Organising With Mini Bamboo Planters - A Tiny Project For A Tiny Space..

Disclaimer:  I have not been paid to promote any products or stores.  I just wanted to share a tiny organising project that has made me smile x

Hi Honeys, 

How are you today?  We have grey skies threatening us with rain again today, so I thought I'd share a little smile 😊  

I was in the cupboard by our back door recently, to fetch a new pack of those clip closed bags I love, the ones from Ikea? Well, in the cupboard I spotted two sets of brightly coloured, mini bamboo planters.  I'd forgotten they were even there but they're so cute,  I just knew I could find something to do with them.   

I've been thinking for a while about buying a few of those tiny, clear organisers for the bathroom.  You know the ones, they're made from acrylic I think?  I keep seeing them being used in organising videos and I do love the look of them but, in my humble opinion anyway, they seem very expensive for what they are. 

So, when I spotted these brightly coloured little planters, an idea started somewhere in the back of my mind...

According to the label, these little planters are made from a biodegradable melamine and bambo fibre, it also says to remove the planters before transplanting your plants but that's ok, I had other plans for them 😊 

Even looking at these photos is making me smile honeys, and I've really needed smiles recently so I'm grateful for that 💗 

I do like the bright colours, it makes them fun as well as practical and the mix of melamine and bamboo makes them strong and easy to clean too. 

I can't believe I've spent so long looking for those little clear acrylic organisers for the bathroom cabinet, when I had two sets of these fabulous little square containers in the cupboard!  

Here's what I did with them honeys...  

😍 Who needs tiny acrylic organisers at around £2 each when you have tiny sets of planters that cost around 50p a pack.  I just love how these little planters look in the cabinet and they make me smile every time I open the door 😊

I've always been a great believer in "shopping your home" before buying organisers, use what you already have, but I really had no idea we had these little planters.  It's been over 18 months since I was outside shopping after all. 

What do you think honeys?  Have you completed any organising projects recently?  Do you "shop your home" too when looking for organisers?  

Whatever you're doing today dear ones, I hope you're having the best day and that (unlike us) you have sunshine and not a cloud in the sky 🌅  Till next time, hugs always xx 

Easiest, Yummiest Pasta In The Creamiest Cheesiest Sauce... Made Two Ways - Both Super Fast And Super Easy!

Disclaimer:  I haven't been paid to recommend any products, just wanted to share a new favourite recipe and my attempts at swapping out ingredients and tweaking to make it perfect for Hubby & I x 

Hi Honeys, 

How are you today?  All well I hope and not suffering too badly from the weather. We've had an extraordinary number of thunderstorms this past week or so.  Poor Jade! Our furbaby doesn't like that noisy thunder at all, but she always has her Mum to hug with on the sofa and one of her fluffy throws to hide under, bless her💖 

Today I thought I'd share a recipe originally shared with me by my much loved Sister in Law Celia, who found out about it from my beautiful wee niece Sarah (thank you honeys💕) 

I think it's safe to say that Hubby & I are both now officially addicted to this beyond delicious pasta dish, so much so that it seems to have found it's own day every week on our menu board.  

Yep, it's definitely fair to say it's a hit honeys 😋   

I can't put into words how fabulous this pasta dish is, nor how quick (and easy) it is to make .  Like all great recipes though, you'll find yourself making it once and then (after liking it so much) you'll want to make it again but, maybe, with your own tweaks to change it just a little. That's what we've done these past few weeks each time we've made it  😊   

So, I thought I'd share with you two ways to make this amazing dish, the original method (which is so delicious, still love it💖) which, as I later found out, is all over Pinterest.  I can't believe I missed it!  I'm so glad my lovely SiL shared it with me 💖

I've also shared how we've tweaked the recipe (so far, it's still being tweaked each time we make it so it's a wonderful work in progress 😋) including the ingredients used -which I changed a little bit.  More on that in a bit...  

OK, there are a lot of photos in this post so it might be worthwhile if you fetch a lovely cuppa (and maybe a cookie or two) I will too, and I'll meet you after the page break?  See you in a minute honeys x

Buzzy Bee Shaped Smiles In The bedroom..

Disclaimer: I have not been paid to promote or recommend any products or stores.  Just sharing some recent smiles in the hope that they make you smile too x

Hi Honeys, 

How are you today?  Jade and I are hugged together on the sofa with the loudest thunder storm outside.  Our furbaby Jade doesn't like the thunder at all, bless her 💗  

So, she's hugged up against me on the sofa and I've covered her with one of her fluffy throws.  She likes that, it means she can hide away under her throw away from the thunder and still know her Mum is nearby💕 There was a weather warning issued by the Met Office yesterday for thunderstorms today so Jade is already wearing her Thunder shirt, that will help a little 💖

All About Buzz...

If you've read my last couple of posts (and if you have, thank you so much for visiting and reading x) you'll know that the "happy" has been quite rare this year so I wanted to share a few recent smiles in the hope they'd make you smile too 😊

There. Just like that I'm smiling 😊  OK, what I wanted to share with you was the new bedding I'd ordered (which I'm loving for so many reasons, but I'll get to that in a few minutes x) first though, I had to introduce this adorable little buzzy guy...

This sweetie was a surprise gift from Hubby 💗 Isn't he adorable?  He was part of the Valentines day range at Asda and Hubby spotted him when he was in picking up our weekly shop.  Can you believe we're running through August already? How did that even happen? Time feels like it's speeding past again. 

