A Good Friday

It has been aaaagges since I last posted, I know.  My life has been upside down.  I've been a busy gal.  And a moody one, too, if I'm honest.  Well, not so much moody, just a bit anxious and down.  I haven't felt able to properly relax.  I had a sickness bug that lingered for over two weeks.  Then, immediately afterwards, I picked up a cold that also lasted two weeks.  Seriously.  *rolls eyes*

But I've turned my frown upside down (hate that expression).  I am chirpily cheerful again and full of the joys of Spring.  (Where is Spring, by the way?)

Mini Eggs are the best thing about Easter.  I always feel like stocking up to last the year.

We had our kitchen renovated this month.  It was a big job, we knocked down half of the wall between the kitchen and the dining room to give the feel of a kitchen/diner.  There was replastering to be done and the whole kitchen was redesigned to give us more space and more storage.  It worked.  It looks bloody gorgeous, I'm delighted with it.

Best of all, we have an AGA now too.  I have only been able to use the kitchen for a week and already I'm wondering how I ever lived without a range.  The room is so much warmer and cooking is so easy.  Makes me realise just how pants our old cooker was (even though it was pretty).

We've spent the whole day today getting the house back into order.  Cripes, it was dusty and there was stuff absolutely everywhere.  So I'm off to bedfordshire for an early night and I'll give you a tour of the kitchen tomorrow, if you fancy it.

Have a lovely long weekend, lovelies.

Nicki 

x

Advertorial: Home Improvement

Home Improvements suggested by Quick Quid.

Keeping warm and cosy

Brrr!! The weekend was freezing here in Northants and it has been snowing all day today.

First thing this morning.  The snow has become thicker and there is less greenery around now.

Whilst I love the cold, sharp air and frosty landscape in the morning, our house feels even colder than usual.  Our heating is ridiculously inefficient, the roof space inadequately insulated and an icy draught seeps in through the windows.  The thick walls and cold ground-level floors make the place difficult to heat. 

At this time of year I am envious of friends who live in warm, modern houses but it seems I am drawn to the old and crumbly.  Previous houses have included a tiny thatched cottage with shutters at the windows (chocolate-box pretty but it was a playground for mice and permanently dark inside), a converted barn with exceptionally high ceilings (the windows were a nightmare for showing up every smear) and a beautiful old town house with the most amazing timber sash windows (but being right in the town centre, we had to endure the sound of drunk youngsters singing and throwing up all the way down the street at the weekends).  

The house that we are in now is my favourite of all, despite its draughty rooms.  We just need to take extra precautions to keep snug.  

We had wood burners fitted a couple of years ago and it was one of the best things we did.  We have this one in the living room and another in the dining room.  At this time of year we keep the fires banked up  for most of the day.  We've found that a combination of coal and logs burns most efficiently and once it has been going for a while, the room gets toasty.  

We keep plenty of blankets to hand in each room; my favourites are the checked and striped ones I bought at Avoca.  My stepson's favourite by far is the cream faux fur blanket I bought from The White Company - we keep it across the back of the sofa year-round and he has been known to wrap himself up in it to watch TV in the middle of summer! 

We had curtains made with extra-warm thermal lining for living room, including this long curtain that covers the (unused) front door.  The door is an old wooden one and sports a few little gaps that enable the wind to whistle through!  

It isn't so difficult to stay warm upstairs but our bedroom is freezing because we have a small open fire that lets in a constant draught.  I've now bought two sets of the flannelette bed linen from John Lewis (one red and one natural) and then layer up with an eiderdown from Peony & Sage - the plumpest, heaviest eiderdown ever! - and a blanket or two.  It is impossible to get up in the morning, we are so comfortable!

The snow looks set to continue here, for the early part of the week at least.  I have made a huge vat of creamy tomato soup (low fat, natch, I'm on a NY diet) and we are spending our evenings on the sofa catching up on Grey's Anatomy.  Obviously, cuddles are an essential way to keep warm too.   

Have a good week.

Nicki 

x

Sponsored Post: How to Decorate on a Budget

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If you’ve recently moved, you may be looking to update some of the décor around your house or flat. It’s easy for these expenses to add up, but fortunately, there are plenty of options for decorating on a budget! 

