My weekly sketch...Tea

I really enjoy creating pieces of art, but with a newborn baby boy, I don't think I'll really get the chance to do anything too time consuming. Simple ink sketches are an ideal outlet for my creative cravings. Here's my first quick attempt at one. To give this an almost chalkboard feel, I simply inverted the colours on GIMP. 

I decided that the theme of my sketches should be things that I love. Tea is definitely one of the things I love. I do not function without it. My husband and I often have silly bets to determine who has to make all the cups of tea in a week. When you drink as much tea as we do, these are high stakes. Whilst in University, my friend Fiona and I would drink copious amounts of tea accompanied by chocolate, whilst reading showbiz gossip magazines, with a romcom on the telly. Heaven!  

Brodsworth Hall

We had a little trip to Brodsworth Hall as it was a nice clear day. I enjoy a wander round the grounds and house of Brodsworth Hall. I get free membership to English Heritage through my work, so this a place we frequent often.To be honest if I was paying I'm not sure we would go quite as much as the admission is £9.60.

Brodsworth Hall is believed to have been the inspiration for Charles Dicken's Bleak House. The house itself has been preserved well from when it was last inhabited. It is not as you would imagine a stately home to look, as it is not as grand and opulent as many of the stately homes we have visited. The interior is a little shabby and worn around the edges, but you are given a feel for how it has been inhabited throughout the years from the older bare servants quarters to the kitchen complete with 1960/70s cookbooks. Be warned the house itself does not open until 1, so you may want to plan your trip around this.

The gardens have an Italian feel to them and are maintained beautifully, with many events held throughout the year. During the summer there are lots of events at Brodsworth Hall such as the classic cars on Father's Day, Victorian Garden games on a Saturday and afternoon band concerts on a Sunday.  In the autumn, they have the magical 'Enchanted Garden' complete with fairy whisperings, lights, and refreshments of pie and peas, hot dogs and mulled wine. There is plenty of space for picnics in the surrounding grounds and you may wish to bring one as there is not a great deal of choice in the cafe. There is a nice wooden play area for children 7 and under.

Just outside the grounds is the beautiful church of St Michaels and All Angels, which is visible and accessible from Brodsworth Hall. It is well worth a little visit and I believe that tea, coffee and biscuits are available to visitors during the summer months.

I may be biased with regard to the beauty of the church, as this was the church that my husband and I were married at. In the week leading up to our wedding, however,  I was regretting the choice, as the road up to the church was impassable due to snow. It was clearly a union destined in the stars, as the morning of the wedding there was a great thaw.

Despite the literary ties, I think it is safe to say that Dickens was not referring to Brodsworth Hall when he wrote 'And I'm bored to death with it. Bored to death with this place, bored to death with my life, bored to death with myself.' (Charles Dickens, Bleak House, 1853)

Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

When the sun is shining across the sweeping lake at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, it is definitely one of those days where I feel extremely blessed to live with this gem on my doorstep. My husband does not always agree that living in Yorkshire is a pleasant experience, but he has definitely been won over by Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The park is so vast, spanning 500 acres, that every time we visit, we spot something new. I often wonder how I have managed to miss things the first time. 

It is the perfect place to visit in the Spring when the Daffodils are blooming and lambs are roaming. Admission to the park is free, but you have to pay for parking. With pieces from artists such as Anthony Gormley, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore , there are works in both indoor galleries and outdoor spaces. Modern art is not to everyone's taste, but I find it thought provoking and we usually get into quite a debate about each piece's merits. 

The park has a variety of different spaces with lakeside paths, vast grassy areas, woodland walks and plenty of picnic areas.William has already enjoyed several walks in the park. Our pram has come out of some of the off-road  treks around the park relatively unscathed. His Mummy is already quite used to cleaning sheep poo off the wheels. (Ah the joys of the countryside!) We've recently enjoyed picnics, bathed in mottled sunlight, under the shade of the huge trees. I'm hoping for more nice weather as I've asked for a pretty picnic basket for my birthday, and I'm already planning recipes!

Baby William James has made his arrival...

© Victoria Smith Photography

Our little bundle of joy has finally arrived. We are over the moon and so in love. Had to stay in the hospital for a few days due to some labour complications, but I'm now recuperating nicely at home. Turns out that having a newborn is a very tiring business who knew, so it maybe a little while before I do a new post. 

© Victoria Smith Photography

© Victoria Smith Photography

Polka dot crazy...

I love polka dots. I may have fads with my clothing, but one thing that stays a staple of my wardrobe is polka dots. Here's some of the wonderful polka dotty items out there that I like...

