Monday 31 December 2012

A BIG Thank You & Happy New Year!

Just a quick pop by to thank you for stopping by my little blog in 2012.  I have enjoyed starting my little part of the blogosphere and sharing parts of our simple way of life these past few months.

I had hoped to write more blog posts about my christmas tree and homemade presents but the sick bug and family visits have gotten the better of me!  I shall endeavour to do better in 2013!!

I wish you a happy new year and may 2013 be filled with happy times, good health and friends and family around you.

Thanks again for popping by - I shall be back in a week or so with some promised furniture makeovers and other Simple Things.

Best Wishes,

J9 x

Thursday 13 December 2012

The Lushness of Nativity Plays

I cannot even begin to express how much I love a nativity.  This year both of my children are in the same performance.  As it is the last year that R will do a Christmas performance at school it has extra sentimental value too.

R is a narrator.  She auditioned for the choir too and although extremely enthusiastic is not tuneful in the traditional sense of the word.  She is a joy to watch though.

B is a mouse.  His best friend is a worm.  So gorgeous that they were both so exstatic by the roles they were awarded.  He sang a duet with a 'cow'.  So cute.

We've been practising songs over the past fortnight and the past 3 days have seen dress rehearsals and 2 performances - and they did not disappoint. 


Completely joyful children, proud of their efforts and looking for confirmation that they did well.

Lord Bless Them.

I won't be blogging as much over the next couple weeks - purely due to time pressures of the season!!  I hope you all have a very merry Christmas & happy new year.  I'll drop by when I get a mo but enjoy the joy of the season and have a glass of mulled wine for me!!

J9 x

Thursday 6 December 2012

My Festive Mantel.... and Sofa!

The autumnal colours have been removed from my mantelpiece and a thoroughly festive theme now takes centre stage.  Apologies for the poor light in this photo - the grey skies in Somerset at the moment make indoors so gloomy - but you get the idea!  My favourite bit is the pompom garland (which I actually bought for a trim for a furniture makeover I've got planned!!)

 

I've enjoyed starting to play with some elements in our lounge before all the decorations go up this weekend.  I'm having a leisurely few days ahead of the school holidays slowly getting our home organised and Christmassy!  It's had a thorough dusting and some clutter has been removed...  I've washed and re-hung the curtains and cleared the decks before all the decs come out!

So my mantle is looking festive and I decided to 'Christmas up' my sofa - I do love a few comfy cushions on my couch!!  I was going to sew some cushion covers with some red fleece but when I went to purchase the pads the cost of 2 pads was the same as 2 pre-made red cushions with pads - so I opted for the pre-made red versions to save me some time!

Although not as soft and textural as fleece, I don't really mind as my plan was to always embellish them. I've raided my button stash for cute, shiny, mother of pearl buttons - goodness it's crazy how much joy I get from rooting through my stash of buttons.


After an evening of sewing, we now have a heart and a star (which is somewhat crooked but hey)...


They feel festive without being crazy!!



My sofa normally looks like this - I'm not a fan of the chocolate leather but it was my husband's choice and is very practical. However, I always cover it for extra comfort and warmth!!


After my tweaking today, it has been made all festive! I got the cream throw from the charity shop and the fleece blanket was from Dunelm (where I also got the cushions!).



The cushions were a simple make but giving lots of pleasure. Ideal for snuggling and watching Christmas films this weekend once we've put up the tree!!  I hope you are enjoying setting the scene in your home.

J9 x
Today I'm linking up with these fabulous parties!
 

Monday 3 December 2012

To Live & Learn

One of most interesting features of human beings I've been musing over this week is our ability to learn and grow.  The biggest of all these is the astonishing progression of language in children.  I know the logic and reason behind speech development - but the reality is simply amazing.  For babies-  the transition from making noises to that of voicing words and then to join those words into real communication holds true wonder for me.  God is amazing in his creations.

My children are in Year 1 & 2 at primary school and are learning the art of writing and expressing themselves on paper. 

I love it.  Little B is experimenting with poetry.


R is a more reluctant writer - even though she is very advanced in her reading she doesn't currently have the excitement in writing that B has.  It's funny, with their characters (and the contentious boy / girl thing) I thought it would be the other way around.  But no, they are who they are.  I endeavour to make games and constantly encourage writing of any kind on the weekend...  She instigated writing a short letter to 'Granny' this week (my heart melts).


I looked at my past couple of blog posts and I think I'm gonna try things a little differently.  My aim is to do shorter blog posts a little more frequently.  I think my last couple posts have been rather long and a shorter format may work better for readers and for me trying to fit blogging into my life.  As I say, we are all constantly living and learning.  I'll give it a try....

J9 x