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Showing posts from 2015

The best party ever?

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Eight years ago I went to the best - and the worst - party I think I'll ever go to. Hard to imagine something so beautiful could, in fact, be one of the most painful evenings of my life.  It was a small gathering, just my parents and me, together in a small space, holding hands, laughing, crying, reminiscing, deliberating. So much discussion with, in fact, so few words. We remembered family holidays - those camping trips in the 70's which were our own version of Emma Kennedy's The Tent, The Bucket and Me . My Dad would pack EVERYTHING into Mum's Mini, the tent taking up the whole boot, the car filled to the rafters with everything else. He would build me a seat on top of a few boxes and then pack the car around me! And we'd be off, 'up north' with several other families to a campsite (I use that term VERY loosely - my memory is that it was simply a field with one downpipe on the edge of a forest and near a VERY cold stream that we washed in - if w

Filling the time before lunch...

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Last Saturday was a most glorious autumn day - slightly chilly but beautifully sunny. More of a lightweight cardigan day than the full on scarf and boots day the week turned into.  Looking to kill an hour before lunch, I encouraged my littlest daughter and her friend to make an autumn mobile each rather than start watching TV.  First up, we grabbed a basket and headed out in search of 'treasure'. As it turned out we didn't have to venture far before we found loads of gorgeous leaves; the colours a mix of reds and greens with a bit of yellow and orange thrown in too. We had such a lovely time sorting through the piles of leaves that our plan for a major nature trail soon turned into more of a 'find your favourite leaves from this massive pile'! It was hard not to pick them all up! (You'll notice Fudge Bear, the class mascot, helping out too!) Home we went and laid out our stick (that the leaves would be hanging from) on the patio table and

San Francisco, I love you!

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Now, if you were to ask me what I loved most about San Francisco, my answer will always be "my best friend lives there"! S ince you're about to visit, you would also ask me what you should see whilst you're there, and that would be trickier to answer. There are so many great things to see and do whatever time of year you visit. To be honest, though, I could happily do nothing more than hang out with my BFF drinking lattes and martinis (not at the same time, I hasten to add), but that's not so helpful, is it?! Places I love to visit in SF Golden Gate Park : take a stroll (or run!) through the park, breathe in the smell of eucalyptus, catch a glimpse of Tai Chi in action, soak up the sun through the trees and enjoy!  For a bit of culture (and a great view over the city & Golden Gate Bridge) head to the De Young museum and up to the viewing level. Amazing, every time!   There's also a fantastic slide in the Koret Children's Quarter,

Mrs Rich's world famous and most delicious granola!

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It's true, this granola is my favourite and my best and has been enjoyed by many the world over. Just about everyone who tastes it loves it (I don't think there is one person who hasn't yet) and then asks for the recipe, so I thought I would share it with you, lovely one. This is your lucky day!!  It's the simplest recipe - but aren't they often the best?! Ingredients 300g porridge oats 100g flaked almonds 50g sesame seeds 50g sunflower & pumpkin seed mix 125ml maple syrup 2tbs runny honey 2tbs vegetable oil 1tsp vanilla essence 50g dessicated coconut 100g dried berries (we love cranberries but you can use any!) Method Mix together the dry ingredients (but don't include the coconut or berries) in a bowl. Mix the liquids together well then add them to the dry ingredients. Give a really good stir, making sure that all the dry stuff gets covered in the syrupy mix. Then tip the mix onto a baking sheet s

Week Two : 100 days of LOVELINESS

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Another week of really lovely things. Here are the photos from this last week -  8/100 Crafting for pre-schoolers celebrating the sunshine 9/100 Letter writing - an off overlooked craft 10/100 Water fights in the back garden 11/100 Fundraising for Water Aid at a Pamper Night 12/100 Liberty fabric 13/100 Homemade Granola 14/100 Sewing at home 15/100 Hanging washing on the line to dry More loveliness next week. :-)

Week One : 100 days of LOVELINESS

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The first week of LOVELINESS is over and, I have to say, I'm really enjoying this project - it's been so nice thinking about all the lovely things that happen every day. And sometimes, it's surprising just how many lovely things there are, too!  If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you'll have seen my photos every day. In case you don't, here they are: 1/100 Mells Daffodil Festival 2/100 Bath Abbey 3/100 a day trip to Weston-super-Mare 4/100 exploring with friends at Willsbridge Mill 5/100 teaching Grandad to play Temple Run on the iPad  6/100 my Nan (who would've been 98 on that day) 7/100 reminiscing and enjoying the view Hope you're enjoying it so far!! More next week....

And so, 100 days of LOVELINESS begins...

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"100 days of what?" I hear you cry! Well, I've decided to join in with a new project being run by The Great Discontent magazine and Elle Luna. It's called the 100 Days Project and we are being encouraged to 'make' something for 100 days. You can read more about it here and more about Elle here . It begins today so that will take us up to sometime mid July. Now, whilst I'm thoroughly liking the whole concept and completely relish the idea of 100 days of making, I also know my limitations very well.  I always have the very best of intentions but, more often than not, don't manage to adhere to them. (I still haven't managed to sit down to write a proper old-fashioned letter to my best friend yet this year and I fully intended to do that at least once a month - to top up the more regular emails, you understand...)  So, I pondered long and hard about what to do. 100 days of making? Sounds divine, but making what exactly? Dinner?! I definitel

A little box of loveliness.

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Loveliness....after my promise of more loveliness this year, I've been a bit slack. That's not to say there hasn't been any, just that I haven't told you about it. Yet! So, today's lovely thing is this box of food. It's Wednesday, which in our house is swimming day. Both girls have lessons straight after school. Unfortunately they're not at the same time so my afternoon is spent poolside.  And since the last lesson finishes so late, I need to bring their food with us. I love making these boxes. Neither girl particularly likes sandwiches so it's always a challenge to find something they'll eat and with enough variety. Here's today's offering: Houmous wraps (cream cheese for my littlest), slices of ham rolled up, cucumber, red pepper, a little pot of joy (almonds, sunflower & pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries) and a KitKat.  Yum! I wish that was for me!

Love is..... a crochet heart

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Happy Valentine's Day, lovely people!  My current love is these gorgeous crochet hearts. I determined to work out how to make them and now that I have, I can honestly say that they are SO easy!! One of my friends teases me whenever I say this, but, believe me, it really is easy - once you know how!!! I found a great video tutorial that I watched several times before realising she was talking American-crochet-speak. Once I'd wired out the UK equivalent, there was no stopping me! Here's the link to the video tutorial :  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=23EvTAIFM_U For those of you who prefer either the UK version or in written form, here's what to do - Make a magic ring Chain 3 Double treble 3 Treble 3 Double treble 1 Treble 3 Double treble 3 Chain 3 Slip stich through the centre of the ring Pull the end tight to close the ring and form the heart, then tie off. See, I told you it was easy!! These photos aren't the best but they show 1) & 2) making the magic ring 3) h

2015 - a year of loveliness, please!

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Oh my gosh, tomorrow is the last day of January! Can you believe it? Already? Is it too late to wish you a Happy New Year? Probably, but I will anyway, since this is my first post of the year... HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Here's hoping 2015 is a good one for all of you. At least, let's find lots of loveliness in our days. That's my intention for this year, not a whole load of unrealistic resolutions but an intention to find as much loveliness as possible. And it's started well... I live in the beautiful city of Bath and these lovely sunny winter days make the whole place shine and, most importantly, make me smile.   I have a long list of lovely things to share with you. Watch this space! In the meantime, I sincerely hope your year will be full of lovely things, too. :-)