Pug print dress & my new favourite boots.

I got these boots ages ago as a welcome break from all the Ugg boots I own. I opted for a pair by the brand Blowfish called Texas with one of my Sarenza ambassador vouchers. I liked the fact that they are black, slightly slouchy and have a bit of studded detail, and I thought that they would be easy to wear with anything.

Blowfish boots c/o Sarenza

They then collected dust in my wardrobe for a while as I wasn't quite ready to venture into unknown territory or quite sure what to wear them with. Then the snow came a couple of weeks ago and I needed boots that would keep my feet dry and not get ruined like my Ugg boots would. So out came my Blowfish boots!

I have worn them pretty much non stop since, mainly with dresses. This particular pair are sold out on Sarenza now but the Blowfish brand have lots of other boots in stock at the moment, so worth a look if you like these.

I wore them to Beamish last weekend with some tights I got for Christmas which are about an inch thick (exaggeration) and keep my legs and feet SO warm. I wore a recent dress purchase in the shape of a Pug print dress from House of Fraser which got cheaper and cheaper in the sale until it became a huge bargain and I bought it.

The dress is nice as it's a really soft material so it's really comfortable. And obviously I think the print is adorable.

With the addition of a coat, scarf and mittens (the mittens were a birthday gift and are from Fat Face) I was ready to go!

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Iconemesis "bows" case for the iPhone.

Iconemesis is a mobile phone case company with a difference. Their designs are beautiful, unusual and some very silly. They have a wide range of designs to choose from for the iPhone, many of which have been designed by the illustrators Fifi Lapin, Leah Goren and Gemma Correll.

"Bows" case for the iPhone 4 c/o Iconemesis

I was given the chance to own one of their cases and after much deliberating I opted for the "bows" design which feels very me. It's a girly design featuring bows of all shapes and sizes, and the case itself feels sturdy and good quality (I am always dropping my phone and it has survived thus far!)

I have had some lovely comments on my "bows" case and I would definitely use the Iconemesis site to buy another case in the future. There are one or two other designs I really like the look of.

Delivery within the UK is free, and at the moment if you used the code ICON220 you can get 20% off your order!

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A birthday at Beamish.

As I mentioned here we went to Beamish on Sunday for my 28th birthday. For those who don't know, Beamish is a "living museum" in County Durham which is split into different areas such as the Edwardian Town, the Pit Village, and Home Farm, with trams every 20 minutes to take you from one area to the next.

It took a couple of hours to drive there but it was a nice easy route, although a tad hair raising in the strong wind in my little Smart car!

We were hoping it wouldn't be too busy which luckily it wasn't as I think the blustery wind and cold temperatures had put people off the idea of an outdoors museum. Us? We're hard as nails!

The Edwardian Town, where we ended up last, was our favourite bit. You feel like you have stepped back in time and it was so interesting wandering around looking at, and going inside, the buildings, shops and houses. The sweet shop was a particular favourite, as was the dental surgery and the singing teachers home which was crammed full of furniture and trinkets.

There were staff dressed up at every turn to explain a little more about each house or shop. Let's just say, I wouldn't have wanted dental treatment back in those days. Ouch!

It was extremely windy so you will have to excuse my hair which I gave up on. I will say that the weather conditions combined with everything being nicely spread out meant that it was nice and quiet, which meant we often felt like we had the place to ourselves.

We braved the chilly walk up to the top of a hill to see Pockerley Old Hall which represents the home of a wealthy family in the 1800s. After having a good nosy round, warming ourselves up by the many wood burning fires, and trying some oatmeal and cheese(!) biscuits that had just been served up in the kitchen we felt ready to head back outside.

If you haven't been it's definitely worth a visit. We would like to go back when there's a special event on or a theme such as Bonfire Night or Christmas. Our tickets give us entry for one year which is brilliant, so we may well go back.

I imagine it would be lovely in warmer months where you could take a picnic and sit on the picnic area by the Edwardian Town.

Blowfish boots c/o Sarenza

If you've been to Beamish let me know if you enjoyed it. I imagine it's not everyone's cup of tea but I personally love places like this (I'm a fan of Eden Camp too!) so I had a great time.

If you haven't been but you plan to, allow a good few hours for your visit (I think we took about 3 hours or so, but if you look at every little bit of detail it could take much longer) and wrap up warm! It's also worth checking the website for the opening times and days that they're closed, as well as checking the calendar for any special events you could go to!

