Snowy Aberdour

These photos are a bit late, but we have only just got back to normal life in the village having been snowed out!

Our house in the snow.

Black Sands beach covered in snow.

Seaside Place!



Santa Day in Dunkeld

What a lovely day we all had on Saturday at the Birnam & Dunkeld Santa Day.  There had been a bit of a thaw so things were milder than they have been but there was still some snow to add to the magic!

Santa arrived in his sleigh with all his reindeer and my little boy was very lucky as Santa stopped to speak to him! He had been practising saying Santa all week but just stared at him!

There was lots of stalls selling lovely home baking and other Christmas gifts. I got myself some nice decorations for the tree and a few second hand toys for little one.

Dunkeld has lots of lovely shops and this has to be my favourite! It is called Nutmeg and has lots of gorgeous homeware, jewellery and fabrics.  Well worth a visit if you are in the area.

This wonderful little shop is called The Blue Magpie and is full of everything you could need for crafting, quilting and knitting along with vintage style toys and lots of other delights! 

Some of you  may know we have been stuck in Dunkeld (at my mum's) since the installation of our new windows was delayed by the massive amount of snow we had over the past two weeks.  I would like to report that we are now home and all the windows are finished.  The house looks so much better already.  More to come on the windows later!

Have a lovely day wherever you are! Thanks for reading!

Michelle

Making Progress...

We've had a busy couple of weeks and finally had some workmen in our house! Hurrah!  We have had our new boiler and radiators installed.  It is such bliss to turn on a tap and know that there will be hot water!

Our new boiler in the back porch

I never realised what a dilemma it was to decide where to put radiators in each room.  Traditionally they would be put below windows but then if you want to have floor length curtains this becomes a problem so we have mostly opted to put them near or behind the door in each room as this is out of the way of furniture and usually wasted space.

New radiator in master bedroom

In our living room we have opted for a radiator behind the door and another one on the opposite wall which will hopefully keep us nice and warm.



New radiator in living room

Our new windows are being installed at the end of this week so I will post again once they are finished.  I can't wait as the ones we have at the moment have chunks falling out of the wooden frames and are all mouldy on the inside.  Oh, the excitement!

Welcome to my new followers since my last post too, thanks for joining me!

Michelle

Kitchen inspiration

Now that our project start is imminent I can allow myself to be inspired!  I think we will have cream or white units and a wooden worktop.  I like how the wood warms up the pale units.  One of my favourite things about this picture is the shelf unit on the wall.  I am on the lookout for a similar one.  It adds some interest and colour to the kitchen while still being functional.

Photos from ideal home and house to home

The inspiration from this picture is the pale sage colour on the walls.  I have been thinking for months that this is the colour I want for our new kitchen and this picture proves it is a great idea!

Remember, remember the 8th of November

Oh, very exciting news, the builders are hoping to start work on our extension and renovation on the 8th November.  That is also our wedding anniversary so it should be a happy day of celebration all round!

You'll remember the previous photo of the "sun room".  Well, this will be demolished which is great news as it has moss growing on the inside of the windows and a very squint floor.  It will be replaced with a new pitched roof extension which will house our new kitchen. 

This is the architect's drawing of what the back of the house will look like with the new extension.  There are also velux windows shown in the roof which is the next phase.  If we have any money left, we will convert our loft!

Sorry this picture isn't very good, but it shows the layout of our house and the new kitchen/family area, utility and loft bedrooms.  Down the left hand side of the picture is the front of our house so to help you get your head around it, both our sitting room and master bedroom both look out to the front. 

I have my cold fingers and toes crossed that the builders will start on 8th November as it is very cold here now and we are struggling a bit with our old storage heating system.  I actually saw snow on the hills for the first time this year at the weekend! Our poor little boy doesn't have a heater in his room so we have been leaving his door open all night to let the heat in from the hallway which luckily seems to be keeping his room warm.

More to come soon on ideas and inspiration for our project.  Have a lovely day!



First Shoes

We've been shopping and got our little boy his first pair of shoes.  They are a size 5 which, having spoken to my friend's and my mum, seems like it is quite big for a first pair of shoes.  My friends have 2 1/2 year olds and they only have size 6 feet!  He can't walk yet but we needed a pair as he crawls around at the park and gets cold feet when he is in the buggy so now he will be nice and toasty.

Here he is with his new shoes on!  He tries to say shoes now whenever we put them on or take them off now too.  It sort of sounds like this... "Ssshhhhhhhhhsssss".

I'm back!

Hi, I am back from a busy week away at my mum's with my little boy.  I have been getting in the Christmas spirit this week as I am an Independent Phoenix Trader selling their gorgeous greeting cards, wrap and stationery and Christmas has arrived in the land of the greeting card!  So, I held a party at my mum's house for all her friends last week then had one here in our house for all my friends, old and new, this week.  I was quite busy and am amazed at how organised people are to be able to order their Christmas cards already!

