In My Handbag

Long time no blog! I have been insanely busy in and out of work but I am back!

I have seen a few of these kind of posts lately and I find them strangely interesting so I thought I would do one myself!

Firstly, the bag. A Bayswater by Mulberry in Raspberry. Possibly the most commented on thing I own. For me it's handbag perfection although that doesn't mean I don't need a new on for my impending birthday.



Inside said bag is the following:
Cath Kidston pencil case
Inhaler
Umbrella
Keys - work, home, parent's house and sister's with suitably naughty keyring which I have to hide when I get my keys out at work!
Purse - which matches the bag
Academic diary
Notebook
Stacks of paper, letters, notes from kids, shopping lists etc
Samsung Omnia phone
Hairbrush
Dove grey Pashmina - my school gets mightily chillsome
Liz Earle shower gel - in case there's no soap in public toilets
Sun glasses which are worn a lot
Cath Kidston small gadget case which once held my iPod but now holds 4 lipsticks and a compact
My watch which is actually a man's watch but I love men's watches on women. I take it off as soon as I get home and keep it in my bag for school the next day
Behaviour slips - green card is amazingly good, yellow is bad, orange is very bad and red is spawn of satan
Merits for good work, effort, behaviour or kindness
Toilet passes
"Flying Carpet" reading book - a child's not mine!
Chewing gum - I am addicted! I replaced cigarettes with gum and I am far more addicted to gum than I was nicotine. I get through precisely 8 a day no more and no less!





A little card from the kids thanking me for some cakes I made for them. When I am really annoyed and in danger of combusting I read the card to calm me and remind myself that they do appreciate me!



Mr. Tumnus had to get in on the act and attack the camera as I was photographing things. He had his little boy bits chopped off on Tuesday and is sporting a shaved patch on his little arm.



I should have probably sorted my squishy sofa out first but here is Mistletoe enjoying the warmth from the radiator and on the sofa my beautiful, new Kate Forman cushions. I adore the cushions more than I can say and am ordering some more for my birthday!



Have a fabulous weekend.

Claire xxx

Tagged

I have been tagged by Claire at Serendipity Loves New York. The rules state I post the 4th picture from the 4th picture file so here is mine...



This was given to me by my lovely colleague Steve. I went to his house for afternoon tea and his wife asked if I wanted a sideboard, my immediate thought was "Oh goodness how am I going to decline this politely?" I was then shown into their front room where this beauty greeted me. Cue much squealing and excitement.

It was a wedding present of Steve's mother and father so it was important to him that it went to a good home. They would have loved it but they have no room in their house.

It is around 80-90yrs old and is walnut. I don't think it is meant for bedrooms as the drawers are actually cutlery trays but I think it sits nicely in my bedroom bay window and will look much nicer when my new curtains are up.

It houses my perfume collection which is mainly Chanel Chance, Chance Eau Fraiche, Allure and Allure Sensuelle, Flowerbomb Extreme by Viktor and Rolf and Paul Smith Rose. I also have my jewellery box in there which is a Victorian leather box bought for me by my late aunt as a treasure box when I was a little girl - it is still my treasure box 20yrs on.

I would like to tag Brenda who I know will have an amazing photograph, Maddy and Joanne,

Snow Day

I must confess to have been praying for this day for the past week. I have been so tired and stressed at work and I knew that one extra day off would do me the world of good.

I texted my boss over the weekend saying that I couldn't wait to hear from him on Monday morning informing me that school was closed. At precisely 6:32 my phone beeped and I got that all important text! I jumped out of bed ran around in circles a few times whilst shouting "School's closed!" Suffice to say Matt was mightily confused and actually said "Where am I?"

These are a few pictures I took early this morning. Check out the tasteful PJs and Uggs.







We decided to start our snow day with pancakes for breakfast rather than the usual rushed crumpets, porridge or toast.

Mr. Tumnus was in a good mood because the weather has prevented him having his bits chopped off today so he attempted to share our leisurely breakfast!









He was most miffed to get so close to his prize and then being removed from the table in a most undignified fashion!

I can't decide whether to spend the rest of my day relaxing or organising. My kitchen cupboards and drawers are in dire need of some attention so I feel I should do something a little productive after our leisurely morning.

I will definitely be making a snowman later and hopefully will be back with some pictures of said snowman!

Hope you're enjoying the snow. Stay safe and warm.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

....that about sums me up at the moment. I am just beyond exhausted and sleep has become a dim and distant memory which is so not good when you have to be up, lively and functioning ready for maths booster classes that start at 7:50!

Somebody tell me why on earth I agreed to this madness? Attempting to teach half asleep children things like converting decimals to fractions and percentages all whilst thing that I should be at home eating toast and marmite, drinking tea and reading The Telegraph!

