Friday Flowers

Yippppeeee IT'S FRIDAY!!
My sunflower has bloomed!

Have a great Friday everyone!xx

Your twisting my melons (LEMONS) man

Happy Monday Everyone!
During my week off I did lots of making and baking, probably best that I'm back to work tomorrow, the problem with baking is the eating it all afterwards! I caught the last 5 minutes of a cookery programme the other day, they were making a lemon drizzle cake and I've been wanting to make one for ages. They called it 'Men only lemon drizzle cake' because it own first prize in the men only category at a fair. The recipe is easy to follow but it requires 3 eggs, I had to wait 3 days before I could make it, one chicken is laying, one is laying but the the eggs keep breaking and the other one isn't laying at all. Eggs check, ready to bake.
To make the cake you'll need...
 175g softened unsalted butter
175g caster sugar
175g White self raise flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
3 eggs
2unwaxed lemons
100g of granulated sugar

1.Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, grease and flour a loaf tin
2.Mix together the butter, flour, caster sugar and baking powder
3.Add the 3 eggs
4. Zest the lemons and add to the batter (Keep the lemons!)
5. Put the mix in the tin and into the oven for 40-45 minutes
6. Mix the granulated sugar with the juice of the 2 lemons
7. Poke holes in the cake and pour over the sugar/lemon mix
8. put the cake on a plate and serve with a drop of tay : )

The cake tasted very good but I fear I may have poisoned myself a little with it, I'm allergic to eggs and I think the egg content is a bit too high. I've had unexplained tiredness and stomach cramps since eating it so best that I don't make it again. Damn you egg allergy!! It really was delicious, lemony and sugary YUM!!

Have a great week everyone!! xx

This week I've been mostly thrifting....

And I was trying not to!
Hello! The sun is shining in Belfast today! (Sorry it's a Northern Ireland thing we're obsessed with the weather!)
Myself and the big lad have enjoyed our week off together, day trips and picnics and a new found love of playing frisbee. After last Saturday I was planning to go cold turkey on the thrifting front but I'm on my holidays! That is an excuse for a lot of things around here, like having ice cream everyday, "Sure, it's ok, I'm on my holidays!" On Tuesday we went on a little road trip to County Down, where the mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea. First we visited Castlewellan Forest for a stroll and a picnic...

And the we drove to Newcastle and that's were the wheels started to come off! It's tradition when we visit Newcastle to go to the amusements my favourite the crazy frog game where you have to bash the frog with a mallet every time he pops up, love it! Taking out my no thrifting anger on the frog mustn't have worked because when we went for a dander up the town and I spied the charity shop I darted straight in before the big lad could say NO MORE! And I'm glad I did...First shop

p

 Two Magic Roundabout annuals from 1971 and 1972 in perfect condition (apologies for the fuzzy photo, it's making my eyes water)
Second shop  a vintage scrabble game and a 1970's sports bag which I've forgotten to take a photo of. The rain was coming on and the big lad was scundered so we forgot the ice cream and hit the road...
Driving home through Ballinahinch I spy with my little eye an AMAZING coffee pot! I am a danger on the roads when passing through small towns! The big lad's shouting "KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!" and I'm shouting "I NEED TO FIND A PARKING SPACE!"

Accident averted I come home with the coffee pot and three mugs, it's another Meakin design form the 1970's I love the poppy design, poppy designs never go out of fashion.
And finally a little bowl, so cute I couldn't resist!

I have failed miserably but I am not miserable!
What I did manage yesterday was a whole Saturday and I didn't thrift one single thing, I think that's a first! Next Saturday I'll be back at That vintage Vibe Fair in The Red barn Gallery, Really looking forward to it!


Hope you're all having a lovely weekend, I'm off for a game of frisbee with the big lad xx

Friday Flowers

Friday again!! Where has this week gone!?
 Friday flowers lets face it is all about the vase rather than the flowers, and you'll either love or hate my latest find! Green glass vase, thrifted on last weekends epic boot sale adventure. I love the colour and the design of this vase I'm guessing it's from the 1960's and it reminds me of a vase my granny used to have, the big lad liked it too so that's always a bonus!

In other happenings this week....I made my first Etsy sale! All delighted!! I've found another way to spend my down time, mooching round Etsy adding things to my favourites, I'll be needing a laptop of my own soon!
And there's a new vintage shop opened in Belfast, I can't wait to go for a look...

