Practical & Pretty Kitchen Wall Storage

Hi honeys
I'm sorry I've been gone so long. In addition to the usual rush of the season, extra hours at work & trying to do the every day chores, we've been doing a sort of mini renovation on our kitchen. 

Much needed and so, so long overdue, I LOVE our kitchen now. It's far more "user friendly" I have a little more storage, can't ever have enough of that in a kitchen, don't you agree? Best of all is that it just seems to "flow" now in ways that it just didn't before. I promise I'll share all in a soon to be written post :)

In addition to installing an additional worktop & cabinet, along with the neatest, coolest, most incredibly useful little trolley I've ever seen, we've set up new systems for everyday annoyances like where to store things that get used all day long & that we have lots of.  Like anti bacterial surface wipes, micro fibre cloths and tea towels.

We have lots of tea towels and micro fibre cloths.  I use them all the time and I wanted to store them where I could easily "grab & go" and where it was equally easy to quickly put them away once washed & dried.

We also tend to buy our anti bacterial wipes in bulk (usually a box of six packs) so we needed a place to store them, but also to be able to grab a fresh pack when needed.

During a recent trip to my own little happy place :) Ikea, we bought metal mesh baskets from the Algot range and the smaller of the wall uprights that they connect to.  The wall uprights are fastened to the wall and there is a huge range of attachments for them, from the mesh baskets we bought, to mirrors, shelves and hooks to hang bags, scarves etc from.

Individual Shortcake Biscuit, Caramel, Banana & Chocolate Desserts 😋

Disclaimer: I haven't been paid to promote any products, just wanted to share my latest little kitchen experiments x

 

Hi honeys,
You know those little ramekins? Those adorable little stoneware (or glass) dishes intended for individual servings of anything from baked savouries, side dishes and even desserts :) Well I recently bought a set of lovely little stoneware red & white ramekins and the first thing I made in them was this......

These were a breeze to put together, they took no time at all and they can be chilling in the fridge all ready for an after dinner or movie watching marathon treat 😊  So, grab your ramekins honeys and get ready to make something awesome 😋

Individual Shortcake Biscuit, Caramel, Banana & Chocolate Desserts 😋

Ingredients:

Note: You'll need one small ramekin dish (or a pretty glass) per person 

1 pack of shortcake biscuits

100g butter or margarine

1 (397g) can of ready to serve caramel

Sliced bananas (one banana per two ramekins/glasses)

Dark chocolate to melt for topping

Directions:

1. Place shortcake biscuits into your food processor and blend until they resemble fine breadcrumbs (or place your biscuits inside a ziplock bag, seal and roll with a rolling pin until crumbled.)  

2. Melt your butter/margarine and then carefully add to a bowl with your crushed biscuits and mix until thoroughly combined.

3. Divide your crumbled biscuits mixture between your ramekins, to create the base of your dessert.  Take them to the fridge and chill for 30 minutes (or longer if you can.)

4. Divide your caramel among the ramekin dishes, spreading it evenly over your biscuit layer. 

In case you'd like to try making caramel honeys, it's super easy and you can find the ingredients (and directions) in my Scottish Caramel Shortbread Tray Bake recipe.  

5. Slice your bananas and lay slices across the caramel in each of the ramekin dishes.

6. Melt your chocolate and pour generously across the top of the bananas.... yum!

7. Chill for around 20 to 30 minutes, longer if possible.  In the photograph I decorated with slices of dried candied banana but you could also use chocolate sprinkles or mini chocolate flakes.

8. Enjoy!  

Hubby adored this yummy treat, which made me really happy because I made it for him as part of a special dinner for his birthday 💖

I so hope you've all had a great weekend honeys, do stay warm and have fun if you're celebrating the fast approaching holidays. I can't believe it's less than 4 weeks till we're into another new year! Till next time dear ones, sending heaps of hugs xx

Super Easy Spaghetti Lattice Pie!

Hi honeys
I hope you've had a great week :)  Do you remember the recipe for Scottish Caramel Shortbread I posted recently? A childhood favourite from my school days it seemed to be quite popular so I thought I'd share another little glimpse into a 1970s Scottish Primary School "dinner school."

This is such an incredibly easy dish to make and you can be certain that kids, from 1 to 100 will adore it :) You'll also probably have the ingredients in your kitchen already, and kids will love being able to help with the lattice topping too :)

Easiest Ever Yummy Gingerbread Cookies

Hello honeys
Hope you're all well and staying warm. I'm so not a fan of this time of year. I take no joy whatsoever from cold, rainy days, or chilly winds that can feel like they could cut me in two, just ick! I'm a Summer baby! I need sunshine, I need to feel the warmth on my skin, to wake up to the sun streaming through the windows and know I can hang out laundry :) 

What can I do though, we're stuck in December and other than to hibernate like a bear till Spring (I have toyed with the idea on many an occasion) the only thing I can do is to make the best of it.  So, last night, partly to make myself feel at least a little happier and partly just because they are so yummy I thought I'd make some delicious gingerbread cookies :)

Honestly, these could not be any easier to make and they taste sooooo good! All of the mixing I leave to my mixer :) Just chuck in the ingredients and then turn out your dough, chill, roll and bake :) They're great in so many ways :) They take no time to prepare, they're so much fun to make, why not get the kids to help? these yummy biscuits are super tasty, and best of all, you can run up a few batches and store in an airtight container and they'll keep for over the holidays. They're also fabulous for gifting too. Who wouldn't want to be given a lovely package of these yummy gingery treats :)

It's almost Christmas!

