Obsessions

I get little obsessions all of the time.  Once I get something in my head it consumes every waking moment and I can't think about anything else.  

Current obsessions include:

• Crochet (even doing the odd stitch as I blog right now)
• Fabric (keep buying fat quarters of pretty fabric - can't sew yet)
• Smeg retro fridges (MIL is buying us one for our anniversary present... eek!.. now which colour?)
• Cake (can't stop fantasising about whopping chunks of sponge with tea)
• Socks (Great big cable-knit warm ones to wear with PJs and/or winter boots)
• Legwarmers (as above)
• Cushions (a long-standing obsession of mine)
• Bunting 
• Cake stands, domes and cloches (for my cake obsession)
• Embroidery 
• Scarves and stoles (making them, buying them and wearing them)
• Blankets (as above, but also for folding up and putting in piles or draping cosily over chairs)
• Boots (it's an Autumn thing.)

But my biggest obsession of the moment is utility china.  I totally blame the lovely Little Gem (see her gorgeous blog here) :-)   Of course I realise that I am, again, a late-starter and definitely behind the times in blogland - lots of people have been loving this stuff for ages.  I know I've admired a few bits of Jasmine Wood's Ware (amongst a million other pretty things) over at Coco Rose, for example, but I didn't really realise what it was until I started to read Gem's blog.  Didn't realise that there is a plethora of vintage china available, quite cheaply, in these pretty pastel colours that mix and match beautifully together.  Posts like this fuelled the obsession... and now I am well and truly hooked.  Thanks, Gem, for sharing your knowledge with me and pointing me in the direction of other lovely blogs.

 

I've always had a bit of a thing for jugs but it's getting out of hand!  I think I've picked up about ten jugs over the past two weeks (I'm not kidding).  

I was up early yesterday morning, before the husband and step-son, so I had a lovely time trotting backwards and forwards with various bits of pastel china and jugs of flowers, taking photos of my bits and bobs!  I had to laugh at myself, skipping about in my PJs with my camera and various random items.  

The top blanket (in the next picture) is my current crochet project - the giant granny I started on holiday.  It's coming along nicely, I'm really enjoying myself.  Have plans to make loads more (received a few requests from people, too).  The spotty one is a holiday purchase - a gorgeous lambswool red/cream spotted blanket.  It's red with cream spots on the reverse.  I ♥ it.

I bought this little string of shelf bunting at a vintage fair last week and popped it in the kitchen until I found a better place for it.  It has a nautical theme and I think it looks quite good with the kitchen gubbins so it might stay there after all.

We are about to start giving our dining room a bit of a facelift.  The furniture that we brought to the cottage just isn't suitable. It's very dark wood and too oppressive.  This house is very dark, cold and quite small so it needs light, soft, colours to lift the rooms.  We are hoping to have a new floor put in and I have started to consider the type of furniture we will choose.  I think I'm going for painted oak and I really REALLY want a nice dresser to display my new china collection!  The postmistress was laughing at me on Saturday morning as she delivered a couple more of my ebay purchases - the husband had moaned to her about the fact I was collecting this china and that he wouldn't mind but now we have to buy a cabinet to put it in!  

Are you still with me?  Sorry to bore you... I could go on all night so I'll start to wrap things up.... 

We've got J (the step-son) saying for the week so I've got a couple of days off work and we're going to London tomorrow.  We are doing a few touristy things, taking him to the Forbidden Planet megastore and having a good feed-up somewhere.  

My MIL came over for lunch with us today.  The weather was gorgeous and we all lounged around in the garden, it was lush.  She was especially welcome today because she brought dessert too:

I am feeling really sunny and cheerful at the moment.  I'm loving the last dregs of summer and excited to see the first signs of autumn, it's my favourite time of the year.  I feel in control of my workloads at work, I've got a few things to look forward to in the next few weeks, but most of all I am loving being married.  LOVING it.  This is a big thing for me - I always thought I was commitment-phobic. Turns out I just hadn't met the right man.

Nicki 

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