Bird on the Wing

New Beginnings

I took a 1/2 day from work today - what a luxury to have some time to myself to do idle things!  I'm currently trying to drum up some items to sell on eBay - admittedly it's not that hard since I have tonnes of stuff lying around which is unused and unloved.  I have a deposit to pay for my wedding venue in two weeks, so I could do with a cash injection.  So far I've only managed to list one thing - my beloved Orla Kiely bag...

I was saving to use when one day I became totally uninspired by any of my other bags...however, that day hasn't yet come in the 6 months that I've owned it, so it might as well go.  I'm sure I won't be thinking about the loss of the bag on my wedding day.

I took a strole out into the garden today, as I usually do when I'm trying to avoid doing housework. I noticed that since the rain, a lot of my summer flowering plants are in bud, which is just so cute.

My roses...

The pinks...

 

My first Sweet Pea fleur...so pretty..

And plenty more nice things where they came from...

Anyway, I shall stop boring you with photos of my plants.  I do feel strangely proud of them though. 

I'm currently digging Facebook.  I have reluctantly joined it after point-blank refusing to each time I've been asked over the past week or so.  Anyway, I actually really like it.  Far more grown up than My Space, and actually a useful tool to keep in touch with your friends.  I would recommend it...although it can be addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you!  I'd like to put a widget link thingy up on my blog, but I have no idea how.  Nevermind.

Hey check this out...

http://www.myheritage.com

I love it!  Put any old silly photo of yourself in, and it finds your celebrity lookalikes.  Of course, it's incredibly flattering, and clearly not that accurate but us girls all deserve a bit of flattery right?  Even from a computer! :-)

Well good night bloggers of blogland.  Time to drag my ass away from this computer as I have a date with the television.

xoxo

Sitting Kitty

Katty kisses and kuddles to all of you.

Has it really been that long since I last posted?  Well yes it has, and I hang my head in shame.  I have been caught up in work commitments, entertaining friends and even organising a wedding.  In fact, as I type I'm half-watching this:

I love Martha.  Something niggley inside me feels like I shouldn't, but somehow I just can't help it!!  I've been tagging up wedding magazines, and in the British ones I've tagged a handful of pages which contain good ideas.  But in Martha Stewart's Wedding magazine, I've literally tagged every page.  I needn't have bothered tagging it at all!

So after watching this DVD, if I wasn't already briming with ideas, I'm now positively overflowing with them and becoming more and more confused & frustrated.  This whole wedding thing is really overwhelming and I have no idea which ideas to go for.  The Fiance and I are looking at wedding reception venues tomorrow, so I'm hoping I'll get a feeling from one of those so that I can actually make some decisions!! Wish me luck.

How glorious was the bank holiday rain?!  My garden was glowing afterwards.  Once the sun had come back out from behind the rain clouds, my pansies were smiling...

My sweet peas stretched up to the blue skies...

Even the lettuces plumped out their glossy leaves...

Now my bank holiday wasn't just filled with wholesome garden froilics.  No, unfortunately a very frivilous friend of mine came to stay and my bad side was unleashed...we shopping.  Non-thrifty shopping.  The sort of shopping that tortures my soul, not to mention my fiance (should he ever find out).  Oh yes it feels great at the time but oh so awful afterwards.  What can I say?  Sometimes I just cannot help myself.  Come meet my new Jimmy's...

And my fan-tastic Moo cards!

Not to mention a Jessica Simpson handbag (don't ask - I just loved the design and the leather), Chanel Poudre Douce (my skin is now a-glowing), a Burberry shearling jacket & cashmere jumper (don't ask - totally inappropriate for the season but both a bargain), a tonne of crafting rubber stamps (useful for wedding invites perhaps?), a crafting kit from QVC (so many uses...honestly), the Wedding Bible planner (obviously useful, right?), some North Face walking shoes in sunshine yellow (currently cannot resist yellow), new undies (Finance ruined 3 pairs all of mine in a dark wash) and a Cath Kidston peg bag (no more pegs on the line or lawn).

Now after becoming rediculousness personified, it's time to return from Cloud Cuckoo Land and realise that I'm not a millionaire (not even a hundredaire), I've got a wedding to save for, a mortgage to pay, and a fiance to keep!  And also to remember that there's...

...(thrifty eBay purchase!) xoxo

Where For Art Thou, Rain?

Can you remember the last time it rained?  It's supposed to be April, but there have been no showers to speak of.  Don't get me wrong, I love the warming sunrays after that bitter spell, but my beloved garden is being very demanding of me.  I have filled my borders with a lot of new perienials, seeds, veggies etc over the past month and because they need more watering than established plants, my waterbutt has run dry.  There's not even anymore water in the birdie rain measurer :o(

However there is something rewarding about watering the garden with your own fair hands.  The pansies seem to look up and smile at me more, the lettuces seem to grow fatter and the sweet peas reach for the sky seemingly on tippytoes.  Heartwarming stuff.

