52 Weeks of Happy (7/52)

 

Goodness I don't know where the time is going at the moment. Life is very full and I'm not doing at all well at taking photos of it as it happens. So apologies that two of the photos this week are of my work. It seems to be the thing that I am photographing at the moment mainly because I'm starting to get pretty busy with it. I always feel a little awkward sharing my work on here because I don't want to feel like I'm doing a sales pitch! Anyway, as well as lots of time spent in the garden, playing in the paddling pool and generally enjoying the gorgeous weather here are four other things making me happy this week ~

:: A hoop decoration made for my little H. I've been wanting to make something like this for ages and as I'm now selling these to order I decided to make one for H as an example. I'm so happy with how it turned out. Got to get it on the wall now. 

:: A gorgeous day out on Sunday with some good friends at Chartwell in Kent. I've been wanting to go here for ages and it was worth the wait. Unfortunately we had to slightly speed through the house as Little F wasn't especially interested but the grounds and gardens were beautiful. A lovely day out. 

::The yummy Christening cake made for my Niece's Christening. To be honest this just falls into the previous week so I'm cheating a little by sharing it here. It was delicious and looked as amazing on the inside as the outside as it had about 5 layers of sponge, each one a different colour. It was made for my Sis by a friend but she created the gorgeous bunting decorating the top. 

:: This is a little decoration I made for my Niece as part of her present. She's just had her bedroom done in lots of lovely bright colours so I made this to go in it. One of her walls is a fantastic pea green and she has deckchair stripe blinds in these sort of colours. My Sister also bought a sort of 1970s cabinet on ebay for 99p which she has painted with Annie Sloan paints to match. It looks fab. 

Sorry for the Linen & Roses creations heavy post. I am determined to take more photos in the coming week so I can share a little more of life on here. 

See you again soon. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In bloom

 Sorry for the unexpected mini break. I didn't mean to be away quite so long. We had a lovely weekend. Saturday was spent catching up with old friends in London. It had been a while since I'd headed into the City. Having lived there for so long I had a bit of an anti-London thing going on for a while. I think I'm over that though now and am longing for another visit. We're actually so close, just half an hour on the train but with two little ones in tow it's not always so easy. In fact on Saturday we didn't go right to the centre but to West Hampstead. It was still lovely to feel that different buzzy atmosphere you get in London. My friend who was hosting the get together lives in a lovely flat down a pretty leafy street. She has no kids of her own but was brave enough to welcome 10 children ranging from 3 months to 7 years, plus 11 adults! It was such great fun and so good to all be together again. I've missed a few meet-ups recently due to baby producing but I hope to see them more often in future. 

Sunday was a chilly day but after the usual delicious roast cooked by lovely S we decided we all needed some fresh air. We're very lucky to have a beautiful park just a few minutes drive away. It is actually walkable but it's down a very steep hill and the walk back is hard work with a pram in tow. So we naughtily took the car and walked lots when we got there. The park eventually joins up with National Trust land so it's possible to walk for miles. 

The park is particularly lovely at the moment as all the daffodils are out. They look really stunning. 

There's also a great playground so little F had fun on the swings and slides watched with amusement and longing by Little H. 

 

Something that's been occupying me a lot at the moment is the garden. 

 

My father-in-law came over with his jet wash to clean the patio and I've been re-arranging pots. Just need to get them filled now!

There's still not a lot of colour but we're really winning the war on all the weeds so it's all looking very neat and tidy. But there is one area that is starting to look pretty and colourful. There were already dafs here and a pale pink primula so I decided to turn it into a little Spring area. My Mum bought me another deeper primula and some cowslips last week and I've moved some forget-me-knots that I found in the soon to be veg plot. 

I'm pleased with how it's looking so far but plan to have a lot more in here next Spring.

 

Throughout the rest of the garden there are definitely signs of life. The roses we were bought by my in-laws for Christmas from David Austin at starting to come into leaf and grow. I'm hoping for a splash of colour with these. Bit by bit we'll get there. It's a slow process this gardening lark(unless you've got pots of money to throw at it!) but I'm loving starting to see the small changes every day.

