Simply B

Finding me some happy...part 2

2012-01-31T14:16:00.001Z

Picture the scene...

I am doing the daily chores (with my headphones in) stripping the beds and 'hoovering' the bedrooms when I catch sight of myself in the full length mirror. Cheeks flushed, shaking my thang, flicking my hair and playing air guitar with the vacuum cleaner. That, I thought, is me- truly happy! So what was it, I hear you ask, that had me boogieing in the bedrooms? My eighties secret pleasure...

Bet you can't watch without having a little wiggle!

Have a happy week!

B x

Finding me some happy...part 1

2012-01-23T12:25:00.000Z

Hello you lovely lot!

Well, it's been a tough couple of weeks for me, with Chris being away, my sister moving to LA and my Nanny passing all in one fortnight. But, you know the saying; 'You can't keep a good gal down!' and with that in mind I've been trying to fill my life with plenty of 'happy' to keep me on the right side of sane!

So, I have been tootling along pinning on Pinterest and reading all of your lovely blogs to feed my need for loveliness and then I came across this....

and this...

I swear I could sit and watch them all day.
So much loveliness I just had to share! Go HERE for more 'happy'.

Have a happy day,

B x

My 'Black Nanny'.

2012-01-18T00:01:00.000Z

Today, my gorgeous, kind, special Grandma went to heaven. Being mixed race, I had a 'Black Nanny' and a 'White Nanny'. I lived with my Black Nanny for a while when I was younger.

My sister and I still laugh about the funny things she did and said. She used to sing the wrong words to the songs on the radio, and she had a cat she called 'Simon-the-mimon'. I remember she would light the cooker with burning paper and then stamp out the flames with her toughened Caribbean foot. I thought that was magic!

She loved to care for people, it's what she did. She was never happier than when she was fussing over you or cooking you a yummy Caribbean feast. But she was no push-over; if Black Nanny told you to do something, you did it! I'm not sure what she would have done if you didn't - we never got that far!

She and my Granddad (James) were inseparable. Nanny's name was Matilda but Granddad called her 'Mitty'. They were really popular in the neighbourhood and on a Saturday the house would be full of people. The men would come to play dominoes with Granddad in the back room and the women would come to chat and buy Nanny's bread and beautiful cakes. Granddad died some 25years ago and she was lost without him. By the end I don't even think she remembered he had ever existed - that killed me.

This past summer I took the kids to see her. The little ones don't know her very well because we were in Canada for most of their short lives. I just wanted them to remember her, as I suspected she wouldn't be here for much longer. She was frail and cantankerous - so unlike herself . But they got to feel the most precious thing in the world; the magical feeling of her incredibly soft cheek against theirs. I will miss her, but I hold that memory of her velvety cheek against mine and I'm so grateful to have had her in my life.

I hope that she is in heaven with Granddad, baking bread and holding court with their old friends.

Watching the world go by...

2012-01-05T08:56:00.000Z

Cookie is hanging out in her favourite place. She likes to sit and watch the world go by.

Actually seeing her sitting there, kind of reminds me of what last year felt like to me. It was the year I said I'd do more, yet for whatever reason, I remained somewhat disconnected. Sometimes I find it easier to say 'no' so that I don't have to deal with new/difficult situations. This year I plan to spend more time saying 'yes'.

This year I am making a pledge. I will get involved. Be part of the action. Join the party!

*Pinterest

Now, Cookie and I are off to join the doggie party - we're going for a walk!

Hugs, B X

All the best..

2012-01-01T17:06:00.000Z

Picture from Pinterest - my favourite new pastime, which is even more fun on my *new laptop*. Feel free to follow me and let me know if you have boards and I'll be happy to follow too - there's a button on the right.

Looking forward to another year of sharing and caring with my you, bloggy friends.

Hugs, B x

Season Greetings...

2011-12-24T21:29:00.000Z

Man, I feel like a woman!

2011-12-15T15:38:00.001Z

Source: flickr.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Saw this today on Pinterest and having spent the last week admonishing myself for not sticking to my
pre-Christmas diet, suddenly things don't look too bad. Curves are where it's at! Time for another glass of Baileys me thinks....

B x

Feeling Festive?

