Blank Space Filled With Cake

There's been a bit of blank space on one of the walls in our dining area for quite some time now. We've been ignoring it really as it's a bit of an odd space between the fridge freezer, which is 'kitcheny' and the dresser which is 'non-kitcheny'. In this space lives an odd assortment of DC's toys, including his much-used and very full sword basket. Yes, he has that many swords he needs a basket to corral them all. But while the floor-space is full, the wall is bare.

But not anymore! I spotted the perfect old enamel advertising sign on eBay a little while back and made a successful bid for it. And the reason it's 'perfect'? Well, one of DC's middle names is Thorley. It's an old family name on hubby's side that has been passed through the generations. It's also perfect because Family W all love cake. DC had a lovely conversation with hubby recently on the very subject when hubby was icing the Christmas cake. DC: 'Daddy, is that chocolate cake?' Hubby: 'No, it's Christmas cake' DC: 'Oh. Can we eat it?' Hubby: 'No, we have to wait until Christmas.' DC: 'Oh. But I like cake.' Poor chap.

So, with a bit of help from DC who was in charge of inserting the rawl plugs, hubby hung the perfect sign in the perfect spot.

Ta daaahhhhhh!

What do you think?

Spot the Difference

Can you spot the difference?

Before

During

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Very, very before

Now

Did you spot the difference in the fascias from the first photos? Or was it the close ups that gave it away? The old wooden ones have been replaced with shiney new uPVC ones that won't need painting and can be kept clean with a simple wash down (something that the window cleaner can do.)

And, did you spot what else has changed on the porch? It's something that has bothered me for absolutely ages, but something that we waited to change/replace until all of the fascias, guttering and drain pipes were replaced. One of those essential jobs that eat up money but aren't exactly exciting - not like buying a new piece of furniture or decorating internally or landscaping the garden. Saying that, the front of the house really does look so much brighter and cleaner, and it now matches the back and sides which had new fascias, etc when the extension was built. 

Oh, and in case you didn't spot what the thing that has bothered me for ages was - we had the drainpipe on the front of the porch moved round to the side. Why, oh why, would anyone choose to stick an ugly old thing like a drainpipe in a place where it really stands out (or perhaps it was only me who noticed it...) when it could so easily be tucked around the corner? The only trouble now is that it makes it even more obvious that the door is off-centre. Not sure I can persuade hubby that moving the door a few inches to the left is a job worth paying good money for...

A Visit to the Eden Project

A few weeks ago the very kind folk at Superbreak offered me a family ticket to one of the many attractions at which they can help plan a breaks. Superbreak offer packages to an awful lot of destinations and venues, so there were PLENTY of options to choose from: Cadbury World, Warwick Castle, Tower of London, Sea Life Centre Birmingham, Chester Zoo, Hampton Court, Legoland Discovery Manchester, Jorvik Viking Centre, and so the list goes on. And on. In the end we decided on the Eden Project for two reasons: 1) it's been on my Bucket List of places I'd like to visit for well over 18 months, and 2) it's probably the closest attraction of those that we were offered a ticket for.

So, on a bright Saturday morning we hit the road not long after 8am and arrived at the Eden Project two hours later. Being a cold, but bright, November day meant we weren't fighting through hordes of other visitors - as you can see from my photos. We've heard from other people that it can get very busy during the summer, so I'd heartily recommend an 'out of season' visit, if you prefer a little more elbow room.

Our first view of the biomes

First stop, the skating rink. No skating for us, just spectating.

Plenty of room to stretch out on this bench.

Important pit stop before tackling the biomes

One of the things that really impressed us about the food on offer was that it wasn't overpriced rubbish. We had taken packed lunches, drinks and snacks with us but we're always keen to taste the cakes on offer when we go out and about and I can honestly say that this Viennese Whirl did not disappoint. DC had a chocolate brownie (I had a sneaky taste and it was also very good) and hubby had toast with jam. He was impressed by the fact that next to the bread (which you were invited to toast yourself), were large blocks of butter which you could dig into, rather than silly little foiled-wrapped pats the size of a postage stamp. The prices were reasonable: two cakes, two hot drinks (one tea, one latte) and two thick slices of toast, butter and jam came in at less than £10.

Once we'd refuelled we headed into the 50-metre tall Rainforest Biome. This is the world's largest rainforest 'in captivity' and you certainly get a feel for the jungle climate as you climb higher and higher through the dome towards the aerial walkway. There are tropical plants galore, a waterfall, butterflies and birds. 

There's even a reconstructed Malaysian hut.

The temperature in the biome ranges from 18-36 degrees, so it was no wonder that dear old DC ended up stripping down to his vest! At least he kept his trousers on.

Ahhhh, my favourite beverage. I wonder if we could grow one of these plants in our greenhouse? It would certainly save a few pounds.

After the heat and humidity of the Rainforest Biome, it was quite a relief to step over to the Mediterranean Biome. First stop was the lovely terrace cafe where we enjoyed a peaceful drink while listening to the sounds of a choir filling the Biome.

