It's finished ! The kitchen / dining room Renovation

 When we moved into this house ten years ago this month, life seemed like it couldn't possibly get any worse.  We had lost our main source of income, I was on maternity leave with six month old twins

Iconic Lights - Poul Christiansen Style Light

 I have to admit to having a bit of a "thing" about beautiful light fittings.  They really are the finishing touch to a room.  No matter how much time or money you spend on your home, if you don't get the lighting right it can ruin the overall look.

Art for art's sake

Art for art's sake, what does that line even mean ?  It is attributed to a Frenchman in the early 19th Century who adopted it as a slogan. The literal meaning of which goes over my head I'm afraid. 

Slim Pickings !

I don't know if its because I am no longer looking to buy stock to sell or because there just wasn't much around today, but for the first time ever I came away from the bootsale with hardly any treasure.  Not impressed having dragged myself out of bed at 5.15 this morning !

I did find this vintage crock bed warmer that had been painted white and given a pretty decoupage heart.  Lovely condition and a steal at just £2.  I'm going to use it as a door stop for my bedroom door which refuses to stay open.

How many times have I said this "I LOVE BUYING FROM MEN" Seriously !  THEY GIVE STUFF AWAY !  Next up this gorgeous Portmeirion Botanic Blue Jug.  Absolutely immaculate and soooo pretty.  50p !!! 50p !!! What was he thinking ! 50p !  I ALMOST told him to keep the change from the £1 !

So Pretty.  Looks lovely in my kitchen and there it will stay, oh yes it will !

I am always on the lookout for baskets or wooden crates.  I have a little obsession going on.  Snatched this huge log basket up for £4 !  Great for all the apples ready for picking at the moment from the old apple tree in our garden.

Going to keep this basket in the house, not sure what to store in it as we have no open fires in our home but love the Rustic look of it.  Its, clearly been around for a while.

So that was it !  Nothing else found today.  I was a bit reluctant to leave the bootsale convinced that I must be missing the treasure and that SOMEBODY must have something.  But, no after several trips around the market nothing else appeared so off home I went.

 As I needed to go food shopping I thought I would also pop into The Vintage Trading Centre on Marsh Barton.  I hadn't had my fix of bargain hunting and I usually find an unusual treasure or two in there.  I wasn't disappointed.  Found this little darling.

LOVE IT ! Solid wood vintage rack with immaculate ceramic and wood canisters for Tea, Coffee and Sugar.

So, all was not lost.

Maybe better luck next week (although hubby was pleased as we have just got the house decluttered ).

Recreating the Vintage Appearance of Your Period Property

 

                       image #Pinterest

Three Top Tips for Recreating the Vintage Appearance of Your Period Property

Period properties have a charm that simply cannot be emulated. The cumulative effect of a hundred or more years of rain dashing against the stones,

Video of the Utility Room Barn Door

My first attempt at adding a video to my blog.  I have no idea how to make it bigger so any advice would be gratefully received !  Please excuse the shocking Birmingham accent but do admire the amazing hand crafted skill of my husband.

Fenn Wright Manson Rosmarin Dress

Is there any better feeling than a beautifully wrapped parcel arriving in the post !  I was recently thrilled to be offered my pick of the Fenn Wright Manson website.  So many beautiful dresses, which one should I choose ?  I finally settled on the stunning Rosmarin Dress, white, of course.  It arrived super fast and beautifully boxed and wrapped in tissue.

The Rosmarin dress is made from vintage style luxury lace in a delicate floral pattern.  A classic shift style, it suits any shape.  It has a clever Grosgrain ribbon trim running down the front and around the waist which gives the dress a lovely silhouette and for someone like me who suffers from a lack of waistline, really nips you in and defines your figure.

I love the detail at the hemline .

Sheer sleeves with scalloped edging. Pretty and feminine.  The dress is fully lined and no hint of underwear showing through which is a must when wearing white.

This dress is perfect for summer events, days out or even weddings.  I think though you might need to add a touch of colour so you don't upstage the bride !  Its a timeless style that would also suit any age .  If you pop over to the Fenn Wright Manson website, it is currently also on Sale !

Thank you once again to the lovely people at Fenn Wright Manson for sending me this delightful dress.

