Which is why, when I stand behind my children and see what they see, I feel as if all that longing as a child, in my bedroom alone with my books, was for a reason.

They say you shouldn’t live your life through you kids and I agree with that to an extent. You’ll not find me going to pubs or clubs with them when they are teenagers for instance but if they wanted to join Robert and I  for supper at a great restaurant or an opening night at the Royal Court they are more than welcome.

But this weekend I unashamedly found myself trying to imagine what it was like to be them growing up in the environment that they find themselves in. Because this was the environment I had dreamt of.

I have no idea exactly how Robert and I got here. Looking back we must have both been on a very similar path when we joined forces and those deep desires have led us to live out here in West Sussex. But one of the side effects of this hidden drive and desire is that we get to see our children experiencing freedom in the outdoors. And it brings such deep joy to me that it is worth having to wait until I’m 36 years old to see it.

Of course our kids will have dreams of their own, we understand that as parents. We certainly don’t want them to have our dreams that would be awful. But we do want them to know desire and envision a big life and understand that dreams are not a gift, given to you, but a journey that a person has to take, with all the twists and turns in the road that your dream presents you with.

My daughter may not grow up wanting to see the open sky more than anything else in the whole wide world, that was my dream, but she may have something she wants to do and contribute to so much that she dedicates her life to it.

I think what I’m trying to say is that I look at our kids and I think they are very lucky and very fortunate and occasionally it worries me because Robert and I know that there is absolutely nothing better than having a dream and finding ways to make that dream a reality. How does one instill a work ethic when one has so much?

I remember seeing a doll in a shop when I was not even five years old. It was a huge doll and stood nearly as tall as me. I begged my mum for that doll and she said that I could have it but it would take her a while to pay for it. Each and every week we went in to that little toy shop and paid a little bit more for it until one day I got to take it home. I loved that doll, I appreciated it and when I lost one of her shoes in the dentist’s waiting room I didn’t even cry I was so upset. I just remained rather stunned for days.

Waiting for that doll was an amazing lesson in delaying gratification.

The other day when I was in the supermarket with my twins they let rip with screams that could be heard all over the store. I grabbed two toy phones off the shelf and gave them one each. I paid for them with my shopping and now those phones sit in the toy box. Hmmmmmm, you can see what I’m saying.

My husband and I have a job to do raising them, as every other parent before us has had. No different really just a different set of problems and we’ll get there if we pay attention and relish the task. Which we do.

These are just thoughts today. Thoughts that I find good to bash out on to the keyboard. That’s OK I think, it’s always OK to examine dreams and desires when you have children because one day you may be called upon to guide them through theirs and I want to be as ready as I can be.

I love you and thank you for reading

Cherry x

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Good morning!
Thank you so much for all of your craft suggestions and telling me your words for the year. I love the dialogue we have and want to encourage more of that. Something I’ve been thinking about trying to facilitate since my Shall We Talk post from last year. I think I’m almost there. At the moment I am working hard to submit the text for the book. I have a deadline and it has to be met which is why I asked you the crafting question. When the book has been submitted I am once again free to come out and play. And play I shall. With crochet, fabric and knitting it would seem!!!

It’s an intense time and I still have to make time for my family so I need a way of escaping and relaxing that doesn’t require too much effort from me. I do this by being very selective about the types of music I listen to in the car. In the Summertime my music is very different from just prior to Christmas and it is very different when I am stressed or tense than when I am happy and carefree. Different Spotify playlists for different moods.

Right now I need the music to calm me and focus my mind. I need it to replenish my soul and enable me to dig deep and write the words for the book that I won’t mind reading back to myself in twenty years time. I don’t mind that the music is in many ways thought inducing. I think that is good, especially when I play this selection in the morning.

You see, Winter mornings in West Sussex are the most beautiful mornings that I can imagine and when I am out in my car, with or without the babies in the back, these mornings never fail to move me. The sun shines so brightly across the South Downs and lights up the silhouette of the bare trees and the small white sheep in the hillside. And it makes me so grateful to be alive and able to see those things because if you live in a city, which most of us do at one time or another, then that view is not one that you get to see very often. Mornings, in all their glory, make me believe in life again. So it’s only appropriate that they should have a suitable soundtrack to accompany them.

Enjoy. And do tell me if you like them or if you have some favourites too.

I love you and thank you so much for reading.

Cherry x

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Hello!

Welcome to the week. I hope everyone has had a great weekend and that you’re all raring to go. I am, sort of, but I have some things I’d like to sort out and organise before I feel that I can really get going. One of the things I’d like to plan for are the the Crafts that I am going to create, make and conquer for this year. I get so  many emails asking me about various different types of crafts and requests for certain projects so I thought I’d open up the floor.

I have some projects that I know I am going to work on this year but aside from those I was wondering what you’d like to see here at Cherry Menlove?

For example -

If you’d like to see more crafts using fabrics what crafts would they be? Quilts, clothing, bags, tablecloths, etc…

Home Crafts? For example, curtains, bedding, baby blankets, nappy-bags, slipcovers, upholstery etc….

