Can we talk about how absolutely horizontal that makes you? Ehh, maybe not, I don’t even have enough energy to move my tongue to tell you!

I also have a baby shower to attend this Saturday. The baby-mamma has been busy crafting for the big day. Take a look at the little guessing-games and advice slips she drew. I scanned them for her so she could print multiples.

Baby showers aren’t really all that common here in the UK, so she isn’t going too crazy on the games, I think it’ll be just a gathering of girls some great food and lots of baby talk. She has told me she is making a pram-shaped piñata. I’ll take a few snaps to show you how it turned out, if she doesn’t mind me showing you those. The £1 entry for the guessing the baby’s weight is kind of cute, the winner will get a voucher from the Body Shop for the total amount entered.

We each have to bring a dish to the party and I am going to take my fail safe Potato Salad. Going by my Danish Grandmother’s (Mormor’s) recipe, it is always a hit. I’ll take a few snaps of it and post the recipe once I have made it. You’ll probably see my kitchen as a disaster zone though because I need to make enough to feed 25 people!

My friend whose shower it is doesn’t read my blog, so I thought I’d show you what I got her. I wanted a present for her, rather than for the baby. Even though this is her first, she is already sorted with a LOT of stuff, and with 24 or so other women attending, I didn’t think it’d be wise to bring another soft toy or baby outfit so I got this…..

It is a Mum’s 5 year one line a day diary. You write down all the little memories daily for the life of your child so that you can look over it later and not forget things. Like the day they first rolled over, slept through the night, crawled, took their first step, first word etc.

Blogging is a GREAT way of recording the memories, but for non-blogging Mum’s/Mom’s, I think this is a cute little gift. When it arrived, it was a little smaller than I expected, about the size of a pocket dictionary or so, but perfect for a handbag, so you can take it with you everywhere. It is made of real leather too, which may not be to everybody’s taste, but I think the quality is lovely. If you want to get one for yourself or for a friend, click here for the site, or on the image below to see Amazon’s offering.

I will bid you goodbye for now, see you in a while crocodiles.

]]> http://www.mrsstepford.com/marriage-and-motherhood/well-hello/feed/ 0 http://www.mrsstepford.com/recipes/reader-june-11-edition/ http://www.mrsstepford.com/recipes/reader-june-11-edition/#comments Tue, 05 Jul 2011 20:47:36 +0000 Mrs Stepford http://www.mrsstepford.com/?p=1522 Hi ya’ll!  I promise I haven’t forgotten the 30 Day Shred and I know that I need to give you my 10 day update, I’ve taken the pics but just need to write the post.  There is no way I could forget it, what with 22 days to go til my best friend’s wedding!

I am also concious that I don’t want this blog to just be about the 30 Day, so I’m gonna pepper it with a few little delights.

I say delights, because what I have to share has delighted me over the month of June.

If you use Google Reader, you’ll know that you can ‘star’ posts to view later and save to your favorites, and my starred list is growing bigger by the day.  I thought I’d share with my favorite reader round up for the month of June (which may have some older items, or perhaps a few July ones) but you’ll forgive me for that won’t ya!?

All pictures are owned by the respective blogger and all links will take you to the blog in question.

Enjoy finding new blogs and let me know if you have liked this post, I think I’ll continue to do this month on month as it is a great way to bookmark the things I have discovered.  Oh, and Pinterest?  Yeah, I finally got my invitation and have been spending FAR too much time on there.  It is DANGEROUS I tell ya. Click here for a link to my boards if you want to see what I have been pinning.

Reader Round up – June ’11

First up is this GORGEOUS DIY piece of Monogram Art. A monogram of your initial made from buttons! My grandmother has a huge collection of buttons that she has never had use for, and this might be just the ticket. She is a crafter and this is right up her street. Mormor, if you are reading this, I’d love one if you have the time to make me one, once you’ve finished that quilt you are sewing for me of course! :wink wink:.

The handy step by step can be found here via the uber gorgeous blog Emmaline Bride.

Next up is this delicious looking Perfect Iced Coffee to whet your whistle while crafting that monogram button art. Recipe from the amazing Pioneer Woman.

If you are still feeling crafty after the DIY button monogram, and the Perfect Iced Coffee has given you a little caffiene kick, why not dig old those old t-shirts and learn to sew rosettes from t-shirts to adorn newer shirts, pillows, hairbands or just about anything you can think of. Instructions via Emmaline Bride. If you don’t have any old t-shirts, you may still feel pepped enough to fold your t-shirts like they do in stores.

I’d much rather sit and daydream about my Wedding though. I quite fancy a Woodland/Fall theme and these Oak Tree Invitations, via Emmaline Bride are to die for. Mr. S and I both have a thing for trees, so these would fit the bill perfectly.