Hi Honeys
Something has been happening recently. Shops are starting to get busier, people are carrying a LOT of shopping bags around between stores, TV channels have started showing way too many toy ads.... Yep, it's almost Christmas :)

Where has this year gone? I remember being told as a teenager that the older we get, the more time speeds up. Of course I thought at the time this was silly. I mean, there are seven days in a week, fifty two weeks in a year, right?

Super Easy Extra Bedroom Storage

Hi honeys,
I hope everyone is staying warm in this miserable weather. I so miss summer! I've been trying to blog about our latest little organising project for a few days now but life (and a rather nasty cough I've developed that even scares our dog, bless her) keep getting in the way.

Today though, I'm determined to share our little additional storage project, now complete and working fabulously. It's great to have a place to pop my e-reader or tablet at night and I'm already wondering how we coped without it.

Scottish Caramel Shortbread Tray Bake

Hello honeys
I hope you're well and staying warm. The winds have gotten so chilly and the garden is full of leaves.  Each time hubby goes out to clean them up, next morning.... yep. there's more :)  Our furbaby Jade adores this time of year because she loves to play with the leaves :)

With the colder weather, Autumn brings a change to my kitchen too.  Hubby works really hard and I like to make sure he has a warming meal ready for him when he gets home at night. 

Salads, although still appearing occasionally as a side dish, mostly disappear in favour of lovely warm casseroles & roasts with potatoes & tons of steamed veggies, as well as traditional Scottish dinners such as Mince & Tatties or Stovies.  I'll write out a recipe for both of these for you honeys, if anyone would like it.

Yesterday I was hit by the baking bug and made another family favourite.  Now I've seen this yummy treat online being called millionaire shortbread but as a child growing up in the West of Scotland it was always referred to as simply "caramel shortbread."

It was a staple, served with custard, as part of school lunches at both Primary and Secondary schools.  

The main difference between what is now called Millionaire Shortbread and the much loved school dessert of days gone by is the topping. Where Millionaire Shortbread has a top layer of chocolate, the version served to us in mid 70s "dinner schools" had instead a layer of chocolate sprinkles.

Anyone over a certain age in Scotland will smile if reminded of caramel shortbread, although maybe not so much when reminded of the "school custard" which had the uncanny ability to grow a "skin" over the top before you got your tray to your table :)  So, do you want to make some yummy caramel shortbread too?  Let's go honeys....

Delicious 3 ingredient Tomato & Salmon Fusilli...

Hi Honeys,
I hope everyone is well and not suffering too badly with the change in the weather.  The remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo hit us yesterday and what a windy day it was!

To cheer myself up and to have something lovely and warm ready for hubby getting home from work, I decided to do what I do best. I thought I'd whip up a yummy bowl of pasta, but what type? what to serve it with? Time for another kitchen experiment, and oh my, was it delicious! Hubby even took some to work with him today for lunch :)

It really was yummy honeys, and best of all the ingredients are probably sitting in your pantry as we speak :) Let's get started then....

Delicious Apple & Cinnamon Tray Bake

Hi Honeys :)
As I write this our home smells gloriously of cinnamon & baked apples & it's just fabulous :)  I thought I'd share the recipe for the most delicious tray bake. It's super easy to make, looks (and smells) amazing when it's done and it tastes so, so, soooooo good!

There is something about autumn that just yells apples & gorgeous cinnamon to me :) Hubby adores anything with cinnamon so this is a favourite of his.  Why not serve it with whipped cream or even an old childhood favourite with lovely warm homemade custard :)

Let's head to the kitchen, grab our pinnies and get baking :)

What To Do With Unwanted VHS tapes

Hello honeys,
I'm so sorry I've been missing for a few days. Hubby has had a weeks hols from work and we've been de-cluttering our home. We've been working on the back bedroom, and since it doesn't get used very often it had become a "catch-all" for clutter.

This room is our guest room and so we've made it a project to make it far more functional than just being a room with a bed in it. This room has a decent sized cupboard in it. It's not a walk in closet by any means but it's a two door cupboard (closet) that is the depth of a wardrobe? This wonderful cupboard was though unfortunately full of boxes. We had no idea what was stored in them since they'd been there since our last house move!

What we found was... VHS tapes! Lots & lots of VHS tapes. Well, who uses VHS in our modern age? The answer surprised me :)

Pasta Bake in a Jar -pros & cons

Hello honeys,
I'm undecided still about the subject of todays post.  How does everyone feel about ready made pasta sauces?  Now I do tend to use a jar of bolognaise sauce as one ingredient when making my own Beefaroni, Hubby's favourite Lasagne and Beef Bolognaise Bake (along with tomatoes, onions & herbs) but this is something different. 