Speaking of sweetpeas - Sarah Raven, on last night's Gardener's World, said that I should snip off the tops.  Quite nervous about this suggestion.  What if the retailer has already done this? (ordered as seedlings from Crocus.co.uk).  I think I'll leave them be as they seem to be doing well.

My favourite flowers at the moment are the Primulas, particularly Primula denticulata ("Drumstick") and Primula Veris ("Cowslip"). There's just something so elegant yet characterful about them, don't you think?

So my plea to Mother Nature is for a few little droplets of rain.  I hope she can squeeze some out for us...although I'd like her to wait 'til the weekend is over as I'm just about to go to the races for a picnic!

xoxo

Happy Easter to everyone out there in Blogland.  I have been so spoilt by such lovely springtime blogs recently.  You are putting me to shame!

I've had a very busy few weeks.  Work has started to overrun my life, so I need to take the power back (as they say   .... not sure who) and get a grip on my own reality, as work isn't really real is it?  At least it doesn't feel like it is once I get home.

I hope everyone had a lovely long Easter weekend.  I certainly did.  Here's just a few little snippets of what I got up to.

1) I opened up my Apples for Jam book and actually made a real-life cake...

Mmm and very yummy it was too.  Just vanilla flavour.  But simple is often the best.

2) Went to Waddesdon Manor...

Our first Natural Trust dayout of 2007.  The gardens are inspiring, so...

3) I took stock of our garden...

What needed to be done?  I decided on a little bit of everything here there and everywhere!

4) So I rummaged through the undergrowth...

5)  Planted some flowers (in not so subtle colours)...

6) Made a sweetpea wigwam, and the boyfy planted some veggies in the veggie patch...

7) Played with the cattykins...

He isn't really the most red-eyed, fattiest, monster catty in the world. It's just pure fluff, honestly!

8) Hmm and what was that other thing?  Erm.  Oh, oh yeah, I got engaged...

;o)

xoxo

Eggs Before Bedtime

I was absolutely delighted to find these on the shelf at Tescos this week....

Pastel eggs!  How lovely!  Just chicken eggs as far as I'm aware, but I'm just entranced by the colours - even more so when you crack them open and the blue contrasts with the deep orange yolk.   I never knew eggs could be so exciting.

Ugh, would you mind if I just had a little rant?  No? Well, I'm currently sitting here in my dressing gown, with spot cream on my face.  The boyfriend has just staggered home from the pub, en-route to his friend's house for post-pub drinks.  He wanted to collect his coat.  Fair enough you might say, but he also brings two drunken mates along with him.  No warning and totally unannounced - so I couldn't even hide for goodness sake!  The cat has freaked out and I've had to be seen in a rotten dressing gown with spot cream on and crazy hair.  Then to top it off, since his drunken mates haven't visited us since we moved into the house, he suggests that they go upstairs to take a look around!!  Naturally I freak out even more, since about 5 minutes before they arrived, I got undressed leaving dirty laundry on the bedroom floor.  So, yes as you can imagine, I really enjoyed that traumatic incident right before bedtime.  Not.  I mean I like to welcome people to my home, but a little bit of warning is always nice.  Even if it's just a ding on the doorbell.  Pff.  Men eh?

Have a nice weekend all.  I am loving you and leaving you.  Bedfordshire is calling me.  Nite nite xoxo

ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Feline Fine

Just a quick one to say that I got my wish!  Please say hello to our little large bundle of feline-fluff, Shadow....

Shadow says "nice to meet you, but please excuse my red eyes. Mummy is a bit rubbish with the camera".

Shadow arrived on Sunday.  He is a 5 year old Ragdoll who needed rehoming.  And we have been granted the priviledge of offering him that new home.  All of a sudden, he's become our world.  He's only known us for four days, but already he has given us so much love, affection and happiness.  We really wouldn't be without him now. 

Isn't he handsome?!

I'm sure he is missing his original mummy, and he is still slowly settling into his new home, but when he's not checking out a new nook & crannie, he loves to partake in some belly rubs and ear tickles.  And with those big blue eyes looking up at us, who could refuse him? 

Well, they were the first of many photos of him that I'm sure I'll be showing you in months/years to come!  He seems to love the camera, so I shall indulge him on a regular basis. 

I must get back to the catty-cuddles now.  xoxoxo

Springtime Thrifties

Well I'm sorry to say that I've been incredibly lazy busy lately, and have neglected my blog.  It's startling how guilty I feel about it, especially as I've still been reading lots of other people's colourful blogs in the meantime.  In my defense, I have been working quite late for the past couple of week.  Sometimes the idea of sitting on the computer when I get home from work, having just spent the previous 8 hours on one, seems positively barbaric to my eyeballs.

So what's been going on?  Well I've been doing quite a lot of thrifting, quite a lot of gardening, and also going through the process of adopting a cat.  But more on that another time, once things are more finalised.  Let me tell you, it's terribly exciting though!

