You know how my son tends to get interested in odd things, like how he got a smoke machine for his last birthday? His latest must have item is a sushi conveyor belt. Here are some toys I found on eBay. They are quite pricey, £50 and up, so if he does want one, he'll have to wait until next October and another birthday!
I was able to buy him this set in the meantime, of little erasers.
Oilcloth bunting is a great way to brighten up your garden or outdoor space. http://www.onlyoilcloths.co.uk has dozens of patterns to choose from, modern, retro, spotty, bistro themed and more. I choose a bright floral oilcloth for my bunting material.
First I made a stencil of the bunting triangle with a piece of cardboard, then simply used a crayon to mark out sections to cut on the back of the fabric.
Now I had lots of triangles, and some natural coloured twine to thread them onto.
Next I used a regular hole punch to make holes to thread the bunting.
I began putting the bunting together outside, and in the wind discovered a problem. My pieces were bunching up together.
I solved this by using the twine to make little knots to keep the triangles in place, then snipping off the excess string. It was a little fiddly, and there was probably an easier solution that I didn't think of, but it did the job.
Visit http://www.onlyoilcloths.co.uk to find your ideal design and make some outdoor bunting for BBQ season yourself.
Unfortunately I don't think I can afford either. Designed by http://www.hannesgrebin.com
Northern Ireland is home to a good proportion of the filming of Game of Thrones. When filming is in town, you often will find the actors at St. George's Market on a Sunday morning. They love the local cheeses, fresh fish and beautiful cupcakes.
But it seems they've left a prop behind, with these rare Targaryen Farmed Dragon Eggs popping up for sale at the world famous market. I wonder if they are tasty?
My son had been staying with his dad the past two nights and I had been fretting badly. We hadn't spent two nights apart in so, so long, but I felt it was good that Smix got to spend holiday break time with his father, as well as me. But oh was I glad to get him home this morning at 8am!
So glad, I think I went a bit overboard and spoiled him rotten today. He almost squeald the car down when I suggested, "seeing as I didn't get you an Easter egg, how would you fancy going to Belfast to get a Build-a-Bear instead?" stressing the entire journey JUST the bear, no add on extras!
He chose one of the brand new Promise Pets, which interact with an app you can download from the iTunes App Store.
We then hit the usual haunts, the Disney Store, H&M for some cool tiny man sunglasses and new threads, and waited until the Belfast Yo Sushi! opening time at 11am.
We were greated by a very apologetic staff member who said they had a problem with their fridge overnight and there was absolutely no raw fish available. I thought of maybe going on to Sakura, but Michael just loves the atmosphere of Yo Sushi! so much more, and I had promised. So I had two rawish beef sushi plates, and he had his usual small cucumber square ones. As always, delicious, but a bit of a disappointment. The staff were so polite, but the experience was a little deflated.
We were done in Belfast by noon, so we went home to build a greenhouse! This is the fourth year we've grown seeds, and the second time I've ever bought one of these £9.99 plastic greenhouse from B&M Bargains. They build like a Wendyhouse and are quite sturdy enough, although I weigh mine down with two bricks at the bottom just in case.
We planted two types of peas, beans, radish, tomatoes, plum tomatoes and carrots. I wonder which will be a success? My to-be-ex-husband used to call me grey fingered, in that I killed any plant I owned or tried to grow, which sadly is true. But I always enjoy trying each year. We did succeed with courgettes one year, and I had a huge and beautiful flowering watermelon plant another year.... that never had any fruit.
Gardening finished we popped to M&S for some sushi and bargains. And boy did I get a bargain. We will be eating at my parents' house tonight so everyone can have cake. M&S cake, if you've never had it, is absolutely beautiful.
Yet more sushi for tea time and a big, blue candy floss Slushies from the cafe round in BallyHolme which serves them this size for just £1.35!
A great day with my great boy.
Millers' Butchers in County Fermanagh here in Northern Ireland have concocted this bizarre recipe that sounds so peculiar that it might just be delicious....
Take a Cadbury's Creme Egg, wrap it in sausage meat & deep fat fry that thing.
Would YOU try one?
Image thanks to @orielgirl1
Wow. I'm guessing, and hoping, the bacon coffin is just a joke.
I'd actually love to try a bacon shake.
I think the above adult products, and the coffin must be some ads from the US.
My title is a play on a line from Star Wars, and I am indeed having my own wars with one particular star, the sun. My new house is brilliantly bright & airy, but my main bedroom at the front of the house gets blasted by the rays each morning. With the nights getting shorter I'm being woken earlier and earlier with my room being lit up like a summer's day, despite having blinds.
This is an unfiltered or brightened image of my bedroom, with the blinds closed, at 7am this morning.
The furry lump is the ever present Mrs Meow, who could probably sleep through a fire ball bursting into the room.
This Spring Dunelm are running a campaign to help Britain get a better njght's sleep. They have a four tier approach which can be layered to fix your particular problems. Barney Blackout is the bleating boy for me.
http://www.dunelm-mill.com/shop/blinds/blackout-blinds/
And here he is! Until Dunelm can work with me to get a blackout set up appropriate for my home, perhaps I can sleep with him over my eyes to block out the light!
I wonder do Dunelm have a sleep solution for cats who sit on your head in the middle of the night?
As heard on BBC Radio 6's Lauren Laverne Show.
Winner of Highly Commended Blog in the Cosmopolitan Magazine Blog Awards 2010
Hop on over to Cosmopolitan to read my guest blogs on all sorts of vintage bits & pieces.
