Valentines Weekend & Crochet

Hi All, hope everyone had a lovely weekend and a belated Happy Valentines to you all! I know lots of people differ with their views on Valentines Day; we met up with our friends at the local garden centre café for a catch up and they're completely against it, whereas Jack and I have always celebrated it, mainly because I'm a hopeless romantic! Always have been and always will be - love a happy ending, love a chick flick, love a good Jane Austen book, I just love LOVE!

Jack and I went to Bristol for a trip out on Saturday; it was our first visit here and we had a wander around but mainly kept near the shops as the weather was abysmal. We had a nice lunch out though at Brasserie Blanc before heading home again. It was a nice day anyway and nice to spend time together and the first weekend Jack's not had to work in a long long time. I surprised Jack with a weekend away that I've booked in a lovely B&B pub in the Wye Valley. We go in April, take Barry with us and can't wait to explore somewhere new! I'll tell you more about it nearer to the time.

I did manage to make some time for some crochet this weekend and had fun having a go at some crochet flowers. I successfully managed to make a daffodil and a rose, photos of the daffodil below. I also made a cute 3D red heart following Just Pootling's instructions, which can be found on her lovely blog here. I'm quite impressed at my first attempt, there were no tears or tantrums and other than the fact one side of the heart looks bigger than the other it's turned out quite well for a first attempt!

 

I'm now going to try and make a whole series of daffodils in different yellow/white shades if I can, watch this space!

 

I also bought some lovely coloured threads from eBay a while ago as I wanted to have a go at thread crochet; I made a few initial attempts and did huff and tut a lot because it's mighty fiddly! Oh well, practice makes perfect yes? I hope to have some photos to show you soon...

 

 

I was a busy girl yesterday giving the house a tidy and spruce up. I made Jack a tasty lunch for work this week; Italian style beef meatballs in a red pepper and Bolognese sauce, with fusilli pasta, which should keep him going on these long days he's working at the moment. I made some soft white bread rolls; the dough of which went crazy in our warm kitchen while I was cooking our roast dinner. I dusted them with semolina before they went into the oven; I like the slight crunch it gives the bread.

The weather was beautiful here yesterday so we went for a lovely Valentines walk up the gallops and onto The Ridgeway. It was so nice walking along in the sunshine and Barry enjoyed chasing crows and running along at 100 mph!

 

A short while after returning from our walk a delivery driver knocked on our door with a beautiful bunch of red roses for me and Jack stood behind me with a proud grin on his face for managing to surprise me. They're beautiful and came with a lovely jug too and are now sitting on the living room windowsill next to my Gerbera which is beginning to flower again. I'm a lucky girl :-)

 

 

 

We also managed to collect my glazed pottery first thing on Sunday morning and I'm quite pleased with how it's turned out. It looks slightly like a child has painted it and proved to me that I must take more care next time but I'm happy nonetheless and Barry loves his new water bowl... not that he's told me that, I'm just assuming he does!

 

Excuse my spotty socks in the photo! Barry's Water Bowl

 

Pencil Pot for my craft room

 

Flower Pot

 

 

Lastly, while waiting for above mentioned bread to rise and while catching up on some paperwork I came across a bag of plant labels, so I decided to decorate a few in anticipation of getting started on some seed planting in the coming weeks. I'm determined to be organised this year and see how successful we can be at growing some of our dinners. The flowers I grew last year were mostly successful too so I hope the ones I plan on planting this year will be. I love Gaillardia and they come up every year full of beautiful orange/red/yellow flowers. I plan to put them in the front border below our kitchen window to add some contrast to the cream colour of our house walls.

 



 

It's my last week at work this week, it's certainly come around fast. Lots to try and get done before I leave, but we've planned a nice lunch out on my final day with my work colleagues so I'm looking forward to that. Then I've got a long weekend before starting my new job. I'm excited about getting started at my new job but I'm also super nervous about it :( I hope it goes ok...

Have a lovely week everyone, wrap up warm!

Em x

Barry's "I can get whatever I want" Face

Just had to share this photo with you; Barry does the cutest head tilts, as do all dogs and he knows that if he does it as I'm speaking (whether to him or not) and then I meet his eyes that I'm going to totally give in to whatever he's after... which is usually to either give him a cuddle, give him a treat, throw his ball, take him for a walk or take him for a bath - all of his absolute favourite things. Anyone else have a dog that knows the world revolves around them?!

Happy 1st Birthday Barry!

Today is a special day; it's Barry's 1st Birthday! Where did that time go?!

Barry features a lot on my blog, mostly because his funny character means that he's usually been up to mischief and I just have to share it with you all. Not only that but he is a major part of our lives and one we could definitely not be without now!

