Merry Christmas

Happy Christmas to you all. Thanks for reading my blog this year and for all your comments. I hope you have a lovely break. xx

A gorgeous Xmas present

Possibly too beautiful to use? Certainly the most stylish tea towel I have ever had. Eloise is selling them in her shop. I feel very lucky.

A Russian feel

Whenever I see pictures I like, I drag them into a folder on the desktop of interesting things, and from time to time I am reminded of them. 

Today I came across these photos of Russia 100 years ago, courtesy of fine little day.

I am completely absorbed in them. The landscapes, the buildings, the costumes, the expressions on the faces of the people and the story they tell of the life those people lead. Some of them are shocking (the water carrier with his water in pig skins and the boy shepherd, so young and without shoes). Really a magical find.

Time for a song! Here's Ella.

Hello world. It's time for a song. Everyone I know is feeling tired, jaded right now, but this should help. The voice of Ella Fitzgerald is like a tonic, it always revives me. As long as she lived, as long as she sang, she sounded like a 20 year old on a spring day. Enjoy.

wallpaper

I'm looking for some wallpaper at the moment to do a feature wall in the dining/living area. So far, Designers Guild are winning. They do such beautiful designs and their lifestyle shots are to die for.

Little Red Riding Hood

A while ago I really wanted to do some more work on little Red Riding Hood. But then I saw this work by Ann Wood and I thought, give up. You couldn't do it better.

You have to watch the little slide show. It is utterly enchanting.

Here is me, aged 4, dressed as Little Red Riding Hood. I LOVED that hen basket. That little fellow behind me dressed as an Elf is pretty great in his red knitted tights, and that clown is definitive :)

Have you got any good photos of you as a kid in fancy dress?

Bunny slippers

Look what I've been up to. I said I was going to do this knitting and somehow or another, I have! I was in no way an expert and yet I have increased, decreased, used place markers, done complicated things with bars of stitches, I've felted and even yesterday started knitting in the round. OK I've had a few false starts and spent quite some time last night undoing what I had done, but gosh, it's fun learning something new. Especially when there are visual results.

Here's the first thing I made :)

I've just realised I haven't put their bunny tails on! Best get back to it.

Dallas

I put the TV on this morning just while we were having a lazy breakfast and came across a channel showing back to back episodes of Dallas. Oh my goodness. I can't stop watching. It is still as brilliantly addictive as it was when we were kids and used to look forward to the weekly installment.

We would all make sure we were ready, pyjamas on, the snacks would be out and we would choose our favourite drink from the soda stream, which my dad would serve up for us :)

There's so much about Dallas that's good. The lifestyle down on the old ranch in Texas, the fancy cars, the glamorous women, the wheeling and dealing, the inter-personal dramas. And because there is such a fashion for retro nowadays, it actually looks quite stylish.

If you want to check out a bit of current day ranch glamour, why not have a look at the brilliantly named Cliff Barns down in Norfolk.
It is a place you can hire out for you and your family and friends to stay. It sleeps up to 18 people. Bet it would be great. Here are some pics, but for the full experience, you have to go to the website.

All images copyright Cliff Barns

Elvis - If I can dream

I found it a bit hard getting up today, had to be out early. So I was in the car sometime about 8.30am, half asleep and dreaming of going back to bed. But then Elvis came on the radio. And the day got much better as soon as I heard the first notes. That voice is so familiar to me, it's almost as though I know him. I might have mentioned him once or twice before...

A while ago my friend at ric-rac asked what you would want to do or who you would want to meet if you could go back in time. Well my wish would definitely be to go and see Elvis play live, in Las Vegas. I would sit in one of those booths, really close to the stage and would be one of those girls who would run up to the stage for a kiss :) What would you do?

I find this song so stirring.

I don't know what's the matter with me at the moment. I feel all out of sorts; restless and thwarted and I'm not quite sure why... I remind myself of the main character in Chocolat, who was always there, waiting for the wind to blow which would move her on to a new life, a new possibility.
Does anyone else get that feeling sometimes?

If I was going to just take off when the wind blows, I would have to do it in one of the Little Red Riding Hood capes.

Remember remember the 5th of November

As children that was the rhyme we chanted around this time of the year. On this date in 1605, Guy Fawkes and his gang tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill the King in what came to be known as the Gunpowder plot. So now we celebrate his failure on this night with bonfires and fireworks.

A few years ago we went on a walk in Northamptonshire where we came across this gorgeous tudor building. On our return we looked it up and were amazed to discover that this room with the black and white exterior is where the planning took place. Wonderful to realise that such history is all around us.

I can't think of a more romantic firework setting than the scene with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in To Catch A Thief. The south of France, a summer's evening, an amazing apartment with a balcony for the best view. Swoon.  

The Canteen, Axminster

I love going out for lunch :)

This is Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's place just over the border, in Devon. It's rustic and informal with simple but tasty food at reasonable prices. That's fine by me.

TinyOwlsMagicAttic knitting patterns

Look what I have just bought on etsy! Unfortunately it is not the finished items, it is the knitting patterns. I'm so excited. I can't really knit very well, but I am jolly well going to learn.

I love the photos too. Look at that white cat sat on the table, pretending to mind his own business. :)