I had a wonderful parcel arrive this week…

It smelt divine even before I opened it! But when I did open it – wow, what beautiful goodies for pampering my poor old parched skin. Let’s face it, there ain’t a lot of time for 3-step beauty regimes in this house and my skin has been crying out for some TLC! So now I have no excuses – I have wonderful Rose Cream, Rose and Honey lip balm and some pure lavender essential oil and a sachet of dried lavender which I’ll be sewing into a little bag and tucking into my pillow case to secure some very sweet dreams. The cream is wonderful – so silky and with a gorgeously subtle scent and when you read about how it’s made and what it’s made from you appreciate it all the more.

If, like me you fancy a bit of pampering or have a special pressie to buy, pop over and take a look at Marie’s brand new website. Or have a browse on her blog where she writes about her business and her interests and she often has great articles explaining about the properities of many of the plants used in her preparations.

Thanks so much everyone for all of the kind words that were left on the last post about my Gangan. I know that my mum has also read all of the comments and that they mean as much to her as they do to me. I’m really grateful and very touched – a big thank you from the heart.

The school half term break seems like ancient history now, but we did have a nice time catching up with friends and just enjoying some quiet family time although the crappy weather meant that we were inside and Toby was reduced to bouncing on our bed rather than the trampoline in the garden. Amy did lots of drawing – I particularly like her family portrait (wish I could claim to be that slim and be able to get away with swirly high heels, bows, frills and puff sleeves – ahh well, nice to think that my daughter sees me that way!!)

I also had some lovely things in the post and wanted to say a big thank you to Emma at Sew recycled who sent my this beautiful little brooch for being a lucky runner-up in her competition.

And I want to thank Kat at Secrets of a butterfly who bought one of my rabbits and sent me this amazing handmade card – it’s got so many lovely little touches and my daughter was especially enchanted when I read her the text on the back:

While I’m on the subject, my thanks go to a couple of people who have recently had one of my toys;  the lovely Dave at Cabin Cove who wrote a wonderful and funny post about the monkey that I sent him. Mr Minky looks like one lucky boy to have ended up in such a loving home! And Tilly Bunny has also landed on her feet – read all about her adventures in Katie’s fabulous shed. My toys are definitely very lucky to be going to such great homes!!

This post is in danger of sounding like an oscar acceptance speech, "…and I’d like to thank my junior school teacher, my window cleaner, the man who clips my cat’s claws…."! It’s just that there’s a lot to be thankful for at the moment. I’m pondering how to say a more meaningful thank you to everyone who visits here (especially as I’m approaching my 100th post) so watch this space in a week or 2 – hopefully I’ll be able to come up with something more tangible than words, but for now, THANKS EVERYONE!