Saturday Spending's

Hello ladies, welcome to a new week, the weeks seem to be flying by now, I cannot believe it is March tomorrow already, and I'm sure if I remember rightly I said the same thing last month.  Anyways.  I hope you all had a lovely weekend.  Shame about the weather here in the UK, it was nice and warmish with the sun shining for most part here on Thursday and Friday to the extent that I didn't even take a coat to work with me on Friday, now that was just bliss.  However as soon as Saturday arrives it is grey skies and yep you guessed it Rain : (  Still I wasn't going to let it put a dampener on my plans for the day and so I headed to Chelmsford town centre for the Vintage and Handmade Fair, and I'm glad I did.  I bought some lovely bits.

Firstly I popped by to introduce myself and have a chat with Rose, it was lovely to finally meet her after reading her blog for so long and I just had to snap up these beauties after spotting them on her page.

Then I spotted another name I recognised Sarah again another opportunity to introduce myself have a bit of a natter and while I was there stocked up on some much needed material for my felting, as since my course with Lynne I have done no more, and this just isn't good so now I have no excuse.  I am thinking about trying a bracelet made from felt balls but we shall see.

Still feeling as though I hadn't spent enough I moved onto Chelmsford market and bought some more fabric for my patchwork (something else that has been neglected recently), some little roses made from material in a few colours, some small bows and some little beads all to be used on the bracelet I am planning on making, but like I said we will have to wait and see : )

I love this one, it is by far my favourite, I mean you can't really get any better then patchwork material and so of course I had to get it in every colour as you can see above, red, pink and blue : )

So how was your Saturday and what did you get up to?

~ Gem x

It's Friday!!

A very quick and short post from me today.  I just wanted to say I hope you all have a lovely and amazing weekend.  Let's hope this spring weather we have been having holds out for the weekend.

I just thought I would share this photo I snapped the other day of one of our many house plants.

I love how the droplet is falling, apparently these plants are renowned to cry though, so my Mum was telling me?!?

Love Gem xxx

And The Winner Is.....

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway, I was so pleased with the response I received, I am just sorry that there isn't something to give to everyone, but I'm afraid I just couldn't afford that (sorry!).

I used this opportunity to use a little trinket pot given to me by my Nan.  She was going to throw it away and luckily for me my Mum stopped her and saved it for me, she obviously knows me too well ; )  Love you Mum xx.

 Isn't it pretty?  I wasn't quite sure what I was going to use it for but then while I was looking for something to out all my names in to be able to draw the winner of the giveaway from, I remembered this little beauty and all of a sudden I had a use for it at last.  See everyone is happy, especially me.  

The names were all written out and folded on pieces of paper, and James picked the winner.  Drum roll please ................

Congratulations Sue.  If you could please email me with your address, I can get your parcel posted out to you : ).

I was back at work again today, it felt good to be back, I am really lucky to work with an amazing group of people, who are all very supportive.  In particular I would like to give a mention to Kirstin, who has been absolutely great.  She is always there for me and has most definitely made life a bit brighter for me while at work.  Kirstin has recently started her own blog.  As you all know things are a bit slow to start off in blogland, but please drop by and say hello and welcome her into our world, I know she will appreciate it and so would I, thanks ladies . 

It's almost Friday yay, another weekend is almost here, and not long until another month is over and spring will be upon us : )  Brighter longer, sunnier, warmer days are on their way, something for us all to look forward to.

Love Gem xxx

Thank You

I would just like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to you all for all your lovely comments.  Your support means a lot to me and I really appreciate it.  Starting this blog has given me so much more then I could ever have imagined.  I feel like part of a close knit community, part of a family and I love you all so  much for that.

My giveaway is now closed for new entries.  James is about to draw me a winner.  I can tell he has been itching to do it since I told him about it, so it is all in his hands now ladies.

I will be back again tomorrow to announce the winner.

Thanks again.  Goodnight

Love Gem xxxx

Virtual Coffee

Hello ladies, I am sitting here with my hot chocolate topped of course with marshmallows (I wouldn't have it any other way) and am ready for coffee with you all today : ).

If we were really meeting for coffee today I would be agreeing with Amy in that I don't really have much to contribute today.  I have been off work for the past couple of days trying to rest and re-charge my batteries.  I am starting to feel very run down and stressed out and can only put it down to everything that is happening with my Grandad.  I am finding it really hard to sleep and when I am sleeping I am having the most awful dreams either about my Grandad or myself breaking down, it is very strange but I guess I can understand it, it is obviously just having more of an effect on me then I originally thought. 

