Three cheers for coffee

She said, She shed I first came across these marvellous things a few years ago when I became addicted to Pinterest and could spend hours pinning different pins to different boards. Still do! I was taken by the floral, vintagey feel to them. These pictures are gorgeous. What's great with Pinterest is the thought behind it all. You can have so many creative boards that feed your imagination but perhaps only fulfil 3 out of the 90 projects you have researched. If my Pinterest boards were used on a dating game, I'd be such good marriage material. I have recipe boards (mostly for cocktails), craft boards and interior design boards (mostly Art Deco and Shabby Chic). On paper, I'm quite a catch! Problem is, I like the research side, looking at pretty pictures and reading quotes. The practical side is another thing! I became so excited looking into these She Sheds and remembered the lovely afteenoons spent in my sister in law's Summer House, sat chatting, sipping Ear...

Battle of the bulge! Never mind Pinch an inch, more like Grab the flab! Most of us are faced with this battle in our lives. For some of us, including me, it's an ongoing battle. When did mine begin? Looking back I can pinpoint the exact photo. I was a size 8 at 17 and 10 to 12 till my 21st birthday. When I look back now at my 21st party pictures, I'm smiling. We had such a fab eve. Only later did I see the button on my pink satin blouse gaping open slightly. It kind of went downhill, surely but slowly from there. You don't really notice it. When I think about why I look at my change in lifestyle. I've always loved food and had a good appetite. Trouble is, I was always more active in my teens, walking and doing aerobics. Then, suddenly, I had a car, went on the pill and started drinking cider. Not half pints either but pints! Add to that the love of red wine and cheese and no wonder the weight went on. This was around the same time as Arabella Weir wrote her bri...

Not another mid life crisis! Three things: What constitutes a mid life crisis? When is it acceptable to claim you are having one? How many are you allowed? I ask these questions as my hubby and other friend's hubbies have had a few mini ones. Most of them being the purchase of a soft top convertible. The best was the hubby who bought the two seater.  Another question. Where do the kids sit? My husband's have probably been tiny, like a string of quarter crises all building up for the major one. I await with baited breath! I love these Ladybird books and need to get this one! Aye. No convertible on our drive as yet! Watch this space! Instead we have had the metal detector phase, brought about by hubby losing his wedding ring twice and finding it with his cousin's metal detector. We've walked miles with this new toy. Mainly beaches in the pouring rain but it's all worth it for the glory of the prize at the end! We do have a giggle when we line up the treasu...

Beatlemania! People say they always love the decade where they were teenagers the best. Growing up, I always wished I'd been a teenager in the 60s, seeing The Beatles and The Stones live and being engulfed in Beatlemania. I was brought up on a diet of these music icons as my mum was a hardened Stones fan and my dad The Beatles. The closest I think we got was a bit of Brosmania with our Grolsch bottle tops! I'd sit and listen as they played the LPs, one after another. I loved the changing vibes and how they reinvented themselves. The clean cut Love me do era to the wacky Sergeant Pepper phase. I'd sit listening to Lucy in the sky, transfixed on the colourful, busy album cover. It totally transfixed me. I'd always spot Marilyn Monroe first. My favourite album was always Rubber Soul and I loved the song, Norwegian Wood. 'I once had a girl. Or should I say, she once had me. ' 'This bird had flown.' I loved the relaxing, soothing melody to this ...