Kitchen Wall Stencil

Since we moved in, this wall has annoyed me. It runs out of the kitchen and joins the hallway, so anything we did to it needed to be subtle and fit in with decor choices we make for the kitchen, bathroom and hallway. We decided on blue, but that was as far as our decision making went. And yesterday I was staring at this wall again and decided I'd had enough.

See what I mean? Unfortunately we are not currently able to replace the heaters, so decorating the wall would have to do. I had the perfect stencil in mind, I saved it a long time ago hoping I would one day get to use it and now was that time. It was subtle, cheerful and I could do it now. So I popped upstairs to the office, printed it out and covered it in sellotape (a poor mans lamination) before cutting it out. It was a slow, painful process but I got there in the end and could finally get to work.

And I discovered the hard way that using a brush wouldn't work, even though I had been careful it had bled through.

Luckily tissue and water cleared it quickly and I headed back to the drawing board. Then it hit me, my original idea had been to use a sponge. So I googled and sure enough, it could work. So I grabbed the big bag of make up sponges I bought last year (£1 in poundland!) that I insisted I needed, finally they are earning their keep. And yes, it did make my husband laugh.

Isn't that so much better? I liked the sponged look, but if you want a solid look you could do a couple of coats. How much prettier is the wall now?

And here's a little before and after!

Chessington World Of Adventure

Earlier this month me and my husband had the exciting opportunity for a day at Chessington World of Adventure for free, so armed with sun cream and some spending money off we headed.

One of the my favourite discoveries was their new locker system. It is a very simple and easy system, but an incredible idea. You pick a locker size (small is £1 an hour or £5 a day, large is £2 an hour or £10 a day) and pay. Then it asks for your date of birth and to pick a colour from the on screen selection, these are your password. It then unlocks a locker for you and tells you what locker to open. You can open it again at any point during the day using the screen and locker number/password, no keys to lose!

You can also buy a bottle for £5 that gives you unlimited refills through out the day which was brilliant as it was so hot! So we headed off to explore and check out some of the many rides.

Bubbleworks was probably one of our favourites. Perfect for getting away from the hot sun and cooling off. You start off going through a “factory”, there is a rubber duck hatchery among other displays. All of which made us smile a little. But after the casual boat ride you reach a giant sign, “BATH TIME” it announces. Your little boat splashes down a ramp and you are surrounded by jets of water that spray over head, catching the light and giving the perfect relaxing vibe to really bring you into a peaceful mood. It was the quite frankly the perfect pallet cleanse (but for your eyes, ears and skin as opposed to your taste buds).

Dragon Falls was great fun, but very much a “once and I’m done” experience for me. Much to my husbands amusement I dragged him over all excited to go on, but decided it wasn’t for me about halfway through. The ride is essentially a log style ride. You float along casually for a little while before the “log” locks in to some rails and takes you up the first ramp. You’re up and down the other side in under a minute. You shake a little bit as you land and get splashed, but nothing too scary. Unfortunately that shake was enough to make me nervous. You see, there are no bars or harnesses in your boat. You hold yourself/each other in. And while it doesn’t actually tip you out, knowing there was a much bigger ramp coming made me slightly nervous. So as we locked in to the second ramp, I closed my eyes and told my husband not to let me die. It took what felt like an eternity to reach the top, by which point I had opened my eyes to see how far and promptly got nervous again. You are quite high, you could see across the roofs (not the most gorgeous view up close, but ignore them and look straight ahead and you can see the other rides between trees which is much more beautiful) and you float along for another couple of minutes before you prepare to drop. At which point I closed my eyes again and held on tight haha. It was over quite quickly and while quite enjoyable wasn’t something we were rushing to get back on. I think I would have enjoyed it more if they took out the first ramp and extended the second so you go up and then relax into the statues and trees before the drop.

By Dragon Falls is the Tomb Blaster. A little slow rollercoaster designed for all the family. You go into a dark cave armed with laser guns and shoot the little green dots to collect points. My gun unfortunately didn’t work (laser pointer was broken) so my sweet husband switched with me and then I kicked his butt ;) it was quite a lot of fun. Each “cave” had a different statue set up to look like it was carved into the walls and there were hundreds of the green dots to find and shoot (which go red when shot, then go green again after a moment for the people behind you to shoot) and there is the occasional rumble noise to really make you feel like you are in the depths of a cave system. The ride seats you in 3’s, your gun is next to you and your point counter is in front of you (warning, it updates almost as soon as you reach the end so keep an eye on your total if you want to know it).

The Zufari was a little disappointing. The queues move quickly, the staff were friendly but the ride was very dull. In the jeep there is a large display showing a number of animals they have but they only take you to the giraffes, zebra and white rhino. Then you enter a cave, drive through a waterfall and go back to base.