There's been a little bit of sewing going on lately in odd spare moments so hopefully I'll be back again soon to share that with you.

Have a lovely week.

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The last day of the holidays

It's been a funny Easter holiday. Hoping so much for lots of sunshine and warmth to get out into the garden and out and about. But instead getting quite a bit of rain and a LOT of cold!

We did have Little H's Christening which was a lovely family occasion, and the sun shone weakly. He was a very good boy and only cried for a moment or two when his Great Aunty splashed his head with water.(Lovely S's Aunty is a Vicar so was supposed to be splashing him with water!) 

We had a couple of afternoons pottering in the garden and started to do a good bit of clearing and planning but it was sooooo cold and not the most fun in the World. 

So yesterday, with the promise of higher temperatures and a little more sun in the forecast we decided that we had to get one great fun day out of the holidays so headed off to lovely Dorset, one of our favourite places in the World. Luckily it was a great deal warmer than of late but unfortunately the sun only peeped out for a few short spells. Still, it was lovely to be out and about in the fresh air. We walked along the sea front at Swanage then hopped on a steam train to Corfe Castle. I did take photos but due to the lack of sun they really do look a little drab. The ride on the train had been a much looked forward to treat as little F is a huge Thomas fan but it nearly turned into a disaster as the sight of the huge engine coming into the platform was rather too scary for him. Luckily we managed to calm him down and once the train got going all was well and he loved it.

We had a lovely potter around the village of Corfe Castle and ate yummy pasties while being rained on for just a moment or two! Then it was back on the train to Swanage and into the car again to drive up to the lovely village of Worth Matravers. We normally camp just a mile or two from this pretty village so it's one of our favourite spots. We had a little drink in a favourite pub which has stunning sea views then wandered down the village green which was looking lovely despite the dullness of the day. Don't you just love the red phone box and the cute duck house. There was no sign of the ducks so either they were tucked away inside or have gone away to nest elsewhere. 

At the bottom of the green just behind the phone box there is a sweet little memorial garden that was bursting with spring colour. I couldn't stop snapping away at the pretty things that gave me hope the Spring is just about here. 

Finally we headed back to Swanage and went for the obligatory fish and chips. Unfortunately by this time it really was rather chilly so we sat on one of the little tables inside the chippy to eat, although still out of the paper of course. Poor Little H sat in his buggy looking longingly at the three of us tucking into our yummy fish and chips. I can't believe he will be five months at the end of this week and I think the time has nearly come to try some solids as he constantly looks longingly at what we're eating!

Finally it was back into the car for the ride back home. Little H was a little unsettled so in order to save Lovely S's sanity by not having to drive with a screaming child in the back, I squeezed in the middle at the back between my two lovely boys. It wasn't long before the sea air worked it's magic and I had two sleepy heads either side of me. 

So with the holidays behind us I'm feeling refreshed and ready to get back into our normal routine. Often I feel a little down when Lovely S goes back to work after the holidays but with the promise of Spring and Summer I don't feel so bad. I don't mind admitting that these last few months did at times make me feel very down in the dumps. Terrible winters and new babies do not mix well! But as I sit here now, I have windows and the back door thrown open and I can hear birds singing. I've had a row of washing on the line this morning and without getting boring on the subject(or getting into too much yucky detail) it has done wonders for all the baby washing. Washing dried on the line smells so wonderful don't you think?

Hope the Spring has arrived where you are. 

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Loving Autumn

While I do miss the end of the Summer days, I do also truly love Autumn. I think if I'm honest it is my favourite time of year.

I love the beautiful colours and where we live we really do get to see a lot of those colours. We're in the heart of the Chilterns and although we're on the edge of a town, we can be in stunning beech woods within a few minutes walk, or more stunning countryside just a short drive away. There is something particularly beautiful about beech in Autumn. They really do turn the most vibrant orange colour. At the moment there is still a fair bit of green mixed in but this just seems to add to the beauty of the orange shades. 