I am a super happy Clairey because I have been given 3 awards this week! So I would like to say a big thank you to my friend, the gorgeous Claire over at Serendipity Loves New York, Dancing On A Blade Of Grass and Lajoni. Thank you all so much for the award - you all put a smile on my tired little face.



"The authors say that blogs who receive this award are exceedingly charming. This blog invests in proximity in space, time and relationships. These kind bloggers aim to find and be new friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandisement. Our hope is that when ribbons of these awards are cut, even more friendships will be propagated. Please give your kind attention to these writers."

I am giving this award to Brenda at Butlers Abroad and Amanda at Dream Of Living. The rules state passing it on to eight blogs but I am a rule breaker!


Claire and I stumbled across each other when I was going through the hellish process which is house buying and she seemed to live the whole thing with me and she was ace! I haven't really discovered Dancing On A Blade Of Grass or Lajoni but I am certainly looking forward to having a good old read of their blogs.

It's now time to wallow in the tub with some L'occitane Lavender in an attempt to relax and soothe me and then hopefully I shall climb into my bed and fall asleep - very doubtful me thinks! Clock watching 'til 3 and then up at 6 is more likely I am afraid!

Will be back with something slightly more interesting soon, I hope!

More Heart Love

I have seen a few blogs which feature a love of hearts and until now I never really noticed just how much they feature in this house of ours.

I only had a quick scout around my kitchen and breakfast room and found lots - I will have a look round the rest of the house at some point during the week.

Here we have a little gingham heart, a child from school bought it for me. It dangles quite nicely from a shelf that has a lot of blue on it!



Next up is the sister of the gingham heart which surveys the breakfast room from the dresser.



I love this metal heart - a gift from Claire over at Serendipity Loves New York. I think it looks just perfect nestled in with practical kitchen items.



Open a cupboard door and I am greeted with another gift from a child - a heart mug from Whittards.



Take a closer look at my utensil jar and what do I see? A spatula with hearts on, I also have one with gingerbread men on which always makes me smile!



Hanging amongst my aprons, pegbag and tea towels is an Emma Bridgewater tea towel in her gorgeous heart design which is something I need more of, yes need!



I am quite impressed with my heart collection and will definitely be looking around the house for more!

I have a busy week ahead of me and I am tired just thinking about it! Meetings til late tomorrow, starting school super early to start maths booster classes (me + maths = the blind leading the blind), I'm out with friends on Monday, have friends for dinner on Tuesday, plans for Thursday and then out for dinner with my best friend on Friday - hurrah.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, whatever you're doing.

Clairey xx

Clairey's Kitchen

We started the new year with plans to get a new kitchen - I actually can't imagine anything more exciting than getting a new kitchen - maybe I do need to get a life!

We've had several companies round to design something for us and unfortunately the one we want comes in a little over budget (read a lot over budget!) we toyed with getting one of the cheaper ones but have decided that for such a big purchase we're going to keep saving til the summer and hopefully savings plus Matt's bonus will get us our rather costly kitchen!

The layout is changing a little too - not too drastically but enough to open the room up a little and give me some more space.

I am attaching some images that one of the chaps designed - those aren't the cupboards we want but that is the way we want the kitchen and that Rangemaster Range will be ours!









So for now we are changing a few things round a working with what we've got our. Our first change being removing a cupboard door and using the cupboard as a bookshelf!



Pizza sauce on the go!



Bread dough, for pizza base, proving! This stretch of work top is being considerably shortened because as it is it divides the kitchen in half

Bathroom Before and After

I am pleased to announce that our bathroom is finally finished - we have a few things left to do but they're nice things like getting a new blind, fitting the new light and we decided, only yesterday, that we want new flooring.

Our bathroom has caused many "heated debates" mainly due to the lack of shower. Matt's suggestion was to lose the bath and have a huge shower cubicle but I am thinking ahead to when we come to sell the house I think not having a bath is quite a negative, we both don't like having a shower over the bath so we've eventually decided on extending our downstairs toilet into a wetroom!

The loo downstairs is off the extension and there's masses of room out there - way more than we need so it's a brilliant idea and I am very excited about going ahead with it.

Here's some befores of our old bathroom. Though it wasn't hideous it was pretty drab and cold.





Now, after a lick of Roman Ochre by Fired Earth on the tongue and groove and Chalk White on the walls..



People are amused by the clock in the bathroom but I have a bath in the morning before work and I have to keep an eye on the time so the clock is VITAL!



I have a serious love of all things rose and am never without L'occitane rose products.



The floral love affair continues with lavender



Towel ring and loo roll holder from Country Cream



I will show more complete pictures when we've finished off. So, now the quest for the perfect blind begins...any suggestions would be hugely appreciated!