My absolute favourite had to be the Scorpion Express though. Especially as we managed to do very little queuing. The first time we went on we were able to walk right up to the bridge ready to go on next, after that we were lucky enough to walk straight up to get on. The standard seems to be about two laps, but depending on how busy they are sometimes you will go an extra lap or two. They also love to slow you down as you are turned on your side going around and then get you with the scorpion. The flame was disappointing as you only see and feel it while queuing, once on the ride you don’t know it is there. But the scorpions water jet definitely gets you and had everyone laughing. In total we did 10 laps – so about 5 goes during busy times, but we were lucky enough to compress that into 2-3 goes due to being there during a less busy time.

We also walked around the zoo and sealife areas. Unfortunately the zoo was a little empty, with only really the Tiger and the Gorillas out to see. But none the less it was a lot of fun and they were beautiful. I spent ages taking pictures, and after saying “c’mon handsome, look at the camera” he finally glanced my way and I got this amazing photo! Which I posted on Instagram the other day and Chessington liked and commented on it to tell me they thought it was a fantastic photo which made me smile.

The Sea Lions were out enjoying the sun.

We saw a really clever Gorilla holding one of the ropes so he could have a drink without falling in.

And a starfish gave me a wave.

Thank you Chessington, for a wonderful day.

These views are my own and would be the same regardless of whether I paid for the tickets or not. The free tickets were given to attend Chessington, not as payment for my opinion and we paid parking and food expenses. Only the tickets were free.

Twinings Fruit Teas

We all have routines. Morning ones, work ones, bedtime ones. Well in October, mine changed. I quit smoking and switched to herbal teas.

I have tried many different brands and flavours and continue to try more as time goes by, but right now Twinings Fruit Teas are my choice. Of all the flavours I have tried, Cranberry & Raspberry is probably my favourite.

For the best cup of tea I find leaving it to stand for 5 minutes is perfect for it to infuse. But if you feel it is too hot, make up a jug of tea (make sure you add enough tea bags) and leave to stand until cool. Remove tea bags, pour a glass and add ice cubes for a delightfully refreshing summer drink!

I find them the perfect way to unwind, re-engage my brain and help me to focus. They are only 4 calories a cup (although possibly more for me, as I am guilty of adding some sugar), which is always a bonus. If I am honest they keep me sane and are a vital part of my routine, in fact you will usually find me armed with a cup of Twinings Cranberry & Raspberry when I sit down to work. Especially at the moment, as my little baby netbook has died. Hopefully a new charger will fix it but until then I am using my husbands laptop which is far too big and bulky for me which is incredibly frustrating!

They cost £1.49 for a box of 20 tea bags here.

What's your favourite flavour?

Fun In The Sun

With the sun shining down on us and a picnic packed we headed off to the park today.

We hadn't been to this one before, we had no clue where it was and almost got lost. Luckily my phone picked that moment to connect it's GPS and direct us the rest of the way. And boy was I glad that we did, it was gorgeous!

It had a little cafe and toilets off to one side, always a good thing. The beach was running along one side, free parking and then in the middle was this big park. It had a multitude of things to climb on, swing on and bounce on. Oh, and let's not forget the pool. That's right, a huge shallow pool in it's own enclosed area. Perfect to splash your feet in on a hot day!

So after trying out every piece of equipment and scoffing our picnic, I dragged the boys down to the pool to splash our feet for a minute before we left. But my incredibly courageous boy (who gets a bit freaked out by water) decided with Mommy by his side there was nothing to be scared of, so in we waded...

We splashed around until it started to get chilly and then we dried off and stuck our shoes on (and dry trousers for a certain little chap) before heading back to the car. A little voice complained that his feet hurt and he was sleepy (it had been a long, eventful day) so my beloved husband scooped him up...

(I apologise for the grainy picture, but it was taken while walking haha).

What did your family do today?

Stuffed Chicken Breast

This recipe includes instructions for pan frying OR cooking in the oven.

This recipe was jotted down by a friend for me to try and I have adapted it slightly for ease

These took approx 30 minutes to prepare.
They take approx 15-20 minutes to pan fry (medium-high heat) or 25-35 minutes to cook in the oven (200 degrees C).

This recipe serves two, but I have listed the ingredients weight per person to easily adapt for more or less.

Ingredients
Two Chicken Breast Fillets (Approx 200g each)
Butter (Approx 25g per Fillet)
Mixed Dried Herbs (1 Teaspoon per Fillet)
Sundried Tomatoes (3-4 per Fillet)
Basil Leaves (4-6 per Fillet)
Plain Flour (1 Tablespoon per Fillet)
Egg (1 Medium did 2 Fillets)
Bread/Cracker Crumbs (Approx 25g per Fillet)

Oil for pan/baking sheet
Salad to serve.

