Christmas Bunting

A couple of days ago I spotted some lovely Christmas bunting ... well, here is my lovely (and cheaper!) version!

In the end, I didn't use the lovely ribbons I got from Paper and String as I found this pretty green and red gingham ribbon (from a Betty's hamper we received for Christmas last year!). I think it looks fab.

Mr Plum is wondering who Noel is?!

The Levellers, Pies, Beer, a Bargain in B&Q, Ikea and New Moon!

It was a busy day in the Plum household yesterday! Eventhough we had had a late night on Friday after seeing The Levellers (fab, as always!) in Shepherd's Bush ... we got up bright and early and headed to Borough Market (Mr Plum likes a lie in ... but was successfully bribed with a bacon roll and mug of tea at Marias Market Cafe!). It was very important that we got to Borough Market yesterday as I needed to get my Christmas Dinner!! We are spending Christmas with the inlaws who have rented a cottage in the Lake District ... and as they are a family of meat-eaters (and not really foodies like my family) it is easier for me to take something vegetarian up there. This year I will be tucking into a "Christingle" pie on Christmas Day and have also got a "Heidi" pie which I think will be very tasty cold for the traditional buffet tea! If you are vegetarian and looking for something tasty for your Christmas dinner - I would heartily recommend Pie Minister Pies.

Borough Market was only the first stop of the day! After a lovely walk along the Southbank and via the lovely German Market which is based there for the whole of December, we hopped on the train at Waterloo to Chiswick!

What's at Chiswick? Mr Plum's "Shop of Dreams" is based at Chiswick, yes, yesterday we paid a visit to the Fullers Brewery Shop and came out laden with Wintery Brews to get us through the festive season! We stopped off at the local Fullers Pub for a lovely lunch and a pint of Winter Ale ... which was unfortunately quite strong and we both slept on the train back to Plum Cottage!

But the day didn't end there ...

After dropping off the beer at home, we went back out to pick up some new lights for our living room (which we have given a make over ... post on that to follow!)

I found A Bargain.

Guess how much? Go on ... give it a try ...

Okay - well, their RRP was £45 each ... and we got them for .... £5 each!! BARGAIN!

After a quick trip to Ikea we went to see New Moon. Poor Mr Plum sat through a film full of teenage girls oohing and ahhing at every bare chested Werewolf (!). I enjoyed it, I don't think that it was as good as Twilight though. Looking forward to Eclipse coming out next year!

Exciting things arriving in the post ...

Following on from my "Christmas Inspiration" post earlier in the week ... my parcel of goodies arrived from Paper And String!

Ribbons and buttons to make my Christmas bunting - and now that I have finished my knitting (the Christmas present I have been going on about, but can't tell you any more details in case the person I am knitting it for is reading!) I can concentrate on making a few Christmas decs!

I couldn't resist the cute felt cup cake!

Slippers!

Treated myself to these gorgeous slippers today! (Well, I was egged on by Mr Plum!)

Perfect for Winter evenings .... I couldn't resist them!

Christmas Inspiration

While flicking through a Bombay Duck catalogue this evening I spotted this fabulous Christmas bunting ... isn't it lovely?

I have to say that I fell in love with it ... so have had a look through my fabric stash, popped to the fab Paper and String to order some lovely buttons and ribbon, got out my copy of CK's Make so that I can trace her letters onto pieces of pretty coloured felt .... all I need now is a pair of pinking shears .... bunting-tastic!

I've got the day off tomorrow ... and I am very excited about it! What will I be doing on my day off? Knitting! I can't wait!

Cath Kidston 15% off on Wednesday!

15% off at Cath Kidston on Wednesday 25 November! It would be rude not to pop in ... wouldn't it?!

Afternoon Tea!

Oh what a lovely day!! Today was the annual Winter afternoon tea ... where me and my three friends from work (well, only two friends this time) take an afternoon off and head to one of the lovely London West End hotels for tea.

I love having afternoon tea ... and will find an excuse to go whenever I can! Some people are happy spending £50 every weekend down the pub on cheap gin - I'm happier spending my weekends at home with Mr Plum and the Kittens, and then treating myself to a posh afternoon tea (two or three times a year!)

This was the first time I have had tea at The Dorchester ... and it was lovely! My favourite part was the "pre dessert" - blackcurrant coulis with whipped cream - delicious! mmmmmm

After that we popped in to see my brother who works nearby, and had a quick drink with him ... and then headed home, ready to face a Thursday back in the office.

Mr Plum is taking me to my all time favourite afternoon tea venue, Claridge's, before Christmas ... I'm looking forward to that!!

Weight Loss Wednesday and Afternoon Tea!

Another 1lb off this week - things are definitely going The Right Way!

