Thinking of buying a toothbrush as a gift?

I was searching around the Internet looking for gift ideas for this Christmas and ended up on Wilkos (who do some lovely Christmas bits). Under the 'Gifts for Her' category I saw an entire section dedicated to toothbrushes.

My dear readers, if your thinking of buying an electric toothbrush for Christmas then I implore you to watch Rhod Gilbert's stance on them.


Last year someone Dad was working with in Central London made the long journey to Blue Water after work to select a present for his wife. His choice...you guessed it an electric toothbrush. Dad suggested watching the video and getting something else to go with it!




Ps)Only other fans will understand why my parents couldn't stop laughing in baggage reclaim when a luggage handle (not attach to a suitcase or bag anymore) was going around and around!

Object of festive desire!

Quite a few bloggers I follow do regular posts with items they are lusting after and inspired in particular by Jen at Ramblings of a Jaffa Cat I thought I would have a go. Here is my list to send to Father Christmas, do you think he accepts Pintrest boards or does he still prefer letters to be sent up the chimney?



Secret Garden Postcards to colour by Johanna Basford. I have the matching colouring book and it's BEAUTIFUL, I would highly recommend it to anyone, it's suitable for older children and adults.

I've posted before about how special the poem 'Twas the night before Christmas' is to our family and every year I search for something (non tacky) that reads it but without luck normally. I found the perfect thing last year and wanted to buy it for Mum but it's only available in America and shipping cost more then the item itself! However someone Dad works with offered to bring it over, I have a sneaky suspicion it's going to be my 30th birthday gift, always to be treasured :)

I love love love all things gingerbread, from cute gingerbread men hanging on the tree to the ones you eat. I stumbled on the Yankee gingerbread range last year and treated myself to a cute t light holder with 3 tea cups and 2 gingerbread men. There wasn't a single one in their range I didn't lust over though!

As I said I love gingerbread, not quite as much as this lady although I'm a little jealous she got to live in a real house decorated as a gingerbread house but I do love it. I would either like a pretty gingerbread house or a kit with the decorations to make one. I did try once but the kit I had was broken, I couldn't stick it back together in bed (at the time I couldn't sit up) and it didn't have decorations like I thought it did so a bit of a disaster!

Thorntons vanilla fudge, yum and a chocolate orange in my stocking.

I came across an adult dot to dot book which I thought was a great idea and would be fun, by adult I mean ones aimed at grown ups rather than the rude and crude ones you can also get!

Also I love the whole Bucilla felt Christmas kit range, my main object of desire is the cute tree skirt (also with tiny gingerbread men, sense a theme anyone?). Actually I lie, not the whole range. 99% of the range is beautiful and tasteful and then thrown in at random is a kit to make a felt decoration for the toilet seat and tank, I'm not joking, LOOK.

Lastly I would like to go to New York in December, ice skate in Central Park, make a snow angel, see the displays in the shop windows and go to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (which is on Netflix and AMAZING, if you haven't seen it check out this little trailer here). Oh and eat a slice of pizza so big it requires 2 hands!

I hope this gives you some ideas if your stuck trying to find a gift for your loved ones.

A short update

Hello, long time no post! I'm afraid this is a short post too. I've not been very well the past few months so have done very little except sleep, rest and when able sew.

I nearly finished my JOY stocking although lost a piece so need to see if I can get a replacement.


I spent August in hospital, not my favourite of places but the staff there are so lovely.

I'm currently working on a little project for my upcoming birthday, I will post details when it's underway.

Until then....

Debenhams garden competition

I love our garden, we have worked hard over the last few years to make it pretty, we enjoy looking out at the colourful flowers and the birds feeding but it's not a space we use as a family. We have a patio at the bottom of the garden which just houses some overgrown pot plants but that is all.



Debenhams have asked bloggers what they would do to improve their garden if they won £1500 of items from their fantastic garden range. You can read about the competition here

I would like to improve our garden by making it a place people come together in, friends, family and neighbours spending summer evenings sipping a cool drink and enjoying each other's company.

