The Cold Snap Returns...

Hi Honeys
Brrrrrr.... I mean an actual brrrrr....  I'm writing this while sitting on the sofa with our furbaby Jade cuddled up against me and we're both bundled under a huge heavy throw.  The heating has been on here in the living room since before seven this morning, nine hours later we're hugged together on the sofa to stay warm.  Although it's much warmer in here than in the rest of the house, even though the central heating is on.

I opened the back door earlier to see if Jade wanted to go outside into the back garden and she went as far as the doorway, looked outside, looked at me with an expression that said, I swear, "are you kidding me Mum?" and then went straight back to the living room to settle on the sofa again.  We have a very smart furbaby :)

Burns Night - A celebration Of The Scottish Bard

Disclaimer: I'm not being paid to promote anything I'm just a proud Scot who wanted to share a wee bit about being Scottish :)

Hi Honeys
Earlier this week, on Monday we (in Scotland anyway) celebrated the anniversary of the birth of our Scots bard himself Robert Burns with Burns Night.  Traditionally this is celebrated by singing, dancing, performances of Burn's many works and of course by feasting on our national dish, the haggis.... more on that later :) You can find a running order of a traditional Burns Night celebration here honeys.

The life of our bard is a fascinating one indeed. Born January 25th 1759 in Alloway, near Ayr on the west coast of Scotland, Burns was a prolific writer during his 37 years and left behind a legacy of the most beautiful poems and songs.

Friday Smiles: Rosie's Happy Mood Board..

Disclaimer:I haven't been paid to promote products or stores, I just wanted to share things making me smile in spite of the awful chilly weather x

Hi Honeys
It's Friday again and already we're in the third week of the new year! Time is flying past again! Before we all know it we'll be planning Christmas and wondering what happened to this year :)

It's still too cold, too dark for too long (in Scotland we have around six hours of daylight in Winter) and I don't know about you honeys but I could really use some sunshine around now.   So there are a few weeks yet till the clocks go forward again and the weather is miserable but that doesn't mean we can't find a few smiles if we look hard enough...

So, since it is Friday I thought I'd share a few smiles on a theme and the theme is one of my favourite colours which is blue...

Warming Winter Soup To Beat The Chilly Weather

Hi Honeys
It is just far too cold!! Seriously! I have the central heating on and our home feels like I could see a penguin in the hallway at any minute! This calls for something warm and hearty and in a bowl...

Doesn't it look positively yummy honeys?  It absolutely is! It's also so easy to make it practically makes itself, and best thing is you probably have the ingredients in your pantry already...

Simple Stylish Knitting

Disclaimer; I haven't been paid to recommend this magazine I'm just sharing something I found interesting x

Hi Honeys
I hope you're staying warm in this cold snap we're having.  Do you remember a recent post about a new partwork magazine I'd found called The Art of Quilting?  Partworks are usually hobby or interest magazines exploring their chosen topic over a (sometimes though not always) specified number of issues or parts.

Well honeys, I spotted another one and since there is very little to do right now because of the bitter cold except snuggle on the sofa with our furbaby Jade and share a blanket I brought it home :)

 It's called "Simple Stylish Knitting" and is actually not bad at all.  Let's have a look shall we..

The Picture Perfect Project 2016

Hi Honeys

I hope you're staying warm and having fun.  I've been trying to catch up with everyone after spending the weekend working very busy late shifts and last night I read Rhonda's wonderful post on The Picture Perfect Project for 2016.  

 The Picture Perfect Project encourages everyone to take more photos, improve their photography skills and have fun while doing it :) There is a link up every second Thursday of each month throughout this year with the first link up having been last Thursday.

This is such a great idea! All everyone has to do is to grab their cameras and get snapping and don't we all want to improve our photo skills for our blogs?  I'm a little late to the party, and thank you so much to Rhonda for sharing this link up (thank you honey xx) but here's what I've put together for January's link up...

Snow Arrives In Scotland!

Hi Honeys
Just a quick post to share some Winter loveliness :) Now as you might have read on this blog I'm not a big fan of Winter, preferring instead the warm breezes and lovely sunny days of Summer :) There is undoubtedly though something beautiful about falling snow...