If I were really having coffee with you today I would be showing you some of my newest buys.  Although I did buy them on Saturday, I just haven't had the opportunity to show them off to you all yet (well until now obviously)

I thought this was really cute and at only £5 how could I not buy it?????

A cluster of my fairy lights decided to pack up the other day so I thought I would treat myself to some new ones.

They still need a little bit of adjusting, I know they are not completely even yet, but I will get round to this.  Unfortunately they are not as long as the last ones, never mind, beggars can't be choosers. 

I think the hearts and beads look gorgeous illuminated by the little lights.  Very girly : )

So that is all from me ladies, I will try to come more prepared next week.  Until then, have a fab week.

Love Gem xxx

Charity Shop Purchases

I have mentioned a few times now that there are no reasonably priced charity shops round where I live.  They seem to charge an absolute fortune,  I know it is for charity but there is a limit.  I popped into the RSPCA charity shop the other day and was surprised at how cheap (in comparison to Cancer Research and the local hospice shops) everything was priced at.  I walked away with some real good bargains, well I think so anyway.   

I picked this up for 50p, the spoon is missing but I will replace that. 

This was my favourite purchase £1.99, but I absolutely love it : )

The pattern / picture on this really caught my eye, I'm not sure what it is, it is too small to be an egg cup.  I'm sure I will find a use for it though and it was only 40p.  Any ideas what it is?

This reminded me of being a child, I used to have loads of these little things hanging on the door handles of my wardrobes, filled with lovely smelling fragrances.  Quite a bargain at only 40p.

I will definitely be dropping in there again soon, I was really pleased with what I bought.

It has been a quiet weekend for me.  What have you all been up to?  I'd love to hear from you.

Love Gem xxx

Usher Part 2

I am really missing blog land at the moment.  Although I am still trying really hard to read all of your lovely blogs, and all that you are getting up to.  I have been leaving the odd comments here or there.  I feel I have been neglecting my own poor little blog.  To be honest I haven't really had much to say.  Things at home have been so hectic and I haven't been up to anything interesting. 

On top of that, I want my blog to be a happy place, not a place of doom and gloom.  I know that is going to happen from time to time, but that is just life, and as much as we would all love to say we don't have any doom or gloom in our lives, we would all know that would be a lie.  Well I am hoping this is all going to change from now.  I am planning to be posting regularly - Internet connection permitting and the current situation with my Grandad, who may I add is still being very stubborn and fighting his cancer full on and is just about hanging in there, bless him.  I really do love that man so much.

As some of you may know I had my second date of the month with my man Usher (sorry James) last night.  this is now the 5th time I have seen him and by far the best.  I was 3 rows from the front and my god was I close.  It is the closest I think I will ever get to meeting the man and at times I was shaking like a leaf through a mix of emotions, but boy was I excited (sad to some I know :-) but I just can't help it).  I managed to get some fantastic photos much better then the ones from earlier in the month, it kind of makes up for not being able to post them all on here. 

What made the evening even better apart from being so close was that the show had been changed slightly to the one we saw at the beginning of the month, which was brilliant (not that I would of minded seeing the same show twice, then again I guess I wouldn't of booked tickets if I had of)  He was also filming for his DVD which of course I will be buying so if I am on it I will let you all know.

Well what more can I say??????

I had to take this one without the zoom, just to prove how close we were.  At times when he was stood on the podium which is just the the left of this photo he was even closer : )

A little camera shy?  I have no idea why when he has a body like this!!!!!

I love that smile - Gorgeous (again sorry James (not sorry))

Showing us his moves and boy can he move.

Sad to be leaving, trust me I was even sadder, I really want to go again, not sure I could justify it though.  Or could I ????????? He hee, don't tempt me!

Trust me though it was exactly what I needed after the past couple of weeks we have had, I actually feel half human again now.  I went with my mum and I know she appreciated the night out.  We had a real scream, quite literally.  My throat was rather sore this morning but it was so, so worth it : )  (very BIG grin)

That's all from me tonight folks.  I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

~ Gem x

Giveaway

(Giveaway Now Closed)

Thank you to everyone for your lovely messages on my last post.  My Grandad is still with us (just) he is really fighting it, but we know it won't be for long : (. 

On a brighter note I have reached 20 followers : ) Thank you so much.  I still find it hard to believe that people are actually reading what I am writing.  Lord only knows why, all I seem to do is babble on about nothing really.  Still I appreciate all your support. 

I had said previously that once I reached 20 followers I would do my very own giveaway.  I had such joy when I received my parcel from Mr Postman, sent by Sue at Our New Life In The Country , it was so exciting opening it all up to see what was inside.

