*A Very Delia Christmas*

I am so excited for Delia Smith's new Christmas show tomorrow night!
Delia's Classic Christmas is the first Christmas show she has done since 1990 ~ can you believe it?


I just love Delia at Christmas & must admit I do watch the old Christmas special every year on the food channel, it makes me feel all Christmassy & excited!
This episode is sure to be just as special & this is what the BBC say about it ~


'Delia treats viewers with Christmas classics, from gloriously fragrant home-made mincemeat and traditional Christmas pudding to a glossily bronzed turkey with all the trimmings. She spoils the hungry with a delicious chocolate and sour cherry crumble, her best cranberry and orange relish, and delectable scallops in the shell. Diners will ascend to culinary heaven with her fillet of beef with wild mushroom and red wine sauce, and roasted bacon with blackened crackling, and there's a twinkly delight as Delia indulges dessert lovers with a gorgeous panettone trifle.'



Mmmmmmm I can feel that special Christmas tingle all ready can you?
It is on BBC2 at 9.pm Tuesday 1st December.

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There is also another show I am very excited about tomorrow night too but more of that tomorrow ...

*Clematis Heart Wreath*

Another new addition to the shop this week are these lovely wicker hearts which are made from clematis vine.
I have one hung on the back of our vestibule door in the hallway, I think these types of heart wreaths are so pretty for winter & the festive season & these ones make a lovely change from the normal willow.
They are only £5.00 & can be found *here*

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Sorry but the last set of gingerbread decorations from the previous post have now sold.

*Snowflakes are falling ...*

... over at the shop that is! I've just changed the background to a more festive feel!
Pop on by to take a peek.

So why the photo of the gingerbread decorations then? Well just to say that these are almost out of stock ~ only one set left! These have been selling like ... well like hot gingerbread on a cold day!
Priced at only £3.50 for a set of 8 ~ find the last set *here*

*A few birthday treats ...*

Well as I said in my previous post I was such a lucky girl & received lots of wonderful birthday treats, such as pink & white gingham pj's, a wonderfully cosy pink & white polka dot hooded robe, candles, chocolates, a lovely new winter coat, books, The Notebook on DVD, series 5 of The L Word ~ oohhh & loads more wonderful goodies including these few that I have photographed.

I received this wonderfully pretty picnic hamper from my sister, just look how adorable it is! A white-washed hamper with pretty blue & white place settings for two! Everything you need for a sweet picnic on a summers day.



It has took up residence in our bedroom up to now, as I thought it looked sweet here next to my old pitcher & this old crown wallpaper advert from the 50's.



Here is a gift that I made my husband paint for me ~ can that still be counted as a gift if you make someone do it for you??? *tee hee* He doesn't like to do me paintings as he thinks it is awful having his own work in the house but I begged & pleaded with him for this & it worked, well you can't deny a girly on her birthday can you?



I haven't hung it anywhere yet & so it is sitting here in our dining room on top of the little stove but I think it looks pretty here so it may stay here a while!



James bought me so many lovely gifts including these books by Gerald Durrell, I do love Gerald Durrell & loved My Family & Other Animals when I read it as a child so he thought he would buy me these old 1973 books of his other works too as I haven't read them all.



He also bought me My Family & Other Animals too but he bought it from e-bay without a photo but the listing said it was the 1973 copy & so he just went ahead & bought it but when it arrived it is a later 1980's copy!!! I've told him to complain but he said he will just see if he can find the other version.
I also received My Family & Other Animals on DVD too from James as I love the 1980's series with Hannah Gordon & Brian Blessed and we only had an old copy that we have been watching!

I really was a lucky thing with all the wonderful goodies I received but I didn't want to bore you all with photo after photo of presents, anyhoo thank you to everyone for all my birthday treats I loved them all!

*Now we are 35 ...*

Thank you so much for all your lovely birthday messages!
My name is Alison & I'm 35 ~ ok so I've now got over the shock of being 35! I'm fine with it, it is only a number isn't it! *giggle*

I had a lovely day, this is the card James made for me. The little girl is cut out of a 50's Woman's Own magazine ~ I've acutally seen the advert too & it was for toilet paper! If you are about my age or older you will remember the type, that hiddeous slippery toilet paper that came in boxes & was used in public toilets, remember that! *euwww* But the picture of the little girl is the cutest isn't she so lets not think of that nasty tissue!

I received lots & lots of wonderful pink cards, some with butterflies & lots of wonderful cupcake & polka dot wrapping ~ people know me soooooo well!
I'm also the luckiest girly in the world as I received lots of wonderful cutie gifts ~ I think I will have to photograph a few for a show & tell post!

Anyhoo, thank you so much again for all your sweet birthday messages I loved them all!

