January Scavenger Hunt

The first photo Scavenger Hunt of 2012. A huge thank you to Kathy for keeping this going again this year and giving us an interesting list month after month.

1. A warning. This exclamation mark highlights ingredients on the back of a packet of peanuts. Why when there are clearly nuts in the bag do they still have to list 'may contain traces of nuts'.

2. An entrance. The entrance of the hotel we stayed in in Cardiff.

3. In the distance. The tower of Brains Brewery seen from the end of a residential street during our walk down to Cardiff Bay.

4. Odd. 3, an odd number of planters in the Holyrood area of Southampton.

5. Company. The original name of the John Lewis store in Cardiff. This shop has been used in an episode of Dr Who.

6. Two. A pair of lamps on a bridge over looking Bute Park in Cardiff.

7 and 8. Soft and in my bathroom. Cotton wool balls on the chest of drawers in my bathroom.

9. In season. Parsnips in Sainsburys.

10. Information. My pink storage box full of leaflets for ideas of days out.

11. A mess. A bundle of clothes on the floor on Saturday morning after I had been to a jumble sale.

12. Blur. Me shaking the camera!

P.S. This is my 500th post!

I ♥ Pinterest

Inspired by http://deluxemoderndesign.com/blog/2011/05/something-from-nothing/.

Saturday Brunch

This past week has been National Farmhouse Breakfast Week.

I spent a bit of time looking at the different recipes on their website and thought a few of them sounded interesting so decided that on Saturday we would try them out.

They can be found at www.shakeupyourwakeup.com/breakfast-ideas

I made the wheaty raspberry smoothie which no-one liked except me. I also made the hot chocolate shake which again no-one really liked. The oaty texture was the issue with that one.

I baked soda bread and made the bran flake pancakes.

We also had fried eggs, bacon and toast.

These are my versions of the breakfast trifles and crunch fruit layer.

The oaty cranberry smoothie was the most successful drink, liked by all the adults, but as you can see S was not so keen!

Thrifty Thursday

A necklace with just the prettiest beads for £1.50, bought yesterday in the charity shop I volunteer in.

Pretty floral t-shirt bought for £1.99 in a charity shop on Tuesday when I couldn't get to work because of an electrical fault at one of the stations. 3 hours and 3 attempts to catch a train and getting soaked through in the rain in the process. I was not a happy bunny.

Click Clack

Picture this.

Me and S scurrying to school as we are a little late.

S- 'Mum can you hear that?'

Me- 'What?'

S- 'Our shoes.'

Me- 'Yes I can hear them.'

S- 'They are making such a loud noise, it sounds like we are off to an important business meeting.'

Get us!

Cardiff

A Welsh dragon to start off this blog post about our weekend in Cardiff.

G found our hotel through lastminute.com and a very handsome building it was too.


The interior didn't disappoint either, this is the ceiling in the foyer

and we were thrilled to find that our room had a huge comfy bed in it for us and there was a separate room for T and S. Normally when we go away for a night we book into a Travelodge and it's all 4 of us in one room. This separate room thing was a real treat!



The reason for our trip away was for T to see his brother L. Although the boys chat on the phone they hadn't seen each other for over a year. Both were very happy to see each other.


We had to walk past here on the road leading up to out hotel. Bought back a few memories of when G and I were last in Cardiff watching Saints lose to Arsenal.



There is a statue of Sir Tasker Williams here as one of his many achievements was being President of the Welsh Rubgy Union for 11 years

and reading this certainly bought a lump to my throat.


To the left of our hotel is Cardiff Castle. We didn't visit on this occasion, so many things we want to go back and see



but we did take a stroll along the Animal wall which is now a boundary wall to Bute Park.






There were so many beautiful old buildings to look at but one of the things I noticed was the fabulous chimneys on the houses.


On Sunday morning we walked down to Cardiff Bay. There is a lot of public art to see from impressions along the waterfront walk



the renovated Norwegian Church (where Roald Dahl was christened)



a fabulous statue dedicated to Captain Scott's ill-fated expedition, you can really see the struggle in his face and body.

Another statue, this one to Ivor Novello.

The Millennium Centre looked stunning in the sunshine and again there was so much more to explore than we had time for. We hope to make a return trip soon.

Thrifty Thursday

As well as the things I buy I would like to share on Thrifty Thursday the clothes my sister gave me for Christmas. She really surpassed herself with a fabulous selection of items. This top is probably my favourite. I love the little red buttons and the white 'stitched' pattern on the bottom. The denim skirt was also from C. The little corsage was from my other sister T.

Thinking Ahead

When the days of January are wet and grey it's easy to wish for those warm and sunshiney days of July.

And then S brings home her reading book from school.

I guess the answer is to get the best out of everything.

HolyRood

One of the things I wanted to do this year was to get back into the habit of taking a camera out with me each time I go out. Mid way through last year my little compact camera developed a memory card fault and I'm ashamed to say I haven't got it sorted out as yet. It's something I must do.

Anyway today was my (hopefully) last appointment with the chiropractor and as I was charging out the door I remembered to pop into my bag G's new camera. I'm so glad I did as I spotted these sculptures on the edge of an inner City housing estate.

This is a Sailor's Angel to signify the ancient tradition of placing models of ships inside churches.

There are three large brick planters depicting men at work in the City's docks


This chap is a Titanic Stevedore in remembrance of out City's connection with the world famous liner.

I've looked them up on the City's website since coming home and found there are a couple of others which I shall investigate next time I'm in town.

Stop Press! I Ate A Courgette

Not as a cooked vegetable accompaniment to a meal though, I didn't get that adventurous!

I baked some Chocolate and Courgette muffins and they are delish.

Recipe below should anyone feel the urge to bake them too. Surely they must count towards your 5 a day?

In one large mixing bowl combine 10oz plain flour, 2tsp baking powder, 1tsp bicarb, 1 and a half tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp cocoa powder and 3oz soft light brown sugar. In another bowl mix 1 beaten egg, 2floz milk, 3floz sunflower oil and 12oz grated courgette. Pour wet onto dry ingredients, mix in 4oz chocolate covered raisins. Bake at 180c for 20 minutes. This makes about 16 muffins.