Lavenderhouse

Marvlos!

Half-term exploits continued .......  I even managed the first weekend to have some grown up time.  I met my lovely friend Nikki for an eclectic shopping expedition. 

At the end of the afternoon we visited Steyning so we could visit the wonderful tea shop.  Then we browsed in the lovely family owned bookshop.  I bought some lovely stationery - whose not a sucker for more paper loveliness?

This is an Amy Butler print inspired note book that will hopefully inspire me to jot down my ramblings.

PS - for those who are interested the polka dot nail varnish is actually pinky/red nail varnish with little dots of white nail varnish.  You can't really buy polka dot nail varnish but I WISH YOU COULD!!

Over half term, prior to my sniffing and snottiness, we began to sort the roof terrace out.  This is very much a before and work in progress.  I hope (if the weather holds out) to finish everything within a week.  Sometimes the sea breeze is a bit too much and we need to take shelter up there - especially with a nice glass of WINE - yippee!

The kids were so happy that the paddling pool opened a whole week earlier this year.  Perfect for the current weather but it looked positively wintery at the beginning of half term!

Warming cuddles whilst playing Grandma's Footsteps with friends were very necessary then!

A little note left for me on my white board = just what I needed - fanx!

 

Polka dot nail varnish!

me poncing about with watercolours

Well, that was a long blog break ..... some intentional and some forced upon me.  We have been loving the half term holiday, the surprise summer that has been sprung upon us and all the wonderful fresh air.  I have not been loving my third dose of flu in as many weeks though.  I was laid really low - 2 whole days in bed in a half term - unthinkable - fortunately the cavalry stepped in (husband) and did a great job of managing the household and children (including sleepover guests).  There is so much to catch up with diary wise ..... it will have to be done in stages ...

The sun shining is such a boost and so great for being with friends.  Last Sunday, which seems about a hundred years ago, we spent the day with my wonderful friend Louise and her family.  I have known her since I was nine and she has gone on to deliver two of my babies (yes - she is a midwife before you ask!). 

Yes - that is some of the children crouching under umbrellas as she sprays them with a hose pipe! 

Thank gawd I was holding the camera otherwise I think she might have got me too!

When we first arrived at their house I was greeted by my god-daughter excitedly telling me she had got some polka dot nail varnish (she knows my love of polka dots).   Look proof - she did!

Back tomorrow - we have become beach bums .........  eating lunch and cooking tea on the beach - it really feels like we have been away on a proper holiday.  The best thing is the sea salt breeze - refreshing, invigorating and more difficult to spread my lurgy which is still lurking. 

There is always something to celebrate!

I am still reading/flicking through this book = Life is a verb  It is essentially about in 37 days taking action to wake up, be mindful and live intentionally.  I am not following it properly though.  Day One should definitely be about being obedient! 

One idea from the book, that I really like, is that we always having something to celebrate - which we really do no matter how tricky life is. 

One instruction is to light a birthday candle every day for 37 days.  We often light a large candle at meals times but it was easy to raid our box of birthday candles and choose a teeny weeny one for a change. 

Well, actually we have quite a good box of little candles so it was quite tricky choosing just one candle!  Then we decided we should have a sparkler too!

Cakes are not required as part of the idea but definitely improve it. 

So it was easy to decide on something to celebrate.  It was, however, tricky limiting it down to the best ones.  Today we decided we could/should celebrate Skyla going up one reading group and having choosing time at school. 

Secondly, we thought we should celebrate having our two little kittens.  We got these lovely poppets in November and we are still very much in love with them.  Our tiny weeny little kittens are only 7 months old and they are enormous! 

Sunshine Sails & orange flowers

I need some orange in my life.  I really would like some Orla Kiely stem wallpaper somewhere.  I'll have to make do with this instead. 

Hedgerow flowers

I am always amazed at the colour ..........

the brightness ..............

and how beautiful hedgerow flowers are.

I like other sorts too though ..........

Candy Pink Steps

This weekend was full of children's parties for everyone to go to but Pasha and I managed to sneak off for a few hours on Saturday afternoon to do some more of the Brighton Open Houses.  I have always loved this garden.   I bought a can of Dulux Rocky Candy (bright pink paint) for my roof terrace about a month ago and am really pleased I did.  I have done a tester patch up there but the use of pink in this garden is stunning and makes me hope I have made the right decision.  Don't be put off by the image on the link that the house chose to use - it does not do the house justice.  They always serve good cake and a little skip and jump up those stairs leads you to this.

It just started to patter with rain so we sat under the elegant glass roof and finished off our cake - not exactly a hardship!

Pasha and I decided that the pink was so striking because of the natural green surrounding.  It was such a pleasure to sit for a moment together and just stare.

