A Manic Monday

I don't normally complain or whinge but honestly yesterday was one of the worst days. I kept thinking, 'It can't get much worse' but somehow it did. All day long.  

The day 'started' with my boys waking me throughout the night/into the morning consistently every hour. I don't think I got more than 4 hours sleep. Ugh... So with only a few hours of sleep under my belt, I decided to just get in the shower. However, on my way into the bathroom I found both my boys (who had only be alone a matter of minutes) covered from head to toe in talc and the entire hallway also covered in talc! Apparently they wanted snow inside! :) Joy! 

Don't mind the mess most of these things are due to go into the attic.

I just about made the school run in one piece and decided to have a huge cup of coffee when I got home to calm my nerves and help me get on with the day. However, I never even got a sip as I managed to spill the coffee all over my desk and keyboard resulting in an alarm warning the entire Nation that my keyboard was broken. Despite drying it, there was no hope it was gone. :( 

Halfway through the clean up!

I cleaned the mess and got another cup of coffee. As I drank it I thought it tasted a bit off. By the time I was half way through it, little bits of something had started floating to the top and into my mouth. My little one started giggling, then said 'I did a spit in mummy's coffee'! So I had to face the facts that I just wasn't going to have a cup of coffee that day. 

11:30 and time for the school pick up. My youngest and I got in the car and I found that my car radio had stopped working. How, I have no idea. Ugh...

We'd arrived at school in one piece although I was extra careful to keep just under the speed limit as I sensed that I might be pulled over by police or caught by one of those pesky speed cameras for going the tiniest bit over the limit the way my day was going. As per my usual routine, before I jumped out of the car to pick up my son, I grabbed my lipstick to put a bit on and it broke in half. Luckily I wasn't too badly covered in it. So I guess I am doomed to dull lips and driving in silence...fine! 

The rest of the day passed without incident. Phew...my luck was changing! :-)I was ready to cook tea for me and my husband. However, that never really made it to the table. I'm sure I was jinxed yesterday. :( 

Our evening meal :(

Fingers crossed today is a better day and that the luck of the Irish is on my side! 

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

xx

Up-cycling Old Into Chic

So it is a pretty well know thing, that I'm not completely crafty although there are times that I fool people (like at my son's 4th birthday party where I made a children's craft, batman game, buns and a few other fun bits and bobs), so mainly I get creative when I can with what I can.

Recently, in my attempt at a compete house declutter I found a few items that I immediately put into the 'nice but never going to use' bin pile. Two of these items were:

• an old biscuit tin (I got this ages ago in a tea set and I used to let the boys roll it around when they were babies...is that weird?!) and 
• an old pitcher for drinks (it was so narrow it didn't actually hold much and I have other pitchers that do the job a lot better, but it was pretty). 

However then I got to thinking, even though these things are kind of junky, could I still use them. Obviously my husband told me to stop being odd and throw the darn things out but I had a brain wave and now they are pretty important items in our house! :)

It's funny how it happened but around the same time as the declutter I realised that I was desperate for a new place to store my make-up brushes. You know, the ones that simply fall out of your make-up bag whilst first getting everything covered in blusher or the little ones that just fall to the bottom of a bag never to be seen again...well, I need a new place for these so that I had them to hand, they were in a more sterile environment and so that they weren't constantly falling on the floor. Ah yes, my old biscuit tin! Perfect!

Additionally, about a month ago I wanted to buy one of those beautiful white pitchers for spring flowers you know the ones I mean, everyone has them and they are gorgeous full of tulips, daffodils or lilacs in the spring. However, as I picked one up and put it in my cart at the shop I realised I didn't need that white pitcher I had...my pitcher for drinks that was at the bottom of my bin pile! Score!

So there you have it. With a bit of imagination and a little cleaning these two things, nice but destined for the bin, became beautiful, useful house hold helpers.

Have you up-cycled anything recently? What was it? How did it work out?
xx

Recipes, Poldark and Stary Plum... #littleloves

Another busy week has flown by, but to be honest I'm sort of glad. I haven't been sleeping well and am looking forward to a more relaxed weekend. Although, I'm not sure relaxed is what I'll get this weekend as we have a friend's 40th birthday party tomorrow night and will most likely be out with my husband's mother on Sunday morning...oh well! :-)

Read
I haven't really read much this week. I have read a bit of my second Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum) mystery but I really haven't had the time and I've been so tired at night that I have just been going straight to sleep instead of reading, which is what I normally do.
I have however been reading through a few recipe books to get some ideas for suppers this week. Trying to cook more for the whole family (instead of a meal for the boys and a meal for me and the husband) and a little more healthy too!

Great family cook books for busy mums!

Watched
Poldark! Awesome! My very good friend got me into the Winston Graham  Poldark series about a year or two ago and I read every single one (there are 12) with delight and now it is a TV series! Yay! Can't wait to see how it all progresses. So far so good :)

BBC's Poldark is so good!

Heard
The word 'NO'! Honestly, you have thought I had teenagers living in my house but it is my toddler who is using the 'N word' consistently all week. Fingers crossed this is a short lived phase :)

Made
I made loads of things going into last weekend: a Batman game, a parcel for pass the parcel, cupcakes (buns), superhero masks, etc... So this week I am taking some time off making anything spectacular! However I did manage to make a quite delightful smoothie! Yum :)

Sorry this was the before photo. Smoothies don't last 2 seconds in this house :)

Worn
New eyeliner by Clinique: Stary Plum. I have had this deep purpley shade for ages but it always runs out! ;) This time, I ran out ages ago and only just got around to replacing it. I love this eyeliner as it slides on smooth and it is such a pretty color which goes so well with hazel eyes.

So pretty!

