Today's Harvest

A week on from catching the lurgey (NOT S.F) and I still feel a bit ropey ... I went back to work on Wednesday and am thinking that maybe I should have just spent the rest of the week in bed! Feeling full of cold, combined with three days of social events (dinner with a friend down from Wales, dinner with my three oldest and bestest friends and work friends round for SingStar) resulted in me not having the energy to get out of bed until 5pm last night! I just felt terrible :( I was back in bed again at 9.30pm..... Anyway, today I am still feeling shattered, but have managed three hours gardening in the rain this morning!

Here is what I have picked today ....

Some peas, a couple of carrots and two teeny weeny red onions....

1 kilo of Charlotte potatoes, and

1 kilo of Red Duke Of York potatoes .... I'm still not convinced that the potato barrels are good value for money ....

Sleepover Swap - the package I sent .... and more knitting!

Over the last few weeks I have been putting together a parcel full of lovely bits n pieces for Nicola from Smilernbp - my partner in the Sleepover Swap. Here is what I sent her (here is a link to Nicola's post .... she liked it!). Now that I have sent the package off and Nicola has received it I can talk about my latest knitting projects!

You may be able to spot some little baby booties and a knitted flower .... I am very proud of those! I have wanted to be able to knit flowers for so long! I have tried to teach myself to crochet - but can't get the hang of it at the moment ... but love knitting flowers! One bootie is slightly larger than the other ... but I really enjoyed knitting these too! Now ... what to knit next ...

More bunting and a stripy armchair!

I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself ... having looked forward to a lovely long weekend off work - on Friday I started feeling a bit achy and by Saturday had to spend most of the day in bed with an awful cold. It has been the worst cold that I have had in a long time ... checked the NHS Symptom Checker and it said that I had Swine Flu. Oh No!!!!! I couldn't get through to my GP or NHS Direct and as I wasn't feeling "seriously ill" I just dosed up on flu relief, drank lots of fluid and slept ... slept for most of Sunday too (so missed the Lambeth Country Show which I had been looking forward too and had to miss going to see Harry Potter last night - £20 wasted).

This morning I am feeling much better, still full of cold but not as exhausted as I had felt on Saturday and Sunday (although, haven't actually got up yet!). How are we supposed to tell the difference between normal flu and swine flu when the NHS symptom checker will say that you have S.F with just normal cold symptoms? I think it was probably just a bad cold ...

Mr Plum spent yesterday giving our hallway a new coat of paint - and was a good opportunity to declutter. We will be finally hanging our "Keep Calm" posters which we bought ages and ages ago! It will look lovely!

I have spent this morning sitting in bed and finally getting around to sewing my red bunting for the kitchen onto ribbon ... the poor little triangles have been stuck in my sewing box since the great snow of February!!

I will add pictures of the bunting in situ once we have cleared the kitchen ... it looks like a bomb site at the moment with lots of decorating stuff in there! Apparently, according to my Mother-In-Law it looks like a bomb site most of the time ... charming!

We also bought a new arm chair from Ikea to replace our large Pier Papasan chair (anyone want it?) We bought the stripy covers a week ago and hired a car on Friday to go to the tip and get rid of some junk and took advantage of having transport to pick the chair up ... isn't it lovely?

Veggies

I have just been out to give my tomatoes a bit of a trim and tie them in ... I have been neglecting them for the past week as it has been too wet to venture out into the garden ....

Here are the peppers and aubergine ... they are doing really well! Looking forward to picking some of the veg in the next couple of weeks!

I am very excited to report that I have a ripe tomato!! Finally ... I was a bit worried that I wasn't going to get anything, and I am still a bit worried as I only have a handful of green tomatoes growing on 8 plants ... hmmm - maybe I am being too impatient! I begrudge having to buy tomatoes from the supermarket when I have so many plants in the greenhouse! Anyway, have a look at this beautiful "Golden Sunrise" tomato ...

Here's my little veggie patch ... courgettes are taking over!

Lovely peas!!

Sleepover Swap!

I have mentioned in various previous posts about the Sleepover Swap I have been doing. I was partnered up with Nicola from smilernpb - and I received her box of goodies today!! We decided to swap a bit ahead of the deadline set by Thrifty Mrs as Nicola is due to give birth to a little girl any day now! I really enjoyed putting together my box of bits to send to Nicola and I hope that she likes it too. I will blog about that once she has received it (I have only just popped my parcel in the post!).

Nicola has well and truly spoiled me! I am looking forward to getting rid of Mr Plum so that I can enjoy a lovely girls night in!

I think that Nicola may have been slightly frustrated by my vagueness! I like my blog to be anonymous and don't give too much away about myself .... so how did Nicola know that my favourite cakes are cherry bakewells and that I am ADDICTED to chocolate fingers??? YUM!!! Washed down with a lovely cup of herbal tea ... mmmm

in a lovely rosey mug .....

More goodies!! Bridget Jones DVD (excellent!), smelly candle, cosy socks and some pretty fabric to get crafting with ....

