Cath Kidston skirts, spotty satchels and gin #LittleLoves

Welcome to this week's little loves post.

Read

I haven't read any books since well before Christmas when I finished Must Have Been the Mistletoe. However, I have read lots of lovely blogs this week and so I thought I would share the posts from these blogs that I have really enjoyed:

1. Write Like No One's Watching. Everyone loves Charlotte's blog and it's easy to see why. My favourite post from Charlotte this week was this one here which is her birthday wish list! I have a birthday coming up soon too, so it was interesting to see what was on her list.

2. Life As Our Little Family. My favourite post from this blog was this one here about focus. Sometimes we lose focus or track of what;s important, getting so caught up in bills or deadlines or homework etc. Kerri-Ann talks about how she is going to make this year more about 'Being More in 2015' It was a really interesting and enjoyable read and I have also made similar plans in my head.

3. To Become Mum. Kelly wrote a post this week, for her PIP theme, about 'me time.' I don't know about you, but as a mum we sometimes to forget to look after ourselves, especially without feeling guilty about it.

Watched

Oh my goodness, Broadchurch. I know it is getting mixed reviews for series 2 and, whilst I don't think it's as good as series 1, I am so enjoying it!

Heard

I was trawling through my old Ipod the other day, ready to sell it, and came across Amy Winehouse's album that I'd forgotten was on there. This is my favorite track from it and I am sure you will recognise the original was featured in the film Dirty Dancing.

Wore 

In the run up to Christmas I saw the London Bridge fabric from Cath Kidston everywhere. Late to the party as usual, I only cottoned on to how much I actually love the design last week! Not one to miss anything special, I quickly googled the skirt in the fabric and managed to find one in the sale on ebay! Win! It is absolutely gorgeous! 

Made

Well since our oven packed in, I have made a lot of fried things as only the hob on the top worked. UNTIL I came across a slow cooker recipe for Lasagne, yes you heard that right Lasagne. In fact, when you think about it, it's not that much different to putting it in the oven in a dish, just cooking it longer. So I gave it a go and it was epic! I even managed to cook up some chips and garlic bread in our convection oven microwave thing - didn't even know it had that facility until I was desperate for chips at the weekend! Honestly, it was amazing and I will definitely be cooking it in the slow cooker again. 

And lastly, I have been having a crappy couple of weeks, so I bought this bag for work to cheer me up. It's not leather and it's not designer, but it was £13.75 and even if it only lasts a year then I will be happy! It's Friday, so that means it's gin night and a good old fat take away! I've also had a play with my blog colours and text style etc, I think it looks a bit more 'fresh' and grown up. It's still not perfect, but it will do for now! 

Enjoy the weekend folks. 

The January blues

I've not written much for a while now and to be honest, I can't quite pin point the exact reason. My new job has taken up a lot of my time, both physically and also mentally and then we've had more bad news in terms of family, plus getting grief off the step-daughter's mother (AGAIN), so I haven't really been feeling it.

January actually started off pretty well, unlike normally, as I had a new job so it was exciting times; something fresh and a new challenge and I do absolutely love this job. I am so much happier and the headteacher (who was the deputy head at my old school) even commented saying she was so pleased to see me looking so well and so happy. So in that respect, things are great.

But then there are always issues. As you may know, my Grandad died before Christmas and then just after Christmas we found out that my Grandma (his wife) is also potentially ill too. She's the last of my grandparents and coming to terms with the fact she may not be around long has been difficult. I am trying not to think about it and think positively as it could be something minor, but we are awaiting more news on that.

Then, on a less serious note, our oven went bang. This may seem trivial, but in a month where I had carefully budgeted for food etc, after the excess of December etc. this was not good timing, as I suddenly had to re-think meal plans and buy extra ingredients in that could be used on the hob or in the microwave.

