Lockdown Birthday.

A lockdown birthday was never going to be the same. Celebration ideas were changed as Lancashire tiers upped levels and then a national lockdown was announced. Finally what I was left with ,still a happy time I think….a few doorstep visits from family & friends, an online party, a walk, yummy food cooked by my other half and a delicious take-away hot chocolate. The new normal isn’t so bad.

Zoom party itinerary and friends portraits of me. More flattering than photos!

A viaduct Sunday morning walk.

Hot chocolate from The Chocolate Works.

Such a lovely book.

A book to dip into everyday of Autumn. Today’s poem probably more appropriate for a frosty November day.

Heres a few verses from The Duke Of Fire and The Duchess Of Ice by Carol Ann Duffy.

Passionate love for the Duke of fire

the Duchess of Ice felt.

One kiss was her heart’s desire,

but with one kiss she would melt.

She dreamed of him in his red pantaloons,

In his orange satin blouse,

In his crimson cravat,

In his tangerine hat,

In his vermilion dancing shoes.

One kiss, one kiss,

Lips of flame on frost,

One kiss, pure bliss,

and never count the cost.

As you can probably imagine, there’s a puddle at the end of this poem….

Thanks for dropping by. ❤️

Sunday Sevens 17th November.

Hey there I’ve just had a week off work ( not that I am putting in many hours at the moment, it’s the quiet period before Christmas) so I thought I would join in with Natalie’s Sunday Sevens.

We took a few days off to spend time at the caravan. Definitely noticing the cold more there now though. Having bought hot water bottles and an electric blanket ( oh yes!) we should be toasty enough on our next couple of visits, before we close it down for the winter. Did a couple of walks including a circular 4 mile route from the Bowder Stone at Rosthwaite to Grange. I can now tick this large Andesite Lava boulder off my copy of 111 Places In The Lake District That You Shouldn’t Miss. 🙂

We also had a wander up to The Beacon Tower which stands on a woody fell above Penrith. That morning the skies were a brilliant blue!

Wil booked us into the Haweswater Hotel for a night as an early birthday present. Hugo here looks a bit like a Devil Dog. 🙂

And here he is at the caravan watching Wil make a cheeseboard. His eyes are on the prize!

We gave in and bought a TV and blu ray player for the van. We don’t have WiFi up there so no Netflix etc. A chance to get reaquainted with our old dvds! Watched two seasons of the fun flatmates comedy Spaced from 1999-2001. It’s hilarious!

This aft I went for Bottomless Brunch at Escape in Clitheroe. My friend Fi brought her daughter Bronte ( here she is above with her god mother’s 🙂 ) and she proved very helpful in ordering us our ‘ bottomless’ glasses of Prosecco from the bar downstairs. Without her I’m not sure our Bottomless Brunch would have been very bottomless! Not the best service but a pleasant afternoon out anyways.

All in all I have had a very nice Birthday week. 🙂

Thanks for dropping by. ❤️

Sunday Sevens 18th November.

It’s a Sunday Sevens Birthday Edition!

I booked a week off work ~ you have to when it’s your birthday don’t you….

Anyway here are a few pictures from my week.

We spent last weekend at a mates Holiday Cottage in Ravenglass, a small seaside village on the Cumbrian coast. We were joined for two nights by some friends as well, and it was great to spend time with them. 😁

The cottage looked out across the Estuary and my God daughters enjoyed looking for ‘treasures’ on the beach. This anchor was a bit big to take home with them though!

The cottage was packed to the rafters with owls! They were everywhere. In the beams, on the walls, on the windows….

A favourite tipple of mine this week was a Edinburgh Rhubarb & Ginger Gin Liqeur served with Gingerale. 🙂

Birthdays mean books! I received these three as presents and I’m excited to delve into them. 🙂

This week I got to make a chocolate bar and a box of chocolates at The Chocolate Works in Clitheroe. Definitely a scrumptious idea for a Girls Night out. 🙂

And I wasn’t the only one with a Birthday! Hugo’s pal Mick the Greyhound had a 3rd Birthday Party at his humans house. Oh my! If you can imagine five Springer spaniels, two greyhounds, a beautiful collie and a naughty black labrador all running riot ( whilst getting on amazingly well ~ Phew! ) in your home for two hours, you’ve got the picture. 🙂 They were a lot easier to entertain than children anyway. 😉 Hugo loved it!

