*Ta ta for now*

Photo taken in Bulgaria Sept. 2007

Well I am off on holiday on Friday for a week in Turkey, so I will have to say ta ta for a while.

We are off to a place called Ortakent and we are staying *here*

Lots of fun activities to do but I think the heat over there is in the 40's so I'm not sure how much I will be doing, although I do love yoga and that pool is calling me oh and it is right on the beach too ...

So work wise ... I won't be able to process any orders from the website whilst we are away so all orders received will be posted out the week beginning the 7th July.

Also for all you shoppers out there please note that the website won't be updated during this time and so there is a small chance of items being out of stock once I start to process the orders as it will have to be on a first come first served basis I'm afraid, I do promise to inform you as soon as possible if any items you have ordered are out of stock and a full refund will be given.

All orders up to this afternoon have been parcelled up and sent out so they should be with you very soon.

So I hope you all have a lovely lovely week whilst we are away and I will see you very very soon!

ta ta for now

x

*The winner is ...*

Remember the giveaway from last week for the rosebud heart well the winner was chosen at random and number 3 came out which was Anna from 'all things lovely'!

Well done sweet pea.
I will get it posted off to you on Monday.
x

*Emma Bridgewater ~ Garden Open Day*

Photo taken in York (I do love tea signs!!!!)

Wickmere Old Rectory Garden Open Saturday 21st June 2008 3 - 6pm

Emma Bridgewater and her husband Matthew Rice are opening the garden of Wickmere Old Rectory for the first time this Saturday.
They are doing it to raise funds for a church and the cost is £5 per adult, children are free and this includes tea served on the veranda from Emma Bridgewater pottery. (Of course!)

How fab is this!?! I wish I was nearby to pop along, I would just love that!!!
Now if any of you ladies are lucky enough to live nearby, please go along for me and I want to know all about it and see lots of lovely photos, ok?

To read more about and to get the directions visit the Emma Bridgewater website *here*

*Cath Kidston Bags at Tesco*

Have you seen the news that Cath Kidston has designed a range of eco-shoppers for supermarket Tesco?
Mmmmm pretty cute!
The bags are truly eco-friendly, being made entirely of recycled plastic (PET) bottles.
The range has been launched to raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Neither Tesco nor Cath Kidston are profiting at all from the sale of these bags. They will retail at £3.50, with 50p from each purchase going to charity.

The first two designs of the collection, a multi floral fashion print and Kidston's classic blue spot print - will be launch next month. Four more classic prints will be rolled out over six months up until Christmas, with the number of each design available limited!!!!

Eeek I have a feeling I will fall in love with the whole collection ~ but we don't have a Tesco in our town! Boo!
I am guessing they are going to be v. popular too, so you will have to get in there quickly for them ladies ~ good luck!

*Don't forget*

Don't forget there is a rosebud hanging heart freebie for one lucky person.

*see here* ~ all you need to do is leave a message on that post and I will draw a name at random on Friday!

Hope everyone is having a great week.
Busy busy here as usual, just wish the weather was a bit more sunny & warm ~ where has the sunshine gone, isn't it June?!?
I can't really complain though as we are off to Turkey next week and it is meant to be hot hot hot there!!!! 24 degrees at 9am yesterday near to where we are going ~ eeek!

*Photo Update*

Just a quick update on the photo using business ~ for those who missed it all and have no idea what I'm talking about see *here*.

Anyhoot, I sent them an e-mail explaining that the photo they were using in their shop was my photo and that I was glad they like it but that it was used against my copyright terms. Then very quickly I heard back from them saying that they were sorry, they had found it on Goggle Images (!?! ~ obviously, but that doesn't mean to say it isn't someones and isn't subject to copyright!) and that they had now removed it.
I did reply back to them saying thank you and that I appreciate them getting back in touch with me as I know a lot of people wouldn't.

So all's well that end's well, as they say!

*Happy Fathers Day*

This little cheeky chappy is my dad ~ Happy Fathers Day cheeky chops!

x

*A Year Ago Today*

One year ago today, I started this new blog.
Now as I have said previously I did used to have a blog on my website a few years ago, but last year decided to have the blog over here on blogger and from that day on I am so glad that I did as I have met such lovely lovely people through it.

When I had my blog before I didn't have the luxury of people leaving me nice comments and so being on blogger has made writing so much more worth while knowing that lots of lovely people read and are wonderful enough to drop me a line.

This last year has been a great experience, I'm not a writer and don't pretend to be but I do enjoy gossiping, sharing recipes, telling you all about lovely goodies I have found, chatting about days out & lovely places & sharing experiences of my home-grown business with you all ~ I just hope people enjoy reading it half as much as I love to write it all down.

Anyhoot, as a teeny tiny thank you for all who pop by to visit one of these rosebud hanging hearts will be making their way to one lucky reader ~ just leave a message here on this post and I will pick out a winner next Friday.