Anyway, back to Buzz again 💝  He's very soft, very fluffy to touch and sort of "shimmers" all over.  I tried and tried to catch this effect in the photos and it's so difficult, but, as you can (almost) see if you look at his "antennae" (squeals! How beyond adorable that they're topped with two little hearts?) the shimmer can (almost) be seen there.  

He is, of course, smiling.  Who wouldn't smile if they shimmered all over and had hearts for their cheeks and antennae 😊  I decided he should live on the bed (although I checked with Jade first of course and after a quick poke and sniff at the new fluffy thing on the pillow, she was fine with it 💖😊

As you can see from the photo below, while ordering some new bedding (SO many smiles!! More on that in a few minutes honeys) I spotted a sweet cushion in the shape of a flower and had to order it.  Every little bee deserves their own flower to nap on after all 😍💗

OK, before I skip ahead to the new bedding I'd spotted, I have to share Buzz's wings.... Wait, Buzz Rosie?  Yep, I was looking for a name for my new buzzy bee pal and a dear friend (thank you Sarah, hugs honey x) suggested I call him Buzz 💗

Here he is then, caught napping and showing his beautiful, glittery, so-shimmery wings, Here's Buzz...

I tried so hard to catch how shimmery he is, I took so many photos but these are the best I could manage honeys, I'm sorry.  I hope Buzz made you smile too though x

Best New Bedding In Ages!

OK, on to the new bedding that managed to not only be eco friendly, be very friendly on the pocket and also so sweet it made me smile till my face ached 😊

It all started when I decided I'd like some new sheets to co-ordinate with one of my favourite duvet sets.  It's the lovely lemon, gingham set you can see in the earlier images in this post with Buzz. There is something about that lemon gingham that just lifts my mood honeys.  It makes me think of spring and summer, of picnics and the treasured buzzy bee guests who visit our garden every day 😊  

So, in order to show the gorgeous lemon gingham off at it's best, I'd decided to hop online and treat myself to a new set of plain white sheets.  Then this happened..

I'm smiling again 😊   I really haven't smiled much this past year or so, so I'm very grateful for any smiles that come my way but who'd have thought they'd arrive via a soft, shimmery bee called Buzz and the prettiest bedding 💖

As you can see honeys, while I had searched for a white flat sheet, fitted sheet and two new pillow cases, but what appeared in my search?  Bee themed bedding!  There wasn't a flat, top sheet with the sweet bee print but they do have a lower (fitted) sheet and packs of two pillowcases.  

Perfect!  Into my basket they went, along with a plain white top sheet.  I checked out and they were waiting in-store for Hubby when he did our grocery shop a few days later.  I was so pleased to have found them but even more happy when I read the labels and packaging they arrived in.   

As you can see honeys, the sheets and pillowcases are made from responsibly sourced cotton and they've even taken the care and laundering of the items into consideration too.  Think green and reduce energy use the card sleeves announce.  

These products can be washed at 30°C, don't need ironing and the fabric is said to dry faster.  I was also so happy to see they didn't come packaged in all of that plastic normally found around new bedding.  Instead George at Asda have wrapped their new bedding in a card "sleeve."

This is such a better idea.  The card sleeve packaging is minimal and it can be recycled by popping it into your blue paper bin.   Any worries about the sheets getting dusty or any marks while sitting on the shelves in-store or on the way home, well, I've always washed my new bedding before it ever goes onto our beds honeys, don't you?  

I know not everyone washes bedding before it's first use but I always have honeys.  As a newly married lady (a few years ago now💖) I remember reading that all new bedding had a starch added, sometimes referred to as "sizing" in order to make it stay crisp and unwrinkled in its packaging.

This "starchy" additive is what makes me always wash new bedding (and towels) before their first use.  Besides, who doesn't love the feeling of having freshly laundered sheets on their bed.  Bonus burst of goodness if they've been dried outside on a gorgeous, sunny day and come back inside with that gorgeous scent of outdoors 😍   

Back To That Extra Smiley Bedding...

I couldn't wait to see those adorable buzzy bees all over our bed honeys and they do make me smile 😊  As I said, I ordered the fitted sheet and one pack of two pillowcases.  

Our bed usually has a total of six pillows (three on each side) so I would normally have ordered two of the packs of pillowcases.  The two top pillowcases on the bed would always match the duvet set while the other four would match the sheets.  

In this case however, because the duvet set I bought them to co-ordinate with is a set from Ikea, which is supplied with four matching pillowcases, I only needed two buzzy bee pillowcases 😊   

As you can see honeys, they just look lovely all together and I'm so glad I spotted them on the George website when I did...

I know it's a silly thing to be so happy about but I can't help it, and life has been so lacking in smiles these past months I'm just so grateful to find anything to make me smile, even if it is a bit of a silly reason 😊  What's been making you smile honeys?  Please do share in the comments below 💖  

I so hope that you're having the best, happiest, most fun and chock full of smiles day honeys 💗  Till next time dear ones, hugs always xx

Links:

How to encourage bees to visit your garden, and why you so should honeys x

How to help busy garden bees by making a DIY hydration station

Bee Bombs:Planting a habitat for our buzzy friends.

Our bee themed bedding:

Pack of two pillowcases

Double fitted sheet