Shopping and banana bread, it's the small things..

I absolutely LOVE sunflowers. That right there was enough of a reason to buy myself a bunch. These beauties are now sat on my kitchen window sill and they make me feel happy each time I catch a glimpse of them. 

But that's not why I'm here, oh no. As I've mentioned previously I'm currently working on new stock for The Small Things *excited squeal*. Before I launch my new line, I'm having a sale of my old stock as I really want to clear it entirely and start afresh. This means it's a proper sale. None of this two or three quid off lark. These babies are ready to go and anything that doesn't go will be donated to charity. 

Well, waste not, want not and all that.

I have to admit, it's been really interesting coming back to my old designs, I think there will still be certain aspects that I'll be keeping as I love them so much. Such as playing with bright colours and recycling fabrics.

So if you would like to "bag" yourself a bargain (thank you, thank you, I'm here all week) or if you'd just like to have a nosy, then head over to The Small Things which is now back open, woo hoo! Oh and do tell me what you think too, I'd love to hear any feedback you have. Unless of course it's just nasty in which case feel free to keep that under your hat. I don't want to be crying into my wine tonight thank you ta.

In other news, so far my holiday has been nothing short of blissful. I haven't being hugely productive, there's just been a whole lot of relaxing and eating food going on, occasionally interrupted by the odd burst of gardening or gate building (don't ask). A couple of days ago we drove into town to do a little shopping and I hauled home this little booty..

Clockwise from left

Pencil case - Accessorize

Hair grip - Claire's Accessories

Dress - Topshop

Turquoise earrings - Accessorize

Floral headband - New Look

Clockwise from left

Same dress as previously - Topshop

Purple nailvarnish - New Look

Nail buffer - Boots

Turquoise bracelets - New Look

And when I got home I decided to make use of the blackest bananas you've ever seen in your life and bake some banana bread. Before anyone has a fit, I actually intended to use these bananas for this purpose all along so they weren't left to go that bad on purpose. The glass of wine may not be an ingredient exactly, but I personally find that it's the only thing that stops me from eating the uncooked bread mix, so to me it's as important as the bananas.

Unfortunately the draw back of including wine into the mix is that my banana loaves always get left a little too long. Still, it tastes "gurt lush" as they say 'round these parts.

And tomorrow? Sorry if you're trying to avoid it, but tomorrow will be all about the Royal Wedding. I'll be going to watch it at the local park with the husband shape and some friends. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't rain! Whatever you decide to do, have fun doing it!

Wizbot. Strange title, gorgeous song

Here is my latest musical offering. I heard this song on the radio a few months back and it was one of those songs that broke through my chain of thoughts and made me stop to listen.

Her voice is just gorgeous and I find myself humming her songs all the time. I'm not over keen on the video to be honest, but her music is delicious.

It's that time of year again

 

Oh my god I am desperate to go camping again!

Camping seems to be one of those things that divides people..you could say into two camps. Ha! Oh, I'm so funny. Anyway, camping seems to divide opinion. Like Marmite, it seems most people either love it or would rather eat glass than spend a night out in the cold.

Perhaps my view of camping is a little rose-tinted, but personally I really don't think you can beat the feeling of sitting around a camp fire on a balmy summer's night with a good drink and good friends. That said, one of my all time favourite memories is being stuck in the tent, lying on the bed with the front of the tent open, reading a good book and listening to the rain hit the canvas.

Yes a camping weekend can be ruined by non-stop heavy rain and the way the mud covers EVERYTHING (Glastonbury) and there are moments that make you want to scream, for example if the tent nearly blows away while you're trying to erect it (Isle of Wight) or forgetting something important like the outer canvas or the tent poles (again, Isle of Wight and Glastonbury). 

But for me, the thing I love most about camping is the simplicity of it all. You take the essentials and leave the rest at home. You're supposed to rough it a bit. As I get older, I confess though that I don't rough like I used to. I sleep on camping mats. Now it has to be an air bed or I'm going home. But for me there really is nothing like it and I need to go again soon. REAL soon!

Cat cuteness

I just had to share this. It's one of my cats, Smeagol skulking TV birds. So cute!

Untitled from Coffee and Cat Hair on Vimeo.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Chicken update

It's been a few months since I last posted about the chooks and they've grown a little bit since then. Their combs have gotten bigger so they look a bit more "chickeny" now. The grass that was on their side of the garden has all but disappeared and they're all laying now too so we have eggs galore!

Hen being too busy to be papped

Hen is a completely different chicken now. She's overcome her timidness and whenever I go to clean out the coop she always comes over to oversee things. She goes freaking mental over worms and I mean mental. The other two aren't too fussed, but she goes completely nuts. She also likes creeping underneath the decking and having a good old peck around on her own - the other two are too big to squeeze under there.