1. Spotty tights from Tights Please.

2. Polka dot skirt from New Look. 

3. Polka dot wedges from Tesco.

4. Polka dot teapot from John Lewis.

5. Polka dot dress from Next. 

6. Polka dot bag from Tesco. 

7. Polka dot mug from Matalan.

8. Polka dot swimsuit from Asda.

9. Polka dot umbrella from John Lewis.

10. Polka dot swimsuit from Next. 

1. Polka dot dress from Dorothy Perkins.

2. Polka dot mug from Matalan. 

3. Polka dot dress from Oasis.

4. Polka dot dress from New Look. 

5. Polka dot bag from Debenhams. 

6. Polka dot jumper from John Lewis.

7. Polka dot skirt from Oasis.

8. Polka dot jumper from Oasis. 

9. Polka dot ballet pumps from Zara. 

10. Polka dot top from Dorothy Perkins.

Snowy walks and Father-to-be gifts

We managed to have a little walk at Yorkshire Sculpture Park over the Easter weekend. It was really pretty, as there was still a dusting of snow about. The latest exhibitions look amazing. We had a quick walk through the Fabric-ation exhibit. I'm planning lots of nice picnics in the Sculpture Park this summer, so I'll take lots of pictures of the artwork when we next visit.

I have been creating a couple of Father-To-Be gifts for my husband, as I know that the Mummy tends to get more attention. I got a big basket from Matalan for £5 (similar ones here) and filled it with all things to remind him of his childhood. (I asked his family and friends for some ideas) These included Wrestling and Thundercats figures, his favourite books as a child, some DVDs of programmes he used to watch, his favourite childhood movies, some Tizer (He used to have Tizer nights with his best friend, where they would pretend this was alcohol - Bless!) etc. I also decided to create some T-shirts and Baby vest sets.

These were really simple to make. 

I bought two cheap T-shirts and baby vests, and some fabric pens from Ebay. I had bought the fabric pens for people to decorate baby grows at my baby shower

Fabric pens bought for £3.39 from here

On a piece of paper I wrote out what I wanted on the T-shirt. You could print this out for it to look more accurate and professional.

I then placed this under the top layer of the T-shirt, and placed a piece of cardboard underneath this. To be honest, the pens did not actually go through as far as the cardboard, but I still think that it is worth taking precautions. Once I had traced over my design, I left this to dry for half an hour and then ironed on the reverse to lock the colour, so it is machine washable. My husband's unfortunate nickname is 'The Big Dog', so I thought it would be cute to do a play on this too. 

These fabric pens were so easy to use and didn't bleed into the fabric. I'm looking forward to doing some different T-shirt and baby grows for Halloween and Christmas this year.  I think I'm better dressing my child up before they can answer back and I'm sure my husband will be thrilled to wear them! I have got some fabric paints, so I may make some stencils and be a bit more creative next time.

Cheering yourself up on a snowy day...

I'm still awaiting the birth of our first child. I'm unsure when I will be induced due to my liver condition, so just playing a waiting game of sleepless nights and itchy feet! As the days are starting to drag, I decided to use some sure fire ways of cheering myself up.

I really got a strong craving for some chocolate cake, but only had one egg left in the house. I found this recipe on the internet and it made a really moist lovely cake. I topped with some Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Icing. 

There's nothing like some girly movies to cheer you up, so I have been watching Clueless, Mansfield Park and the BBC series of Pride and Prejudice. I can not imagine that there's anything in the world that a bit of Darcy would not fix!

I've been enjoying sitting in a snuggly chair, cuddling up to a teddy and imagining life with our new little baby. At the moment our nursery is in neutral taupe and cream colours. I love the soft feeling in the nursery, especially in an evening when the lamps cast a beautiful warm light. I often go up for a little quiet ponder throughout the day.

Whilst up in the nursery, I love getting out all of the baby clothes and imagining the little being that will soon be filling these. My mother-in-law has been busily knitting and created more clothes that the baby could ever wear. My husband has decided that he is in charge of dressing the baby, as he fell in love with the cute little baby socks. 

My Auntie and cousins came round to see me and brought me some lovely Champneys pregnancy toiletries. My skin has been in a very bad condition due to the constant scratching, but a nice long soak and some of the rejuvenating lotions have definitely improved my mood. I love having a long soak in the bath. As we have a television in the wall above the bath, I often time my baths with something good to watch. My husband wonders how I can possibly stay in so long. I am trying to make the most of these, as I'm guessing with a newborn baby I wont get much chance for a leisurely dip in the tub. 

Well after that I do feel a lot more cheerful. Let's hope the weather improves, so I can venture out.