merry christmas everyone!

Hello and Merry Christmas!!

What a wonderful day we had and Santa was very generous this year!

My girlies were more than a little bit excited!  We'd already opened our Christmas Eve present (new pyjamas of course), left out our carrot and mince pies, sprinkled our magic reindeer food outside and now the traditional "stand in front of the Christmas tree" photo! Nana and Bampa (my mum and dad) stayed over so they were there to see the girls open their presents in the morning, so the girls were even more excited (if that was at all possible?!)

And what a mountain of presents they got!!  Every year we say we're not going to go mad, there's nothing much they need.....every year we somehow end up with this mountain!  The girls were overjoyed with what they got and so was I.....

A gorgeous gardening tools bag with tools and tin mug for over the allotment (when we eventually get to go there - grrrr!) and a vase that will look amazing on my Welsh dresser with flowers in it.

My wonderful husband managed to keep my main present until we sat down to dinner (which I cooked by the way and was amazing!) 

Being the sneaky little bugger he is, he hid my main present in a cracker.  He won the pulling of said cracker (as he always does, because he's a cheat!) and inside what this....a weekend away, just me and him, for my birthday at the end of January to a gorgeous cottage called The Lake House in Bourton-on-the-Water in the beautiful Cotswolds. 

I've wanted to visit the Cotswolds for SO LONG!!  So clearly all my hints worked - lol! I can't tell you how excited I am to go here, it looks amazing and the cottage itself has a balcony overlooking its own private lake.  My only problem will be, I really wont want to come home!

So as you can see, we were all very good this year!  Hope you were as lucky and had an amazing Christmas too!

Until next time!

Love Mrs B xx

meet our elf

Love it or hate it, Elf on the Shelf is massive now in the UK.  So many of my friends have one of these creepy looking elves now and I love some of the ideas I've seen for things he gets up to while you sleep!

Now, my oldest little princess is 9, so I did wonder if I'd get away with the whole Santa/Elf/Magic of Christmas this year. However, she didnt ask the dreaded question so I didn't bring it up and went about my merry way!

Elf arrived along with the girlies advent calenders on the 1st December.  He also came with a little note explaining that Santa had sent him to keep an eye on them and make sure they were good before Christmas.  Girls were very excited, although my littlest Miss chose this moment to inform me they also have an Elf at school and she wasn't sure she could be good all day at school then at home - kids eh?!!

Ummm....I dont think that chocolates for you Larry!

Here are some of the antics Larry got up to.  Me and Mr B had lots of fun thinking up new things for him to do!

Graffiti artist Larry

Helping himself to hot chocolate

Ahhh he made the girls a Christmas Card!

Adding his own little touches to the Christmas tree!

No Larry, I think you'll find those are my chocolates and mummy doenst share!!!

Larry made some new friends who convinced him this would be a good idea!!

I have to confess there were a few midnight dashes downstairs when we realised "we haven't moved the bloody elf" - LOL!  All in all the girls had lots of fun waking up and trying to find him and what he'd got up to over night.  It also added a bit of weight to the "Santa's watching" threat when they were being a big naughty!

Not sure if I'll get away with it next year for my oldest but my littlest Miss will love it so Larry's now back with Santa, with a promise he'll return next year.  It all adds to the magical build up of Christmas!

Thanks for reading, until next time!

Love Mrs B xx

bath christmas market

Hello Friends!

Are you feeling festive yet? I have to confess, I wasn't.  Its a stressful time of year with so much going on, so much to organise, so much to remember (if it's not written down it doesn't happen!) However, I challenge anyone to not feel festive after visiting a Christmas Market!  

The smell of roasting chestnuts and mulled wine is the scent of Christmas, throw in a few mince pies and I'm feeling like Mrs Christmas - haha!

I've never been to Bath Christmas Market, which is shocking seeing as I only live over the bridge. I've always been put off by stories of chaotic parking and huge crowds.  If these things make you go cold aswell, I have a tip for you.  Go on the last day of the market (this year was Sunday 13th December) and book a coach trip.  Saves you worrying about parking and the crowds are so much less than when it first opens.  

I went with my mum and dad and we had a lovely time browsing stalls, sampling all cheeses, fudges, honey, pretty much anything that was being given out as a sample! 

Huge beautiful Christmas Tree outside Bath Abbey

I love Bath.  This is only the third time I've been but if you've ever been you'll know its instantly recognisable from the type of stone they use for all the buildings and of course, Bath Abbey in its centre is beautiful if you're into architecture and the like. 

There are loads and loads of stalls at the market, all selling goods from cheeses, to leather belts, to german wooden puzzles.  There's carols in the Abbey, mince pies to be eaten and loads and loads of festive spirit!

I bought quite a few gifts at the market (all of which are wrapped and in a top secret location until the big day!) and it felt good to support local businesses as well as getting myself in the Christmas Spirit!

Thanks for reading, until next time!

Mrs B xx

welcome to my allotment!

Hello!

So, its long been a dream, ambition, wish of mine to grow my own veg.  There's something amazing about growing something from a tiny seed (or plant....I am a beginner after all!) and being able to pick it for dinner and put it on your plate.  We eat a lot of salad stuff and vegetables (not so much fruit for some reason) so I'm hoping to be able to grow a lot of what we need instead of buying it!


So I put my name down with our local allotment society, but was warned there was a long waiting list as they're very much in demand in my area, maybe "growing your own" is in fashion around here! There's quite a few sites around here though so I was hoping to get a plot sooner rather than later.

You can imagine my surprise when I was offered a plot two weeks later!  Admittedly, I'd emailed the man who runs the waiting list once or twice, just to keep in touch, but whatever anyone says, nagging works as I am now the proud owner of Plot 6a!

Welcome to my plot!  My dad there too, eager to get started 

Its actually only half a plot and I share with another lady who I've not met yet, but to be fair, the space I have is ample.  A whole plot in my first year of growing might have been a bit overwhelming as thats a lot of ground to dig over!

I'm lucky as the plot has been grown on up until quite recently.  A lot of allotments get overgrown where people give up on them and let the weeds take over so they can need a lot of work to get them started and in a state fit for growing.

It might not look much at the moment (lets face it, its a fairly small patch of land right now!) but it holds so much potential!  I'm hoping to get a small shed put up right at the back, but for now there's a communal shed I can use to put any tools in.

Unfortunately I think I've jinxed the weather as every day I've been there since I picked up the keys, its rained.  Infact its not just rained, its been the wettest month since records began.  You couldn't make it up!  I will take a wet winter though as long as we get lots of sunshine in spring so I can get over there and start planting!  I have however, had lots of time to start planning.  These two books are really helpful for a beginner as they explain in nice easy diagrams when to plant in a greenhouse or straight into the ground, how long growing time is and are just a generally good all round guide.

My aim for next year is to grow all the veg for my Christmas dinner!  Not only that, I'd like to do a veg box for each of my family too. Ambitious?  Maybe but I like to aim high - haha!

I look forward to updating you more when I eventually get over there!

Thanks for reading!

Mrs B xx