Little Whitnell Cottage

Posted on | October 30, 2010 | 9 Comments

Happy weekend!!! I hope your week was great! Ours was!!! We had a lovely lovely time at our little vacation cottage: Little Whitnell Cottage near Nether Stowey in Somerset, England.

Today I have this card to share, a few photos and a little bit on our cottage renting experience…

Back in the days my ex and I used to own a timeshare. The places we went to were nice and they were definitely better than a hotel. We didn’t own the timeshare for long but while owning it I was introduced to home/cottage rentals and I told myself that one day I’d have to try renting one in Europe. Somewhere along the line I got into Bed and Breakfast and didn’t get to thinking about vacation rentals until a few weeks ago when I had to rearrange our holiday plans from Paris to staying here in the UK. After some hard decisions (between the many sites and the different cottages) I decided on Little Whitnell and what a great choice it was!

The cottage itself is 400-yrs-old. I’ve always loved old homes and I originally wanted one here to live but during the 30-days that hubby had to look for housing there was none that was near a good school, had ample parking, with a nice yard, doesn’t cost and arm and a leg to heat, not near a major road (people drive fast even on little roads here), and a good size house. We saw a few (oh so charming) homes but just didn’t fit half of our criterias. So being able to stay in an old one, even if it’s for a week, was a happy happy experience for me. LOVED it!

This was our living/family room from the stairs. The cottage isn’t big but it was so cozy! The fireplace was our only heat source and that thing warmed up the whole house! There’s hubby on the couch asleep — it was only 10 a.m.!!

Our cottage was just charming. The beams, the fireplace, the stone floor, everything was just wonderful. We had everything we needed there too, including fresh eggs from a neighbor, everything for tea/coffee and a bottle of wine!

Then in the morning I saw this:

LOVED the light coming through the little window!!!

Then the girls. At the cottage we had something we don’t have at home: TV!! So there’s M glued to the TV and Jovie reading.

Card details:

A card using the latest and greatest sketch from Waltzingmouse, their wonderful stamps: Musical Backgrounds and Nutcracker Sweet, with digital paper by Christy Lyle: Whimsical Whimsy at Sweet Shoppe. This week’s card is more less like the sketch. I did a lot of layering and also some stamping on the Pebbles Inc envelope. I sewed too but not sure if you can see it because it’s brown on brown. I wanted to sew but was too lazy to change the thread… yes, that’s me, the lazy crafter! I really wish I was a bit more motivated with the sewing machine or just more techniques!

I really like this card. It’s got substance! Due to the layers the card is a bit heavy. I also love the pom-poms which I am slowly running out of. I MISS JoAnn’s Fabric!! The buttons I love too, the sweet ladies at Clear and Simple Stamps sent me these for my birthday. Also, twine and scrunchy seam binding from Memarie at Etsy.

Have a great weekend everybody! Until next time!!

London, Again

Posted on | October 10, 2010 | 5 Comments

We went to London Saturday and had a fabulous time. I initially wanted to go to the British Museum but we didn’t get to London until 2-ish and while walking to Chinatown to get some pork buns we stumbled upon and Indonesian restaurant, Nusa Dua, and had to stop. We didn’t order much though because before we came in we decided that yesterday would just be culinary day instead of museum day and just try whatever we find, a little bit here and there. So we just ordered two appetizers and a soup dish for me. The appetizers were great but the Soto was a bit off. Maybe it’s because I’ve had some of Indonesia’s best Soto and so it’d be hard to beat those ones. I’d like to come back though to try their main dishes.