Knitting? For example certain types of stitches, various projects, how to cast-on and off etc…

Crochet? For example, how-to crochet, making crochet garlands, ripple blankets, working with granny squares etc…

Technical questions? For example you may have come across terms and techniques that have never made sense. Let me help you make sense of some of this stuff in 2012. It may set you on your way to a hobby, an interest and possibly even a passion that you never give up on again.

Sewing and embroidery? For example, how to sew certain types of stitch for certain types of effect. Samplers, cross-stitch patterns, applique etc……

And any other crafts you can think of.

Like I said some of the projects you may suggest I already have on my list, some of the ones you think of may be appearing in the future in my Sainsbury’s or Making Magazine article. I work many months in advance on both of those. And some of them may even have already been made and shot for my book which comes out this year. But I’m feeling the need to plan. And this is a nice plan to make.

Thank you so much. I’m really looking forward to this year and all the ‘Makes’. And it’s much more fun creating them knowing that at least one other person, aside from me, will be get something from them.

OK, GO!!!!! I can’t wait to hear your suggestions.

I love you and thank you so much for reading.

Cherry x

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My word for 2012 is ENERGY. Let me explain why.

By the time 2011 had wrapped I had, over the last three years, been pregnant twice, lost both those babies in very painful and graphic ways, been through a twin pregnancy, major abdominal surgery (if anyone tells me that a C-Section is anything less I’ll have to take issue with them), had spinal fluid leaking in to my body just after the birth, completed every night feed my twins ever had (with Robert), written a book, taken part in three book shoots, lost my husband to a hospital in London for 6 weeks while he was being treated for leukemia, moved house three times, gained two magazine columns, seen my sister catch pneumonia on a hospital table, and grieved the loss of two friends. Both my age and taken unnecessarily.

In November of last year I went to my doctor because, as I said to her, I felt like I was “flat lining”. No amount of sleep would help me feel more alive, awake or energised. By the time I had made it up to the shower in the morning I was already yawning heavily. Evenings didn’t exist and weekends were a blur of trying to sleep when the babies had a nap and asking Robert to have them while I took a time out. Of course during this time I had things to do, places to be, commitments that I had made and dreams that were coming true. So on those occasions you’d be very right in thinking I just pulled it out the bag. I had to. And besides these commitments were not things that were dull, deadly or things I didn’t enjoy. They were things that set my heart on fire, inspired me and made me believe so wholly in the world around me that I could hardly contain myself. But like I said, I was flat lining.

So I went for blood tests and when they came back I sat in front of the nurse while she looked at me and then looked back at the test results and then looked back at me while she muttered “god, you poor thing” like I wasn’t in the room. Not one to resist the chance to ask a few questions I immediately responded with “er, what do you mean by that?” In layman’s terms I had no Iron and no B12 and it turns out that I was officially suffering from Pernicious Anemia. My body was essentially suffocating and 100 years ago I would have died had I not eaten 1.5 pounds of liver a day. I’m not a huge fan of offal so I’m glad the treatment has progressed. I shall have to have B12 shots for the rest of my life, take huge amounts of Iron supplements and will apparently begin to feel normal around March of this year. I’m certainly no longer flat lining but it has been a wake up call for me to prioritise various bits and bobs and make the time to have a bit more fun. The last three years have been a huge life learning curve and I simply thought that it was stress catching up with me. My friends and family were all urging us to take a break, have a holiday, you’ve all been through a lot. Which was fine but in my mind I had sneaky suspicion that there was something else up and thank goodness it was diagnosed very quickly after it became so debilitating.
So where does that leave me starting 2012. Well, very positively. Loss is a horrid thing and I have experienced loss and near loss last year ending with loosing a part of myself that I consider valuable, my energy. But loss can also be worked in to your life in a positive way and eventually end up enabling you to feel very grateful for what you have because in the words of the great Joni Mitchell “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”.

I’m taking better care of myself, becoming much more selective with what I have around me, what I read, what I watch, what I talk about and what I allow myself to spend time thinking about. I read a great quote the other day which said “Worry is a waste of imagination”. AMEN!

You see I believe that not only does my energy come from within me it is also transferred from everything else around me. So if I’m filling my home, environment and my body with bad energy then it doesn’t matter if my B12 levels are rocking I’ll still have that to contend with. We can’t control our environment all of the time but the things I do have around me I want them to add to my life and that of my family and not take away from them.
So that’s it.

Energy.

Ironically I’m writing this while feeling very tired physically but extremely buoyant in every other way. I’m rested and just need to allow a wee bit more time for things to level out. Which they will.
So I’m going in to this year with hopes held very high. Very certain of what is important and where my life is heading. I’m growing in confidence as a mummy and am allowing myself to be the parent I always wanted to be. I’m really looking forward to tackling new projects at home, in the kitchen and in my life in general and very much appreciate you, the reader, giving me the opportunity to share them with you.
It’s really exciting, I can’t even begin to tell you, but there is a calmness at the center of a storm that manifests itself as a very busy life. A still, quiet place that needed to rescue itself from the madness. I would describe that place as my spirit. My spirit needed energy and that is why I have chosen the word I have.

Last year the word I chose was Celebrate. On the outside I didn’t think there was anything to celebrate, it just seemed like punch in the face followed punch in the face. But on reflection there was a huge amount of celebrating to be done! My husband DID get better, my kids ARE healthy, I HAVE been diagnosed, Jodie IS out of hospital, Henry IS healthy, the book shoot went INCREDIBLY well, I write for SAINSBURY’S magazine, we are all STILL here. See? Loads to celebrate.