Equipment
Rolling Pin/Meat Mallet
Scales
Two Bowls
Two Plates
Baking Sheet/Frying Pan

Method
Lay out the fillets and beat with a rolling pin or meat mallet until they are about the same thickness as your finger tip.
 
Take one of the bowls and mix together your butter and herbs, then spread them along the middle of your fillets.

Next, add a layer of sundried tomatoes followed by a layer of basil leaves.

Then roll your chicken breast carefully into a sausage shape.

Put your flour on one plate, breadcumbs on the other and beat your egg into the remaining bowl. Grease your pan/baking sheet and get the oven/hob heating (medium-high hob, 200 degrees C oven).

Roll the stuffed fillets in flour, then egg and then breadcrumbs. Stick in the pan/ baking sheet and cook!

Silly Thing, You Can't Swim! (Updated)

H: What do you want to do today?
Me: Hmm maybe decorate or something?

What did we end up doing? Well...

I was pottering around trying to decide what to do today when I see something splashing in our pond. I wasn't too worried given that our pond is full of tadpoles and has a big mummy/daddy frog in there too. But as the splashing continued my gut said to go and check. So off I toddle out the front door expecting to find the frog has got himself stuck in a plant or something. But what I saw made me question my own eyesight.

Me: Uh, babe? Can you come check something for me...

So out comes Hubby and he glances in the pond, then he leans in for a closer look. "That's a hedgehog!" he says. I nod and sent him in for gloves and a towel. Meanwhile our lovely neighbours have overheard the racket. "There's a hedgehog in your pond!?" They exclaimed. I nodded again. Next thing I know the neighbours are helping us fish him out and put tadpoles back in. I wrapped him in a towel and called the local vet, while rocking him like a baby which he seemed to like.

We rushed him on down there and while a little dazed, he seemed to be okay. But to be on the safe side they took our details (for when he can come home) and took him for some tests and to be cleaned up and fed. I had been a little nervous about feeding him because although I have cared for hedgehogs before, I am not familiar with ones that have taken a dunk.

We came back to neighbours asking where he was and if he was okay and I hope he will be pleased to know the whole street loves him already.

While this did mean I got to meet a bunch of my new neighbours, I would rather you didn't throw a hedgehog in your pond every time you move.

This picture was taken once we were heading to the vet - my primary focus was getting him checked over and taking this picture was an after thought once he was safe.

Update (9/6/2014): The vet has called, the hedgehog is happy and healthy and we can collect him tomorrow ready to release him. They had to wait until he was eating, drinking and had some medicine (almost drowning and being out in the day was a big shock to him) but now that he is we are welcome to go and get him.
As we will be getting him tomorrow during the day we should hopefully be able to get some pictures before he heads back into the wild.

In Laws or Out Laws?

We've all heard the rants, from monster in law to out laws everyone has a horrible in law story. Or do they? I was always told I would understand when I got married, warned almost. But my in laws aren't monsters or out laws. They don't insult me or try to talk my husband into divorcing me, in fact usually they always support us both.

This is not a "look at how lucky I am" post, this is because I want you to think about how lucky you are.

Maybe it is just because my Dad didn't support me, but I see every hug and phone call from my in laws as the sweetest thing in the world. Are there times they upset me? Sure. Just the other day my mother in law made a joke which upset me, but the second I said "that's a touchy subject" she dropped it mid sentence. Nobody is perfect, we all say things we shouldn't without meaning to or even knowing. No doubt I will have upset or annoyed them at some point, but we always are there doing our best and that makes those times so easy to move on from.

There are many things my in laws have done that make me feel so special, they almost heal the wounds left by my father.

The first time I visited them, I was so nervous. I had had so many warnings that in laws are horrible people that I was preparing myself for their hate almost. But they were great! They talked to me about movies and foods and so many things that I cannot list them all. But they were friendly. By the second/third visit they were giving me hugs and telling me they were so pleased their son had me in his life.

When we told them we wanted to get married a bit sooner than planned (we went from planning a two year away wedding to a month away wedding) I was prepared for the hate. But they hugged us and said they would support us whatever we chose to do and while they would absolutely be there if we wanted they would understand if we didn't want anyone. Silly! Of course we wanted them there!

For our actual wedding they drove down the day before and stayed up until 2am the day of helping me with wedding prep (like flowers). And even bought me an actual wedding bell! My Mother in law ran around organising everyone whenever I needed so I could get ready. She was amazing!

On my birthday I was supposed to go to London, unfortunately I was so ill I almost collapsed. So off to hospital I went. When we got back she made sure I took my antibiotics, tucked me up on the sofa and waited on me hand and foot so I could recover. My father in law sorted out a bunch of movies for me to watch and they chipped in with my husband to get me a Hudl!

