Wednesday 31 August 2016

This & That Happy....



HaPpY.... 
with my extra long bank-holiday weekend.
It's so lovely to potter around from here to there at my own pace.
Made a little more special as I got to enjoy the house 
in all it's peace & quiet for a few hours over the last few days
with the Paperdolls & Mr Mc back at school & work!
I need the silence to hear myself!
I LoVe my family very much and I wouldn't want to be 
without them EVER however "ME" time is ÜBER important to me
and I don't want to feel guilty enjoying it!
Something I'm slowly learning. 


HeXaGoN  HaPpY.... 
the hexagon blanket is coming on rather nicely. 
....the mix & match yarns are fast disappearing
with the pinks, pale blue & mustard already all done. 
I spent Monday morning trying to figure out
the best arrangement, with the help of a few
lattes and much playing around I have concluded,
I could be spending days trying to find the perfect layout
and still not be happy,
....so no layout strategy is the best strategy!
Next step now is finding (buying) a yarn as a 
connecting and framing colour, that may take a little while.


GaRdEn  HaPpY....
The weather was a bit of a mixed bag this weekend
.... I guess the nice weather couldn't last forever!
During the rain showers Mr Mc & I dashed to garden centers
for a few new flowery additions and
this beautiful trug also found it's way home with me.
I have been LONGING for this style trug forever
....no seriously it's been years & years....
I always made an excuse why I shouldn't buy one
 ....that guilt thing again....
....after all I'm no gardener why do I really need a fancy trug....
Saturday I finally picked one up, took it to the till and
bought it before I could even think of talking myself out of it.
I'm very happy to say no guilt felt by me this far just sheer delight! 


We also picked up some plants of course
which we managed to plant during the sunnier spells.
I'm a real "fly by the seat of my pants" kinda gardener.
Experiment & hope for the best is my motto!
I need plants that look after themselves.
Watering, a little occasional pruning and feeding 
all within my capability but not much more.  
I have two ways of picking plants firstly I like there names,
 secondly they have spoiled me with a felling of
gardening success in past garden experiments.
General Sikorski falls into the latter group
I have had this Clematis before and I agree with the
RHS Award of Garden Merit for reliability, 
so far this one has never let me down in my previous gardens.
So here is hoping for this one.


What is not to LoVe about Pansies?!
Perfectly HaPpY flowers,  
so adorable in this pot, making a perfect distraction
from my ugliest of ugly front door.


PaInT  HaPpY....
This time for the garden, I bought this paint without a sample
and was a little worried that it would be too cream.
It may be called Cream Tea (LoVe the name) but this
garden paint is definitely no cream,
to my great relief it's an old or off white, just what I wanted!


GuInNeSs  HaPpY....
Guinness makes me smile every day, no not the alcoholic variety
but this well traveled little bunny with huge personality,
toilet trained (if he wants to that is)
he has opinions on the telly program,
hind leg thumping if he doesn't approve.
He loves snuggling (on his terms of course)
and follows us around the house.
Goes crazy for peanuts & peanut-butter, he has never drank water
loves salad but only eats carrot when cut with a peeler.
He has us all rapt around his whiskers and he knows it!
Little did I know the day we took him home
from the pet-shop a little over eleven years ago
that Guinness would become such a huge part of our family,
every day with him is a such a giggle & joy!


DuStInG  HaPpY....
I'm defiantly NO domestic goddess when it comes to cleaning


I have to admit though I do LoVe the fresh & new feeling that comes
after a bit of feathered magical wand action!


AuTuMn  HaPpY....
I'm looking forward to my first Autumn 
in Scotland in over twenty years.


Wishing you all a HAPPY start into September!
xoxo


Thursday 25 August 2016

I have Sunshine....


HuRRaH 
  

The Sun has finally found it's way to the 
Scottish Highlands!!!


We have been blessed with a week of mostly sunshine,
with very few raindrops interrupting!
We are having a mini summer after all!
Unsurprisingly the sun arrived just in time 
for the first day back at School,
honestly though I couldn't care less 
....I have SUN!!
....Long may it last....


I have made the most of this lovely weather when I wasn't working.
Open windows & doors to let the warm sunny breeze into my house,
washing drying outside on the line
OoOh what a joy!!!
Yes I'm so very easily pleased.


It's back to School time with the term started again last week with
that has come back our familiar early weekday mornings routine.
Just now, our starts are even a little earlier then last term,
as baby Paperdoll has started High School. 
BIG step for her & me!!!
A little nervous & shy on her first day in High School
...who can blame her....
she has since taken the new & unfamiliar
in her stride and adapted very well!!
WoW.... what an ENORMOUS relief that is for me! 