Pamper time! I must remember to put the face packs on my FACE and not eat them! ha ha ha Looking forward to using the lovely Body Shop bits too ....

Isn't this beautiful? My photo just doesn't do it any justice ... it is a lovely handmade cross-stitched mirror.

Thanks Nicola! I hope you enjoy the parcel I have sent to you!!

Some Pictures From Hampton Court Flower Show

Lovely lavender

One of the show gardens inspired by Henry VIII's wives ... I can't remember which one though, it may be Katherine Howard!

Gypsy caravan in the Shepherd's Garden

Vintage Knits

A friend has lent me her Gran's book of knitting patterns - "Practical Family Knitting Illustrated" ... I thought I would share some of the fabulous pictures from the book.

How would your husband/boyfriend like a"Man's Sport Shirt Knitted in a Checked Rib"?

Or what about a lovely "Summer Dress Knitted in a Linen Thread"?

I think that I will have a go at this "Sleeveless Jerkin For Fresh Spring Days" ....

Or maybe this ....

Or this?

The patterns are so lovely and classic - I will definitely have to give something a try! Or maybe I will just settle for getting myself a 40's hairdo!!

Hampton Court Flower Show and the Further Summer Adventures of Victoria Plum - Part One

I went to my first RHS Flower Show last Friday!!! It was great ... I was a bit overwhelmed by the crowds, but it was worth it to see all the lovely gardens and we did manage to escape the hoards by heading to the champagne bar! I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a Country Living tent! With a Joules stall (yes, this is truly an obsession!).

I spent my pennies on seeds from Rebekah's Vegetable Seeds (peas - Feltham First, turnip - Manchester Market, tomato - Roma, squash - Waltham Butternut, onion - White Lisbon, Chinese Chives) and Growing Old who specialise in Heritage and Heirloom seeds (tomato - Yellow Grape, pepper - Long Red Marconi, basil - petra red for my Dad as he loves purple basil, sweet pea - Everlasting and Grandiflora Mixed Collection and some mixed lettuce). I also got a lovely flower for the garden ... but I can't remember what it is called!

What a lovely day ... and the rain held off! What a lovely start to my slightly longer than usual weekend!

On Saturday we popped to Wimbledon village to have a look at the Joules sale (!) I got a lovely dress and skirt - both were half price!

I also ended up in the Cath Kidston sale .... and got a new mac ... so ended up spending a bit more than planned, but I have sold some old stuff on ebay this week - so that has made me feel slightly better (such a once for impulse purchases when egged on by Mr Plum! No more shopping for Victoria Plum this summer :)

After a lovely breakfast in the local Giraffe we headed off to B&Q to pick up a few house bits and of course ended up in Ikea ....

Saturday night was spent watching Prisoner of Azkhaban and Goblet of Fire whilst knitting something for the Sleepover Swap I am doing. I can't wait to see Half Blood Prince!!!!!

Sunday was much lazier ... housework and gardening before heading into town to join my brother for drinks to celebrate the 10th anniversary of him moving down to London to start his job at Claridges! He doesn't work there anymore, but had some drinks there - which was very luxurious and completely excessive - but a rather nice treat for a Sunday evening!

All in all, a lovely weekend! The good news is that I have booked this Friday and the following Monday off work - woohoo! We were going to go camping, but have decided that as the weather is a tad unpredictable, we will stay at home and do a few bits at home. I hope that you are all having lovely weeks!

I'm nearing my first blogging birthday - time for another giveaway methinks! Keep reading!

Kitty, Daisy & Lewis

Have you heard of "Kitty, Daisy & Lewis"? They are fab! A friend introduced me to their CD last night and it is now on my ipod! I love their 50's country sound!

Definitely worth a listen.....

I hope everyone is having lovely Sunday evenings ... I am busy ignoring Wimbledon and am sitting in the garden knitting something pretty for the Sleepover Swap (I will post pictures once I have sent it off to my Swap Partner - I don't want to ruin the surprise!!).... I love weekends! Have a listen to Kitty, Daisy and Lewis below ....

Spuds - the sequel!

Here's my crop of Vivaldi potatoes (and a couple of Red Duke Of York) ... I am a little bit disappointed with my yield. I feel that I have put in a lot of time and effort with the potatoes (which I am growing in barrels) and I haven't got many potatoes in return.

I might have emptied this barrel too early, but the potatoes had flowered and the greenery had died down, so I figured that the time was right ... hmmm

I still have two more barrels (with Duke of York and Charlotte's) I'll just have to wait and see how those turn out!

Is anyone else growing spuds in containers? I'd be interested to hear how you are getting on with them! Have a look at last year's crop here

Knitting Success!

Isn't this gorgeous? I am so proud of myself! My first matinee jacket knitted for a friend's baby ... I hope that they like it (and it's handmade shabbiness!)

What's occurring in Victoria Plum's Garden?

Lots of lovely things growing in the garden!! Have a look at a previous post here to see how things have come along in the last month!