But the biggest thing was helping us move. Not only did they help financially (my father in law loaned us money for moving costs), they helped emotionally (my mother in law listened to me complain about a million things and gave me a hug when I needed it) and physically (they arrived 2.30pm Sunday and helped us load and finish packing (clean washing and kitchen stuff mostly) as well as unload and unpack on the other end. They treated us to dinner, made sure we were settled and then took the 2 hour drive home late Monday night, just in time to roll into bed when they got home.

I guess what I am trying to say is, I won't always see eye to eye with my in laws. But they are amazing and I love them. And you know what? When they do annoy me or upset me it is because they are FAMILY and that will happen. You fall out with your mum and dad sometimes, this is no different.

All Systems Are Go

Well we have been biting our tongues, we didn't want to say anything until everything was confirmed. But now that is, we can share the good news.

We got the house!

We move in approx two weeks and although we have arranged the internet to be set up almost immediately upon moving in, understandably the updates may be a little slow while we settle. So here is a little taster of what to expect over the coming months...

Kitchen - We need to put up some shelves in the larder/pantry, install blinds, redecorate and add accessories.

Living Room/Dining Area - We will be replacing sofas and dining table eventually, we also need to install curtains, paint some furniture, remove the wallpaper and redecorate, add accessories.

Half Bath - We need to give it a bit of paint, install some storage and some redecorating/accessories to make it less dull.

Entryway - We need to build our house hub (storage for coats, schedules, key hooks etc), fill some holes and redecorate, repaint the heater, install a curtain over the door (privacy and to keep in the heat when winter rolls around).

Stairs - We plan to sand and stain the banister and look into extending the banister to ceiling.

Bathroom - We just need to install some storage and redecorate/add accessories.

Master Bedroom - We need to re-build the wardrobe, build a new bed (Hubby is a little tall so his feet stick out the bottom of our current bed), build a TV cabinet, bedding and curtains and redecorate.

Kids Bedroom - We plan to build a wardrobe and possibly some other storage. We need new curtains and cushions and we want a reading nook etc. We want a toy area, quiet area (for reading/relaxing/calming down) and learning area.

Office/Craft Room/Guest Room - We plan to turn the smallest bedroom (which is still rather large) into an office and craft room for me and Hubby to work along side each other on our own projects without falling over each other. This means building a custom double desk, lots of storage and a relaxing feel. We also want to move our sofa bed in there when we get a new sofa, so that when family/friends stay over we have somewhere for them.

Gardens - We will be going from a tiny courtyard out back and a patch of concrete out front to a decent sized front and back garden with lawns, hedges, decking, a pond, a tree and so there will be a little work to do. Mostly cosmetic. Cut lawn, the pond is currently a plastic pre-build and so we want to make it blend in a little better, we want to install flower/veg beds, re-stain the decking, repaint the bench/seat unit, add a shed. Just generally add our personality to it.

So as you can see, we will be very busy bee's and that should mean lots for you all to read and enjoy (:

Faffing with Fabric

We have been faffing with fabric for a couple of weeks now while dreaming of the new house, we have ordered a few samples and are still waiting for some but we have already fallen in love with a couple of them. We ordered swatches and searched around for the best prices of what we liked and that is how we stumbled upon threadandloop.co.uk which is where we intend to do most of our ordering from as they seem to hold all the fabrics we had fallen in love with from across the internet!

So on with some pictures, I have included close ups and full shots. Full shots are from google and iliv, close ups are from threadandloop.co.uk and please remember that these are just the ones we like so far. We have more samples on their way to us as we speak!

This fabric caught our eye as it is fun and colourful, without being a whole block of colour which can be a bit much. We plan to use this for curtains and then feature the colours in other places through out our sons room.

This fabric is only £8 per metre and is 140cm wide.

It may not look it, but this is actually a PVC/Oilcloth type fabric. We knew we wanted polka dots and so I spent hours searching (I honestly started to see spots) and just as I was giving up hope I discovered the "Great Spots" range. And right there was Lime/Kiwi and it was perfect. Fun fact: Hubby dislikes green and swore he would never have it in the house (despite owning green things like clothes). yet he took one look at this and fell in love with it.

This is £10 per metre and is 133cm wide. 

As I am sure you have realised by now we are a fan of cottagey things. I grew up in a quiet country village and so those cottagey things make me feel safe and secure. They make our house our home. And so we knew we wanted a patchwork style duvet cover and we couldn't find anything we liked, until we were looking at fabric and saw this. Funnily enough I saw it and thought I would show Hubby, he saw it and ordered a sample because he knew it was perfect. Reminds me why I married him ;)

This gorgeous fabric is only £8 and is 140cm wide (so a little too thin for a duvet cover, but we will add a border and that will resolve that issue).

