My Latest Bargains and Revamps!

Hello Blogland!

I've been having lots of fun looking for bits for my home.  I've been scouring ebay (sorted by distance first to eliminate postage costs!), charity shops and car boots and I've found some bargains!  Some of them need work but even if they dont, I like to revamp them and give them a new lease of life.  Here are a few of my favourties!

My car boot finds last Sunday!  I do love a good car boot, although we're coming to the end of them now.  Will have to move indoors to charity shop finds soon!  The candle holder needed sanding down and repainting...well...it probably didnt need it but I wanted to to match the lovely jug I found on the same stall!  I put the roses in, although Im still not sure if it needs smaller cut roses.

Here they are "in situ" on top of my mantelpiece with my twinkle lights and other candle holders!

This bargain was from ebay....I got it for 99p!  I was scrolling through the listings and it had 19 seconds left!!!  Was local too so went along and picked it up the following day.  Looks lovely in my living room as the only piece of furniture that wasnt light wood was my tv stand.  Well not any more!

  
I cant wait to get my hands on these pine shelves!  They're going to be painted white and put up in my kitchen when we finish decorating.  Have wanted a dresser top on the wall in my kitchen for ages but these will suit it much better as my kitchen isnt very big!

Still watching a few items on ebay so fingers crossed I win them!!

Until next time....

A Few Simple Recipes

Hello again!

I dont know what it is about the change in season, but as soon as the weather gets a bit colder, I start baking.  Mainly crumbles and cakes, but one thing that a recipe has to be for me to like it, is simple.  The reason?  I get bored if a recipe has too many steps!  I lose interest and start going off and doing my own thing, which in the past has had varying results!  Some have worked out lovely, some not so much.  The two that are MASSIVE hits with my family are Lemon Drizzle cake and Chocolate Brownies.  I cook them so often, I feel like I can literally throw them together now!  So over the next few days I will share my favourites and first up, Lemon Drizzle Cake! 

Ingredients
112g soft unsalted butter at room temperature
112g caster sugar
112g self raising flour
2 eggs
zest of one lemon, finely grated

For the drizzle:
50g caster sugar
juice of 1 lemon

Method
- Beat together the butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy
- Add the eggs, one at a time and beat in thoroughly
- Add the flour to the mixture and fold together with a metal spoon.
- Add the lemon zest and continue to fold (the aim is to try and get as much air into the mixture as possible)
- Pour into a small bread tin and bake in the oven for around 40 mins at 180c.
- Check it is cooked by poking it with a skewer and making sure the skewer is clean when you bring it out.
- For the drizzle, mix the caster sugar and lemon juice and, whilst your cake is still hot, pour the drizzle over.
- Make a cup of tea in your favourite mug and enjoy!!

See simple, and almost impossible to get wrong!  I've had it rise lots in the tin and I've had it be quite flat after cooking but both taste delicious!  The next recipe Im going to share tomorrow will be Chocolate Brownies!!

Until next time....

Henllys Village Craft Club

A crafty friend of mine (in the artistic sense not the sneaky sense!) and I decided to start up our own craft club.  Now, there are a number of craft clubs where we are but they tend to focus on one craft i.e. quilting club, cardmaking, papercutting, etc etc. There doesnt seem to be a club for anyone who wants to just be crafty!  Crafting at home can be lonely if no one you know shares your enthusiasm or if you dont have any friends who are that way inclined so we thought it would be a perfect way to get to know new friends and craft and eat cake at the same time!  What more can a crafter want?!

I made two lots of cakes...chocolate brownies and lemon drizzle, both of
which were yummy, even if I do say so myself!

There were books for inspiration and fabric to buy if anyone so wished....

A few of my favourite books for anyone looking for inspiration!

Who can resist more fabric??

I took along my crochet blanket.  Im struggling with the edges which dont seem to be running in a straight line!  I'll be honest though, I was so busy chatting and eating cake I only got a row and a half done.  I did try papercutting though.  The verdict? Very fiddly but I can see how it would get addictive if you keep at it!

Only managed another row and a half but
had a go at papercutting too!

This is me, my friend Lane and one of the members of the craft club in a cake selfie.....

Can you tell Im a little obsessed with cake?  Im really enjoying baking at the moment and will share a few of my super simple recipes over the next couple of days.  It has to be simple, otherwise I lose interest! lol!

So all in all, we had a fab first craft club!  Looking forward to next months already.

Thanks for reading!  Until next time...

Bloglovin

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Blogs have changed since I last blogged....why is there no faces on the side of my page??!!  Anyway, if you would like to follow via email or bloglovin, you can do so on the side of the page.  I do hope you'll join me!

Until next time...

A Very Warm Welcome!

Hello and a very warm welcome to my blog!  My cosy little corner or the internet where I can share all the things that make me happy.  Who knows I may even impart some knowledge, or a recipe or a how to you've not heard of, that may inspire you to try it yourself.  A brand new blog with endless possibilities!

This is me!! Yes I currently have bright red hair, a phase I went through
this summer.  Its going back to brown very very soon!!

Anyway, how rude, please let me introduce myself.  My name is Rhiannon, I am 32, live a small town called Cwmbran in South East Wales, Im engaged to my soulmate, we have two beautiful girls aged 8 and 4 and a house full of animals including our latest addition, Ramsey our Yorkiepoo!!  I've been a stay at home mum for four years but have recently gone back to work as a Beauty Therapist which is one of the best jobs in the world because you get to have a chat and make people feel good about themselves.

My gorgeous girlies!  They fight like cat and dog but they're the best of friends really :-)

We live in quite a green, leafy part of the country and Im very lucky there are lots of lovely walks for us to take Ramsey on.  I love nothing more than routing through a charity shop or car boot sale, looking for something I can revamp or repaint.  I also love crafting, sewing and baking (although my waistline says different) and dream of living in a cottage with flowers around the door and vegetables growing in my garden.  As thats not likely to happen any time soon, Im turning my home into the cottage I've always dreamed of.

*sigh* This is the dream, pretty cottage, flowers surrounding the door....

I hope to write about home projects I've done, recipies I've tried, treasures I've found and crafty things I've made.  Sound like your cup of tea?  Good!  I hope you'll join me for a cyber cuppa every now and again!

Until next time...