This jar of sauce is supposed to be, literally, dinner in a jar. All you need to add is some of your favourite pasta and a little grated cheese as a topping. 

Blogtember Challenge Day 30: Blogtember: A Month in Review

Hi honeys :)
It's the final instalment of the Blogtember Challenge! Oh no!! I'm so going to miss waking up and checking to see what the latest prompt is, writing & posting my own post for the day and then going to twitter to search for the #BlogtemberChallenge to see what everyone else has written.

Day 30: A farewell coffee date. Take some time to breath, sip a warm drink, and share with your new blogging buddies. If you'd like a prompt: how did the Blog-tember challenge go for you? Any surprises? What was your favorite prompt, or what would you like to see included next time?

The Blogtember Challenge has been the first time I've taken part in such an extended link up, lasting as it has for a whole month.  There has been such an amazing sense of community, of openness & friendliness among fellow bloggers taking part. Thank you so much and sending heaps of hugs to the lovely Bailey Jean for organizing Blogtember.  It's been a wonderful experience and I wouldn't hesitate to join another similar link up.

In the Day 28 post (which you can read here honeys) I wrote about the highs and low points of the month, choosing my favourite posts.  So I sort of feel like this post, the month in review, has already been partially written. I would like to add a few things however.

Thanks to this challenge I've learned a few things about myself, and I've also re-discovered a few others I'd forgotten, and it was nice to be reminded :)

1. I love blogging :) I really do! I love having this outlet for thoughts, feelings and creativity.  I love that it's helping me to document (and look back on) the work we're doing in our home, I love that I'm always making notes to myself about prospective blog posts :)

2. I've discovered that I actually enjoy having a target to meet.  The prompts were all there, posted by our lovely Bailey Jean to follow each day, and we all had 24 hours to post on that days topic.  I really wasn't sure at the beginning how I'd cope with having a post to write, edit & illustrate with a graphic every day, and a target of when it had to be posted, but you know what? I loved it :)

3. Again, I wasn't just writing (which I really enjoy) I was writing "to order" with the topic chosen for me. This in itself was unusual for me.  When I've written before, I've started with a blank page, put my hands on the keys (or picked up a pen/pencil) and stuff comes out :) This challenge has boosted my confidence, does that sound odd?  It's shown me that I can write for others, not just for myself and I'm so grateful for that.

Going forward, I think this experience will be a huge benefit to my blog. I've learned how to manage my time a little better, in order to get a post written, edited & published on time. It's made me realize too how important this little blog has become to me.  Even if no one else ever reads it, it's my voice in the world, when the world has moved on without me these past few years.

If you've read any of my waffle dear ones, thank you so much for keeping me company, it means more than I can say. Sending heaps of hugs & wishes for a fabulous weekend honeys (what? Thursday is nearly the weekend isn't it? :) xx

Blogtember Challenge Day 29: Favourite Blogging Resources

Hello again honeys :)
Still playing catch up with the last couple of posts in the Blogtember Series.  We've reached the penultimate post and I feel equally excited to have gotten this far in the writing challenge & sad that it's almost over. 

Day 29: What are your go-to blogging resources? What would you recommend to a beginner?

Well, this is awkward :) Being a beginner myself & positively still having so, so much to learn, I'm not sure what I can bring to the table on this prompt. So, I'll share what I've found immensely useful so far, in the hope that it can help someone out there.

Blogtember Challenge Day 28: Highs & Lows of Blogtember Month

Hello again honeys
It's been a busy, busy few days so I'm playing catch up with the Blogtember Challenge.  Now this will be a pleasure to write, the highs part anyway :)  So, here we go,  Day 28: What were your highs and lows for this month?

Let's start with the high spots of the past month shall we?

Blogtember Challenge Day 27: My Latest Fashion Wish List

Disclaimer: I have not been paid to promote any of these products, I'm writing this as part of the Blogtember Challenge.
Hi honeys,
I'm sorry this post is a little (lot) late today, but I worked a late shift tonight, so I'm just home and wanted to post this while it's still day 27 :)  We're now on to the last few days of the Blogtember Challenge & it's kinda sad because I've really enjoyed taking part.  So huge extra squeezy thank you hugs to the lovely Bailey Jean of Brave Love for organizing it, it's been wonderful!

So, today's prompt was: Sept 27th: What's on your wish list? Be sure to include links so we can shop, too ;)  OK, time for some retail therapy honeys :) Now, if you've read any of my blog you'll know I don't go out much, work & hospital appointments are about it, so I tend to do my clothes shopping from George at Asda because 1. it's where we grocery shop & 2. I love their clothes :)

So, here it is, this is my wish list :)

Blogtember Challenge Day 26: How I've changed in the past year

Hello honeys,
Well, here we are in the last few days of the Blogtember Challenge. It's been a lot of fun & also the first time since I started this blog in late January of this year, that I've tried to blog every day, which although challenging at times, I've actually really enjoyed.  Thank you so much to the lovely Bailey Jean for organizing a whole month full of writing prompts for us to follow. Do visit her blog, Brave Love, and say hello honeys x

So, todays prompt is:  Sept 26th: How have you changed in the past year?