And we plan to use this adorable fabric for some cushion covers, probably for the front room. We have some huge comfy cushions that are big enough for floor cushions and right now the covers aren't our thing. But they have sentimental value as they are the same cushions and covers I had for sofa/floor cushions in my childhood home so having them in our new home is really exciting. The covers will be carefully stored away in the attic and we will sew these new ones to make it a little more us.

This fabric is £8 per metre and is 142cm wide.

We will be faffing with more fabric over time, but these are all we have picked out of our current samples. We have more on their way to us as we speak.

Happy Dance! House Hunting

Oh my gosh! Sorry for the lack of updates but I have barely had chance to stop and eat let alone get online. This will be quick but I will try to cover everything.

Last week.
Tuesday was supposed to be our second viewing of the bungalow, we had the wrong time and asked to rearrange.
Wednesday we were informed it was now let agreed. It sucked and the search continued.

Nothing special jumped out at us, but there was some options.

This week
Monday something amazing happened. Our current estate agent posted a property to rent that is a few houses from my Nan who I absolutely love and used to spend all my time with.
Tuesday we were the first viewers (it was posted after closing time the night before). We said YES! It is not only gorgeous BUT we have free reign to decorate and the option to buy in the future. Perfect. We met the next viewers as we were leaving. We drove home and had a missed call from the estate agent, the couple we met wanted to view our house!
Wednesday they viewed it. Loved it and said it is at the top of their list. They went home to sleep on it and said they would be aiming for moving in at the end of May if they take it.
Today we are paying the first lot of fees and then the gorgeous family home will be officially let agreed and paperwork begins. Assuming we pass all the checks (we should but I worry) we will be moving in approx a month. Exciting!!!!!!!!!!

I Don't Poop Rainbows

I really don't poop rainbows, even if this blog sometimes seems it. So I wanted to say a little something about why this blog is usually very puppies and unicorns.

Number One is my husbands job. He works with vulnerable adults and while I am not so up my own backside to assume his bosses read our blog, I am aware that what I post is out there for anyone to read at anytime and that while I am not my husband I do represent him. In the same way your head teacher on a school trip tells you to be on your best behavior because you are representing the school.
So I try to behave. If I come on here cussing and shouting, if I insult people around us it paints a negative picture and could effect his bosses opinion of him.

Someone once said to me (regarding facebook, but applies to anything really) if you wouldn't say it in front of them, then you keep it to yourself or between you and your partner/best friend. I have been guilty in the past, when I was younger, of being mean. And yes I still sometimes rant about people, who doesn't? But now I keep those thoughts safe. I pour a glass of wine and phone my best friend or ask hubby for a back rub while I rant.

Number Two is that this is my family blog. Yes it's public and I won't deny that the 140 likes and 90 comments we got on facebook about how cute our jar labels are was heartwarming (we all like a compliment), but this blog is ultimately set up so that we can look back at our houses and decor choices and so that family can see what we have been up to. We (okay maybe more me than him) have a huge family that is spread out over the UK and splattered in other countries and this gives them a way to keep up. I know some of you are thinking "does your uncle really care about the colour of your bedroom?" and to be honest, he may not care enough to ask but that doesn't mean he doesn't care at all. When family visit, they want the grand tour. They comment on things like the bedroom decor or how cute the kitchen is. Well a lot of my family doesn't really get down this way much, so they are able to have the house tour through this blog or skip over it and catch up on what we've been up to.
Anyway, back to the main point... Because this blog is out here for our family we don't want them reading all the bad stuff. I mean sure we'll touch on things like my health etc. But they don't need to read a 4 page essay each week on useless doctors.

Number Three is the most important one. The internet is not the same as real life. I don't mean everything online is fake or anything, just it's different. If I come online and whinge and complain, anyone can read and anyone can comment. But anyone can skip over and as great as that is it can give a false perspective. But by stepping away from the computer and complaining to a friend, I know they can be trusted to listen, support and tell me when to strap on my big girl panties and get over it.

So please don't assume I'm high on fairy dust, I do get upset and annoyed. But I try to stay away from the computer when I feel that way and instead have a cuddle with the cats and calm down.

Also to touch on the lack of pictures of my son - he is 3. He is not yet old enough to consent to his picture being plastered everywhere and I'd like to respect that. That's not to say I never post pictures, but I try to limit it. The internet is forever and before I post I try to think "would he want his friends etc seeing this in 20 years time?" That doesn't in any way mean I think you're a bad parent for posting pictures of your children, it all comes down to personal preference and this is mine.

Second Viewings and Pinterest

So we sent the estate agent a little email about the bungalow, detailing what we wanted to do to it and why. We got a reply to say the landlord is okay with what we want to do (in theory) and has invited us for a second viewing next week to discuss in better detail what we want to do.