Then in Chinatown we got some ?1 pork buns. They were good but not as good as the ones my aunt makes. Hers are DA BOM!! Before we got to the dumplings we came upon a grocery store with all sorts of fruits that I love: Rambutan, longan, mangosteen, and durian. The last is my favorite and if you’re new to this fruit you’ll either love it or hate it. It’s the smell that turns people off and yes I can see that being the case. This fruit is probably the smelliest fruit in the world. It’s awesome tasting though! I also found some Indonesian ramens and sator/petai. The last also smells. It doesn’t smell when you eat it but when it comes out. We’ll see what hubby thinks of this after he eats it… or after #1 he he he…

For tea time (I’ve gotten this habit of drinking tea at around 4-5 p.m.) we stopped at Cafe Nero right in front of the sushi restaurant. We all got something to drink.

Coffee for the adults, milk for Jovie and water for M. Yes she drank the whole thing but the majority of the milk ended up in her bottle. Jovie still drinks her milk from a bottle because that’s the only way she’d drink a lot of it. She’s on a drink a lot eat a lot diet due to her size. She loves to drink from a sippy/cup/glass but to get her to drink all her milk she still prefers the bottle.

Jovie even got a taste of dad’s chocolate sprinkles from his milk froth. Jovie LOVED!!

The main destination of our London trip was sushi. I have not had sushi since we got to the UK. I had a taste of it in Cambridge but just wasn’t too into it. It wasn’t as succulent. After some research I decided on?Sushi Hiroba. I picked this because the reviews were decent, the location right, and there’s a conveyor belt so that different dishes can go around the sushi bar.

M had fun picking and grabbing her plates (she had four plates of nigiri — fish on top of rice). Prices ranged from ?2.50-?5/plate.

The restaurant was nice and if you’re not early you probably should book in advance. Great ambiance and the food we got (who knows what, the hubby and M just grabbed whatever and i somewhat did too) was good too. The fish was fresh and the different dishes were prepared well. Still I don’t think it has beaten our favorite place, Edokko, in the Kansas City area! You get a steal of a deal there and very fresh fish!

I am so glad too that one of my very dear friend lives in London. My birthday dinner was more fun. I just wish more of my very close friends live nearer. I’d have a party just to have them around me {::SMILES}. We ended the night with some coffee and more great chit-chats. To add to the greatness we met a very sweet old lady on the tube. She adored the girls and the 20 minutes we were together there was always a big smile on her face. Great day for sure!!

Card details:

The above card was created using stamps by Clear and Simple Stamps: Beware. For the base I used some Orange You Fabulous by CSS and also gorgeous satin ribbon from CSS. For the tool base I did some stamping on the base and then I ran it through my embossing tool. If you’re curious about the tag, I found it from an old packaging. It was shiny and so I sanded it a bit so that the ink sticks better. After some distressing and ink I liked how the tag looks. The rest are pretty obvious, EK border punch and then some more stamping. I did a birthday with this Halloween stamp set cause there are people born around this time of year too — or over the hill cards as long as he person has a sense of humor {::SMILES}.

Alrighty, enjoy your Sunday! Toodles!!!

I Went to the Airport

Posted on | August 30, 2010 | 9 Comments

I mean IKEA. I did my virgin IKEA visit and my thought of it as I was paying and confirmed as I walked out towards my car: IKEA is a mini airport.

Since this is a long post let me get to the card first since it is WPlus9′s countdown day. Another card with Ever After. I think this is becoming to be my favorite set! Now you can’t really tell but I did layer the flower which I learned is Gardenia. The card is pretty simple. Just stamping and a tiny bit of (digital) pattern paper with embellishments. I LOVE the ribbon. It’s vintage. Found it, yards of it, at an antique store. They’re Offrey when they were still made in the USA. nice, shiny and thick.

Back to IKEA… The one that I went to is at Lakeside. If you’re looking at London on a map, Lakeside is on the right east side of the M25 motorway, or Interstate, before the river. It’s basically the last exit before you get on the toll bridge to go over the Thames river. This place, Lakeside, is not only the home of IKEA but also a gigantic mall, Costco, and other huge stores (building wise) which names I didn’t recognize.