Barry has been such a great companion for us both, not to mention a good excuse to get outdoors even more than we already did in order to explore the countryside and get more exercise. He's a lovely little friendly dog who always wants to say hello to all the humans he meets. He loves dogs too but he's a little more nervous when it comes to meeting some fellow four-legged friends; he tends to run the other way as soon as they approach him, to which they give chase and then eventually he realises they just want to say hello and don't want to eat him for breakfast (even the big Irish Wolfhounds we've met on a walk were very gentle with him).

Here's a little Barry Fact File:

Nicknames: Bazza, Baz, WimpDog
Breed: Jack Russell Terrier
Favourite Treat: Carrot or any dog treat you offer him!
Favourite Toy: All of them! He is partial to a tennis ball though
Loves: Playing tug of war
Loves: Cuddles in our bed on a Saturday morning
Loves: Baths or any form of water!
Loves: Walkies
Hates: Car journeys
Hates: Large cardboard boxes that move!
Hates: Having to let me out of his sight! = VelcroDog
Best Tricks: Play dead (with stump still wagging), high five, roll over

It was love at first sight as soon as I saw Barry back in February last year at the age of about 4 weeks old and it was torture not to put him in my pocket and take him home the first day I met him! I did however resist and we went and visited a couple of times before bringing our little chubby puppy home in March. He eventually grew into his puppy rolls and it's amazing to see just how much the shape of his face has changed - he looks more Jack Russell now as opposed to a miniature version of a St Bernard! He's a lovely dog now, a stocky Jack Russell but sleek nonetheless from all the walks he has. He's constantly on the go and would watch me 24/7 if he could! He's my little shadow, always has been and though he loves Jack to bits and loves a good wrestle or tug of war with him, he's definitely a Mummy's boy.

Anyone who says raising a puppy is easy is lying!! They're hard work! I can imagine it's the same as raising a child, though I've not done that myself yet... one day hopefully! Barry is very intelligent though and loved to learn new tricks and our effort paid off as we now have a very happy obedient dog and it's nice when family and friends comment on what a lovely dog he is.

When Jack has to work long hours Barry is great company for me, especially on these cold dark evenings - Barry is a brilliant hot water bottle. He takes his guard dog duties very seriously and can often be found growling softly at his reflection in the window...! All of our friends and family adore him and are always asking when we're going on holiday so that we can "bear them in mind" when thinking of who we'll leave Barry with. We're hoping to take him out to France with us this year for a holiday in the sunshine with my parents; he'll love their huge garden. Hopefully he won't take too much of a fancy to their neighbours' poultry, sheep and donkey though!

Tonight I'm planning on baking Barry a dog-friendly birthday cake - Jack thinks I'm completely nuts as I have also bought Barry a new toy for his birthday and a card, but you're only 1 once! Barry loved his breakfast treat of scrambled eggs this morning and I'm sure he'll love his cake too (I'll post the recipe).

So wishing my handsome pup a very happy birthday, we love him very very much!

28th December: My Favourite Photos of 2015

As with any past year, I realise that I take A LOT of photos, but I'm not going to apologise for that because I think it's quite a nice addiction!

As usual, my photos mainly consist of food, flowers and 'cute things' which just so happen to include an addition to our family who came along back in March, our handsome puppy Barry!

 My three babies; Barry, Squirt & Lola

 

  

Remembering lovely holidays this year in France 

 

 

Gardening and decorating in our very own first home!

 

 Bringing a new member into our family; Barry our handsome Jack Russell Terrier!

 

 Having some great days out and exploring the countryside with our dog

 

 Spending time with my wonderful family xx

 Doing lots of cooking, baking and eating!

 

Adding to my hobbies by learning new ones; crochet!

 

 

 And finally, I don't know where I'd be without these two. They are my world, they make me smile when I'm feeling low and they're always always there for me. I love Jack with all my heart and having Barry by our side this year has brought us lots of happiness :-)

 

Looking forward to the photos I'll be taking in 2016!

 

Em x

18th December: Christmas Jumper Day!

The Christmas jumper trend has really taken off in the last few years and is a big market now! I for one love the idea, everyone can wear them whatever age and no-one looks silly as they're all meant to be fun. I prefer something more subtly festive, whereas Jack likes the really funny ones. Today is National Christmas Jumper day in aid of Text Santa, who raise money for various charities including Macmillan Cancer Support and Save The Children, it's for a good cause and I've made my donation.

This year we decided that Barry needed to be in our Christmas jumper club, especially on Christmas day and so Jack ordered him a very smart fair isle patterned Christmas jumper from Next (link here).

 

It fits perfectly, and he looks very smart; our parents found it hilarious when we sent them a photo of him in it! Barry seems to love wearing it too - when I hold it out he pushes his head in, stands still while I put his legs through and then runs off to snuggle in his bed in it!

 

Hope it puts a smile on your face anyway, have a good weekend!

 

Em x

Today's Weather Photo

Foggy and drizzly here today

Tiring Tuesdays

Just a photo of a contented Jack Russell named Barry, with a fat tummy after dinner, dreaming about tennis balls and sausages!