HAPPY NEW YEAR from....Dubai!

Hello dear friends, I  just wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year from the sunny shores of Dubai.

Spot on Vanya! And thank you all for playing along :O)

I've been having trouble with Blogger while I've been here, so I'll try to keep this short and sweet.

Wishing you all the very best for 2011

The year that I turn 40.

I declare 2011 to be 'The year to feed my soul'. Classes, travelling, books- whatever takes my fancy.

It's my time to discover me.

What are your plans for 2011?

Hugs,

B x

Wish you were here...

We've swapped the snow at home for sun and we're having so much fun! Unfortunately, we had to leave Jess at home, studying as she has an exam next week. Sorry Jess, take good care of yourself and Cookie and we'll bring you home a pressie!

More sunny pics to come, but how about a little teaser...I wonder if anyone can guess where we are?

1st clue: It took 7 hours to fly here from Heathrow.

Hugs,

B x
p.s despite the long nails, this picture is of Max and his amazing 'find' this morning. Note to self; must get the clippers out...

Christmas Wishes...

Hello my sweet friends. Firstly, a quick update on the 'floor issue'. I was incredibly grateful for all of your advice and am still toying with the idea of painting it white. That being said, it was very clear that I wasn't going to be able to fix the issue that was staring me in the face - the missing floorboards. So, hubby still away, I tried to call around and get help in. Unfortunately I had to declare my little whoopsie as I couldn't get it sorted before Chris was due home. However, I now have a guy coming to sand, fix and polish it at the beginning on January, so fingers crossed it will all be fixed sooner or later!

Now, that would probably be my first wish for Christmas but beyond that I haven't really given much thought to what I want on my Christmas list so here goes...

Seriously need one of these babies. I'm no camera expert, but something quick and easy to use that doesn't die on me would be much appreciated!

Ooooh, preeeeeeety! I've no idea where I would put her in my cramped cottage- maybe we could lose a sofa to make room?! Want one too? Take a look here.

It's been pretty nippy round these parts too and I was thinking that one of these would come in very handy for the party season...

...from Top Shop - and just been REDUCED!

And finally, I'm not a great 'bling' lover, but I would love to find this little treasure from Tiffany under the tree...



But top of my Christmas list is a Happy Christmas and Peaceful New Year for my family and for you and yours.

Lots of Love from us all at Pear Tree Cottage...

B x

Busy, ruining my kitchen...

Firstly I must apologise for the photo quality of this post - still no camera...

Chris went to the States recently and he'd been gone less than 24 hours when I got itchy fingers and wanted to do something 'big' something that would make a difference and have him in awe at what a fabulous wife and homemaker I am...

Even though we've now been in Pear Tree Cottage for a year and a half, we haven't even got upstairs to work on the bedrooms, but the downstairs is getting there - gradually. Our house was built in 1840, but I feel that the previous owners stripped it of it's history and I'm trying to get that 'cottagey' feel back. The one thing that has been bugging me since we moved in is the flooring in the kitchen. Although perfectly laid and probably brand new, the orange laminate drove me NUTS!

Although looking at it now in this picture it doesn't look too bad! I was convinced I could make a difference and decided to rip it up. I actually started at the opposite  end of the room from this picture as I wasn't sure if it was an extension and so had a peek under the and was very happy to find gorgeous floorboards! So, before you know it I'm up to my neck in dust and pieces of wood...

Ruining my new slippers in the process! And cutting my leg...So, all was going swimmingly until I got 2 thirds of the way through and found a piece of hardboard where they had previously joined two rooms to make the kitchen bigger. Hmmm, I looked behind me and realised it was too late to go back. I kept pulling up the flooring only to realise these boards were running horizontal to the the rest of the room. I am now left with a room like this...

See the lovely floorboards at the bottom of the picture? And the patchy floorboards at the top?

Not a good look.

I don't want perfect floorboards, I'm happy for the kitchen to be 'rustic' but this is a bit too rustic, even for me! So, now I am aching all over and trying to come up with a way to fix this mess before my darling husband sees it.

Wish me luck!

B x

Life...

Hello there...

it's been such a long time...

This was an unexpected break, partly brought on by the fact that my camera has died...