And I believe for 2012 and for my word. Energy. Good energy. Clean, positive, life affirming, fresh, beautiful, pure energy. It will take willpower, good choices, a steady mind, a gentle heart and courage. But I’ll get there. And whatever your word is for the year you’ll get there too. We’ll do it together. Because we’re in this Big Life together and I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do about that.

You’re stuck with me!

I love you, thank you for reading and if you have chosen a word for 2012 it would mean a great deal to hear why you have chosen the word you have.
Cherry x

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November

December

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August

September

See you next time for Part Four. Excuse the long gap between postings. We’ve all been struck by that hideous snotty thing that seems to be doing the rounds.

I love you and thank you for reading

Cherry x

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Decor8 book launch at Liberty.

Holly Becker of Decor8

We moved house this year!

May

June

A few days before the twins celebrated their first birthday Robert was diagnosed with Leukemia. He went on to spend six weeks in hospital having chemotherapy.

It’s hard going through the pictures from this time, but that is what this year in pictures is all about.  Looking back and seeing what we managed to make it through, achieve, laugh at and ignore.

I’ll be back with part three next time.

I love you and thank you for reading. We’re all running around the house like whirling dervishes at the moment as the third and final book shoot starts on Monday for three days. If you don’t follow me on facebook or twitter (links below) then do pop along. I’ll be posting from behind the scenes.

Cherry x

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February

March

These pictures show the first three months of 2011. Looking back it all seemed ominously uneventful, strangely quiet, but hindsight is an informative thing. April, May & June follow. Hang on!

I hope you all had a wonderful time ringing in the New Year. I love you and thank you so much for joining me as we start 2012.

Cherry x

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Rain falling and a chance of snow
Jona Lewie on the radio
French beer and mistletoe
That’ll be Christmas

Cars queuing on the edge of town
Afternoon with the blinds pulled down
It’s just the way the year goes round
That’ll be Christmas

I was going to head for high ground
Just forget it all
But the line’s busy I can’t make that call
Oh no.

Join the others in the bar by ten
Peace and goodwill to men
Me missing you again
That’ll be Christmas

A tired waiter in a stupid hat
Muddy boots on the welcome mat
You just can’t say no to that

Hot wine and a Christmas tree
The Sound of Music and the family
Faith hope and gluttony
That’ll be Christmas

There’s a choir of angels
A choir of soaks
And there’s drunk relations telling dirty jokes
Oh no

So I’ll join the others in the bar by ten
Peace and goodwill to men
Me missing you again
That’ll be Christmas

It’s gonna be me missing you again
That’ll be Christmas
That’ll be Christmas
That’ll be Christmas

There are a few bits to do, the table to finish and some food that either needs to be baked, cooked or just prepared. But today and tomorrow are my most favourite days of the whole year. Thank you so much for reading this year. It’s been quite a ride. Have a wonderful, peaceful, FUN Christmas and I’ll see you in 2012 with my Word for the Year and 2011 in Pictures.

I love you and wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

Cherry x

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It’s Sausage Roll time again!

I’m not sure why but I only seem to make these at Christmastime when what I should be doing is making them CONSTANTLY and eating nothing but them right throughout the year. They are that good! I’ve made several batches as they have been requested and I find it best to make a larger amount in one go because any that I don’t cook and eat straight away can be frozen until I need them.

Try these, even if it’s only to get the smell of them cooking wafting throughout the house!

The quantities make approximately 100 sausage rolls. Now that may seem like a huge amount but in fact it’s not. I cut mine in to individual rolls about half an inch wide because they cook better and are easier to eat. But believe me it is very possible to eat ten of these in one go and not even notice.

Prep time – 30 minutes
Cooking time – 30 Mins

Ingredients -

1 large Golden onion
450g  good quality Sausage Meat
Large pinch of ground coriander
2 teaspoons of fennel seeds slightly ground/crushed in a pestle and mortar)
6 large fresh sage leaves
75g of white breadcrumbs (I used mine frozen straight from the freezer)
2 eggs
1kg of shop bought Puff Pastry (believe me this is fine but make your own if you feel the need)
Salt & Pepper
Several large pinches of Sesame & Poppy seeds for sprinkling

Let’s Begin -

Heat the oven to 200c

Place the onion, sausage meat, coriander, fennel seeds, sage leaves, breadcrumbs, 1 egg and some salt and pepper in to the large bowl of a food processor and whiz it up until it is all combined. If you do not have this piece of equipment then chop the onion and sage leaves in to very small pieces and combine with the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix it all together with your hands. Really get stuck in there!

Set to one side.

Roll out your pastry on a floured surface. If it comes in 500g blocks roll out one at a time.

Each 500g of pasty should be rolled in to a piece that is approximately 24 inches long and 7 inches wide. Then cut this length in half right down the middle.

We’re now ready to begin assembling our Sausage Rolls.

Split the Sausage Meat mixture in to four portions and place one portion right down the middle of the pastry. Favour one edge slightly as you’ll be wrapping it up in a moment.