I would start with a fire pit, I think there is something about fire pits that brings people together. Maybe it goes back to our cavemen days or maybe we are just like moths drawn to a lightbulb- either way everyone loves a firepit! I fell in love with Debenhams Moon and Stars firepit at first glance, the nice dark red colour and the cut out stars and moon shapes which would project onto the table. When I read the description though I loved it even more to find it has an enamel cooking grate which would be just perfect for putting bananas and chocolate wrapped in foil on or for warming marshmallows.



I think if your hosting a get together you don't want to spend the whole evening in the kitchen or running backwards and forwards to it so when I saw this unique Romana steel pizza oven I immediately thought it was a brilliant idea. I've never met someone who doesn't like pizza, it would be easy to make a few earlier in the day and just put them in the pizza oven when people arrive, it's cooked by burning wood so would have an authentic taste which you don't get if you use your usual gas or electric oven. I also think it would be a real talking point. Seeing as it has a storage shelf and 2 side tables there would be no need to run back and forth to get everything you need.



Although pizza would be the main meal, it wouldn't be an outdoor get together without some BBQ sausages. I would be cooking them on this stylish BBQ, being a real charcoal one people will smell that mouth watering smell before they have even come into the garden. One of my favourite BBQ things is brushing pitta breads with garlic and butter and grilling until crispy, a perfect snack while waiting for the pizzas to cook. If anyone is late the height of the grill can just be adjusted so no burnt sausages at our house!



I selected these 4 pink flora spotted porcelain bowls to present crisps in. Crisps served from something pretty makes them look much more luxurious and these are so pretty. When not in use for get togethers I would use them as decoration on the windowsill in the kitchen.



I don't think I have ever been to a BBQ where glasses or china plates were used and at least one didn't get smashed, however serving drinks in plastic cups makes it look like your treating everyone as kids and the same for plastic or paper plates. To get around this I would use the fun Pink curly straws hi-ball cups which I know both kids and adults would like- who can resist curly straws? For the plates I would use these melamine plates with a beautiful bold pattern designed by Matthew Williamson. The pink and green porcelain bowls and pink curly straw cups will tie in perfectly with the plates giving the impression a lot of planning and styling had gone into the evening.




For lighting, in addition to candles I would have 2 large Litecraft outdoor illuminated ball lights on either side of the patio to provide the extra light.



Last but not least I would have this Verdi planter. I wouldn't plant anything in it but instead put everything we might need in it in advance, thus cutting down trips back into the house but at the same time without cluttering up the table.



I think these items from Debenhams garden range would create a stylish look and most importantly cast a friendly peaceful atmosphere where both guests and hosts can relax and enjoy themselves.

Idea for cotton candy /candyfloss

I love it when you have an idea and it actually turns out like you pictures.

Presenting my jazzed up candyfloss /cotton candy /angel hair

Presenting birthday tickets to Harry Potter Studio tour

For Mums birthday I gave her an IOU for tickets to tour the Harry Potter set. She's wanted to go for ages but felt guilty as I'm a huge Harry Potter fan but too ill to even consider going. As I didn't have the actual tickets to give her I did a special letter instead.

I've not tea bag stained anything since I was at school but used a wet tea bag to make a piece of paper look like parchment, while still wet I sprinkled a few grains of coffee on. Then I wrote in green pen as Dumbledore himself wrote in green and added a red seal with a H on the back. On the front it had Mums name and our address but with 'master bedroom' added.

The letter said;


To

Happy Birthday. You are invited to Hogwarts. Sadly you are past the age limit to be a student, your too tall to be a house elf and have CSE's instead of OWLs so can't be a teacher.

Due to this we are inviting you following a bribe from Vikki. You will walk down Diagon Alley, enter the Great Hall and see Hogwarts from dawn to dusk.

Vikki will also bribe us to give you the devices to hear about what your seeing,

Enjoy your visit,

A Dumbledore

My Sheflie!

Move over selfies because here come the Sheflies!

Victoria Plum are helping you find your home style with a fab quiz (my house style icon is Joey Essex according to the quiz), you can take the test yourself here, it will help you Selb up your own Shelfies – and win £250 in the process!

