Our main bedroom was one of the last bedrooms to be decorated when we moved into our house in 2012. Despite an impending arrival, we took our time over our bedroom as we knew we wanted to get things we really wanted rather making do with what we had. The room is a really odd…
May in Woman’s Own, 1952
I’ve been watching Mad Men again recently; binge-watching episodes in the evenings as I list eBay. The last time I watched it, it was pretty much when everyone else seemed to be watching it (certainly everyone online, at least) and it was before we had kids: our house was tiny and filled with loads of…
Mid Century Mass Market Art
When we moved into our house, we kind of quickly put up our vintage prints on the walls in the hallway; mainly because the pictures were so big and so many, that it was an easy place to put them out of the way. There were lots of hanging hooks up already, and it was…
Charity Shop Finds: Vintage Enid Blyton Books
As mentioned in my last post, we had a really good look round the charity shops in Colwyn Bay last weekend. Amongst other things, I found some vintage Enid Blyton books of my preferred era and style… These are all published by Dean books and are actually from the ’70s and ’80s. I’d got it…
A Weekend Away in Wales
Wales is quickly becoming one of my favourite places to visit, particularly North Wales. Last weekend, we booked a couple of nights in a Travelodge in Llandudno and spent the time looking round Colwyn Bay, Rhos-on-Sea and Llandudno. The trip was completely funded from clothes we’d sold on eBay, given to us by Andrea (Grandma),…
Spring Pottery Display
I don’t think I’ve ever actually posted about the previous pottery display in our ‘Diamond Room’ (as the kids call the dining room); but now the weather seems to be picking up a bit, it seemed like a good time to change the pots around a bit and make a new display. The theme is…
Fairies, toadstools and pirates…
I’ve always been an avid reader (although, having just written that sentence, I realise that I don’t think I’ve ever used the word ‘avid’ in conjunction with anything else. Avid dancer? No. Avid chef? No. Avid dog-walker? Definitely not. Avid reader: yes). When I was growing up, my absolute favourite books to read were anything…
Vintage Galt Jigsaws
We’re not huge jigsaw players in this house. I’m absolutely convinced that Corliss pretends she can’t do them every time we sit down to do one together. It drives me mad! Nothing guaranteed to get my blood boiling more than either her whingy voice or doing a jigsaw with her… This is an example conversation…
Have A Nice Day…
I love a bit of random graffiti. I’m often in awe of other people: how their minds work, the pictures they can create or the witty remarks they come up with. You know those lists on Buzzfeed and the like? ‘100 Greatest Tweets to Make You Piss Yourself Laughing’ and so on? I love those….
A Drizzly Day at Quarry Bank Mill
A grey, misty morning gave way to an overcast day full of drizzle. We met our friends, Katie, Mike and their children, in the car part at Quarry Bank Mill. Unfortunately, we didn’t get off to the smoothest of starts as one of us Aidan had forgotten to pack the picnic lunch. We won’t mention the…
Museo del Presepe: Nativity Scenes from Sardinia
In September, we visited Sardinia for our family holiday. Amidst the hot, dusty streets of the tiny Sardinian villages we visited, many of the churches were a welcome, cool balm to the dazzling sunshine. Imagine our surprise when we came across a church in Tempio Pausania filled with dozens of nativity scenes. Except, it turns…
Christmas Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker
When I was little, I loved the Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker. I had a little book that was an alphabet drawn by her: one fairy for each letter and a little poem to go with it. I adored looking at the pictures and would spend hours copying the pictures of the beautiful little…
Little Owl Ski 