Thank you to everyone who has popped by over the last year you are all truly scrumptious lovelies.
x

*Exhibiton Evening*

Friday night was the opening night of the summer exhibition at *The Biscuit Factory* in Newcastle and our friend Lisa House was one of the participating artists, so off up the motorway to Newcastle we went! It is horrid to drive through Newcastle but we had a trusty Tom Tom to guide our way!

Once we arrived (safely I may add, as the last time we tried to get there we couldn't find the place and then our car over heated ~ nice) a lovely glass of rose bubbly met us at the door, and off we went to find Lisa. Luckily we bumped into her straight away as the place was jam packed full of people. The Biscuit Factory gallery is big and on 2 floors and is full of art, ceramics, jewellery ~ oh and I even found some felt cupcakes on a cake stand but didn't dare take a photo as at first I wasn't sure if I was allowed and when I looked about to see if anyone was looking lots of people were including staff so I had to walk away grumpily!

Anyhoo of we went to see Lisa's spot and she had a great spot on the second floor at the top of the stairs. She had already sold one painting before we got there ~ fab! We had already seen Lisa's paintings at her studio a few weeks ago, but it was lovely to see them hung in her space to be seen properly.

Sorry these photos aren't too great but as I said the place was absolutely full to the brim but luckily there was a quick quiet time & so not one to waste opportunity I whipped my camera out and took some quick shots before people strolled back into view again! I did only manage 2 though!

A live band played all night at the top of the stairs which added to the great atmosphere of a lovely evening.

*Lots of new yummy goodies*

Well the website update is complete and there are lots of new yummy goodies to buy!

I absolutely love this metal 'vintage style' Ice Cream above and it is a really good size too measuring at 17.5 inches long by 6 inches wide! Just fabalicious!




These zinc t-light holders are just super cute too and complement the zinc heart pictured in the last post.

And who doesn't love a pretty cushion cover???

Anyhoo, there are lots of other goodies up for sale so pop on over and take a peek!
Click *here* for a quick look all the new items or *here* to browse the whole shop.

Oh and before I forget as a few people have asked, yes we do sell to international buyers all you need to do is at the checkout pop your country in the little box and the shopping basket will sort itself out for you and quote you your postage.

Have a great weekend everyone & I hope the sun shines for us all.

*Website Update*

I am having a big update of the website with lots of new goodies so there may be slight distruption to the website today, I am trying to do it as quickly as possible and hope that nothing goes wrong but thought I would let everyone know just incase it looks a little odd at times!!!
Check back soon for lots of yummy new things!

*Pink & Blue Chalkboard Hearts*

I have these cute heart chalkboards for sale on my website now if anyone wants to take a peek!






Each is handmade and they hang with white string with a cute little ribbon bow at the side.
Ideal for litte girls and big girls alike methinks!
They are £6 each.

Pop along *here* to find them.

*Griffons, Rabbits and Wonderland Tales*

We took ourselves off to Ripon on Friday for a day out and a shopping trip ~ mainly for me to do a bit of thrifting elsewhere for those elusive candlesticks that I want, but alas I came home empty handed!!!

But on our way to the Spa Gardens we passed this swimming baths, and of course I couldn't resist a photo! How grand is this? Fabulous, don't you think? This top photo was the front and the photo below was the side. I didn't take the bottom half of the building as there were lots of cars parked outside as it is a used swimming baths and so with it being half term lots of children accompanied by their mummys & daddys were being taken for a bit of fun.



Imagine what it would have been like in the old days, doing a spot of swimming and then wandering out for a leisurely stroll through the Spa Gardens, lovely.



We also wandered up the road leading up to the Cathedral as I used to sell jewellery in a shop there over 4 years ago now, but we couldn't see it so it must have gone, it is full of lovely cafes and eateries now!

Anyhoo we headed off into the Cathedral, we were welcomed by a little old lady handing out leaflets which told you all about the Cathedral and so we took our map and went to explore!

I was particularly interested in the choir stalls as they had beautiful hand carved images into the wood and our leaflet told us to look at the end seat as there we would find a Griffon chasing a rabbit, whilst another rabbit hides down his hole! This is of particular interest as it is believed to have inspired Lewis Carroll for Alice in Wonderland as his father was the Cannon in the Cathedral. We found it, but unfortunately I didn't take any photos as I wasn't sure if I was allowed to in the Cathedral!

A nearby church to us also has a connection to Lewis Carroll as his father was Rector of the church and Archdeacon of Richmond from 1843-1868. Historians believe Lewis Carroll's Cheshire Cat in the book Alice in Wonderland was inspired by a carving in the church too.

I love things like this, little secrets! My friend lives just near to this church so the next time I pop in to see her, I will see if I can nip inside and get a photo of the carving!!
Wish me luck!