Homemade with love

Recently, with the help of sites like Pinterest and Etsy and the inspiration of an amazing craft blog I discovered called Enjoy it written by the quite craft-tastic Elise Blaha, I have found myself getting more and more interested in creating handmade presents and cards for my friends and family. Once upon a time, waaaaaaaay back in the day when I was still at school, I used to be quite artistic and I sewed more than a few cross-stitch samplers, bookmarks, doll clothes and other goodies for myself and for friends. One year I even won a prize at my school for a cross-stitch sampler I made in the school colours with our school badge and motto 'Misericordia' (compassion or mercy) and I think my parents still have it up on the wall in our living room to this day, despite the fact the school I went to closed for good about 10 years ago.

However, from the age of about 16 onwards, I put all my crafting supplies to one side to concentrate on A-levels, getting to university, my Saturday job and lets be honest, beer and boy bands. Over the years I've often thought about getting back into sewing but I've never managed to find the time or the energy as there was always too much going on at home/work and so my box full of embroidery threads and pinking shears has been languishing in the back of the hall cupboard. But this year, spurred on by the idea of at least 8(!) new babies due amongst my friends and family, I made a real effort, gathered all my supplies together and hopped back on the craft train again.

It helps enormously that unlike the last time I was sewing/making things, somewhere along the line being crafty has now become 'cool' and handmade items, far from being untrendy, are now fêted up and down the land with tons of shops and websites dedicated to home-made goodies. (Something almost entirely due I'm sure, to the huge popularity of sites like Etsy and Pinterest) These days, craft shops and sewing supply shops are easy to find and beautiful patterns for every occasion are available at the click of a button all over the web. I've started bookmarking my favourites and have made myself a little folder with various patterns and designs from all over the place. And of course, I've also been sewing. I started with a handmade owl bib for a friend's baby girl and have gone on from there. In the last couple of months I've stitched and stitched until there's "no more twist" (just like the mice in The Tailor of Gloucester) and made birthday cards, anniversary cards, and presents for some of those 8 babies who have already arrived. Here are a few of my latest creations:

 A birthday card for my cat-loving mother-in-law

 A Christening gift for a new baby cousin

 D's birthday card this year (he LOVES Trans-am cars) This was the trickiest one I've tackled so far!

 A birthday card for a cake-making friend

My favourite of all the cards I've made- a birthday sausage dog for a very special friend 

The best thing part of making things myself for me is rediscovering just how satisfying it is to give someone a handmade present or card rather than a store bought one and seeing how appreciative they are, more than makes up for the time spent creating it. I've also enjoyed having something to do with my hands while we watch TV in the evenings or at the weekends rather than just sitting on the sofa being a couch potato. Since I've reignited my love for sewing, I've also been thinking about branching out into paper crafts and have been stocking up on supplies every time I visit the local craft shop ( I can't resist the siren song of a stationery store with all the colourful pens and paper just lined up waiting for me to take them home!) With our first wedding anniversary just a few months away, I'm planning on making a traditional "paper" gift to remember for my husband using some of my new goodies, and beyond that I have tons of plans whirling about in my head to create presents for Christmas, birthdays and all major holidays. At the rate I'm going, we're going to need to build an extension on our flat pretty soon to house all my supplies and I might just end up as the Martha Stewart of Nice, although hopefully without the insider trading scandal and prison time of course!

Just do it!

One of my goals for 2012 (and 2011, 2010 and probably 2009 too) has been to get myself moving a bit more and to work out at least twice a week. At the beginning of the year I wrote my New Year's resolutions  in my planner (yes I know technology is a wonderful thing, but I like to write things down in black and white with a pen and paper where I can look at them every day so I still use a planner, I'm old school like that) and since then I have been keeping track of how many times a week I actually work out versus how many times a week I think about working out but then go home to sit on the sofa with a bag of crisps and some trashy television.

To give myself some extra motivation, back in January I signed up for my very first race at the end of April- La Nicoise. It's a 5km run for women in Nice and the proceeds from the sign-up fee go to a breast cancer charity which is a cause I keep close to my heart and like to help out whenever I can. For the last few months I've been training on and off a couple of times a week both on the road and in a local athletics stadium (one of my knees is a bit dodgy and the soft running track at the stadium is much better for it than the concrete pavements around my house) until finally the big day dawned last Sunday and it was time to get my race on.