Visit flea markets. Street fairs and flea markets often sell some interesting trinkets that are great for hanging on your walls. You’ll find things like mirrors, coat racks and tapestries and you can often negotiate on price! 

Pictures. One of the best ways to make a house feel like a home is to personalise it with photographs of your friends and family. Look at your discount shop for some cheap frames to put photos in.

Browse Craigslist. Often people want to get rid of their junk quickly, and they don’t particularly care whether they make much money from it. Craigslist has a “free” section under “For Sale” and you may find furniture there that is actually in good shape. Sometimes, pieces will have a lot of scratches but you can cover them up easily with some paint or a tablecloth and no one will ever know the difference.

Slipcovers. A great way to change the look of your furniture without having to buy all new stuff is to try out some slipcovers. Changing just the colour of your couch or chair can give your place a totally different look!

Paint a room. Another cheap way to give your place an update is to paint the walls a different colour. Changing plain white walls to a more interesting colour can do wonders without breaking the bank and often, you won’t need much more than that to complete the room.

Good luck!

Anne Perkins is a freelance writer focused on how to live large on a little living. She writes about short term loans for YourCashLoans.co.uk. At her blog, AnnieIdea.com, you can get tips on how to take any idea and make it easier or cheaper to complete.

Christmas and New Year Round-up

Happy new year everyone!  

I totally meant to write throughout December but I was too busy blowing my nose, sucking Strepsils and celebrating Christmas.  We had a lovely time; ate well, slept well and played well too.  

Getting into a happy tangle with the fairy lights

Still love fairy lights.  Every year I leave an extra string of fairy lights up in the house after Christmas.  By the time I'm 60 my house will be visible from space!  

Prettying up the house both inside and out.

A few carol singers would have made this photo perfect.  I'm planning on rounding up a group to go carolling next year.  I'm not kidding.  Yes, Claireybelle, I'm looking at you! 

Feeling hopeful. 

I was massively spoilt this year.  I now have a whopping supply of L'Occitane goodies, some Penhaligon's perfume, a new overnight bag and a gorgeous set of stacking silver rings.  The chocolates and sweets I was given can now be evidenced in the spare tyre around my middle.  It was a delicious Christmas! 

Lots of long winter walks in my big new puffer coat.

I quite like that I look a bit manic in this photo.  We were just heading out to fetch our Christmas trees so I was very excited.

Baking lots of gifts. 

You have to make gingerbread at Christmas.  It's the law.

Making and eating lots of peppermint bark.

Ditto peppermint bark.  Man, I ate way too much of this stuff.  Am now addicted and wondering how I can make this festive treat year-round.  Suggestions for things I can bash up and throw on top of melted dark chocolate would be very much appreciated.  

Wearing my party frock (slightly tipsy shot)

This is me (obviously) in one of my Poppy Children dresses.  It has a very floaty skirt and I felt amazing in it.  I never feel amazing in anything so this was an unusual, but happy, feeling.  I took this photograph when I'd just got home from an champagne afternoon tea with the WI.  Fab day.

Niece wearing the party frock (and petticoat) I bought for her.

I bought my Niece, Izzie, a Poppy Children dress and she wore it on Christmas day.  We were both wearing red Poppy Children dresses with big white petticoats underneath.  She had stripy tights and sparkly flat pumps; I wore fishnets and massive red patent heels.  She asked me if she could have a pair of 'tight with squares on' too.  Ha!  She's four this month.  

Massive family card game on Christmas day.  Noisy and lots of fun.

We always play cards on Christmas night.  Everyone joins in, including my 80-something grandmother (we call her Slick B for this event and she is the Rulebook Hitler).  It's immense fun.  We save our pennies up all year to gamble with.  Jake is becoming a bit of a card shark and cleared up this time - hope we aren't teaching him bad habits. 

Curled up watching a bit of TV.

Bought the cosiest new bedding ever.

New PJ bottoms and a bit of crochet.

We went out lots but we also managed a few snuggly nights at home.  There was plenty of crochet, knitting and stitching.  A bit of TV-watching too.