On Friday the temperature dipped and went from chilly to bitterly cold and on Saturday morning we woke up to a light dusting of the prettiest snow on the ground.  Jade was bundled up warmly into her warmest Winter jacket and set off to go walkies with her Daddy and I showered and dressed for work. 

Later that afternoon before setting off to work I snapped these pics to share honeys...    

Garden Smiles On A Crisp Winter Morning...

Hi Honeys
I thought I'd share a smile this morning...

We've had dull grey skies for so long now I was starting to forget how beautiful blue skies can be :)  It really does feel so, so long since I could open the curtains and see this...

So long in fact that it made me ridiculously happy just to see it :) Now if it wasn't so bitterly cold I would have the washing machine on as we speak and would have been hanging out laundry as soon as it got light outside :)

Organizing With Those Soap And Glory Bags...

Hi Honeys
I hope you're staying warm in this cold snap we're having.  It really is properly cold now with an icy frost on the ground and a chill that seeps through into your bones.  It's more than the cold I dislike at this time of year, although being a Summer baby I'm certainly no fan of being chilly.

I am beyond frightened of walking outside when it's icy because of the (quite natural, I think) fear of falling. I have knees which enjoy twisting out from under me at inopportune times (such as when I'm on stairs) and osteo arthritis in my lower spine that does not need any sudden thumps. Suffice to say, please hurry up Spring!

Today I thought I'd share an organizing idea or notion that occurred to me one evening while I was making dinner...

For a number of years now, just before Christmas when a certain item goes "on special" Hubby has been making a bee line for Boots first thing in the morning before heading to work in order to bring me home that years Soap and Glory mega gift set (thank you sweetheart xx)

Of course what makes these gift sets so fabulous is the great selection of products supplied but another equally valid reason is the very large bag the products are packaged inside.  These bags are far too big to be called cosmetic or even toiletry bags.  I would describe them as vanity cases.  Is that too old fashioned a term?  Much as I adore these bags (and I really do, although the design of the latest one jarred more than a little being far too "busy" and loud for my taste, as I explained here.

Well anyway honeys, I'd started to build a small collection of these quite large bags and since I don't own the hugest make up collection in the world I was thinking how I could make use of them and I think I've found the answer :)

A Sad, Sad Day...

Hi honeys,
I'm sorry I haven't been around much this week. It hasn't been the best of weeks really. I'm not sleeping much at all and the cold is playing havoc with my joints with most of the pain being in my lower spine where I have osteo arthritis.  I so wish Spring would hurry up honeys, things still hurt but I cope so much better when I can distract myself with sunshine, laundry and roses.

I had hoped to post an organizing post today but I was blindsided by the death of a man I've adored passionately for almost thirty years and was never lucky enough to meet.  Crazy? Maybe honeys, but it doesn't hurt any less if I tell myself so.  Today the fabulously talented actor Alan Rickman died and the world is so much darker for his no longer being a part of it.

Other than truly being an acting great, he also had a voice that made velvet seem like sandpaper by comparison and was also a genuinely wonderful human being who cared deeply about the world around him and the people in it.

The Potter books I've read and re-read and love so much I might never have read at all if not for Mr Rickman playing Snape in the movies.  I spent all those years telling everyone who would listen (and some who didn't care either way) that Snape was positively not the villain he was being made to look. Imagine my joy then on the eventual outcome of the story :)  There is so, so much more I want to write but can't. I cried today for a wonderful man and a specially reserved corner of my heart broke. It's a sad, sad day honeys xx.

Yummy, Super Easy, Sausage & Vegetables In Gravy With A Puff Pastry Crust!

Hi Honeys
It's freezing here! I'm typing this while sharing a blanket with our furbaby Jade on our sofa.  Jade has settled for a nap almost entirely covered with the blanket, even her nose is tucked away, hidden under the blanket and (what little of her can still be seen) looks adorable!

This is exactly the kind of day when thoughts turn to fluffy blankets, sofa snuggles and comfort food. I thought today I'd share a super easy, super yummy, super fast dinner that Hubby adores💖

I'm married to a puff pastry fan honeys💖  Hubby believes that almost anything is greatly improved with the addition of puff pastry😋 Chicken hot pot? Absolutely! Steak in gravy? Positively!

