Cosy little egg cosies and 100th post giveaway!

Did I mention that I was given Cath Kidston's "Make" for Christmas? I know that it has had mixed reviews as maybe it should have been called "embellish" or "decorate" as all the projects in the book are decorating items that are already made ...

I like it though.  

So far I have only made egg cosies ... but will be expanding my repertoire very soon! 

This post will be my 100th! I can't quite believe that I have got to 100 posts already, as I have only been blogging since August!  I did promise that I would do a 100th post giveaway ... so, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post before Tuesday 3rd March - I will pick a name out of a hat/cake tin at 8pm that evening.

Not sure what will be in my giveaway - but don't we all like a lovely surprise? Thanks for reading! 

Spring has Sprung!

Wasn't yesterday beautiful? The beginning of spring .... finally, after months of grey skies ....

We went for a lovely walk - well, caught the train to Balham and walked to Tooting to investigate a possible furniture purchase and then walked back along Tooting Common - in glorious sunshine! 

Today we have been slaving away in the garden! It's been hard work, but worth it!  We have cleared all the leaves and rubbish which had accumulated over the winter months ... oh, and picked up the fag ends from the people upstairs (don't get me started on that one!) - Mr Plum unblocked the drain (again, the people upstairs ...) and turned over the soil underneath our tree.  I have put some grass seed down and will be putting some wild flower seeds down, too!

I had a pleasant afternoon with my old friend ... the greenhouse! Oh - poor little greenhouse, you have been neglected over the winter ... not any more! 

I re-potted my sweet peas, and have sown more flowers for bedding and hanging baskets ... and of course ..... my vegetables! Tomatoes, cucumbers, (more) broad beans, aubergine and peppers are all in seed trays in the greenhouse -so exciting!!!

So, after a nice long bath I thought I would take a moment to blog - which I haven't done for a while!  I hope you haven't missed me too much! 

Victoria Plum - wannabe Market Gardener is back!!

Today I went shopping ...

I had a few bits and pieces to get this weekend ... which meant a trip into London!  

First thing on the list was a wedding present for a dear friend of mine ... so we headed to Marylebone High Street and picked up a little something from .....

Here it is - no peeking till the special day! 

Of course, popped into CK and the other lovely shops down the road ... including the Oxfam Book Shop where I picked up a couple of classics for the bargain price of £4.50 and a kitchen shop called Divertimento, where I picked up some heart shaped muffin tins to make Mr Plum some heart shaped cupcakes for Valentines Day!  

Next on the shopping list was new shoes for Mr Plum, so we headed towards (the hell that is) Oxford Street, passing by this lovely shop: It would have been rude not to pop in and have a look! I picked up some red and white gingham ribbon to finish off the bunting for my kitchen!

With all this shopping in the cold, we fancied going somewhere warm for a bite to eat ... one of our favourite pubs was nearby: 

Mmmmm ... I wonder how many WW points are in Veggie Sausage and Mash and a pint of lovely Weissbier? Ha Ha!! 

Onwards towards Oxford Street ... no luck on the shoe front for Mr Plum.  We had a quick look in the John Lewis haberdashery department ... I picked up a little baby knitting kit ... my brother's friend is expecting a baby, so thought that would be a perfect excuse to have a go at knitting some baby stuff! 

Oxford Street was too busy to hang around there for long, so we headed up to Carnaby Street and Kingly Court.  I had a look in "All the Fun of the Fair".  What a lovely shop! Picked up a few pretties for my swap and a crochet needle! 

Phew! With all this shopping, I'm feeling a bit parched! Cup of tea, Mr Plum? We thought we would take advantage of being in town and thought we would head to Fortnum & Masons for a cup of tea and a piece of cake ... the window displays are always so amazing ... 

And then we were on our way home!  Here are all my bits and pieces!  Oh yes, I forgot to mention the two pashminas I bought from one of those stalls on Oxford Street - perfect for a Cath Kidston "Make" project!  What a lovely day ... but looking forward to a day at home tomorrow! 

Did you spot the blue and white polka dot wrapping paper?  I got that for 94p in Tesco! What a bargain! I am planning to use it to cover an old shoe box .... 

I hope that you have all had lovely weekends, too! x

Another Swap!

I really enjoyed taking part in the two swaps I did before Christmas ... so much that I have put my name down for another swap! This one is another Yummy Recipe Swap, and the theme is "Sweethearts".

I need to send

* 1 handmade decorated recipe card
* 1 handmade, sewn, felted, crocheted, or knitted food or handmade or any crafted kitchen item or 1 book , cookbook , fiction, non-fiction [related to theme] [Valentine's Sweethearts]
* 1 ingredient from the recipe
* A note card with your flickr name and name of swap

Better get my thinking cap on!  I'll let you know how it goes!

This will be post 97 ... only 2 more until my 100th post giveaway!!!!!!  Keep reading! x

Joules wish list ...

So yesterday I received an email announcing the Joules Spring/Summer collection! Woohoo! I love Joules clothes ... so had better start saving for a couple of "essentials" ....  

My favourite thing in the catalogue (and probably the only purchase I will make this time as am trying not to fritter every last penny away!) is this lovely dress: 

Perfect for lovely sunny days ....

Marmalade on a Snowy Day!

I know, I know ... I'm starting to sound a bit like the BBC with my "snow theme"! 

I've had a busy day at home today ... it was nice to catch up with a few bits and pieces as we had been away for the weekend.  So once the (boring!) housework was done, I got on with fun stuff (although, I have to admit that all I really wanted to do was go outside and make a snowman - but thought I would look silly on my own!)

So ... I made my bunting ... and some marmalade! I can't wait to have this on my toast! Mmmmm

Lovely Bunting for my Bed

I was inspired by Master Poppins' bunting - I thought I would have a go at making some to decorate my bed with! Bunting is the one thing I will always pick up in a shop and then put down because I know that I could easily make my own, for a fraction of the cost!

I have spent today finishing off my bunting - and am very happy with the results! I am going to make some red bunting for my kitchen ... you can never have too much bunting!

Here's a picture of my bed ...

Snow Day!

I've made every effort to get to work ... but with the entire London rail and bus network being suspended - there's not an awful lot I can do, apart from walk ... and I don't fancy a 3 hour trek in the snow ... on my own ... Mr Plum works locally, so has dressed up like an eskimo and has started his trek to his office - knowing the people he works with, he will be the only one there!

Here's some more pictures of our snowy garden ... some were taken by Mr Plum last night with his posho camera ... the other ones were taken by me, with my little digi camera!

Isn't it ridiculous that a bit of snow can cause London to grind to a complete standstill?

Snow!

I hadn't been keeping an eye on the forecast and had convinced myself that Spring would start on 1st February!  Having spent a cold weekend in Wales, we headed back to London this evening ... by the time we got to Reading there was the odd flurry of snow ... by the time we were in London, it was heavier and settling! I haven't seen "proper" snow for years! 

Typically, our train broke down one stop before our stop - so we got off early and walked home.  It always amazes me how much snow transforms everything ... our busy South London suburb had become a quiet, glistening street with the cars crawling along the road ... no gangstas speeding down the road!