Finally!

As usual I have lots of things to do & not enough time to do them! Ever since the V&H Christmas Fair last Saturday I have been intending to post a few photos but have only just got around to it.

Once again it was a fabulous day with a lovely festive atmosphere. The stalls were stunning as always & the visitors arrived in droves - the hours flew by in a jiffy & the hall was still full at closing time.


I apologise for the lack of photos this year....suffice it to say that next year I will not be allowing Mr C out with his friend the night before as he was feeling (shall we say) a little 'delicate' & had to go home for a nap, so I only have a few photos to show, but hopefully they will give you a flavour of the day! ;-)

Where Have I Been?

This is why I have been absent from Blogland recently - Balli arrived last Sunday & as Tamzin is away at university the care of both Balli & Dylan falls to me. As I have told you previously, Dylan has had problems with a ligament in his front leg & has been on rest for the past 6 months. He seems to be sound now & we will start bringing him back into work next month after a vet check up, but we have decided that as this is the second time it has happened that we are going to keep him in light work so he will no longer be competing in show jumping or cross country.

So, the plan was to look for another horse next year once Tamzin has finished uni. However, as they say - the best laid plans.....

Balli is owned by someone who has lessons with Tamzin's riding instructor & has decided to sell him as she (the owner!) is pregnant. Tamzin's instructor felt that she & Balli would be a good match. He is like Dylan but with a V8 engine! He is bigger than Dylan at 15.2hh & younger too as he is 5 years old. We have him on trial for a few weeks & if he passes his vetting we will be buying him. He is the sweetest natured horse I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He doesn't have a mean bone in his body & makes even easy going Dylan look grumpy! He & Dylan are sharing a field & they are like long lost brothers - grazing next to each other, lots of mutual grooming & Balli follows Dylan everywhere he goes - so sweet to see! So, keep your fingers crossed that all goes well with the vetting in a few weeks time.


In the meantime, I really needed to get my stock organised & priced for the V&H Christmas Fair which is THIS Saturday! At the rate I was going I would be trying to get everything ready on Friday night, so yesterday I decided to spend the day sorting out my stock, so here are a few photos of some of the goodies I will be bringing along. I do hope to see lots of you there as it will be a fabulous day as always! I am looking forward to doing some Christmas shopping myself!

Gingerbread House

I have stopped making a fruit Christmas cake at Christmas time as only two of us like it so we end up throwing away about half a cake in February. However, I still want to have a special cake for Christmas. A few years ago I bought a Christmas Tree cake tin (which you can see here) which worked very well, but I fancied something new, so when I saw this Gingerbread House shaped tin I had to have it! I bought mine on Amazon as it was £10 cheaper than in the shops.

Again, I was a bit apprehensive about whether it would turn out properly with the little tree shapes & gables so I had a trial run.


I made the recipe that came with the tin which is a spicy, gingery cake which is nice & moist. I think I will bake one for the Vintage & Handmade Christmas Fair Tea Room this year.

What do you think? And what sort of cake do you like at Christmas?

More Vintage Christmas Goodies In The Shop

I do so love this time of year...I am a total Christmas fan! All year I collect any vintage decorations that I can find & I can tell you that it is a wrench to part with them, but as I have lots of my own I feel it's only fair to share some of this vintagey loveliness around. I have a couple of boxfuls of goodies put aside for the Vintage & Handmade Fair on the 3rd December & have added some sweetness to my Christmas Shop, so do pop along here for a browse!

11.11.11

Country Cottage Chic HQ

I thought you might like to see a few photos of 'HQ' where I keep a lot of things including my sewing machines, fabrics, packing supplies & stock. As you can see, a lot of my purchases stay put & never leave the house again. It is a long, narrow room & I have 3 tables in there which means I just have an aisle down the middle!

Shop Update & Christmas Homes & Antiques

I have just been updating my online shop & adding some pretty goodies to the virtual shelves including the lovely tin workbox above & letter box below.


The sewing department has a lovely workbox & some fabulous vintage issues of Needlewoman & Needlecraft which still have their embroidery transfers.


Issue 12 has a section on crocheted 'Wartime Jewellery' which includes flower corsages & necklaces to make.


Just like the big stores, my Christmas Shop is now open for business too - it is bursting with baubles & reindeer, ribbons, tags & cake decorations (as seen on the cover & inside the December issue of Homes & Antiques!). Do pop in & you may be treated to a mince pie!