It Snowed!!!!!!

It finally snowed here in Dorset!  Our little pocket that seems to have a different weather system to the rest of the country is blanketed in white.  The kids were beyond excited and went out building snowmen in the dark before 7am this morning.

We also dusted off those sledges and had tons of fun whizzing down the hill.  

Happy Snow Day

Wool Glorious Wool

I don't know about you guys but as soon as Christmas is over I seem to want to Spring Clean the place.  The decorations all come down and get packed away and then the house looks bare and messy.  So I tidy.....or at least, as all those who know me well........I try to tidy.  

Tucked up to be for another year.

This year the focus of my attentions seem to be cupboards and boxes that have been neglected for a very long time.

After 6 years of knitting and crochet, I finally got around to tidying up my little wool store.  In a way I was kind of sad to do it....it's like a little piece of modern art in  my cupboard....or rather, was.

I love the colours all mixed in together, so pretty.  But impossible to get wool out when you really want it.

And here is the finished box.  All neat and tidy.  I put all my little bits of wool into plastic bags so they won't tangle again.  I feel super organised........now what's next?

My latest project.  A Spiked Granny Square Cushion, this time for my front room.  I can't wait to see the finished item.

What have you been up to in your first days of 2013?

Chantal x

Post Christmas

Did you all have a good Christmas?

I know you are all wondering where the tree is.....it's disguised under all that tinsel!

We had a fabulous Christmas.  The children were amazing and had so much fun.  We managed to cook a lovely Christmas dinner although it was a bit late....we aimed for 2pm we arrived at the table at 4.30pm.  Then we all ate far far too much......but that's what you are supposed to do!!

Here are a few of the reasons why I didn't blog so much in December.

In my excitement to wrap things up i totally forgot to take photos of all of the other items i made.  What you can see here are handmade flannels, I made 6 lots of these.  A bobble hood with tassel's, pattern by the hugely talented Taraduff's Crochet And Other Stuff and a granny square cushion.

I was over the moon with all my presents and guess what!!  I received this

If you remember from this post I really really wanted to buy this, so I am extremely pleased that my Mum and Step dad bought this for me.....it was a wonderful surprise.  And if you are wondering it is way better in the flesh.  If you fancy getting your own pop over to Paul of Navarone 

How are you all chilling out after all the festivities?

Chantal x

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my lovely lovely readers.

I promise I will be back proper in the New Year, I have dedicated  December to making gifts for my family which I will blog about after they have received them.

I hope you have a joyous holiday season.

My thoughts are going out to all of you that have lost someone this year and  especially to all of Newton, Connecticut and families.

xx

Hello Bygones December 2012

One of my favourite local events is happening on Sunday 2nd December.  Hello Bygones Vintage Fair will be opening it's wonderful doors once again.  I can't wait!!  And this time, the lovely Claire, has managed to fit even more in!! So if you are in the area pop on over and have an absolutely fantastic vintage Christmas day out.  Plus if you have children, a little birdy told me that Father Christmas is going to be there in the grotto, there are limited spaces so book quickly!

You can read about my past visits to Hello Bygones Here and Here :)

There will be 40 fabulous Vintage, Retro and Handmade stalls selling everything from Clothes, Records and Kitchenalia to Jewellery, Furniture, Toys and lots more! Perfect for Christmas shopping!

1. Uwin Photography  2. What Alice Found  3. Bag End Bags  4. Things from Dimension X

All day the stage will be host to DJs playing the very best music from the 1920's to 1980's.

2 x Lindy Hop and Swing dancing demonstrations will take place by South West Lindy Hoppers on the main stage.

We have the very talented Lisa Want & Zena Hair & Beauty running our Pop-Up Salon creating beautiful Vintage inspired Make-Over’s.
Victory roll - £5
Half hair/victory rolls - £10.00
Curls - £10.00
Half Hair up with curls - £15.00
Full Complex Hair Up - £20.00
Lips and Eyes £6
Full taster makeover £10
False lash application £2.50
Just Liquid eyeliner £2
Body art - temp airbrush tattoos - £3
Facepainting - £3
Book Early to avoid disappointment!

Afterwards, for only £10!, you can go through the dressing up box, don your glad rags and take part in a gorgeous Retro style Photo Shoot with Unwin Photography.

If you fancy getting "inked" on the day we have the simply marvellous Inkwell Tattoo with a Retro inspired tattoo parlour.
Please book early to avoid disappointment as these guys book up fast!

The Silicon Vault are joining us with a Retro Gaming Station taking you back to the 1980’s with their NES, SNES, SEGA and GAMEBOY’s. You can take part in one of their “highest score” competitions or just have a nostalgic game of duck hunt, Mario or sonic.

Our local and brilliant entertainers the "Killer Heels Burlesque" Troop will be performing a dance on the main stage that's not to be missed!

1.  Killer Heels burlesque  2.  The Animal Urges  3.  Betty and The Page  4.  Elvis 56

Carling Suit

We will have a whole room filled with fun for the kids to enjoy. Bring them along to meet Santa, make Christmas Crafts, Enjoy the bouncy castle, rodeo face painting and lots more!