Afterwards I got to party in town with my chums!

Thanks to Natalie at Threads and Bobbins for devising Sunday Sevens.

Hope you had a good week.

Sunday Sevens 19th November.

I’ve just realised whenever I post a Sunday Sevens ( 7 or more pictures from the past seven days) I seem to average about one per month, not one per week! But anyway I have just had a week off work…and that seems a good enough reason to join in. 😁

Last weekend it was my Birthday get together so here I am on a Night out with the girls. I’m holding an Espresso Martini , which does look more like a Guinness! 

A week off means more time spent walking with this gentleman of course. It’s been pretty muddy and squelchy in the fields. But that doesn’t stop Hugo’s enjoyment. Whilst I am busy pulling myself out of bogs , he whizzes round like a whirling dervish! Here he is in a rare still moment.

On my actual Birthday my friend Lisa took me to Manchester and we had a great time mooching round the Northern Quarter. This is a colourful area in the city full of quirky bars, cute cafes and independent shops. Just my cup of tea! I am sure I will blog about it soon. 🍰🍫🍸

My Guilty pleasure at the moment is watching Grimm, a supernatural series about a homicide detective who inherits the ability to see monsters.Those goblin, witches and werewolf types inspired by Grimm’s fairytales. And there are a lot of monsters in Portland for sure!  I have also finally finished watching Son’s of Anarchy with Wil. All 7 seasons! When he first started watching it I thought it wouldn’t be my thing, a drama about an outlaw motorcycle gang. But hey it became an addiction! What TV shows are you enjoying at the moment? 

Presently I am stopping in an apartment in Harrogate with Wil ( my Birthday present! ) and yesterday I got to cross something off my Bucket List. 😁 I had booked us into the Turkish Baths which are Britain’s most fully restored Victorian Turkish Baths. As you can see , I took one very sneeky pic in the Relaxation Room aka the Frigidarium. Photography is not allowed but I wanted to prove I visited this beautiful building with its gorgeous ornate tiling. Bliss..

 

We also had early morning coffees before our spa experience in a Harrogate institution Betty’s Tea Rooms. I think having breakfast there maybe before 9am , is one way of beating the queues! 

But I will post more about our stay in Harrogate very soon. 😊

Thanks to Natalie at www.threadsandbobbins.com/ for organizing. 

What are you up to this weekend? 

Happy Blog Birthday Giveaway.

Wow July is a bit of a month for celebrating!  This month the Other Half and I will have been going out Ten years. TEN Years!  Quite an achievement I hear you say. Also in July I recieved a letter from work congratulating me on my Long Service.Eeeek , I won’t tell you how long ….as it will reveal how ancient I actually am….But yay I do get a few goodies which is always nice.  Oh and I mustn’t forget the best anniversary of all ( ok the second best 😉 ).This bloggity blog has a Birthday. Its 3 years old!!  I’m so impressed that I’m still managing to find stuff to post after three whole years, that I think I will have to indulge in a little Giveaway. Just to say thanks to you for actually stopping by once in a while. IT means a lot. <3<3

So I’m giving away this pretty Wooden Flower Press. I bought it recently from The Orchid House in Keswick. With a colourful floral pattern and chunky screws it certainly takes me back to my childhood. If you fancy preserving a few summer flowers why not comment below. Simply tell me your favourite flower and your favourite childhood toy/game. All entries will be put in a flower pot and a winner randomly chosen at the end of the month.

Thanks guys! 🙂

Thursday Favourites ~ 10.

