as I look back over this last year I can honestly say its been the best year of my life ... it started on New Years day with a date with Steve and has ended with us tucked up for the winter in our cosy cabin with dilly-dog for company.

there have been some ups and downs as most years have, but I have been happier and more content that any other time of my life.

I am not sure if I managed to complete and year goals that I had ... I can't remember what they were unless they were something like lose weight ... in which case, I have lost a bit :D ... I think I just set out to enjoy this year, and I have ... I think I will try that again for 2014!!

I will probably try for losing a bit more weight, keeping in touch with everyone better and see my friends and family that don't live near by, try lots of new recipes, drink more water and explore around and about where I now live :)


Happy New Year everyone!

every year I make some of my christmas presents and this year for a couple of my sisters-in-law I painted some dishes and filled them with chocolates ...


I copied a design I do in blue and sell at craft fairs, only for them I did it in pink and purple ...


they are useful as trinket dishes after the chocolates have been eaten!


I resisted the urge to eat some of the chocolates!!


I wrapped then in clear film that I wrap my Bygone Beach Days prints in so they stayed all packed up


did you make and gifts this year?

yesterday my parents came over with my brother and his wife and we went for a lovely walk up whimble.



it was up, up, up but we made it and although a little over cast, we could see for miles and we could see all the way round ... we were on top of the world!







on the way back we called in on break-its-neck-falls ... Steve took me there on our first date, so it will always be a special place.


dilly-dog had got herself covered (and I mean covered) in mud at whimble, so I had hoped that she would wash herself off at the waterfall, but she decided that it was too cold, or too fast moving and so we ended up with a muddy smelly dog to take home :(

after a bath and a comb and cutting off half her hair cos of the seeds attached to her (ok, not half, but a big clump that wouldn't comb out) she snuggled down x


steve and I popped out today and I managed to snap on my phone where we had walked yesterday ...


it was so lovely to see my brother and his wife ... it always makes me wish family lived nearer x

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas day, we did ... very very chilled but really lovely ... I spent Christmas eve evening making crackers ... I had planned to make them earlier but it ended up being a last minute job ... I had bought little gifts for everyone and then wrote out some jokes too. The bangers I bought from eBay were great ... gave quite a bang!


I couldn't believe it when we woke up and it was snowing!! a white Christmas ... it couldn't have been any more perfect!


mum and dad made it over and after opening some presents and having a lovely beef roast and then opening some more presents we took the wooflet out for a walk


I love this tree ... can you tell its windy here!! ;)


I got some really lovely gifts too ...
this lovely love hook is perfect for our dressing-gowns!


Steve bought me a weather station which he put up today ... I am looking forward to keeping a note of the weather we have here (I know thats probably pretty sad, but I find it fun!)


how great are these, coasters painted by my brother ... I love them!!!


Steve also bought me some rustic owl ones ... as my sister-in-law, Bex says, you can never have too many coasters!!


I also got those glasses I told you about from ikea ... I love coloured glass!


a scrummy owl mug from my sister-in-law and a beautiful owl scarf from Steves sister :)


a slow cooker from my auntie that I can't wait to try!


a gorgeously warm poncho made for me by my cousin ... I am wearing it now ... don't think I will be taking it off any time soon!


and lots of other lovely bits and bobs ... including a beautiful leaf print dish and glass decoration with a tree silhouette ... I thought I had taken a photo of them, but don't seem to have :(

I wanted to show you this lovely card made by Steve's niece ... do you think everyone now knows I love owls??!! haha ... I love it x


I hope everyone is having a lovely time, I am looking forward to seeing more family over the next week and am loving our first Christmas in our lovely cosy cabin!

yesterday I went to visit my mum and dad who live 25 miles away and mum and I popped into town for a mooch around ... at 3 o'clock we got a call to say I should go home as heavy snow is falling ... so I bundled Dilly-dog back in the car, loaded up a load of presents that mum had been storing (thanks everyone! they are now under the tree) and headed home ... it wasn't too bad driving although it was raining and I could see there was snow flakes in the rain on the windscreen, but not long after I got into Wales, I came down over the hill and it was like entering a different world ... all the hills where white and the light had totally changed ... it was quite magical ... I love snow! (unless obviously if some one it trying to travel somewhere for Christmas!) by the time I got near home it wasn't nice to drive on the roads and coming up our drive, which is a steep slope, was horrid ... but I made it! I just had to then wait for Steve to get home ... which was an hour later and it was even worse by the getting his van up the drive.

We settled in for a nice cosy evening ... apart from the fact that every hour Dilly wanted to go out and play ... she is worse that a child!! ;) she loves snow and seemed sure she was missing something out there even though it was dark!!

This morning we woke up and could feel the drop in temperature ... no more snow seems to have fallen, but the drive way is now very icy :/

this is the sunrise over the snow this morning from the decking ...