Now, I’m not sure if all IKEAs are like this but the Lakeside one, once you enter you have to go upstairs to the main showrooms to shop, kind of like an airport. Most departures are upstairs while the end of the arrival areas are usually downstairs or on the same level as the street.

Since this was our first time we didn’t know where to pay. We went back downstairs thinking that’s where it’d be — near the exit ya know. But the lady said no, we needed to go back upstairs and then go down to the self service furniture area. Mind you this was our third time going up. We had to take money out of the ATM the second time because the lady at the food court said that their card machines only take chip cards (I’ll save this for another post) and my card is the regular swipe card. I asked if the main check-out registers only take chip cards and the lady said yes. They just changed their machines recently she said and only take chips.

Up we went again and I saw the check-out arrow. Keep in mind that our IKEA visit was one of my “let’s wing it” kind of ordeal. I didn’t research IKEA to death but then I never thought that IKEA would be the indoor, expensive, version of a corn maze. Have you read that book Who Moved My Cheese? I felt like that stinkin’ mouse!

To get to the cash register I had to go up the elevator, pass the children’s section and food court, go through the kitchen area, then to the rugs, thankfully there was a shortcut and I went through it to the lighting section (if not I’d have to go through the whole rug section, bathroom, bedding, and something else), the frames, and finally the end which had other knick-knacks. You’d think that’d be the end but nooooooo… we had to go downstairs!!!! Now, I am on a daily basis a good with words kind of person but when I saw the flat escalator going down I had to say in my head: WTF?!?! So we went downstairs. We had to. After coming down the elevator we passed the murder section (plants… not Savitri friendly… I kill all house plants), the baskets, and the rows and rows AND rows of furniture. Still, no cash register!!! Finally I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and ya know what the cash register looked like? The customs line at the airport. If you’ve never gone overseas you won’t know what I’m talking about but if have, you’d get the picture. It was the customs line after two airplanes spit out their passengers. If you haven’t gone overseas and you’re American, think of Costco near Christmas. Maybe it was a weekend, a bank holiday weekend, so everybody and their dogs were at IKEA but after all that walking through the maze of consumer-able goods I was not ready for a long line at the register. If it wasn’t because the purchase was for M, I’d dump the one piece I had and walk out. But, M really wanted this furry bed piece and so we stood in line. To make my time worthwhile I grabbed a dust pan or the Blaska. No it wasn’t an impulse buy, I need one. There was no price too but I figured it’s IKEA, it can’t be more than $5. Sure enough, it was only £.99.

Here’s the best part. It was my turn to pay and I saw the card machine. I asked the lady: “So, can you use a regular swipe card?” She said: “Yes, you might have to try a couple of times but yes.” Me inside: {not pretty words were coming out of my brain – words I wish everybody could hear out loud}. So we left IKEA with a throw for M and a £.99 dust pan for me because that was all the cash I had.

As I walked out I had a little chuckle. The outside of IKEA looked like an airport. The blue signs hanging from the ceiling looked exactly like those airline signs to tell you which door you need to enter the airport to check-in. Walking through the car park, or parking lot, I had more laughs. The IKEA maze got some of them and these people were trying to stuff their car (think Euro cars not gigantic American Ford/Chevy trucks) with IKEA goodness. One time I had wondered if the family will be able to fit their little girl into their vehicle. Just for your information, some do take things out of the boxes right there in the parking lot so to fit in their vehicles — this isn’t just an IKEA thing either. We haven’t had to do this but we’d probably have our share sometimes in the next few years. You just have to adjust and make do sometimes.

Walking through IKEA’s showrooms was fun. They really do set things up well. Some of the things I’d get but others I wonder how long they’d last. I liked the kid’s section and the wooden toy. There’s a kitchen for £89 that’s nice. It’s not super cute like the Hamleys one I’ve been eying but I can save a few bucks with the IKEA one. There were some pretty throw pillows too. Very Swedish looking!

