Rosy Radiator

Back in April G and I worked together on a little make-over for prettifying our bedroom radiator.
It was originally painted the same shade of grey as our walls until I gave it a new coat paint, a shade of white from Farrow and Ball, can't remember which one now and then we covered the fretwork inserts with lengths of Ikea Rosali fabrics.
I'm really pleased with how it's turned out.

Our Very Own Ground Force

The day after we returned from New York my sister text me to ask what our plans were for Saturday 7th May. 

She wouldn't tell me why she wanted to know but after a few days of texting back and forth she said she would be round on that Saturday morning somewhere between 10 and 11 and would I provide bacon sandwiches.

All slightly mysterious but all agreed.

So Saturday morning dawned, the bacon was ready in the fridge and then at 10.30 I received a text asking me to unlock the back gate.

She and her friend then drew up and began unloading a stack of timber and a selection of power tools from his works van.

They weren't being used to build this planter

they were being used to build us a fence!!!!!
Whilst we were away my sister had visited and decided we needed some privacy between us and our neighbour.
The old fence panels had blown over in high winds last year and we replaced them with a length of willow screening. This was fine up until a couple of months ago when that also feel victim to more high winds.
My sister loves sitting out in her garden and she felt that we needed somewhere we could go to also enjoy some quiet sunny garden time. 
From this a plan was formed with her friend and when we left to go to the theatre this is what was happening

 and this is what was in place when we came home a couple of hours later.
A lovely new fence complete with shelves for pots and hooks for lanterns.
The planters and table were also part of their surprise.

To protect the timber we had to get it painted as soon as we could and so that's what we were doing on Sunday afternoon. We bought 2 small tins of Cuprinol but as G was carrying them outside he tripped and dropped one of them ad most of the contents ended up on the back door step and then splashed back into the house.

I think we'll need to buy another tin and give it all a second coat.

We're not sure what we'll put on the shelves or if the baskets will stay but my sister popped those things up just to break up the plain expanse of timber.

I must admit I did shed a few tears when C told me what they were going to do. It was such an incredibly kind thing for them both to do for us.
Hopefully we can carry on their good work and try and make some kind of garden from the jungle that's out there.

All Clothes, Apart From the Shoes

What a whirlwind of a weekend that was.

I'm still catching up from it now.

Friday evening I went out with friends from school as another reunion looks to be in the offing later in the year which should be fun.

Something quite wonderful happened Saturday morning which I'll share in another post, then G and I had an afternoon trip to the theatre to see The 39 Steps and to round off the day we had friends over for pizza and wine.

Sunday morning we went to the car boot and then to do a quick grocery shop. 

Once home I grabbed a bite to eat and then it was off to see my good friend M to give her her 50th birthday gift and have a good old catch up.

There was a job to do once I got home, info which will have to wait until the next post, and then there was just time to squeeze in the ironing of school uniform before settling down and enjoying the last installments of The Durrells and Home Fires.

Phew.

There was great excitement upon arriving at the booty this week because the first person we came across was selling all their clothes for 10p an item.

My sister found 11 things and had to go back to her car to drop them off before she could carry on!

My buys from the morning are as follows....

Blue and pink patterned M&S top £1, brand new with tags attached black and white George dress 10p, Fat Face navy stripy top 50p and brand new with tags attached navy M&S sweater 10p.

Rusty brown George cardigan 10p, bird patterned scarf 50p and brown George wedges also 50p.

S took some money with her and paid £2 for this New Look cardigan. It looks like it's only been worn a couple of times and as she's very partial to an animal print she was very pleased with her purchase.

Central Park

Our last full day in New York was spent in Central park.

We managed to explore up to and including the Jackie Onassis Reservoir.

A recent addition at the entrance to the park are these sculptures of oversized orchid which were just beautiful. Huge structures which still manage to maintain some of the delicacy of those in the natural world.

Without any prior planning we managed to arrive at the Delacorte Music Clock on the half hour and we, along with a bunch of happy children, enjoyed watching the animals rotating around the track playing us a tune. I thought the baby kangaroo was so sweet.

Apparently during the summer moths there are story telling events for children held by this statue of Hans Christian Andersen. Count me in.

We stopped and enjoyed a coffee and the view at Conservatory Water where remote controlled boats can be hired. 

From here it's just a hop, skip and a jump to the Alice In Wonderland statue. There were lots of school children here on a school trip, something to do with Science, I only know that because they had big plastic boxes with them marked 'Science Field Trip.' Not a bad venue for a day out from school.

Full size boats can also be rented for romantic rowing trips on the Lake

we kept our feet on dry ground and pulled our best, or should that be worst pouting selfie faces by the fountain instead!

There is an area named Shakespeare garden which if I'm honest we only skirted around as by now it was lunchtime and we left the park in search of sustenance, not before we stopped and admired this Romeo and Juliet pairing.

We made one other small detour from the park that day and that was to the Dakota where John Lennon lived and was murdered. G, along with a huge portion of the planet, is a John Lennon fan and he wanted to go there and have a quiet couple of minutes, or as quiet a couple of minutes as you can get in such a busy place.
The building itself is currently covered in scaffold but you can see it here, I rather liked the characterful face of Neptune(?) which runs repeatedly along the metal railings which surround it.

Clothes, Candles and Christmas

G and S didn't fancy the car boot sale yesterday morning so I went along with my mum and sister C.

We all managed to find a few things each to come home with and here's mine.

I already have one of these cardigans in grey and now I have a navy blue one to keep it company.

This was 50p.

There's no uniform in my new job and so I'm looking to gather a few items to make up my work place wardrobe and I thought this dress, for £1, would be a good addition. It's a bit clingier than I hoped it would be but the ruched effect around the waist helps disguise that a bit.

Not a great photo of a pretty shapeless top but this will be perfect for when I arrive home from work and just need to change into something comfy. Another £1 spent.

Love these candlesticks. £1 for the pair. 

Not sure what this wicker bowl is going to be used for but I couldn't leave with out it and as it was only 30p I definitely wasn't going to leave it behind.

There is no way I needed another Christmas mug but this one caught my eye, I thought it was a bit different and liked the idea of having a recipe on it. Mine for 50p.

This little knitted Christmas pudding is a holder for something like a Ferrero Rocher chocolate. I bought a set of 6 of these for the grand total of 20p. They'll look fab on the table, hiding sweet treats, come Christmas day.