Obsession.

 I have just discovered "Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners" on 4OD and I am hooked. A friend of mine suggested it after a long reminiscence over How Clean is your house with the wonderful Kim and Aggy. I also quite like the opposite end of the spectrum and enjoy watching and The Hoarder next door.
 If you haven't seen it "OCC" is a simple idea of sending someone obsessed with cleaning to help someone obsessed with hoarding. Two of my favourite things in one show!

I like watching an episode and then jumping up to clean something, nothing like some inspiration to get yourself moving. Does it work for you to? Do you watch it as well? Drop me a comment and let me know what you think?

x x x

Frugal Sunday Picnic

 It's been such a beautiful day today weather wise. It's also been a good day for lots of sleep as we all slept till 8am! So with all this lovely energy to burn we decided to head to Staunton Gardens for an impromptu picnic.
 We packed our lunch of "leftovers" from the fridge and I boiled a few eggs to take with us. We also hooked out the end of our current loaf of bread to share with the ducks. And finally we packed a storybook to read together after our picnic.

 Since our last visit they have installed several large wood carvings such as the giant at the top of this post, and a dragon guarded tower, above.
 We were really brave and knocked on the little door to see if anyone was in but alas they must have popped out somewhere.

 Baby D must have such a crick in her neck this afternoon because she spent the whole visit like this. She sang to birds, trees and clouds floating overhead for a few happy hours. And even when we got her out the buggy for a crawl around on the grass she just rolled onto her back and carried on gurgling to whatever was up there.

 After our picnic we read "We're going on a Bear Hunt" together and played lots of games, mostly involving Daddy being a bear and us all running away and then beating him up with tickles.
 We then had a lovely walk through the woods looking for real bears. We didn't find any sadly but we did hear one! (they sound just like hedge strimmers oddly enough).
 We also found some huge mushrooms/toadstools growing on a tree.

 A whole collection of feathers were lying around the place and DD made a hefty collection by the time we arrived home. She informs me that they are for Grandad to make some wings with.

We also tried to work out the time by blowing several Dandelion clocks, but no two seemed to agree on what the time was. Funny that.

 Sometimes the best things in life really are the free things huh?

x x x

Freebies Friday

Such a pile of free things came my way today I just had to snap them.
First I popped into the free bookshop to drop off some books and succumbed to temptation.  A new book for DD and two NG's for me to read and craft with.
  Next I checked 02 moments and picked up chocolates, pens and a book in WHSMITH and a puncture repair kit from Halfords. OH also nabbed these with his phone.
On the net I found a free printable lapbook and finally when I got home there was the new CK catalogue waiting for me.

How lucky am I today?

X x x

Counting LapBook

  I've been reading a lot about Lapbooks lately, they are something of a homeschooling craze. So I decided to give one a go for DD. I didn't have a file folder so I made something similar using my massive roll of wallpaper liner. We decorated the front for a while with stickers.

 One the first part I glued two envelopes to hold the loose cards, one envelope for numbers cards and one for picture cards.

On the inside I made little pockets from scrap card and wrote the number words on the front from one to ten.The idea is DD puts the right cards in the right pocket, but we made up several little ways to use the book over the afternoon.

 I really enjoyed making this craft and watching DD play with it. This morning she wanted to take it to preschool with her which made me feel rather proud of myself.
 I am already working on a second lapbook to go with the book "We're going a bear hunt" so watch this space.

x x x

Austrian Orange Cake & Recipe

 Here's another recipe from my nana's old cookbook. Austrian Orange Cake is delicious, light and perfect for summer. I like mine with a smidge of Chocolate spread but it also goes nicely with custard.

x x x

More little somethings...

 We have a new goodie bag from my mum. She spoils us all rotten and we are really grateful that she thinks of us when she comes across all these bargains.
 Above is a BNWT Adidas hoody for me, perfect for tucking away for cooler weather, 2 little cardigans for DD. They will be perfect for pre school now its getting a bit to warm for her usual thick jumpers and jackets. Everything comes home filthy from pre school which means she has a great time while there but I need lots of supplies to get her clothed lol.

 This is the best find I think. A supersoft handknitted blanket in pale yellow. The edges are blue and pink crochet. It's actually two plain knitted squares held together by the edging making it super cozy and snuggly.

 It's a great size for both DD and Baby D on the sofa having cuddles. And wool always washes and drys  super fast which is handy.

I especially love the little felt characters dotted around it. Smiley rain clouds and curious llamas. It's inspiring me with some great ideas for this years Summer of Colour. So watch this space.

 x x x

Car Boot Goodies.

  4x Charlie and Lola books - £1  Peppa Pig Book - 20p

 Perfect for adding to DD's little library of books. We are building up quite a good collection of C&L now.

 2x Jodi Picoult books - 10p each  2x Tea towels - 25p each

 More books for bath time, these two are a little big for dragging around on holiday but I'm challenging myself to finish them before we go. I find that Picoults books are quick easy reads so I tend to zoom through them at a rate of knots.
 The tea towels are a great find as many of mine are pretty stained. These two have replaced the two that were in the worst condition. I cut them down into cleaning cloths and have chucked my most tatty cleaning cloths.

 4x That's not my.... - £1

 I love these books and always keep my eyes peeled for them when out and about. DD is finding them a bit babyish and boring but Baby D should start getting into them soon.  If you have tiny people in your family and haven't seen these yet I really recommend checking them out.

Spiderman hat - 50p Tiger toy - £1  George Pig - 20p

 The hat is for our holiday as DD has outgrown her old ones and passed them onto Baby D.
 The little toys were to keep them both occupied as we walked around the stalls and also afterwards when we had a lovely pub lunch with Uncle Derick.

 x x x

P.S I've just noticed I have hit 40,000 views on my blog :) Wow, I didn't realize I was so fascinating!