2011-11-29T09:53:00.000Z

Hello my lovelies!
I do hope you have been keeping well. I am embracing the entrance of winter and as such, have been making wintery Christmas wreaths. One of my creations has a staring roll in my new header (did you notice?) and the others have been posted in my Folksy Shop

I am really enjoying creating again and if that's all I get out if it, that's ok with me...although a few pennies for my trouble wouldn't go amiss!

I am so looking forward to the festive season. However, the closer we get, the nearer I am to saying goodbye to my little sister and her gaggle of gorgeous girls.

They head off to sunny LA in January to start a new life. Can you believe I came home from Canada 2 years ago, in part, so that our kids could grow up together and now she's off to pastures new!? I just know she's going to have a fab time and am soooo excited as I already have my tickets to visit in August; woo-hoo!

Roll on Summer!

Just kidding! Let's enjoy the moment. I'm getting the decorations out of the loft at the weekend and have my first Christmas dinner on Saturday...I feel that festive feeling coming on!

Are you feeling festive yet?
B x

Remember, remember...

2011-11-05T20:18:00.000Z

Remember, remember the fifth of November; gunpowder treason and plot.

I see no reason why gunpowder season should ever be forgot.

Happy Bonfire Night!

B x

Morning Glory!

2011-10-18T07:27:00.000+01:00

Hello my lovely friends. How the heck are you?
I am good, although I have to admit to 'over doing it' a bit lately,
hence my new attempts at clean living.
I use the word attempts as I am really quite well known for some flaky, faddish
ideas which usually last until about lunchtime!

Oh well, this is one of my favourite morning tipples, whether I'm being good...or not.

2 apples, sliced and cored, a few carrots and a nugget of fresh ginger

Pop it in the juicer

Catch all the good stuff!

Your morning glass of goodness awaits!

What's your favourite morning tipple?

Hugs, B x
p.s what d'ya think of my new kitchen counter tops? Fancy, eh?!

Missing you...but having fun!

2011-09-27T09:25:00.001+01:00

I know, its been an awfully long time. I hope you have had a lovely couple of months. I have been enjoying the summer; painting furniture, sorting the barn out and celebrating my sisters' 30th birthday with a night in London and a trip with 'The Girls' to Marbella, Spain. Just wanted you to know that all is well and that now the kids are back at school, I will be back to some kind of 'normal"! See you soon.
Hugs,
B x

Shabby Chic comes home at last!

2011-07-24T20:44:00.000+01:00

Oh. My. Giddy. Aunt.

Be still my beating heart!

I realise I may be late in the day to have heard this little nugget of joy, but for those of you who are unaware; I have fabulous shabby news...

Rachel Ashwell has collaborated with House of Fraser and will be releasing a new Shabby Chic interiors collection this August here in the UK. The collection is set to include furniture, dining, home accessories and bed linen.

Say it with me..."yippeeeee!"

I simply don't know how I'm going to stand the wait. But until such a time as we can ogle and touch the pretties in the flesh, let me leave you with these gorgeous pictures of what is to come....enjoy!

Roll on August!

Hugs, B x

Vivian Maier - A Life Uncovered

2011-07-04T12:58:00.001+01:00

Last week I went to a lecture at the National Portrait Gallery. It was part of a bigger exhibition, about Street Photography. It was incredibly interesting and I thought I would share what I learned with you.

This is Vivian Maier. Born in 1926, Vivian was of French-Hungarian heritage. She was employed as a nanny for many years but was rather reclusive and didn't have any family or friends. All through Vivian's adult life she took photos. Photos that captured American life from the 40's to the 90's. She also travelled extensively and always took her camera, recording what she saw.Vivian didn't share her photography with anyone. She died alone and penniless in 2007 and her boxes and boxes of (some undeveloped) work was put up for auction in a Chicago auction house. On that day a young historian, John Maloof, put in a bid for a box of photographs by an unknown photographer and left the auction house. He later found out he won the bid and after leaving the box in a closet for several months he decided to take a look at what he had bought...

Maloof discovered that there were more boxes out there that had been sold at auction and set about tracking them all down. He now has all but one of the boxes which amounts to hundreds of thousands of shots. Only about 10% of which have been developed so far. It's sad that Vivian had to die before we got to see the beautiful work she created. However, John Maloof is compiling a book about Vivian's life and work, which will be out in November and a film will follow next year. I find Vivian's work fascinating and I hope she knows how much joy her photography has brought to so many people.