Victoria Plum and Tots100 are also asking people to take a picture of a shelf (shelfie!) and write about it, so without further ado here is my big shelf;




I have a big shelf in our garage
Which I filled at the start of our marriage

My subconscious must worry about BO
As I've 34 deodorants stacked high to low

Cherry blossom is my choice of smell
Created by 5 litres of shower gel

Whitening toothpaste to make teeth shine
Simon Cowl's have nothing on mine

I'm a bargain hunter not a hoarder
Now off to get my shelfie in order!



#GreatBritishHomeQuiz

National Yogurt Week

May 19-25 is National Yogurt Week and the Yogurt Council is asking bloggers to share their favourite recipes as a celebration of all things yogurt.

I've always liked yogurt but in recent years I've learnt how nutritious it really is. There are lots of adverts on TV for special drinks containing probiotics, these are often expensive and packed full of sugar but did you know yogurt naturally has probiotics. Marketing tells us it helps 'regulate the digestive system' which it can do, but research has shown the bacteria in our intestines also plays a big part in our immune and neurological system, pretty cool for something that tastes lovely!

My favourite way of eating yogurt at the moment is with oats and fruit. Oats contain prebiotics and we all know the benefits of fruit. Here is what we do,

3 cups of oats (I'm normally a grams and oz kinda girl but have cup measures and find it works well for this)
1 cup of milk (any kind)
3 cups of natural yogurt



Optional: Linseed or sunflower seeds
Jam/purée
Selection of fruit

Combine oats, milk, seeds and yogurt together and give it a really good stir. Add your chosen fruit, my favourite is raspberries and my Mums is mango and stir carefully. You can add a teaspoon of jam or fruit purée if you like things sweet. Put in an air tight container and leave over night. It will last a few days and is lovely as breakfast, desert or a snack.



Raspberry with no added jam



Fresh raspberry with a teaspoon of raspberry jam


Mango pulp is a great addition


Check out loveyogurt.org for more information or @loveyogurtuk on Twitter and Facebook

Twilight and stockings

As I've been recovering from my hospital stay and my Nan's funeral I've mostly just been resting and listening to audiobooks. Many years later than everyone I finally got around to downloading Twilight, it didn't appeal at all but I'm hooked! I've listened to all 3 in a short space of time but am making myself relisten to them before downloading the 4th.

The other thing I've been doing is some sewing. I do just a tiny bit each day but it's amazing how it can come together. I ignored the instructions and did most of the sequin and beading first which has really speeded the process up. This is how it currently looks;



The kit is made by Bucilla and called 'Joy Snowmen', if your in the UK then the best place is www.stitcher.co.uk or Amazon.

Eulogy to my Nan

Hi, Some of you may know I set up a charity and run it from bed, What you might not know is It would probably of never have come about if it wasn't for the example Nan set.

Some of my earliest memories is out litter picking and visiting various elderly or ill local people with Nan, popping in on them so they felt cared about and doing anything to help. I remember a local lady who was dying of cancer, some people would of felt uncomfortable, what to say to this lady, the embarrassment of her decline and her inability to do things. Of course Nan had none of these issues, she thought nothing of a comforting visit or helping the lady with toileting, what ever was needed, she was there.

My first voluntary job was aged 5 with Nan and Cliff or Grumpy as I call him, it was for a then tiny charity called Rainbow Trust, they would run fundraising stalls at fun events and again do what ever was needed, even if it wasn't a pleasant job. They did this for many years.

There's a song from my favourite musical, I am an appalling singer so won't subject you to that but part of the song says

I've heard it said,
That people come into our lives
For a reason
Bringing something we must learn.
And we are lead to those
Who help us most to grow if we let them.
And we help them in return.
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you.

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun,
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you.
I have been changed for good.


It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime.
So, let me say before we part:
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you.
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart.
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you'll have rewritten mine
By being my friend.