Most of what we want to do is pretty self explanatory (e.g. replace some carpet with some laminate) but the garden path is a bit more complex. It is a simple gravel path with bricks either side. It's quite dull and could do with something cheap and cheerful done to it. So with that in mind I scoured pinterest to come up with some ideas.

Does a particular one jump out at you? Which one do you prefer?

Ding Ding, We Have A Winner?

Recap: Yesterday we were due to view a bungalow, we were still trying to get a time to view the other bungalow.

Well we managed to view both yesterday.

Bungalow One -
While this bungalow was quaint and adorable, in a lovely secluded area it was let down in many ways by the lack of correct information and work it needed. The garage and garden that were attached to the property were to be shared with the main house, giving you no privacy in your own home.
The windows were a confusing factor, although the back windows were in good condition and so didn't need replacing the fact half the windows were white plastic and the other half were black wood was quite an eye sore.
The kitchen only had one double cupboard, no shelf inside and there were a few mould spots. The tiled kitchen floor was something of an acquired taste, while it was to my taste the fact they had tiled over a green carpet that was also mouldy was an issue for us.

Nobody had maintained the property. It needed cleaning, painting, roof repairs and the trees and leaves needed clearing up. It's a shame as it was a lovely little place and with some TLC someone could call it home.

Later that day we viewed
Bungalow Two -
Despite being just off a road the bungalow cannot hear nor see the road thanks to carefully grown hedges and trees at the end of the garden. The carpets are cheap, damaged and ultimately need tearing up but that's a relatively easy task and not too bad given we would prefer laminate floors in certain areas.
The garden needs a little bit of love, the grass is a little patchy in some areas and the gravel walkway is a bit sparse. It could also do with a little fence added in two spots where the wind has knocked down the old fence.

The bathroom is very bright and blue, we would definitely want to tone that down. The bedrooms are spacious and the house and garden have so much natural light, you just know waking up to that would be a joy.
It has an open plan dining area/kitchen which has a lovely amount of storage although the dining area needs a touch of work. The carpet needs replacing ideally, they have put ceiling lining paper on the glass roof which should be removed and due to the recent storms we've had there is a minor split in the gutter which has let a dribble of water in. Nothing that can't be repaired but obviously we would like the landlord to put some money towards this.

We have decided that Ding Ding, We Have A Winner based on approval from the landlord regarding the flooring, garden and dining room. Ultimately it's not a huge fix, it's a little time and energy but is mostly cosmetic.

On the way home hubby said it's a lot of work, so it's just a good thing we have a blog to share it on haha (:

The Craziness We Call House Hunting

We love our house, really we do. It's definitely big and in a nice area and an impressive price... But that's the thing, it's big!

We have three bedrooms - we need at least two.
We have three toilets - great! Guests have their own toilet attached to the guest bedroom, then there is the family bathroom and the downstairs toilet. Except it is a pain to clean! I have to walk up and back down two sets of stairs AND we are in a hard water area so they require harder scrubbing. Exhausting!
We have three floors (plus attic) - while this is currently pretty cool (the guests have their own floor when they stay) it won't be practical long term as when we have another baby it would mean either us or one of the kids moving upstairs and the thought of stairs separating us from the kids terrifies me!
We have two flights of stairs - they don't have to be used every day but it's still annoying and takes a lot of time and effort when it comes to cleaning. Plus I have problems with my back and joints which mean stairs can be a challenge.

So we have decided to look at some bungalows. And there are two we are going to view.

Bungalow One - Three bedrooms, spacious kitchen that needs a little work (replace cupboards), surrounded by fields, wood burning fire in the lounge.
Bungalow Two - Two bedrooms, smallish kitchen but has a dedicated dining area, surrounded by houses but in a rural village so a 5 minute walk down the road puts you in a field, fire in lounge (unclear if it works though).

There is literally £5pcm difference in rent (funnily enough bungalow one is the cheaper one).

But can I have a little rant? Why are estate agents idiots? Two different estate agents, both were sent a request to view. The first one sent us a brochure for the place and asked us to let them know if we wanted to view... Um, that may have been why we asked to view? So we get that squared out after several emails. Then to save time we send the other estate agents a request to view with a suggested time and date. They replied to thank us for the interest and ask if we wanted to view!? What is the point in that?

And another thing, what is with this sudden "no pets, no kids" rule? Especially on like 3-4 bed places. What do you want us to do, have them as offices and guest bedrooms?

Anyway, cross your fingers for us. We cannot wait until this madness is over and we can start settling into our new home (:

Free Printable Homemade Jam Labels

My Mother in Law makes absolutely delicious homemade jam and in fact all the fruit used is grown in her/her friends gardens. So it's all very fresh, very natural and very homemade. In fact, the only time she uses shop bought fruit in her jams is if she happens to have some left over.