Here I list five things I have enjoyed / appreciated over the last seven days. My Thursday Favourites. 🙂

It was my nephew’s sixth birthday at the wknd. I can’t believe he is 6 already ! Adore my niece and nephew. 🙂  He has totally impressed me by giving up sweets for lent too……and sticking to it. Way to go Roman!

My facebook feed is always full of pics of our friends Irish Terrier Digger. He must be the most photographed and photogenic dog in the world. Here he is all dressed up for st Paddys day on Monday. Very Cute!

Did my first Craft Fair of the year at the wknd , taking my teacups and other bits and bobs to the Artisan Market in Clitheroe. Really enjoyed it and got to buy lots of prezzies for upcoming birthdays, Mothers day etc. Fairs are fab places for purchasing unique gifts I always find. 🙂

Loving loving Audrey Hepburn on Pinterest and i’m delighted that i finally managed to post her Filmography on my little blog. 🙂

Which leads me neatly on to this Eurostar advert for Paris ( Audrey made lots of movies in The City of Light ) that apparently is five months old now, but I’ve only just clocked it. Showing the Quirky side to the French Capital, I find myself slightly in love with the taxidermy museum featured at the end.

Have you ever used the Eurostar?

Oh and Happy First Day of Spring!

Bye for Now x

Photo An Hour. :)

Yesterday I took part in a photo an hour challenge started up by Janey at Is that You Darling  , linking with other snap happy folk at #photoanhour on twitter. I instagramed my way through the day, atempting to post a pic on the hour, every hour. I enjoyed the challenge! So here is what I got up to on Saturday. I’m sorry I didn’t have a more adventurous day…….but it does include cute kittens and a new frock. 🙂

8am ~ woken up by my cat Slinky. She had been demanding breakfast  noisely for at least an hour!

9am ~ Wil surprised me by nipping out for croissants. Yummy breakfast.

10am ~ Nipped into town to do some errands and noticed the lovely spring flowers outside the florist.

11am ~ One of my errands was getting some new passport pics. Well they turned out absolutely awful! I look like a depressed convict. And these were the best ones !

12pm ~ To cheer myself up after passport pics trauma I ending up buying a new daisy print dress in town.

1pm ~ On my way to a friends to cuddle her cute kittens. The sky is blue. Hurrah!

2pm ~ Here are Mau and Sisi. Gorgeous girls. They are five weeks old and are being hand reared by my friend Lisa and her family after their mother abandoned them. This was one of the rare times they sat still. 🙂

3pm ~ Admired the vintage vending machines at Lisa’s house. Very Cool !

4pm ~ Popped to the supermarket to buy tea supplies and some pink wine to take to a birthday party later.

5pm ~ Time for a soak in the bath with a lush bath bomb. 😀

6pm ~ Beef Buritos for tea.

7pm ~ Posting this pic has reminded me , I need to check this. Who knows I may be a millionaire !

8pm ~ A cheeky Amaretto before going to a friends 40th.

10pm ~ or maybe later. A pic with the birthday girl. Happy 40th Fiona. X

Well thats it. After this last pic I would have been classed as drunk in charge of a camera. But I enjoyed the challenge and can’t wait for the next one. 🙂

And I had better go and check that ticket!

Cute Cats and Cake. :)

I love cake of course and I’m a big puss cat fan, so when I celebrated my BIG Birthday last week I had to have an amazing Birthday cake….or two. 🙂

I was lucky enough to celebrate with a vintage tea party at my favorite Alice In Wonderland inspired tea rooms Callooh! Callay!in my home town. They made me a fabulous chocolate cake with candy pink and white striped icing and a very handsome purple Cheshire cat on top. He was even grinning. 🙂 I was glad they limited the number of candles!

My Cheshire Cat Cake. 🙂

A couple of days later I went with my family to a lovely country pub in the nearby village of Downham for even more celebrations. This time my sister Yvonne and my friend Becky surprised me with yet another amazing cake!