For that same reason I wanted to share the love and my gratitude for all your support.  I won't tell you exactly what is going to be sent, it definitely adds to the excitement when you don't know exactly what is being received.  All I will say is it will be craft related, that is the only clue you are getting from me.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is be a follower of this blog and leave a comment on this post.  I will then draw a name from the pot to discover who my recipient will be.  Simple as that : ).  I will be closing the giveaway in a weeks time, so make sure you comment on this post by next Wednesday 23rd Feb.  Feel free to spread the word. 

Good Luck.

Love Gem xxx

Happy Valentines Day

Good Evening and Happy Valentines to you all.  I hope you are all able to be spending your evening with your loved ones.  I am sorry I haven't been posting for a few days.  I have been spending some much needed time with my family while.  We have all been supporting each other through a difficult time in our life.  I am expecting this to be the case for some time yet so please bear with me, I am hoping that usually blogging will resume soon.

I have been meaning to post this for some time now so apologies again.  I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to LissyLou who has awarded me this:

How exciting hey?  Now the rules are: 

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 15 bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

7 Things about Me.

* I love Rose flavoured Turkish Delights.  Either coated in Chocolate or without, I'm not fussy.  Me and James went to Turkey a couple of years back, there was a Turkish delight shop with every flavour imaginable, of course I had to try them all, it was amazing, but Rose is still my favourite flavour. 

* I used to work in a Travel Agents.  For 4 years I worked for Thomas Cook.  Although getting discounts on my holidays was amazing, it just wasn't the job for me.

* I too like Lissy Lou love Kinder chocolate.  Although I don't like the kinder bueno's.  But I love either Kinder Eggs or Kinder chocolate bars yum.

* I am a sucker for chick flicks.  Any kind of Rom-Com and I'm there : )

* I am off to see usher again, yes again.  The same show as last week, I'm going on Friday.  I have managed to get seats 3 rows from the front.  You can imagine how excited I am : )  I physically cannot wait.

* I hate chicken.  I know this is a bit of a bizarre thing to put but it is a fact about me and everyone seems to be so amazed by it when they find out.  I don't know why I don't like it.  It is something I have never liked and have tried it on many occasions, as it has to be the worst type of meat not to like, it is practically in everything so I have even tried willing myself to like it but .  Maybe one day, but just not today!

*I would love to one day be able to say that I have travelled the world.  I doubt this will ever happen, but a girl has to have dreams, right?

I actually didn't realise how hard it is to think of 7 facts about myself, which is pretty ironic really considering that this blog is about me.  I suppose the hard part was trying to think about things that I haven't yet shared with you all. 

Anyways now to pass on to 15 fellow bloggers.  Here it goes.  I would like to pass this award on to:

1. Gemma at Musings Of A Gem

2. Sue at Our New Life In The Country

3. Gem at Little Gem's World

4. Emma at Em's Shabby Shack

5. Sara at All About The World Of Kitty Eden

6. Vanessa at Coco Rose Textiles

7. Elyse at Cottage

8. Sue at Vintage From The Village

9. Amy at Lucky Number 13

10.Amy at LucyKate Crafts

11. Sarah at Red Gingham

12. Louise at Sew Scrumptious

13. Beki at The Ramblings Of An Everyday Mummy 

14. Vintage, Pretty, Shabby

15. Rose at Victoria Rose Crafts

OK so that is my chosen 15, a tough decision.  Now I just have to contact them all to let them know they have won an award.  My apologies if you read this before getting your message, I am slowly getting around to it : ).

Hope you all enjoy the rest of your evening.

Love Gem xxx

 

English Garden Party

I am joining in with the English Garden Party today.  However I am going to cheat slightly and rather then posting pictures of my own garden which I don't have any of on my laptop I am going to post pictures of how I would like my garden to look.  I hope you don't mind.

I love gardens especially in films.  My favourite ones have to be Notting Hill where they climb over the gate "Whoopsy Daisey's" It gets me every time.  Just like heaven, the rooftop garden at the end.  And You've Got mail (A favourite of many of you fellow bloggers out there) the garden where they meet at the end. 

here are a few pictures I have found this evening which have quite taken my fancy.

I love the paths in this one, it is kind of like a maze.

And these are so pretty.

I can picture myself potting in the shed : )

No garden party would be complete without a marque and pretty bunting

And of course there has to be tea and cake.

