Stylish Sunday

We are looking to add those finishing touches to our home as it's something we haven't really got around to, all those things that make a room come together.  I always put them off as once we've done the painting and decorating we're normally broke.

I started by making a general board for you all, but the more I looked around the Matalan website the more I wanted to show you their stuff because I always forget how nice and incredibly reasonable their homewear is.  I haven't been sponsored or anything to write this post, but once you see the range of items below I think you'll know why I think they're so great.

So, it's definitely worth a browse if you need something to brighten up your home.  And once again, if you like any of the items, click on the board above and it will take you to the source list.

Our Dream Kitchen - with help from Rated People

I barely know where to start when trying to document our kitchen renovation requirements.  Let me first explain that our kitchen is the last room we are attempting to tackle in our house since we bought it nearly 2 1/2 years ago.  I am sitting at my keyboard now and I know I need to go and take some photos to document the work required but I am a little scared!  There is currently, missing plaster on the walls, bodged tiling, a cooker who's front has fallen off and... a few holes in the floor! (To name but a few of the issues.)

Our ideal Ikea Kitchen haven

Me trying my best to spruce up broken cupboards, extractor AND cooker)

We put off work in the kitchen as I think we were trying to avoid admitting that there were some quite serious problems in there to tackle that would require a bit of investment time and money wise.  Now we have a semi-mobile baby scooting around we must take action on the holes at least!

So here goes with our major renovation plans!

First we need to tackle the floor.  That means ripping out the entire kitchen, cutting out all the rotten floor boards, treating the surrounding area and then relaying a new floor.  The bodge jobbers who previously owned the place laid wall tiles as floor tiles directly on to the floor boards.  needless to say, until yesterday this was lurking underneath our ill fitting dishwasher and washing machine.

We really were at the mercy of our appliances as we knew that sooner or later one of them would go through the floor. (Particularly when the washing machine was doing a spin cycle) Poking around with the help of my dad yesterday confirmed this and thanks to his hard work he has fixed the floor for us.

So, now the floorboards fixed we need to move on to the other troubled areas and could really use a financial boost to get things under way, especially if we want to have it done before next Christmas!

Please excuse the pictures above, I fear I should have had a health warning on the top of this post.  It would mean so much to us to be able to sort these out.  At the moment it seems hard to believe that it will ever be our dream kitchen but I am convinced we can get there with just a bit of help.  So to inspire us all I have created a wonderful inspiration board of what we have in mind.

Here is my Pinterest board of just some of the inspiration I would like to bring to our dark, dank and thoroughly dreadful kitchen! So, tots100 & Rated People, is our challenge accepted?

Nursery fit for a king

This nursery post has been a long time coming, Nye is now 8 months old.  We did most of the big jobs when I was still pregnant and of course the room was 'ready' for when Nye arrived back in January.  (Although, once they arrive, you soon realise the baby spends a lot more time in your bedroom than their own to begin with.)

This reveal was spurred on by the arrival of his new cot bed and gorgeous natural mattress.  It is such a wonderful feeling to know that your baby is spending his days sleeping on wool and coconut coir fiber (while we snuggle down on Ikea's finest!!)  It sounds so cliche but I find it incredibly fulfilling to do those little things for him.  It's something I breath in when I find myself lovingly folding his reusable nappies every day!  How lucky I am to have him and how wonderful it is to love and protect him.

But here we have it, a grand old room full of fun and laughter for my big boy.

Most of it was kindly picked up via freecycle, lovely friends with a few special gifts from mummy and daddy.  I like to think it combines a good mixture of modern and vintage bits and pieces.  I'm terrible at 'picking' a theme and colour scheme.  I'm like a magpie with an eye for anything colourful and fun and that's sort of how every room turns out when I'm in charge.  Thankfully, I like how it all comes together.  The pictures here look a little more cluttered than many a nursery photo shoot but I like to think that this reflects that it is a little boys place to play and cause havoc at will.

There are a few sneaky DIY bits and bobs mixed in here, including a personalised lamp shade which I made last week with a £2.50 balloon shade.  I have to say, it's the best £2.50 I've ever spent.  I'm also so proud of learning to crochet and making him a blanket, just like my mum made me when I was small.  You can catch a glimpse of this, peering over the edge of the cot above.

So to my 8 month little boy, here is your first ever room.  It has evolved with you and you may never remember it but it will always be a place of sunshine and happiness.

I hope you all like the way it's turned out.  Do let me know if there's anything you like and I can probably tell you where it's from.  It has been many months of love, tender care and tweaks to get it to where we are now.  Now I just need to find the bobbin for the sewing machine and finish the black out curtains!

Plant's I'd like to grow 2012-13

One of the benefits of going running and being a stay at home mum is taking note of some rather beautiful front gardens on the long walks.  I've seen my fair share of sofa's and washing machines gracing them too, but I've also seen beuatiful corucopias of colour and fragrance.

As a reminder for getting things planted now and for next year, I'm going to put together a list of some of the things I'd like to have blooming next year.

Name: Cosmos

Name: Daffodil

Name: FOXGLOVE

Name: Dahlia 'Happy'

Name: Peonie

Name: Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora 'Emily McKenzie'

Name: Crocosmia 'Lucifer'

Name: Allium sphaeroceph

Name: Limonium Sinuatum

So far I have planted some daffodil bulbs and a Peonie (although the leaves are already looking a little crispy).  If I had a list of things I'd like to grow by the end of this year it would include a Rose and lots of climbers.  So far I've managed to look after 2 passion flowers, a jasminum and 2 honeysuckles.  As well as my gladioli finally flowering and a successful season for my new lilies!  Fingers crossed I can keep them  all through the winter.  I have also recently bought a beautiful rose which had blackspot which I am treating, booo!

There's not a lot of interest in terms of colour or foliage in our garden over winter, perhaps something I should look at next spring when I get the gardening bug back.  Right, now I need to work out the best place to plant our new blueberry and raspberry plants! Fingers crossed for fresh fruit for Nye come 2013.

Thursday Treats

Here's a little eye candy for a slow Thursday.

I thought this print was gorgeously cool for a bub's room.

Wow, these unique hanging hooks are AWESOME.

Summer To Do List & Desk Inspiration

So, there's just one more week of the Summer Holidays left.  We havent been away on holiday anywhere but we have had some excellent days out and we have managed to tick off almost all of our to do list which is a first I think!

To Do List Printable Via Pinterest

There have been so many half finished jobs around our house, but it feels like we are finally getting to the bottom of these months list.  Of course there are always a million more things to get on with, but let's say we've made a good start. As I mentioned earlier in the week we finally spruced up the front garden with some paint, plants and gravel and today we fixed some bookshelf doors which we have had lying around for months as we were missing the screws.  However, after 3 trips to Ikea to get the right ones they are now in situ.

The next thing that isn't actually on the to do list is to find me a new desk area.  I was happy to be holed up in a small corner of our bedroom.  I was hoping a few bookshelves and a nice stool would be a good area to really get my business ideas in motion.  However, Neil doesn't think that will work in the long run as he thinks I need a bit more space.  He has suggested I take over a little area in the living room which would hopefully give me a bigger space and would also be more accessible in the day time whilst I look after Nye.  So, with that in mind I've been scouting around for possible ideas. So without further ado feast your eyes on the crafty beauty of work spaces below!

I think that's enough food for thought.  What I go for pretty much depends on what type of cupboard I manage to track down.  I'd like something neat and tidy and if I can't find anything that would allow me to get  a desk I might just go for something like this fold up desk below which is nice and wide.

p.s for these and more storage ideas check out my Pinterest Board!