Friday 24 February 2012

Easter Eggs Go Retro

        Peoples' passion for vintage and retro just seems to be getting bigger and bigger. I must admit I am a big fan of vintage myself.
       And when I went into my local supermarket and saw these Easter eggs, I just thought they were great.


This Lion Bar egg was by far my favourite. The box is just gorgeous, I have never seen anything quite like it before. My Mum remembers eggs like these from when she was young, in the 70s.


This Smarties egg is very similar to the ones that were around in the 90's when I was growing up.


This Yorkie egg would be a great Easter gift for any little (or big) boy.


Quirky Easter Chocolate

         It is a well known fact that I am a chocoholic. I love making my own chocolates but not quite as much as eating the stuff!
     I was in Marks and Spencer the other day looking at their Easter offerings and I have to say I was very impressed.  They have much more than the bog standard Easter eggs. I loved some of it so much, I decided to splurdge.

        It is no surprise that I was drawn to this Hello Kitty London chocolate figure. feline and chocolate, what more could you want? M&S are really going down the British route this year. Hello Kitty is sporting her Union Jack coloured Hundreds and Thousands dress. (I had this last year and the dress was a mixture of pinks purples and yellows.) I like the British touch but I wish they had coloured the bow red to match in with the dress. (Me, picky? Maybe a little).


      I love ducks and I would like to have some of my own one day. So when I saw these they were a must. Their Royal Ducknesses are so cute (almost too cute to eat). They would be perfect for any Diamond Jubilee celebrations, something different for the centre of your table.


       Last but not least is this Great British Breakfast egg. I think this is one of the quirkiest Easter eggs I have ever seen. Who would have thought you could buy an anthropomorphic Easter egg? I think my favourite part is the "baked beans" for hair.


     I spent more than I normally would on chocolate in one go but I really think it's worth it. It is great to see M&S making such an effort with their products when it seems so many other shops have just gave up and no longer try to bring new and exciting things. Even in these hard times, I think people will still spend some money if the products are good enough.
        My only problem now is trying to keep these until Easter...

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Valentine's Day 2012

      I hope you all had a nice Valentine's Day. Even though I am single this year, I still like to get into the spirit. I like to buy little gifts for family members and of course that means my kittens too.
      I started the day off with a lovely hot bath using one of the beautiful products from the Lush Valentine's range.


      Then I slipped into one of my red dresses, black glittery leggings and my trusty boots. I finished the outfit with various pieces of heart themed jewellery (including my red chunky perspex heart bangle).

     Then it was present time.




          My Mum made these gorgeous Love Hearts just like the sweets but full of catnip instead. To make it even better they are personalised.  The are pictured with the Limited Edition Love Hearts tin given to me by my Gran.




        My kittens also got these matching Princess bowls by Mason Cash. Also this sweet lollipop card from Moonpig.


               My Mum gave me three wonderful gifts for Valentine's Day.

          This lovely heart shaped box is topped with a pretty handmade bow. It contains my favourite gift of the day which was lovingly and painstakingly made by my very talented Mum.



    My Mum knows better than anyone that I have a great love of French things. So she knew that this enamel plaque would be right up my street. And the thing that really makes it  brilliant is that the black splat in the middle can be used as a blackboard. I am going to use it for my French word of the day.


     And last but not least is this fantastic lips chocolate mould. I love making my own chocolates and I can't wait to use this mould.

                                      I also gave my Mum three gifts.


    First is these red leather driving gloves. My Mum loves polka dots. And I like the fact they have hearts and they fit in with the theme of the day.


       This reproduction Spangles sign was purchased from Ebay. I'm too young to remember them but my Mum remembers them fondly.


        My Mum loves vintage and she really likes tins (she has lots of ribbon and buttons that she can fill them with). So when I saw this vintage Smarties van tin on Ebay, it seemed a good buy. The wheels move which is a nice touch.


          This picture shows the things my Gran bought for Ruby & Violet. They love Dreamies. I think they would eat their own weight in Dreamies if you let them. The advert where the cat jumps through the wall isn't much of an exaggeration! They really enjoy watching their wind up walking heart and love to swipe at it.

     After a lovely day, I sat down to one of my favourite meals (a burrito). To finish the day off I watched a good film and made a dent in a very tasty box of these...




          Maybe next year I will find myself a dashing Frenchman. Oh well... a girl can dream can't she?

Tuesday 14 February 2012