Breeeathe....

A 'thank you' bouquet for a friend....too pretty to hand over before I'd snapped it. Thanks again, Foxtail Lilly, for the gorgeous home grown flowers.

Huge relief that eldest son's AS results were what he needed...a calm house once again.

Nearly show time

Every year, around this time, a schedule for our village show lands on the mat. There are all sorts of classes, from giant vegetables, to best sponge cake, scones, jams and jellies. I am always very glad to see the programme, because it never fails to spur me into action. Fruit is whipped out of the freezer or picked from the garden and made into jam, and arty projects that I've been meaning to tackle are started. Last night, I assembled some art materials and had a go at making some greetings cards for the crafts section of the show.  This is my attempt at a collage based on a dahlia from the garden (very therapeutic, tearing up magazines and making merry with the Copydex).  I shall continue with this, it needs a few more layers ...

Then I resurrected an idea that I'd had last year, and painted a new version of my fantasy high street. 

The show has been running for 132 years. There is always a sensational fruit, veg and dahlia selection, but the other classes are not overflowing with entries, so I always try to put something in.

This time last year, I was about to become very ill, and I'd already started having symptoms at the time of the show. I have been fortunate to get back to good health, and I never, ever take it for granted, so sitting at the table dabbing about with my paints, and feeling well, is something that I really value. 

A whole lotta linen

Saturday night found us at a 50th birthday party in a beautifully grown up, sophisticated and clutter-free home in a very pretty village. Right, I told myself, as we drove home, that's it. I will not buy any more bits and bobs,  endless tablecloths, bits of lace, linen, old books or generally useless articles with which to add to the mayhem in our house. I will not go to the car boot sale in the morning, even if it is extremely sunny. I will stay at home, save my money for things like new taps and tree surgery, and I will impose order on our very un-grown up house. 
Well, that resolution lasted until I woke up at 6.30am to see the sunshine golden behind the curtains. That boot sale was just calling out to me. So, off I went, early-ish for once, with my empty basket and a few pounds in the purse.
And what did I buy? Yes, that's right: endless tablecloths, bits of lace, old linen and old books.  But who could resist a little stash of white linen, straight from an old trunk, the delicate old tissue paper still between the folds. Much of it was marked, or rather fragile, but at 50p and £1, it was too gorgeous to leave. This is just a small selection of my haul: 

As it was such a lovely day, I decided to tackle the washing of it straight away. My favourite item, a huckaback linen towel, was very marked with orangey stains. A soak in Napisan, my usual method of cleaning linens, didn't touch it. So, I decided to try boiling it, something my Grandma always seemed to be doing with her 'whites'. I put it in a large pan with water and a dash of bicarb of soda and some fresh lemon juice and gave it 20 minutes on the hob.

What a difference. It is currently blowing gently on the line, looking whiter than white.

I have to admit, apart from the linen, Lady Luck wasn't really smiling on me today at the boot sale and there were no spectacular finds (unlike one buyer I spotted who was carrying the most beautiful old painted horse on wheels). But I came home with a large bolt of old floral fabric, and some nice old annuals. And I do rather like this old ledger, unused. 

Who knows what on earth I will do with it, apart from admire the typography. Oh dear. That sensible, minimalist house is looking like it is never going to happen....

A place in the sun

Spain was so beautiful. I won't be a holiday photo bore...but just a few shots of things that I loved.

The 'white' towns of Andalucia are famous and we stayed for a couple of nights in this one, Vejer de la Frontera. I wanted to take photos all the time. We treated ourselves to two nights in a hotel that had been recommended to us, and the rooms were tucked into little nooks, connected by stairs and small courtyards outside the doors, and there was a splendid roof terrace offering amazing views. The rest of the time we were in a house, with a small pool and a garden. It was incredibly peaceful there. 

We  went to Cadiz, for some sightseeing. There were some amazing buildings, pale pink and pastel colours against the incredible blue of the sky. Lush parks in the city centre...

A sense of faded grandeur and mazes of narrow streets.

One thing I noticed: despite their economic troubles, the Spanish really seem to enjoy themselves, eating and drinking with gusto, wiling away the warm evenings chatting and socialising. I suppose that's much easier in a warm climate - I was envious! People were so friendly to us, despite the fact that barely anyone spoke English, and our little phrase book made many appearances. 

This little beauty was growing in our villa garden. It had both pink and yellow blooms on the same stem.

It's back at the computer today with a vengeance, but we have so many lovely memories stored away from this holiday.

A short break

The CK dress is packed and ready....I'll be away from the blog for about 10 days as we're off to Andalucia, Spain for a short break. See you soon :)

Around home

I'm writing an interiors feature for the local magazine this month, and the theme is the recycled home. It made sense to take some photos in our house, as pretty much everything in here is second hand or handed down.
I had a major decluttering session last night, which was quite sobering, as I realised just how much 'too much stuff' I really have. Roll on that September sale! 

The white tulip table has been with my husband's family for years and recently found a new home with us. 

Our garden room is a mish mash of Ikea furniture and second hand bits. Lots of home made cushions from vintage fabrics in here. In fact, I have an overflow of cushions....

Enough china to feed the five thousand. The lavender cake is adapted from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's madeira cake recipe, I've always wanted to put lavender on a cake and it was good (yes, past tense now, it lasted all of half a day).

Photographer Lesley Anne's photos will be much, much better, but it was fun doing these shots today.
I remembered our house when we first moved in about 15 years ago and it looked like this: a symphony of brown and swirly, lots of artex and a cork wall above the fireplace!

Same corner, different style!

Little feet

Last night, my mum popped over and said she'd found my first baby shoes in a cupboard and would I like them? I think you can probably guess the answer to that question. 

So cute (is it okay to say that about your own shoes?).

I prefer to think of these shoes as 'vintage,' rather than 'antique,' however. I'm old, but not that old!

Boot loot shoot

I arrived at the car boot sale full of anticipation, as it was a sunny morning and I'd managed to get there in reasonable time, although my friend John who has a stall there always tells me I am never early enough! At first, I could not see beyond the baby clothes and plastic toys, but once I started hunting and rummaging in earnest, a few treasures came my way. I love this vintage letters game (and the stripy Avoca scarf that I spotted for a £):

A chunky old wicker basket, which I managed to fill full of embroidered linens. I bought a large cardboard box of pretty old hankies for £1, and it included a set of exquisite white linen ones hand embroidered with the letter 'A.' I haven't finished going through them all yet, but they are lovely.

Some more pastry cutters:

Books, which I admit that I bought just for their look...(the background is a pretty tray).

Yet another tablecloth....

A large pine shelf, which needs a good overhaul and a few other bits and pieces. Then it was home to a bit of r&r on the old canvas camp bed which I bought in May and have not had chance to try out yet.

A really ingenious design, I think it's probably from the 1950s and it can't have been used, until today, that is...

I hope everyone managed to enjoy a bit of summer today. I'm going back outside for a barbecue now.