3 things to smile about #6

I am not one to linger too long here about my personal life, but let's just say that February was like the worst.month.ever. But hey, everything being relative, I have decided to focus on the positive, smile again, and try not to be too much of a miserable cow. 'Cos goodness knows only bad things happen to miserable cows. I'm all about the karma, baby!
So here are some of the things I have been smiling about these last few days.

A rustic bunch of flowers waiting for us on the table we booked at Cedar Farm in Lancashire. Early March seemed like the right time to put February behind us (you don't say, hey!) so we headed North and reconnected with our roots a bit. I just loved that bouquet and the contrast it made with the bluey-grey wall behind: simple, effective. I would have never put red tulips with cherry blossoms, but wow, don't you think?

Putting old bits of fabric together. Always good therapy, and what better to do put together a mother-daughter collaboration? Half-way through the preparations I realised I wouldn't have enough of the red spotted fabric and had to change, but it was still a nice little DIY thing to do.

don't mind me while I take a quick photo with bed hair, no proper background, and let's not even go down the lighting route :(

Last but not least, this absolute beauty from Zara. A cheap-as-chips, sure to cheer you up kinda bag, aka the perfect little picnic basket bag. It will be perfect for spring, summer, and may even end up with mushrooms in it come Autumn! I simply loved it as soon as I saw it on a parisian website a few weeks ago. Unfortunately I didn't order it straight away, and it got sold out online pretty quickly. Luckily for me, the Oxford Street branch had ONE left. Yay me!

DIY advent calendar

Way before each and every single brand started having their own advent calendar, I started making those DIY advent calendars for friends and family. After a couple of years they had generated enough interest from colleagues that I started batch-adventing on a much bigger scale.
I have left this post a bit late in November, but do not despair, readers, it's not too late to put your own DIY advent calendar together for your loved ones!
Head out to the nearest high street near you this weekend, and keep your eyes open to spot all the lovely bargains, like the adorable mini Lindt chocolate bears pictured above ( I got 3 for £1). My best shops for gathering advent calendar supplies are supermarkets for chocolates and fancy cooking ingredients (for example this year one of my calendars has fancy little cake decorations), Boots and Superdrug for their mini-sized toiletries, and places like Tiger, which offer the wacky alternative options.

For me the best surprise is that you never really know what you're going to get, so I purposefully wrap a real mix of things like those mini toiletries or single-use face masks.
If you know the person you are wrapping for, even better, you can tailor their calendar and make their day virtually everyday :)

This year for example, I haven't really pushed the boat out, but I've been a bit cheeky and am trying to encourage someone hooked on pizza to try their hand at a bit of cooking. I hope they'll take the challenge and have a go at some of those easy-cook recipes. Another day they might try their luck at the lottery and buy their weight in pizza!

The worse part of the whole process is the wrapping. Man, do I hate it! Back in the day I used a single paper, but thought it ended up a bit dull, so the year after I used a different wrapping for nearly every day - what a crazy person I was! Last year I went for brown paper with simple red-and-white  twine, and guess what, what goes around comes around, and this year I am back on the simplest possible wrapping paper for every surprise.
After all, it's the thought that counts, and believe you me, whoever gets one of your DIY advent calendars will love you for putting all this together for them. So, with just about a week to go, don't hesitate, hit the high street or your local supermarket, wrap everything up, put in a decorated box or small basket, and hey presto, make someone happy for a whole 24 days in a row!

3 things to smile about #5

This time of year nothing makes me smile more than preparing for Christmas - well, it's only just around the corner isn't it? And before that, there's the advent calendars to think about, of course.
I've gone a bit mental with my advent calendar boxes business in the past three or four years, and although I am sure I'll come back to it, this year sadly, I'm not making any apart than for close family. The truth is, I've left it all a bit too late to get organised on that scale, and in any case it's good to leave things to rest sometimes. So one of the best things at the moment is browsing for my own advent calendar, and there is so much choice out there, it'll be hard to pick one.
 Carrying on with traditions, this year I will definitely be doing is homemade stocking fillers. So here are some of the easiest, lovely things that make me smile.

First up is the old classic - lavender bags. The is a really easy one to make, and a crowd pleaser, because you can always use a lavender bag to bung in a drawer or in the car for that extra fresh smell of Provence! I order my lavender online from the good people of Amazon, and any old bits of scraps will do for your fabric. That said, this series of fabric above is perfect as you can just cut up around one of the adverts.

Next up is great for little people, and although it's a bit fiddly it's a rewarding one. I make my life easier with this one by not turning any of the fabric over, I just shear it after sewing. You do need to get some small magnets, but again, my Amazonian friends are very resourceful on this one.

Finally, handwarmers. Who doesn't curse the cold when they go out on a cold morning? Those are so easy to make, and they're a cool, natural alternative to the ones sold in the shops for a fiver. You'll probably use them longer too. My one and only trick is to double-sew the edges if you're using rice like me. It just ensures your grains stay where they should, and don't end up in the bottom of your coat pockets!

Well, I hope I have inspired you to make a few stocking fillers with fabric scraps. I would love to hear more ideas from you. Do you make your own stocking fillers? Do you make and sell at Chrismas markets?

Just fabulous

Well, things fell apart.