I will come back, with hubby, and a chip card. I have a bank appt. Tuesday. I’ve been approved but I need to bring paperwork to finalize it.

Alright, need to see more Ever After? Check out the other DTs stuff!!

Driving to Germany

Posted on | August 13, 2010 | 6 Comments

I am getting ready to get the hubby in Germany. Ok, it’s still a few weeks but I am a planner. If I can get everything my way I’d plan every single details of my life. BUT, it’s probably a good thing life isn’t like that because I’d be totally boring person and I’d be busy just researching what my next meal will be. I still like to plan but I can wing it if I must or just feel sporadic.

The girls and I are planning on driving through the M25 (the Interstate in the US) — or the big London car park (it’s a joke but at times it might as well be because traffic is so bad) — to Dover, hop on the Ferry to Dunkerque, France, then through Belgium and then Germany. Here’s the Michelin’s route if you’re interested (if you’re traveling to Europe and driving, do use ViaMicheline/Mappy to route your travels. It’s better than Google Maps for traveling — they’re itinerary sites and you can get the approximate toll fees and gas for the whole route).

I haven’t decided whether we’ll be leaving the evening and then spend a night in Dover or leave early in the morning and catch the 8 a.m. ferry (if M25 behaves it’s a 2hr drive but with M25 who knows although driving through at 5 a.m. should be ok). I think for sanity reasons leaving in the evening seems the best. That way I won’t have to wake up so early. The ferry ride is two hours so it’ll give Jovie plenty of exercise time. I thought of the Eurotunnel (35 min vs 2hrs) but the boat seems more relaxing with just me being the adult. Jovie will probably nap for a good hour at least after we get in the car again and then we’ll stop between Brussel and Liege, or about 1.5-2hrs drive. BUT, if the weather looks bad we’re taking the tunnel. Ain’t gonna mess with the waves! Then off again to Spangdahlem Air Base (about 2hrs) where a good friend of mine is and we’ll stay the night there. I haven’t seen her since M was two I think? Very excited about this part!! The next day I want to stop at Trier which is suppose to be the oldest city in Germany and then to hubby which from Spangdahlem is about an hour or so away.

I know that this sounds crazy but I’m really looking forward to driving our UK car… right hand steering wheel… on the right side of the road. The driving would come in naturally after a few turns I think (I didn’t have a hard time remembering I needed to be on the left side here) but not having a good view of the road will be interesting. A lot of Americans here have a US spec car driving on UK roads so it’s doable (hubby swaps between our UK car and his ’62 Impala). It should be highway driving 95% of the time and when we stop for food/gas I have no intention of passing anybody in front of me so I think we’ll be ok.

On our way back I want to take my husband to see Verdum in France. I read that it was a huge WW1 area and hubby’s a huge WW1 and WW2 buff so I think he’ll really like this stop. After that, no plans really, just see whatever on our way back to the port. We might stay the night in Dover. Would love to see the castle/fort and the secret tunnel there.

Today I have this digital page to share. It’s just hubby in London. The kit’s from Paislee Press at O’Scrap. It’s another simple one.

Ok, that’s it. Does anybody have any suggestion for the trip? I know I need change for the toll somewhere around the M25 and a tiny bit maybe in France (French main highways, the majority, are paid tolls) although somebody said he doesn’t think there’s one from Dunkerque. I’ve called my insurance and all’s great and I do need to get a car kit. The driving rules are pretty strict around here and Europe in general.

Cambridge Time

Posted on | August 4, 2010 | 4 Comments

The girls and I went to Cambridge today. I drove in to the outskirt of the city and then took the Park and Ride bus. The cost was excellent: £2.30/rt for the three of us. One adult ticket can include six children under 11. This is a great deal if there’s no huge shopping involved AND it’s more than an hour. Parking garages are expensive in Cambridge. For a whole day of browsing for example it can cost £22! The two big things for me besides the cost are the amount of bikes roaming around the streets and I can’t park backwards. The parking garages are small in comparison to the US ones. It’s best if you can back in instead of driving in which I am terrible at doing. So there are a lot of savings on my part!