My Wedding dress is all bought and paid for, so I best stay away from making these Berry Butters with French Toast. Ok, maybe just the once! Pioneer Woman, you are a Devil woman for sharing this recipe, but I still love ya.

Oh, and still on the subject of Weddings, I hate the thought of tossing my bouquet, and it being gone forever but it is a custom I think I’ll stick to, as I spotted The 10 Best Handmade Bouquets - I could just get a replica made after the wedding! Thanks Emmaline Bride for the resource.

I am thinking about Christmas already and it is only July! Is that wrong!? This year I might try to be organized enough to make some gourmet gifts. Michaela Noelle is an aspiring decorator, but boy she has got some great ideas for Cookie Mix Gift Jars - just what I was looking for.

These lovely DIY decorated terra cotta pots would make lovely gifts for Christmas too, or all year round for that matter. Again, from Emmaline Bride - they just find the best stuff!

You might be feeling a little peckish by now so I suggest these Lemon Snowflake Cookies courtesy of A Sweet Spot – I think she might love Christmas as much as I do!

Then you can wash it down with an Elderflower Syrup Champagne that you made at home all by your celver self. The syrup that is, unless you really are rather talented at squishing grapes and live in Champagne! Two things combined into a perfect marriage Elderflower and Champagne – pure heaven. Thanks so much Georgia Pellegrini I LOVE this tutorial. Store bought syrup cordial and syrup is too expensive so this is great.

I hope you all had a fantastic 4th July and I’ll be back with July’s Reader Round up in early August.

This year it falls on Sunday April 3rd, and as much as I am thinking about what to get my own Mother, I can’t help but wonder if I will be lucky enough this year to receive a homemade card, or perhaps some flowers from my step-son.

So in the style of a Kate Takes 5 listography, I thought I’d list out 5 items that I would like to receive this Mother’s Day – in case anyone needs any hints (wink, wink), or if you are stuck for ideas of what to get your own Mother, perhaps some of these items/ideas may inspire you?

A Slow Cooker

I have absolutely no idea how these contraptions work, or the theory behind them, but reading endless recipes on the web about meat falling off the bone, and frugal but tasty meals really gets my tastebuds and ‘new gadget desire’ going. They are quite a steal too having looked at some models on Amazon.

A cleaning lady

This would just be my ultimate gift, I am thinking of including a year’s cleaning on my wedding registry, what could be better than knowing that all my domestic cleaning was all covered for the year. It won’t be lazy, because I’d still have mountains of laundry to do of course. Ridding me of the chore of vaccuming and bathroom scrubbing for a full 365 days would be the ultimate luxury.

A ‘Color me Beautiful’ consultation

I feel that as I am approaching the ‘late twenties but not quite thirties’ I am in a bit of a style rut. What suited me at 21 is no longer an option, but I don’t quite feel ready to embrace or face shopping at stores who cater for older classier women. I can no longer get away with certain hemlines and styles so it would be nice to have an unbiased opinion from someone who can guide me in the right direction and make a day of it all at the same time.

A Kitchen Aid mixer

Oh a girl can dream, another item to be added to the wedding registry. I’d be a lucky gal if someone picked up the tab on this baby. Have you SEEN this Limited Edition ‘Pioneer Woman’ Kitchen Aid!? I think they only made about 5, which Ree herself gave out in a competition. Man was I grumpy that I didn’t win that competition.  It beats the standard colors on offer from the range, but I wouldn’t say no to one of course….

A Royal Wedding Commemorative Plate

Yes, some of you might think it sad, some a tad pathetic but I am in LOVE with the Royal couple and cannot wait for April 29th. My local ‘boozer’ here in the UK are putting on a Royal Wedding fiesta and will be serving High Tea with scones, Pimms and cakes, and will be fully decorated with Union Jack bunting whilst showing the Royal Wedding on the big screen. I’ve reserved my spot by the bar already. I’d love to own one of these commemorative plates to proudly display as an old Nanna and tell my Grandchildren about the wonderful Spring day that the King and Queen of England got married.

You can get lay your hands one of the offical plates or tankards here Prince Charles’ Official Highgrove Shop.

What will you be wishing for this year?

I am such a sucker for wanting to keep the past traditions of my family alive, and even more so for wanting to create new ones.

I guess it is down to the fact that both my fiance and I have moved around so much and haven’t set down any roots (yet). Having traditions to uphold on special occasions makes you feel a little more ‘homely and stable’ regardless of your geographical position. Even our own families when we were both children moved all over the world but Christmas traditions etc remained constant.

Between us, we have elements of customs and traditions from at least 6 different countries. England, Scandinavia, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand…

This need for stability and wanting things (traditions) to last, really hit me hit me today. I was thinking of what to buy as gifts our 2 sets of best friends who are getting married this Spring and Summer and more so, worried about what to get them, would it be meaningful enough? 

