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back in black

Um, hello? I hope you are still there. That was a mammoth blog absence. Busy times, with my Mum in hospital and general life stuff keeping me away from the computer.

I always find it difficult to dip my toe back into blogging after a break, so perhaps a list to start things off? Nice things that have happened during the past month:

1. We found ourselves with a few spare hours at home last weekend, and Matt painted the wall behind our desk black. It's phase one of our study schmick-up - more about that later. (The black wall was heavily influenced by the gorgeousness found at The Marion House Book and Door 16). Here is a before. This photo will hopefully remind me what it's like to have a clean desk, as I'm sure soon enough it will be covered with teetering piles of paper. For now, I love it.

2. Audrey turned 7. We had a very low key birthday for her this year, but I did make my big girl a chocolate piniata cake (from the good old WW Kid's Cake book). I still can't believe this worked out. It gave a convincing crack when she whacked it with a toy mallet, too.

stuffed - and a wee favour...

I've been working on a new flock of toys. While I was working on this giraffe yesterday, I realised I hadn't mentioned that I am using wool stuffing now - since my motherload of polyfill finally dried up earlier this year. The wool is LOVELY. It's more pricey and takes longer to work with than the polyfill (although that could just be me), but is so worth it. I get mine form Winterwood. The toys feel less 'bouncy' but have a beautiful warmth to them that the synthetic stuff just can't achieve. And while you have indulged me to crap on about stuffing for a paragraph, I am dying to try this, too. It's so good to have some sustainable alternatives to polyester.

On a completely different note, can I ask a favour? My lovely bloke suffered the humiliation of entering himself in a 'dad joke' competition so that we might have the chance of winning a holiday. Little did he know that all shortlisted entries needed to be voted on in the public domain. Ha! If you have a moment, you can see him make a dork of himself here (Matt is the 3rd one across in the second row) - please vote so his humiliation is not in vain - you get a 20% off book voucher! Thankyou!! xx