I LOVE Halloween, and I love all the cold, misty, spooky, spine-tingling titillating things it brings to out murky October evenings. I seldom trick or treat nowadays, unless my nieces and nephews drag me kicking and screaming. I much prefer to be huddled somewhere telling ghost stories, surrounded by friends, a warm fire and some glowing pumpkins - OR I like to take part in a spooky evening of sorts. So today, I'm celebrating all thing Halloween, from pretty Pumpkin carvings to Victorian ghost walks .... so read on if your dare!!
Thursday 29 October 2015
Thursday 15 October 2015
Dried autumn flowers heart wreath
With each season I like to have a little change around in my cottage ... the light pastel cushion are replaced by warm, earthy tones and the light summer blankets are swapped with their chunkier knitted cousins. As for the walls I thought some autumn decor would be nice this year, so I whipped up this Autumn flowers heart in just ONE hour. This is a super quick and easy project that has brought all the wonderful warm rustic tones of Autumn into my little cottage, and as they are dried flowers it can be re-used year after year!
Thursday 3 September 2015
A month in pictures - August
August has always been one of my favourite months as it means birfdays!!!! Ralphred Muss Muss turned 6 this year, and I turned the grand old age of 17 *ahem* ... OK add a fair bit more to that. This month I've been busy crafting and and I've also shared one of my latest, most favourite cottage getaways. This was our month in pictures ....
Wednesday 26 August 2015
A glimpse of heaven at Titchbourne Cottage - Shropshire
I have a treat for you today quirky cottage lovers. Remember in the Spring, when my little family and I headed to the Shropshire Hills and spent the week at the quirky cabin The Dipping Shed? well the following week we also visited this cottage, which I discovered on Cottages.com and it has quickly became one of my firm favourites. Titchbourne cottage is nestled amongst the Shropshire hills on a 200 acre farm, perfectly secluded in an AONB (area of outstanding natural beauty) with walks straight from the door and views of the beautiful valleys all around. The mature garden is bursting with flowers and wildlife, and the cottage itself is cosy, rustic, and full to the brim with charm and character.
Where is it: Shropshire
Price from: £324 for a week
Pets: 2 welcome
Sleeps: 4
Tuesday 4 August 2015
A month in pictures - July - Summer Madness
Well what a glorious month July has been. OK, so it's not so great now - the rain has been torrential this past week and "Oh I hope this isn't the end of summer" has been muttered at least once in every casual conversations. But I have every faith our great British summer will return! July has been quite busy for our little house - work hasn't stopped but we've managed to escape for occasional day of fun! Here's our month in pictures ....
Wednesday 29 July 2015
A Q&A with Mad Man Knitter - Gregory Patrick
A few months ago I shared a story called A little brown bear saves a mad man knitter - which was about a man called Gregory Patrick; writer of popular blog Mad Man Knitting. Gregory had come upon hard times and was made homeless. With no car, home or money he threw himself into knitting to keep his mind occupied. He then began knitting and selling bears which enabled him to survive, and over time, flourish. Gregory has now published several books, and his little bears and knitting patters are well in demand. As a keen follower of his blog, I was interested to know more about Gregory, so I got in touch to see if he'd be interested in a little Q&A session with me, and as he's such a nice man of course he agreed :-)
Tuesday 14 July 2015
A day out 'picking your own' at Cammas Hall Fruit Farm
This week I had a wonderful day out at Cammas Hall Fruit Farm. The farm is run by the Lukies family and has been for the last 128 years. I had only intended to pop in and out of Cammas Hall, but having seen the vast amount of goodies on offer, not to mention the lovely cafe full of homegrown produce I ended up staying far longer than I anticipated ...
I wasn't the only one either ... friends, couples and families often spend the whole afternoon here; catching up over lunch while the kids play in the adventure playground, followed by a leisurely stroll around the fruit farm, picking and nibbling as they go (though bear in mind ready-picked is also available if you're in a hurry). If you fancy a slightly longer amble, Cammas Hall have recently introduced a nature trail through the beautiful surrounding countryside - what a lovely, nature-inspired way to tire out the kiddies during the summer holidays, don't you think?
Friday 3 July 2015
A month in pictures - June
Wow ... I can't quite believe it is the end of June. Hubby told me off the other day for pointing out that autumn was just a couple of months away! naughty me, but how it flies right?! I don't know how the weathers been treating you over the pond, but here in the UK we're experiencing the hottest June on record - EVER! We Brits love the sun, but our country doesn't cope well with heat - my friend was glued to the middle of the road the other day when her flip flops fused with the tarmac! roads melt, public transport comes to a standstill and the sale of paddling pools goes through the roof ... in fact I bought one for Ralphy when he was a puppy but he turned his nose up at it! I hope you're all enjoying this glorious season. Here's a glimpse at our month in pictures ....
Wednesday 1 July 2015
Ceramics Course at The Little Arts Workshop
This month I took part in a pottery workshop at The Little Arts Workshop in Bishops Stortford ... and I absolutely loved it. I have never dabbled in clay before, but I have been itching to for some time. So when I discovered a pottery course running at The Little Arts Workshop, I jumped at the chance. It's a wonderful creative hub, which hosts a varied selection of crafty workshops seven days a week, during daytime and evenings, for both adults and children. For toddlers and primary school children there are workshops in clay and arts and crafts, and for adults there are life drawing courses, ceramics courses, watercolour painting courses, and photography courses to name a few...
Friday 12 June 2015
My fave reads: Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management - 1902 New Edition
There is something so wonderful about old books. The musty scent of the paper, how their history is etched into their worn leather and I often wonder about the various hands that have turned their pages through time, many of which I suppose are long gone today. Kindles and ipad just don't carry that kind of history, that's for sure. So when a friend of mine recently gave me this new edition of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management from the year 1902, you can imagine how humbled I was. Here's a glimpse into the world of Mrs Beeton ...
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