Festive perfection! 

*****

It was my birthday on New Year's Eve and, as is tradition, we headed for the West End to see a show.  This year it was We Will Rock You and whilst I found the storyline a bit odd, the music was amazing.  

I did a bit of wooping, a lot of toe tapping, some teen-style head nodding and, at one point, totally forgot where I was and started to play air guitar.  (I promptly stopped.  Bit embarrassing.)   I felt a bit sorry for Drew.  He had me on one side and a die-hard Queen fan on his other who was without doubt the loudest person in the whole theatre.  She was very entertaining but I did cringe for her a bit when the man behind gave her an ear-bashing for spoiling it for everyone else.  (Pleased to report that she spouted a few blue words at him and sat down.  I do love a mini-drama when I'm out.)

And now here we are.  A new year and a new start.  

Learning to embroider.

I always make lots of resolutions at the beginning of each year.  Some I keep, some I don't, but still I enjoy the process of thinking about the small improvements I'd make to my life and the things I'd like to achieve.  

I won't bore you with my resolutions this year, but I can tell you that I plan to worry less, craft more and I will make time to be thankful every single day. 

Happy new year, again, to my lovely bloggy friends.  Thanks for visiting.

Nicki 

x

Still Loving Red

My love affair with red refuses to abate.  I wrote 18 months ago about how much I was loving the colour red here and since then my house and wardrobe have filled with the colour.  Remember that bag?  (OMG I was so much thinner 18 months ago... Eep! I appear to have been loving the chocolate bars since then, too.)

Now we are in the frenzied run up to Christmas, there is a lot of red and white in the shops and this makes me very happy indeed!

Checks, stripes and spots.  Oooh.

I've bought a few things at Sainsbury's this week.  The decorations have been on sale at a third off so I've been able to buy twice as much.  (Maths has never been my strong point.)  Little lanterns and Christmas Spice candles have been sneaked into the shopping trolley and hidden behind loaves of bread or cartons of milk.

Yesterday, Andrew and I nipped out for a bit of Christmas shopping.  I was in my element - Ikea has loads of gorgeous decorations, lights and wrapping paraphernalia.  It was also surprisingly quiet there.  Bonus.  There was a set of mini gift bags complete with number stickers to make a gorgeous tree-hanging advent calendar.  I'd rather like Andrew to buy them and fill each bag with small Tiffany sparkles but I know that's expecting too much.  Ha!

I did buy a truck-load of stuff myself though.  This is my dining table as we speak:

Andrew thinks it looks a mess and is practically begging me to tidy it away now.  To me, it looks beautiful!  I want to keep it all there as long as possible.  I'd cleared a small space on the table and was having a coffee in my [red and white, natch] Starbucks mug post dog walk when I felt the urge to photograph it all.  There are gift bags, polka dot bells, candles, lanterns, hanging decorations, napkins (just seen in the far left-hand corner) cupcake wrappers.  These are fabric gingham napkins from John Lewis, but I also bought a few packs of red and white striped paper napkins from Ikea which I like very much, too.

The two toadstool hanging decorations are from one of my favourite online shops, The Corner House.  I follow the shop owners, Clara and Clare, on Instagram and wish almost every day that I lived close enough to pop into their shop.  They'd be sick of me within a week.

John Lewis came up trumps with toadstool goodies too, of course.

I adore these tea lights and plan to pop them in tall jam jars with rustic twine and twigs wound around the top.  I will have to be brave to light them - they're too cute to burn.  Ha!

John Lewis was very busy so we called it a day and stopped at Olney on the way home for tea and cake.  Olney is one of the closest towns to me (apart from Northampton, which is pants for shopping and strolling) and it's my favourite.  The architecture is beautiful, the shops are just gorgeous and the whole place has a nice feel to it.  The shops are decked out for Christmas now and dusk was falling as we walked back to the car so we could see fairy lights twinkling in windows all around us.  It was a truly lush day, finished off with a bag of chips and rum and coke by the fire.

♥

Hope everyone has had a nice weekend too. 

Lotsa love.

Nicki