*I don't feel middle-aged! I really don't!*

It's my birthday on Sunday & it's a birthday I have been dreading all year!!!
I will be 35!
Thirty Five!!!

I will be in that middle-aged bracket on forms ~ no longer will I be 21-34 NO I will be 35-49!!!!! I think this officially means I'm middle aged!!!

I don't feel middle-aged, I still feel like that wild young thing I was at 20 although slightly more sensible it has to be said!!! But I will be 35, how on earth did this happen???

It really doesn't seem 2 minutes since it was my 30th birthday ~ which I wasn't overly pleased with either & got hiddeously drunk on bubbly the night before & had the mother of all hangovers for my birthday!!!

I'm still a little girl, I'm not 35 for goodness sake! We don't have children as I've always thought myself too young to be a mother, I can barely look after myself for goodness sake, but now blimey in 2 minutes time I'm going to be too old!!!!

I know it's only a number but I think this is the first real birthday that I've thought *eek* I am old although in my rational moments I do realise 35 isn't really old at all! Oh well I'm sure those forms for filling in will come flooding in now just to spite me & I will have to be the miserable one ticking the 35-49 bracket with a frown on her face thinking where did my youth go? Although really one shouldn't be frowning too much now as one has to think of those deep set wrinkles settling in now don't you know ...

*I ♥ Butterflies*

You all know I have a love of butterflies & I have just added these very pretty pink butterfly garlands to the shop.

They can be hung vertically by a loop at the top & they have a big bead at the bottom for weight or they look equally pretty draped around mirrors, bedstands or birdcages as seen above!

I am going to keep mine for Christmas time as I wanted to go a little more delicate with the Christmas decorations for the dining room & so thought silvers, whites, pale pinks & blues would be lovely & these pretty garlands are just perfect for that scheme.

They are £8 & can be found *here*.

*Losing our way, an art show & a little shopping ...*

This past weekend the Northern Art Show was on in Harrogate so James & I popped along on Sunday.

I'm afraid on our way there I realised I had forgotten to take my camera & so I have no photos of the art show itself & so I thought I would pop one of James' pieces in for the art element!!! I do love this Mills & Boon cover painting.

Anyhoo the day started out oddly as we were in the International Centre carpark & found it strangely difficult to find the exit & then an older couple joined us in the search for the 'light' as they had been wandering around for ages & had found themselves in various places but not the exit! The lady did say at one point they had found themselves in a darkened room!!! *eek* We did eventually find the street thank goodness & didn't spend all day wandering around an underground carpark!

On our way to the art show we bumped into Steven Lawler another talented artist that James knows through the gallery. He had already been to the art show & so after a few minutes chatting off we went to see the art.

Within the first few mins in the show we bumped into the couple we had been lost with, so they had also been on their way to the art! There wasn't too much that took my fancy I must admit but I was taken by work from a photographer named Richard Heeps.

You can see more of his work *here*.

After leaving the art show there just happened to be time to do a little shopping in Harrogate & I managed to pick up a lovely 'Welcome' hanging Christmas decoration from a sweet little shop! It is always a little odd visiting these cute shops as they do tend to sell the same things as me but I do always manage to find a little something that can feed my obsession for buying homewares! Thankfully!

*Such Sweetness*

I just love Marilyn Monroe & I think this photo is just so sweet.
I am completely in love with that pretty dress, I want one just like it.
I just love the sweet combination of the pretty blue & the pink flower & of course Ms Monroe's delicate beauty ...

*Mini Makeover*

This is a metal pitcher I bought a couple of years ago in a sale. It only cost a couple of pounds but it was a bright baby blue. I lived with it in various places in the house but it just never seemed to fit in properly, so in the summer I decided to give it a mini makeover.

This is the colour it used to be when I had it by the fireplace a couple of years ago but I was just never keen on the brightness of it.

I bought a can of this Painters Touch spray paint in Antique White & gave it a whole new life!

At the same time I also sprayed a little zinc trug that we had in the garden. I just gave the trug a good wash & sprayed it & popped some lavender plants in & sat it on our landing window ledge.

That is the fab thing about having old lovely sash windows, you get these huge window ledges on the outside to pop planters on.

I even managed to spray a biscuit tin that we had left over from last Christmas! Does anyone else hate throwing these tins out? I do. Anyhoo it received a lovely makeover too & is now a bits & bobs tin.

So I managed to get a whole lotta makeover done with this one can of spray paint! Fab!

This is where the pitcher lives now, on top of a wicker hamper on the landing & I think it is much prettier now ...

*New Pretties for the Shop*

Well here are the new pretties I was telling you about the other day.

I have completely fell in love with this Home Sweet Home Sign!
I photographed it here & here this one has stayed! I just love them, they are so incredibly pretty.
These signs are £6.00 & can be found *here*.

