ted and agnes

bathroom makeover

The bathroom has been crying out for a splash of paint for ages...must admit its the worst room in the house. In fact its one of the few downfalls of living in an estate owned house that hasn't had any maintenance for probably 300 years (maybe over exgagerating lets say 250 yrs!)

So after looking at it for everyday, pretty much since we moved in (over 7 yrs ago) I have thought to myself this room really needs sorting, that victorian toilet cistern would look lovely stripped & polished and what to do about the bath hmmm

When we first moved in I had to tile the wall to stop it falling into the water everytime we had a bath & a coat of paint but thats about it, I always felt it was a bit of a lost cause and spent as little time as possible in there.

I did contemplate fitting a new suite but I quite like the charm of the old stuff, it's a nightmare to clean and the bath could really do with re enamelling but its the kind of patina you cant recreate (well that's what I'm telling myself).

So last night as you can see I decided NO MORE the bathroom needs a makeover. So I am chipping away at it in the day between am & pm showers n bathtimes & when Violet decides to have a nap....it could take some time. I am very excited about the cistern, under the paint it seems to be cast iron or something similar & the downpipe water thingy looks like it might polish up nicely.

I am going to wallpaper the bath panel as the walls would be impossible to paper, with a few coats of varnish I hope it will be water tight but we'll have to see.

I'll be able to get properly stuck in from Thurs as Keith is back from Holland and can keep an eye on Jinxy so I'll keep you updated of my progress and post some more pics as we go along.

twittering away

This week I have given into the temptation and joined twitter, I have resisted signing up before knowing that I use such applications not to get on with jobs...thinking to myself I'll just have a quick cuppa and 5 mins online 2 hrs later it time to collect the kids from school and mess is all around! You know the story...

Although there has been some copious timewasting this week I am really glad I joined and have loved twitter right from the start. It has given me the chance to get to know and interact with the people behind the blogs I love to read, cowboys & custard, vintage pleasure, yvestown, for starters plus the added bonus of finding a few new ones...swirly arts, kitschy coo, snap dragon garden and so many more which I hope to mention in future posts

it has opened my eyes to all sorts of new & exciting things I'd like to buy, hunkydory home...I will be buying one of these fabulous posters

 

been a great source of information with the links that people kindly post (or should I say 'tweet') help save bees esp relevant to my new venture (more on that later), a few famous bods Kirstie Allsopp, Jonathon Ross & Mr Oliver have made me smile, chuckle & snort more than once which can only be a good thing in my book.

So with strict rules about the blackhole that is cyberspace I will be twittering away to my hearts content (yeah yeah I know I will be wasting time but enjoying it....)

bit of a belated birthday post

I have been meaning to write this post since my birthday and now 5 days late I have grabbed a few mins to get on with it before anymore time slips away....where does it go, anyway I had a wonderful time and it was lovely to share the day with my family who spoilt me rotten...a new spotty Cath mug from my sister.

my very own Roberts...i've been wanting one for sooooo long & a cute little purse for my new phone

this delicious Vestral watch by Kat Von D (super cool tattoo ladee)

I treated myself to this Cath bag that I been drooling over for ages with the generous gift from my mum & dad inlaw

and of course i had to buy this, what kitchen junkie would be able to resist!

and last but not least these two wonderful fellas...Welcome to our home Ronnie & Reggie who are at the moment very nervous and hiding in various places around the place. I so happy to have some feline friends again & look forward to lots of cuddles

So all in all a fabulous week, I am a very lucky girly who has been spoilt rotten, become addicted to twitter, family has grown...life is good

while i was away

we had a fab week away in Wales at a wonderful campsite called Graig Wen

there were campfire frolics

pole dancin baby

nutella from a spoon!!!!

a tree bog, lots of bike riding, finding new friends, swearing when they thought mum & dad couldn't hear....lots of food Tom's highlight, spiced rum in hot chocolate (just a drop for effect) rolling out of bed and beautiful Welsh countryside.

Can definately recommend this campsite, well set up, welcoming and camp fires allowed!

blankets, bikes & things

As promised a picture of the finished New York blanket...It was a move away from my usual colour choices but I fell so in love with this yarn that I had to use every single colour in the range.

I am so sad that i probably wont get to use this yarn again as postage costs to the UK would be ridiculous ( if they sent to the uk) so I'll just have to hope for a return trip to the Big Apple...