Pull one side of the pastry up and over the sausage meat and push together with the pastry on the other side of the meat mixture.

Seal it all in with a fork.

Give the pastry a wash with the other egg.

And sprinkle a mixture of Sesame and Poppy seeds all over the egg so that it sticks to the pastry.

Cut each length of sausage filled pastry in to approx twenty five pieces.

At this point if you want to freeze the Sausage Rolls then place them uncooked on to a tray and freeze them. When they are frozen you can transfer them in to a bag as a tray takes up quite a bit of space in the freezer. Defrost for an hour or so before cooking.

If you do not wish to freeze them but bake them immediately then place them on to a lined baking tray and cook for between twenty and twenty five mins, turning once, until they are a shade beyond golden brown.

These Sausage Rolls are a bit of a hit in my family and I’m really fond of them myself. Personally I have made batches for my myself for this evening, Christmas Eve supper and New year’s Eve to take to a friends. I’m also about to have several more with a cup of tea. So if you see a human sized Sausage Roll wandering the streets in January that would be me. I’ve simply eaten too many!

I love you and thank you so much for reading today. Back next time with scenes from my Christmas Home and Table.

Cherry x

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This was the part of the kitchen that I wanted to work on first. I wanted to remove these cupboards entirely, shift the fridge along, use the worktop in another location as it’s good wood and install some large chunky open shelving.

And that is what I did.

With my dad’s help of course. I didn’t do it all by myself.

Do you like this corner? I do. I love it. By dragging the Ektorp sofa out of my bedroom and putting it underneath the shelves it has also given us a place to hang in comfort. The kids LOVE having a sofa there and it’s nice on a Sunday to read the papers here.

Here was the wall after the units had been removed.

Here are the shelves going up.

There they are painted (and there is my father pulling focus)
My dad and I designed them so that we made the most of the wall and the space it provided. The shelves are tall, sturdy, strong and long and the top shelf continues on over the top of the fridge.

The best bit for me was filling them with stuff and I don’t think the paint had dried before I set to work on that. I’m loving the ‘Believe’ sign that my mum bought me. All I have to do is glance at it and I feel better if my confidence is taking a battering. I think it’s important to surround yourself with things that make you feel good and whole, alive and energized. I don’t want ‘life-sucking’ things anywhere near me or the space I live in and I think I’ve become even more fussy about that since having children.

I’m also rather addicted to those wonderful paper bags that hold tea lights. They are meant to decorate a front path but mine are staying put where they are. In the evening they fill the whole wall with a lovely glow and it’s nice to hang out in that sort of light. Calming is how I’d describe it.

There they are again.

I’ll move on from those bags now.

It’s decorated for Christmas at present but the joy of this wall is that I can change it and decorate it whatever time of year it is and whatever I happen to be celebrating.

The whole kitchen is being based around a palette of three colours shown here on three milkshake glasses from Ikea.  Chalky pink, chalky white and chalky chocolate milk. I don’t quite know exactly what colour chalky chocolate milk is but I don’t think that matters. If I need an example I’ll refer to the glasses.

I’ve had these latte bowls for years now. I bought them in Anthro on The Grove in LA. Wrapping them up carefully, I packed them in my suitcase, and they made it home without a crack. Someday I fully expect to lose at least one of them. But I’m learning, since becoming a mum to toddler twins, that if I’m precious about every single thing in my house I’ll be devastated daily as things get broken ALL THE TIME.

I’m learning, I’m not fully there yet.

Christmas colour.

The addition of the lamp was an absolute necessity. Like I said we’re in this room such a huge amount that it needs to be the type of room that we don’t mind being in. So I filled it with comfort, some colour, lighting that was easy to live with and sofa covers that I can whip off and clean very easily. God bless the Ektorp.

There are still some finishing touches that I need to do but we’re there for the most part. I can do those last few bits at my leisure.

Have a wonderful day. Next time I’ll be sharing my Sausage Roll recipe in case you need some snacks that can be frozen. But be careful I’m not just saying this because they are mine but these Sausage Rolls are dangerously delicious. Hide them and keep them hidden until you are ready for them to be demolished. When you are prepared set them down on a plate, tell folk that they are ready, and run from the room. There will be a stampede if people have had them before. When the dust has settled there may be a few crumbs left but hopefully you’ll have some stuffed in a pocket somewhere for you to eat in secret.

I love you, thank you for reading and have a fantastic start to the last week before Christmas.

Cherry x

Don’t Forget! -

I’m so excited and honoured about this! Not only have Mitchell & Peach published an interview they did with me but have offered any customers quoting ” CHERRY ” at the checkout TWENTY PERCENT off and FREE Shipping until the end of the month. They are a beautiful business and I’m humbled as they supply Fortnum’s and Harvey Nicks!

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Hello!

So, after weeks of having Pomegranates drying in my kitchen yesterday they were ready to be attached and made in to my Christmas door wreath for this year. The wreath is actually hanging from what is officially the back door but this is the door that everyone uses when they visit so it makes sense. They come in through this door, walk in to the boot room and up the stairs to the kitchen.

As well as the Pomegranates I have added pale pink roses and Eucalyptus leaves.

As well as dried Hydrangea heads….