This is a really interesting prompt.  On first reading, I immediately thought, well I haven't, but of course we all do. In my case, after a little thought, I can think of a couple of areas I've changed, maybe even improved in :)

1. Writing

I'm blogging.  I've always written honeys, but never in the organized, structured way that blogging has encouraged me to.  I'm not just writing, I'm writing regularly.  Blogging has given me something to focus on, to channel my creativity (such as it is lol) into. Best of all, I can use it to document our work in organizing our home.

I was in the break room recently at work, scribbling a few notes into my always present tiny notebook (you never know when a new blog post idea will pop up) when a co-worker asked me what I was doing. I told him I was scribbling some notes for a blog post & he said "are you a blogger? that's so cool!"  You know what honeys? It is cool, it's very cool & I love it x

2.  Organizing

We've always been packrats :) We've collected too much stuff throughout our married life and earlier this year we decided we were fed up with the clutter. So, we're now more focused on creating some kind of order through organizing our home.  It's not an overnight process though unfortunately, but we'll get there eventually & with hubby on board too, at least I know I'll have a giggle along the way :)

3. Coping

Finally, and this is a little personal but I promise honeys, this is not an invitation to a pity party. Those I don't do.  Over the past year or so I've been forced to admit to myself that I'm not as able as I used to be.  I've been battling chronic illness for over 15 years, and that whole time I've tried to keep living as if there's nothing wrong.  I suppose I thought I could fool myself, not let it beat me.

Well, I can't seem to fool myself anymore. I get tired very easily, to the point of being flat out drained after my two shifts at work each week. One of my biggest fears is not being able to work, or of my employers seeing how tired being there makes me and taking my job away. 

So I've had to become very adept at hiding when I'm tired.  At least while I'm there.  Life seems to always be a series of "trade offs."  Which irritates me if I'm honest.  If I want to have a chance of getting through my shifts at work, I now have to completely rest for a day or so before and I'm left so drained for a day (s) after.  I dislike this intensely, that in order to keep working I'm forced to give up other things, for example there are so many things I'd love to be getting on with at home, but simply don't have the energy. 

I need to find a better way to cope, I do feel like the arthritis is starting to get the better of me, and I simply can't allow that.  Sometimes I'm very thankful for my stubborn nature, it's what keeps me going.  Home is my "safe place." when I'm home I can just be me and don't have to worry that anyone sees how tired I am.

Till tomorrow dear ones, sending heaps of hugs your way xx

Blogtember Challenge Day 24: Fall Bucket List

Hi Honeys,
Apologies for this being a day late, but I can't seem to get images to upload onto blogger anymore.  You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get the image below uploaded! Additionally, I can't edit anymore, so the spacing & line breaks etc are all over the place, it's infuriating! I'm so sorry of this looks a mess, I really am. I don't have any control over it anymore, it's a battle even to get it to publish :/  I think the time may have come for me to start thinking about moving my blog honeys :/

So, on to (the slightly late) day 24 of the blogtember challenge, today's prompt is: Sept 24th: Your fall bucket list. What do you want to do before winter rolls around?

I hate to sound really boring but all of the things I want to have done before winter arrives involve organizing projects around our home :)

We're still de-cluttering, still finding treasures (& memories) from through the years, along with a whole lot of "what on earth did we keep this for?" stuff  :)  We do have a few projects planned, though how many of them we actually accomplish before the end of the year, we'll see.  That's the great thing though honeys, whatever we don't get done, we'll start on again after the holidays :)

It would be fabulous to just twitch my nose & have it all done & dusted (did anyone else adore "Bewitched" as a child?) but we can only do what we can do I suppose, with life & work getting in the way at times.  So, one of the things I'd like done is the cupboard in the back bedroom, which right now is full of boxes. I'd like to organize this and have an actual clothes closet.

I know honeys, I've been spending too long on Pinterest again :) But there is a cupboard with great potential being wasted housing boxes of stuff that haven't been opened in years, and I have no room for my clothes & shoes dammit :) Hee hee :)

There is also some work still needing done in the kitchen. We're hoping to install a new worktop for instance, and we've new shelves (still in their boxes in the back cupboard) to put up in there too.  That being said, I'm quite pleased with what we've managed to do so far, there is now a designated baking cupboard for instance, which holds my assorted baking trays & silicone bakeware we've managed to collect. I love silicone bakeware! It's so easy to use & a breeze to clean :)

We made a good start on the cupboard under the stairs last weekend & threw lots of "why on earth did we keep this?" stuff out :) We're hoping to get it finished this weekend & maybe make a start on the back bedroom which we're switching from having a single bed to a double, so that might mean (hubby) tweaking the furniture placement a little :)

I'm hoping to share our little organizing projects as we get them done honeys but right now blogger doesn't want to allow me to upload images, I'll need to find a way around that, or (and this is scary) try to figure out how to move my blog :/

I hope you're having a great week honeys, till next time, sending heaps of hugs your way xxx

Decluttering: What to do with old or broken electrical items

Hello honeys!
I hope everyone's well & having a great start to the week.  As I said (very) late last night, as much fun as the Blogtember Challenge has been, and it really has, I've been keeping up at the expense of my own "Rosie" posts I'm afraid.  So I thought today I'd write an organizing post.