Puff pastry is a perfect topper or even side to anything that has the yummiest gravy, so he's right of course.  Today I thought we'd take a closer look at one of Hubby's favourites...

JML Best Foot Forward Unit

Disclaimer: I haven't been paid to promote any products just sharing my own thoughts on a bargain I found while shopping x

Hi Honeys,
I found something interesting during a recent shopping trip and thought I'd share in case it might help other fellow spoonies.  It's a smallish, portable, foot massage unit, part of the JML range of products.

I saw it while shopping in Home Bargains. It was only £1.99 so I popped one into my basket thinking even if it doesn't work, what am I losing? As you can see the packaging is not printed in English, so I was relying on the product description on the store shelf it was siting on.  

 When the actual unit is removed from the packaging it looks like this...

It needs two AA batteries which power the unit and produce a vibration which goes through the unit and up through your foot when you add pressure to the unit.  It's also possible to use the unit without the vibrating function though by just running your foot gently over the six shaped wheels.

I suffer from plantar fasciitis in my right foot honeys, I experience awful muscle spasms through my legs (restless leg syndrome) and my legs often swell up terribly.  Since the ad claims it aids circulation problems I'm hoping this little unit might help with the swelling at least which can be painful in itself.

I found this unit in Home Bargains (you can also find it online at Home Bargains website) but I've seen it on Amazon too.  It might be worth looking in your nearest discount store to see if they have it if you'd like to try it too honeys.

Has anyone tried this little massage unit or anything similar?  If so, what are your opinions? Did it help?  Please let me know in the comments section below.  I hope everyone is staying warm honeys. It's so cold right now, I can't wait till Spring gets here.  Till next time dear ones, huggles always xx

The Art Of Quilting

Disclaimer: I haven't been paid to promote any products, just sharing a possible new interest x

Hi Honeys
I hope you're staying warm and cozy. It actually does feel like winter here now with a cold, crisp frost on the ground and a bitter chill in the air.  I'm typing this with our furbaby Jade hugging me on the sofa, we're sharing a blanket and she's having a nap, oblivious to her Mum tapping away on the laptops keyboard :)

Here in the UK January is normally the month of "partworks."  Hobby or interest magazines exploring their chosen topic over a (sometimes though not always) specified number of issues or parts. This year is no different I've seen TV ads for three so far and I was curious enough about one in particular to ask Hubby to bring me a copy home with him.

Friday Smiles - Vettriano Art & The Famous Five

Hi Honeys
I hope you've had a great first week of 2016 and you're looking forward to a fun weekend.  For today's Friday smile I thought I'd share something beautiful and also a book that made me smile and rolled back the years to happy childhood memories :)

First then, Hubby, bless him, bought me the sweetest gift. Inside a pretty paper bag were these...

Christmas Gift From Katie

Hi Honeys
I thought I'd share a beautiful Christmas gift, which I'm hoping to update you on throughout the year.

Spring is on it's way (soon I hope) and this particular lovely gift will be finding its way out into the garden and I can't wait to see it there, in it's new planter :)

One of my absolute favourite Christmas gifts this year has been the sweetest gift from Katie, and here it is...

Rosie's New Year Resolutions...

Hi Honeys
We're off into a new week, the first full week of the new year.  What possibilities we all have before us! Why don't we all try to make some dreams happen this year honeys?

Mine are pretty small I suppose, in the grand scheme of things, but I plan on working towards them all the same :) Here they are then, my 2016 resolutions...

New Year, Lovely New Books..

Disclaimer: I haven't been paid to recommend any products, just wanted to share the latest additions to our home library x

Hi honeys
Happy New Year! I hope you've had a great time over the holidays and that 2016 will be the best year for you, chock full of smiles, hugs, laughter and all good things.

2015 already ended on a high note for me because I recently discovered that one of my favourite bookstores has opened a new branch nearby! Yaaaaay!

 I spotted the new branch in passing and while I didn't really have time to pop in I couldn't not... :)  Honestly honeys, I can't help it. I am defenceless when it comes to book stores :)

Even though I only popped in for a few minutes, believe me, if I hadn't been so busy I'd probably still be there now, sitting in a corner surrounded by books :) So, even though I only popped in :) I picked up a few lovely books and I thought I'd share.