I can't admit to taking these lovely photos as they were taken by lovely S on Saturday. He and little F went for their first proper Father and Son adventure leaving me to 5 hours of peace with my sewing machine. Most Saturdays since the beginning of this year have been christened 'Daddy Day' as they always go out together in the morning to have a bit of time together and to give Mummy a bit of peace, something I've really especially appreciated while pregnant. Usually they end up in town and often meet Nanny and Grandad for coffee. But last week S announced that they were going for a walk and taking a picnic. They did a walk that S did as a child which we've been meaning to do. Part of it involves going to the top of a lovely hill, part of it is through beautiful beech woods and part takes you round land on the 'Chequers' estate. You can see the house in the picture above. Not sure if the PM was in or not! Little F absolutely loved it and came back covered in mud with tales of all the things they'd seen as well as a big stick he'd collected and some dandelions for Mummy. It's definitely a walk I'm looking forward to doing once I'm more mobile again. 

The other thing that I love about Autumn is that it is the start of snuggly cosy season. It's a time for lighting candles in the evening and making everything snug and warm. 

I had a re-arrange of the mantle-piece the other day to make room for lots more candles. I would really like to paint the fireplace as the wood is a little orange, but as I may have mentioned before, lovely S is not quite sold on my desire to paint everything in sight and is currently resisting this particular paint project. So for now it stays wood coloured and I'm putting up with the blue tiles that I don't really love either. I'm still happy with how it looks though now I've got all my cream candle holders arranged. It did make me realise that I need far more though. What I really need is some cream candlesticks as all I seem to have is lanterns or tea light holders. One thing I did do to create more holders was to use a cream pot (second from the right) to hold a tea light. It's added more in the way of cream to the shelf, and although you don't see the actual candle, it gives off a lovely glow from the top that works really well. 

Back again next week hopefully with some nursery photos. It's just about done but I still have the pictures to put up. Have a lovely weekend. 

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Birthday Treats

Sorry for the little unexpected break. I started writing a post last week and either my computer or blogger were misbehaving. Not sure which but either way I got frustrated and gave up!

I said I'd share some pictures of our trip to Belgium. It seems rather a while ago now. Two weeks ago actually but now lovely S is back at work the holidays do seem like a bit of a distant memory. 

We had such a lovely time. It's no secret that S and I hope to live in this lovely Country one day. So few people seem to know just how lovely it is and we're happy for it to stay that way as it is quiet and unspoilt. So pretty and the people are so friendly. We stayed in our favourite place, Ieper

(known to most as Ypres) but stopped off in Brugge on the way. Little F had a great time too. He absolutely loved going on the ferry. He went on one three times last year but was too young to appreciate it. But this time he was beyond excited! 

As for my Birthday, I was a very lucky girl. As well as the trip to Belgium lovely S also bought me tickets to see 'The Hairy Bikers' with my Sister next month. I'm so looking forward to it as I love them. I will be 35 weeks pregnant but he has booked me an aisle seat just in case and I will take a cushion with me for extra comfort. I'm just a little worried that they may make me laugh too much! But at least we're seeing them not in our town but in the one where my Hospital is so if any mishaps happen I will be close for a quick whizz to the hospital! 

I also received a number of lovely Cath goodies. The deep blue floral back contains a lovely rain coat from my Mum and Dad. See it here. I absolutely love it but won't be wearing it until after baby arrives. The spotty bag was from my friend Nicki and it will be getting it's first outing when I go into hospital for baby. I've got a number of mini bottles of shampoo, shower gel etc that will go nicely inside.

I also received a number of vouchers for John Lewis, Next and M+S. I'll save the latter two I think to treat myself to some new clothes when I get my old figure back again. My Sister-in-law gave me this fab book. Is everyone else loving The Great British Bake off as much as me? It's one of the few things I go out of the way to watch on TV. This book doesn't disappoint. It is full of fab recipes. In each section they show a fairly simple recipe followed by more complicated ones including a show stopper. There are recipes that the contestants have cooked and also ones by Paul and Mary. It's full of gorgeous photos and has that vintage feel that the set on the show has. My In-laws bought me a selection of new backing sheets and trays that I had requested so with the Autumn and Winter on the way I'm all set for some snuggling baking for my lovely family.