Since we moved house I have been keen to earn a bit of money as being a stay at home mum is rewarding but not in the financial sense.  So selling cards is my contribution to our renovation budget. 

If you are interested in seeing the lovely cards I have been selling take a look at My Phoenix Trading website.  Don't worry, I am not trying to sell them to you.  They are just very lovely.  They even do mermaid gift wrap which I think is fabulous!

I've been tagged ...

I've been tagged by my new blogging friend Sarah at Modern Country Style.  It was really interesting reading a bit more about Sarah and I hope this will be a little insight about me! 

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I always wanted to be a mermaid!

What do you like most about where you live?
We live in a small village called Aberdour on the Fife coast in Scotland and I love that there are two beaches that we can go to even though the sun doesn't shine very often.   

If you could only rescue three things from your house what would they be?
Oh, now, let's see!  Excluding my family members as I am assuming they will be out already, I would rescue my family photo album as I wouldn't want to lose all those memories, my favourite Emma Bridgewater mug that my husband gave me when he proposed and probably my memory box for our little boy that contains all his "first" things.

What's your favourite book?
Gosh, I don't get much time for reading these days, not past my house magazines anyway! Maybe some baby cook books if I am lucky. I really enjoyed reading the Shopaholic series of books by Sophie Kinsella and there is a new one out just now which I am hoping to get for Christmas called Mini Shopaholic.

What's your favourite room in your house?
I like our sitting room as it has two big windows and is lovely and sunny.  It needs re-decorated and a bit of a move around but it has the basis to be a good room and I like that.

What's your favourite joke?
This is a "joke" that my friend's son made up...
What crossed the road?
A rubber ducky!
I like it because it isn't even a joke but he thought it was hilarious, even though his older brother said it was silly.  I can't wait for my son to start saying funny things like that!

What would you most like to change about your house?
At the moment, I would like to change nearly everything which is what we are slowly trying to do.  If I had to prioritise though, I would say that I would like to make the bathroom into a lovely relaxing retreat. Oh, or maybe make the kitchen sunnier?!

Do you believe in love at first sight?
Yes, and, no! I believe it can happen to some people but I believe that love can also grow on you as you get to know people.  I do absolutely believe in fate though.

Lovely new chalkboard

This morning my little boy and I set off down to the village to go to the post office and chemist.  However, it appears to be a local holiday so they were both closed for the day!  I decided that because they were closed we would go to the park instead as it was a lovely sunny morning. 

On the way we pass a little shop called Coastal Reflections which opened on the day we moved here.  Perfect timing as it is all things beachy and coastal!  I treated myself to a new chalkboard for our kitchen.  I am imagining it will be just right for the style we have in mind.  We started to look at kitchen units at the weekend, very exciting!

The fabric behind it is a gorgeous Greengate one that I bought a fat quarter of from Jonathan Avery a few months back.  I think I will make one of those fabric covered noticeboards with it for my new office/study.

I hope the sun is shining where you are! 

Trees

I always get very excited when my Ideal Home magazine drops through the letter box at the end of the month.  I get myself settled with a cup of tea and start browsing!

Yesterday, as I was excitedly reading  my November issue I noticed their article on woody wallpapers.  They claim we should all fall for natural tree prints this autumn.  I thought, hey, I've seen something similar to that.  And here it is, the wallpaper we inherited with the house which is on a feature wall around the fireplace.  Isn't it funny how trends turn up again 50 years later!

Woodbridge: The Modest Contemporary Home | 4Homes | Channel4.com

Woodbridge: The Modest Contemporary Home 4Homes Channel4.com

I have always been a fan of Grand Designs and last night's episode was one of the best.  It was a very moving story and Lucie showed great strength and determination to build their vision and make a wonderful family home for her and her children.

Before... Part 2 - The Bathroom

Here is the next instalment of photos.  This is the bathroom such as it is.  Sorry the photo isn't better but it is so small in there I couldn't really get a better photo! 

The curtain rail fell down the other day so one of the curtains is now just hanging there and the blind doesn't seem to work since I put it up! Lucky we only have fields out the back!

The bathroom is nearly all tiled in these pale yellow square tiles but has a border of quite pretty tiles around the bath.

They sort of remind me of an Orla Kiely style design.  They must be original 1960s or 1970s tiles.  In the right context they could be lovely so perhaps I will try to salvage them.

I am hoping the bathroom will be one of the first rooms to tackle after the heating and windows as it is quite damp and not a very nice room to be in.  I refuse to have a bath in there but my poor little boy has to bathe in the grotty bath every evening.  Luckily he is more interested in his toys than the grime and bad decor!