Another pretty item is this lovely heart shaped bird feeder.
Just pop an apple on the spike & place in your garden. I'm afraid I did have to photograph this in doors due to this miserable dark & wet November weather. But this pretty is currently outside hanging in my garden!
They cost a bargainlicious £4.00 & can be found *here*.


... and I'm afraid we have even more cuteness here with this sweet little hangies.
Two birdies & two hearts in the set. I just love these too! They are such a wonderful chalky white which has been distressed ~ they really are just the cutest little hangies. Perfect for Christmas decorations but pretty enough for all year round decor too.
These have been 'flying off the shelves' since they arrived in the shop yesterday & I'm not surprised they are simply delicious!
They are £4.50 for the set & can be found *here*.

Specially for Christmas we have our cutie pie little 'gingerbread' decorations back this year.

They come in a set of 8 & cost only £3.50 & can be found *here*.

Another Christmas favourite from last year is back too.

These handmade red NOEL letters were really popular last year & since they have been back are a favourite this year too.

They cost £8.00 & can be found *here*.

*Please note that the last day for Christmas Shopping is Monday 14th December this is so that all your orders can be packed up & sent out & arrive in time for Christmas ~ and with the Royal Mail strikes recently & the backlog of post it has caused I think the earlier Christmas items are posted out the better.*

*M&S ~ Penny Bazaar*

Apparantly going by Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert website this Friday (Friday the 13th *eek*) Marks & Spencer stores will be holding a 'Penny Bazaar'!!!
They will be selling things for only a penny to celebrate its 125th Birthday.

There will be 15 things included in the penny sale & all the money will go to local charities.
Things included in the penny sale are Christmas socks, card games, children’s puzzles, handkerchiefs, money boxes, tea-towels, mugs, notebooks, ties, knickers, key-rings, Christmas chocolates and Yule logs!
*Phew*

You can buy up to five 1p products each but get there early as I'm guessing this is going to be really really popular.
I'm not sure I'm brave enough to tackle this kind of shopping! I must admit I'm not a huge fan of shopping as it is, plus I hate getting up early especially in this cold weather ~ I know, I know I'm a weakling but I am a thrifty gal so all these goodies for a penny may seduce me but I say may lightly ...

*Pretty Pink Rose Garlands*

Just a quick shop update to say that these wonderfully pretty pink rose garlands are finally back in stock!!! Hurray!
It has took me months to get these as the supplier hasn't had any for ages but they are now available again to buy.
They are so pretty I personally just adore them. They are £10.00 each & can be found *here*.

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I have also finally received a supply of new pretties that I have been waiting for an absolute age for ~ without a couple of Christmas items I wanted so I am quite angry about that but anyhoo the other things are adorable & will be available in the shop very very soon ...

*Vintage Style Birdcage & a Pretty Heart*

Just a quick update of a couple of new pretties for the shop.

Firstly these really pretty vintage style birdcages. I just love them ~ they are a soft white which is slightly distressed for a lovely vintage look. Pop a pretty planter inside & use them indoors or out. They can be hung from the top & so would look pretty hung from a tree for the summer months.

They are £20.00 & can be found *here*

And also just new are these pretty white-washed willow hearts. They are painted & then are slightly distressed for a soft vintage country cottage feel.

I have one of these propped up on a pretty shelf with hooks above the stairs but I'm thinking I will have a few more around the house for Christmas time & they will look so lovely me-thinks especially if like me you love love love white!

They are only £4.50 & so would make an ideal stocking filler gift for Christmas ~ find them *here*

*Remember, remember ...*

Well its the 5th of November, gunpowder, treason & plot & all that.

The image above is the Guy Fawkes Inn in York, the birthplace of Guy Fawkes.

Are you off to any displays & bonfires tonight, or are you having a bonfire of your own?

Ooohhh this time of year screams hot baked potatoes, mulled cider & gloved hands doesn't it?

There are a few displays in our area so it is just choosing which ones to go to. They are happening from tonight until Saturday mostly so I'm sure we will be attending a few!!!

Whatever you are doing stay wrapped up warm, be safe & have fun ...

*Ideal Homes Ideal Heart*

I am so happy as Vintage Amethyst appears in the December issue of Ideal Home.



The product featured was my Zinc Hanging Heart, you can see it over there on the left hand side of the page.

The heart was featured as part of the 'how to get' Natalie's country-style Christmas decoration under the 'Ideal' selection.

This is what they say 'Hearts Desire ~ we love this pin-pricked rustic heart'.

The hearts are ideal as a country style Christmas decoration or even a stocking filler gift as they only cost £4.50 ~ you can find the hearts *here*.