How To: Turn a Jumper Into a Cat Bed

We have 3 cats, 2 of which are outdoor cats who sleep in the shed. We've had one of those climbing towers since the 2 younger cats were kittens and it's in a precarious state of disrepair these days. It's still their bed in the shed, although they've grown so much that only one can fit on at a time now. Through the summer this wasn't a problem but as the days are getting colder it means one cat is sleeping on the cold shed floor.

Rather than buy a new cat bed that'd cost anywhere from £15-30 for something cosy, I thought I'd turn my hand to upcycling and see what I could create. I'd seen a post on Facebook months ago showing how someone else had turned an old jumper into a bed and since Tom had a pile of jumpers waiting to go to charity I nabbed one!

Here is how I did it in picture form...

Sew up the neck hole

Sew from armpit to armpit then stuff the arms & neck to create the sides of the bed

Tuck the end of one arm into the other then stitch them together

Pad the body of the jumper and trim the excess from the bottom, turn it over and stitch the body to the arms

And you're done! Donate to a furry friend 

The Uprising Bakery and Cafe

Last month it was my friend Rachel's birthday and everyone went for a meal and a night out to celebrate. I was heartbroken I couldn't go, but with my diet and my early bedtime at the moment I would've been a dead bore for everyone. On a hen night I attended earlier in the year I'd met a lovely girl called Ellie who runs a vegan, gluten free cafe in Bristol and as a birthday treat I decided to take Rachel who's also on a gluten free diet. :)

The Uprising Bakery and Cafe is a sweet little cafe with delicate tea cups and eclectic furniture. They have a menu of savoury and sweet foods such as soups, pizzas and cakes that are all handmade on the premises not to mention quite a wide range of scrummy herbal teas.

Rachel and I shared a pot of wild berry tea (which tasted mildly of black jelly babies in my opinion!) and Rach had a red velvet cupcake while I had a yummy slice vegan banana bread. It was all absolutely delicious and very reasonably priced considering the usual raised price of anything gluten free.

Once you factor in the enjoyable walk there from the Cabot Circus car park and the lovely antique jumble shop across the road that I fell in love with, it made for a cheerful afternoon. :) Definitely something I'll be repeating when I'm in need of an endo-friendly sweet fix!

Yummy wild berry tea!

Exciting Delivery!

I've not been having the best week diet-wise and since having my last Zoladex I've been pretty tired and grumpy (much to Tom's dismay!) so up to now I didn't have anything to share with you guys. But today I got a very exciting delivery - the things I need to get started on Christmas presents!

Normally I'd keep it all top secret as family and friends read this, but I've been so excited by it all that I've told most of them anyway! In the picture you can see silicon moulds, lollipop sticks and cellophane wrap, which will eventually come together with some scrummy ingredients to make hot chocolate on a stick! I've got some other plans for gifts too, so there'll still be surprises for any relatives that spot this post.

I can't wait to get started with testing recipes and wrap ideas. :)

Will you be making any presents this year?