It's that time of year again...

Almost exactly a year ago I shared this post about our first year in Cambridge. Now our second year is coming to an end and the reality is setting in that this time next year I will be surrounded by boxes and chaos as we move on to a new venture. It's bitter sweet how time flies - whilst in so many ways I relish change, we have come to call people we didn't even know two years ago some of our dearest friends and I'm in denial about the fact that I can't pack them up and move them with me next year! I talked last year about our first year here being sweet but, compared to that, this year has been like a triple decker chocolate brownie sundae with honeycomb sprinkles and dash of golden syrup for good measure. Not to say it hasn't been without struggles and tears but even within those times I've been able to grasp out for the beauty found in the fragility of this life. I have grown so much and owe a lot of that to my wonderful friends, they really are an incredible and beautiful bunch. Yet some of these friends are already moving this year - my baking and crafting buddies are taking their talent across the country! I'll miss them but this has been a week of celebrating friendship together at various leaving parties, including an epic Hollywood themed ball (there might just be a craft tutorial coming related to that!) - I'm so excited for all that God holds for them as they move on to curacies.

For one of the parties, like last year (remember these paper gift bags?), I put together little party bags for each person leaving. I loved the chance to spoil each of them a little and show them how much they're loved! This year we went with origami gift boxes and, wait for it, I was actually organised enough to photograph the contents beforehand! Which means I'll be sharing a few projects over the coming weeks...despite the silence on the blog I've had a really crafty couple of months and am so happy I can finally share it with you!

So here is a taster of what's to come. I'm happy to say that I've found another origami project which doesn't leave me tearing my hair out (I'm slowly adding to my repertoire!), felt bookmarks, pretty stationary and clay magnets. Along with these DIYs my friend Martha made some pretty cross necklaces and we popped in a sweet treat for each leaver and also a prayer card (not pictured as obviously they were very personal).

So stay tuned!

Beautiful Venice...

We snuck away to Venice for a few days last week and, oh my, it was so beautiful! It was somewhere we had both always wanted to go and it was also my first ever trip to Italy, I loved it so much :)

It was initially forecast to rain the whole time but the sun came out and shone on us most days...even though the wind meant we had to keep our winter coats firmly on!

Venice has got to be the most iconic place I have ever visited. It was somewhat surreal to find myself there in the middle of the famous sights, feeling like I knew it so well but really knowing nothing about it all. Over the years we have watched documentaries, read books and visited art exhibitions about Venice, it would have been easy for our expectations to be too high but it was everything we hoped it would be and more.

But to be honest, the ice cream would have made up for any disappointment.

We packed in a lot of walking but it was so relaxing to be walking around with no time limit or agenda. We arrived in the afternoon of Monday and spent the rest of that day and then all of Tuesday exploring the different districts. Venice is full of narrow alleys and beautiful bridges over quiet canals. We kept coming upon beautiful buildings and squares which were deserted...in any other city they would be a main attraction yet Venice seems to be overflowing with them.

We didn't bother going on a gondola... this is going to seem very unromantic but it was ridiculously expensive for what it was! I think in the Summer you could probably group up with people but we didn't mind too much. There is a water bus so we went up and down the grand canal in that a few times...hence many of our photos being lopsided from the current!

On the Wednesday we visited the main attractions - we went up the campanile (the bell tower in st Mark's square) and visited to the Doge's Palace and the Cathedral. Everything felt so over the top and ornate...the Venetians were pretty sure of themselves back in the day and were happy to shout about it in style! Another highlight was visiting the Rialto bridge and market...there was so much fresh produce to drool over!

I would highly recommend visiting Venice, it was so lovely! It was the perfect size for a three night stay...we felt like we saw all that we wanted to and also fitted in visiting a neighbouring island. Visiting in March did mean it was a little cold but it was still lovely and sunny - and more importantly out of the main tourist season so we didn't have to queue for anything or struggle with crowds.

So long Venice - thanks for having us! and for the awesome ice cream :)

Knitting update (take 2)...

So things have been very quiet on the knitting front since my last update in... oh, October! It was mainly due to the fact that I got bored with what I was knitting. Pink is not really a colour I would automatically go to, it was just some yarn I had inherited. I do want to finish it at some point because I love the idea of knitting something for my niece (for whom pink is the go-to colour).

But I tidied up, the knitting got put away. And it was a case of out of sight, out of mind. But the other week I hosted a knitting night as part of the craft nights I help coordinate. This time I went out and chose my yarn...and went for the chunkiest yarn and some of the biggest needles available! It turns out this is the way forward for me, it comes together so quickly! I also learnt to purl stitch so I'm having a go at making a scarf with a stocking stitch.

I had a minor emergency the other night when I reached the end of my yarn...I know common sense should prevail but I had no idea how to start a new ball off! I was going to just tie the ends together but then thought that it must surely be more complicated than that. So I went for the default option - and called my Mum! Turns out it is pretty easy - Thanks Mum!

So I'm officially back on the knitting bandwagon...I hope! I've got so much further with this already. I would love to make a blanket at some point but I think a scarf is enough for me to deal with at the moment!

40 days of encouragement...

Happy pancake day everybody! I moved the day forward and had a little pancake party with friends last night...golden syrup will forever be the perfect companion for pancakes :)

I've been thinking a lot about what to do to mark Lent. Lent is something I've become more familiar with over the last few years...having a husband going into the Anglican church kinda does that to you ;) It's become an important time for me to reflect on life, my faith and what I've been prioritising or depending on. Previously I've chosen to give things up for Lent but this year I've decided to take something up instead - 40 days of encouragement.

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Each day I want to either send a note, drop an email or say a little something. How much more wonderful would the world around us be if everybody chose to encourage instead of criticise! I have wanted to be more intentional in encouraging people for sometime and I felt prompted to use this period of Lent to really focus on this.

I ummed and aahed (how do you write those words down?!) over whether to share this but I wanted to share in case you fancied joining me in telling the people around us how much we love them!

So let the encouragement commence!

This weekend...

1) I baked pretzels for the first time - I may have eaten all six.
2) We finally sowed our seeds for our veg bag - it was SO good to get outside in the garden.
3) I got ridiculously excited when we purchased a mini greenhouse!
4) Another garden related item - our yellow crocuses sprung up this weekend - they made me happy :)
4) We went to Oxburgh Hall - oh yeah, and we didn't even wear coats outside - YES!
5) I significantly depleted my Easter chocolate...may have to move onto Andrew's chocolate soon.
6) Returned to my never-ending embroidery project while watching Paris-Roubaix.

Our plans changed this weekend which meant we were left with 2 whole days with no plans! It was so relaxing and it felt good to get outside in the sunshine! It's got me daydreaming about our garden, bbqs and summertime!

What did you do this weekend?