Recently

Autumn flowers for a friend, goats cheese and tomatoes from the market, collecting teeny tiny baby clothes from generous friends and strangers, our first experience of selling at a Car boot sale (success!), baking chocolate gluten free birthday cake, long walks through crunchy leaves, soups, curries and stews, warm pubs, cosy cafe's and early nights. Not a huge amount to report really. Just plodding by on our merry way.

Our car boot stall.

Home made curry feast, with all the trimmings. Apologies for the crap iPhone pic

Happy Birthday Em!

Blanket Progress

396 squares for baby blanket done, 20 to go.  Then the wee task of crocheting it all together...

Leaf love

I am still revelling in all things Autumn. Still eating pumpkin at least once a day, still collecting pretty leaves and seeds each time I go outside, still taking photo's of the golden morning light on my phone for no particular reason.  The last of the leaves on the huge tree at the end of the garden twinkle and twist in the breeze hypnotically. When it gets dark at 5pm (5pm!) I draw the curtains smugly and hunker down, candles lit, with one of my current obsessions (the new Feist album, Game of Thrones, Frozen Planet or Downton Abbey...) I know that by January its likely that I wont be so chipper about these dark drizzly days, but right now, I'm loving them, with all their new winter season, pre-Christmas promise.

I made my annual leaf garland to celebrate this 'golden' (/drey, drizzly depending on how you look at it...) season. I love collecting Autumnal bits and pieces to make these each year, and stringing them up around the house. They bring a bit of Autumn loveliness indoors, meaning all the lovliness, and none of the grey or drizzle. Winner.

(If you want to make one too: I just pressed the leaves in a stack of magazines to flatten them for a few days, then threaded them with a needle. Its super easy; I cant wait to do this with my future kidlets.)

Happiest of autumn's to you!

Half way

In the imortal words of Bon Jovi; "we're half way there..." or, as the Grand Old Duke of York once noted; 'when they were only halfway up they were neither up nor down...'

We made it half way. Two weeks ago, we saw our baby. The midwife put a jelly covered plastic probe on my stomach and we saw a granular, slowly morphing, black and white image of our baby. Seeing it, and hearing its heart beat, is the most amazing humbling experience. It is also decidedly odd. I am growing a human being in my stomach.  My body consists of 2 brains, 4 arms, 4 legs and two sets of genitalia.  Pregnancy is weird.

We didnt find out the gender at the scan for numerous reasons. We like the idea of it being a surprise, but it will also encourage us to prepare for our baby in a less 'Pink' or 'Blue' way (much more on that in another post)

Hmm, what else...

My bump is finally starting to show.
I am loving my early nights and am still rapturously in love with my bed.
We have definite fetal movement, guys.
I have an unusally healthy blood count.
The baby is currently about 28cm long, almost the size of a 30 cm ruler! Whoa.
My always constant vinegar love is reaching new heights.
Tea and toast brought to me every morning makes me think I should get knocked up more often.
My mister has taken to calling me Wolverine, on account of my freakish sense of smell and weirdly fast growing hair and nails.
I dreamed I gave birth to a seal. (Thank you Frozen Planet)

I think that is all...

That was probably very boring for you all. But it's here for posterity. For posterity!

Buggy bother

I'm trying... Image from The Love Shop, Etsy

Yes, really. Angst. About a buggy.

You see we live in a lovely flat. A lovely flat that happens to be three storey's up, with a total of four flights of stairs. In other words, stepsville. So the thought of a buggy? Grim. Carriers, cots, changing mats and mobiles are all being gleefully gathered (made or second hand of course) but a buggy? The thought makes me clench my teeth and hyperventilate slightly. I am relying on the baby liking slings and carriers, more than is healthy which I know is a little silly.

So, please lovely people, help me. I need something light weight, very easily foldable, and preferably usable from birth. It would also be nice if it could face both ways, and handle rough terrain- but these things are not as essential as the light weight, foldable thing. So. Does anyone know of any?!

Smoky bonfires, foggy fireworks, soup

Bonfire night; A group of friends, smoky fires, piles of leaves, foggy fireworks, and benches and chairs dragged close to the fire. Scout the hyper dog, drizzle-speckled coats, lanterns and the whizzing popping and banging of nearby fireworks. Rays Poppy seed Birthday cake, chestnut and pumpkin soup with dippers, home-made brownie's and hot spiced cider...

Indoor's I went a wee bit Autumn mad with my decorations, whilst Ray and Phil cooked in the kitchen...(ahem)  Rows of mini pumpkins and candles, leaf garlands, jars of poppies (a lovely present), piles of acorns, and leaves stuck to walls and doors.

This was the second part of my now very belated Birthday celebrations, plus Rays birthday celebrations and of course Bonfire night. A drizzly bonfire in the garden has become a bit of a tradition now, and becomes slightly more refined (and a lot less dangerous....!) each year. I ended up going to bed at midnight on Saturday which is unfeasibly late for me at the moment and I'm still tired, but it was totally, completely worth it. Happy Birthday me and Ray!

Grazia; Manolo Blahnik's new Eco Shoes

Happy bonfire weekend! We've had a celebratory, firework and pumpkin filled weekend here, but more on that later, once I've had chance to upload the photos.  I didn't realise but my latest piece for Grazia went up on the site on Friday; its about Manolo Blahnik's sustainable (fish skin...yep) shoes.  I'm loving my 'green correspondent' duties and being able to rant about ethical fashion for Grazia, I'm a lucky gal.  Anyhow, read it here.