The Open Houses are open every weekend in May and it really is worth a trip down here if you can manage it. 

Today we went for a walk in the bluebell woods.  They were really well and truly over but by the wayside there were trampled little spring flowers that the children rescued.  That little bunch of flowers is just as precious and impressive as a huge bunch of amazing flowers. 

The bluebells were still beautiful enough to attract butterflies that fluttered around.  I managed to snap this little one as it stopped to feed and the sun came out for a moment = two miracles!  Have a lovely week everyone!

Shedchic

John Lennon once said 'Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans'.  This week has been ruled by illness.  Jasper has commented on having 'cold tea' again, cut up veggies, cheese etc - bad Mummy - no cooking when I have flu.  My lovely strong husband was so overwhelmed with pain in his back on Tuesday that he went to Casualty.  He was wincing a lot!  They kept him in, investigated him and after a big dose of pain killers they let him go.  I remembered having very bad back ache at Christmas time followed by flu, so may be he is going to get a bad dose of flu.  Oh dear!  I hope not - we don't like doing illness in this family - it drives us mad!  We are not good at sitting still.

I wish you could smell these absolutely gorgeous sweet peas.  They are so fantastic.

For all my love of bright colours there is something so amazing about these beautiful pale blooms.  The scent is uplifting.

I have been thoroughly enjoying reading shedchic by Sally Coulthard.  I should rephrase that - looking at.  There is something so fascinating about garden sheds isn't there?  When I was a little girl I remember my Grandfather's potting shed.  It smelt of tobacco smoke from his pipe (you know the nice sort of tobacco that smells of marshmallows) and warm compost.  Little seedlings would be growing in uniform trays.  I think when you are tiny the potting shed is such a big space - unconventional - you know a nice chair in there with a soft cushion but loads of MUD!  

The front cover of the book is great because it shows through growing a bit of a rambling garden and rigging up some material and laying a table properly that once can transform a very small tiny area in to something really inspiring.  I presume you could sew hooks on to the corners of a tablecloth which could be used for hooking the material up or when using outside on a big table also add little weights of stones to hold the tablecloth down on the table - especially useful here by the beach - tres breezy a lot of the time!

The book doesn't exactly cover the standard 6' x 4' shed but there are elements that could definitely be adapted.  White washing the interior, adding a small table, then a few pieces of lovely china and a rickety old garden chair.  I don't have a laptop, but I am sure one could find blogging on a laptop in those conditions quite addictive. 

 

I love the ram-shackleness of this photo.  I would definitely enjoy sitting there on a hot sunny afternoon reading my shedchic book!  The reality of the british weather would mean gathering up all cushions, throws and tablecloth every time you wanted to use it but it would just be like packing up things for a picnic and driving off some where so definitely worth the effort.  The more I think about it I really  recommend this book.

Please also take a peak at the following link.  I love to flutter by and imagine for a moment ...

Stripes

I love the fact that most of my posts come under two categories - Family or Inspiration.   I look through the list of choices and find either title suits.  Today, though I thought I might start a new category 'Hyperventillating' for things that really make my heart and imagination soar when I look at them. 

Yesterday, I didn't hear the doorbell; something to do with a bit of loud, cheerful music and the ding dong bit of the bell not reaching the back of the house where I was working in my work room.  When I went to pick the children up from school there was a lovely bright orange plant on my doorstep. 

This little pot of happiness was given to me by Sarah.  Thank you sooo much!  On the subject of hyperventillating that ball of wool that you can see in the basket cheers me up no end.   I absolutely love it.  I feel a bit nervous that I only own one ball of it.  It is so brilliant for adding to felt. 

Another thing that has always made me hyperventilate with excitment is stripes.  I love colour - had you guessed! I think stripes is such a great way of encompassing all those colours that we enjoy so much.  I can't wear orange as one bold colour but can handle an orange stripe for example.  Unfortunately, these are Pasha's new flip flops from Tescos @ £1.50.  M&S definitely have a pricing problem as yesterday I noticed that the children's flip flops were more expensive than the women's simple flip flops.  Plus for the price of one pair from M&S I could buy 3 from Tescos.  Shopping concious-wise I get very confused.  Can you actually buy fair trade flip flops?!

 

More HYPERVENTILLATING GOODNESS!  How flipping great are those colours.  I have finally succumbed to the lure of the DECKCHAIR STRIPES Company.  (I would like to add here that I ordered Monday afternoon and this arrived at 8.10 am this morning - Tuesday) - talk about service! As you know, I am in the process of sorting out my roof terrace.  I have therefore bought a great parasol and a beautiful windbreak.  The plan is to use this to protect ourselves from the wind and buy a BBQ/chimnea to sit round to warm up.  Sipping wine up there sounds like a great idea.  In reality the parasol will be used to protect us from the rain no doubt!