In fairness, it was all down to us. We brought on on our own sadness, but have the clearest feeling that we did the right thing in the end. After a long period of doubt about whther this was the right decicion, a couple of details lead us to make some difficult calls and the house is no longer on the cards. It all came down to potential strcutural problems and lack of paperwork to back it up. It just didn't feel right, and when one is about to commit to such a huge sum of money, one thinks twice. Then weeps at the thought that, yes, it took sooooo long to get there! Boo hoo.
And so we're back to square one, only this time armed with valuable experience of what to ask and what to look out for.
But that doesn't take away the heartache. Or the crushing feelings that everything within commuting distance of London is unattainable.
 I could go on and on, but have decided to stay positive, and cross fingers for 1) winning Euromillions or 2) the housing market to suddenly crash and leave us in a marvellous position to buy.

So, on to fabulousness. Inspired by so many pretties on Pinterest lately, I had a go at designing my own daily planner sheet. Nothing too fancy for a first go, but I kinda like it.

I was a bit sceptical about using it first, but it's turned out to be great and really helped me focus on making the most of my days, especially days off. I've designed it to suit my personal needs, with a small "to do" list but including a "make and bake" on its side. The middle section is all about health, and I've realised how much more water I ought to drink everyday since using it. The bottom of the sheet is something for me, like doing my nails or just reading a magazine for 15 minutes, and something for others, like treating Baby to a little session at the Softplay or remembering to send a birthday card.
 When I use it, I fill it in as early as possible in the day and it's a great incentive to get things done quickly and not leave them till the next day. All in all, a fabulous tool. I'm now getting supplies in to take it up to the next level and make an even more fabulous planner for 2016.

Well that's it for today folks. Speak soon. Off to research houses ;)

mixed bag

This half-term and the days leading up to it have been a real mixed bag. There was a visit to Tate Modern with the school kids, cooking experiences, and all sorts of crazy things happening. There were people visiting for a whole week (I'm not antisocial, but a week in the tiny flat is just about my limit) and activities planned to entertain them (see previous post about English gardens, and a delicious further post coming soon). There were "signs" and apples disguised as toadstools. There was also a lot of fun trying to make sense of my mum's old crochet squares, and a very promising visit to a beautiful house. And there was a baby born just over a week ago. Now I'm a mum AND an aunt. So many things to toast about!

Ces vacances de mai et les jours qui les ont précédés ont été vraiment étranges. Il y a eu une visite au Tate Moderne avec les élèves, des expérimentations en cuisine, et encore plein de choses super bien. Il y eu des gens qui sont venus passer une semaine entière chez nous (je ne suis pas antisociale, mais une semaine dans dans notre petit appart, ca fait beaucoup) et il a fallu les occuper un peu (voir mon billet précédent sur les jardins anglais, et un autre succulent à venir bientot). Il y a eu des "signaux" et des pommes déguisées en champignons. Il y a eu des crises de fou rire à essayer de faire quelques chose des vieux carrés en crochet de ma mère, et une visite très prometteuse à une maison. Et il y a eu un nouveau-né il y a une semaine. Maintenant je suis mère ET tante. Tant de choses à fêter!

log cabin cushions

 

I made this series of log cabin cushions a few weeks ago, using fabric I had stashed away for a couple of years. It seemed like the right thing to do with it.
I fear we might tire of the spotty pattern and owls quite soon, but for the meantime they will do just fine!

J'ai fait cette série de coussins il y a quelques semaines, avec du tissu que j'avais depuis pas mal de temps. Ca m'a semblé etre le projet ideal pour enfin m'en servir.
J'ai bien peur qu'on se lasse des pois et des chouettes assez vite, mais pour l'instant ca ira comme ca!

jar presents

Last month a couple of parents-to-be moved into a new home. One of them being my half-brother, something had to be done. I quickly put together this jar between my mock exams and getting ready for a holiday and shipped it over to France in time to welcome them home. I have to admit, it's not the first time I dabble into jar presents (Mr Lavender and I had organised some cookie mix for our guests as a wedding favour, as you can see below) but Pinterest has really helped me realise the potential to extend the range way beyond what I thought was possible to put in a simple jar.
I always loved jars anyway - who doesn't? she thinks to herself, a small part of her hoping she's not a complete weirdo for saying that...
and now I think I'm in danger of becoming an addict at making presents in jar.

Le mois dernier un jeune couple de presque parents a emménagé dans leur nouveau chez-eux. Comme l'un d'eux est mon demi-frère, je me devais de faire un geste. J'ai vite rempli ce petit bocal entre les examens blancs et les valises à préparer pour les vacances et l'ai envoyé en France juste à temps pour les accueillir. Je dois avouer que ce n'est pas la première fois que je donne dans le cadeau bocal (Mr Lavender et moi avions fait des bocaux avec préparation à cookies pour nos invités lors de notre mariage, comme vous pouvez le voir plus bas) mais Pinterest m'a fait prendre conscience du potential incroyable des cadeaux en bocal, bien au-delà de ce que je croyais possible.
J'ai toujours adoré les bocaux, pas vous? se dit-elle en espérant ne pas complèement passer pas pour une folle dingue et maintenant je me vois sur le point de devenir carrément accro à ces petits cadeaux en verre.

Trying the recipe out at home a few months before

Chain work a couple of days before D-day

Finished favour ready for our guests. The lovely envelopes are from Un Beau Jour and contain a recipe card