A weekend away :)

As I hinted on Friday we did do something special this weekend - we spent it in Cambridge and the boys had their first taste of staying in a hotel. Ok so the hotel was a Premier Inn but nevertheless the boys were impressed and on their best behaviour :)

The weather was a bit mixed and at times on Saturday we had to head indoors to avoid the showers - oddly this meant that for once MrVV and the boys didn't complain too much about shopping ;)  Certainly one shop in particular was treated by the boys as an extention to their break and they happily spent quite a lot of time in there - this was the Apple Store where they got to have their technology fix, playing with Iphones, Ipod Touches and Macbooks;

On both days we managed plenty of walking, stopping to watch people punting and rowing on the Cam.

As you can see the weather on Saturday ^^^ was not as sunny as that of Sunday vvv

We didn't go punting - I have a real fear of water and can not be persuaded to go in a boat of any size :( 

One of the reasons we headed to Cambridge was to give big son (who starts his GCSEs next year) a feel for the place and hopefully it will inspire him to work hard at school and maybe even one day gain a place at university there.  With that in mind we went for a look around Kings College and its chapel.  It is certainly a place that inspires and hopefully some of its magic rubs off on both boys.

Last but not least for tonight, its not often these days that anything makes big son look small - he's towered over me for a while now.  However this amazing doorway in Kings just dwarfed him and his little brother!

Oh, yes I know you can see shopping bags in several of the pictures ;)  We did indeed have some light retail therapy, much of it was essential new items for growing boys and presents that will end up in stockings at Christmas (so I can't show you those).  However one or two items were bought for me and I'll show you those tomorrow ;)

So very Cath :)

Good evening

Happy half-term - the boys started yesterday and mine started today :)  I've now 10 work free days - time to spend with the boys, time to spend on my sewing and time to really knuckle down and do some more work for college.

After surviving a training day at work - I came home via the town as I needed to collect something from the shops.  My eyes were drawn to the little clothes shop we have in town and I couldn't believe my eyes - I was drawn inside and to my surprise not only was the item I'd spied as lovely as I hoped but they had one in my size and it fitted perfectly......

I've read on so many blogs about the love for this item in the latest Ck brochure but the price has been so off putting.

This is what I saw and bought for just a fraction of the price;

As luck would have it, as part of the wardrobe restock I treated myself to a couple of t-shirts from Joules which will go under this perfectly;

Sorry those pics are tiny! But they give you an idea of the colours.

Have great plans for this weekend which I'll tell you all about on Monday - camera battery is charged and I know there will be plenty of photo & blogging opportunities ;)

Have a lovely weekend - is shaping up here to be a crisp proper autumn one - ideal for wearing new dresses and taking plenty of walks and spending time together as a family.

Show us your Cath Day :)

Evening - have been to some fab parties this evening - such pretty things in such lovely houses. 

As ever I am disorganised - blame work, blame family and blame there only being 24 hours in a day!

So from the comfort of my armchair whilst having a cuppa and a ginger biscuit (Floss I am addicted to them - I blame you for making my clothes shrink ;) - here's a small selection of my Cath.

The first Cath mug - my favourite - tea always tastes better out of bone china I think.

A small selection of Cath bags and Cath inspired bag holders and shopping bags.

Some light reading - all Cath!

Lets tip out my messenger bag contents - Cath junk holder!, purse, camera case and even the lip balm is Cath.

Addicted to Cath - me - yup!

Bunny & Rabbit

When I saw the Help Find a Bunny a home giveaway on Karen's blog it instantly made me think of 2 friends who live in our house.

On the left is Rabbit who was given to me by my Grandma on my 1st birthday (so quite a long time ago) - despite the fact when he arrived he was dressed in a pink tutu and ballet slippers 'she' has always been a 'he'. Sadly the dress & shoes are no more and instead he wears one of the boys old all-in-one suits. He's getting very worn now and the foam stuffing is gradually disintergrating :(  He still lives on our bed during the day moving out at night to join several other of my childhood friends on a pretty pink lloyd loom chair.

On the right is Bunny - he was given to Will (the youngest) on his 1st birthday by my Grandma (she knitted both toys).  He's been a constant companion for nearly 11 years now (and it shows by Bunny's slightly squashed look) and has travelled everywhere with us on holidays and days out - the only holiday he never goes on is Scout camp as thats deemed to dangerous for him!!

Anyhow the reason for todays post - if I'm lucky enough to win on this giveaway Brown Bunny will have a ready made group of friends to play with!!

Was my day off yesterday and I was very busy - working mainly on Christmas stuff for pressies and swaps - sadly I can't show you any pics just incase my swap partners peak in and the surprises get spoilt ;)

Also made more of Floss's ginger biscuits which seem to disappear overnite!

See you soon.