I also bought a metre of fabric to make some cushion covers for seats or to use as a tablecloth.  I'm not sure yet ........  my mind is whirring with possibilities ............

PS Would like to add that Floss has found the answer to fair trade flips flops and their existence - please see comments and thank you for your research!

Brighton Artists Open House

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments on my last post.  I am under the weather at the moment and send you a gorgeous peony to say thank you everyone.  I have a very nasty sinus cold.  I am determined for it not to be flu!  Before the week is over I must track down some lovely soft pink peonies as they are definitely in my top ten flowers. 

On Saturday Pasha and I went to see Michael Morpurgo or Murpingo as he calls himself.  He was extremely entertaining.  Pasha loves his books (119) and following story writing at school, she enjoys writing every night before she goes to bed. 

I did some of the Brighton Artists Open Houses with a friend.  We took our eldest daughters.  They had fun skipping along and marvelling or laughing at some of the things on show.  I am currently reading Life is a Verb as recommended by Sweet Myrtle.  Carrying out the instructions in the book involved me saying 'That is very unique' often.  Some of the art trail is fantastic and some is well erhhhh UNIQUE!!!!

Above are a couple of drawings from a black and white themed community centre that were showing lots of children's art.  I really like these two pictures.  The glamorous little girl is great and the other face just makes me laugh!  I imagine myself to be like the girl on the left but in reality appear like the picture on the right!!!!!

The Open House Trail is very civilised and we stopped at one house for afternoon tea.  Isn't that indian patchwork just fantastic!

We all bought nothing until we got to the last house!  Then I spent up.  I love this house.  Kim Glass has a very interesting house with a little studio at the foot of the garden.  These wood work pieces are infact made by Helen Sinden who exhibits work at Kim's house.

I love this little wooden plaque.  The E is obvioulsy a 3 turned round.  Perfect for me as I have three children. 

This is one of Kim's paintings.  I find her smudgy (non-technical term!) way of painting very beautiful.  We had a great day = thank you Andrew for looking after the surplus children.  They had a great time at the Wilderness Wood making camps, eating brownies, drinking hot chocolate, zip wiring and playing fairy houses.

Snot ridden on Sunday I had to get up early to be able to breath!  We sat in the work room and painted.  The girls water coloured and I painted some acrylic canvases to be embellished.  Hopefully, I will be able to show you them later in the week.

Skyla produced this cheerful rainbow canvas.  The afternoon was spent planting all the wide range of plants (gourds to verbena) that I had bought on Friday when I met my friend, Louise for lunch. 

One comment I had recently from Greedy Nan was where was I doing my car boot sale.  I would like to reassure you Greedy Nan that there was nothing up your street there to buy.  The above being an example!  We fortunately raised enough to buy one of the bikes we need to get this summer - yeah!  She also asked which house was I showing at in Brighton - I'm not.  Worthing is doing their own thing in the summer!

Jasper took this photo this morning.  Mmmmmm nice debris, brown paper bag - open house shopping, book open - story writing from Pasha, and yes that is a bright pink watering can in the middle of the table left over from the garden exploits.  I am just glad he didn't take a picture of the floor surrounding the table.   How much stuff can one family dump in one room?   Answer = quite a lot! Byeeeeeee!

Rainbow

Lucy at Attic 24 has previously told me that she thinks I write from a kind of slightly jumbled stream-of-consciousnes.  She also said it is distinctive and I make her laugh.  Her description of my blog makes me very happy.  I hope I make some of you laugh. 



I definitely take the opportunity to write what I am thinking at that moment.  It might be something good, something inspiring or something that is bothering me!



Occasionally, I musn't write what I am thinking.  Yes, I am a little irked at the moment !!  Apparently, use of tame words to describe our feelings helps reduce the intensity of our emotion! 



Anyway, continuing on ..... - (this is not what I am peeved about by the way) - I have noticed a distinct lack of writing from bloggers at the moment.  I am sure it is because some people are not full of the joys of spring due to the recession.  It is like having some of your favourite magazine not available to read.  Do you know what people - you lovely bloggers out there, we still want/need to hear from you.  So girls tell us how it is. 



I decided to post these pictures because they make me very happy.  They are trivial and frivilous but important to me.  Everyone is different and that is something to be celebrated (it is, isn't it?). 



So a wisp of felt, a rich velvet ribbon, a pretty corsage, a colourful bag or a rainbow of tiles for a mosaic is the only thing I need to fill my life with to make me feel happy and content in between making our home a creative, inspiring place for me, my husband and my children.  

PS - I am worried about being detained by the Grammar Police!  How many dashes and brackets can a girl fit in to one blog!