Nan not only taught me to help others, she taught me one giant thing by example, neither of us were aware of this learning, nor that I would ever need to apply it but she taught me how to fight an illness with dignity and with the tenacity of a bulldog. I've never liked the phrase when someone is ill that they 'are such a fighter' but she really was. She would try and try rather than ask for help, battle against a failing body and for decades woe betide anyone who suggested she wouldn't walk again, she learnt time and time again after relapses. I got to spend a very precious hour with her a couple of days before she passed away, despite her body slowly shutting down you could see that she was still really fighting. I talked to her about memories, nearly all of them involved laughter. Nan had an amazing sense of humour and even paralysed and silent you just had to mention an incident with Doris in church and her whole body and bed would shake with laughter. During that hour I reminisced about the allotment and when I was banned from digging holes after she fell in one and got stuck, our fattening Friday baking sessions and mentioned the time she was in hospital years ago and a song came on the radio. For some reason mum and I were prancing around the room pretending to be riding a horse while Nan was doing the hand actions of a jockey, at one point we caught sight of a nurse standing at the door looking bemused much to our amusement. They say the last sense to go is the hearing, with Nan I am sure it was her sense of humour.


Times weren't only good though, MS can be so cruel and for many years she laid there silent, tube fed and paralysed. When I first heard this song it made me think of Nan, we still want her here with us but knowing how she must of felt trapped inside her body we take comfort that she is now free. I first knew the song under the title 'Flying home', I was later amazed to find it is known by 2 names, the other? Brenda's song!

Its hard to let you go
You've always let me in
And helped with all the endings
And you know where to begin
I need you here for me
Because you always know my heart
I cant believe we'd change
Or have to be apart
But if you've seen the love that's in her eyes
Then everything is good
And if you know the way she felt inside
She's flying where she should

Its good to know your laugh
And you'll always hold my hand
And watch from up in heaven
And always understand
We'll take you down the road
And in everything we do
We'll know how much you love us
A soul that's kind and true.
But if you've seen the love that's in her eyes
Then everything is good
And if you know the way she felt inside
She's flying where she should.


Although we will grieve we are left with a million happy memories of laughter, trips to Norfolk, getting muddy on the allotment, standing at the sink, gin and tonics and much loved holidays.

Mark Warner Holiday Travel Challenge

Mark Warner are asking bloggers for their top 5 family holiday tips. I thought I would do my entry slightly differently and share 5 special holiday things my parents did which have formed very happy memories.


1) Journeys made easier by entertaining things not normally used. I never had magazines as a child (and later puzzle books) except when we were traveling, it seemed like a huge treat and helped pass the time. When traveling why not put together a box of activities your child doesn't normally have access too. Even better wrap up each activity and put a time on it, every hour a child gets to open the gift and find out the activity, it stops the child doing everything at the start then getting bored and adds to the excitement.

2) Throw yourself into activities even if you feel self conscious. Your never going to see the other holiday makers again and kids love nothing more than adults being silly and fun!

3) Have a holiday countdown. You can also do activities leading up to the holiday, whether this is painting Mickey Mouse shapes on Tshirts if your going to Disney or learning about the country your going to.

4) Let your child have their own camera. Whether this is an old phone of yours or a disposable one, kids love to take their own photos and feel grown up.

5) Most of all RELAX, now is not the time to worry about bed times or sugar intake, relax and have fun!




Watching my Dad in his silly fun Bermuda shorts which he would never wear at any other time!

Gift Idea's

Hello, this is a page with links to my posts with gift ideas for all ages and all budgets, from online shopping to handcrafted items. I hope you enjoy them and it inspires you.

My Nan

Last weekend my Nan passed away after battling MS for over 50 years, and my goodness did she battle it. Cats have 9 lives but she survived what had been deemed unsurvivable so many times,so much so I felt she might of gotten through this if treatment hadn't been withdrawn.



She was an excellent Nan, more of a second Mum (I say this having a wonderful Mum too) who I spent so much time with.



I'm very lucky that I managed to get to the hospital to say my goodbyes, or rather 'see you laters', talk to her for an hour (she hasn't been able to talk for years) about days gone by and general chit chat.



I always thought thissong would suit when she passes away, I knew the song under the title 'Flying home' and was surprised to find the original name was 'Brenda's song'. My Nan's name? Brenda!

Wine box simply decorated

My Dad was given a posh bottle of wine for Christmas which came in this lovely wooden box and full of golden shred.

