7 days before, using Tesco points or like us, using a 2 for 1 voucher from Tesco. Car parking is an extra cost of £6.  There are lots of ways to spend more money inside the walls, such as making your own shield, face painting and souvenirs. Food was slightly more expensive than normal but not outrageous! Of course you can bring a picnic and if you don't fancy carrying it around all day you can go back to your car (which may be a decent walk away) to get it but just remember to have your hand stamped so you can return to the castle.

2. Kids- There are things for all ages to enjoy and appreciate but I would say that Lj at just under 2 yrs did not enjoy it so much! As pushchairs are not allowed in the indoor exhibitions, I had to carry her for most of the day and with the crowds of people I could not let her run free when we were outside. Note: I didn't see anywhere secure to leave our pushchair so we just had to abandon it and hope that people were honest and didn't move it or take it!

3. Time- We arrived as the doors were opening so we were able to park not to far from the castle and we didn't have to queue too long for our entry tickets...however, it didn't take long for the ground to fill up. It was not uncomfortably busy but there were lots of people around. We spent 5 hours looking around and saw most of the exhibitions but it would be easy to spend longer...there are alot of interesting things to look at and many timed shows to watch.

Final tips:
Bring an umbrella (if you suspect rain), something to put on the grass to sit on and a good nights sleep! 

Bunting for Toby

 

I feel like I have a back log of blog posts to complete. So if I can keep my eyes open for long enough, I'm going to try and complete some just now. 

It feels like awhile ago since I made this bunting for baby Toby but really it was just before the Easter holidays started. 

I finally used some of my treasured 'London traffic' fabric which I bought in 'beyond fabrics' on the Columbia Road, London. I still love it as much as the day I spent a long time looking at all the fabrics, trying to decide what to buy, leaving the shop only to return 10mins later to buy the said fabric! I hope Toby likes the cars, double decker buses and black taxis as much as I do!

Berlin 2012

Radisson Blu, AquaDom, 2004

DZ Bank by Architect, Frank O. Gehry. 2000

Holocaust Memorial by Architect, Peter Eisenman.2005

Jewish Museum by Architect, Daniel Libeskind. 2001

While at university studying architecture these things were being built and in all the magazines...finally I got to see them for myself and they did not disappoint. In fact, Berlin did not disappoint. M and I thoroughly enjoyed our few days break.

Cake a month:: Lemon and Poppy Seed Drizzle Cake

March:: Lemon and Poppy Seed Drizzle Cake from taste.com.au.

As an indulgence when out having coffee I will have a Lemon and Poppy seed muffin. I just love them...I think it is the combination of the lemony sharpness with the sweetness of the icing...yum.

So for this months cake I thought I would try my own Lemon and Poppy seed cake.

 This recipe I found on the web and it seemed to have good reviews so I thought It would be a good place to start. It was simple enough to make but not so simple on knowing when to take it out of the oven. The edges were browned and cooked but the centre was not cooked. Also there was too much mixture for the loaf tin so I made some muffins with the left overs which actually turned out better that the cake. Next time round I think I will make muffins instead as they cooked much more evenly and without holes in the centre! However, the ladies at 'Craft and Coffee' were not so fussy! As you can see from the photo just the heel ends were left. An afternoon coffee and slice for me and my in laws I think!

KONY 2012

Just last night M and I had a discussion on how we will spend our lives when the children have left home. I really hope and am quite determined that I will not spend my days wandering from one chore to the next, one shop to the next, one coffee morning to the next. Of course these things are nice and necessary but I also hope to have a purpose, a reason to make me want to jump out of bed and tackle the day. But what will that cause be? This is the question...will it be running my own little craft shop which teaches mums, children or whoever how to sew, to mend and to make...will it be helping at a women's hostel, loving women who have been given a raw deal in life...will it be interacting and listening to people who have no one else to talk to...I just don't know what it will be but I'm already looking for it.

Causes like this one make me even more determined to make a difference in this world...even if it is just a little at a time. Please take 30mins to watch this video. It may well change the course of your day...or life!

A spring morning in the forest

 As we left the cars in the car park and headed towards the forest my friend enquired as to whether I was enjoying these brighter and warmer days (she has heard my winter grumbles!). She couldn't have been closer to the truth. The last few days have brought warmer temperatures and brighter days and I feel like it is teasing me. It is almost warm enough to shed my coat...but I have been caught out on occasion. This morning in the forest we started with coats on, they were quite quickly removed but then put back on for our sit down snack, only to be removed when we started walking again!

It was beautiful weather, in a beautiful place with a little group of beautiful ladies. 

Hello Spring :)