Before... Part 1 - The Kitchen

As promised, here are some photos of the house before any work starts. 

Here is the kitchen which looks better in these photos than it does in real life!  You see where the sink is below the window?  That will be knocked through to create an opening into the new kitchen which is currently a delapidated "sunroom"!  The existing kitchen will become a dining/family area.

This next photo is along the left wall of the kitchen.  I want to get a dresser to put on the opposite wall where all our appliances are at the moment as we will have a utility room to hide them all away in when our extension is complete.

This is the retro kitchen shelf which I quite like!  It looks nicer when it is tidy with all my Emma Bridgewater mugs and tins on it.  Unfortunately, all my cook books are too tall so most are lying on their side at the moment!

Lastly, for now, is the "sunroom" out the back of the house.  This is an old wooden extension which now has a collapsed floor and moss growing inside the windows.  It will get demolished very soon and replaced with our new kitchen!  I can't wait!!

Out the back of our house is the garage and then at the end of the garden we look onto open fields which is lovely. 

That's all for now as I must go and wake up my little boy and go food shopping.  More later!

Home sweet home

Well, that is us back from our little holiday and what fun we had! It was great taking our little one in the swimming pool and we found a large soft play area which he loved too.  I think its safe to say our first holiday was a great success!

I realised when looking at my blog today that I have said it will be about the renovation of our bungalow amongst other things.  You must be wondering why I haven't really mentioned this yet!  Well, we are waiting for our planning permission to be approved and for the builders etc to be able to start work.  I will take some photos this week and post them so you can see all the before shots but it may be some time till we have finished rooms to show off!

It is very exciting to start thinking about the decor.  I am going to start gathering sample wallpapers and fabrics and furniture ideas and make some little mood boards over the next few weeks.  I will keep you updated!

Happy Sunday!

First Family Holiday

Good Morning, today we are heading off on our first holiday as a family! We aren't going far, just to the Lake District.  It should be fun when we get there but my goodness what a lot of stuff we need to take with us!!  I am so thrifty that I am taking washing up cloths, loo roll, tissues, anything and everything that I think we might need that will probably be on sale at the holiday complex shop but at an over inflated price!

 I sort of forgot how much stuff a toddler needs on a daily basis too! We have been to stay at my mum's for the same amount of time but she at least has some essentials at her house.  Well, maybe a cup and plate and spoon and cot sheets, and that is probably about all!  Because of the time of year I have also packed his shorts and t-shirts but also his waterproof jacket, his cosy jacket and hat incase it gets cold!  I think when we get there I may realise that I have been a bit excessive but best to be prepared!

Now time to get it all in the car and hit the road! Hopefully it will all fit!  I will let you know how our first family holiday went on our return. 

Oh, and one last thing.  A big thanks to my new followers!  My brain is ticking to think of a little giveaway when I have more followers!

My Pretty New Tea Set

I just had to show you the tea set I got during the summer at a car boot sale.  It was £3 and I think it is very pretty! It has only 5 cups but 6 saucers and 6 tea plates!  I am always on the lookout for pretty little things to add a touch of individuality and niceness to my home.  I hope you like it as much as I do!

Baby, toddler or somewhere in between...

It is the weekly babies and toddlers group this morning so we are just getting ready to go out.  I naively thought that I would sit and drink tea and chat to other mummies while all the little people got on with playing! It seems that these days have passed and are still to come as my little one neither seems to be a baby or a toddler! He is too big for the baby corner as he tends to crawl over everyone and throw toys around but because he can't yet toddle I still have to chase around after him to avoid injury as he attempts to climb up the slide!

I really look forward to our weekly play as I do get to chat to other mummies and he has a great time playing with new toys and other toddlers and is always exhausted by the time we get home! I also get to drink a cup of tea and there is always a yummy choice of cakes for the grown ups too.  Mmm, wonder what it will be today?

Shabby Chic Gifts, Furniture & Accessories From Daisy Park

Shabby Chic Gifts, Furniture & Accessories From Daisy Park

Where we live

I just have to share some of the great things about where we live!  It is a small village on the coast of the Firth of Forth.  We moved here two months ago and it's such a nice little place.  Very quaint and a bit old fashioned - the bank is only open in the morning, as is the chemist! There aren't many shops here but there are a few gems.   They appeal to my love of all things pretty for your home!  I worked in Jonathan Avery, Edinburgh before my little boy came along and I miss seeing all those gorgeous housey things every day!  I also love bunting and beach huts! Anyway, where was I... there are two beaches here and a great play park and they hold a festival in August each year with music, raft race, regatta and a village market.  It really is a lovely place to be and will be even better when our house is complete!