With this in mind, her amazing jam deserves a pretty label. So I had a little play around and came up with these. Simple, adorable and made from scratch. I think they fit the bill perfectly. I popped them all onto an A4 template, so just print the picture below and cut out.

Mother's Day Free Printables

Me and my husband are very.. fussy? We like what we like and second best doesn't quite do it for us. So with that in mind we were obviously going to have to make custom cards.

We wanted something simple but appealing and so with that in mind, we came up with these..

Our Plans for Our Garden

We have been in our home for just shy of a year now and we finally know what we want to do to the garden and better yet, are tackling it.

As I have mentioned before our home is rented which does limit us to some degree as to what we can do as we have to put it all back when we move, which understandably delayed plans with the garden. But we have measured, discussed and had a drink and finally the plan is complete.

We started by discussing what things we wanted, what we need and what we couldn't stand. The short version is this:- Decking - we needed decking as we have an 8 inch drop outside the back door which was a bit of a safety hazard. The decking will be approx 6 inches high (due to electricity box etc on the wall) which is much more reasonable. Grass - the gravel isn't exactly family friendly. We hate it, the cats hate it, friends and family hate it. It had to go, but as we cannot just give it away we are going to put it inside the decking frame so it's hidden and when we remove the decking we can rake it off the patio and Voila! The garden is returned to it's former unglory. Flowerbeds - now I like flowers, but in small doses. We however love growing our own vegetables and thus a flowerbed was a must. We will plant some flowers between the veggies for a more natural, full and attractive look. Seating - we are currently torn between a bistro set or big floor cushions, but we know that somewhere to soak up the sun in the evening with some wine and music was a must for us. Barbecue - this is a big want for us, but not a need. With this in mind we know what we want and where it will go but we won't be buying one just yet as it isn't a priority.

Another factor we had to think of were our cats. Tinkerbell absolutely adores our garden, she soaks up the sun and runs around all day if you let her (as shown in the pictures below of her between the fence and our trellis playing peekaboo). However Bear (in the blue harness) isn't so sure. We aren't sure what his experience with gardens is, but in the 6ish months we've had him he has been scared of the garden. And the one time he went out he jumped over a wall, almost killed himself (hubby had to go find him!) And finally as one big bruise he came home. He had fallen approx 10 feet onto a metal desk, he hit it with such force he wee'd everywhere and winded himself. We nursed him back to health and this week he has been sitting by the door/window and staring longingly at Tinkerbell in the sun.

Today (as the pictures show, sorry about the bottle of nail varnish remover) he came and stuck himself out the living room window and sniffed around. He was very interested and curious. So we popped his harness and lead on and we walked around the garden a few times. He ignored the wall from his previous adventure, checked out the door, hopped back through the window and then came and soaked up some sun. We made a huge fuss of him (which Tinkerbell told us off for) because that was a huge deal for him and we were very proud and he purred away. Hopefully by the time the garden is done he will be happy to go in and out.

We are lucky in that the decking going onto the patio area only means while we save for that we can work on the rest of the garden. We have measured and priced up and the decking will cost approx £185, so we have given ourselves £200 for the garden makeover (not including seating since we can't decide what to do yet). We already have £50 on a B&Q gift card and so we plan to add £50 a month for the next 3 months.

We will spend £15 of that this month on seeds etc. So that in June we can install the decking and enjoy! We will probably spend more to be completely honest, but that will be on those little extras like lights and we will DIY as much as possible and shop around for deals.

We are looking forward to turning our courtyard into a family garden with something for everyone (:

Couch to 5K Challenge

So, there are loads out there but it was Change for Life that made me decide to try it.

We've been trying to eat healthier and get back into shape (after various health problems I've been on bed rest for months - on and off for years before that) and so we signed up for Change for Life Smart Swap, we were sent some coupons, leaflets and a swap spinner thing that offers healthy alternatives to soft drinks etc.

There is also an app that has recipes and a meal mixer for meal planners that let's you add ingredients straight to a shopping list.

While downloading that I had a nosey at the similar apps and stumbled across the Couch to 5K app.

It's a three day a week challenge that lasts nine weeks. You walk for five minutes to warm up, then alternate running and walking for twenty minutes and build up until you're running for twenty five minutes.

The app even times for you and tells you when to switch!

Sunday should be my third day (they don't have to all be in a row) and I plan to do an update then on how I'm doing and finding it. Once we're a little more settled into it we will be adding more exercises.

Knobs, pulls or handles

We've been redecorating our bedroom for quite a while, one of the things that has been taking up a lot of our brain cells are the handles.

Our bedside tables are perfect for us apart from one thing, the handles are very awkward to use. About 90℅ of the time I just reach under the drawer and open it that way. So we had talked about the possibility of replacing them and started looking around. We quickly realised that there are 50 million different options, but still we only found a couple we liked.

