Spring is in the air!

Went for a lovely walk in the woods this morning... freezing cold, but I found my ray of sunshine under a tree...Spring is coming!

Happy Sunday!
Hugs,
B x

Bath weekend part 2

Hello.

How are you?

Did you have a lovely week? Nice Valentine's Day? I really hope so.

As promised, if a little late, here are the second lot of pictures from my trip to Bath.

On the Sunday morning we woke up nice and early and headed to Shepton Mallet.

I'm going to stop nattering and let you enjoy the view...

What a delight!

I would love to say that I came home with a carload, but I didn't. I was in a cautious mood and already had my chair to transport so I just *Oooh'd* and *Aaah'd*...a lot!

Well, that's it for now ladies. Although I must pop back and show you my new old kitchen floors. Soon.

Hugs to you,

B x

Currently...

• Missing the sunshine of Dubai...
• Getting used to the school run again...
• Admiring my new Kitchen floors...pics to come
• Drooling over my copy of Easy Elegance by Atlanta Bartlett...

 

 

....and preparing to go on my "Shabby Chic weekend". I will be learning how to distress furniture like the pros and visiting a fabulous antique fair, all in the beautiful city of Bath.

Hope you're enjoying what you're 'currently' doing.

Hugs,

B x

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

Hoping for blue skies...

Well, Jess has been gone for a week and I've spoken to her and she's having a lovely time catching up with her old friends soaking up the Canadian sun.

Lucky her. We in the UK, on the other hand, are left with unpredictable, drizzly skies. Where has the sun gone? I really hope it comes back soon, as we're off to Cornwall tomorrow - yipee! We will be staying at "Sunday Cottage" which is a coach house attached to a larger country home. We are so excited to have our first UK holiday now that the children are old enough to really enjoy our little road trip. And we can even bring Cookie the dog with us to enjoy the fun!

My camera will be coming too so you can enjoy the trip with us - don't forget your sun screen!

B x

Photo from here

Confessions of a thirty-something...

This week has been a bit of a blur. Not, as you would be forgiven for thinking, because the kids are at home and I've been getting ready for a market. Both of those things are true, but that is not the reason for my recent lack of focus. No, the real reason is rather more embarrassing. As I told you; Friday was Chris' birthday, on Saturday we had a party.

We celebrated...I celebrated...hard.

Sunday morning was horrific. And Monday only marginally better. I lost 5 pounds in weight (not such a bad thing!) and suffice to say I won't be touching alcohol for some time. I think the children thought I had caught a tropical disease! There is, in my possession, photographic evidence to prove that I should know better. However, for obvious reasons, I chose to post this one...

That's me on the left with my younger sister Hannah. Oh, I wish I could go back and remind myself to drink water! Anyhow, confession over, all in all the night was a great success. We had a lot of fun and caught up with some old friends. You only live once right!?

Thursday I was at the Berkhamsted Castle Village Market. I've never been there before and although it was a rather small event, the turn out wasn't too bad and I was happy that I'd made the effort to go. I sold all of my cushions (except one) and quite a few other bits and pieces. And I have some lovely vintage-style lavender bags that I will be adding to Folksy this weekend.

Next week is going to be a toughie. My girl is going away. Jess will be going off to Uni in September and her plan, since we moved back to the UK has been to go back and spend a fun-filled month with all her friends back in Canada. That day has almost come and on Tuesday I will put her on a plane by herself (for the first time) and wave goodbye to my pal. She has spent this past year at college and holding down 2 jobs to save the money for this trip and to say we're proud of her would be an understatement!

I will miss her - she knows that. But I want her to have the most fun a girl with a big smile and a good heart can have - love you Jess.

My apologies for the rambling post; I had some things I needed to get off my chest!

Love to you all,

B x

The end is nigh...

The end of school that is. As usual the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. Tonight I am out with the mums from year 2. Tomorrow I have a luncheon with the mums of year 4 and then straight after school some crazy, I mean lovely, mum has decided to host a picnic tea party for all of Eva's class plus mums and siblings in her garden - yikes! On top of that I am half way through painting Eva's bedroom and I have been making some new pretties which I will be post about very soon and putting in my folksy shop.

