Knitting and reading

I’ve managed to get a little bit creative (thankfully) and start knitting a little scarf for ‘T’ – I managed to get a whole bag full of left-over wool from freecycle so I’m using up some of the colours from that.

It’s a bit dull to knit a scarf, I know, but I need something simple and easy to do whilst I’m busy sorting out the house for our move to Australia soon (under 13 weeks now – eeeeeeeekk!)

I was also recommended to read books by Anita Shreve by my very good friend and I’m so pleased she suggested them as so far I’m hooked and I’m only a little way in!

Adding this into Ginny’s ‘Yarn along’ over at Small Things………..

I’m 30!!

Apparantly I am 30 years old?! It was my Birthday yesterday, although I’m sure I’m still in my early 20′s! My day started off perfectly having cuddles in bed with my baby girl and husband whilst opening cards from friends and family. I had a lovely morning with my Mum and we went to our local Patisserie for a delicious breakfast, in the evening we went out for dinner with friends and had a great time, I feel very lucky to have such lovely friends and family who have really spolit me!

To top it all off I have been lucky enough to go for a beautiful horse ride in nearby woodland this morning. It’s a gorgeous sunny day today and nothing quite beats cantering along on a sunny wintery morning in stunning countryside.

Building a future

We are currently in the process of dealing with all of the necessary paperwork in order to move abroad to Australia, since my husband and I went travelling in 2007 we have always dreamed of going back to Australia, and especially now that little ‘T’ is in my life I want to be able to give her the best possible future. It seems to be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster at times and we have hit another hurdle today but sure that with time and patience we will overcome it (hopefully!) It’s a bit of a strange feeling as we are trying to save the pennies and not buy anything unless it is vital but it is also very nice to have such a huge adventure ahead.

Wintery walks

After spending the day at University yesterday and going to bed with an overloaded brain it was nice to get wrapped up and go for a walk with my husband and baby today, we walked to our local stables and saw some horses and also popped into our local church, I hadn’t been in there for years and it had quite a spooky feel when it was dark inside with nobody else about!

Healthy muesli recipe

For a few years I have put together our own muesli at home, I started to do this when I realised how much sugar is in the shop-bought cereals (would rather eat more chocolate than waste sugar on my breakfast!) The recipe is so versatile as you can add or take out anything and it always tastes nice, we eat it with soya milk and sometimes some fresh fruit chopped on top but it is also great with yoghurt.

Ingredients:

6 x cups oats

1 x cup sultanas

1/2 cup linseeds

1/2 cup other seeds (mix up any combination; pumpkin, sesame, sunflower etc)

1 x cup nuts (use any or a combination; walnuts, brazils, pecans, almons)

1/2 cup coconut flakes

1 cup dried fruit (use any combination; cranberries, mango, apple, dates etc)

1 x cup banana chips

January sunshine

Hooray for some sunshine! It has been lovely to get outside in the sun today, we went for a lovely walk to the park and little ‘T’ took her first footsteps outside in the garden (with a bit of help of course!) wearing her new shoes for the first time – exciting stuff when you’re 9 months old.

Pinafore bird dress almost finished

The dress is just about done (awaiting for the fasteners to arrive through the post) but apart from that it is done, I’m surprised at how little time it took, it is fully lined (from a reversible pattern which I got from here) I love the little applique birds, they are from Wee Folk Art, looking forward to doing some more of these, perhaps the apple next time?

Sweet potato, lentil and apricot baby recipe

I needed a recipe for little ‘T’ which wouldn’t be too heavy or starchy and I like to make sure she eats as healthily as possible so I put together this little recipe which is packed full of goodness and she absolutely loves it:

Ingredients:

2 x medium-large sweet potatos

3/4 cup red lentils

3/4 cup dried apricots

1 x onion

olive oil

stock

Method:

Chop and peel the onion and potato and fry in the olice oil for a few minutes to soften. Add the aprictos and lentils, pour in enough water to cover the ingredients and simmer until vegetables are soft and lentils are cooked. Blend or mash and serve (can be frozen, water can be added for desired consistency)

Lime, Coriander and Avocado Salsa Salad

 

 

Salsa-style salads are my favourite and often make this which goes great with any kind of fish or as part of a BBQ style dinner, and a great way to get loads of goodness in one meal!

Ingredients:

approx 6 baby plum tomatoes

1 x avocado,

1/4 cucumber

1/2 red pepper

1/2 green pepper

pink of coriander

olive oil

1/2 lime

Method:

Finely chop all of the vegetables, drizzle with olive oil, squeeze in the juice of the lime, roughly mix together and sprinkle with corainder. That easy and absolutely delicious!

First Felt Toy Completed

I’ve finished the little toy that I started making on Christmas Eve, the little creature is made from felt and stuffed with polyester stuffing, has buttons for eyes and limb joints (which move) and a little removable knitted scarf to match. He didn’t take very long, I got the instructions  from this library book which also has some other great little projects in it which don’t take too long.  The little bear is available to buy at my Etsy Store – click here for the link