Birthday cakes made easy....

We celebrated having a twelve year old girl with a giggly "sleep"over and pamper party two weeks ago.  Watching the new BBC2 Baking Made Easy programme earlier in the week, the lovely twelve year old really like the cake shown.  This was our slightly more frugal (and cheating as we actually bought the cake!) version:

Here's how we made it:

• Buy a (yummy but deceptively small) Taste the difference cake from local supermarket,
• Put lots of  chocolate matchsticks around the edge,
• Chuck a lot of raspberries on top, 
• Use a vegetable peeler to grate chocolate onto the raspberries 
• Give it the professional edge by sprinkling icing sugar on the top.

Happy  Birthday twelve year old lovely girl!

it's you mummy......

First drawing ever!

A very proud mummy moment when your little boy suddenly gives you this, if you look carefully you will see a "F" and three kisses  because "I am three".

quiet afternoons

Mornings are always pretty hectic in the oldpolicehouse; adults keen to get to work,  older ones rushing (or not much to mummy's stress!) to big school.  The middlies finishing spellings and looking for lost shoes, smallest boy choosing his largest toy for his nursery treasure and baby emptying the dog bowl.

To balance and keep sanity in the midst of this we try and keep our afternoons quiet.  Baby sleeps and little boy has some time with Mummy, at the moment we are perfecting our train track construcion.........

new dress

Mummy made it a little too short but it doesn't really matter when you are small

Every girl needs lovely shoes .......

made by my truly talented friend Mary............I so love homemade gifts!


and just in case we are starting to look too perfect (!)  this photo was taken just as we were about to leave for church......................stress levels were running high and Mr oldpolicehouse didn't really understand the need to take a photo!!

If you want to make this very easy dress for a little girl you love, the pattern can be found here  http://www.lazyseamstress.blogspot.com/  shared very generously, thank you very much.

eleven months already!

Spent ages trying to get a lovely photo showing off her new mummy made hat..............

Ruby wasn't quite so interested!

This Year....

May it be full of happy memories, fun times and much joy.

A Vintage Ride

Here's us on the buses in our beautiful home; the ancient city of kings. Every year at the start of January the vintage buses take over public transport for a day, such fun and totally free!