Painting for presents

For my best buddies birthday earlier this month I painted her a portrait of her lovely dog Rooster. I wanted to do Rooster justice and tried my best to get a good likeness, I think it turned out well. I really enjoyed doing this painting and hoped kathryn would love it too, she did and it's now hanging in her living room. I'm not sure what Rooster would say about it though!

There's always that fear when you do someone a painting, are they going to like it?  Or just feel obliged to say they do to save your feelings, it's a risk I have to take!
Has anyone ever painted you a picture? Did you love it or loath it? What do you think of paintings as presents?
Hope you're all having a good week x

Welcome to the Nut House!

Yesterday we picked up the girls! Things don't always go to plan though and instead of coming home with two, we've now got three chickens! We drove to Moira to pick them up from Nut House Hen Rescue and brought them home to meet their furry sister Mary. Mary doesn't know what to make of them, intrigued, a little scared even, but doesn't seem to mind too much, then there's the matter of a certain Seymour, we may have finally found something he's scared of! We sat yesterday for ages just watching them, making chicken noises (us) and getting to know there personalities...Let me tell you about them, Betty seems to be the motherhen, she's the one to show the other two the ways of the coop, she's cool, calm and collected and has the most feathers, then there's Ethel, quite nervy but has been sticking to Betty for guidance, she's lost a few features in her troubled life but hopefully they'll grow back soon and finally Beryl, the renegade, the naughty one! She seems highly strung, she's been bullying the other two but Betty won't be standing for it! And boy does she love to eat! Maybe she's comfort eating due to stress, I'm not too sure, but I'm hoping she'll calm down soon! Definitely a learning curve, but a fun one!
 "Saving one hen may not change the world, but it will change the world for that one hen"

The girls

Like Christmas morning! Two eggs! One with a hard shell one with a squishy one! It makes getting up in the morning even more eggciting (Sorry)

The glamorous Ethel, enjoying a peck of fresh rocket

Beautiful Betty!

Unfortunately Beryl wouldn't stand still for a picture! it's extremely difficult to take a good picture of hens!

We've just put the girls to bed, so it's all quiet on the city farm, so it's night night from me and a buckaaahh buck buck from them xx
Hope you've all had a lovely day, and have a great week xx

Hello Summer!

Woopie! The heat wave has arrived and it's here to stay! (At least for the weekend) Cartwheels in the garden! I haven't grown out of loving doing cartwheels! We had our first BBQ of the season tonight, the first of many hopefully! Good food and good company, BBQs are definately my kind of dinner party!

Mary is enjoying the good weather, like her mummy she's fair and has to get her factor 50 on, to protect her wee ears!

Disaster! The picnic table has seat buckled under the pressure, my sister and my sisters boyfriend ended up on their  backsides!

I hope the sun is shining in your world : )
Have a great weekend everyone! xx

Into the West

On Sunday the big lad and I took a drive into the West and walked up Divis and the Black Mountain
 for the first time. I can't believe I've never been up here before! It's only a short drive from where we live and I see the mountain almost every day but never thought about walking up it until it was featured in The Guardian Great British walks guide. So we packed a picnic and headed up the mountain, and I have to say it was amazing! If you live in Belfast or are just visiting it's definitely worth taking this walk, the views of the city are superb! It was quite cloudy on Sunday but on a clear day it would be class, I can't wait to go back! You can see for miles! It was so peaceful on the top of the mountain, surveying the city below, the distant hum. I could sit there for hours and just daydream about what's going on below, watch the planes coming in, and the clouds roll over. Strangely I felt like a giant at the top of the mountain yet had a moment of enlightenment of realising how small I really am.

A blog exclusive! A siting of the big lad! He does exist!!

We were lucky enough to meet some friendly horses ( The walk is actually through working farmland) We watched them gallop across the mountain, and stopped to say hello, so beautiful.

The big lad with a horse looking a cross between Daryl Hanna in Splash and Robert Plant, it even looks like it's wearing flares!

I have hair envy! This horse has amazing hair, don't you think!?

A most enjoyable afternoon, I can't wait to go back!

Hope you're all having a great week xx

Wardrobe Clearout

Usually by now in Northern Ireland we're having some good weather but there's been alot of rain here recently and it's been cold, sooooo cold! There's been a few wardrobe malfunctions of late, seeing the sun shining at eight in the morning doesn't always mean sunshine all day, OH NO! You've walked out of the house in your maxi dress and flip flops and five minutes later it's lashing down and you look like a drowned rat, not a good look! But with yesterday came the brilliant news of some much awaited for good weather...AT LAST!!! Sunshine this week and a heatwave on it's way!
Time for a wardrobe clear out, pack the winter jumpers away and get out the hot pants and crop tops (kidding) The wardrobe clear out is a yearly event but it's usually more of a tidy up but this time I was ruthless, and it felt good. With shops popping up everywhere offering cash for clothes, charity shops are suffering, with less people bringing in donations they're forced to put up their prices up to meet targets, then less people will buy from them equals no money for charity. So with that in mind, I tried on everything, thought seriously does this really suit me? does this actually fit? and managed to give away two bags from me and one from the big lad!