I kept the box with plans to use it next Christmas (and the year after and again and again!) but I'm meant to be decluttering and although it's lovely, will I miss it? The answer was mostly no so I decorated it and am going to hide lots of little gifts inside for a family I'm seeing next week.

I love colouring in with gel pens, especially colouring in peels offs, it's very therapeutic. I used some gold peel offs (to match the gold shred) and just coloured them in. I don't use expensive pens as I don't have any but my Asda kids ones work well and the last pack I had included a mixture of glitter and non glitter so I had 2 different golds to do the acorns and squirrel with.



For how simple it was to do, I'm pleased with the result :)

Handmade crafty Christmas presents

Whoops, I did this as a draft and forgot to hit 'publish'!

Long time no blog! My health always takes a dip at this time of year after over doing it at Christmas.

I can now share some of the things I made but couldn't sooner.


Christmas 2013 was the first one since the amazing Alice Pyne passed away. I wanted to send something to her family and searched high and low for a nice and suitable snowglobe but couldn't find anything. It's hard to find a suitable Christmas gift for parents who have recently lost a child. In the end I decided to make a Christmas decoration (which could be used at Christmas or year round if they wanted). I chose a lovely photo of Alice which I know was taken on a very special day and as a bonus she was wearing purple boots (her favourite colour). I added her name in purple text then ordered it. It arrived with red ribbon which I replaced with purple. Her family put up her purple tree and it fitted on great.



For my friend Kate I got various things including named pencils. I had her nickname (straw poker of all things!) printed on them but was disappointed when they turned up loose in a Jiffy bag. I arranged them into colour order and using tiny sticky fixers I lined them up on a piece of shiny purple card (we both love purple) and wrapped in cellophane. I liked to present gifts nicely and was pleased with how it came out. I stacked her other gifts (her birthday is close to Christmas) in matching stacking boxes and added a big ribbon around them. As it had to be shipped I used lots and lots of tape!






I wrapped Kate's other gifts in purple paper, added a beautiful purple ribbon I had saved from something and slotted in 'Juicy Lucy calling cards' about friendship





For my friend Emily I used the coloured tapes I had won earlier in the year (they were my fav crafting item of 2013) and decorated a white box with them, I then added her name in glitter letters (that I had also won). Both items were from Paper Celar range.



I also made some decorations for my very ill friends with this picture that says 'there is always hope'. I like the image anyway but it's extra apt as they all struggle with light sensitivity, bring a new meaning to light at the end of the tunnel.



I find guys hard to buy for, my friend Dan likes Whiskey and The Big Bang Theory among other things. From ebay I ordered a hip flask with 'Dan- one lab accident away from super villain' (a line from the show) and I really liked a tshirt I saw with Bazinga made up from elements on the periodic table. I didn't really want to get a tshirt though so in the end I found the image and had it printed onto a mug using Snapfish.



As a family gift I took a Christmas photo of my Dad and I pulling a cracker, added a snowy boarder using photobucket and had it printed as a jigsaw (under £5 on ebay and great quality). My Dad is blog shy though so I don't have a picture but it went down great. We did the puzzle as a family and they were guessing what picture it was for a while. I think I'm going to make it an annual gift with a different picture each year.

My sweet trees (fizzy belts and Haribo Stars) were wrapped in a small piece of cellophane and ribbon added.



The magnetic pegs I made were pegged onto purple card, wrapped in cellophane and had a nice label added.






We have a fake tree in our living room all year and at Christmas we put bird decorations on but they tend to blend in and aren't noticeable. Mum wanted some white ones and I found these beautiful Gisela Graham ones. Although they are lovely as they are I glued a single diamanté where all the ribbons join, it worked brilliantly and they looked even better.



I will finish with the gift I'm most proud of. I managed to compete my Mums stocking. I had never sewn before and the Bucilla kit seemed very daunting but I finished. Miss Moneypenny on MSE and Debbie's YouTube videos were a huge help. Instead of a picture I made a very short video so you could see the details. You can see it here. I've now brought 4 more Bucilla kits.