Busy, busy, busy!

Today I came across this picture I took while on a road trip with the kids and in-laws from Toronto to Vermont a couple of years ago. It was at the end of the day; on our first stop at a lovely B & B - what a view. It makes me feel so calm and relaxed whenever I see it. I may need to get it enlarged and have it on my wall opposite my bed as a stress reliever!

I thought I would share it with you. I hope you are all having a fun, stress-free week.

Hugs to you all,

B x
p.s I have had a lucky couple of days and won a few giveaways (never usually happens to me!) I'll tell you all about them next time...Ciao!

Back to health...

Thank you all for your best wishes. Everyone here at Pear Tree Cottage is back to health and enjoying the gorgeous weather we have at the moment...








There's nothing better than alfresco dining to put a smile on your face, especially when your country's team just bombed out of the world cup!

I've missed you all and will be popping in to say "hi" very soon.

Wishing you a sunny week, where ever you are.

B x

Sun, kids a bucket and a hose...

The kids have just spent a week at home on their half term holidays. I had planned a trip to the butterfly museum and a visit to the local fun park, but we had so much fun at home we didn't get around to either. Although we seem to have returned to 'The Norm' for the UK; grey and cold, the weekend was blissful and the kids took full advantage with the hosepipe and a few buckets....









Do you think maybe Max is enjoying this a little bit too much!?






It's a good job Eva is my little 'toughie'!



Who needs to spend money going to fun parks?

B x

Mr Sunshine...

Dear Mr Sunshine,

I can't tell you how pleased I am to have you back in my life. I know you may think me needy and obsessive, but I really can't live without you. When I wake up with you you give me strength to face the day. You give me confidence and make me take more care of myself. People even say I look more radiant when you're around.

The problem I have at the moment is with your lack of commitment. One minute you're here and then the next I don't see you for like..a week. That cannot be considered a healthy relationship. Are you with someone else? I need you to be around more. Please... you make me so happy.

All my love, forever.

B x

Kitchen changes

Hello All,

It's been a busy week. Mum came to visit. Max had his birthday; my little boy is now 9 years old.

I've been busy with 'housey stuff'. The kitchen has had a bit of a switch up. I decided to take the colour out of my kitchen and go for a cleaner palette. This is the old look...







And here it is post shuffle...





I think this looks more cohesive and it makes me happier :O)

I *LOVE* my new veggie prints. If you'd like some of your own, hop on over and visit Cathe at Just Something I Made she is fab and has lots of gorgeous stuff for you to print for FREE!

This weekend is a Bank Holiday in England and then the kids are at home for a week. We hope to visit Butterfly World while they're at home, I'll be sure to take my camera - should be fun!

Have a great weekend, where ever you are and whatever you're doing.

B x

Copenhagen part 2...finally!

Hey guys, sorry for the big pause in posts; my little sister, Hannah, delivered a little bundle of joy on Tuesday and the past few days has been a whirlwind of visiting and cooing! I will post about my new niece later in the week, get ready for some serious cuteness!!!



In the meantime, I owe you some Copenhagen pics. If you haven't read 'part 1' see it here.



We spent Saturday shopping (well, browsing really) and sat outside a cafe in the sun (it was cold though) to do some people watching.



I absolutely loved the buildings in Copenhagen, they were so pretty...

I hadn't realised, before my visit, what avid bikers the Danes are. When we arrived on the Friday it was rush hour and I was surprised to see parents who had obviously collected kids from nursery/day care/school doing the commute home with their kids in little 'pods' attached to their bikes! There were seas of bikes parked in the main square. People would just hop off their bikes and prop them up against a wall to go into a store - no bicycle chain, very trusting...

Then of course there was the people watching...

...and those "little things" that catch your eye...

I hope you've all enjoyed my trip around Copenhagen as much as I did! See you soon, with lots of baby cuteness.

Have a great week,

B x