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Birthday weekend (part 1): Fired Arts, food at Fancie, a fondant fancie disaster & family time.

I turned 28 yesterday and had a lovely weekend with friends, family and Jonathan and thought I would share a few snippets with you starting off with what I got up to on Saturday. 

Before I get going I wanted to say "thanks" for all of the sweet messages I received via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I felt very lucky indeed to have such nice virtual friends and read every single message.

Giving my new Yumi coat (sale purchase from House of Fraser!) and black River Island jeans an outing

Anniel pumps c/o Sarenza

I went to Fired Arts for the second time (I blogged about my first time here) on Saturday morning with my friend, Katy. It was fairly quiet in there so we had a good chat and a catch up on what we've both been up to recently. We both opted for decoupage instead of pottery painting and made the same bunting using the same paper!

The bunting turned out really well and looks great on our hall door with a bit of sturdy string!

Before heading home, and as we were feeling rather peckish, we drove down the road to the new Fancie cafe which opened recently on Ecclesall Road. After a wait of about 15 minutes we were offered a couple of seats on a raised bench (as opposed to a proper table which people didn't seem to be vacating very speedily). The seats we got were fine anyway and our food came out really quickly (actually it came just before our drinks but not to worry!)

I opted for a cup of Yorkshire Tea and the veggie breakfast which consisted of 2 vegetarian sausages, 2 fried eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes with a side of the NICEST brown door-stop toast. I am not normally a fan of cooked tomatoes but these ones were really tasty, and the mushrooms, whatever they were cooked in, went down a treat. I got plenty of toast and actually struggled to finish, so my worries of the portions being small beforehand were soon put to rest.

Katy had a big bowl of curried parsnip soup (from the specials board) with door-stop brown bread and a bottle of raspberry lemonade and gave it all a big thumbs up!

We drove home where I found Jonathan busy in the kitchen baking me, I assumed, a birthday cake which I later found out had gone disastrously wrong. Having never baked before he was attempting fondant fancies. Needless to say they didn't go to plan but they tasted great and that's the main thing right! 10 out of 10 for effort. At the rate I am polishing them off I think I'll be on a sugar high for a while...

There was time for a cup of tea and a sprawl on the sofa (while Jonathan watched the rugby) before heading to Sheffield to his sister and brother in laws home. Jonathan's mum recently celebrated her 70th birthday (I swear there is no way she is 70, but apparently so!) and we spent a nice evening with his family eating good food, doing quizzes and playing board games. I know what to get Jonathan for Christmas this year now - boys and Lego ay!

By the time we got home it was after midnight and my birthday (woohoo!) so I was naughty and opened all of my presents as I've got no self control whatsoever. I got so many lovely gifts and felt well and truly spoilt. I got too many things to list them all but amongst them was money, Next vouchers, a onesie, a Gemma Correll tshirt (this one in grey), a shabby chic dressing table mirror, socks, jewellery, candles, a mug, a new cross stitch book (this one to be precise), and lots of vegetarian friendly sweets including marshmallows which I have been craving for quite some time.

We got up bright and early on Sunday morning for the long drive to Beamish but more about that another time as it requires a blog post all of its own. I will leave you with a photo of the sweet shop where I may have made a sneaky purchase...

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FROM HARLEYS TO ELECTRIC BIKES

It was less than 10 years ago that I was riding a Heritage Softail Clasic, my 4th Harley Davidson.  I loved that bike.

 

 

 

Now I'm riding an eletric bicycle. 

 

How things do change... and in my case it is due to aging and illness.

 

I'm sure I'll have loads of fun riding my little doggies around with this bike but taking it on its first run down my street today sure did bring back old memories of my biking days.  I had motorcycles for over 20 years and never thought I'd be without one.  That's life... I guess. 

 

I didn't realize how fast 15 mph can feel on a bicycle.  I don't think I'll need that much speed for what I'm wanting to do.  The seat will be the big problem.  I only rode for a short time up and down my street and my behind was feeling the pain of that awful seat.  I'll have to put some padding on it if I'm to ride for any distance at all.  At one point I was standing while riding because it hurt so bad.  I'll figure something out.

 

I tried riding in a field of grass and didn't have much power of movement and had to pedal hard to move forward.   Once on cement it was easy riding.  I'm hoping that when I ride it on the beach that it will move easy across the hard sand.  I'm pretty sure it will but can't wait to try and find out for sure.

 

Hoping to be at the beach sometime next week.

 

 

 

 

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