What's in my bag

It's official the excitement has finally grabbed hold of me and is fuelling my veins. In less than 24 hours we will hopefully be landing in Pisa, where we will be spending some time before heading to Rome for a long weekend, whoohoo!!! To top this my lovely parents will be joining us and we will see them for the first time in a year, so needless to say I am one very excited bunny right now!

A year ago I was a little apprehensive about going anywhere away from home as I hadn't really stepped outside our four walls for a few years and the prospect of going to town let alone holiday, was most certainly pretty overwhelming for me. Now, because we have done it, I am feeling a great deal more confident about the whole affair and know that we can manage with my wheels and the kids. I am still aware of the restrictions that my wheels might bring, but at least I can get around and live a little, so I am not going to grumble! It is most certainly going to be an interesting holiday as not only will I be in my wheelchair, but Mum, who is currently unable to walk, due to a very bad back in dying need of an operation, will be joining me with her own set of wheels. The thought of this has conjured up many interesting thoughts, especially knowing what my Dad is like. He is still in child in so many ways and always up for having a little fun and oh so very good at planning and scheming in order to have a laugh, I love his passion for life! This time I reckon Ma and me are in for some fun and games, just think, two men and the other (better halves I hasten to add :-)), who will be holding the reins so to speak. Now that's a thought, and I am sure there will be a fair bit of scheming and pardon the pun, wheeling and dealing going on. The prospect of a couple of hours without the wives will most certainly be appealing, but fortunately we have our safety net, the kids, which might just sway matters a little, not that that will stop the temptation to see who can make it down the Spanish steps the quickest. I think it is fair to say that if nothing else, we will most certainly be providing some comedy value for those around us. Watch out Spanish steps here we come!!


The last week has been a bit of a mad rush as I am sure many of you can relate to before going away. What is with getting everything done before going away? Is it just me or are you like that to? I wanted to tick a few things off my list that I have been meaning to do for quite some time, like this label tutorial that I wanted to do a few months back now, amongst many other things. I feel satisfied that I managed to get a large majority, but not all, done and I feel like I can now finally start to relax.

Books are always the first things I try and pack and the staples include the necessary tour guides and road maps, quite a lot of books for the kids, which aren't in the picture, but there are a couple of longer stories to read to them and I don't think you can ever go wrong with Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl. My kindle, with its little case that I blogged about here, is ready for some action with The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and one of the very few books by Jojo Moyes that I haven't read, Silver Bay. Reading more than usual is the one thing I really enjoy about going on holiday.

So what does a gal put in her bag. Well for me, this is always an interesting one, maybe becos I am just plain nosey. Maybe it all stems from years in boarding school and loving Sunday nights when everyone came back after a weekend at home with new bits from home. Anyways, I love it, so I thought I would give you a little peek at a few of the bits that's gone in my bag. As for clothes, well these days with kids in tow, space is limited, especially with a wheelchair and two kids to manage, so we try and pack as little as possible. It didn't however stop me from having fun deciding what to pack. Maybe I am a little sad, but I quite enjoy this part of the packing. Do you get excited about the selection process?

 

This yellow cardigan is just the most loveliest of knitted cardies that my granny knitted many years ago and wore for so many years that I have countless memories of seeing her in this. Fortunately my parents passed this on to me when she passed a few years back and now I can shape some new memories with it as I just love wearing it.

 

Now for cosmetics, I quite like knowing what people use, so I thought I would share my little goodies with you. For my skin, I use Environ and swear by it. Even though it is a little pricey, it does last quite a long time and I honestly haven't come across anything as good as this. Their RAD sun cream is also especially good to use on a daily basis, something I really try and do as my skin got quite damaged being exposed to the sun whilst living in South Africa for so many years. Now for foundation, I love this stuff!! It has no nasties and it lasts soo long. Honestly I buy a maximum of two pots a year, if that, and they now also do a really fab mascara that I love! The foundation is a mineral based powder foundation and I love that it lasts all day and acts as a barrier to the sun. As for suncream, we always use Green People's scent free SPF25 during the summer. Largely because it doesn't burn your eyes, which I must say is a blessing with the kids and it's brilliant if you're planning on spending time in the water.  Then some L'Occitane Shea Butter hand cream that was a rather lovely pressie and I can't wait to start using it.

 

 

 

 

Now for the exciting bit, what's going in my yarn bag. To be honest I struggled with this as there are so many little projects that I would like to take with, but I know that with Ma and Pa there I am going to want to natter and spend time with them. I am however going to make the most of having Mum at hand and rope her in for some embroidery lessons whilst we are together to hopefully get a few tips from the Master herself! Do you also struggle deciding what projects to take on holiday with you?

 

Before I go I wanted to leave you with this quick and easy to make lavender wreath. After being inspired by a friend and all the lavender around, I grabbed some wire, pliers, lavender and some rosemary and got started.

 

I am going to use these couple of weeks wisely and abstain from blogging (it that's possible!). I will try and read posts if and where possible. I have however recently joined Instagram, and must say that I LOVE it! If any of you want to pop over to see what's happening on our travels, my user name is cosmosandcotton.

Before I go, if you haven't already seen The Untouchables then, please treat yourself and watch this wonderful French film. I have a bit of a passion for French films and this one is another wonderful film to add to my list of favourites. It's funny, inspirational and so very moving. Leaving you with the little posy from our garden, my Hydrangeas are finally in bloom.

Thank you for all your lovely comments over the last couple of posts, I love reading each and every one of them. You are all super special and make this blogging malarkey so much fun! Wishing you all a very lovely couple of weeks with lots of crafty happiness.

Warm wishes

Hannapat

xoxox