POST 200

so i'm a month late with the wishes?
happy new year (minus 1 month) folks!

well well well...things continue to be rather picklesome here.

but a first birthday brightened up january...and there were plenty of other high notes to enjoy last month. spring flowers hit the shops. festive food bit the dust and new cooking ideas are afoot in our kitchen. i'm quilting again...when not indugling in pom pom make-a-thons!

ahead of her turning one i was given a brilliant cake recipe by the lovely miss percy for elsa. no eggs. no (cow's) milk (oat instead). no soya. (we have been bonding over allergies.) i got to bake at long last for my girl and joy of joys she is now team leader of the sweet tooth gang that twas founded by me and her daddy.

THE FIRST NOëL

we wish you a merry christmas
(that's from me and my elf)

i hope that yours is filled with joy
and warm times with loved ones

xXx

(elsa's hat made from this super book)

EASTERN PROMISE

festive baking.

and may i recommend this recipe? the little rose nuggets stay delightfully chewy in the almond-y rounds. i have tested too many already!

next cookies in the oven. cranberry and white chocolate.

what are you making?

DECORATIVELY {OUTDOORS + FRONT DOORS}

for the most part it really has been easy to stand back and watch mother nature's beautifully creative work outdoors...there is little need to add anything to the icy treasures surrounding our home this winter.

but i have enjoyed making an addition to the festive prettiness out there in the form of a christmas garland for our front door. i had a nice crafting hour to myself last night. if it wasn't for the late light i would have endeavoured to do a step by step...but trust me it was a doddle. using a wire floristry wreath form i wrapped some light wadding and then some strips of fabric around it. in my usual style it was an organic project...i didn't really have a finished version in my head but just used things i have to hand. the ivy is from the garden {grabbed in the freezing evening air with a torch!} i bound it on with some sweet brown paper string and then wound a little right round the garland...tying up at the back. {jingle bells from the decorations box} total cost to me...£1.50 for the wire form.

IT'S BEGINNING

to look a lot like christmas.

LISTINGS

i am such a stranger here lately.

i feel quite convinced that there will soon be no one about to greet me should i make it here to post photos or kitchen ramblings or baby reportage or even (hold your horses!) creative projects.

there has actually been quite a handful of those goings-on in my real life but for tonight i just made it this far to make a list. so on the eve of what is sure to be an incredibly cold december i think i will just note a few current loves and happenings.

these wonderful stirrup socks...and as a knitwear (wish i could knit) fan i am still enjoying this handmaker's shop of delights.
way back i took out a subscription to a new magazine. i waited. and waited. issue one of anthology was definitely worth the wait. i'd recommend it for lots of ooo's and aaa's.
i'm planning on baking a birthday cake for my dad's 60th. should i go fancy or make his old favourite?
the american...i actually got taken on a date to the pictures! it was very beautiful.
i am working on a commission for a wall hanging with my mum. one of our 1st pieces since i had elsa. luckily it is a loose deadline...getting back in the swing of it has been trickier than i thought. but it has been good to put pen to paper and be designing again.

tired eyes will return. please check back!

EMPTY BOOTS

afternoons are so dark here now. autumn time-shifts have me turning on the lamps post-lunch and hitting the heating switch. still...it's nice to get cosy.

my mum took e off on an adventure today. just grandma and grand-daughter...the first time they've strayed further than a stroll out in the pram together. it was kind of nice being able to get on with things at home. i washed the windows and had chance to put a bit more heart and soul in to sorting out the house. but it felt a little strange. i missed my girl and it just seemed quiet here.

making a coffee and pulling up a chair to sit and read my 3191Q seemed the height of luxuries. and the new issue really is beautiful. as is the new toast christmas catalogue that dropped on the mat today.

after a couple of hours though i found myself peeking out the window checking for the car more than a few times. and of course when they got home together i was not the favourite...now i know how her daddy feels when she doesn't go to him for a cuddle. grandma's girl.

this morning my cousin had her 4th baby...a boy...at 34 weeks. he is so tiny. she has had a very difficult pregnancy and a very complicated operation to keep them both safe which thankfully they have both come through ok. she has always been a little toughie and i think he must take after his mummy too. my thoughts are filled with them recovering in different wards tonight. i pray they'll be able to be close soon. just a few hours without elsa by my side today and i can hardly begin to imagine how my cousin must be longing to be with her baby.