Hope your all a lovely Friday and have lots of fun things planned for this weekend xx

Martha's new dress

Hello!
I have a new hobby, from cushion maker to dress maker. My muse Martha, my best friend Kathryn's little girl. Martha is two, she's cute as a button and knows how to rock a vintage dress! Now when I see vintage fabric I'm thinking "Oooo that would make a really cute dress for Martha"
 To make the dress, I drew a simple pattern onto newspaper, cut it out of the fabric and sewed it back up....
Dress Number 1

Dress Number 2

Dress Number 3

Dress Number 4
Fabric given to be by a Cathy a friend of Kathryn, check out her lovely blog Jack's Paper Moon

Nearly a dress for everyday of the week! Time for a little fashion shoot! Martha's used to being in front of the camera, her mummy Kathryn is a photographer check out her lovely Blog Little Red Rooster

So Cute!! I don't know which one I like best!
Time to make myself something else to wear!

Hope you're all having a lovely week! I'm loving my time off work, baking, sewing, crafting, running, day trips : )

On the sofa with Mary

What better way to spend the evening than curled up with Mary and the big lad of the sofa watching a programme about hoarders.....

Mary says Hi xx

Bob and Bobs Excellent Adventure No2 (Granville)

Hello everyone! Hope you're having a lovely weekend!
I'm easing myself nicely into my week off, starting yesterday with a sisters thrifting adventure into the Tyrone countryside. At the recent vintage fair I got chatting to some lovely ladies from another stall who told me about a car boot sale in Granville near Dungannon, I COULDN'T wait to go!! Granville holds a fair every weekend, although each week it varies, lifestock, machinery etc but on the 3rd Saturday of every month it holds a car boot and poultry fair, two things I love!
My own car boot cleared, I pick up Bob and we beat down the road to Dungannon. It was an absolutely gorgeous day yesterday, a day for the beach, for lying in the garden topping up the freckles or the perfect day for a really good car boot sale!
I highly recommend this boot sale, not even for what's on sale but just for the pure craic! There were so many characters! And if it's a farmer you're after this could be the perfect place to find your man, all dirty jeans, hands like shovels and weather tanned skin!
Five minutes in and Bob and I had reverted back to our broad Portadown accents "Wud ye luk a thon, there's a quer size of a b'ast" translation "Look at the size of that large animal" It's the effect the countryside has on us! We started fantasising about leaving the city, living on a farm and making jam with a ferret as a pet, must have been the country air getting to us! City folk are so different!

In another attempt to get this photo there was another singing farmer trying to ninja jump into the picture!

The craic was ninety with these two

I wanted a photo of a young farmer holding this cockerel but he was too shy instead he just let the beast out, mistake! it really didn't want to go back in

We didn't come home empty handed, in fact by my standards I would say I went overboard, blaming the fresh country air and sunshine again! Didn't come home with any ferrets though.....so that's something!

After Granville we headed into Dungannon for lunch, a powerful feed to recharge the batteries, then home my own city farmer (the big lad) my wild beast (Mary) and the three hens : )

Quite a lot and that's not even all of it, a couple of things I bought I'm keeping for presents so I can't disclose them on the blog! Bob was slightly more restrained, she came home with a lovely lemon shirt, nearly every thrifting adventure she comes home with either a shirt or a jumper!

An excellent adventure and a great day out had by all! Resting today, going to make scones and do some sewing : )
Bye for now have a lovely Sunday everyone xx

Friday Flowers

Good Morning!

Friday off and 1 weeks holidays! It's a good day!
A lovely bunch of bright sunflowers, perfect in my skip found coffee pot : )

My own sunflowers have yet to open up, we just haven't had enough sun lately, I'm still hoping for that heatwave.... spot the little fly!

Have a lovely friday everyone x

Step up mini makeover

Hello! 
Hows your week going? 1 more day off work then I'm off work for a week, yeeessss! Can't wait!
I came home from Galway last Friday to find we'd inherited a small pair of step ladders that belonged to the big lad's grandad, his mum was going to chuck them out but thought we could maybe find a home for them, she knows me so well! So like no other normal person, last Friday night with the big lad out for the night I set out to try and find a new home for the steps, instead I should have been putting the feet up after a busy week in work......Naaaaaaa

These ladders have seen many a paint job, they are covered! I could sand them down and paint them or strip them back to the bare wood but I kind of like the look of them and the fact that there's history in the layers of paint. I've always loved the idea of using ladders as shelves and since my last attempt at putting up shelves ended in disaster this seems like a much safer option.
I decided to use the new ladder shelves in the craft room...before....

And after.......

The ladders are held in place by two huge nails battered into the floor boards, holes in the floors now as well as the walls!

The new old ladder shelves perfect for my bits and bobs in the craft room. Thanks to the big lads mum for donating these!

The beer bottle shelves rearranged to suit the new layout, still standing! and more versatile than your regular wall shelves any day!
Linking up with Lakota for Ta-Dah Tuesday!
Bye for now x