Add to that, even more grief from the step-daughter's mother and the last two weeks has been pretty pants. I don't often talk about hubby's ex on here, I don't like to go into too much detail and I would never want what I say about her to get back to her. But quite frankly, she is behaving like a child. In fact, I teach kids at school who behave more maturely than her and I would say this to her face, so if it were to get back to her it would be no big issue.  It's things like causing issues because instead of the step-daughter texting her to say she was fine and going to school when she had been ill and with us, I text her - she said it was unnecessary and then  made it seem like I was desperate to text her! As if! She then said all communication should be done at the door when we pick the step-daughter up or drop her off - but then she doesn't come to the door. Err, how are we supposed to communicate with you if you can't be arsed to get up from the sofa?! And then there is of course, the fact she is getting married to a criminal. Apparently, hubby and I should be pleased for her! Yes, marrying a criminal, wow haven't you done well for yourself. The final thing was she said that she didn't need to justify to us why she was a stay at home mum. No, she is quite right there, she does not need to justify anything to us at all. Until, however, she then complains to us that she has no money because she is on FIS and doesn't work, therefore we must pay for this and that and various other things, then sorry but it becomes our business and yes you do need to justify it to us if you can't cope. As I've said in the past, Tom pays way more maintenance , based on his salary, than he should, and yet she still hounds us for money. I do realise that there are always going to be issues we don't agree on, but she cannot act maturely, she always resorts to insults or abuse and makes petty comments just to get our backs up.

Charlie has also started the terrible twos I think. One minute he is a delight; hugging us, playing nicely, asking for kisses and then the next he flings himself to the floor or throws himself across the (new) sofa and screams, literally proper screaming and then cries. No idea why. It can be because he dropped his car or it got in his way, or I looked at him the wrong way. He just has a complete melt down for no reason it appears. I know, however that this expression of feelings is his frustration at various things, but it's hard. I miss my snuggly, lovely, calm boy. That said, he has settled like a dream with his new childminder so that's something.

Anyway, I am trying to think happy things; it's soon mine and Charlie's birthday. Charlie is having a bit of a party with a bouncy castle and me, well it's Year 11 parents evening on my birthday so that will be fun. But never mind, it's a Wednesday anyway so I will celebrate it the following weekend. Another thing to look forward to is that it is half term in two weeks! Can you believe it?! This half term is only 5 weeks long, so a very short one. And then after that, my parents are coming over to see us. I've been really missing my Mum and Dad lately; I love living on this island, but it is hard sometimes when you don't have family around.

I've got a few things to look forward to anyway. I have treated myself to a Cath Kidston skirt in the sale and bought a new work bag, so I am looking forward to those arriving. Yes, I know, they are materialistic things, but we all need a treat now and again. I am looking forward to the 1st February. January will be behind us and hopefully things will start to look up. If my Grandma is ill, we will deal with it the best we can and if the step-daughter's mother continues to be a pain, then I will tell her straight. It's only words at the end of the day.

So anyway, I hope to get back to blogging a bit more frequently. I have some recipes I think I will share and of course, I will be back joining in with #littleloves on Friday's.

How's your January so far?

The first #LittleLoves of January 2015

First of all, happy New Year! I hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas. Ours was just what we needed: plenty of food; family time and of course a few wines! It was lovely to see Charlie actually open his presents and, whilst he didn't understand the whole Christmas thing, he certainly enjoyed all the cars he got!

So #LittleLoves is back and as usual I am linking up with Morgana from butwhymummywhy.com.

Read

I managed to sneak in an early Christmas present for myself in the shape of Jamie Oliver's comfort food. I've heard people rave about the insanity burger so definitely going to give that a go, but there are just some gorgeous looking dishes in there, I can't wait to get started.

Watched

Charlie discovered Cars over Christmas, so with some of his Christmas money I got him Cars 1 and 2 on DVDS, a choice I'm beginning to regret now! We also managed Still Open All Hours, Downton Abbey and lots of films that I can't even remember now!

Wore

I haven't managed to photograph anything I've worn this Christmas, besides this beautiful scarf that my Aunty and Uncle got me as a present. I love it, it's huge and snuggly and when we were on the ferry I actually used it as a blanket over my knees! Other than that, I've been getting comfy in Christmas PJs and fluffy socks.

Made

As we spent all of Christmas at my parents' house, I made very little. However this weekend, when we got back, I did make Paella (recipe here). It's the step-daughter's favourite and made a nice change to turkey and roast dinners. 

And lastly, these two weeks have absolutely flown by, but in a good way. We have spent lots of time with the family, which was what I wanted and managed to chill a bit. It has been busy, but we've had a few days to laze around, and we even went out and bought a new sofa, which arrives on Tuesday! I have been waiting two years for a new sofa, so you can imagine how I excited I am. I will share pictures next week! The run up to Christmas was really special this year as Charlie, whilst not understanding what it was all about, was able to join in the fun more and Christmas morning with my parents was wonderful as they got to see him open his presents. I start a new job on Monday, so today is going to be about preparing for that, with a roast dinner and a walk to the park thrown in somewhere.