Christmas concert

My husband is an amazing singer and I am not, but I enjoy singing! Earlier in the year we had rehearsed with a group from our Church to perform in an Easter Concert, on the day of the concert our son ended up being in hospital and so we missed out! This Christmas we joined the same choir to perform in a Christmas Concert! :D

We alternated weeks to go to the rehearsals because we have two young children and the concert took place this weekend - it was lovely!! 

We sang some really beautiful songs about the birth of Jesus Christ, there was a special spirit present there. I was so grateful to have been able to perform in the choir, to my dad for looking after Wilson for us on Saturday and Sunday night and for my sister Abbie watching my baby girl whilst Ric and I sang. 

I love so many things about the Christmas season, but singing hymns and carols of celebration has to be one of my ultimate favourites!

 Happy after the final performance (in our dashing scarf and tie!)

The whole choir, well over 500 people attended on Sunday night!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Handprint tree...the start of!

We decorated Wilson's room a while ago and had planned to put a tree on the chimney breast wall and fill it with the hands prints of our family to look like leaves. I decided to just go for it after months of thinking about it! 

Firstly I used masking tape to out line the shape of a tree because I am in no way artistic and could not draw a pretty tree by hand. 

I taped off the areas to make a square-ish tree, like this...

 

I love working with masking tape, I love that it can look so messy and then the tape reveals perfect lines and it looks so neat!

Next step was to paint. I used a sample pot of chocolate brown paint which cost about £1 - this is a super low budget task. 

Wilson went for a nap and when he woke up it was time to do my favourite bit, pulling the tape off!!!!

Here is how it looks now...

It's not amazing but it's cute, unique and personal to us. I think it will look lovely with our hand prints plastered all over. The rest of the room is painted with horizontal stripes in lots of different fun colours (which we created using sample pots and left over paints from other rooms), so we are going to use the bits of paint we have left over to create the hand print leaves!

I'm so excited to get it finished now, but you will have to wait to see the end result :) 

Jade x

Windy Blackpool

Today was our last chance to go the illuminations at Blackpool so when Wilson woke from his nap, off we went! 

It is such a lovely thing to do if you have children/nieces & nephews etc as they just love it! You can walk, drive, ride the tram or even go by horse and carriage through the magical lights!

For 2 adults and 2 young kids you could have a cheap little trip out,  infact for less than £10 - here's how:

- £4 car park for 8 hours (Google Blackpool Car Parks before you go to find the closest one at the best price for where you plan to visit)

- £3 bag of chips, you can't visit the seaside without eating at the chippy!

- £2 for 5 hot donuts...or fruit, depending on what mood you're in! (And fruit

might beote difficult to find there!)

- Take drinks and extra snacks from home!

There is lots more to do if you want to spend more money, but it doesn't have to cost a lot at all! If you do want to spend more money, I would definitely recommend the circus - I LOVE the circus at Blackpool tower!

The illuminations finish this weekend, so if you haven't been yet it might have to wait until next year. For us next time, I will definitely take my family earlier in the season to enjoy the pretty lights in nicer weather. 

Here are my boys, not overly impressed with me stopping them to take a photo in the blustery winds....

Happy Saturday, and happy birthday toy my sister-in-law, Sarah!!

Jade x

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

So my husband lived in America for 2 years, he found a recipe for this 'soup' which he likes and so I tried it out! 

Recipe:

- 500g spicy sausages, sliced

- 1 onion, chopped

- 4 garlic cloves, minced

- 4 potatoes, cubed

- 1l chicken stock

- 1 cup (handful) kale

- 300ml heavy/whipping cream

- 2 tbsp plain flour

Directions:

- brown the sausages, then slice

- prepare the stock, onion and garlic

- add to slow cooker and cook on high for 5 hours

- mix the flour and cream together.  Leaving no lumps

- add creamy/flour and kale to the pot, give a good stir and leave for another hour

- check the potatoes are soft and voila! Add a little salt and pepper to your taste buds liking!

This is the result...

We ate this and then I blended the left-overs to make it more like soup and we ate it with crusty tiger loaf - even better!!

my space

This is my space; to share memories, events, family times, experiments, recipes - pretty much anything I feel like! I don't often write in my journal and I think that an online journal is a better way for me to keep and share all my most treasured moments at this time in my life...let the record keeping begin!

"Your journal is your autobiography, so it should be kept carefully. You are unique, and there may be incidents in your experience that are more noble and praiseworthy in their way than those recorded in any other life…You should truthfully record your real self and not what other people may see in you.

Your story should be written now while it is fresh and while the true details are available.

A journal is the literature of superiority. Each individual can become superior in his own humble life.

What could you do better for your children and your children’s children than to record the story of your life, your triumphs over adversity, your recovery after a fall, your progress when all seemed black, your rejoicing when you had finally achieved?" - President Spencer W Kimball

This quote has inspired me, hopefully it will inspire you too! 

Jade x