Apologies though, because this should have been published yesterday, but I had a "flarey" day with awful spine & shoulder pain, so today I'm determined to at least try to catch up.
 

I wondered if anyone else has ever wondered what on earth to do with their old or broken electrical appliances?  I know that I certainly have.  Of course we have two very different categories of items, but there are many ways to de-clutter both old & broken things.

Blogtember Challenge Day 22: A Few of My Favourite Fabulous Blogs

Hi honeys
This has to be one of my favourite prompts so far in the Blogtember Challenge. Sept 22nd: Introduce us to 5 blogs you read on the regular, and tell us why!   Thank you to the lovely Bailey Jean at Brave Love for organizing this Blogtember Challenge.  All of the prompts have been fun, some challenging but this one is just wonderful! What a great way to share the love, so here are a few of my favourite fabulous blogs.

I really do love this prompt! It's so great to be able to recommend some of the places I love to go hang out. Places that inspire me & make me smile (even on not so great days.) The only problem I had was to only pick five! Here they are though, some of my favourite wonderful, fabulous, beautiful blogs, do visit & say hello.  Let's all share the love honeys xx

Blogtember Challenge Day 21: Fall Favourites

Hello again honeys
Apologies for the lateness, I'm only just making it on time for day 21 of the Blogtember Challenge, with many thanks to the lovely Bailey Jean of Brave Love for organizing this month's prompts. It's been such fun to take part :) I've been so drained today, but I wanted to post.

So today's prompt is: Sept 21st: Fall Favorites. What do you love most about this season?

OK, I have a confession... I've never liked this time of year. It makes me sad because summer is over and we're rolling (too fast) towards winter.  I'm entirely a Spring & Summer person so autumn & Winter have to be tolerated in order to get to Spring Summer again. I dislike the cold, and the dark. In Scotland it can be dark before 4pm and doesn't get light in the mornings till after 9am at times.

That much darkness for months on end can suck the life out of a person, I need sunshine. What can I say, the stork obviously delivered me to the wrong place, I should have been delivered somewhere warm & tropical where I could hang out laundry all year long :)  So, what can I find about autumn that I do like? 

Blogtember Challenge Day 20: A Day in the Life of Rosie

Hello honeys :)
It's a real dreich day here, it's raining outside, a little chilly, & the skies are so grey :/ We do however, thankfully, have the Blogtember Challenge to be getting on with, organized by the lovely Bailey Jean at Brave Love.  Today's prompt is:  Sept 20th: Share a day in the life. Pictures, timelines, stats, however you like.

I've been thinking how I can describe an average day in my life for you, without causing you to nod off for a nap :) My life is, on the face of it, quite dull really, but I do love it.  OK, so fetch a pillow and blanket just in case, and here we go :)

Blogtember Challenge Day 19: For what it's worth honeys x

Hi Honeys
Hope everyone is well today. I'm exhausted, having stayed up to watch the results of the Independence referendum.  So today we've reached day 19 of blogtember, organized by the lovely Bailey Jean of Brave Love.  Today's prompt is Sept 19th: If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of people, what would it be?

All I can offer you honeys is what life has taught me, so far anyway :)

We only have one life, and everyone always feels like they have all the time in the world. We don't. Time passes so, so fast. So, here it is, for what it's worth.  

Blogtember Challenge Day 18: Sometimes it's the journey not the destination :)

Good morning honeys,
An early start today, as always, and today it's back to the blogtember challenge, organized by the lovely Bailey Jean at Brave Love, this has been such a lot of fun :)  Today's prompt is: Sept 18th: Tell a tale of traveling, a city or country you've been to or a favourite vacation

This is a tougher prompt than it might seem honeys.  I don't travel, you see.  I like to sleep in my own bed at night. Bit boring I know but there it is :) Everything I need to make me happy is to be found within the walls of our happy little home.  In the scheme of things, I live my life in a very small goldfish bowl, and that's fine by me :)

Last year however, we took a trip to Edinburgh with three dear friends and had a fabulous time in spite of.....

Homemade Tuna Mayonnaise Sandwich Spread: So much nicer than shop bought and so many ways to use it too.

Hi honeys
It feels so odd not to be posting a Blogtember entry for the first time this month. It's been such fun and I'm looking forward to taking part in the rest of the month, but I have no idea how to make a Vlog, maybe someday :)

So, having gotten used to posting each day, I thought I'd share one of our kitchen favourites 😊 Tuna mayonnaise sandwich spread is something I used to buy pre-made at the supermarket with my regular weekly grocery shop. 