You may have noticed I haven't included any water features or ponds, and as lovely as I think they are, I would never and I mean never have either of them in my garden.  Why?  Because I have a huge fear of frogs, yes you read it right, Frogs.  I hate them, am absolutely petrified of them.  So there you have it, you have also learnt something new about me today : )

Love Gem xxx

Virtual Coffee

Evening all, how are we all today?

I am so pleased to be joining you all for coffee again this week, it is becoming something that I quite look forward to.  Sitting down (this week with a nice cup of tea) and catching up with you all and all that is going on in blogland. 

Today for me started off as one of those days.  I was running a little late, then when i got to the bus stop realised that I didn't have any money for the bus, I then rushed to the station only to find that I had just missed my train (oh if only I had some money on me for the bus!)  Still I caught the next train and sat down with my book.  By the time I got to London I then found that they were stopping people going on to the central line (one of the underground lines on our public transport in London for all you overseas folk), so I walked across the station to catch the metropolitan line, no a problem, still running with enough time to get to work, things aren't too bad.  By the time i got to Kings cross to change I then had to wait for 3 yes 3 Victoria line trains to pass before I could get on the darn thing and even then my face was pressed up against some mans armpit, while my arm was outstretched across someone else's face to grab onto a rail and my legs, well they could of been anywhere, I felt like a contortionist.  Needless to say I was late for work, good old London transport hey, you have to love it.  NOT!

Anyway that is enough about that moan over.  Once I got to work it turned out to be a really good day.  The sun was shining it was beautiful, just a shame it wasn't warmer but I can be grateful for the sun.  Other then this it has been a pretty quiet day for me really.

Tomorrow I shall be joining Sarah over at Modern Country Style for her English Garden Party, feel free to jon us.  It is going to be a real treat : )  Hopefull see you there.

Take care

Love Gem xxx

P.S Sorry for delay in pst.  as soon as I went to submit the internet crashed and I couldn't restart it again.  A good end to the day hey ha ha ha.

February Book Club

4 weeks have gone by already, where did that month go?  I had a confession to make at this months meeting (no not an Usher song an actual confession)  I hadn't read the book : ( how very naughty of me.  We were supposed to have read Atonement by Ian McEwan and I had started to read it, well the first 2 chapters, but I really struggled to get into it, then with one thing and another happening with my Grandad etc I just never got a chance to really get into it.

Yesterday I sat down and watched the DVD, I thought at least then I would have some sort of an idea what it was all about.  I loved the film, it really does make you feel grateful for what you have, it must have been awful living through the war.  I also felt it gave a great lesson and just goes to prove how one lie really can change people's lives forever.  Anyway by me watching the film it seemed to pull off, I understood what everyone was talking about, but I do sense that the book is a lot more in depth, but then they usually are aren't they.

I'm so excited about this months choice though, it has been recommended to me by so many people, I just hope it lives up to my expectation and that I really enjoy it.  We are reading:

Have any of you read it yet?  If so what did you think?

Well I'm off to bed now to do a spot of reading, there is no way I am not reading this book, if I start now I will have no excuses not to have read it in a month's time : )

Night

Gem xxx

Baking Again

Those of you who follow me on Facebook may already know what I have been up to today.  I have been in the kitchen again baking Scones. 

The smell coming from the kitchen as they were in the oven was absolutely divine. 

I am so pleased with how they turned out, not bad for a first attempt hey!

It is also a great excuse to taste the jam we made last week, which I still haven't tried.  So James has been sent out to buy some clotted cream.  I would of made this as well but discovered it had to be made overnight, and I couldn't wait until tomorrow : ). 

A quiet afternoon in front of the TV with a hot cup of tea, a warm homemade scone with clotted cream and homemade raspberry jam yum, now that is what I call a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Hope you have all enjoyed your weekend and are ready for the week ahead and all it may bring.

Love Gem xxx 

My Weekend So Far

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.  It looks set to remain a quiet one for me.  I haven't really been up to much today except for catching up in blogland and watching a couple of films.  The Time Traveller's Wife (although I do prefer the book, I still love the film) and You've Got Mail another brilliant film.  I tend to find that when I plan things to do for the weekend, things never go to plan, I am trying the approach of just waiting to see what happens, but how long I can keep that up for I don't know.  I am one who loves to plan things.

I have been buying again, yes again.

I picked up this vase from a shop down the road to James.  £1.49 a bargain, and I thought it would look lovely filled with some pretty pink peonies with the sun flooding through the window, through the vase.

And these wellies I just couldn't resist.   I don't very often wear wellies but I seem to now own quite a few pairs (whoops!)  These had my name written all across them, they are my fave colours, pink and grey and I just loved the design.  

So that has been my day today.  What have you been up to?

~ Gem x