Please book in advance for Santa's Grotto as there are limited spaces available.
£5 per visit which includes a gorgeous Vintage Gift.

The Lounge

Will some brilliant Rock ‘n’ Roll, Punk, Swing, Jazz & Blues Live Bands & DJs.

Betty the Page: A Girl-Fronted Hi-Energy Rockabilly trio playin' fun, fifties, furious and frantic feel-good music, mixing their Americana, Retro and even Neo-Rockabilly stylings with some smoky down home numbers, swing and skiffle.

The Animal Urges: The Animal Urges combine 50's rock and roll ideals with a hint of punk and Elvis's Les Vegas era clothing to form an amazing blend of rock and roll! Cat suits, Gibson Guitars and Glasses all make for the most sexy rock and roll experience you will ever see!

Liquid Viper: Formed in the streets of Yeovil, four men were brought together by the gods of rock and Jack Daniels, they came together to bring hard rock back to the world.

Elvis 56': Will take you on a journey through all 3 decades of Elvis' outstanding career.

Aaron Clements: Classic hits from the 50's to now including Elvis, The Beatles, The Kinks, T-Rex, The Jam, The Cu
re, Oasis, Stereophonics, Kings of Leon and many more.

Bars and Carvery will be available all day.

So go and put this very special date in your calender and let's get December off to a Vintage Christmassy start!!

Chantal x

Happy 30th Birthday

Happy 30th to my sister.  

Hope you have a fantastic day!

My sisters and me

Love you loads

Chantal x

Pumpkin Curry

So, Pumpkins!!  I see them around all the time, by all the time I mean all the time around Autumn.  However, I have never ever ever made anything with one other than a scary face.  I set about to change this little known fact and this is how I did it.

Pumpkin Curry

Now how to do it!!  I hopped off the to BBC Good Food website...one of my go to websites when I am lacking in dinner inspiration and quickly found a curry that looked lovely.

Find the original recipe here

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil,
• 3 tbsp Thai yellow curry paste
• 2 onions , finely chopped
• 3 large stalks lemongrass , bashed with the back of a knife
• 6 cardamom pods
• 1 tbsp mustard seed
• 1 piece pumpkin or a small squash (about 1kg)
• 250ml vegetable stock
• 400ml can reduced-fat coconut milk
• 400g can chickpeas , drained and rinsed
• 2 limes
• large handful mint leaves

1. Heat the oil in a sauté pan, then gently fry the curry paste with the onions, lemongrass, cardamom and mustard seed for 2-3 mins until fragrant. Stir the pumpkin or squash into the pan and coat in the paste, then pour in the stock and coconut milk. Bring everything to a simmer, add the chickpeas, then cook for about 10 mins until the pumpkin is tender. The curry can now be cooled and frozen for up to 1 month.
2. Squeeze the juice of one lime into the curry, then cut the other lime into wedges to serve alongside. Just before serving, tear over mint leaves, then bring to the table with the lime wedges and warm naan breads.

So the verdict, it was lovely.  I found the pumpkin was much nicer than I had expected.  Although, If I were to make this again I would more than likely use a butternut squash.  

Now I think I should have a go at a sweet pumpkin recipe.....any good ones??

Chantal x

Brick Lane - The Day After Muse

While I was up in London visiting my sister and seeing the totally out of this world Muse, we also managed to get a visit to Brick Lane on Sunday.  Brick Lane has a Market every Sunday....it's massive and amazing.  There are hundreds of stall holders selling a mix of vintage and handcrafted items.  There are so many hugely talented folks out there!  We also managed to get in lunch, there is such a wide choice of stalls all vying for your custom.  A complete assault on your senses and all the food looked so good you could spend hours just trying to chose what to have.  My sister and I opted for Moroccan whilst my mum had her lunch from Singapore.  All very delicious!

We ended this little adventure searching out the famous Hummingbird Bakery so that we could sample their cakes.  Of course I HAD to have a red velvet cupcake.  I can tell you it was delicious and worth all the walking around trying to find it.

Did someone call security??

Here are some points on visiting London

1. Wear your most comfortable shoes

2.  It's virtually impossible to come away from Brick Lane empty handed......although I managed it......however if I had had wads of cash I would have spent a fortune!

3.  Everyone should try a Hummingbird cake at least once in their life.

4.  London is huge

5.  Even though I grew up very close to London, now I live in rural Dorset, I have turned into a right country bumpkin. 

6.  When crossing the roads make sure you look out for bikes even when the traffic has stopped.  Those cyclists can be sneaky.  By making sure you look both ways you will avoid the embarrassment of being knocked over or nearly knocked over by a bike...in front of loads of people.......as there are people everywhere in London.

7.  Don't fall asleep on the tube, when you get to the end of the line you might not have my lovely sister there to wake you up!

Have fun exporing London!

Chantal x