I'm busy working my way through my 'baby to do' list. It's going fairly well so far. I'll write a post soon about what I've been up to. 

See you soon. 

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Enjoying the Summer

Sorry for the lack of posts lately but we've been enjoying the summer too much around here. We're really lucky that because lovely S is a Teacher we get six wonderful weeks together as a family over the Summer. It means that unless we've booked a specific trip away, we can take off at a moments notice and enjoy the best of the weather. We did this during the first week of the hols when the Country enjoyed that fantastic weather. In beautiful Dorset it was absolutely stunning. Wall to wall blue sky and baking heat.

Considering I'm nearly six months pregnant now I was very brave and agreed to us camping although I did insist on us staying in a different campsite to our usual one that was sheltered and pretty and had fantastic facilities. A pregnant lady needs a decent shower! It was the first time we had taken little F camping as we decided he was too young last year and he absolutely loved it. Seeing his excitement as he explored the tent for the first time was priceless.

Here are some of my highlights of the holidays so far -

:: Watching the joy on my little boys face as he paddles in the sea for the first time.
:: Eating a different flavour of ice-cream on the beach every day
:: Seeing the stars as they really should be seen from the darkness of a Dorset field
:: Seeing my little boy enjoy his first ride on a steam train
:: Hearing sky larks
:: Looking out at the clear blue sea and looking up at the cloudless blue sky
:: Feeling the warmth of the sun on my face
:: Eating fish and chips from the paper while watching the calm sea in the early evening light
:: Eating a proper Dorset cream team in the shadow of stunning Corfe Castle
:: Watching my little boy make his way up the campsite towards me after a walk with his Daddy, clutching buttercups in both hands to give to Mummy
:: Sitting on the beach knitting squares to make into a soft snuggly blanket for the November baby that's currently kicking in my tummy
:: Collecting pebbles and shells on the beach in my boys new orange bucket
:: Coming home happy and relaxed ready to start on more painting and turning our house into a home

It's been lovely so far and we've still got four weeks to go. We've been loving the Olympics since we returned home. Feeling so very proud to be British at the moment. We've already done a lot of decorating and I promise I will share some photos soon. Need to do a bit more tweaking and styling first! We're currently working on a mural in little F's room which I'm really happy with so far, then it will be on to the Nursery. We hope to get the whole house painted by the end of the holidays then I can spend the next two months organising and nesting before we become a family of four!

Back again soonish with hopefully some house pictures. In the meantime enjoy the summer wherever you are.
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History

I'd really wanted to see it the day before at Stoke Mandeville as that's such a special place to us. It's not only where little F was born, but where he spent the first five weeks of his life, and where no. 2 will be born in November. But it wasn't to be. I was busy have a scan of no. 2 at a different Hospital at just about the exact time it would have been at Stoke. So.........

We saw the amazing Olympic Torch at Ascot Racecourse instead. One minute it was there, the next it was gone.

But it as very special to see and although I think little F barely noticed it as he sat in his pushchair with a rather snotty cold, it will be lovely to share the photos with him in future and tell him he was there as we witnessed something we're sure to see only once in our life times. 

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A Magical Place

We had the most lovely afternoon yesterday visiting a garden I've been wanting to see for a long time. Here's a clue.....

The magical garden of Roald Dahl is open just occasionally for the National Garden Scheme and yesterday was one of those days. Mum and Dad had been a number of times before but came with me and little H again along with my dear little Niece Joss. Unfortunately the weather wasn't behaving quite as we would have liked and we arrived under heavy skies which then dumped a LOT of rain on us 10 minutes into the visit! Luckily it did then start to brighten up and we managed by the end of the visit  to sit outside on a sweet little bench eating home-made chocolate cake in the sunshine. 

It is a truly magical garden. Just what I was expecting. Lots of little areas with benches and seats dotted around to enjoy the views. Even the rain couldn't spoil it's beauty. I'll leave the words here and let you enjoy the pictures of this stunning garden. 

I hope you've enjoyed looking around this magical place with me. If you live in Buckinghamshire, or even further afield I would really recommend you check out the 'yellow book' and make a visit here. It really is so worth it. 

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