Just another Thursday...

Yesterday I bought a biscuit tin in the M&S bargain corner for a pound (because I had one in my purse, I thought it was a good way to spend it!) reduced down, all because it had a little scratch on the lid. I knew we could give it a good home... today I made space for it on our kitchen shelves. Minimalism isn't for me, clearly.

Tonight for dinner, I cooked some sausages, and we had them with a Belfast bap, pickles (dill, beets, onions), cheese and mustard by candle-light. Felt like a little feast, somehow. Even though it was actually a scraping the cupboards/freezer roulette kind of dinner...

Just another Thursday!

A@a*r x

Oh January...

Hmm... it's a funny old month so far. We're staying up far too late and sleeping in far too much, and as a result, the overwhelming mood around here is, well, of DARKNESS! The day is almost over before it begins.

Yellow-tinged photos by lamp-light don't have much appeal, and honestly, neither does an 8am start each day which is the only good light to be had - so here it is, what we've been up to with an artificially lit hue...

Hot chocolate I made as a little early evening pick-us-up last Friday (boy, was it ever good!) and an embroidery I have been working on today... I have something brewing here, will share very soon. I'm excited! Can you tell in the dark? ;)

I was saying to my MIL last week that I *really* missed the light in my old flat, (seriously check this out, and this, and these! le sigh) - especially at this time of year! High ceilings and big white-ish walls are as distant a memory as Spring and bunches of bold and bright flowers through the house... one day, we will get both of those back, I am sure. Springtime first, no doubt.

It was our THIRD anniversary on Sunday, so that was a lovely bright-point in all the darkness. We dined by candle-light and ate a beautiful beef stew (Ryan's request), peanut and chocolate cup-cakes and drank champagne (an engagement gift) in our new crystal glasses (also an engagement gift!) and talked through plans for our wedding.

Guess January isn't so bad after all, egh!?

Axo

Oh Veda...

One of the best things about living in Northern Ireland (aside from Ryan!) is the amazing selection of breads you can get here that are not available on the main-land... one of my favourites is Veda - a small but rich and dark Malt bread that kind of collapses in on itself when toasted and buttered hot. AMAZING!

Ryan makes a very good home-made version which is his Treacle Bread (promise to share a recipe some time soon!)...

What's even more amazing is that everyone from here will tell you it's not as good as it used to be, as several of the old bakeries have closed down here in recent years, so I can't imagine how much better it could have been when it's already scrumptious!

Had some this morning with some lovely scrambles eggs (organic, free-range of course!) and it was a very nice start to the day...

Happy Friday everyone!

A@a*r

x

p.s. the plate was a Christmas present from Ryan, and is by the lovely Julia Smith...

Mollie Makes | Creative Couples...

Now that Mollie Makes, issue ten, has hit the news-stands, we can finally reveal the gorgeous pages from the magazine that we are so kindly featured in...

Alongside five other lovely creative couples : Something's Hiding in Here, Lotus Events, Robin and Mould, Peris and Corr and Shipshape Studio we share a little bit about what it's like to work together as a couple and how we got started... we also loved reading everyone else's story and their tips for success, too!

Thanks so much for the team at Mollie Makes for including us, and congrats to the other lovebirds who were featured, too... make sure you pick up an issue, it's a belter, and there are several projects I would love to get stuck in to right now (if our tax return work wasn't looming, hehe!)... but will certainly be returning to.

A&R

Mollie Makes...

We are absolutely delighted to be featured in this months edition of the wonderful Mollie Makes magazine, in the 'Let's Work Together' cover feature, where six creative couples tell their story on how they started and what it's like working with your other half (brilliant, btw)!

We are in fantastic company, and just want to say a big HELLO to anyone who might be visiting our blog after reading the article... thanks for visiting!

A picture of the article will follow shortly...

Find us on Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Flickr and our website :)

Abigail & Ryan

x

Confetti (thoughts)...

One thing I never truly realised about getting engaged, was how all-encompassing thinking about what kind of Wedding you would like, and all the little details involved, could be! I have already had a few sleepless nights with ideas spinning around my head, and we haven't even set a date yet... (yes, really!)...

We stumbled across an amazing UK based supplier today - The Real Flower Confetti Company - that I am sure will be a MUST for our big day! We both adore the idea of confetti - and adore the idea of real petal confetti even more. To have found a supplier who grows, and dries, their own amazing selection of flowers is fantastic... and now, all we have to decide is which petal to go for?

I vote Hydrangea (isn't the pale green just gorgeous?) but then, Wildflower is pretty stunning, too.

You see, DECISIONS! ;)

A@a*r

all images courtesy of The Real Flower Confetti Company

We're in a BOOK!

...this morning, a copy of Alison McNicol's Craft Business Heroes arrived at our door - and we were over the top excited to flick to page 118 and see our names in print!

Alison has released the Craft Business Heroes book as a companion book to The Craft Business Handbook (which we will be reviewing here shortly!) and it contains 30 interviews from Creative Entrepreneurs which makes for a VERY interesting read indeed, if we do say so ourselves!

Topics from how you started, to Trade Show experiences and working practice are covered, and it is really great to hear how other Creatives started their business and are finding their way through all the challenges that come your way!

Thanks so much to Alison for including us in her book - you can follow her group on Facebook too.

Bon weekend, all!

xo

Lucky...

We're very lucky, and touched, to have received so many beautiful cards from friends and family to celebrate our Engagement - thank you to everyone!

Happy Weekend, all!

xo

January Sale...

... we wanted to do a little something to ring in the New Year in style, to celebrate our newly re-designed website and our engagement (wedding fund, hehe!) so are having a January Sale! For the whole month, you can get 15% off your entire order by entering HAPPY2012 at the checkout.

We hope you have fun shopping ;)

A&R

New Year, New Site...

Happy New Year everyone! We hope you had a brilliant one, and wish everybody a wonderful year to come full of excitement, health and wealth... ours has started with some sunshine, and growth...

Not only outside is there growth and change (daffodils are peeking up already!), but also over on our website, which we have been working hard on, revitalising for 2012 - we're so pleased with it, and hope you will like it's newly re-launched look, too.

Please let us know if you encounter any bugs, we coded it in Safari, so are keeping our fingers crossed it looks as nice in other browsers ;)

Back soon!

A&R