My race was scheduled to start at 8.45am on Sunday morning and  about 1am on Saturday evening the heavens opened and it started to pour with rain. It rained all night and when I woke up on Sunday it was still pouring, but never one to let a little rain put me off (I'm English don't forget, if we cancelled stuff whenever it rained in England, we would pretty much never leave the house!) I jumped in the shower and got myself ready to go. Typically I was running late and ended up leaving home at 8.25 which left me with about 10 mins to get to the race starting blocks. Normally this would have been fine as I only live about 5 minutes drive away, but of course I had completely forgotten that the roads around my house would be blocked off for the race course, and I found myself driving round and round town, being stopped by policemen as I tried to get closer to the starting area and sent off on wild deviations. And did I mention I drive a scooter and it was pouring with rain at this point? Yeah, this was not so much fun, so eventually I pulled over, showed one of the policemen my race number and badge and begged him to let me through before I missed the start, which to his credit he did. I managed to get within about 50 metres of the starting area and as I was parking up I heard them call '2 minutes to the start of La Nicoise' over the loudspeaker system so I panicked, threw my helmet into the scooter, forgot all about my bag with my ipod and headphones and raced (ha!) over to the starting area, skidding about on the rain soaked streets.

As I got to the starting corral, they called the '1 minute to start' warning to the runners and I panicked again. The starting area was protected by barriers and I was on the wrong side- outside looking in! I couldn't see any way in near where I was standing, so I grabbed the barrier, leapt over it and found myself inside the starting corral-phew! I just about had time to compose myself and straighten myself up when the gun went, some soggy pink confetti was fired from a cannon over our heads and we were off! As we all left the start-line together, runners fanned out and I managed to overtake a few people and grab myself a nice place near the middle of the pack. It was cold, rainy and grey but there were lots of supporters lining the course and about 5 minutes in I saw one of my colleagues who had come to cheer me on which was fun.

Start of the race- somehow I completely missed seeing Didier, but he managed to spot me and grab a photo!

We ran through the Nice port and around the streets where I had been training and I began to get my rhythm and started to pace myself with some other runners. Not having my music meant I could hear all the cheers as we ran by and it was a really nice feeling to know that people were willing us on as we pounded the pavements. Almost before I knew it, we were coming up in the loop towards the finish line and suddenly in the middle of the road I saw Didier with the camera who was taking photos of me. He ran with me for a couple of minutes then left to go to the finish line as I headed for the final 200 metres.

Almost done!

I had hoped to complete the run in less than 35 minutes with 30 minutes being my ideal time, and as I came up to the finish line I suddenly saw the big clock and noticed it was 29 minutes and 30 seconds since the start. It dawned on me that with a little bit of luck I might be able to shave a minute off my time and so I sprinted the last few metres for all I was worth and managed to cross the line at 29 minutes and 55 seconds, just beating the time I'd mentally set myself!

Sprinting for the finish line

 Done!

I was ecstatic to have made it in under 30 minutes and walked over to the refreshment area to grab some water with a huge smile on my face while Didier took some photos through the barrier. And then, almost as soon as I was done, it was time for him to head off to his own race as he was signed up for the Nice semi-marathon which was scheduled straight after the 5km. We swapped cameras and sweatshirts and he swigged some water, and then suddenly he was off and I was left among the spectators holding our stuff, sweaty and exhausted! Like a champ, he got round the 21km course in less than 2 hours and as he crossed the finish line the sun came out and just like that it was a beautiful day so we gathered up our belongings, showered our tired selves and went out to eat in the sunshine to celebrate a morning well spent.

A-Z innit

I stole this from Sarah who herself stole it from Sara who stole it from K who stole it from one Ms. Jive Turkey.

A. Age: 32 currently but will soon be 33!

B. Bed size: Normal queen size bed because our bedroom is so small. Next we move, then it will be the biggest frickin' bed that France has to offer!

C. Chore that you hate: Changing the litter tray because well it's icky and takes forever

D. Dogs: None of my own sadly. But my husband's parents have 5 so I feel like I at least have a share in a dog through marriage!

E. Essential start to your day: Tea, a bowl of porridge and catching up on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram on my phone

F. Favorite color: Red

G. Gold or silver: Both and sometimes together

H. Height: 5' 6".

I. Instruments that you play: Well I had violin, piano and recorder lessons growing up so I guess if there was some kind of instrument emergency and nobody else was available I could step in and do a decent job of Twinkle Twinkle or Chopsticks!

