Relaxing at the weekend..

Here's the throw that I started in Bournemouth a few weeks ago.  Since I took this picture on Saturday morning I've done a couple more circuits of pale lemon.  I don't think I'm going to make it much bigger but I will probably finish it off with a dark red edging....

On Saturday my Mum had a Coffee Morning at her house so I popped round for a little bit.  The books were only 50p on the book stall so I picked up a couple.  I've just started 'The Soldier's Return' and I think it's excellent.  The 'table topper' will be perfect for the little table in the conservatory (and it was only £2).

I then drove over to Pershore to meet up with some friends for coffee.  I was a little early so I wandered down to the St Richard's Hospice Shop.  This charity has a double unit in Pershore so there's a massive china and homeware section.  I found this lovely little blue and white jug (for £2).  It goes brilliantly with another little jug that I found in the Oxfam shop in Stratford last summer.  It also goes well with my general 'blue and white' kitchen theme.

When I got home I discovered that I'd been lucky in the raffle at the Coffee Morning.  This is what 1kg of chocolate shells looks like.......!

Unfortunately (fortunately...?) I don't actually like chocolate shells that much.  However my lovely pregnant colleague absolutely adores them.  I brought them into work this morning and gave them to her before school.  In a few weeks she is going to need all the energy she can muster - so I've given her strict instructions to eat as many as possible every day!

Lucky Book Finds...

It was pretty chaotic in Droitwich as we were doing our weekly shop this morning.  I guess everyone was trying to get things sorted before the snow arrives.  I made a quick detour into the Blue Cross Charity Shop and struck lucky in the book section.  These are the my latest purchases - and they are all in mint condition.

I love books that tell people's true stories in the context of a period so 'Fighter Boys' should be a good read.  I'm also very excited about the book at the back.  Peter Robinson wrote the Inspector Banks series and I have every one of those.  This is a new novel with a completely different cast of characters.  The book on the left - 'Almost French' - was a completely random buy.  It's about an Australian journalist who marries a french man and goes to live in Paris.  It's supposed to be very amusing.  I like buying books on a whim from charity shops because, if the book is terrible, it's never an expensive mistake.

Anyway, these books have joined the others on my 'waiting to be read' shelf.  There are about a dozen books in the queue at the moment.  I try to keep a balanced choice on this shelf - a little bit of chick-lit, lots of murder/mystery, and some historical stuff.  I love just love books and the house is full of them. 

A couple of years ago we had the small bedroom at the back of the house converted into a proper study/library.  I write almost all my blogs sat at my desk in the study, surrounded by books, photo albums and paperwork.  Paradoxically this small room has the largest window so I'm always sat in loads of natural light.  Before the conversion I had the small room at the front for all my stuff.  This had a better view - as it looks towards the Malvern Hills - but I ran out of space.  During the swap over we had to move every single book in the house into the garage.  Not an experience I'd like to repeat in a hurry!

A warm welcome to Betty - thank you for deciding to follow my blog.  I hope all of you are warm and snuggly on this cold, snowy February afternoon.

Next Christmas...

One of our local garden centres has 50% off some really nice-quality products so I'm buying ahead for 2012.  So far I've got Royal Horticultural Society melamine sandwich tray for £3.50; some Clover coasters with a musical design for £2.50; and some Heathcote and Ivory 'festive flavour' hand cream for £3.50.  I'll store them away in the 'present cupboard' as they'll make great gifts for next year without 'breaking the bank'.

On the whole I felt that the cost of the festive season didn't spiral too far out of control this year.  One of my most successful presents for my husband was a 'cut glass style' champagne flute from one of the local charity shops filled with three Thornton's heart-shaped champagne truffles.  Total cost - £3.00!  Admittedly, the sparkling wine that found it's way into the glass later on was a bit more expensive but... it was Christmas!!!

I allowed myself one morning of sales shopping and a fixed budget of £100.00.  This worked brilliantly.  I got a gorgeous cream and blue cardigan from Monsoon; a navy blue straight skirt and black/red/russet dress from House of Frazer; a blue top from M+S and a really pretty blue cardigan from TKMax.  All these items will 'give a lift' to stuff that I've already got in my wardrobe.  I'm almost looking forward to going back to work so that I can start dressing up again!

Glasses and other things

These are some wine glasses that I also found while we were poking around in an 'Antiques Centre' in Leominster.  Like my sweet little china bowl, they have no manufacturers mark so they didn't cost a fortune.  Now I have three pairs of cut glass wine glasses that are similar enough to work well together on the table, but retain that pleasantly "pulled together" feel of a vintage collection.  My old petrol glasses (c.1995) have gone to the local Blue Cross Shop. 

Since the summer I have a giftaid card for Blue Cross.  I'm a bit hazy about the maths and the processes, but it seems that they can claim tax back on my donations.  As part of the system they've already sent me one e-mail telling me how much my donations have raised.  Having spent my life with rescue cats, I like the fact that my tax can be claimed to provide animal welfare.