That rounds up my crafty Christmas, I hope you like the items I made or maybe inspire you to get crafty.

Pancake day, inspiration vs reality

It's that time of the year, bring out the lemon and sprinkle sugar all over the kitchen as it's PANCAKE DAY. I know I'm a day early but the early bird catches the worm...

This year it started with my browsing hundreds of inspirational and yummy looking pancakes. Many which look simple yet delicious so I selected a few and had one design in mind. Simple folded, layered on each other a bit and bursting with delicious fillings, some chocolate artistically drizzled for effect.

What can I say? After an hour Mum and I created this;




I think I nailed it!

Dear Wise Blogger

Dear Wise Bloggers,

The Internet is a wonderful place, full of wonderful people who use technology and networking to make a difference. I will always remember a boy called Seth, he was American and having a bone marrow transplant, during which he became extremely ill. Seth's doctors tried everything but nothing worked, they said there was one drug left which hadn't been tried but they were unable to source it. Seth's Mum mentioned this on her blog and strangers decided they would do all they could to find this drug and get it to Seth. Someone managed to locate it but it was on the other side of the USA, like clogs turning together these strangers transported it themselves, a pilot flew it as far as he could and then a chain of people drove it as far as they could before handing it over to the next person and so on until the drug made it to Seth. Truly amazing.

The Internet can also be a very dark place, full of scumbag people who use technology for their personal gain. Tots100 are asking bloggers what their biggest Internet fear is. My fear is being conned, either personally or my loved ones. It's so easy to click on a convincing link and as I do all shopping online I frequently type my card details into sites. Not only is there the risk of losing money to these scams, the impact often leaves people embarrassed and ashamed. The site Think Jessica breaks my heart, it shows how these people don't just get into your bank account but into your mind too and the devastating effect it can have on both the person scammed and their loved ones.

The Internet is a wonderful place but stay safe,

With best wishes,

Fellow blogger




This post is my entry into the
Check and Secure challenge. For more advice on family safety online, see Mums on Security.

Dear Body

Last week I was listening to Nikki Grahame's book 'dying to be thin', it was very good and gave a good insight of what people, especially children go through when battling eating disorders. After I finished listening I went onto her site and click on a link to Body Gossip. Body Gossip encourages people to write about their body, most were about insecurities so I got writing. It only took 5 minutes to write this letter and much to my surprise Body Gossip are going to have it performed by an actor!


Dear Body, I look in the mirror and feel let down by you. Surely people in their 20's shouldn't have bingo wings or so many wobbly bits? I'm too young for boobs to head south and too old to have a zit of such epic proportions but you seem to disagree and bless me with these qualities.

Despite this I think my body looks ok and after all beauty is only skin deep. The wobbly bits aren't my issue with you, why did you have to let me down so much by turning against me? I'm sorry I spent time with someone with Glandular Fever when I was 11 but I think it's more than time you got over this, let me be me, not someone with severe M.E.

Being confined to bed for 12 years is no fun, nor is the level of pain you successfully manage to spread everywhere, although I must compliment you on your wide range of Neurological symptoms, it's an impressive array and could fill a text book on what can go wrong but please, do me a favour and go be in a text book and leave me the hell alone.

I appreciate that you, my body, does cooperate with me more than you used to, thank you for letting me sit up after 5 years of stuck laying flat, will you consider walking again soon?

I'm looking in the mirror and aside pale skin and the dark eyes looking back at me, I really can't see you at all although I can't see the bubbly happy person I am either. You do a great job of hiding beneath the skin, it's no wonder so many people don't believe how ill you make both me and my friends with your presence, you even took my good friends life.

Dear Body, please release me from the prison that is you, let me get on with achieving my hopes and dreams, let me walk and dance, oh and if that's not too much to ask, please take away the epic zit.

Yours faithfully,

Vikki

Writing poetry

I've not been up to blogging recently but have been feeling better today and so decided to write a couple of poems for competitions. Both my Dad and I used to write poems so I asked for his advice. He suggested;


I think your product is a load of crap
I don't expect to be hearing back


Hmm, not quite what I was thinking!

Tots 100 blog