New cleansing routine

This is just a quick blog and your comments would be so appreciated.

My skin is not great, I often get spots, which at nearly 36 drives me crackers, I don't really have a great cleansing routine, I always take my make up off but my cleaner and toner (cheapish product) doesn't really seem to clean my skin that well.

So, today I visited my local Clarins store and they've given me a bundle of products to try and one thing I'm really not sure about is a Nightcream??? do any of you gals use a nightcream and if so what are your thoughts.

I am worried that it's all a lot of money but I do think a good cleaning routine as I'm getting older will benefit me and good old John Lewis stock Clarins which means I'll get my 25% discount.

It would be great to read your thoughts.

Thanks everyone, off to work now :-( YUK!!!!

Luv Bee xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gingerbread, Salmon & Leek Pie...oh & crochet

Oh lord.....HOW LOOOOOONG does it take to make a fish pie, saucepans galore, mess everywhere, 1 hour 15mins later!!!! and after all that it was a bit bland, oh bumpers!

It's a Waitrose recipe (of course...), Salmon & Leek in a cheese sauce, boiled egg and mash on top, nothing fancy, it said to buy the sauce but I always prefer to make mine, it was yummy but just needed something else, I thought about Wholegrain mustard but feel the children wouldn't like that, any suggestions?

During a visit to Cuckoo's for Sunday lunch she introduced me to Gingerbread and after eating it and nearly doing a Meg Ryan at the dinner table, honestly..it was that good, I grabbed the recipe from her, I made it last Friday and we've just finished it, it's just gorgeous but so calorific, Darr has immediately demanded I make another and also wants me to make a toffee sauce to go over it!!! I thought he was on a diet?

So I've got over my 'crochet tantrum' and visited a local Haberdashery with little lady and purchased a lovely bundle.  Homebird suggested making one huge granny square blanket and with her consent I am completely coping her, different colours but the same design.  I think a round cushion cover maybe a little too difficult and I currently just need to re-build my confidence, so any other simple crochet patterns would be greatly appreciated.

Here are my new gorgeous yarns and this time I'm trying 75% Acrylic & 25% Wool, still Stylecraft, 100% cotton was a bit more than my budget would allow, however for all this it cost me £29.53 (they had a 25% discount off all Wool in January....bonus!!).

Little Lady and Big Ted enjoying a
smooch with the new wool

Can't wait to get my hook out....yummy.

I am catching up with a good friend tonight, we're off out to our local Indian (elasticated trousers needed) and then a few drinks (but secretly I can't wait to get back and start my new blanket)


Have a great weekend everyone
Luv Bee xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Crochet nightmare / Portland Bill bliss

...nothing ever comes easy to me, meaning learning a new skill!!!!!

I have only been doing crochet for about a year and in that time have never felt very confident, I've made a Granny Blanket which I am SO SO SO disappointed with, I absolutely hate my colour choices and I'd had enough of it so decided to stitch the squares together, I struggled with this but stubbornly kept going and it's ended up being misshaped.

So, I don't want this to beat me, I CAN AND WILL get this but I know I need lots of practise, I would really love to crochet two round cushions but I'm struggling so much with just the FIRST round, I could scream, I'm just so frustrated!!!! I'm attempting attic24's round flat circle but I just can't do the first round without it being such a mess that I can't even start the second round.

I feel the wool, stylecraft DK (100% acrylic) stiff to use and weirdly squeaky!! and I was using needle size 4 but have struggled as the first round was tiny and difficult to make out, now trying 4.5.

Anyway, that's my day so far....it's 11am and I feel I've wasted time when I know there are other things that need my attention, like my shower needs cleaning and hoovering the children's bedrooms.  Unfortunately I can't leave the tiding and cleaning, it would irritate me more so I'll get that done and then back to practising crochet rounds again.

Here's a peak at my shoddy attempt of a Granny Blanket, think I'll let little lady use it for her adored baby doll.

See...misshaped mess

Back of Blanket (see how I've stitched it together)

Anyway on a much happier note, we had a family day out to Portland Bill (approx 5miles from Weymouth), this place is so special for me, it holds some gorgeous memories of family days out when I was a child, holding my dads hand as I climbed over the rocks, just a lovely place.

This is Chesil Beach, to the right (hard to see) is where the Olympic
Water Events are taking place

Random brussel sprouts 

Cheeky monkeys

It was so blumin cold but just lovely, we took our cooking stove and back in the big red bus snuggled up with Hearty Squash, Bean and Cabbage soup....just what we needed and the children loved it too.

Luv Bee xxxxxxxxxx

Happy New Year

Just a quick blog while I'm sat with my feet up and everyone else is on the wii.....

I'm still here and I check in every now and again and check out your blogs, I'm a bit useless at putting a blog together to be honest.

Christmas was lovely, I cooked for my mum, brother and nanna, it was a lovely chilled out day and the children loved EVERY minute of it as you can imagine, the rest of the week was filled with lots of other family visits, more mulled wine and nibbles and more card games, one in particular I love called Donkey or Pass, in fact it involved Darr, me and his parents and lots of sloe gin, lots of giggles and me laughing so much that I spat Gin & Tonic all over their new table, well I completely blame my lovely mum-in-law as she was making me laugh so much....GREAT TIMES.