Mmmmmm .... purple spouting broccoli ....

Peppers and aubergines in the greenhouse (it was 35 degrees Celsius in there this morning - phew!)

Pretty aubergine flowers ....

Broad beans!!!

Tomatoes!!!

Potato barrels!

The plot .... from left to right ... broccoli, red onions, carrots, fennel, leeks, courgettes and squash with broad beans and peas at the back.

Today's harvest! Ha Ha Ha ... two pods of broad beans, eaten raw with our bbq this evening - delicious!!

Courgette is looking a bit sad, but have plenty more healthier ones on the plant!! It's not a lot - but it's homegrown and that's all that matters!

Living the Good Life in Venice!

I have just come back from a wonderful holiday with my family. It was the first time since I left home 8 years ago that I have spent a whole week with my parents and brother - it was lovely!! Of course Mr Plum and my brother's girlfriend were also with us! It was a brilliant holiday!

We stayed in a beautiful apartment in the Dosoduro area of Venice (very close to the church in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ...) - there was a gelato shop opposite - perfect!

The weather was amazing ... we did lots of sightseeing, lazing on the beach, eating gelato, drinking prosecco, watching opera, eating more gelato, pizza and spaghetti ... and generally having a wonderful time!

Venice is such a beautiful city ... and I appreciated this visit so much more than the school trip I went on when I was 14 ...

Here's some pics of me living the good life in Venice (if anyone from Joules is reading ... I would be happy to be a model for Joules - ha ha ha!!) ...

Summer Days

The UK has been blessed with glorious summer weather (well, up until the torrential thunder storm of 0630 this morning!) ... so Mr Plum and I have been spending lots of time out in the garden, but also out and about enjoying touristy stuff in London.

We have been taking advantage of National Rail's Two for One offer on major tourist attractions (if you travel by train)....which makes a day out in London a bit more affordable!

So far we have been to Kew Gardens and London Zoo - both of which were fab days out and places that I had wanted to visit since moving down to London almost 10 years ago, but always felt that two adult tickets would make it quite a pricey day out.

We have spent this weekend at home doing housework and jobs in the garden.  The vegetable patch is looking GREAT! I have my first head of purple sprouting brocolli, lots of flowers on my tomatoes, flower buds on my potatoes, and my first little courgette appearing! Hurray!!!  Such a shame that I have the back to work Sunday blues ....

Busy in the Garden

I have spent this lovely bank holiday Monday pottering in the garden and tending to my veg ... my parents-in-law were visiting over the weekend and drove us to a nearby garden centre to get various plants (we don't have a car so are somewhat limited in how much we can carry back from our nearest B&Q!) ... here we go, a little update on what I've got growing in the garden this year .... I'm not sure my father-in-law was ready for me to load the car up with 4 bags of compost, a grow bag, some orchid compost and pretty flowers to attract bees!  Oh well, they did offer to take us out!

From left to right we have got ... fennel, sunflowers, squash, cucumber and some lettuce on the top shelf ... 

and on the bottom we've got some peas, peppers, a tub of rocket and a propagator with some pansy seeds in.

Here we have various tomatoes (due to the gales I am not sure what variety is which ...), aubergines, marigolds and propagators with violas, lupins and stocks ... on the bottom shelf there is a grow bag with 4 strawberry plants in ....

Three potato barrels! 

And finally, the "plot" ... from the left we've got purple sprouting broccoli, red onions, leeks, broad beans, courgettes and some parsnip and beetroot seeds .... when the peas are a little bigger I will transplant them outside.

What have you been up to this bank holiday?

Happy Belated Birthday to Me!

It was my birthday last week and as usual I was spoiled rotten by Mr Plum and my family ... here's some of the lovely gifts I received ....

Mr Plum treated me to a Cath Kidston Chiswick Bag .... (that's me in my "Penelope" dress enjoying a nice glass of Kew Ale at Kew Gardens on my birthday), as well as other bits and pieces for my greenhouse

and some garden tools ...

my parents got me these lovely little knives from an antique shop in Bruges ... perfect for spreading jam and cream onto scones!

A bit blurred ... but a very pretty brooch from my brother and his girlfriend ...

oooh! and some lovely Hope & Greenwood chocs from Mr Plum

We had a lovely day at Kew and then spent the evening watching Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day ... it was such a shame to have to go back to work ...

Pret a Portea at The Berkley

I'm very lucky that someone close to me works at The Berkley Hotel in London and last Sunday (before heading off on the EasyBus to the EasyHotel in Luton -y'see it's not all 5 star for me!!) I went in for afternoon tea with one of my best friends (who I have known since I was 6!) and my brother's fabulously glamourous Italian girlfriend .... it was wonderful.  Have a look here 

Here is the cake stand with all the fabulous cakes based on this season's fashions! 

It was lovely and of course I wore my new Joules dress and the red patent shoes (picture to follow!) that my parents bought me for my birthday (and I wore a little bit early!)

I love cakes!!