J. Job title: Purchasing Manager.

K. Kids: None.

L. Live: South of France.

M. Mother's name: Fiona

N. Nicknames: Jo, Fountain, Box of Presence.

O. Overnight hospital stays: None thank goodness

P. Pet peeves: Umm, people who cut me up on the road, badly dubbed American/UK TV series on French TV, people who don't recycle at work even tho' the 2 bins are right next to each other, people who don't let passengers off the train before getting on themselves and the beat goes on....

Q. Quote from a movie: "If you ain't first, you're last".

R: Right or left handed: Right.

S: Siblings: 1 brother and 1 brother-in-law.

T: Travel favorite: "I like to be in America, okay by me in America..." New York and Vegas are personal faves.

U. Underwear: Cute, pretty colours, boy shorts

V. Vegetable(s) you hate: Brussels sprouts and parsnips- puke!

W. What makes you run late: Spending too much time on the internet, getting ready to go out.

X. X-rays you've had: Neck when I had whiplash, teeth for my braces and shoulder when I broke my collar bone.

Y. Yummy food that you make: Taco soup, tuna pasta bake, pork with apple and mustard, carrot cake, muffins....

Z. Zoo animal: Elephants FTW!

One night in Paris

 Last weekend, we left the sunshine of the Cote d'Azur behind and flew up to Paris for a quick overnight trip. For Christmas, I had managed to snag D tickets to see one of his favourite TV shows being filmed and as the taping finished around midnight on Sunday evening, we decided to make a weekend out of it and take Monday off too.
The weather in Nice had taken a turn for the worse when we left and we had a couple of days of rain and cold last week, but I was definitely not prepared for the freezing temperatures we were greeted with in Paris, as we stepped out of the airport at 9.30am it was 0°c and things went downhill from there culminating in a very chilly -5°c. Having been used to a balmy 18°c in January back in Nice, we were absolutely freezing walking around the city, but we manned it out long enough to visit the Eiffel Tower and take some photos of France's Iron Lady before finding the nearest brasserie and ordering copious amounts of chocolat chaud and Nutella crepes to warm up again.

 (The red blur in the bottom left hand corner is a bit of my coat I think!)

We also managed to indulge in 2 visits to Starbucks in a period of 24 hours thereby allowing me to get my tea and pumpkin muffin fix which will hopefully  keep me going until my next trip back to the UK. Say what you will about Starbucks but when you're in need of a piping hot drink and a quick sugar fix, it is definitely the way forward especially as I am the only tea drinker in a country of coffee lovers so my visits to more traditional French cafés are usually limited to hot chocolate or soft drinks. Plus the branch on the Champs Elysées had a very cool poster in the entrance hall which I am currently trying to work out how to recreate for our flat although perhaps minus the whole Levis website advert. Looks like I need to get on to Pinterest and look for some ideas asap!

Looking back 2011

Hi there! So yes I'm still alive and well, but I just haven't been around here for a while as you might have noticed..... No big reason, to be honest I have just been enjoying the first few months of newlywed life and catching up with family and friends recently.
But it's a new day and  a new year and one of my resolutions is to get the blog up and running again, so I thought I'd start off by looking back at 2011 a little bit.

Looking Back 2011 Version


An end of year round up taken from Slynnro and many many other blogs.

In case you want to compare, here is a link to last years round up and also the 2009 version



1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?

I got married! Twice in fact as French law requires a legal marriage at the Town Hall before you can have a church wedding so we did both.
I also (finally!) passed my driving test first time and bought my first car



2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Well as they mostly involved spending less money and doing more sport, I would say 50-50 for this year. I did a pretty good job on the sports thing, I've been running and swimming all year and am aiming to keep it up this year too. However on the money side of things, well having a wedding is expensive yo! and even though we did as much as we could ourselves we still ended up spending a lot, so 2012 will be all about saving, saving, saving!


3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes, one of my Nice friends had a beautiful baby boy, a friend from university also had a gorgeous little boy and there are more babies on the way in the next couple of months!


4. Did anyone close to you die?


Not this year thank God.


