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

Lace Lovelies...

Rather later than expected, here are some pictures of my latest creations...

Lovely lace lavender bags to hang in your wardrobe - or on a door handle for everyone to admire! On Folsky soon.

Wishing you a weekend laced with fun my lovelies!

B x

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

Today is a special day...

This is 'Mr. Simply B' or Chris (as he's usually known) circa 1973. Isn't he cute?!


He's also, incredibly hard working, loyal, fun and a fantastic Daddy.



40 years ago today my husband was born....

...10 years ago today - up a mountain in Barcelona - he asked me to marry him.


*This photo was taken on that day, about 5 minutes after he popped the question -
we were rather hungover!


Today is a speacial day.

Happy birthday Babe.

B x

New directions

When I originally blogged about starting my new business I talked of bright sweet clothing for little girls. Well, it seems my shop has taken a different direction. As I find my business and creative feet I am exploring all my options and at the moment it seems accessories are my new love...

So, here is a quick plug to let you lovely ladies know that I have new stock in my Folksy shop. Any of my overseas friends who see something they like; please feel free to email me and I'll get back to you with postage costs.

This week I will be making more stock for a summer fair I will be attending on 29th. Yesterday I took the kids to The Victoria and Albert Museum for a bit of culture. We had a lot of fun and I took a few pictures which I will share with you all very soon.

Lastly, I just wanted to say a quick "thank you" for some of the lovely comments and emails I got after my last post. You guys rock.

Love to you all,

B x

Sharing is caring...

I seem to be in a bloggy-funk at the moment... I can't really claim that "nothing's happening"... that wouldn't actually be true. But I seem to be finding it more difficult than usual to write about it. I'm reading a lot though...a lot of other blogs...some are my usuals {you know who you are} and some new. I'm finding it so inspiring. I often marvel at just how many talented women there are out there. Doing there own little *thing*. Whether it be writing, photography, sewing, painting. These women who raise families and run houses, have stressful jobs and full lives, but still manage to do what fills their heart and {amazingly} also share it with us. I am in awe.

So, with sharing and giving in mind, I decided to share with you some of the amazing women I have come across recently...

Cheryl @ A Pretty Cool Life - She's super crafty and happy to share he great idea's with us all; fabulous tutorials and a great Etsy shop.

Cherry Menlove, lives in the beautiful English countryside and is a brand new mother to adorable twins; Ned and Anais, she bakes a mean victoria sponge and can whip up a baby quilt in no time- and she can show you how.

Jorth, this girl seems to be able to turn her hand at everything and be great at it! She's a very talented lady.

Over to Norway now and Livs Lyst this cute newlywed has a great eye for design and has a lovely online shop where she sells vintage pieces.

and lastly the lovely Jo at Brown Paper and String. Jo is from New Zealand and living in London, mummy to Max she writes about her daily life, her crafts and designs that make her heart melt. Recently I got this in the post...


I had won Jo's recent give away, which was lovely as it was some gorgeous cream from my favourite place - Anthropologie. Thanks Jo :O)

Basically I guess this post is one big "Thank you" to all of you inspiring women out there, who live your lives caring for loved ones and share your knowledge with others along the way.

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!