My gorgeous Teacup Cake. 🙂

This very cute cake was made by a new little bakery , VANILLAin Clitheroe who bake bespoke cake creations and cup cakes. Look at all the thought that was put into the design. All my friends and family know I have an obsession with vintage china and tea cups. So this delicious chocolate ( yes I adore chocolate too! ) cake was made in the shape of a tea cup and saucer. There is a darling kitty inside the cup and a little owl on the base. The Owl and the Pussycat! There are also tiny sea shells made from icing, decorating the base. I adore the sea side. My loved ones know me so well!

Loving my cake!

What would be your ideal Birthday Cake ?

A Very Merry Unbirthday Party. :)

My sister and I before the guests arrived.

As I was celebrating a BIG Birthday this month I decided to treat myself and my friends to a vintage tea party at my favorite tea rooms Callooh Callay in Clitheroe. Callooh Callay is of course a line in the poem ‘Jabberwocky’ featured in ‘Alice Through The Looking Glass.’

Oh Frabjous Day, Callooh! Callay!

So to tie in with the Wonderland theme of the tea rooms I asked my friends to dress either in Vintage clothes ( any era), tea dresses or characters from Alice In Wonderland. I was going to have my own Mad Hatters Tea Party !
Before the party my friend Becky and sister Yvonne came over to mine to get ready and we enjoyed a couple of glasses of Babysham garnished with cocktail cherries. How very retro 🙂

I had my hair done in a 1950s style.

We all wore outfits inspired by the 1950’s. Becky bought a very swishy swing dress adorned with red cherries, I wore a polka dotted version of a wiggle dress and Yvonne found a cute tea dress off ebay.

Enjoying our Babychams.

The table was laid with beautiful vintage china. playing cards hung from the ceiling.

A Cheshire Cat Teapot.

My friend Kaye searching for her street on the floor map of our home town.

For the tea party we were served delicious sandwiches and quiche on china cake stands, tasty chicken waldorf salad and butternut squosh salad and then a sublime selection of cakes ~ scones with clotted cream and jam, Bakewell tart and chocolate brownies. Callooh Callay doesn’t serve alcohol but you can bring your own for private parties , so I made sure to buy in some fizz. 🙂

Scones and strawberries dipped in chocolate.

Little bags of sweets were
provided for all the guests.

What a spread!

My friends all looked so beautiful and really made an effort which was fantastic. I had an amazing time. Look at my cake !

Liz brings in the cake.

My Cheshire Cat Cake !

Liz at Callooh! Callay! and her staff did a fabulous job of making my Very Merry UnBirthday Party an evening to remember. There was such attention to detail ~ silly party games,a fun quiz, Giant tissue flowers, Alice In Wonderland animation playing on a big screen etc. I suspect I missed some of the decoration as I was having such an amazing time. Thank you Callooh ! Callay !

Facing 40 !!

EEEEEEEK In less than a month I shall be 40. How did this happen. How did it get here so fast?? O-oh the Big 40 ! Life begins at 40! And all that jazz. So i’m trying to put a positive spin on it by looking forward to some exciting celebrations. I shall be having a night out round town, a family meal , an evening away ( don’t know where , its a surprise! ) and a Mad Hatters style~ ish Tea Party. Im v excited about all these things……but i’l probably be pretending I’m 30.Not 40 !

Actually thinking back 30 was a bit scary too. In my twenties I was out having fun, going out every weekend, working in a bar and meeting tons of different people. And then you hit thirty and most of your friends are eventually finding ‘the one’,getting married, having kids etc. Big stuff is expected of you in your 30s. So at least at 40 your life is sorted….well, kind of. 🙂

A Long Time Ago I was Thirty !

My life is pretty much going great at the mo. I’m lucky enough to have fab family and friends and my boyfriend Wil.I have a house that is morgage free ( I must have been the only teenager i knew to take out a morgage ~~ strange child! ) and I’ve got into blogging and doing craft fairs these past couple of years. Yes I have a slight obsession with teacups but I think that shows a certain level of sophistication. Tee Hee ! 🙂 So my thirties have been mostly good. I am in a Happy place. Maybe my 40s will be even better !

Have you any big birthdays coming up? How do you feel about them?