5. What countries did you visit?

 Italy for a mini-moon in Rome and England more times than I can count,


6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

Exactly the same as last year as this got pushed back by the wedding extravaganza-I would like to finally rip out the kitchen in our flat and redo it, and then paint the rest of the flat


7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

5th September- Our civil wedding in Nice
6th September- Taking my driving test
7th September- Finding out I'd passed my driving test
10th September- Our wedding day!
(Yeah that one week in September was a whole bunch of crazy......)


8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?



I think planning the wedding and managing to get pretty much all of our friends and family together in Nice to celebrate with us is the one I'm proudest of. And then passing my driving test first time was a big one for me personally too


9. What was your biggest failure?

Exactly the same as the last two years: Not finding time to do everything I wanted to. Mainly because I waste too much time on the internet. And not saving as much money as I would have liked


10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Ummmm not that I can think of bar a few common colds- thankfully!


11. What was the best thing you bought?

My wedding dress


12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

My husband- I definitely couldn't have got through this year without him. My parents for going above and beyond as always and my brother too. My in-laws for helping us out immeasurably during the wedding planning stage.



13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Nobody I know personally, but globally there were a few



14. Where did most of your money go?

The wedding
Driving Lessons
My car


15. What did you get really excited about?

The wedding! And the whole week of fun that came with it
The babies who arrived during the year
Planning our honeymoon for 2012
Our first Christmas together in England


16. What song will always remind you of 2010?

Right Round by Flo-rida and Don't Stop Me Now by Queen


17. Compared to this time last year, are you:


(a) happier or sadder? Happier I think
(b) thinner or fatter? A bit thinner than last year thanks to all the running and swimming
(c) richer or poorer? About the same I think


18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Travelling, writing letters, reading


19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Worrying, procrastinating, and wasting time on the internet



20. How did you spend Christmas?

In England with Didier and my family. It was legend......wait for it...ary!



21. Did you fall in love in 2011?

I renewed my ongoing love affair with my husband....


22. What was your favorite TV program?

Downton Abbey for the win!


23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Not really no.



24. What was the best book you read?

I read so many books this year but the ones that stick out are 'Room' by Emma Donoghue and Rob Lowe's "Stories I only tell my friends"


25. What was your greatest musical discovery?


Otter Petter's album "Nice Night for a Knife Fight"- added bonus the drummer is my girl Leah's beau!



26. What did you want and get?



A Kindle for Christmas from my parents- so excited to start stocking it up with books!
A driving licence!


27. What did you want and not get?


The only thing I wanted and didn't get this year is the Shark Steam Mop for the kitchen, but that's only because I haven't got round to ordering it yet so I'm a lucky duck!


28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Ummmmm, pass. I think I only went to the cinema twice this year and one of those times was to see The Hangover 2.......


29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I was 32 and had lunch on the Promenade des Anglais with Didier then drinks with friends at the Cafe des Fleurs


30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?



Finishing the apartment. We did make quite a lot of progress, but it's tiny so it really should be done by now!



31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?


A big white satin dress and red sequinned high heels ;0)


32. What kept you sane?

My friends, my family, my husband and the internet



33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Nobody really although Clooney continues to age like a fine wine


34. What political issue stirred you the most?


The uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East


35. Who did you miss?



Everyone I don't get to see regularly- my friends and family all over the world although this year was a great year for catching up with the wedding in September



36. Who was the best new person you met?


Ummmm pass!


37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.



Enjoy the small things


38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

"So I've had the time of my life, and I owe it all to you....."

Wedding (Photo) Friday

I still haven't had time to write up our wedding, heck I haven't even had time to write about my 2 hen nights yet and they happened about  2 months ago now, but things have been so crazy in the lead up/after mouth of the wedding that I just don't seem to have any time to write it all down. I mean seriously, who knew weddings were this much work? (I'm going to hazard a guess and say everybody. Everybody knew except me!).

So to keep you going for a while here are some of my favourite wedding photos from the big day,all photos were taken by one of Didier's uncles and he has perfectly captured how the whole thing went down- Enjoy!

On the church steps 

Showing off my shoes!

Posing!

At the reception

Homemade (by my Mum) raspberry and white chocolate cookie favours

At dinner- Top Table

All the kissing!

Cutting the French wedding cake

In mid air (There was so much dancing)

 Dancing and singing apparently!

 More to come......

With this ring, I thee wed.....

 We did it!
10/09/11

Nice, France