It's a great favourite with both hubby & I, equally at home as a sandwich filling, or as a toast topper, or even, as I did last night, used as a side dish with a baked potato 😋

Tuna Mayo sandwich spread is so easy to make and is cheaper than buying pre-made too.  I started making ours fresh quite some time ago, with any leftovers popped into a lidded container in the fridge where it will keep for 3 - 4 days easily. 

It's great to have on hand for a quick snack when the rumble tums appear.  Far healthier too to have a healthy sandwich as a snack, with the filling ready to grab from the fridge, than to munch on a chocolate bar.

Blogtember Challenge Day 16: Most People Don't Know This But....

Hello again honeys :)
Welcome to day 16 of the lovely Bailey Jean's blogtember challenge, today's prompt is: Sept 16th: "Most people don't know this but..."

So, the above graphic might have given you a clue but... I LOVE Halloween :)

Blogtember Challenge Day 15: My Mood Board

Hi honeys
Back again with day 15 of the lovely Baily Jean's Blogtember Challenge.  I really have been enjoying this challenge & I'll be sad when it's over.  Thank you Bailey Jean, I'm loving this whole experience xx

Today's writing prompt is Sept 15th: Make a mood board. Are you brainstorming a room re-do, or are you dreaming of glamping with gal-pals? Share a collage of any kind!

So honeys, here it is, here is my mood board. I had such fun making this  :)

Blogtember Challenge Day 14: My Blogging Journey

Hello honeys
I hope you're all well & have had a fabulous weekend so far.  So today we've moved on to day 14 of the lovely Bailey Jean's blogtember challenge.  Todays prompt is: Sept 14th: When did you start blogging and why?

I started my blog in late January of this year, so I'm still very new to it all, but I'm enjoying it immensely.  I love blogging, I love the strong sense of community that exists.

Blogtember Challenge Day 13: Relationship Status

Hello honeys
Another fun day in the blogtember challenge. Today's prompt is: Sept 13th: Your current relationship status. If dating/married, give us a glimpse of your story! If single, share about this special season.

OK, fair warning, I'm about to be sickeningly sweet. Abandon ship if this stuff makes you nauseous :)  Still here? Cool! I love my husband. There, I said it.  I don't just love my husband, I adore him. I love everything about him. I love his laugh, I love his smile, I love that we can sit in a room for hours, perfectly quiet and I wouldn't want to be any other place, with any other person in the whole world. Ever.

Blogtember Challenge Day 12: Our (really boring) Hogmanay Tradition :)

Hi honeys
Todays prompt in the Blogtember Challenge organized by the lovely Bailey Jean at Brave Love is a fun one. 

Sept 12th: Tell us about a favorite tradition. It could be a family tradition or from a holiday, university, you-name-it. What makes it so special?

Being a Scot I thought I'd tell you about our unusual (and to others probably incredibly boring) Hogmanay tradition :) As you might know Hogmanay is the Scottish new year.  As a child I can remember parties with family & neighbours popping in, being given diluted lime cordial to drink and the thrill of being allowed to stay up till after midnight!

Bathroom Storage Re-Do: Before & After

Hello honeys
I thought I'd share our latest little project in our efforts to de-clutter & organize our home. This time we're in the bathroom.

Blogtember Challenge Day 11: My Inspiration

Hello honeys,
Today we're on to day 11 of Bailey Jean's Blogtember Challenge and today's prompt is:  Sept 11th: How do you stay inspired? Who inspires you the most?

Ladybirds - Beauty In Nature & free printable

Hello honeys,
I was actually working on an organizing post when I went outside to bring in laundry and saw this....

I so love ladybirds!! I asked hubby to grab the camera and I snapped some photos.  Ms Ladybird kindly stayed a while until I'd taken some photos and then off she flew, so thank you Ms Ladybird :)

Blogtember Challenge Day 10: 10 Things I like about Me!

Hi Honeys
I have to be honest, this has to have been the most difficult thing blog post I've ever had to write.  I've been trying to write todays post in Bailey Jean's Blogtember challenge Sept 10th: List 10 things that you love about yourself! Let's kick that negative self-talk outta here!  and all I've had on this page is a little cursor blinking at me as if to say "well........?"

I am my own worst critic. Are we all like that? is it just me? If I'm paid a compliment, even by hubby, closest person to me on earth, my first reaction isn't to feel happy.  Instead there's an immediate little voice in my head saying "that was kind."  Like I'm some lump that doesn't deserve daylight much less a compliment, so it must be pity, right?

Adding A Little Bathroom Bling!

Hi honeys,
Just a little quick post to share the silliest thing :) Do you remember the crystal door knobs I'd added to our white wooden bathroom cabinets a while ago? 

Blogtember Challenge Day 9: Personality Types

Hi Honeys,
Welcome back for day 9 of Bailey Jean's Blogtember Challenge. Today's prompt is to write about our personality type.

Sept 9th: Let's talk personality types. Introverted? Extroverted? Unsure-troverted? ;)

Bailey Jean gave us a link to an online test, meant to determine our personality type. My results said this....