The Utility Room Renovation - Finished

It's done ! Finally enough cash and time have allowed my very clever husband to finish the utility room.  You can see how it all began HERE and followed up HERE .  I am so thrilled with the end result and reckon we could give any DIY Makeover programme a run for their money. The utility room started life as an outside toilet and coal shed.  When we bought the house they were enclosed with  just a small conservatory tagged onto the back of the house.  We lived for ten years with a cold, damp space for our second toilet, a boiler that broke down all the time and nowhere except for our radiators to dry damp clothes.

NOT ANYMORE !!!

The handmade (by hubby - post to follow) Barn door slides open to reveal a great space for the washing machine, hanging space for socks, pants,smalls etc and storage of laundry basket and washing powders.  This used to be the entrance to the first outside shed and housed our old boiler.

We decided to take up the old wooden flooring and lay these beautiful slate grey tiles from Homebase.  Running the tiles through into the utility room makes for a much more stylish and seamless look.  These were budget tiles (you can see details in the previous posts) but they are really good quality and are a dream to keep clean with dirty feet coming in and out of the garden all the time.

The view through the door !  I LOVE IT ! My hubby did an amazing job. New toilet ! We now have 3 toilets.  That should be enough with four men in the house.  The shelving is from IKEA and the black and white photo art I made myself.  See the post on how easy it was HERE

It was really important to me to make the most of the small space.  A priority was to have somewhere to hang washing to dry when the weather was bad.  With my almost finished new kitchen dining room I did not want to go back to having wet clothes draped all over radiators around the house.  We found this fantastic modular system again at IKEA that you can build as many or as few shelves, baskets rails etc that you want.  Its perfect for what I wanted to do.    Because its a small space I wanted to make good use of as much of the wall space as possible, so put the broom and dustpan and brush on the wall.  The bag from The White Company holds old towels and rags for cleaning the floor and shoes .

Another thing that irritates me is chargers and plugs in EVERY socket around my home so insisted we had what we now call a  "charging station" ha!  Plug sockets and a shelf but it did the job.   It didn't take long to train them all to put their phones and tablets on charge in the Utility room.

Loads of storage baskets for balls and smelly shoes.

The new boiler is boxed in and has its own magnetic catch door for easy access.

That's it !

 All finished and an absolute dream of a space now.  

Damsel in a Dress - Summer 2015

At the beginning of June it was my birthday.  These days I tend to not want to think about birthdays that  much as A. my family are not that great at recognising it as a day to spoil me and perhaps give back a little for all I do for them throughout the year and B. being over 50 is a really scary though when in my head I am still 21 !  So it was an absolute thrill to receive an email offering me a dress from the beautiful collection that is  Damsel in a Dress !  I first came across this classic brand several years ago when I was offered an opportunity to be dressed for the MAD blog awards final, so I knew I was in for a treat. 

I tend to be a little conservative in my clothes these days but on seeing the gorgeous array of choice on the Damsel in a Dress website I just had to go for some bright, summery colour.  I absolutely loved this Lavender Fusion dress and although it was sleeveless (not a style I usually wear ) I told myself I could always throw on a cardigan if necessary.  I was not disappointed when it arrived, beautifully packaged in its own box.

 
 Shocking photo !  Apologies I am still suffering from a dreadful lurgy that will just NOT go away after two weeks and my photographer was a very reluctant 10 yr old !  It is a lovely dress I would say slightly larger than the standard size.  I wear size 14 at the moment and could probably have got away with a size 12 in this make.  It is though, perfect for me as I no longer like to wear clothes that cling to every lump and bump, a classic shift shape. 

The fabric is 96% cotton and 4% elastane which means its both cool to wear and also has that little bit of stretch to maintain its shape.  I'm not sure if it would have been helpful if it had been lined but then if it had been, I probably wouldn't have been able to wash it.  Its such a great bonus when you find a beautiful dress like this one that you can actually wash.  Definitely adds to its affordability .  Talking of price Damsel in a Dress is in the mid luxury category with this dress retailing for £129 .  Perfect for a special occasion but then also a style and colour you could wear again and again afterwards.

Being a quality brand the attention is in the detail.  I love the zip pull !  Also very astutely they have added pockets to this dress which really adds to its versatility.  I'm thrilled to bits with this dress and would highly recommend you pop over to their website for a browse.  A great choice of special occasion and daywear to suit every age and shape.

