23 January 2015

DIY garden furniture inspiration

I know it’s the middle of the winter with snow on the ground in parts of the UK, but I can’t help but gazing forward to spring!
Springtime is actually the best time of the year here in England, weather wise, so who can blame me for looking forward to this glorious season.
I mean, who doesn’t?!

To cheer myself up in the winter gloom, I’ve had a browse around for some garden furniture inspiration. I would love to challenge myself to do some sort of garden DIY project this year, and I’m thinking simple materials, or even recycled items.
I think the simplest thing to start with is creating furniture by stacking pallets. Recycled pallets have been extremely popular for both outdoor and indoor furniture in the last few years, and people use them for everything from coffee tables to sofas, and even bed frames.
This patio sofa is a prime example of a simple but effective DIY project.

Or how about making yourself a little outdoor bar with the help of two white painted pallets and a few thick stone tiles? Such a simple idea, but oh so creative and stylish! Just make sure you attach it to the wall so that it doesn't fall over!

For a dead simple way of building a garden bench, simply stack blocks of cement and place wooden planks through the wholes. Almost too easy, hey?

The next step up when it comes to the level of difficulty, would maybe be this combined sofa and plant stand made of wooden planks. Even though this is a simple design, it still takes a lot of planning, and probably more work than you think. Sleek and stylish, don’t you think? And very effective!

You can do a lot of creative things with some great flea market finds. I personally adore this multi coloured sofa bench made out of three mismatching antique chairs. If you’re into the shabby chic style you will love this! The only problem, I guess, would be to find chairs of the same height, so although this is a simple idea it will probably take a lot of time when it comes to researching.

For a real challenge it would be amazing to create this birch log garden lounge. Not so much for actually using it (cause it doesn’t look very comfortable), but for its look – isn’t it just stunning? I love raw materials from nature like this.

I think I’ll start with something fairly simple though, and I’ve seen some great how to guides online where you can build your own garden chair. A pretty standard design, with a step by step guide, but why complicate things?

5 December 2014

The German Christmas market in Leeds

Every year, the Christkindelmarkt, or the German Christmas Market as we like to call it, comes to Millenium Square in Leeds. It's one of the most established Christmas markets in the UK, and it's an absolute must to visit if you're anywhere near Yorkshire.

I've made it to a bit of a tradition to visit it at least once every Christmas, and even though it looks exactly the same every year, it's a great way to get into that Christmas spirit, and munch on lots of nice food.

The traditional wooden stalls make you feel as if you've actually travelled back in time, and they create a really festive German atmosphere. 

There's something for the whole family, including a twinkling Christmas carousel for the little ones...

... and an Alp Chalet for the ones who feel in the mood to party! In here, there are yodellers, other German musicians, lots of beer and mulled wine, and of course some lovely traditional German food. However, if you're looking to get in to this part of the German Christmas Market, you have to be prapared to queue for quite a while as it's extrenely popular.

The rest of the market consists of authentic German stalls (over 40 of them!) where you can purchase everything from classic german salami and other delicious pieces...

...to sweets, bakeware, etc. There is a stall where they sell those yummy marshmallow filled chocolate pieces on a wafer (what are they called?) in tons of flavours - it's like a dream come true!

When it comes to their served food, I always go to the stall that sells potato pancakes served with cranberry sauce. It's absolutely mouth watering! This year, I even followed up with a gigantic crepe filled with nutella and banana pieces. *drool*

But if you're not there for the food there are still plenty of stalls selling other glitzy pieces.

You can find everything from pretty handmade candle holders, to carved wood items, crystals, and jewellery.

So as I've already mentioned - there really is something for the whole family at Christkindelmarkt in Leeds. If you haven't been this year already, I can really recommend you to go and soak up some Christmas feelings, and feast your eyes on all the delicious food and pretty sparkly things. 
The market opening times are Monday-Saturday 10.30am-9.30pm, and Sunday 10.30am-6.30pm.
Hurry up though! The German Christmas Market is packing up to go home after the 20th December!


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