I was in bed at 10.30pm on New Years Eve, that's how exciting they are these days but to be honest that suited me fine, gone are the days of fancy dress parties and walking home with only one shoe on!!

And now I'm ready to get back to normal, the children go back to school/nursery tomorrow and then I can really feel like the new year has started, only 3 months til spring.....

Lots of love, Bee xxxxxxxxx

Horrid Horrid PMT.....

Ok to those that know me best know I have horrid hormones, I take a Well Women tablet every day (which has Evening Primrose Oil & Star Flower), it does seem to help but it's that 'time of the month' again and I'm feeling the blues.

I literally could cry at any moment, it makes me feel so low and I've got no get up and go, I have no enthusiasm for crochet, cooking or even going out the door (wish I hadn't put myself down for overtime tonight).

Little lady has a nasty tummy bug which meant I couldn't attend mini cuckoo & cuckoo's christening and to top it off yesterday I needed some milk, the shop is only just up the road so bundled everyone in the car, along with a towel & bowl for little lady and on route witnessed a nasty car accident and had to wait 35mins for the emergency services to arrive.....so all in all...CRAP!!!!!! (sorry for the language)

Anyway, I have all the ingredients for my christmas chutney and runner bean chutney so am going to pull my sorry ass off this stool and get on with it.

These two monkeys cheer me up no end

Luv Bee xxxxxx

leather....yeh baby!!! & my godson

My gorgeous smelling, soft to touch, just gorgeous, cosy/comfy leather sofa's have arrived!!!! BUT I felt quite sad to say goodbye to our old, tatty blue, extremely uncomfortable 2 x 2 seater sofa's because they were our first sofa's we bought together in our first house before moving where we are now and I am a sentimental old fool...

I'm giving them and all our old furniture to 'Womens Refuge' so they'll be going to a much needed new home.

Big Ted, Spidey & Darlin have pride of place

Twinkle lights are out

Today is my gorgeous godsons birthday party, I can't believe he's going to be six next week, I remember the day so well when he was born, the phone calls to say the baby is one their way, the mad dash over to cuckoo's mums, I was still in my pjs and didn't realise as I was so excited so we had to quickly drive back to my house so I could change and then drive to Bristol, I expected this 'giving birth' business to take ages so left cuckoo's mum to go in with her and I sat with a book comfortably in the waiting area.......the seat wasn't even warm when Mr C walked over to me with the BIGGEST grin I've ever seen and say, in a shaky voice, it's a boy!!! I then told Mr C that I didn't believe him as I'd only just sat down and looked back at my book, after he repeated himself I realised that he wasn't joking....I was obviously in shock at this stage but he said I could go in and see them, when the door opened and I saw cuckoo on the bed and big cuckoo I couldn't believe my eyes, my gorgeous girl had only just bloody gone and done it, the emotion was hard to contain, tears slowly ran down my cheeks and I wiped them away telling myself to 'get a grip', cuckoo looked at me and said, I've got a son...it still chokes me now to say it, there were doctors dashing around but I didn't see any of them, I kissed her softly and remember thinking how in awe I was of her, then after a little time cuckoo asked the nurse to pass big cuckoo to me, he was like a fresh peach, he smelt divine and I couldn't stop smiling,  he was and still is just perfect.  I now can't wait to see my family, even though we actually aren't sisters and they aren't actually my nephews I still refer to them as this, as in our eyes they are.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Home alone.....

It's Tuesday morning, little lad is at school, little lady is at nursery!! what on earth am I going to do now...BLOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm back, so so sorry for not being able to blog or leave comments on your wonderful blogs, I'll just have to let you all know that my time is so limited so I'll just get on when I can, I'll try to blog at least once a month and hopefully more once the routines settle down.

The summer holidays were lovely but I was very ready for little lad to start school by the end of it, he went off on his first day with a skip in his step and so far so good, little lady on the other hand had tears at nursery, pulled on my heart strings big time but I know it's for the best as this time next year she'll be starting school....EEK!!!

best friends (most of the time)

little lad doesn't wear his blue crocs to school (honest)

ministry of sound was playing.....

I haven't had any time for crochet either and to be honest I get very easily bored so I'm having a break away from my gorgeous granny squares and started to make some coasters, here's a sneaky peek

by the way, this is my new carpet (which I can't stop sniffing)

I think these are very sweet, darr doesn't like them,
 don't use them then Mr Miserable

I recently had an evening with some lovely friends down at Chesil Beach, Abbotsbury, we went Mackerel fishing, well Abby and I watched and drank wine and the boys fished, it was such a wonderful evening, a good gossip and lovely food, we took a bbq and the boys caught 7 Mackerel, Simon placed each one in some foil and then tucked in some garlic and lemon and a huge dollop of butter and then put them on the barbie for 30mins....delicious!!!!

our little set up

one of my dearest friends

gorgeous sunset

I have problems with the effin tabs, sorry!!

I hope you are all well my lovelies and ready for Autumn, my favourite time of the year, I've already picked loads of blackberries, apples and sloes, chutney's and sloe gin here I come!!! yum yum

Take care my lovely blogging friends and I'll catch you all soon, love Bee xxxxxx