The temperature in this Biome can range from 9-25 degrees, so it was a much easier to spend longer in here than in the Rainforest Biome although, personally, I didn't find this biome as interesting. That's not to say it isn't lovely, I think it's just that so many of the plants are more identifiable and the regions they come from (the Mediterranean [obviously] and California for example) are  more well known gives it slightly less of a 'wow' factor.

After the biomes we headed to The Core, which is the Eden Project's education centre. To be honest, we were all getting tired by now and merely used this area as a means to get to the lift which takes you back up towards the exit. So, no photos I'm afraid - sorry! However, the walkway from the lift does offer a stunning view back across the biomes.

And then, of course, the exit is through the gift shop. But what a lovely shop it is, with many, many reasonably priced items on offer. It was very hard to resist and hubby and I both made purchases.

In all we spent about five hours exploring the whole place (including stops for snacks and shopping), and I can thoroughly recommend a visit if you are in the area, or if you don't mind a bit of a drive to get there. So, many thanks to Superbreak for offering us the opportunity to visit and, if you're looking for a company through which to book Eden (and many other) tickets plus accommodation, here's the link:

 http://www.superbreak.com/short_breaks/uk_weekend_breaks.htm

'Long Was The Night'

That's the title of this Mackenzie Thorpe limited edition lithograph that I bought for hubby as a wedding pressie back in 2005.

Not everyone's cup of tea I'm sure, but we both rather like it.

You may have seen it lurking in the background of some photos previously - it lives above the sofa in the living room.

Or that's to say it did live above the sofa, until this afternoon when it got moved to a new spot...

Ta daaaaaa

What do you think?

Although I still think a starburst (or similar) mirror could work there, hubby and I were getting a bit frustrated by the blank space above the mantle, it was crying out to be filled ASAP. So, we looked around the house to see what might fit - we tried two different mirrors: one was too big, the other too small (it was like something from Goldilocks); we tried two other pictures, one was too small, the other was almost perfect. And then hubby suggested this one.

And we love it there.

As hubby says, it is the most expensive piece of artwork we own (not that it's worth that much), so it should have a more prominent position.

And a shot of the whole wall (please excuse the TV blaring out at you, but DC was watching his beloved Power Rangers...)

I love the picture, and I do think it goes really well there - the colours work (both of the picture itself and the frame) and it's just the right size. However, it's not quite got the 'oomph' I was hoping to achieve for that particular spot. But, it will definitely do for now.

Recent 'Vintage' Finds

I've managed to pick up a few lovely little things recently, at local vintage fairs and antique shops. 

My first lucky buy was a lovely little metal bucket.

It's about half the size of a normal bucket, so I thought it would be perfect for a plant (or two) by the front door, if I ever get round to potting it up...

I say this was a 'lucky buy' because it cost me just £7 from a sweet little antiques/vintage shop in the nearby town of Ilminster; and why is that lucky? Well, just a few days before I had very nearly bought this bucket from a vintage trading centre in Crewkerne for the princely sum of £15. 

Fate was on my side that day when I popped it back on the stand.

Then I went to the Buttercross Vintage Market in Somerton and picked up a few lovelies

These adverts date from the 1950s. I got this one because hubby is a big fan of jelly sweets.

And I couldn't resist this one

because now I know how to solve those housework 'blues'; I shall stop relying on a large mug of coffee and a chocolate bar to see me through.

This letter 'A' is perfect for DC's room. 

You might have spotted it in this post, on top of the chest of drawers.

And finally, a lovely old Ladybird book which should give DC some idea of what his future holds.

I also made a trip to Blandford Forum for the Vintage at the Village pop-up boutique fair; it was a bit of a trek, taking over an hour to get there, but it was a pleasant place for a wander and I also spotted Pearl Lowe in the loo, so that was my claim to fame on Facebook for the day!

This was my only purchase from the fair itself (I picked up a couple of non-vintage things in a charity shop including the latest book by one of my favourite cosy authors for just 99p, so it was almost worth the near-on 3 hour round trip!)

It's nothing 'wow', but I fell in love with this old American drinks carrying 'crate' as soon as I saw it; but I did a deal with myself whereby I looked round the entire fair, then went out and looked round town. The deal was that if it was still there when I went back, I could buy it. And it was, so the Retro/Vintage Fates clearly had it earmarked just for me.

Apologies for this photo being the wrong way round

I have a big love for America and all things American, so the fact that this has come from New Jersey is perfect, as far as I'm concerned.

I've no idea what to use it for - possibly a (rather large) in-tray on my desk where pieces of paper are filed away never to be seen again.

But while I decide what to do with it, I can spend time stroking it (it feels very smooth and almost leather-y even though it's made from some sort of waxed cardboard) and imaging those American chaps delivering their crates of Yoo-Hoo chocolate milk back in the 1950s or 60s (at least I think that's when it dates from.)

I've done a little Googling and found some info that suggests these particular crates are quite hard to find, so perhaps it's worth lots more than the £18 I paid for it. 

This time next year, Rodney, we'll be millionaires!