…and ornamental cabbages. All available from your local florist and some of these flowers/foliage will be available from your local supermarket too.

I used this wreath as the basis of mine. The pomegranates are heavy and will need a wreath that can hold them. You certainly don’t have to use one like this but get to your local garden centre, florist or place that sells Christmas Trees and hunt for a sturdy and strong wreath to use as a base. You can use one already covered in foliage, this will save you time and possibly some cash, there are no rules to this. This is your wreath, you need to have a great time experimenting with different things that you think will greet your guests in a warm and Christmassy way. I wouldn’t suggest using an Oasis/Floral Foam for this wreath as you are tying your foliage to the base not just sticking bits in to it. I hope that makes sense and I’ve explained it OK.

To decorate and attach the Pomegranates -

• Tie ribbon around the Pomegranate
• Pin in place as it may slide off
• Tie a bow at the top of the fruit, this makes them appear much more grand and fuller.

You now need to attach wire to the Pomegranates in order to be able to fix them on to the wreath -

• Using a kebab stick, poke it through the back part of the Pomegranate until it comes out on the opposite side
• Remove the stick and thread some strong wire (I used 0.7mm) through the holes you have just made. Leaving two lengths sticking out on either side.
• Twist the lengths of wire around a part of the wreath, securing the Pomegranate in place.

Make sure that the Poms are secure. When you are doing this you’ll be able to tell how secure they need to be as you’ll feel the weight of them in your hand. The wire needed is thicker than ordinary florists wire and mine measured 0.7mm and is available at any DIY store.

When you have attached your Pomegranates work around them to fill in the rest of the wreath with your chosen flowers/foliage. I think this is the fun bit. With each piece you add you get to see it come to life.

You can use Holly, Ivy, Roses, Ornamental Cabbages, Mistletoe, Eucalyptus. You could also add decorative bells, baubles, bows. ANYTHING! It’s your door. And if you’re not happy with it you can do it all over again next year. They will keep getting better and better.

You can still see pins and tiny bits of wire poking out from the wreath but we’re not florists. It doesn’t matter. When you hang the finished article on your door you’ll love it, I promise you. Your friends will ask where you bought it from and when you tell them you made it you’ll have orders coming in!

I’ve been making wreaths like this for about fifteen years and it is my absolute favourite part of decorating for Christmas. Each year I do something different and each year I love the process. It is a tradition that I have for myself and each year the current wreath becomes my favourite.

So how does this year’s wreath compare?

Well this one is definitely my favourite. No question.

If you have dried your own Pomegranates or are making a wreath out of other materials be sure to let me know as I’d love to see them. If you upload them to Facebook post a link on my fan page and I’ll stop over. I can’t wait.

I love you and thank you so much for reading today.

Merry Christmas!!

Cherry x

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The bad times come and go and leave us older, wiser and a wee bit more haggard. And then the good times swing by for a visit and leave us refreshed, joyful and hopeful. Refueled to carry on with our days. Thank goodness life is cyclical.

Well this is a good time for me in my life and I am celebrating it.

As of January 4th I shall be writing a brand new craft column for Sainsbury’s Magazine. They haven’t had a craft column before and I am terrifically honoured to have been asked to do it. I buy this magazine and like it a lot and there was tremendous whooping on the sofa last week when I saw myself pictured……

I mean look! I’m there with Nige and The Berry with a picture my sister took of me in my old kitchen, next to two of my heroes. I’ve read Nigel’s memoir Toast and have all of his shows on my Sky box. I also have the AGA books that Mary writes and watched the Great British Bake Off with great interest hanging on her every word of advice.

Surreal and very, very exciting. An amazing Chrismtas present as I had no idea the magazine would announce it and I was told about it via Twitter.

Thank you to Sainsbury’s Magazine and my editor Helena Lang for this wonderful opportunity. For taking a shot on an unknown.

Each month the column will feature brand new original crafts that haven’t been seen before on my website  although we are kicking off with a classic that some of you may recognise. I really hope you, as a reader of this site, enjoy the piece and will try the crafts. If you can’t get the magazine where you live I will speak to the publishers about getting some scanned versions for this website.

Have a fantastic week. I will be uploading my Pomegranate Wreath this week so if you dried your Poms along with me you’ll finally know what to do them.

I love you and thank you so much for reading today.

Cherry x

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Yesterday was a pottering day. You know the sort, all the Christmas bags are out on the floor and you have to decide where to put the lights, which plugs to use, are people going to break their necks if they trip over the wire, that sort of thing.

Yesterday was also the day that the dining room carpet was laid. There was some mix up and it came later than all the others. But we’re all sorted now so I could get in to that room and give it a good Christmas thrashing.

Lights everywhere. Even teacups are unsafe.

I have a lot of plates, random plates, mismatching plates that belong to no particular set. I’ve stopped buying them actually as I don’t know what to do with the piles of plates. But when I see them sitting in a thrift shop for ten pence each I can’t help but grab ten at a time. Anyway, a few weeks ago I’d set some aside to go on to the wall when the Dining Room was nearing completion. Yesterday was that day so I got this wee collection out and started to think about whereabouts on the wall they should all go.

I didn’t have long to think because my daughter stopped by and decided to play drums on them.

Not the best idea you’ve ever had, Nye!