I really think that gifts that you give to a couple on thier Wedding Day should be worthy of being treasured by the couple forever. It would also be nice to start a little tradition perhaps to build extra bonds. Particularly if you are really close to the couple.

Mr S is going to be an Usher for his best friend this May; said Groom will then be emigrating shortly after his Wedding for a year of Medical Residency in Canada with his beautiful Wife, so this makes planning to buy a gift rather impossible – what could they take with them!?  Shall we get something practical, or something meaningful? Mr S has final veto on what to get them….

However, I have also been asked to be Maid of Honor at my best friends Wedding in July, we have known each other since birth, and have literally been ‘planning’ our Weddings since the beginning of time.

My issue here, is that the girl has EVERYTHING, and a very distinct taste in home decor/personal style, so that one isn’t easy either. I really hated the idea of a gift wasted, and she is well known for putting a lot of thought and personal creativity into the gifts she gives.

I want to give something really personal so have decided on this.  Are you ready for the eureka moment? ….

I am going to buy a bottle of Champagne!!! (Yes, not very exciting I know), but here comes the science…

It will be packed up and labelled stating “DO NOT DRINK, available date to drink _,_,_”. 

25 years from their Wedding date!  That is a long time to wait for a drink right!?

Inside the box I am going to write a personal letter to them about their Wedding day, how happy I am for them, how proud I am to be part of the day, and what we have shared in the course of that year.

I will continue to do this for every Wedding Anniversary right up until their 25th Wedding Anniversary. Throwing in along the way extra bottles of fizz marking the occasions such as the birth of their children etc.

I can just imagine us all at their 25th Wedding Anniversary party, bedecked with 25 (or more) vintage bottles of Champagne, marking each and every Wedding Anniversary, birth, graduation, and milestone in their lives, and best of all, being able to reminise over these events by reading the letters.

I am not sure why I have chosen 25th, probably because we’ll still be young enough to rock it and devour that much Champagne, and the letters and memories from that celebration can be treasured for the next 25 years.  Or perhaps I’ll have to pick back up where I left off and continue on with the tradition….. See you when I am 75, I’ll have a glass of Bollinger in my hand!

I do love the thought of this and may just do it for myself too! Now if you will excuse me, I am off to the Stock Exchange to buy shares in the Champagne region…..

What kinds of gifts do you like to give at Weddings, and what was the best gift your received at your own?

Click on continue reading to see the full size images!

I think they would look amazing in a nursery or child’s room.

I had a cloud mobile just like that when I was a baby, (quite a few years ago).

The bird mobiles are so cute that I want it in MY room!

Although I think it might be taking my love of these mobiles too far, and Mr S might reconsider marrying me. Our age gap is distinct enough already!

You can find them over at Etsy by clicking on the banner below. These were made by the fair hand of ‘BabyJives’. A round of applause for the creator please…

Aren’t they just to die for cuteness?

I hope you’re all feeling the love today, regardless of your marital status. 

Valentine wishes/declarations/expressions etc should be expressed between all those you love; partners, family and close friends.

As a child I used to receive cards in the mail written from two mystery ‘Valentines’ one of which had scarily similar handwriting to my Mom, the other, the same penmanship as my Grandmother. I’ll just put that down to coincidence!

I just wanted to put this out there….

Regardless of what your plans are this holiday, whether surprised, disappointed or not fussed over the whole “Hallmark” holiday thing.  What do YOU do to express your love on Valentine’s?

Please help me out here….

It’s all too easy as a woman (speaking for myself here) to expect a card, roses to arrive on my desk at work, or to hope for some romantic meal – all lovingly planned by my other half. But what do *I* do to express MY love for my man?

Errr, this year I haven’t picked up a card in time. I know he wouldn’t appreciate flowers all that much, I don’t have a dime to spend on a meal out for the pair of us, and well, I cook romantic dinners every night, don’t I?

Can I use the excuse of “I don’t need just one day to show you I love you dear”!?

Yep – I am beginning to sound like my other - and frankly - if today is anything to go by, better half.

My better half who bends to my requests of wanting to be wined and dined on a rainy Monday in February, to make a huge dent in his credit card, time out from his work schedule, and yes, I’ll have the Champagne and Lobster with that too, please.

Am I the only gal feeling guilty today, and that this holiday has totally sucked me in?

Suggestions of what I can do to even the ‘love score’ would be gratefully recieved.

And for any guys out there reading this – flowers are nice surprises all year round, not just for Valentine’s!

And Mr S, if you are reading this. I am happy with the fries babe, I don’t need a Lobster to know you love me!

I love you very much, with all my heart. Forever. xxx