A couple more granny style blankets for the camping stash, I am determined to use up some of my yarn mountain and have banned myself for buying anymore until it has been reduced considerably...yeh yeh I know that will never happen or I'll revert to increasing the fabric pile, that's not breaking the rules is it!

My latest freecyle gem is this delightful, delicious yummy dolls house all ready for a makeover. I have been looking for a project house to restore for Violet and wanted one that had been loved and played with but now needed a new home....enter this one made by a little girls grandad 15 yrs ago from a pattern in Woman's Own complete with mismatching furniture perfect. I can't wait to get going on it. It will be loved and treasured for years by the both of us (i always secretly wanted a dolls house when I was young) until it needs to move on. Its so refreshing to indulge myself with girly projects rather than Star Wars & Guns...sigh!

Last but by no means least the newest edition to the family.....a long awaited Pashley Princess.

I have drooled, wished, hoped for one of these for years and now I am a proud owner of my very own. I had to wait 6 weeks as each bike is hand built to order but it was worth it. Then there was the problem of a suitable baby seat.....I did not want to adorn my wonderful new bike with some red, yellow & grey monstrosity, so after trawling the internet i found this little gem

Bobike seat from Holland in all its spotty loveliness. I bought it from the Dutch Trading Company based in Hove and their customer service was excellent, quickly delivered and great with sorting out the order I can honestly say that a few more companies could take a leaf out of their book. Brilliant.

We have been out and about in all its glorious wobbliness (my particular riding style) when it hasnt been bucketing down with rain and I really need to practice getting up all the hills around here....wishing I lived in Holland!

New York Zoo York....

This year I have been lucky enough to visit New York twice. One of the highlights for the boys was their first time on a plane....possibly one of the most stressful parts for me on my own for 7 hours with 3 children!!!Not to be recommended but They were all brilliant and Violet was a star which was such a relief considering the BA staff were not exactly helpful. Must say that 2nd time around Continental Airlines were much better, plane more comfy & suprisingly better food.

Keith had an apartment on 16th st between 7th & 8th, 5 floors up I might add so that kept us fit trekking up and down the stairs. It was so hot and we had to sleep with the window open which could of been a problem for this country girl but I actually really enjoyed the buzz of the city in the middle of the night, little snippets of people going about their lives at all hours gave me a real feel of what NY was all about.

 

Violet got to sleep in a suitcase which went down well!

First Subway ride....i was really excited by this as it was an old sixties carriage we were lucky enough to bag so I felt like I was in that episode of Buffy where Spike kills the slayer.

Trying pancakes, sausage, bacon & maple syrup..... this good old all american combination, not quite sure what the americans do to their bacon but lets just say was pretty keen to get back to a good piece of back bacon from the local farm

that fountain.....the show who's name we never mention in our house as it even hearing the theme tune brings me out in hives as I have a serious aversion to it!

Another highlight was the library as one of the boys favourite films is the Day after Tomorrow and Jake got to sit in one of the phone booths he was convinced featured in the film

A trip to the Natural History museum resulted in a day of silliness involving dum dum gum gum

and finally the Lion Brand Studio I fell in love with this place and spent far too much time & money there and it was only a couple of blocks away from the apartment.

My fav yarn was Vannas choice, I so wish that they had a stockist in the UK. They also have a fantastic resource in their website, lots of free patterns both crochet & knitting that lend themselves to different wools. I managed to crochet a large blanket whilst there which I will photo and show & tell later so you can see the beauty of this amazing yarn. Even Violet was keen.....!

  

just one more, we took this photo for Violet when she is older just to prove she was there as I'm sure she will not remember a thing about the city that never sleeps.

what have we been up to while we've been away......

survived the depths of PND

been to New York twice!

my little boy suddenly grew up

finally got on top of the housework after a rather long baby break

got a pashley...my new baby

lost a dear feline friend

neighbours from hell moved out looking forward to new ones

had a fabulous camping holiday in Wales

got a greenhouse which takes pride of place in the wilderness that is my garden

having fun with my new android phone

off to holland for 1/2 term

maybe getting some bees & hive thanks to local scheme (lifetime ambition tick)

still no aga (lifetime ambition....still waiting!!)

Keith back from New York but off to Holland boo...at least we see him at weekends now

Feeling much more settled and life feels like it can move forward again and get on with things that I love, like and have to do!