A Sunny Day in Wales!!! {Hot Rods, Busfest & Picking up our Camper}

There can't be many days that you wake up as excited as I did last week when we were due to pick up our new camper....

I bounded out of bed and flung back the curtains .... oh great rain...Well we were headed to Wales later so  pretty expected they said! Luckily those pessimists were wrong and as we drove across the Severn bridge the rain stopped and the sun came out!

There must have been a show on in South Wales because we spotted 4 or 5 Model T Fords on our way across - Fabulous! As well as a few great American Sleds. If I hadn't been on my way to collect Lily, I'd had been tempted to follow them.....

We soon made it to Swansea and as they'd just had a new delivery, we had a good old nose.... well it would be rude not to wouldn't it!?

Lots of lovely new stock...

If we hadn't already chosen Lily, I could easily have been tempted by this split....

 Quite fancied these curtains in another van too...

Not sure where this funny little chap was headed? A new fatface store maybe?

Rummage over we loaded  Lily onto the trailer

On the journey home we passed quite a few buses heading Busfest direction!! Many looking puzzled as to why a renault master was beeping them and waving (until they spied the trailer behind!)

And even formed an unofficial convoy at one point!!

A short stop in Cardiff  caught us watching the reflections in house windows.....

Before finally getting  her home :)

Do you like VW Campervans?

It's no secret that hubby and I are huge VW fans, it is indeed how we met. And even though we've been away from the scene for a few years now, it's still runs through our blood! Can you believe we had 6 between us when we first got together! We've owned t25 vans each, which we both seperatly converted to campers, a mk1 golf , a gorgeous notchback and too many beetles to remember!! So when we realised we needed a vehicle  for the taking to shows with LilVintage its no surprise our minds turned back to Volkswagens!

After a couple of weeks researching on the computer we found a lovely bay in Wales no less! So, after my brother's wedding celebrations in Cardiff we headed down the road to Swansea and viewed a 1975 Panel Van....

Totally bare inside we'll have the fun of designing the interior and transforming her into a day van! (First thoughts are seating and a cocktail bar of course!)

Being a complete VW nut I was in heaven so when hubby was test driving I was admiring the other stock......

Look at all those pretty colours in the parts they have.......

So we put down a deposit and when we go back she'll be coming home with us...

How about you? Campervan fan?

If the answer is Yes then head across to the website and check out our Campervan cards here and Campervan art prints here

Favourites

Do you have a favourite mug? Is it Spotty? Stripey? Floral? Do you only have one?

There's something very comforting about a warm drink in your own special mug isn't there. What's your favourite cup and drink?

Wordless Wednesday: Breakfast

Wordless Wednesday: Postcards from Devon

What pushes your button? + find out what's a dead cert to press mine!

As I sifted through the pile of post
.....bill....
       .....bill....
         ....car brochure...
....bill....
...... my eyes dropped to the large grey mailing bag at the bottom....

horraaaay my magazine!

 -  um no not quite! *insert rolled eyes and deflated wah-wah-waaaaah sound*

The arrival of the  magazine I subscribed to last year instead of filling me with joy always fills me with a reminder of the direct debit at the bank rather than the goodies that lie within.
I know it is full of useful information and tips that I will find invaluable, and eventually I will read it but it just doesn't  say... 

"Come, sit, chill, grab a tea maybe a macaron too...no not that cup, the special one...Let's stop the World for a short while and read together."

Oops sorry I drifted off a bit there I was so relaxed!

So no, that magazine doesn't do that for me, but others do. I'll often buy 2 or 3 others from a shop before I get around to my delivered magazine. So what makes those other magazines so desirable and this one less so?
The Magazines I buy are retro and vintage styled, with faded matt covers, they call to me from the shelves of the newsagents, cover price twice as much as the others? That's okay....I'll still buy them!

I've always had a soft spot for books and magazines from my early working days as a typesetter, get the styling right too and I can't give in!

So what are your secret triggers that you just can't resist, magazines or otherwise??

How not to spend the weekend sawing your hubby out of a greenhouse!

It all started when hubby decided to tidy the back garden ready for us to have a new lawn laid in the summer. All was fine, dirty, but fine until he decided to resite the greenhouse. All he needed to do was chop down a branch of the tree to fit the greenhouse inbetween it and the summerhouse. So branch cut he climbed inside the greenhouse and decided to lift and carry it (somewhat turtle style) from inside.
Did I want to help inside or out? I decided to help carry from outside as i could lift it easier.

1 ...2...3....LIFT!! 
This way a bit, that way a bit .....Whoops it won't fit under that other bit,
Saw, saw, saw
Lift again ...... shuffle shuffle shuffle....
SUCCESS Greenhouse in place!!!
Come on out now hubby.......
BAANNNGG!!!

Oh what's that? The door won't open more than 5 inches, Eek!!??  I dissolved into a puddle of giggles outside the greenhouse! Hubby stood inside , not amused.

Luckily  5 inches is perfect width for passing through a cuppa!

Did we carry the greenhouse back to where we started or take decisive action and chop off another branch?

Not wanting to waste more time & energy we decided on the branch!

So I spend the next 20 minutes sawing another branch off the tree and hubby is finally free from the greenhouse - yay!!

So what does this teach us?

1. Lack of preparation can cost you time and energy!
2. A problem should be examined from ALL angles first (we checked the height but forgot to check the door opening)
3. Always have a backup plan
4. Failure to prepare and have  backup plan  will have you right back where you started but a whole more tired!!

So when you are doing some thing new today, however simple it may seem, make sure you prepare for it properly!

- Make a list of steps,
- Identify Problems
- Double check from ALL viewpoints
- Have a back up plan


Good luck!!

{Sweet} Lime Kisses

Before we were married, my husband and I lived in seperate homes, seperate towns. Every Friday night he would drive 50 miles to come and  see me.  I would cook a steak supper and make cocktails ....

Adapted from a long forotten drink I once saw & perfect for a sunny spring evening.

 Lime Kisses Cocktail

Ingredients: Lime, Sugar, Whiskey, Lemonade

Instructions: Cut a lime into 1/8ths and pop 2 pieces in your glass. Spoon over 1 teaspoon of sugar & muddle the lime and sugar together.

Mud·dle ~ To mash, smash, or crush ingredients with a spoon or a long wooden/metal rod with a flattened end (muddler). 

Once lime and sugar have been muddled, pour over a measure of whiskey. Stir and top up glass with lemonade.

You can adjust levels of sugar & whiskey to taste or even make a virgin Lime Kiss by leaving out the whiskey altogether.

A Lazy Easter

How was your Easter? We had a lazy one. For me that meant, relaxing with the family, snuggling up inside when it got really cold, and baking!

 

We weren't the only ones who missed the hour sleep when the clocks went forward this weekend...

How was your Easter?