DECEMBER FIRST

a frosty beginning here to the new month. clear skies and the start of busy days ahead balanced with time to enjoy the good things. a fresh calendar has been printed out and lots of dates penned in to look forward to.

today i am happy i've worked out what direction our christmas cards are going to take.

got the mincemeat made {i include the almonds}.

discovered this sweet festive quilt project.

thought i might make this little tipple as a gift for friends who can indulge.

and fell for these charming birds {via tea for joy} who may just make their way in to someone's stocking.

yesterday i spent some quality coffee shop time with the very lovely miss pickering in stamford. drank a festive blended tea and talked blogs and flowers and long hair and babies. the hot topic of the morning was furniture revamp issues...how life is too short for tester pots and why do paints never seem to dry out the same as the shade card??

START THE CARDS

today we received our first christmas card in the post...and still 5 days 'til december!

but i completely understand why this one winged it's way here at warp speed...being from our nephew seán and designed by the boy himself i'm sure he and his mum couldn't wait to premiere them to the world!

as for me...well i'm not nearly as organised as those folks in school. but i did order my card and it arrived today. sitting on my desk with ready to go stamps. i'm actually looking forward to getting going with a design. then i plan to enjoy the creative rhythm of the production line whilst listening to a spot of this and surrounding myself with the scent of winter. (ok definitely not that candle...but the diffuser oil instead which is more in my budget at £5!)

ONE CARD

{apologies for the poor quality photo...
this is one of those grey and dreary november fridays}
another week scoots by. another birthday card. for our godson who turns one next week. i must confess that my translation skills do not stretch much further than french and spanish for numbers but i managed to find a few more and even a gaelic one sneaked in for luck with the help of google. the wee man is coming to stay with us this weekend {with his mum and dad} and i guess we're about to discover how un-baby-proof our home is!

newsround extra...we got invited to a bonfire party last weekend and it was the perfect night for it. on the cliff edge at our friend's house in norfolk. bangers and soup and the clearest starry sky with a few ooohs and aaahs as we watched the fireworks.

SPARKLY GIRL

yesterday was my lovely friend lynsey's birthday. {i always find it easy to remember being guy fawkes night} the thing is she is the most calming and sweet person and couldn't be further from an explosive firework...much more like a happy sparkler to me.

here's the little brooch i made her and a card to match. inspired by a mix of blue eyes...autumn...shimmer...oh and fuzzy felts! {as recently brought to mind by miss pickering}

TEAR SHEET TUESDAY :: 011

so this little magazine tear {from junior magazine dec 09} led me astray to this website...let them eat cake are a british childrenswear brand and i think i may just have fallen in love with several of their outfits tonight! lots of lovely muted colours...vintage styling...and wonderful details like the giant bow. all in fabrics sourced from around the uk.

hard to resist!

{bottom two images courtesy
of the let them eat cake blog}

DATES

three months today is our due date : )

fifteen years ago today me and ciaran went on our first date.

we saw the adventures of priscilla, queen of the desert...and so our own adventure started.

NEW MONTH NEW TRICK

hello november.

one day in and you have already seen me bake spicy gingerbread. warming soup is on the menu tonight and a game of scrabble with my super-competitive c. i wonder if our little one will take after him??

today we woke up to a grey wet windy morning...just before it turned dark we saw the sun set in the most beautifully pink sky. note to self...tomorrow could be laundry day.

when our cat comes in from outdoors i can't resist scooping him up and smelling his fur. i can't get enough of that leafy smoky earthy scent right now. and this is not a hormonal thing...i've always liked it. am i weird?

as usual i made a new calendar for the month. i didn't get round to buying one and have found it easier {and cheaper} to pick out an image and type up any special dates before printing. there are also quite a few nice freebies around...see here {lisa rupp} and here {notemaker} and a lovely desktop autumn one here {shanna murray}.

if you'd like mine you are very welcome {i am very excited that i just learned a way to create the link. i don't know if it's the best way but hey...i learned a new trick!} i shall have a practise pre-december to create something that's a bit more uniform and spacious...but til then...ta da!

nov 09 calendar

just click to print or for an a4 download...then fill in your november. Xx