Over the last few weeks I have been painting every evening,
a little this & that,
not just in shades of white may I add.... 


blue was the choice to up-cycle this garden bench we picked up
very cheaply for the front of the house.
I LoVe how a lick of paint really can change
the feel & look of a piece furniture.  
 

I have cherished every free minute in the sunshine
on my beautiful "new" bench!
It is incredibly satisfying to use something you
have up-cycled or made yourself.
This cushion I stitched years ago and yet it still fills
me with happiness every time see it!  


The Roses & Lilly's we planted earlier in the month
have flourished in the sunshine, rewarding us
with plenty of stunning blossoms.


This lovely weather has also allowed us to get on
with some of the unfinished jobs around the garden....
 


....my first attempt laying the path was rudely interrupted by rain....
finally last Sunday Mr Mc & I finished the
first part of the path, cut pieces included!
Now I'm hoping for a good (at least dry) weekend so we
can get the rest done and finally build the gate for our drive.
 Fingers crossed!!! 


DO IT YOURSELF
is without question tremendously rewarding....
you just have to except that it will take a lot of patience & plenty of time
before you get to enjoy those rewards fully!

xoxo
  

Saturday 6 August 2016

Longing for Summer....

Oh my word are we really in August already???
 In a blink of an eye....  August has arrived!
....where oh where has the time gone?

The last few weeks have been busy BuSy BUSY for me.
Indulging in heavenly cakes like this lemon & syrup cake made
by teen Paperdolls have helped to sweetened them somewhat.


 Thank you soOoOo much for all your lovely comments on my last post,
I have taken a little break from hexagons for the moment
and instead focusing my creative attention on my
up to now none existent Garden.


 A few roses where planted,


 a picket fence was built and I'm currently
working on a new path, more on all that hopefully very soon.

 
I have also been traveling a fair bit, exploring the West Coast
of Scotland with my family and visiting dear friends in Yorkshire.
 July has given me many beautiful & happy moments that will become
cherished memories for me,  for that I'm truly grateful!
But boy OH boy what is going on with the weather?
July 2016 most definitely let me down on the that front
and August hasn't started much better!
The weather here has really been TRULY & UTTERLY PANTS.
I Love candles, having them lit however on most days during
day time hours in the summer months, feels just a little strange.
Summer seriously?
I really haven't seen much of it so far this year. 


 Watching the rain drops daily running down on my window
listening to the never ending sound of
water pounding the ground
that nursery rhyme ....you know the one I mean....
is playing endlessly in my head, like a broken record

 rain....rain....
go away come back another day


I'm sooooo longing for summer days....
blue sky's a warming breeze swishing through leaves
 the air filled with the perfume of beautiful flowers
cooling down with a iced drinks
and all watched over by a warm sparkling sun.


Oh.... how lovely that would be!
I can but dream!!

 

As a little distraction from the cold & damp I thought it be nice
I share with you a few photos from my summer living room!


I like to spin the living room around a little with every season
 and during the summer months I call our style coastal casual.  
 As far back as I can remember,
I have always been the happiest at the beach,
it's something I don't imagine will ever change!!!
 
  
The main colour in my living room is white.
White in all it's shade's makes me happy,
I have never found it to be "cold" as some people do,
when I think of white I think.... fresh, clean, fluffy
I think.... beach, shells, waves & sailing-boats.
I LoVe White!
Added to the white are splashes of blue and a tinny bit of grey.
New England meets Scandinavia I guess interior magazine
call that style, for me this look is bliss and adding
beachy pieces makes it perfect!



Each year the room spin gets a new twist with my much loved 
"vintage" pieces so that no two summers the living room looks the same. 
The sailing boats are normally all in the windows and 
big glass candle lanterns in the fire place ....not this year.

 

Remember my little up-cycle from last summer!
It still makes the perfect display for our new & old treasures. 
I turned it on it's side this year and with my living room
walls still unfinished I have found a temporary home 
on the side table next to the sofa. 


We have been and still are collecting little treasurers 
on beaches all along the West Coast of Scotland
to add to our eclectic mix.
With the sun just now making a rear appearance and


Mr Mc busy stripping an old but for us new sideboard 
(which will become after a lick of white paint 
....no surprise there.... our new TV unit)
I better say goodbye for today.  


I hope you enjoyed your little peek into my almost
Practically Perfect In Every-way
living room.


Until next time....
Have a wonderful weekend filled with beautiful
summer memories!

xoxo


p.s. the cupcake above is another of teen Paperdolls
super yummy creations this month, how lucky am I!