So they’re up now and I like them. I will add to them perhaps but not until the tree has been taken down in the New Year.

My fake white tree that I bought from Sainsbury’s last year. LOVE IT!

It’s slender and sits in this corner really nicely.

I put the kids to bed last night before they had seen all of the lights on and in action. So this morning before I got them up I turned everything on. Nye stepped out of the bedroom and said “wow, lights”. Ned stepped out and said “down”. He didn’t care for the lights but knew that breakfast was downstairs not on the landing.

After porridge I took them in to the newly carpeted dining room and I put some Christmas songs on. We have a little jig in the morning to two songs that they both randomly seem to really like.

That’ll Be Christmas by Thea Gilmore and Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride. No rhyme or reason to it but those two are the favourites.

Can you see Nye in the background bending down to pick something up from the floor?

Here she is a few seconds later with the offending article in her hand. She does that often. Clears spaces of ‘stuff’ that she doesn’t like and hands me little pieces of paper or leaves that have come in on our shoes. “Dirty” she says. To which I say “Yes, very good girl, and if you want to continue being this neat and tidy Anaïs that’s alright by me!!”

No harm in starting them young on those types of habits that REALLY do help you out around the place!

Have a fantastic weekend. I have my forth B12 shot today. No difference being felt yet but I’m trying not to rush it and get despondent. I’ll have to have them for the rest of my life apparently which is ironic because before I knew this piece of information I was very much afraid of injections. Hmmmmmmmm! No point in that now I guess.

I love you and thank you for reading. Merry Christmas.

Cherry x

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I love our tree this year, I can’t tell you how much I love it. Aesthetically it’s a little scraggy, lets be honest, it’s slightly patchy, uneven, has no presents underneath it yet as the twins run around the room with them playing Drop the Box. But I sat in this room yesterday evening with all of the lights off apart from the tree lights and I breathed a sigh of relief and contentment.

Relief that this year is nearly over. It’s been weird on all sorts of levels.

Relief that it is Christmas. I love this time of year.

Relief that Robert is better. We dodged a bullet.

Relief that the carpets have been laid. The best Christmas present I’ve had in a long time.

Relief that the kids are doing well. My greatest achievement.

Relief that I have been diagnosed with Pernicious Anemia. I hated not knowing why I was so tired and kept walking in to the door frames.

Contentment that the B12 shots are going in to my blood stream at a steady rate.

Contentment that we have our carpets laid. I already mentioned that.

Contentment that this is the year I wrote my first book. How did that happen!

Contentment that the kids went down well tonight.

Contentment. I just heard Robert’s key go in the door.

This year the situations I’ve found myself in have been so perfect for teaching me not to sweat the small stuff. I’ve had more ‘perfect’ looking trees before but that isn’t what it is about. This tree is perfect to me because it’s there. And it has lights on it. And that is enough. My entire outlook on ‘stuff’ has changed. I have so much, I have been given so much, and I want to share so much.

My dream was never for a perfect house it was for an open house. A house that you would see from the outside and want to be inside. And when you stepped through the front door you knew that no matter where you were originally from you could consider the place home for the duration of your stay.

Which is why I’m so lucky to be here and writing on this website and have actual people who read it. It’s a virtual sharing of my home and a dream come true. There will always be a light on in my window, virtual or not, for as long as I have access to a computer. And with my B12 kicking in I can feel new hope coursing through my veins. 2012 is going to be such a good year for so many of us, I can feel it. But before we get even a step closer to New year’s Eve I have my Pomegranate Wreath to share as well as my famous Sausage Roll recipe to give to you and a whole lot more.

Thank you for stopping by at this time of year. When you see the light on call in. I’ll be there. I’m always there.

I love you and thank you so much for reading.

Cherry x

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“No, Ned, don’t eat the bauble, it’s glass”

“No, Nye, don’t eat the cat litter”

Closely followed by….

“NONYEDON’TEATTHECATLITTER!!!!”

“No, Ned, you can’t climb on the table and put your spoon in to Dada’s wine glass”

“No, Nye, it is not acceptable to hit Ned in the face when he won’t give you the fake cabbage from Ikea back”

“No, Nye, the square root of 65 is not three” *

NO, Ned, Dada’s wine is NOT for you”

Closely followed by…

“No, Ned, Stop drinking the wine”

and

“ROBERT!!!!!!!”

* = This one didn’t happen. The rest did.

You can see how dull and repetitive this would become, day after day, week after week. The twins are in to everything and constantly need to be watched and moved and carried off from something dangerous, screaming. But to keep this up, this level of consistency, when all you want to do is to shove your head underneath a cushion and have a nap in front of the fire is hard. Really hard. It. Is. Constant.

And it has been constant since day one. I’m very lucky, as I’ve said before I have help and support from both the Grandma’s, but it goes deeper than the sense of repetitiveness. Both Robert and I have decided that we’re going to do our best to raise people who contribute something positive to the various situations they find themselves in. And this starts with knowing right from wrong. Right now it is our job to teach them as they are still very small. So whether it’s tiring, dull, boring or annoying we’ve got a responsibility to these two small people to keep them on some  sort of track. I feel very strongly about this.  And although we’ve dispensed of highchairs in favour of adult chairs with cushions on them I still don’t want them hitting each other on the top of the head when the other steals Peppa Pig.