I want to take some photos of the cabin in the snow later today too.

It would be so lovely to have a white Christmas, as long as my parents can make it over  ... and my brothers can make it later in the week ... I don't ask for much do I!! ;)

hope you are snug and warm wherever you are x

I started reading this book at the beginning of the year and for some reason hardly read at all this year ... Well the last few weeks I have managed to finish it!!


Nocturnes by JOHN CONNOLY
I read The Book Of Lost Things by John Connolly years ago and totally loved it and although when I started it I didn't realise Nocutrnes was a book of short stories, I loved this one too. It reminded me of The Man In Black short stories on radio 4. They are all slightly supernatural, sometimes spooky and sometimes disturbing but all great reads ... I don't know why it took me so long to read it, maybe because it's been a crazy year, but once I got back into it, I couldn't put it down. If you like dark stories then this is the book for you and if you haven't read The Book Of Lost Things, then get a copy of that too!!

my mum came over today and we went exploring the local shops ... I say local ... they are 10 miles away, but it was fun and we bought some treaty-food for some of the visitors we are having over Christmas ... the weather was pretty vile all day so this afternoon I decided to put Christmas music on and decorate the Christmas cake while mum kept me company and did some knitting :)


what do you think? I got inspired by a cake I saw on pinterest last month




I am so pleased with how it has turned out ... Steve wants to eat it now, but I think I need to sit and admire it for a little longer ;) haha!



the wind and rain have been so horrid tonight and we have had a few power cuts, so I have lit our lovely candle ... its so lovely and romantic!



hope you are having a cosy evening! x

well I have been in Wales now for over 3 weeks ... the first week was a bit of a nightmare ... my car broke down a couple of days before I moved in (luckily now fixed, but not the best timing!) then the shower went wrong and broke the boiler so we had no heating and hot water ... both fixed but not an expense we needed :(

there is still lots to be done and finishing touches to be made but we are in, we are warm and happy ... we have limited internet via a dongle and I am still waiting for o2 to unlock my iphone so I can actually get reception and use ... who knew it would take over 3 weeks and about 6 phone calls ... hopefully I won't have to wait much longer :/

I have snapped a few sneaky-peaky shots for you ... welcome to our home ...


the porch and front door are going to be sorted next year, but for now we are Christmassy!


I have it at last! ... a pink and apple green kitchen ... I love this dresser so much ... the cupboards are full of pretty china and although can be quite a dumping ground at least it is looking a little festive ;)


Steve bought me gorgeous roses when we first moved in and they are all still going strong!



I got this sweet slate board from a craft fair I was at the other week ... Merry Christmas everybody!


remember the bathroom cupboard we got for a bargain £3 from facebook?? well I painted it white, turned the mirror around  and spray painted chalkboard paint onto the back and now have it in our dining area ... I know I need to write a lovely festive message on it, and it needs touching up as it got a bit scuffed in the move ... but I love it :) oh do you like the mushroom salt and pepper?? and the cute wooden owl is an early Christmas present from Steve.


I managed to get the Christmas tree up a on about the 3rd or 4th of December (the days are rolling in to one) ... some may say this tree is too big for the cabin ... I would say its perfect, who needs to be able to get to the corner of the room!!! ;)


I realised when putting it up though, that I didn't have a star or angel for the top of it though as I have always used a star of my mums, but one day when Steve and I were in Hereford, we found this spaced out little fella and felt he was perfect for our owl-cabin!!


we got a piece of marble when we bought a log burner fire a few months ago ... the people selling the fire gave it to us as they had the fire sitting on it ... we decided though that we preferred the fire just on the wooden floor, so Steve sliced the marble in half and made a window sill in the bathroom with it! There was a bit left over which we are using in the kitchen for hot pans to go on :)


remember the lampshade I made soooo long ago now ... well its up and looking lovely in our bedroom ... it makes the room really cosy and I am so pleased with it :)


Dilly-dog has settled in well ... she loves lying by the sliding doors and looking out across the decking to the chickens ... we also have some bird feeders up on the decking so there is always something for her to watch.


... and we have a new member of the family! a little kitten has come to live in the wood pile ... Steve has put out an old duvet and a box with straw in it for warmth for the little thing and we have been feeding him every day and giving him milk. He has grown so much already ... he will even let us stroke him now! He has even come up on to the decking asking for milk which I gave him, but he got spooked by Dilly, who also saw him and wanted to play!





We have called him Marmaduke after another ginger tom who used to live here years ago

can you believe its a week till Christmas Eve ... Christmas in my own home ... I have never looked forward to Christmas like I am this year! hope you all have happy Christmas preperations in what ever you are doing this week ... I am off to wrap some presents for Steves family with maybe a cheesy Christmas movie on in the background ;)