I just wanted to share this little character with you....I call him Hooty Owl.  He's a teapot!  Not a big teapot, but enough tea for one, which is all one really needs!  I got him from Anthropologie in New York, and smuggled him through customs in my handbag.  

Can I just say that Anthropologie is such a devine shop.  I'm almost glad that there are none in the UK, otherwise I would be somewhat poorer of time and of money.  Although  on the downside, the cashiers were a tad rude, and somethings rather overpriced. But heh.  Nothing's perfect, right?  And it was charming nonetheless.

Now look at these little darlings.  Pottery childrens shoes!  I happened to see them in the window of my village charity shop.  Within 60 seconds I marched straight in and snapped them up.  Boyfy thought they were real childrens shoes when he first saw them, and thought I'd gone totally crackers.  But even he appreciates their charm.  I don't think they're rare or anything, but they are a delight nonetheless don't you think?  I'd love to know if you've seen any similar.

I also found this cheerful cake stand.  I just loved the colours.  So spring-like.  I cannot wait to eat a yummy cake from it....all to myself of course.  I love my local charity shop.  There are clearly so many crazy people living in my area who just love to get rid of such lovely things.  Madness!  Not that I'm complaining :)

I have a few more thrifties that I want to share with you, but I'll save them for another day.  I hope to also have news of a catty nature, and some pictures to go with it.  Until then.... xoxo

Happy Belated Valentines...

Happy belated valentine's everyone!  The cupcake above is for all of you from New York City, with my love.

It's been ages since I last posted as I was lucky enough to spend Valentine's Day (and my birthday) in New York City.  My boyfriend & I had a lovely (if rather chilly!) time. 

We saw some amazing views....

...met many wonderful characters, ate some delicious food.....

...and drank gallons of "cworfee"....

walked many many miles, saw lots of inspirational and pretty things, even held an actual Oscar...

...and generally had our hearts filled with NYC lurve.  You can't beat coming home to England, but NYC, we will miss you.

xx

The Sun Came Out To Play

I thought I'd share last night's pudding with you.  I think raspberries are my favourite fruit.  Mainly because they feel like horses muzzles, don't you think?  Hmm, is muzzles a word?  I've confused myself.

Phew what a busy week I've had.  I've been in the office from 8.30am until 8pm pretty much every day.  Totally soul-sucking.  I would certainly like a job which is more forthcoming with pretty things and daylight.

We decided to de-stress and go to the Cotswolds Wildlife Park yesterday.  What a treat!  Blue skies and bright sunshine put us and the animals in the best of moods.  Look at these two chappies sunbathing by the pool...

And this little blighter wanted to lunch on my camera cord...

Yes, it was a beautiful day.  Even the Meerkats let their guard down and did a spot of sun worshipping in the sunniest spots...

Although not all of them.  I guess someone has to look out for the those pesky humans...

The zebras were enjoying the sunshine on their backs, whilst having a munch.

A wonderful day for all creatures great and small.  Who could ask for more?

xx

Memories needn't fade away...

Aah another lovely sunny Sunday morning.  Lately it seems as though Sunday morning is the only time I have to myself, so apologies for my blog turning into a weekly rather than daily affair.  I promise I will try harder!

Yesterday I decided to embark on the Scrapbooking bandwagon.  It's my mother-in-law's birthday today, and quite frankly, yesterday I couldn't be bothered to go into town to buy her a present.  I had already bought her some Cath Kidston bubble bath and hand cream (conveniently sold in Waitrose).  But I needed something extra, partly to say thankyou for making me so many beautiful curtains for our new home.  So having had the materials delivered from QVC on Friday, I thought I'd make her a little scrapbook with pictures of her Grandchildren etc etc.  I was working on it from 1pm until midnight, hardly ate a bean or drank a drop, but I loved every single minute of it.  Here are a few of the 20 (yes, 20!!) pages.  They are rather basic, but I had limited materials and time!  Please click on the piccies to enlarge them.

So, the question of the day is:  Should I keep my spare bedroom carpet? 

The carpet in question was left by the old lady who we bought the house from.  I think she said that it's from the 1940's, and I actually really love it.  It has a lovely bright pattern, and that hand woven look which is just charming.  However, they didn't have fitted carpet in the 1940's, and so when she took it from her original house and laid it in this house, it doesn't quite fit the room.  The old lady filled round the edges of the carpet with blocks of another carpet.  Needless to say, it looks rubbish.  So do I ditch the carpet? 

I would like to perhaps turn it into a lovely rug, but I haven't really had any luck with finding a company that would do that for me.  (If any of you knows of anyone, please post me a comment!).  I don't really have another smaller room that it could fit into, and I would hate for it to rot up in the loft.  Equally, I'm not sure that anyone would buy it, but it seems an awful shame to just chuck it out.  *sigh* such treasures really can tug painfully on heart-strings, but a decision must be made within a couple of weeks since we are starting to redecorate the spare bedroom.

Well, as much as I'd love to, I can't spend all day on here being whimsical, as there are supermarket errands to be run, and a fair bit of ironing and hoovering too.  Until next time... xx