But what I’m finding is that this structure, this constant boring “No,No, No, No, No,” is starting to pay dividends. And this was apparent on Saturday night.

I never love my children more than when they are in their pyjama’s. Not because they’ll soon be off to bed but because they are warm from the bath, smelling of talc, not dinner and poo, and because they act so cosy and cute on the wind down after a long day.

I’ve never seen someone look so sweet whilst wearing skull and cross bones.

Nye just stomps about. “Moon, Sky,Gone” she exclaims as she points out the window to the night sky. I love the sense of wonder and I’m learning to regain that in my own life from watching them. I’ve found myself thinking that life would be so much simpler if I was that excited by the moon.

They run across an open space and fall over for fun. If it snows again this year I’m going to do exactly the same. Fall over for fun.

They fling themselves on to Robert and he has no problem flinging them off again. And then it’s off to bed. They make their way to the door and begin to head out of the room ……

…but not before one last attempt at touching the tree. At which time I start again with my familiar refrain.

Last Christmas this was Ned.

And this was Nye.

They couldn’t walk, talk, eat by themselves or hit each other in the face. But then again they couldn’t put their arms up when they wanted a cuddle, or make a smacking sound with their mouths when they want a kiss. They couldn’t make each other laugh in the back seat of the car or chat from cot to cot in the early morning. They couldn’t climb up on to your knee at the end of the day or look at you with an expression of total trust and acceptance as they go off to sleeep.

So, yes, they do tug the Christmas tree and coat their heads in porridge before the clock has struck seven am but they are still here. We’ve now managed to keep them safe (just) for almost two Christmases. Who’d have thunk it!

I love you and thank you so much for reading today.

Cherry x

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It is Monday, the start of a new week, and the week that I begin to slowly, slowly decorate the house for Christmas. Pottering about the place in the evenings putting up lights and sorting out the decorations. We purchased our tree on Saturday and if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter (links below) I posted a picture of it yesterday evening. It’s a nice tree and as the weekends leading up to Christmas can occasionally get busy we grabbed the chance to buy it while we were out and about and get it installed in to the living room.

I have a Christmas craft for you to try today if you’d like. This Felt Bauble Garland is a nice ‘sit in front of the telly’ craft. Needs no sewing machine and doesn’t cost a fortune. It’s also a good one if you have children that are old enough to work with a needle and are interested in this sort of thing. Go to town on the decorative front. I chose white felt as the base colour for my baubles as I’m trying to keep everything clean and bright. But you can go with whatever will suit your house.

You also don’t have to stick to my choice of shapes for your baubles. You can go with stars, hearts, moons. Whatever you like. Just have fun!

I decided to have 6 Baubles on my garland but, again, if you have a larger or wider space to fill then you can choose to have more.

• Cut out 6 bauble shapes from card (I used cereal boxes) freehand or using a ruler/compass/upturned bowl.  Keep the shapes as simple as you like.

• Next, you will need to cut out 12 pieces (or double the amount of baubles you are making) of felt to cover the card. These felt pieces need to be a tiny bit larger than the pieces of card (see picture above) as you’ll be encasing the card in the felt.
• Make each felt piece approximately half a centimeter larger than the card template, all the way around.

• Decorate the 6 baubles however you fancy (see full picture of my garland for inspiration). I decided to use different colour felt, embroidery thread and a few sequins & beads.

• Now, cut out 6 bauble tops from your choice of felt. I chose to use a beige colour. You need to make sure these rectangle tops are the same size as the felt bauble tops, not the card template tops.

• Once the front of the bauble is decorated & you have your bauble tops cut out you need to sew the pieces of the bauble together.  You will need the plain back piece of the bauble, the card, the decorated front piece & the bauble top.
• Sandwich all these pieces together (with the card template in the middle of the two felt pieces & the bauble top at the top), or pin if you like.

• Sew blanket stitch all the way around. If you are unsure how to do blanket stitch then you can find out how to do it here

• Not forgetting to include the bauble top as you work your way around the outside edge.

• As a final step create a loop on the back of the bauble -  Sew 2 vertical stitches on the back of your bauble top in the center.

Finish by threading all of your baubles on to some ribbon.

This is a lightweight garland so it can be hung anywhere. I may move mine from the mantle and hang it going up the stairs or perhaps in the kitchen. It would also look great in the kids bedroom and although they’re far too young to get excited about the season they certainly like bright colours.

Have a wonderful start to the week.

Are you ready to get cosy?

I love you and thank you so much for reading.

Cherry x

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We’re having the carpet fitted.

All of it.

It’s taking two days.

We have to remove everything but three pieces of furniture from each room.

That’s not really happening.

Robert has to be at work.

Cathy and I are moving a lot of furniture.

The carpet people didn’t measure one of the rooms.

We’re missing carpet for that room.

I’m trying to keep the kids off the gripper rods.

So far so good.

Although Robert just swore very loudly as he stepped on one coming out of the shower.

I’ll be back after a short nervous breakdown.

If you don’t hear from me send vodka.

And a Mad Men box set.

I love you thank you for reading today. Don’t tell them I’m hiding in the cupboard will you?