I will be spending tomorrow preparing for the return to work -boooooooooo.

Clairey xx

Our Christmas

No words could describe how excited I was about hosting Christmas in our new house and the big day certainly didn't disappoint!

When it comes to food and entertaining I am something of a perfectionist and I do put a lot of pressure on myself so suffice to say on Christmas Eve Scary Clairey was in the building and those that are wise should "STAY AWAY FROM MY KITCHEN!"

I wanted it to be a sumptious feast so laid out a table, next to the dining table, for all the food to go on. It eventually had 2 different glazed hams, turkey, roast potatoes some in goose fat some veggie friendly, maple roast parsnips, 2 different kinds of sprouts, a mountain of braised red cabbage, glazed carrots, cranberry sauce, gingerbread stuffing and my nutloaf.

It really couldn't have gone more perfectly and I enjoyed the day so much - seeing people love my food made my day.

We were rather spoilt to say the least, Matt was especially generous....

I had asked for a rather gorgeous raspberry purse from Mulberry which he got me, as I opened the last of my presents he gave me a rather huge box...



Inside said huge box was a raspberry Bayswater



The picture really doesn't show up the colour very well. In reality it is a richer, deeper raspberry and less fuschia.

My folks got us a quilt I'd wanted from Laura Ashley as well as other bits and pieces for the house. Please excuse our awful bed - we've ordered a new one! I am just dying to decorate our bedroom, especially seeing how drab it looks in picture.



The quilt has gorgeous beads all round the edge which look fabulous but the noise they make drives me to the brink!

My favourite present is possibly a little jug that Matt bought me from Susie Watson. I love it so much and will definitely be collecting this pattern



This lamp has been on my wishlist for a while...



As have these hurricane lamps - we get a lot of hurricanes in Bedfordshire!!



Well, I must dash to see what can be found in the Emma Bridgewater sale!

I will be back over the weekend with pictures of our new bathrooom - hurrah!

Feeling Festive

Tell me, am I the only fan of Fanny Cradock? I have been watching her today and thanks to the wonder of Sky+ I have recorded her too and it is safe to say I will be watching it again and again and again and again. Poor Matt keeps rolling his eyes but I can’t help but be compelled by the woman - honestly she absolutely fascinates me.” Fanny Cradock Cooks Christmas” is always guaranteed to get me in the mood for Christmas.

We put the tree up yesterday and I am delighted with it – it is rather huge but thankfully doesn’t dominate the room. Underneath the tree are a vast number of presents which are preventing the cats from getting up the tree. I promise I haven’t been shaking, squeezing and sniffing presents – my Christmas list was vast and I think I may have been thoroughly spoilt.

Anyway I will leave you with some pictures of my tree - am in need of more decorations but I still love it.







I have a major love of Flower Fairies so I absolutely adore this card from my gorgeous niece, Jessica.



Now, I am off to watch "Fanny Cradock Cooks Christmas" for the 100th time today!

PS I'll take some pictures of the lights in the dark later!

Its Beginning To Look A Little Like Christmas...

...unfortunately I can't say that is it looking a lot like Christmas as not much has been done in this household but today things started to change. We started with a shopping trip admittedly we only bought presents for 3 people but that's 3 people crossed off one hell of a long list.

My love of wrapping presents is off the scale. I've had a 5 year long love affair with Flower Fairy wrapping paper and it just wouldn't be right having anything else. I get the ribbon out and wrap, tie and swear like a mad woman - the tying of bows frustrates me a little and the air was turned a shade of blue - luckily Mr. Tumnus was upstairs as such profanities are no good for a little kitten's ears.



After a spot of wrapping (and swearing) I turned my hand to pomander making which certainly made me feel festive and unfortunately it made me swear a little too as the spiky cloves were attacking my fingers and of course more bloody ribbon tying but now they're on my mantlepiece and looking Christmasy and gorgeous the air is no longer blue!



My mantlepiece is now wearing a rather lovely garland which mainly consists of berries. Said garland also made me swear because just as I positioned as I wanted it, the other end pinged off! Of course, Matt came along and had no problems at all!



The candles have been getting a lot of use recently and they look so beautiful nestled in amongst berries and clementines.



What do you think of my new stockings? I am loving them!





Next weekend we are going to get the tree which I am stupidly excited about but this week I will busy myself with getting out lots of the non-tree decorations, writing cards and making Christmas cookies.

I'm off now to watch the episodes of Nigella's Christmas Kitchen that I've recorded (God bless Sky+) and snuggle in front of the fire marvelling in just how fabulous some simple clementines, some cloves and a few bits of ribbon look.

Clairey who has swearing issues and wants the good ladies of the Clarins and Chanel counter who tied those ribbons so expertly to come here and give her a lesson!