Anyhoot, I just want to share some pics today of our little adventure…

That’s the type of bus we were on (sorry for the bad picture… dirty windshield). We were on top, front row, M’s choice. The girls LOVED it. Jovie held on to the pole before the windshield and looked out throughout the 15 minute ride. She was not happy when I told her the ride was all done. I had to pry her fingers from the bar.

The first thing we did after we got to the city center was grab some ice cream and watched people punting. There are all sorts of boat types and punting types. You can have somebody do it or do it yourself. Besides punting one can also hire just a boat/canoe. Check out the first photo, the boat at the very back had a punting + picnic deal. They had real dinnerware, glassware, and silverware on the boat! I want to do a romantic punt for two in the evening with the hubster. That’ll probably have to wait though until cling-on is older. I think most of the people working these companies are college students. Some do the actual punting while others man the ticket booth or hold signs on the streets trying to entice tourists to go on these rides. I should have taken a picture but some of the girls punting had dresses/skirts on. You’d think they’d all be wearing pants/shorts!!

Here’s the self-catered one. That dude was so ready for me to take his photo!!! He saw me with a camera and smiled.

After the river we walked around. It was a perfect day for walking in Cambridge. The city was quieter than usual and it might be because it’s August. The locals holidaying elsewhere and students away on summer holiday. The weather was perfect too and we went into various shops and galleries. There are many nice galleries in the downtown area and Miss M had to visit each one we passed by. This kid LOVES art. She can look at different pieces for hours. It’s me who’d be dragging her away. Weird, huh? She said she wants to be a doctor and artist when she grows up. Artist in the morning and doctor in the afternoon {::SMILES}. The below is King’s college. I can’t imagine being a full-time student in any of the old colleges/universities in Cambridge (there are tons of them, many part a part of the big University of Cambridge but there are many other colleges and universities in Cambridge), must be so glorious. I told M that if she ever wants to go to school in Cambridge I’d let her.

Then we went into this church. It’s the Great St. Mary’s church across from King’s College. It was open and we heard music so we walked in. You can’t see the person but there’s somebody playing that old pipe organ on the right (there are two of them in this church). That’s what the people were sitting down for. BEAUTIFUL music! Wish I had something to record it with!!

It was past noon by the time we got to Cambridge and at this time it was probably close to 2 p.m. and I told M that she needed to decide on lunch. We did have a late breakfast (I mean we didn’t get up until 10 a.m. — yes the kids sleep in!) and so 2 p.m. wasn’t super late but I was getting hungry. She wanted fish and chips so we walked around trying to locate one. On the way we passed by this pub. Hubby’s been wanting to go to it. It’s called The Eagles and this was where the first discovery of the DNA structure was announced. This pub has fish and chips but I was looking for something less crowded, less of a pub and less expensive. We ended up eating at Tatties. It’s suppose to be the place to get jacket potatoes but M ended up getting a pizza instead of fish and chips. Since it’s a big fat 12″ one we shared. For £7.50 it was a deal! The pizza was delicious too!! We also found out that Jovie LOVES pizza. My itty bitty eater ate almost half a piece — a good size piece!

Just one of the streets in downtown Cambridge. Shops, shops, shops and more shops… oh galleries and restaurants here and there. There are a couple of malls within walking distance of each other. Two are even attached to one another. There were a couple very cute shops that we went in to.

Just a little street view. More shops in very old and magnificent buildings. If you ever the chance to visit England I think it’ll be worth your time to visit this big town. There are many neat and beautiful places to see jammed packed into a very walkable area.

Last but not least, my M eating her second ice cream. I scoop in the downtown Cambridge area, from ice cream carts, run £1.30-£1.60. Her ice cream is more expensive the cost of our park and ride! Oh well, it’s her day {::SMILE}.