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Hello!

Guess what?

Mincemeat is one of the easiest things to make on this planet. There are quite a few ingredients but basically they all go in to a big bowl, sit there for a bit, and then get put in to a jar. OK, there’s a teeny bit more to it than that but not much more.

These quantities will make almost three kilo’s of mincemeat. Which is a nice amount as you can fill some mince pies and also give a jar or two away.

Equipment -

• x6 500g (or equivalent) preserving jars – basically this means a jar that can be sealed in an airtight fashion so that the mincemeat will keep. Le Parfait, Mason and Kilner jars are all now readily available.

• A large bowl

• Tongs

Ingredients  -

• 150g glace cherries – chopped in to small pieces

• 100g pecans – chopped in to small pieces

• 100g hazelnuts – chopped in to small pieces

• 3 lemons – zest and juice

• 2 oranges – zest and juice

• 450g bramley apples (or other cookers)  -  peeled, cored and chopped in to small pieces

• 220g shredded suet ( I used beef, if you’re veggie used vegetable suet)

• 350g raisins

• 12 medjool dates  – chopped in to small pieces

• 220g sultanas

• 220g currants

• 350g dark muscovado sugar

• 220g mixed candied peel

• 5 tsp mixed spice

• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 2 large pinches of freshly grated nutmeg

• 4 tbsp brandy

• 4tbsp amaretto

Put all of the ingredients in to a large bowl.

Stir well (whilst watching your seventeen month old son try his hardest to get in to the fridge)

At one point I got really stuck in and used my hands to stir the lot together. The aroma at this point will be making your mouth water.

Pat down in the bowl, cover, and set aside overnight.

The next day empty the bowl in to a large saucepan and heat very gently on a low heat.
Stirring often.
Don’t let the mixture stick to the bottom of the pan or burn in any way. This process is only to gently melt the suet.

It’s a beautiful looking recipe. And it fills the house with the smell that only comes at this time of year.

When the mixture has been heated all the way through and the suet has melted, coating all the ingredients, keep it warm while  getting your jars ready.

Wash them in very hot soapy water, rinsing them thoroughly.

Then put them in to a hot oven for a few minutes.

Lift them carefully out of the oven……

..and while still warm fill the jars with the mincemeat.

Close the jars (see note on the types of jar to use) and allow to cool in a cool dark place.

OK, a few notes on all of this to demystify it all.

• This mincemeat will keep well for about a year if the jar is airtight, thoroughly steralised before hand, and left in a cool dark place. But I’ll be using all of mine this Christmas.
• If you don’t like some of the ingredients then feel free to swap them around a bit. But if you play too much, add loads more nuts or fruit etc, you’ll find that the result is either too dry or far too soggy. This recipe is really lovely, not too sweet, bit tangy, and rich even after only one day of sitting around. So I would urge you to give it a go.
• Stir Up Sunday was yesterday. But if you were busy or missed it then please don’t worry. This mincemeat is fabulous for making at the last minute. As I said Louise and I left our bowl overnight, heated it up as per my recipe and then made some mince pies out of a portion of it before putting the rest in to jars. The mincemeat was gorgeous and several other people who were at my house for lunch yesterday loved it. So even if you make it a week or the night before Christmas you’ll be OK.
• If you only have time in the evening for these kinds of kitchen shenanigans then do the first step one evening and heat it and put in to jars the next. It’ll keep.

It is so foggy here right now. The fog arrived yesterday morning,went away and then returned just as folk were leaving our house yesterday evening. This morning it’s white as far as I can see, like snow!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Have a great start to the week. I love you and thank you so much for reading.

Cherry x

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I’m so pleased about this I can’t begin to tell you. Not because I particularly want the week to end but because we’ve got a pretty good weekend coming up. The sort of weekend that I really look forward to because I know it will have an overriding sense of cosiness. I’ve been teaching the kids to say “cosy” as I absolutely consider it one the best words I know. So far Ned says “coh-coh-coh” and Nye says “codeee”. And they both say it when I tuck them in at night which is a bit of a bonus.

Tomorrow Paul and Louise arrive and they are staying the entire weekend. They have kindly offered to watch the kids while Robert and I remove the carpets that are currently laid to make way for the new ones that arrive soon. Robert and I are buying each other carpet for Christmas. Yep, it’s got to THAT point!! Romantic, no?

Anyway, after we’ve done the carpet thing I’m hauling myself in to the kitchen, with Louise, and we’re starting on the Christmas Baking proper. Now, I’m confused, is Stir Up Sunday THIS weekend or next??? Not that it matters but I’d like to know as I’m hearing different dates.

But today I have another gift for you. To accompany my Christmas Gift checklist ( you can find that here) I now present my Christmas Card checklist. Print off as many copies as you like, keep it where you know you’ll use it and you won’t miss the final posting date of the year. We’ve all done it and I’d like to save you from that sinking feeling when you realise the HUGE parcel you meant to send in October is still under your bed.

You can download it here

or click on the picture below

Enjoy it.

But before you go I want to know what you’re doing this weekend because I’m nosy and also so that when I’m slow roasting my brisket on Sunday morning I can think of you and know that we’re still all in this thing together.

I love you and thank you so much for reading this week.

Cherry x

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