HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful evening tonight, and here's to a fantastic 2011.

Love

Jo xx

A Wonderful Day

Hope you all had a wonderful day with your families.

Enjoy the rest of the holiday.

Jo xx

Happy Christmas!!

This will be my last Blog post for 2010 and I would like to wish all of you a very Happy Christmas and here's to a wonderful 2011. I'll leave you with some festive pictures.

Skinny Christmas tree decorated with vintage baubles and decorations.

Fairy lights and my old Steiff bear.

Even my beloved AGA has had the festive treatment.

We awoke to about five inches of snow this morning...hopefully we might (fingers crossed) have a white Christmas.

Have a great one all of you out there in Blog land and thank you for all your wonderful comments.  See you in 2011 and stay safe and warm.

Jo xx

Christmas Farmers Market

Every third Saturday of the month they hold a local Farmers market in Ashby De La Zouch about ten minutes drive from our village.  The town is a lovely old Leicestershire market town and has some wonderful shops.  The farmers market has a real mix of stalls, and what is so nice is that they are all local to the area.

The Christmas market always has lots of tempting goodies on offer!  We braved -3 and set off to buy some lovely bits for Christmas.

The cheese stall and Woodhouse Farm stalls where they sell the most divine Hog roast.

Bacon rolls and Hog roast mmmmmm!  Of course we had to sample some of what was on offer.

A local brewery and Wobbly Bottom Farm!

Blackbrook Farm who sell the most gorgeous Longhorn Beef.

Christine and Hubby from the Doggie Cookie Company.  PJ and The Fonz came with us (in their Christmas jumpers) and were very spoilt at this stand!!

Ashby High Street looking a bit gloomy I'm afraid as it was so freezing and the Christmas lights weren't on unfortunately.

Our haul from the farmers market.  A large gammon ham which I have grand plans for, the cider is also for the ham.  Local chocolates (which probably won't survive the week), Longhorn sausages, doggie treats and wonderful unpasteurised Camembert which Andy refuses to have in the house as it smells, it is banished to the garage!!  It tastes wonderful though, and nothing like it smells!  Hope you are all having a great weekend and getting ready for Christmas.  Hopefully we won't have too much snow, although it does look lovely.

Jo xx

Wreath Making & Christmas Greenery

I have been busy again today trying out my floristry skills (or lack of them compared with the professionals!!)  I have been busy at the kitchen table this afternoon making a moss wreath decorated with Ivy from the garden, an ornamental cabbage and five red roses.  Great fun and very messy!!

Here it is, the colours look quite striking against our oak front door.

I did a wreath making course last year at our local garden centre and this has given me the idea to have a go myself and make a Christmas wreath for the front door.  I would love to have a go at doing a floristry course properly.  We are lucky we have some wonderful Ivy growing in our back garden so I haven't had to go out raiding the hedgerows (which apparently is illegal!!)

Some of the ivy left over I have wound around the Sanctuary lamp in the dining room to give it a festive make over.

I should really light the candle in it to complete the effect.

I have also finished off decorating the mantlepiece in the dining room with some Ivy and sprigs of holly from the garden.

Even the miniature Victorian Greenhouse on top of the old linen press which houses the television has not escaped being decorated.  I am still in the process of finishing off decorating so will do another post showing it all completed.  Hope you have all had a great weekend, and glad you all liked the story of the Fonz pinching my mince pie!!

Jo xx

The Great Mince Pie Robbery!!!

The Evidence!

The Culprit!

Wanted For Stealing My Marks & Spencers Help Shelter Mince Pie !!


A big thank you to everyone who left lovely messages and Birthday wishes on my last post, I was quite overwhelmed by them all.


Jo xx

Birthdays and Pressies

A couple of days ago I celebrated another (ahem!!) forty something birthday.  As usual I had some wonderful presents, although I had my main one a bit early in the shape of my waspie waist mannequin.

Remember her?

Andy bought me Kirstie's Homemade Home, and Mum and John bought me Winston Churchill's My Early Life, so I will have plenty of bed time reading to do.

Now I am not really one for technology but since Andy and Louis have owned iPhone's I have been coveting one seriously!!  To my surprise Andy bought me one, and I have been really addicted to playing Trivial Pursuit, even in bed much to Andy's annoyance!!  Louis bought me some lovely perfume and I also had a couple of other bits and pieces from Mum and John.  So, all in all I had a wonderful birthday.

I have also been doing a little spending of my own, my brother and his wife gave me some money for my birthday so I bought myself this rather scrummy Comfy quilt.  I love it because of the, yes you've guessed it, faded roses fabric!!  It also has a plain underside, perfect for Christmas.  I have not seen a Comfy quilt in this design before.

I have also recently purchased this lovely gentleman's grooming set dating from 1920.  The two brushes are silver and monogrammed with the gents initials and date.  Weren't people stylish then?  It will probably either be destined for a fair next year or for the website.

Andy treated me to lunch yesterday as the roads were too dicey to venture out on my birthday.  We went to a little tea room near Market Bosworth which also houses a number of antique units....to be honest the antique side of it isn't brilliant but I did find this lovely Kilim style cushion cover and a gorgeous pair of 1940's floral curtains in super condition.  I can thoroughly recommend a visit to the Whitemoors Tea rooms, they serve the most divine homemade soups.

 I almost wish I had somewhere to hang these, they are the most gorgeous old linen.  Hope you have all had a great week and no more snow!!  Take care.

Jo xx

Website Updated at last!!

Today we have had a good sort through of all my eiderdowns and quilts and I have got round to listing some new ones on my website.  I am notoriously bad for keeping up to date with my website as I prefer the personal touch of meeting customers at the fairs. But I felt I ought to keep it updated as so many people take my card at the fairs and hopefully will look at the website.

Gorgeous pink ones

A lovely masculine blue 

A gorgeous pair of vintage Velvet floor cushions

I would have loved to have kept these but sadly they don't quite fit in with my cottage, they really need a 20's or 30's setting to be shown off at their best.

A lovely old eiderdown cover, could be used for the fabric or even as a duvet cover!!

Mr G sporting a lovely original Edwardian Top Hat in it's original box...absolutely stunning.  As you have probably guessed, these are a few of the treasures I bought recently from Lesley in Kent.  It has been hard to part with some of them I will admit...

Hope you are all safe and warm and coping with our Arctic weather conditions.

Jo xx