Hugs,

B x

All images are from http://www.vivianmaier.com/

Barn update

2011-06-22T04:41:00.000+01:00

I have a sore throat. One of those itchy, scratchy, irritating sore throats. It's very aggravating. On the brightside, it does mean that at 3 o'clock in the morning I am up and sitting at my computer and there couldn't be a better time for me to give you a little update on my barn project.

When we first moved in to Pear Tree Cottage one of the things I was most taken with, was the lovely barn/out building that came with it...

(Excuse the photo quality, they were taken with my phone and are now the only photos of the barn as it was.)

This fabulous stove is in full working order and staying in the reno'd barn

It really was just a dumping ground after we moved in.

very 'rustic', but not very stable....

The barn in relation to the house

I'm hoping to keep one of the old windows and turn it into a mirror...I'll let you know how that goes!

The vegetation was really making itself at home!

Who needs velux windows when you already have natural light streaming through your rafters!

Well, clearly you can see there's much to be done. My aim was to restore rather than get rid of all of the barn's charm. However, as any of you who have taken on a project like this will know, it's a bit like dominoes and once you touch one thing, it tends to have a knock-on effect elsewhere. I hope I have done the barn justice. You can let me know, I will be posting new pictures very soon.

Now, one more mug of hot lemon and honey and I'm off to try and get some sleep.

Night, night.

B x

Simple pleasures...

2011-06-10T13:48:00.000+01:00

My favourite arrangement...

Pure beauty.

Enjoy your weekend!
B x

p.s I' ve been without a computer for 2 weeks...grrrr...but just wanted to thank you guys for your lovely words of encouragement re my last post- it means so very much. Also, big things happening with the 'barn' ! Will update (with pictures) next week. x

Sorting it out...

2011-05-23T22:16:00.000+01:00

Recently, I bought these beautiful suitcases at a local flea market, which were filled with lots of gorgeous loveliness.

While I sit here, sorting through my new pretties, I find myself having a

bit of a tussle with my conscience.

It’s nothing new really.

The same tussle I have every year...every month, sometimes even on a daily basis.

The usual one that goes something like this...

”What am I doing here? The kids are getting bigger. They’re at school all day, they need me less and less. I could be out. Meeting people. Earning ~~my own~~ some extra money. Doing MY THING.” Except, I’m not sure what ‘my thing’ is.

10 years ago I was carving a career in the media world. I worked in television.

It was fun. Exciting. I met my Mr Right there.

I felt like I was at the centre of the universe in that office. As though our decisions meant everything.

Now I realise that as fun it was, it really isn’t the be-all and end-all. And I’ve moved on.

Being there for my kids is the most important thing to me. But I also need to feel fulfilled. My business dreams seem to have stalled- I’ve lost direction...

But as I sit here and try to decide what to do with my future and while I sort my lace into pretty piles I think...”filing was never this fun at the office!”

Oh my...!

2011-05-12T18:43:00.000+01:00

It's that time again...the new edition of Lonny e-magazine just hit my inbox and I am loving every bright, delicious, summery page of it!

Pop over to fully enjoy!

Hugs, B x

Hello Sunshine!

2011-05-04T21:44:00.000+01:00

Oh my goodness. Where does the time go? Spring has well and truly sprung here in (currently) sunny England and I have spent it doing many things and that clearly has not included blogging...for that I apologise.

Forgive me? I hope so.

We have had some fab weather of late and with the children on a 4 week school holiday, we have been making the most of it. Going for walks and picnics in the country with the kiddies- and the dog, barbies in the garden and generally soaking up the rays - after all, we never know how long it's going to last here!

I hope the sun is shining where you are!

Hugs, B x

Congratulations William and Kate!

2011-04-29T12:49:00.000+01:00

Wishing the lovely couple much happiness for the future. x

Birthday celebrations....continued...

2011-03-18T07:28:00.000Z

Just popping in to say "Thank you friends" for your lovely and kind words. I had a wonderful birthday, filled with gorgeous pressies and great time spent with friends and loved ones. I am off to 'The Windy City' for the weekend to visit my husband (there on business) and to really enjoy being 40!

Wishing you a fab weekend.

