Frozen in Time

It has been absolutely freezing these past few days with Jack Frost nipping at our toes.

I find the way the frost attaches itself to everything simply magical.  It makes the mundane interesting.

The White Swan, Blyth Nr Worksop/Retford

Steve surprised me last night by taking me for a meal to the White Swan in Blyth.
We go there quite regularly and it has become a bit of a tradition to visit on Christmas Eve to exchange Christmas presents with my son's partner Heather.

White Swan in Summer

The pub has had a recent refurb and new management and has been transformed in to a beautiful place.
Inside the blazing fire remains but the upholstery and decor have had a revamp.

The food is absolutely amazing. It is about mid range as far as price is concerned and the menu is a little restricted however the presentation is fantastic. Our meals even came with their own tiny salt and vinegar pots.

Homemade Burger with thick chips in a basket with parsnip crisps

We chose from the bar menu although there is also the festive menu which we are thinking of trying next week.  They have a candlelit restaurant too which is lovely.

Fish Goujons

I would definitely recommend this place.  It is fast becoming my favourite hostelry.

Vintage Style

I'm feeling very nostalgic at the moment probably due to the time of  year and reading a lovely book called Miracle on Regent Street. I was drawn to the cover by the beautiful colours.

This was such a romantic book which emphasised the importance of the old and traditional and was a joy to read.  It was based around Christmas too.

I needed a dress for the Christmas party.  I already had one that I bought last week but thought I'd just have a quick browse on the Internet just in case I saw something more suitable.  My friend gets a lot of bargains on eBay so not to be out done off I went, virtually of course.
This is a copy of a 1940's tea dress which fits like a dream.  I love it and it has tiny little swallows all over it.  I wore it with black patent leather court shoes and a vintage art deco brooch.
I was explaining to my hubby how I have suddenly jumped on the vintage band waggon and that I had always wanted to own my own bottle of Channel No 5. The sheer decadence of it makes me all tingly.

I just love it's old fashioned simple style and elegance.
Oh and yes this is mine.  I love a man that can take a hint! Who said romance was dead?

Sledmere Christmas Market

Wow where did the weekend go?
Sledmere held it's Christmas market which started on Friday.  This was excellent and I managed to forget to take any photos of the actual event.  However here are a few of my purchases.

Bear in a box with handmade quilt

Basket to put my contact lens bits in

Gorgeous beads to complete my knitted necklaces

Bow ring to wear with my new dress for the Christmas party

Calorie free hand sewn sweeties

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.  Steve gave the kitchen a good clean yesterday whilst I pottered about nursing a slight hang over from the previous nights works Christmas party.  I had a great time but didn't get to bed until three in the morning. I don't very often let my hair down but when I do I make it count.
No stall this weekend due to car trouble.  We did arrive however the radiator had burst on the way so we had to turn round.  We did manage to get it fixed though.  We're going to be a few hundred pounds short of a Christmas though.  (Did you see what I did there? Sausage short of a barbie, etc.).
Hey Ho, Hey Ho, it's off to work we go.  Such fun.

Happy Birthday Shiela

I have been trying to find time to blog and failing miserably so in an attempt to fit everything in I have come to bed whilst hubby practices his mandolin to get on with a little Internet shopping and blogging.
I have just wasted about thirty minutes opening emails and trawling the Internet looking at things I had no intention of looking at.
How much time do I waste during the day, I wondered to myself.  A heck of a lot is my reply.
If I could stay focused at all times I would achieve so much more, I'm sure of it.  Maybe that should be a new years resolution.  I have already started making a list of next year intentions.  I looked back at last year's and out of 33 I managed to achieve 24.  I don't think that's bad at all. There is always room for improvement though.

We've been to see my Mother in Law tonight.  It is her birthday tomorrow and no she isn't carrying this cake for someone else.  She is definitely 70. Can you believe it?
The family arranged a surprise party for her at the weekend.

Three generations

She loved every minute of it.

MUA Makeup Academy Products

I have been browsing around a few blogs myself this week and it made me wonder why some are more popular than others.  I dropped on this a couple of days ago.  Victoria's blog is so pretty.  I am really getting in to this vintage stuff although I still think of it as second hand, jumble sale but it doesn't have the same ring to it. She talks a lot about clothes, makeup etc and I liked her style.
Anyway today folks I am going to tell you about a couple of products I bought from the MUA makeup range.  At this stage I would like to beg for forgiveness from any male followers, you can skip this bit.

My friend told me about this brand a while ago which she had found in Superdrug.  The eye shadows are £1.00 each and although I was interested I didn't hold out any hope of them being any good.
At the weekend Mum and I had a trip out and stopped off in Retford.
I couldn't resist the MUA offer of 3 for 2 so quickly scooped up a couple of eye shadows and a blusher, paying the princely sum of £3.00 for the lot.
Above is Shade 4 - a lovely deep lilac.

This one is Shade 3.  a gun metal grey.
The blusher is called Bittersweet and is a cream rather than a powder.
Well I gave the grey one a try yesterday wearing it with my Urban Decay Eye Potion which I wear under eyeshadow so it lasts longer.  The eye shadow lasted all day.  It is amazing. I think it would suit a younger person better though simply because it is very sparkly and on my eyes it emphasised my crepe skin.
The blusher was excellent although the colour was perhaps a little pale.  I expected it to be a stronger colour.  The cream gave my cheeks a dewy glow though. Overall I was very impressed.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Just because I'm trying to resist naughty cakes I don't see why you should suffer.
Here is the recipe for the most delicious cake ever.  Everyone who tries it loves it and it's so easy.

Ingredients
6oz Self Raising Flour
4oz Softened Margarine
6oz Caster Sugar
5 Tablespoons Milk
Grated Rind of 1 Lemon
2 Eggs

Drizzle Topping
4 Heaped Desert Spoons of Icing Sugar
Juice of 1 Lemon

2lb Loaf Tin

Method
Put all the ingredients for the cake into a bowl and smooth by hand or electric mixer.
Pour mixture in the prepared loaf tin and smooth the top level.
Bake for approximately 55 minutes at 180 degrees, Gas Mark 4, 170 degrees F if fan oven. Cover the cake with baking parchment after about 30 minutes if it starts to brown too much.
The cake will be cooked when a skewer inserted in to the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Remove from the oven but leave in the tin.
Topping
Put the icing sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan and heat gently until the icing sugar has dissolved.
Prick the surface of the cake all over and then slowly pour drizzle topping over the cake.
Leave in the tin until cold, then turn out and store in an air tight tin.

I'm not sure why I don't have a picture of the finished article.  The topping gives the cake a sticky, slightly shiney look.