But finally, we were onto a winner. We decided we wanted a handle with some blue on it. So that it had a burst of colour but didn't look out place. So we headed to B&Q to look at what blue ones they had. And although there were a few that were nice, only one jumped out at us. It was blue but not too much, it was practical but not ugly. And only cost £3.50 each! We didn't have a strict budget, but we were aiming for under £5 each so we were very happy with our find.

My Birthday

It was my birthday on Thursday! And it was definitely one I won't forget. I don't actually enjoy my birthday. My Dad always forgets it anyway. But my husband was determined I was not missing out on my 21st birthday being special.

On Wednesday we headed up to my in laws (approx two hour drive), I spent the entire time coughing just like I have for the last five weeks. I was hugged within an inch of my life and told to sit down and rest (something they know I am a pain about) and was given painkillers and cough syrup. My cough wasn't letting up but we still had a couple of drinks as it got close to midnight to celebrate. Off we headed to bed, where my husband promptly fell asleep and I attempted to bring up a lung.

We got up when our alarms went off and I continued coughing. My in laws were getting worried and we were supposed to be going to London. I wheezed and coughed as my Father In Law got the car started to take us to the station. Unfortunately when we went outside to the car I took a turn for the worse. I doubled over coughing, sounding like I may vomit. I started to cry as I couldn't draw a breath in properly.

My Father In Law shut off the car and him and my husband whisked me inside. They pulled my coat off, wrapped me in a blanket and tried to calm me down. Well apparently I wasn't the only one shaken up as before I knew what had happened I was back in the car being rushed off to hospital. I was poked, prodded and wished a happy birthday. The ultimate verdict was rest, steam, antibiotics and five days to improve or I get a chest X Ray.

We phoned everyone to let them know I was okay and then in an attempt to make me feel better my husband drove off to the local shopping centre (approx ten minutes drive from the hospital) and we bought some bits in Primark, then we got some lunch in Burger King and I took my first dose of antibiotics. And we headed back to my in laws. I was still feeling fragile but my husband wasn't done making my day special.

We have had a lot of cake recently due to lots of birthdays and I really didn't want another one, so imagine my surprise when he bought out my cake... Only instead of a cake and candles it was a stack of Krispy Kreme donuts with two sparklers in it (shaped like 21)! He had bought me two dozen Krispy Kreme donuts!

And I got to play with my present. My husband, his parents and his brother had researched and purchased together the Hudl! In blue (my favourite colour)!! Which is what I'm typing this on and I would definitely recommend it.

For dinner I had more antibiotics and Chinese Takeaway (just like on our first date) and watched Hunger Games.

I still feel like I'm trying to bring up a lung, but I'm able to breathe again.

Budget Friendly, Rented Accommodation Pantry Makeover

First off, let me apologise for the long wait for a post. My blog is just a blog, I post when I get chance as my family are my priority.

Anyway back to business. I know there are a lot of pantry makeovers out their, but mine is a tad different. We live in the UK in rented accommodation and our "pantry" is an IKEA cupboard haha.

Our makeover cost us nothing because we used materials we had, obviously there may be a cost if you didn't have all the materials.

We used:
Glue
Wallpaper
Baskets
And other tubs we had to hand (the glass pots from coffee for example)

I removed the door and hubby tucked that up in the guest bedroom ready to go in the attic, we had decided the door was just a nuisance and so we wanted to try without the door for a while and see how we got on. While he was lugging that upstairs I pulled everything out the pantry and popped the shelves out, gave them a wipe down and measured where we wanted our wallpaper.

I cut the length but not the width, then we were able to place the wallpaper in and fold it to size once we liked the positioning. Then I cut along the folds while my hubby fiddled around with the glue. We started sticking using the screws from the shelves as markers. Once we were past a screw section we'd pop the shelf back in and carry on with the next section.

Once all the actual decorating was done we needed to decide what went where. We knew we wanted two child friendly height shelves to hold the lunch things (the slim fast tub on the shelf is actually full of cheese savouries) and that we wanted tins at the bottom as that way if they got knocked over less damage to toes would be done.

We wanted our baking stuff towards the top, but easy for me to reach. The rest we kind of made up as we went along. We then made sure everything on the shelves were easily accessible. With that idea in mind we took it one shelf at a time starting at the bottom.

It took us under 3 hours including clearing up afterwards. And (in our opinion) looks fantastic.

As I've said before though, I'm not happy unless it's functional for our home and lifestyle. So I waited to post until it had been given a fair chance and I can honestly say it is a life saver. We can see what we have in and when our son or our friends kids want something to eat we can go to the pantry and they just grab a plate or bowl and grab what they want. It has taken so much hassle out of feeding everyone.