Hugs,

B x
p.s - The cases in the picture were a recent find at the flea market, filled with lace and linen.
25 pounds the lot - bargain!

Telling it like it is...THE big 4-0

2011-03-11T23:38:00.001Z

I worry.

I worry about what people think about me.

Quite a lot.

It's my weakness.

I've been saying for ages that I would show you guys my revamped kitchen floor...

But I have procrastinated- I'm very good at that.

In my warped mind, I would rather show you my floor when it's looking bad. Then I figure you won't judge (as we all agree it looks bad) Lately I've been taking a long hard look at myself. Another thing I have noticed is I really avoid putting pictures of myself on here. I look at other blogs I follow and people have pics of themselves and their outfit for the day etc and I am in awe of their confidence. I convince myself people would be picking me apart. I need to stop that.

Tomorrow, I turn 40. I think this is a really grown up age. An age when I should be comfortable in my own skin. Caring less about the things that don't matter. So in honour of the occasion...

Welcome to my kitchen...

I'm honestly not angry or upset in this picture, I just find it really difficult to smile without looking like a total goofball! Also, I was cooking an omlette and burnt the pan - doh!

I think the floors look so much better that the old laminate. The house was built in 1840 and these are original boards - very cool.

My new photo wall is getting there, I do need more pics though. I would like to cover alot of that wall. The heart on the right I made with assorted red buttons.

As you can see, the hearth were the cooker goes has been uncovered and needs to be stripped and then painted bright red which is what it would have looked like originally.

I love this gorgeous big window, I can look out at the barn and the garden while I'm doing the dishes. Excuse the mess on the side...I was cooking my omlette remember!?

My favourite hand towel on the left by PIP Studio.

I got this R from a charity shop, they had sold out of B's!

See...total goofball!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Hugs,

B x

Spring is in the air!

2011-03-06T13:31:00.000Z

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

Tea, with the Queen, in my kitchen...

2011-03-02T10:37:00.000Z

Ah...I may have exaggerated...ever so slightly...

Just wanted to show you a few little things that I picked up recently on my visit to my local flea market. And I felt sure the title would reel you in! And it's not a lie...well not exactly....

Isn't she lovely? What a gorgeous patina. I think I paid about 1 pound for her! You may find this a little gross...she still has the loose tea inside. I can't bear to part with it. It kind of feels like it came as a package and so I have to keep it that way...am I weird? I also picked up these little beauties...

So pretty! And although I blogged last year about taking the colour out of my kitchen, it seems that slowly but surely it has been creeping back in. It's funny, I swoon over pictures of white kitchens. I go weak at the knees for that pale Scandinavian chicness. But when I try to achieve the look at home, I always feel like I'm not 'done'. And so the colour creeps back in...a touch of blue here...a splash of red there, until before you know it, I'm back to a more 'English Country' style.

I'm thinking I should just go with it. After all, style shouldn't be forced. I must be a true English country girl at heart. I'm sure Her Majesty would approve!

Hugs,

B x

Freebie Alert!

2011-02-28T21:41:00.000Z

Hello sweet friends!

I have been having a grand old time blog-hopping lately and on my travels I came across the most amazing site called Indiefixx.com. The site is run by Jen Wallace, here she shares her love of indie design, crafting, diy, gardening and cooking. Jen also runs a project called 'Feed your soul: free art project.' The idea of the project is to feed our souls during these hard economic times with some beautiful free art work donated by various artists. Every Monday there is a gorgeous new free picture for you to save and print. I saved these beauties...

Too cute. Yep, my soul is definitely feeling better for those little nuggets of joy! Go get yours...

FEED YOUR SOUL!

Hugs, B x

Torie Jayne/ Hampton Blue Giveaway

2011-02-19T21:02:00.000Z

Since my visit to Copenhagen (almost a YEAR ago now) I have become a huge fan of Lisbeth Dahl products. Gorgeous feminine pretties!

Well, one of my blog favourites Torie Jayne has just introduced me to Hampton Blue a fab website where you can get your fix of Lisbeth Dahl, along with Azuni, Disaster Designs, East of India, Moulin Roty, Nadia Minkoff and Paper High. Torie is currently running a 30 pound giveaway.

Hop on over and give it a go!

Hugs,

B xxx