Blogtember Challenge Day 8: Music that Moves Me

Disclaimer: I'm not being paid to recommend any of these artists or albums. This post is written as part of the Blogtember Challenge, and as such, I'm listing my favourites. I hope that you like them too x

Hello again honeys
Here we are on day 8 of the lovely Bailey Jean's blogtember challenge.  Today's prompt is:  Sept 8th: Music that moves you. Are you a Spotify addict or a Pandora guru? Tell us your favourite artists/stations!

I adore music. It keeps me sane like nothing else when the world gets a little too much to cope with, which is often. When I'm feeling stressed, overwhelmed or even just have a desperate need to chill out, I put on headphones, disappear into my favourite music, feel my shoulders relax & the stresses just melt away.

Blogtember Challenge Day 7: Reading List

Hi honeys
Hope everyone's had a fabulous weekend :) It's been such a beautiful sunny day today, I so hope you've been able to enjoy it. On to day 7 of the lovely Bailey Jean's blogtember challenge. Have you joined in yet? If not, do go here it's such fun!

OK, so today's blog prompt is:  Sept 7th: What's on your current reading list? Or what have you read that you recommend?

As I shared previously, I tend to enjoy chilling out with audio books so if it's OK I'll share what I've been chilling out with recently.

Being a terrible insomniac I have a tiny speaker that slips under my pillow so I can listen to my audio books at night without bothering hubby.  On my bedside table I have a little MP3 player, and a CD player (what? I still like to rock it old school LOL)  On the MP3 player are a few of my favourite books, and I also have a bookcase nearby which has the rest of our audio books on it.  Recent audio loves are .....

Blogtember Challenge Day 6: I'm Currently....

Hi honeys
Beautiful blue skies outside, a lovely soft breeze and I'm busy typing this between hanging laundry outside :)

So, todays writing prompt for the lovely Bailey Jean's Blogtember Challenge is:  Sept 6th: A "currently..." post. Tell us what you're loving, hating, reading, eating, etc.

Current Project: 

A brief glimpse through this blog will show we're trying to get control of our clutter, and re-organize our home. It's on-going, one room at a time and we're resigned to the fact it'll take a while, but we're having fun doing it. We're re-discovering things we'd forgotten we even had in cupboards, filling bags to take to the charity shop, and loving the treasures (and memories) we're finding along the way.

The Blogtember Challenge Day 5: I'm Passionate About...

Hello honeys
So we're on to day 5 of the blogtember challenge organized by the lovely Bailey Jean at Brave Love.
Todays writing prompt is "Sept 5th: "I am passionate about ______________. "

Shall I be honest honeys? I approached todays prompt not knowing what to write. Isn't to be passionate about something to have something to live and breathe for? to care about it so much that you rarely think about anything else?

Cheap & Easy Way To Improve Your Blog Photos!

Hi honeys,
Just a quick post to share a recent really inexpensive purchase that has made such a ridiculously huge difference in my blog photos :) Honestly, I'm so happy and the best thing is that it cost so little!  In total a whopping £1.98!

I have for some time now been looking for foam boards or something similar to use as a backdrop for blog photos. I haven't been able to find them locally, although we do kinda live way out in the back of beyond somewhat so.... and the foam boards seemed, for what they are really, to be quite expensive online.  And then I saw this....

Blogtember Challenge Day 4: Fashion trends

Hello again honeys
It's day 4 of the blog-tember challenge organized by the wonderful Bailey Jean on Brave Love. If you haven't joined yet, do go look at the prompts, it's such fun!

So, todays prompt is:  Sept 4th: Pick a fashion trend you love and a fashion trend you hate. Win us over!

Blogtember Challenge: Day 3: When I grow up....

Hello again honeys
Well, here we are on day three of the lovely Bailey Jean's Blogtember Challenge.  Have you joined in yet?  Today's prompt is:

Sept 3rd: "When I grow up I want to be...." Feel free to answer as your 5-year-old self or as of now.

As a middle aged lady I approached this topic with a smile. I'm as wise as I'm likely to get, and that's not very I'm afraid.  Taking the hypothesis at face value though, that I can still at my age "grow up" then yes, I'm willing to admit that there are some improvements to be made, and even some maturing or "growing up" to be done, even at my age.

Dr Who Figuirine Collection Issue 27: Ninth Doctor

Disclaimer: I have not been paid to promote any products, I was just really excited by a surprise gift from my dear hubby and wanted to share.

Hi honeys,
I am completely and stupidly excited! Just when I think hubby can't get any more perfect! look what he brought home for me tonight.....

Blogtember Challenge - Day 2: 10 Things That Make Me Happy :)

Hello again honeys,
So today it's day two of the blog-tember challenge from the lovely Bailey Jean at Brave Love  Have you joined in yet? If so, do leave me a link in the comments section so that I can read your posts too?

Today's assignment is:
"Sept 2nd: Write about what makes you happy, from the little joys to the huge game-changers."