Vicki xx

UFOs, Indianna Jones & a sunny Sunday

Decided to try somewhere different for a walk this weekend and headed to Rendlesham Forest (home to 'alien' landings in December 1980).  Boys opted for the 3 mile UFO trail with the promise of a picnic and play after they'd completed it.

Was not really very challenging - more a time to have a chat and a laugh as a family without the distraction of phones, computers and other gadgets.

Big son was left in charge of the map and reading at each point the information about the UFO sightings and what is alleged to have happened.

Was quite cool when we set off - so those mad wooley hats from last weekend were put into good use. You can now see why there is an Indiana reference to this post - MrVV's hat ;)

The further we walked the warmer is became and soon layers were being shed and stuffed into rucksacks or tied round waists.  The boys had a great time chatting and battling with found sticks - Will even managed to smuggle a rather fine specimen home with him.

As ever on these occasions I was the one behind the camera but did manage to take one picture that shows I do exist ;)

We got to see plenty of wildlife - deer, squirrels, woodpeckers, dragonflies and a huge stag beetle - am pleased that despite their growing up the boys are still interested in seeing these things.

Once we'd arrived back at the car and had demolished the picnic, the boys were keen to investigate the play area.  Some items were more suited to smaller children but there were several things that they could clamber over and explore. 

All in all a rather great family day out and it is somewhere we will head to again.

Cookies, buttons & sewing - not a bad week so far :)

Have actually had time this week to do some stuff I really like namely cooking & sewing :)

Monday's task was to make the boys some of the favourite choc chip cookies -

Chocolate Chip Cookies Millies style

Ingredients

125g butter, softened
100g light brown soft sugar
125g caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
225g self-raising flour
½ tsp salt
200g chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.
2. Cream butter and sugars, once creamed, combine in the egg and vanilla.
3. Sift in the flour and salt, then the chocolate chips.
4. Roll into walnut size balls, for a more homemade look, or roll into a long, thick sausage shape and slice to make neater looking cookies.
5. Place on ungreased baking paper. If you want to have the real Millies experience then bake for just 7 minutes, till the cookies are just setting - the cookies will be really doughy and delicious. Otherwise cook for 10 minutes until just golden round the edges.
6. Take out of the oven and leave to harden for a minute before transferring to a wire cooling rack. These are great warm, and they also store well, if they don't all get eaten straight away!

They don't last long - especially with 2 growing boys!

Today I tried Floss's Ginger Biscuit receipe from  here - an instant hit. I made these before I left for work late morning and the house still smelt of ginger welcomeness when I came home at 4 o'clock. Verdict from the boys - really scrummy and can we have them again! (BTW the receipe makes far more than just the few that posed for photos ;) ).

Apart from the baking, I've been busy starting to make things for the swaps I'm taking part in via Blogland and also the Not-so-Secret Santa swap I do with my sisters & brother each year. There are 7 of us in total so it makes life easier if we just buy for one person rather than 6!

Anyhow it meant a trip to see my friend in her pretty pink haberdashery shop so I could buy more button supplies;

Last but not least I've started on my stocking for the swap - here's a sneak preview ;)

I guess it still needs a bit of work but I've finally decided what is going on there and have got all the supplies to do it.

Am so excited to be taking part in my first 2 swaps - seems such a lovely idea to make & buy something for a person you've never met in RL and only through blogland :)

Off back to my cutting and sewing.

xx

Met a knight in shining armour!!

Love it when plans actually come together.  We planned a family day out and it actually happened!!  In fact we were so organised that we booked the tickets in advance!  Headed to Trinity Park in Ipswich to the Robin Hood Country Fair - lured by the promised of men in armour and tights ;)

Was actually a wonderful family day out - plenty to see and plenty to do - some free and some that cost.

Firstly we watched the jousting;

Plenty of cheering for the good knights and booing at the bad ones.

Then we had a wander round the site to see what else was there and came upon something that the boys really wanted to try - water zorbing. Basically they were zipped into a large inflatable ball and left to roll around a large swimming pool for about 5 minutes - apparently this is harder work than you'd imagine and they really enjoyed this;

The weather was really quite chilly today and in a big open space it felt really quite cold.  Anyhow as they promised they'd wear them again (probably to scout camps), I treated the boys to really loud hats which have remained on their heads for the rest of the day. Was probably quite handy to have them when they decided they fancied a ride on the really huge vintage big wheel that was there.

Next to the big wheel was an enormous Helter Skelter - I was sorely tempted to have a good but decided that it was just too high for me. However as it was so pretty I did take a photo.

Was one of those days out that did end up costing a bit more than we'd planned but for once it was MrVV who had money spent on him. He treated himself to a proper Aussie bush hat - just wish I had a photo I could show you.  The only comment I could make was to hum the tune to Indiana Jones ;)

We really did have a great day out - on the journey home it was all too much for the youngest member of the household - he dozed off. He will one day learn the lesson - never doze off when there's a camera around - you will end up on Mummy's blog and facebook page!

See you soon xx