Thursday, 12 February 2015

2015 ......! Whizzing by already

2015! I cant quite believe we have got to mid February so quickly! This year is racing by not like last year.........!
Last year consisted of a whole year of building work! An utter nightmare at the time but my house is now totally transformed. We have extended up into the loft and out to the side with a bigger kitchen and bathroom. We have been re-wired and re-plumbed and re-decorated all the way through! It was a much bigger job than I had thought and took over double the time .... and money... to achieve it. But at long last it is 'nearly' finished. Just a few cosmetic bits to be sorted out and ta da the Lang house will be complete. I have been very lucky to have had a blank canvas in which to start to put my house back together. At the same time for some reason I have found it quite daunting having to plan whole rooms! The living room is essentially the same with a few extra plug sockets, a skim of plaster and a paint (in the same colours as before) but it does look fresher. The new carpet helps to do this as the one before was on its last legs!  
All the other rooms have had a total change! and I love it. I decided after years of quite strong colours to paint most of the walls almond white! It's opened up the whole house up and makes the hall way and landing, which are very narrow look much bigger and brighter. The bedroom as well seem to feel less cluttered as the pictures and quilts are not in competition with the colour of the walls.
In the kitchen and the bathroom I have gone with 'overtly olive' a lush shade of green that I have fallen in love with. The walls in the kitchen and the wood panels in the bathroom look amazing painted in this. 
All in all, although we had to move out for several months and it took forever and I now feel stupidly poor it has all been very worth it. My kitchen and bathroom just make me smile when I walk in them..... if they are tidy hehe.
I've also seem to mysteriously acquired an awful lot more Emma Bridgewater in the new year! enough to justify a second dresser. I was so excited when I unpacked all my beautiful 'pinks'  











Saturday, 26 October 2013

Benjamin's birthday


At the end of May was Benjamin's birthday. We had a big party at our house and all the usual suspects came over to celebrate his oldness!! we also went off, Ben, myself, Andi and Tanya on our Tuesday treat day
(one Tuesday in eight weeks we are all off together ), went off to Padstow to go crabbing for the day xx We had loads of fun and I won the crab competition hehe


Caught by Andi.



Tanya trying to be a crab!

Our very yummy desert :-) bought at Rick Steins in Padstow

Benjamins birthday card and beer :-)


Tuesday, 18 June 2013

A nest fit for the Queen bird :-) !

Aunty Kate and Tamsyn decided last Friday that the birds of Launceston had nowhere posh to stay! They had collected some sticks after the picnic in Kate's garden and Uncle Penny assisted further when he cut down some of his hedge ( not especially for the nest building I hope hehe). Kate was very excited as she got to use her new glue gun eeeeek and they made a masterpiece fit for a bird or a few my little ponys!







Tamsyn has decided that Kate should come over every Friday night now for craft night !!!!! Poor Kate - she can never go for a night out now or work in the pub as Tamsyn wishes to craft. Decided that our craft sessions can be a bit hap-hazard to fit in and around life :-)

The next craft session has been booked and they are going to make initials decorated with buttons...... watch this space.........



May has gone and I'm now poor and tired hehe

Well , May came and went in a bit if a blur! It was full of birthdays and parties and fun and chaos as expected for birthday season. It was fab and the children loved every minute of it xx
Samuels birthday cakes :-)

Tamsyns birthday box full up with yummy presents, including Pinkie Pie the build a bear my little pony :-) !! 
More birthday cake ( I have no idea why I don't loose weight !!) 
Tamsyn had her birthday party with two of her school friends and her little cousin Daisy. They went to 'the little button shop' in a village close to town and had a  workshop making heart wall hangings. The girls absolutely loved it and worked so hard to create their masterpieces :-) fabulous value for money and we now have a very keen sewer in the family. 


My new little niece Eleanor 'Nell' was born and she is mega cute eeeeeeek unfortunately she had to spend over two weeks in hospital as she had stopped breathing and was quite poorly for a while ! Big scare for the family and her poor, but very strong, Mummy, Daddy and big sister Emma. She is now better and has spent her first weekend at home all snuggled up with her family xx




May has been the month that Emily and Samuel plunged into the sea and started their surfing lessons :-) Sam got a wetsuit for his birthday and was very keen to try it! They have been going for three weeks now and doing rather well. Sam got surfer of the week this week which was amazing!



Monday, 17 June 2013

An hour or two for me :-)

The workshop that Tamsyn did for her birthday was so fab I thought I would book myself onto a short afternoon course at the same place. It was all a bit hap-hazard and chaotic for the first half an hour but I think they have only just started doing some of these courses and tiny teething problems are you be expected and embraced - this is how we all learn. The lady Sarah who owns the place is such a lovely friendly lady you can help but love it there. I decided that I would like to have a go at free hand machine embroidery. I have seen courses run by Poppy Trefry in St Ives but they are a lot of money for one day. I have even bought one of Poppy's books in order to have a go myself but never got to it !
But for two hours I 'had a go' and made a little picture of Launceston castle which I love. It wasn't as hard as I thought so will defiantly be trying it again. 



Isn't it so cute ? I love it so much xxx it has all the things I love in it! Pink spotty fabric, Launceston castle, jubilee flag, bunting, and apple trees :-)))))))))) very happy Karen ! 

Saturday, 4 May 2013

Birthday Season is upon us YEAH xx

It is today the 4th of the good month of May. The month in my house that is as big as Christmas! The month that all my babies (not so now!) get another year older, the dog ages 7 years and poor Benjamin gets closer to 40 *snigger snigger*
The month of May or 'birthday season' as it is known among family and friends is very exciting. Emily, Samuel and Tamsyn have their birthdays within 14 days of each other! - 1st, 6th and 14th! Jetney the dog's birthday is on the 17th. Cousin Daisy has her birthday on the 18th. Benjamin's birthday on the 31st finishes the month off nicely. In between all these dates are various cousin's and friend's birthdays which turns the month quite expensive!!! To add to the birthday chaos Aunty Amy's baby is due next week (9th of May) and my lovely new neighbour, Laura, decided to join the May club and her baby is due on the 27th of May hehe. I love it and we all have so much fun. Far too much cake is eaten, lots of balloons, lots of bunting, lots of candles, lots of presents, lots of people, lots of everything.......!
A new Lang house tradition is the introduction of the Lang 'birthday box'. I had it made last year by a vary fab gentleman, who although I discovered it late managed to get it too me on time for the first of May, start of birthday season. The children love it and Tamsyn and Samuel both said last week "it's about time you got the birthday box out"!
It was Emily of the Lang's birthday on the 1st of May and she is now 14!!!!! OMG OMG OMG OMG I  feel quite old now. She had to go to school and even had a mock English exam :-( which wasn't pleasant. She did have her friends over after school though and had her favourite tacos for tea. My friend Hayley the great cake maker made her some fab cup cakes with a Mexican theme.




They are the most fabulous tiny cakes ever ever. Emily and her friends loved them.

She had stacks of money and lots of money given to her and even had flowers delivered!

You cant have a party without party rings!!!!! 'Them's the rules.....!'

Monday, 18 March 2013

Making very fantastic lemonade



Yesterday the girls and I decided to make lemonade. We have not made it before and Emily and Tamsyn had great fun squeezing the lemons. I think it will become a firm favourite in our house, although not so often as the amount of sugar that went into it was frightening! We have decided that we should make it for picnics and for birthdays and party's and any other Lang gathering. It was so easy to do and tasted so very yummy.