And partly due to...Life. Thinking about it. Organising it. Living it.

I hope to be back here soon...

In the meantime, my love to you all, I hope your holiday preperations are going well!

B x

Think Pink

As some of you may remember from this post, my Mum was diagnosed with breast cancer almost a year ago. She has had her treatment and is now doing very well and has had the *all clear*. Some people are not so lucky. You probably all know someone who has been touched by this awful disease. This month is Breast Cancer Awareness month and my blogging buddy and 'Hertfordshire Homey' Jacqueline inspired me to follow her lead and channel some Pink Positivity in honour of the occasion.

All pics from here

Have a lovely weekend...

B x

View from my window...

Hampstead Holiday Market

Sorry, I didn't mean to go AWOL for so long, only, it's half term school holidays here and on top of that I'm preparing for the Hampstead Holiday Market. I'm very excited. I will be selling mostly hair accessories; hair ties and hair clip/corsages.

I have also made some lovely little girls aprons which will be ideal for Christmas presents.

So, you see, I have been busy!
If you find yourself in Hampstead on Novemeber 6th do pop in and say 'Hi".


B x

SATURDAY NOV 6, 2010

12NOON-5 PM

ROSSLYN HILL UNITARIAN CHAPEL

HAMPSTEAD HIGH STREET

 p.s - Sorry about the photo quality, my camera is on the blink. I'm relying on my trusty iphone!

Fancy a cuppa?

These cooler, crisper days, are perfect for putting your feet up for half an hour with a hot cup of tea
~ or coffee~ and a good book...

So...



Pic from here

 

pic from here

Pic from here

...one lump or two?

B x

Rustic/Swedish/French/English Country...ish.

At last! Things seem to have got back to 'normal' around here, my back is no longer playing up and neither is my internet so we seem to be back on track...

THANK YOU guys for all of your caring messages and emails, you are such a lovely, thoughtful bunch :O)

And a big 'cheers' to my girl Jo at Brown Paper and String for her spicy apple chutney recipe...

will let you know how it goes.

You may remember this post, when I first introduced you to my new house and also our stable/barn which we planned to reno. Well, I have been looking for the right builder to take on the job of sympathetically turning this old wooden shack into a studio and spare bedroom. I think I've found him and all being well he should be starting the transformation very soon!

So, I have been scouring the internet (now that it's working!) looking for pictures that capture the 'feel' I'm going for... that classic combination of...erm...Rustic/Swedish/French/English Countryish!

...Oh, you know what I'm getting at, right?

Have a great week!

B x
pic 1 is from here
pic 2 and 3 are from here

Down and Out.

Just popping in to say; my Internet is down and I'm out of action with a bad back :(
(posting this from my iPhone)Hope to be back soon. In the meantime, have a fabulous week.
B x

She's here...

The air is crisper, the days are shorter and my apple tree is heaving with goodies...Autumn is knocking.

So, Eva and I decided to welcome her in by going into the garden to pick some apples -I'm hoping to make a chutney for christmas gifts. If anyone knows of a good recipe please let me know!

Once our basket was full, what started as a fruit picking morning quickly turned into a photo op for Eva and Cookie...

Everything was going well until Cookie decided she wan't prepared to share the limelight any more...She wanted to strut her stuff...solo!

Of course, anything she can do...

But at the end of the day these two will always be best buddies...

Have a gorgeous day!

B x

Pastures new...

Tomorrow we drive our eldest girl up to Bristol to start her new life at Uni.

Good luck Jess!

B x
picture from here

Back to school...

Any guesses who didn't need new shoes?!

Hugs,

B x

p.s We did polish - honest!

Cornwall part2

Hello. How are you? I hope you've had a restful weekend and are looking forward to a brand new week. It's been a while since we got back from our trip to Lizard Point in Cornwall, as promised, lets go for a walk through the village down to the sea. This is actually the UK's most southerly point and a gorgeous part of the world...

The chocolate box cottages are everywhere - heaven!

Apparently, these buildings used to be a monestary...




I was wearing flipflops (as usual!) so didn't take part in the rock climbing...

Goodbye from the bottom of England - See you soon!

B x