This is such a wonderful idea for a post, so I've decided to share 10 things that make me happy :) I blogged this once before, although previously I listed 32 things that make me happy, what can I say, I'm a cheery person :)

Blogtember Challenge! Day 1: About The Author

Hi Honeys
I need to get back to blogging. I adore my tiny little space on the internet. It's a place I can share recipes, thoughts, even our organizing journey in our home. I'm sorry I've been neglectful these past weeks, thank you so much for understanding and for your support. It has been very much appreciated honeys xx

Has everyone heard yet of the lovely Bailey Jean's Blog-Tember Challenge? If you haven't read Bailey Jean's blog yet, please do visit and say hello.

Join the Blog-tember Challenge Here

Baily Jean has supplied a list of prompts for each day of September and the first of these is as follows:

"Sept 1st: Imagine the front sleeve of a hard cover novel. Give us your "About the Author" so we can get to know one another, and for fun tell us what your imaginary novel would be about."

This was such fun!  Here is my "about the author" page :)

Remembering Mum

Hello honeys
I'm sorry I haven't been around, coping has been difficult these past weeks.  Thursday was my sweet Mother-in-law's funeral. It really does break my heart that I wasn't able to go, living almost 500 miles away.  Even traveling less than two miles to work & back leaves me in such pain at times, but I would gladly have faced any amount of pain for Mum. Unfortunately though we had no one to mind Jade, who had hurt her leg and was limping for few days, thankfully she seems much better now.  Hubby travelled down though and says the service was lovely.

I organized for two dozen beautiful cerise roses to be delivered for the service and then decided, if I couldn't physically be there,  I'd say goodbye in my own way. So that is what I did.  Mum's service began at 2pm and I lit a lovely rose scented candle for her, at exactly 2pm, here at home. 

Coping with loss & looking for beauty

Hi honeys
I'm sorry I haven't posted for a while. I haven't been coping very well.  You might know from my last post that our family suffered a terrible loss recently and we're all trying to find a way of accepting & dealing with it. I've spent the past week or so trying very hard not to think.  It's too raw right now and I have no defence against the pain or the hurt.

I've been trying to keep myself busy. Too busy to think.  I designed some cards for Mum with lovely quotes I found.  I have a beautiful rose candle to light for her.  We always sent Mum roses on her Birthday & on Mothers Day every year. I can't bear that I'll never get to do that again.

This is one of the cards I made for Mum, the poem is so beautiful, I wish I knew who wrote it.  I've tried to find out but haven't had any luck, does anyone know? I'd love to find out.

Apologies & Sadness

Hello honeys,
I'm sorry I haven't posted this week. I have recipes and an organizing project on the back burner and waiting to be written up but I just can't concentrate.  we suffered the worst loss in the early hours of Sunday morning when we learned that we'd lost my dear sweet Mum in Law.

It feels wrong writing that on so many levels.  Firstly I don't ever refer to Mum as my Mother in Law, ever.  She's always just been "Mum" because that's what she's been to me.  A Mum and so, so much more.  She means the whole world to me and just like that she's gone. I haven't been able to process it yet and I know this "numb" stage will wear off, but for now I keep crying at the oddest times.  Crying when I'm washing dishes, crying when folding laundry... but it doesn't help.  It can't help.

I'm being absolutely no use to my dear Hubby either. He appears to be handling it so much better than I am, but I know he's not really. He's doing what he's always done. Being strong for me. I know he's in such terrible pain too but I also know he won't let me see it, bless him.

I really do desperately want to scream at whatever universal power is in charge of these things that it's just not bloody fair and I want Mum back.  She was the sweetest, kindest most loving woman. She worked hard all her life and never hurt anyone, and she had a heart the size of a planet. How can it be fair that we have to lose her so soon?

I really can't imagine my life without Mum being there and I just don't want to have to.  I know the whole family feels exactly the same.  It's not fair. Why is it that genuinely lovely people who've never hurt anyone else suffer the most?

Why isn't there a cosmic appeal panel for these decisions? I keep thinking that if the universe made any kind of sense we could point out when a colossal mistake had been made by the powers that be and have it undone. Is there some kind of unearthly quota to be met? If so, given the choice I'd gladly have gone instead of Mum.  She really did make the world a much better place just by being a part of it and it's gotten darker now that she isn't here.  It's not fair. x

 

Edit: No idea where this image came from originally, if it's yours please let me know and I'll remove it. Thank you x

Organizing - Paper, Paper, Everywhere!

Hi honeys,
I'm sorry I've been missing this week, life sort of took over, as it does.  Hubby & I are both on hols from work this week in the hope of getting some de-cluttering done in our home.   It's proving to be quite a task.

Having spent countless hours on Pinterest reading countless blog posts & magazine articles which all make it sound so easy to grab a rubbish bag and whoosh! job done, well it turns out that it really isn't that easy.  De-cluttering two lifetimes of accumulated stuff is hard work! So far our biggest job this week has been working our way through paperwork, lots of paperwork. I mean seriously honeys, it really does feel like mountains of it.