Time for a clear out!

See you later scarfs (hopefully not for a while)

Job Done!!

So clear out done, all biz, headed off to the charity shop to drop off the bags..... Should have left them at the door instead of actually going in, TOO DANGEROUS! NO WILLPOWER!!
Instead of coming home empty handed I came home with this....

I very lovely floor lamp from Oxfam, for only £5.99!

I am resided to the fact that when it comes to charity shops finds an opportunity is not to be missed because it won't be there next time you go. I have fallen off the waggon big time!
So I've got a neat and tidy wardrobe and an amazing new lamp, happy days : )
What have you all been thrifting week? I can't wait to see!
Head over to Sophie's blog for your fix of all of this weeks flea market finds!

Have a great Sunday everyone xx

When things go bump in the night!

A bit of a disaster last night, and I predicted it might happen. A picture I'd taken off the wall to photograph and then out back onto a dodgy looking nail, fell back off the wall again last night at four in the morning. Scared the crap out of us but not as scary as the time some wind chimes fell off a sucker hook that came free, that was terrifying (I'm easily scared!) Unfortunately in this latest disaster my lamp has been destroyed and deer from my lastest thrifting adventure fell victim and has been beheaded, sorry little deer! You're now just a head!

I've learned my lesson, next time I think the nail is dodgy just change it! So now I need a new lamp (My excuse to go on another thrifting adventure) and somewhere to put all my brooches, I'm not sure I really need a new deer though!
I hope you got a better nights sleep than we did! Have a great Saturday everyone!

Romeo, Oh Romeo, Werefore art thy Romeo?

Hello Blog buddies! Back home after a busy week staying away with work, SO nice to be home! You've all been busy this week so I've loads of blog reading to do, Thanks!!
Came home to a sweet scene.....

Seymour....Oh Seymour werefore art thou Seymore?

This weekend I'm looking forward to catching up with all your blogs, hanging out with my two bestest amigos, (the big lad and Mary), getting the garden ready for the arrival of the girls (hens) next weekend, getting lots of fresh air, eating homemade food, a wee night out dancing the cares away with my sister, watching Mad Men.....Got to love the weekends : )
Have a great weekend everyone!

The freaky five come good

Last Monday was the 31st Belfast marathon, and for the first time I was taking part in the relay event. My friend and I have walked the marathon for the last two years but we thought we'd give the relay a go this year, I didn't really know what to expect, but I have to say it was really good fun! Apart from the fact that it was the most horrible day, standing about in the freezing cold, running in the the lashing rain and getting soaked, it was exhilarating and nice to chat to other people waiting at the relay point. The relay event is a great way of getting involved in the marathon if long distance running isn't quite your thing, but it must be quite tough for the marathon runners as the relay runners burst past them full of energy when they're flaging, mental strength is as important as the physical to get through. Hats off to anyone to anyone running or walking the full whack, it was a stinking day but everyone perservered! Once I got home, showered and warmed up, my sister and I headed back to the finish line to cheer on the finishers, and I couldn't believe my luck with this photo opportunity! 

This kitty had just completed the full marathon! Raising money for Cats Protection  My sister had actually met this same cat dancing in the The Black Box the night before the marathon! Cats must be way fitter than humans and apparently they like beer too!

Reminds me of someone!

 Maybe next year I'll challenge myself to the full marathon run...(We'll see)
Have a great week everyone!

I'm in the garden!

Hi! Hope you're all having a lovely Sunday!
We're going to need a bigger veg patch soon! These grow your own bags were a birthday present from the big lads sister (Thanks!) They're a brilliant idea and everything you need to get started, the seeds, the pots, the soil, the how to information and a cute little sign for your garden! I couldn't wait to get sowing! So we've got lettuce and beetroot to add to the crop! We've had a lot of rain here recently so everythings growing like mad, so when the sun finally arrives and things heat up we'll have lots of salad stuff fresh from the patch to munch : )

We're hoping to get some chickens soon, not sure what Mary will think of her feathered sisters but it should be fun to watch! The big lads been on the Gumtree hunt for a chicken coop and finally got one last week! So it won't be long until we add to our family, I want to call them Ethel and Agnes after reading about an amazing estate sale find by Rae over at Say it ain't so