Margot, being a bit of a tart for the camera

Margot still has to get her face in to everything. Lately deciding that she also wants to explore the house. I've lost count of the amount of times I've walked into the conservatory to find her stood on the sofa or just having a poke about. She's still the friendliest bird and I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a soft spot for her.

Maureen enjoying a dust bath - in my vegetable patch!

Maureen still makes the most noise out of all of them and is the biggest..and clumsiest. She has a habit of getting into my pots and kicking the dirt and plants out of them so I have to keep them covered whenever we let them out of the pen. She also loves her dust baths..she's just loves kicking dirt about basically.

Funniest moments have to have been watching them chase flies, the moment they got freaked out by a hot air balloon and their reaction to McDonald's fries. Never again. If you want a chicken jumping in your lap and clucking in your face, offer it a fry.

There's only been one unfunny moment, when Hen got out and tore up all my newly planted seedlings and sunflowers in the vegetable patch. I may have threatened her with the cooking pot. But only in the heat of the moment.

Other than that little hiccup, I am so glad we got them. They're so much fun and oddly addictive to watch. The eggs are a pretty good bonus too!

 

The one where I catch the craft fair bug

The craft fair was a lot of fun. There was coffee, cake, paper aeroplanes and I came away with a gorgeous necklace to boot!

I sold a couple of pieces too which if I'm honest, I really wasn't expecting. The remaining pieces will soon go up on to Etsy along with the supplies that I will no longer need. All the proceeds will go towards new supplies and then I can really get going again. I can't wait!

Unfortunately as it was just the old stock I was trying to clear, my table was pretty empty looking, even the table cloth didn't quite fit! But it was still great fun, I picked up some good tips and it's definitely given me a taste for it so hopefully I will have more posts like this to share in the future.

Here's a quick picture of me setting up the table - you can see what I mean about the table cloth!

Happy Anniversary husband of mine

Married for four years, together for ten. Not too shabby.

I love this man because of his beard. Because he makes me laugh and because he makes the best damned lasagne in existence. Also because he pronounces owl "Ah-wul" and has a silly voice for every occasion.

Happy Anniversary stink. Love you lots.

xxxx

Seeds - garden update

Now that spring has most definitely sprung, I'm busy planting seeds like a mo fo. Although, this year I'm doing things a little differently. Usually I have a flower bed in my garden, but it took so much work that this year I've decided to dedicate it solely to growing vegetables and the like.

During the winter I straightened it out as it had been a really weird shape before. No idea why. The people who lived here before us were odd.
Last month I planted all the seeds that needed growing in doors and this month I'll be transplanting them outdoors along with some more seeds that need to be sewn directly where they are to grow.

So far I've got courgettes, sweet peppers, gherkins and sweet peas growing indoors. Oh and some giant sunflowers of course. Anyone who knows me, knows that if there's only one thing I grow each year, it's sunflowers. It simply has to be done. I'm in love with them and this year I went for the giant variety, the mother of all sunflowers. I want some giants up in my garden this year!

Craft Show sneak peek

In my last post I mentioned that I was going to be selling what's left of my old stock so that I could start my Etsy shop a fresh. Well as luck would have it, a good friend of mine asked if I'd like to take part in a small craft fair to raise money for the Diabetes UK charity. It's the perfect opportunity to sell some pieces with the added bonus that I may also make some money to spend on new supplies.

Well that's what I thought anyway. However, take another look at the poster...there's a cake stall people! 

A CAKE STALL. And cake is my crack. So if I'm realistic, any money I make is likely to go towards cake and I won't even feel guilty about spending my supplies money or the extra calories because it's all for charity. I'll be eating cake for charity because I'm a selfless and giving person like that. 

The Queen has been overthrown!

I have a plan!

As some of you may have noticed, I was absent through most of March and my last post was beyond mopy.  I needed a break so that I could focus on what was dragging me down. Was it my job or merely just the weather? Turns out it was a little of both and a couple of other things too which I won't go in to because they're not really that interesting!

So after a few weeks out, I have come up with a plan which will help me change the things I can change and live with the things I can't. And I can't tell you how much more positive and motivated I feel for it!

One change I'm determined to work towards is something that I decided to do back in January and that's to re-open my Etsy shop. Unfortunately life got in the way back then and once again, the plan got shelved. However, now that I have a better idea of what I want The Small Things to be, I have a better idea of how to get there. 

So April is going to be the month that will see a lot more crafting going on in the house of Cat Hair. I will be making new things and selling old stock and supplies as well as giving my old Etsy shop a bit of a make over. And I will share it all with you as I go. 

I don't have a grand re-opening date set yet. Life gets in the way of the best made plans so I'm trying to keep things as flexible as possible for now. But I would like to see it open for business once again sometime in May.

Fingers crossed!

Source