And lastly...
Happy Mother's Day and have a nice weekend! Fingers crossed you all get a lie in :)

Another Mother's Day Post

Yes, there have been Mother's Day posts around the blog-o-sphere all week and yes, I wish I could be more creative sometimes, but I wanted to share some of my thoughts about Mother's Day too! After all, I am a mother and I am a daughter.

This is actually from my birthday last year but couldn't find a good one with flowers! ;-) 

Mother's Day is a tricky one for me. Being an American living in the UK, I technically have two Mother's Days. One is the UK Mother's Day this Sunday the other is the US mothers day in May. Part of me would like to celebrate the one in May so that I'm keeping a part of my US culture, but since I live in the UK and have for a long time (not to mention I had my two boys here) I celebrate with the UK. I just have to remember to buy a card early for my Mom, otherwise I'd have missed the boat come May!

Pink Champagne to celebrate!

I always like to spoil my Mom on Mother's Day but to be honest these days it is a bit harder. I don't live nearby and that makes it more of a struggle in figuring out what to get her but we always make sure that when we get together either in the UK or the US we go out and spend time together which is the best present we can give each other. ;) It goes without saying really, that Mother's Day always makes me miss my Mom and I wish that we lived closer.

As for my Mother's Day celebration, I never really want anything. I don't make a big deal out of it either. I think, like most mums I would love a lie in and a cup of hot coffee in bed and I absolutely adore home-made cards from my boys but anything above and beyond that is a real treat. :)

All I want :-)

This year, I'll spend my Mother's Day being grateful for my husband, my two sweet boys, my furry boy and my Mom and Dad back in the States. After all, I really wouldn't be the Mum I am today if it weren't for all of them. :)

A 4th Birthday Party!

As many of you may know this past Monday my little boy turned 4! I truly can't believe how time has flown by. When you first hold your baby in your arms, you can't even comprehend the fact that they are finally there with you, never mind that they will (soon) be 4! Yikes :)

Awesome Rachel Ellen Superhero Invites! 

Anyway, to celebrate the occasion he asked for a birthday party this year with some of his friends. We had yet to have a birthday party for him for several reasons but one of them was that he wasn't aware enough of the occasion to really ask for one, want one, or know he was missing out on one, etc... However this year, he knows who his friends are and he wanted to have them over to have a party, so we agreed.

Despite being excited for him to have his first birthday party, I was overwhelmed and slightly intimidated by the idea of it. We were going to be hosting it at our house and I wanted it to be just right. I was also nervous about meeting his friends' parents. I know I don't have to be friends with everyone but I haven't really met too many mums at the school drop-offs and it would be nice to have more friends in the area. I really know how to put the pressure on :/

The day of the party arrived with much planning and a couple of late nights colouring (after a few orders off ebay fell through). Saturday afternoon 5 children arrived at our house to party! We had a few party games like pass the parcel and 'pin the emblem on Batman' and then we had a craft 'make your own superhero mask' all of which I made up during many a late night! After the activities we had some snacks and cakes. Mainly the boys spent the afternoon running around playing both in and out of our house. My husband lead the boys in a game of football and I made sure hide and seek was not getting too crazy in the house!

Batman is really lopsided! Whoops.

The children's parents got to relax, have some tea and cakes and chat whilst the children had a running around. The best part was that at the end of the party, every single child was exhausted! I consider that a huge win (as did all the parents who got a lie in the following morning!).

Left over cakes (forgot to take photos the whole time!)

I'm glad that it was stress free, that it went smoothly, that the children had fun and were worn out, that the parents were all nice and relaxed, and most of all I'm glad that my big boy got his party just the way he wanted it! :)

Decluttering Part 2

Hurray! I have finally finished my house declutter! I am so happy and thankful that that little (big) project is over. In place of the clutter however, I now have a pile of things to sell. It is a little overwhelming but if I am patient I think I will get a little bit of spending money and a clean house. If it all goes wrong, then it is just one more trip to a charity shop and/or the dump.

To sell!

Most of the house was pretty easy to declutter but the master bedroom was a mess. It took me a whole weekend to get that room cleared out. Now that it is done I am looking forward to getting it redecorated and making it into a comfy oasis. Unfortunately, that will have to wait for awhile as we'll need to save up. In the meantime however, I'll begin to work on other little projects that need doing around the house and keep a list going of the bigger wishlist things ;)

So clean and tidy! 

Now to get signed into Ebay...:)

Anyone else spring cleaning or having a declutter? How's it going? 
xx

Spicy Sausage & Red Pepper Stew

So, normally my Fresh Soup Monday soup is veggie based with nothing but veggies in them. They are either chunky or puréed but veggie filled none the less. This Monday, I decided to go back to a very old favourite that I thought the boys would also like (they are big sausage fans!), my Spicy Sausage & Red Pepper Stew.

Once again it is a pretty easy recipe and doesn't take a lot of messing around. Simple ingredients often make the best tasting soups. Also, Mondays are pretty crazy here so I can't manage to make a complicated soup...there just isn't enough time in the day. :)

*The ingredients are rough as I change it up a little each time depending on my mood or what we've got in the house.

Spicy Sausage & Red Pepper Stew

Ingredients:
5 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
600g (roughly) of sweet red peppers deseeded and chopped into chunks
500g (roughly) of Toulouse Sausages
400g (roughly) Tomatoes diced
1 tsp Oregano
150ml Hot water
Salt & Pepper to taste
3 Tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

To Make:
1) Heat oil in a large heavy pan
2) Add peppers and sauté over medium heat for 10-15 minutes
3) Slice sausages into bite-sized chunks and add to the peppers
4) Add the tomatoes and oregano to the peppers and sausage
5) Stir in the hot water, salt & pepper and cover pan
6) Cook for 30 minutes
7) Mix in parsley and serve

Serve with a fresh baguette for dunking!
Enjoy :)