Little Valentine's Giveaway

Thank you all so much for the birthday & anniversary wishes....we had a lovely (if very cold!) time in Venice & I will post photos soon, but today I am having a little giveaway for Valentine's Day. I was sorting some goodies out to take along to the Vintage & Handmade Textile & Fashion Fair on the 25th February & came across this little lot & I thought it would make a nice giveaway.
All you have to do is leave a comment here & I will draw the winner on the 14th.

Fun!

Guess where I'm going on Friday?

As it is my 50th birthday tomorrow (how did that happen?) & our 25th wedding anniversary, Mr C has earned himself many brownie points by booking a long weekend away!
It is somewhere that I have always wanted to visit & so I am excited & delighted!

Oxford Day Out

I hope you don't mind that lately my blog posts are mainly pictures & a few words - life is so busy right now but I do love keeping up with all of your blogs & I don't want to neglect mine either!

Yesterday Tamzin & I had a day trip to Oxford by train - our aim was to visit the Oxford Natural History Museum & the Pitt Rivers Museum which is in the same building.

First of all we had to attend to the horses, then rush home to 'de-horse', shower & get dressed in civilised (ie: not muddy!) clothes & off we went to the station. We jumped on the train & the first thing we did was buy bacon rolls & coffee for breakfast as we were starving!


A short hour & a quarter later we were in Oxford & off we went to the museums & what a treat they were. I only took a few photos as I was mesmerised by the fabulous collections there.
This march of skeletons was fascinating with animals ranging in size from a pig to an elephant. They look amazingly prehistoric without their flesh & fur!


The Pitt Rivers collection was just fabulous with everything from tribal embroidery & beadwork to ancient saddles & shrunken heads all in glass cabinets stuffed to the gills. The museum is kept quite dark so you are given a torch to help you see the labels & details better.

I would highly recommend a visit if you are interested in natural history & anthropology - well worth a trip!

The end of the day wasn't quite as enjoyable as there were problems with a section of the line so it ended up taking us 3 hours to get home.

Toby The Teapot

A few weeks ago I came across this teapot at a fleamarket - it is 'Toby', Punch & Judy's dog. As I have my own real life Toby dog I just had to buy it!

For those of you across the pond who might not know about Punch & Judy, they are two characters from a traditional seaside puppet show. You can find out more here: Punch & Judy

Fleamarket Fun

I didn't find very much at the first fleamarket of 2012 but I did love this creative trailer....I thought it would make a perfect travelling vintage shop! Click on the photo to enlarge & see more detail - there is even 'someone' peeping out of the 'window'.

Beautiful Balli

We have had lovely Balli for about 6 weeks now & he has settled in very well. He is a real character - as you can see from the first photo he is very inquisitive & will investigate anything left within reach. Buckets are thrown over the stable door, our hair & ears are nibbled, he will even grab the waistband of my jodhpurs while I am picking out his hooves & gives them a pull before letting go with a ping! Brushes are flung about with abandon & puddles are splashed in.


Despite his cheeky character he is very sensible & isn't fazed by cars, cows, lorries, tractors, sheep, dogs, bins, chickens or children. The only thing he isn't keen on is cyclists whizzing up from behind. Look at him sticking his tongue out in the next photo!


He is only 5 & has a lot to learn but has the most fabulous paces & jumps like a flea so he has a lot to give in the future. We are taking him to participate in his first dressage test this Sunday so that should be interesting!


He & Dylan are still the best of friends.....

A Happy 2012 To You All!

May the New Year bring you much happiness!