Am off to The Dorchester with two of my friends this afternoon for tea ... will report back later with details of all the lovely scones and cakes!

Have lovely Wednesdays everyone!

Country Living Christmas Fair

Today I went to the Country Living Christmas Fair! I was very excited after reading other people's blogs!

Had a bit of a nightmare getting there, which was frustrating as I only live in South London - it shouldn't be that hard to get up to Islington! So, rather annoyingly ... we only managed to get to the Fair for 1245 (!) and as the fair was due to close at 1500 ... I was not very happy!

Anyway ... we had a lovely time wandering around the lovely stalls. I picked up a couple of things for Christmas pressies ... which I would love to show you ... but can't in case those who they are intended for are reading! I picked up a couple of things for me ... well, it would have been rude not too!

Here are my bits of fabric I picked up for £1 each! Yes, a bargain ... I agree! Not sure what I am going to do with them .... I just fell in love with the pretty berry fabric and the green gingham ... maybe I will use this to make myself a knitting roll to keep my needles in order?

Do you like the storage box I picked up to house my yarn? This was reduced from £25 to £15 (absolutely right ... A Bargain) ... SOLD! You can find more of their fab designs at www.shrutidesigns.co.uk

The only problem is that this box ain't kitten proof ... oops, should have thought about that at the time. I will just have to find somewhere high to hide it!

I'm looking forward to the Spring Country Living Fair already!!

Wandering back down towards Highbury tube station I popped into Yarn Heaven, also known as Loop and had a look at the lovely yarns on offer. I restrained myself as have plenty of yarn and projects in the pipeline to keep me going for a while!

I also planned to pop into the newly opened shop at The Make Lounge but unfortunately it was closed.

I picked up the latest issue of Let's Knit at Victoria station so all in all a lovely day!

I hope you all had great weekends and survived yesterday's storm (for those of you in the south ... we had the most amazing thunder storm yesterday morning!)

Weight Loss Wednesday!

It's that time again! Last week I didn't lose anything, but didn't put anything on - so that's okay.

This week I have lost 1lb! I know it's not a huge loss - but everything is going the right way! Two more lbs off and I will be at my "Venice Weight" from the summer :)

I have been watching what I eat, but did over-indulge on goodies at the weekend! I have only swum once this week (but will be going again tomorrow!) and I really must start tracking what I eat properly.

Hope your Weight Loss Wednesday has been successful! I'm off for some porridge.

I think that I am addicted to buying yarn!!

Oooh!! Look what arrived on Saturday morning! YES! A big parcel of lovely lovely Rowan yarn which I had ordered from the fab Black Sheep Wool Company which is currently selling Rowan yarn for £1.99 a ball - rather than the normal £4.50 rrp. What a bargain! Now ... must get knitting!

Weight Loss Wednesday

This week I have swam twice ... I would have gone more had I not been thwarted by late trains. I have eaten less biscuits at work (I really must get a grip on my snacking) ... I have stopped grabbing a piece of bread/muffin/anything on my way from the bathroom through the kitchen and on my way to bed. I'm not even hungry - why do I do it!!!

I'd like to get back to the weight I was when I got married. I would love to fit into the GORGEOUS little black dress I bought from Hobbs (my one and only purchase from there!). It cost me over £100 and I justified it as:

a) I was having an Audrey Hepburn themed hen night - the dress was called "Audrey". It was meant to be.

b) A little black dress is an "investment" - hmmm, not if you have only worn it once!!

I don't normally like putting pictures of myself on the internet - but I will dig a picture out for next week. That is my long term weight loss goal! For now, I would like to be able to fit myself into my lovely wintery dress which I bought a couple of years ago from White Stuff. It's called Winter Solstice and I LOVE IT!!!

A day spent in the kitchen ...

Today I have made crab apple and herb jelly ....

After what seemed like hours, I finally reached the setting point!

I also made some Rosehip Relish ... I think that I should have de-pipped the rosehips as although it smells wonderful and has a real kick to it - the pips are a bit of a mouthful. Not sure what I can do to rectify this one.

I love the contrast of the vivid red rosehips against the wonderful balsamic and red wine vinegar ... the smell was out of this world!

I have also finally got around to straining my final jar of last year's Sloe Gin. Thankfully, this one tastes very nice. The Spicy one doesn't and will be poured down the sink very shortly ...

I have also made my Christmas cakes! A bit later than normal this year ... but nevermind! Still plenty of time to feed with Sloe Gin. I'll blog about that separately!

I have had such a lovely weekend ... Mr Plum is cooking dinner and I have a pile of ironing to do ready for tomorrow - so I will leave you now. I hope that you have all had lovely weekends too!