Many thanks once again to the lovely people at Damsel in a Dress.

May #Stylewise Charity shop Bargains

The half term didn't get off to a good start when I came down with a lurgy and actually took to my bed (unheard of ).

The Rochelle French Armchair from WITHIN

 

I've always loved French Style furniture, particularly carved chairs with over stuffed seat cushions.  We have a few in our home and they are as comfortable as they are beautiful to look at. 

The Utility Room Renovation ( Part Two)

I say it often, but I really can't believe how talented my husband is.  The utility room is almost finished and it really is a transformation.

Cornwall, The Eden Project and a Snoozebox sleepover

I've lived in the South West for 23 years but have only visited Cornwall once.  We decided this  weekend that it was about time we visited as a family.

Doing the right thing

 People say there is no love like that of a mother and her sons. 

I hope this is true.  I am the Mother of 3 sons but sometimes I feel like I am an alien in this world of males as I try to do the right thing.

  I sit here having just been told by my eldest that he is thinking about visiting the "grandparents" he hasn't seen for many year.  I suppose I always knew this day would happen.

Like the day he made contact with his half sister again (she is a wonderful, kind girl whose mum has done an amazing job bringing her up alone) but my heart hurts.  He doesn't have any idea of what I went through when he was a baby, nor should he, that's my job as a good mother right ?

How I had no one to turn to when life and family let me down. 

How these "grandparents" refused to help me with just half a day's childcare as I battled as a single parent to find a home, a job and security for my baby boy, even though his half sister and her cousin were regularly looked after by them , taken on day trips and holidays.  But no room for the grandson,

"no, sorry"
.
 "No can't help with childcare, no sorry ".

 I was made even stronger by this, I knew I would never stay with their son, his violent outbursts, anger and the fear.  Not for my child thank you very much.  I moved on, worked hard, left my son crying at the gate in nurseries all day, every day while I built a better life for us.

And I did.

I worked and worked, went home at night with my son, for many years never going out, never leaving him with baby sitters.  He was too precious to me, I never wanted him to worry, to feel alone like I did.  I talked to him and answered all his questions, showing him the world, taking him on holidays, teaching him to be kind and good and strong. To work hard, to not expect anything from anyone else.  Go and get it for yourself. Don't hurt others, but stand up for yourself. Be a good man.  With no help from the "grandparents" with no contact from his father, no financial support.  We were a team.  It was me he came to when he was hurt, it was me who hugged away his fears, taught him everything, who nursed him when he lay seriously ill in hospital, when he cried.  IT WAS ME.

So now I sit here in my bedroom

Alone

Whilst he is downstairs with the other woman who has taken my place, who he listens to, who he hugs and kisses all the time

Not many for me these days, nope sorry,

I've moved on mum I have a new love in my life now

and now another fear

that he will go and see these "grandparents" he hasn't seen since he was small and they will steal his heart, that he will think that I was wrong, that I took him away from them, his father, their family.

Because I always seem to be wrong in his eyes these days

I don't feel I am the mum he wants me to be, that I have let him down, failed him. 

He sees me through adult eyes with all my failings, faults and insecurities.  That he doesn't like what he sees.

I am no longer his hero.

and I am loosing him......

Affordable Photographic Wall Art

I've always loved black and white photography. It seems to capture something about the subject that colour photographs don't.  My favourite picture of all time was a black and white one of me and my son on my wedding day.  These days I click away with my phone on a daily basis, storing hundreds and hundreds of pictures of my family.  On a recent visit to my mum's home and seeing all the photographs she has on display, I realised how few photographs we actually have around our own home.  Thanks to the nifty filters on my phone I am able to get all sorts of  effects so decided to print three black and white images of the boys and make them into wall art for the new utility room wall.

I bought these great value Ribba frames on a recent trip to IKEA.  perfect for the job. Really easy to take apart.

We had some photo quality paper at home.  I downloaded the photographs from my phone onto the computer and printed them off.  Cut them to size and stuck them onto the white mount.

Put the picture back together again.  Took me about 10 minutes to do all three.

 Can't wait to get them up on the new utility room wall.

Thrifty Treats

Since giving up self employment its been a bit difficult to find the time to have a mooch around the many local charity shops in the area.