Butterfly Tea Birthday Card

I like this pretty, girly birthday card. I had some printed backing papers with pictures of cake and afternoon tea, and cut out a rectangle slightly smaller than the card I was mounting it on. I added an outline edging sticker around each side to make a frame, and then two 3D butterfly stickers - the wings lift up and stand out from the card- in two corners. Finally a 'happy birthday' outline sticker and the card is complete.

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Meal Planning Monday 2014 - Week 36

Very rough this week as we have just moved into our new house, are in the middle of redecorating and haven't got internet access, so I'm doing this on my phone!

Monday-

I'm at a choir rehearsal so my boyfriend will go to his mum's



Tuesday

Out at an iPhone photography lesson, goodness knows I need it!



Wednesday

Spaghetti bolognese



Thursday

I have to work late tonight so won't be home for dinner



Friday

garlic and herb chicken with mashed potato



Saturday

lunch- bacon sandwich for him, maybe macaroni cheese on toast for me

dinner - will be redecorating so something quick TBA



Sunday

lunch- still planning to be decorating so will grab something easy TBA

dinner- toad in the hole

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My Front Door and My New Life

My boyfriend and I have spent the last six months trying to buy a house. I say trying, because everything that could go wrong, did go wrong - between the vendors and our solicitor who equally appeared to dither, delay, they said they had sent things when they hadn't, and right before we exchanged it seemed like the vendors might have changed their minds (and on the day of completion, our solicitor got their bank details wrong so the money nearly didn't go through). That's not to mention the fact that the vendors drew out the process so much that our mortgage offer actually expired and we only secured an extension at the last minute.



Still, we persevered and had to push through the sale of my house, and ended up moving in with my boyfriend's mum for three weeks until our vendors were willing to complete on their sale. Everything went into storage - several times when I wanted to cook something, I realised the pan I needed was over at Big Yellow and it wasn't worth the trip to go and get it (not that I knew exactly which box it was in anyway!).



Finally we were able to move into our new house, which really is my dream home. It has four bedrooms, a double garage and is in a private mews road which has no through traffic so is perfect for my cat! Best of all though is the kitchen - a huge open plan area, with a modern induction hob, room for an American-style fridge-freezer (which we are going to order!), space for a dining table and there's a built-in a breakfast bar, where my boyfriend can sit and chat as I cook. The utility room just off the kitchen has more cupboards and will be the perfect place to store my baking and cake decorating equipment. I feel like the last six months have been a real slog, but worth it!



The vendors left the house in quite a state - every wall had holes and marks from pictures that had hung there for years, and we discovered that in some of the bedrooms, they had only carpeted as far as the furniture, so now they had taken the wardrobes, there are now huge sections of floor with no carpet and only grotty floorboards. So that's more money we have to spend.... but it does mean we can decorate the house how we want. We've only been there two days and we have already painted half our bedroom - it made sense to redecorate before we really unpacked.



One of the first things we did was change the front door locks of course - you never know who has keys - and bought a Yale lock from B&Q which was really easy to fit and only cost about £10. So we have security and peace of mind, even if we haven't unpacked yet.

So my front door - my brand new front door, to a house I have only lived in for two days - represents a whole new life for me and my boyfriend. It's our first home together, and has enough bedrooms that we can welcome friends and family to stay - and there is plenty of room if we decide to start a family of our own. My front door is really important to me, as it's a symbol of what I have worked so hard for and wanted for so long. At least, it will be once we have replaced the door, as I'm not keen on the stained-glass effect front - or the doorbell that plays the Lone Ranger theme tune!


This is my entry to the Yale Door blogging competition.

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Cute Kitten Birthday Card

Here's a cute birthday card I made for a female friend, using a piece of pretty pink backing paper and some raised puffy stickers of a cat and some flowers. I also added a 'birthday wishes' sticker that has pink wording on a clear background.

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Sweet Chilli Turkey Burgers

These sweet chilli turkey burgers are low fat and really zingy, they make a lovely change from a beefburger and are very easy to make.

Allow about 100-120g turkey mince per person. Mix the mince in a bowl with some chopped red onion, chopped spring onion, 1/2 tsp oregano per person and 1 tsp sweet chilli sauce per person. Combine well and shape into patties with your hands.

Place on a foil lined tray and cook in the oven for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Serve with rocket, and tomato if desired, in a crusty bread roll or burger bun.

I'm sending this to the Spice Trail Beach Barbecue Challenge, hosted by Vanesther at Bangers and Mash.

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New Baby Boy Card

I made this card while a friend was pregnant before I knew whether she was expecting a boy or a girl; I made two cards and in the end this one was not needed! The embellishments were really cute and only cost 99p, I think from the Works - they are wooden and come with an adhesive pad already attached. I chose a piece of backing paper with birds that I thought would work well with the baby theme (they are not storks but not a million miles away) and used a silver outline border sticker to frame the backing paper, which I stuck in the middle of the card. I placed one of the baby embellishments in the middle and two more in the bottom corners, and a 'congratulations' silver outline sticker along the top. I've got this one ready now in case anyone else I know has a son!

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New Baby Girl Card

My friend Jane just had a baby, yay! I made a girl and a boy card in anticipation as I didn't know which she was going to have; it turned out that she had a daughter.



I went with the traditional pink theme and used a pink card blank, and cut a rectangle from a piece of printed backing paper that I thought would make a nice contrast. The swaddled baby, the small heart and the larger heart with the word 'baby' are made of wood, and all came from the same sticker pack. I think cards look nice where they are symmetrical and elements are within the lines but it can also look good to cross lines and borders, like I have done with the 'baby' heart which cuts through the border. The border itself is a silver outline sticker, as is the 'congratulations' word.

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