vintage loveliness...

Had a lovely day on Saturday discovering the charm of Chipping Sodbury, which I have always thought sounds like a name straight out of a Enid Blyton children's book! We were too late for the amazing Hobbs House lardy cakes, who were already sold out! So instead went to the vintage textile and fashion fair, which was very busy, but serving lovely tea in china cups with huge slabs of homemade cake. 

I spent too many pennies on lovely scraps of fabric, with the aim to make a patchwork quilt for the moses basket and maybe a baby changing mat too, I know I have no time and little skill to do this, but I have been lent a sewing machine for the task ~ thank you Alice! 

helter, skelter...

Crickey, it's been a while. I'm really getting out the blogging habit aren't I? We had a great time celebrating a little friends birthday at the fair yesterday, in glorious sunshine!

The boys had no fear and had a go on the waltzers and dodgems! I didn't think fairgrounds still sold goldfish either.

If you miss me too much, you can always find me on twitter and instagram too!

den building week...

introducing...

Den Building Week 

11th - 19th February 2012

No rules, just lots of half term indoor fun. Use sheets, blankets, cardboard and cushions to create magical hideaways! To take part, post a picture of your den on your blog, linking back to this post and don't forget to leave a link back to your blog in the comments below, so we can see your amazing creations! Feel free to use Catherine's gorgeous picture above as a blog button to encourage others to take part.  

We have also created a Den Building Flickr Group, please post your pictures there too and we can link to them all at the end of the week! 

A blog collaboration between the Bradshaw's and Catherine of Bristol Parenting Cafe! 

den building day...

I read Catherine's blog post over on Bristol Parenting Cafe this week about making dens, and it reminded of this post I blogged this time last year about having an actual indoor den building day - do you remember? 

Anyway, Catherine and I have put our heads together and are planning some half term indoor den building fun, are you up for joining in? We love making dens in our house, it's free and they can be as simple as throwing a blanket over a table (like my boys often do above.)

Coming up this week, we will post more details about taking part and invite you to post pictures of your creations in a flickr group. So are you up for the challenge?*

*you don't need children to take part!

snow & spiced parsnip soup...

As reward for chopping lots of wood today in preparation for the snow and big freeze (it's snowing beautifully here *as forecast* at the moment), I made some spiced parsnip soup for the man, as he went about his chores! 

I didn't follow a recipe for the soup, just chopped up one large onion and a clove of garlic, sautéing in olive oil until soft in a large saucepan. Then added some grated fresh ginger, six peeled and chopped parsnips, one can of coconut milk and about one litre of vegetable stock. I seasoned then simmered for about half an hour until ready and then blended with a hand blender before serving topped with some parsnip crisps, delicious and warming! 

Here's hoping that it keeps snowing and we can go sledging tomorrow!