Well well well.....

Well, this evening i thought id make us a nice warming, healing stew and mash, i selected an egg to add to the mash to make it nice and creamy(it was a large one but i thought nothing of it)i cracked it into a bowl so as not to get any white into my mash potatoes and to my amazement two yolks plopped out! Ive googled what this means, and apparently 'a double yolk is viewed with concern as it foretold of a hurried wedding due to a pregnancy', or twins! SSSH, dont tell Mr P!! Lol...Happy Valentines day x

new seasons wants...

This post has been squirrelled away for a while now, mainly because i havnt had the time to finish it. But now i find myself with a hour or so on my hands, mainly due to the fact that instead of whisking me away for a lovely pub lunch(as promised) Mr P is actually out combining, making up the time lost through illness this week, im so mad ive hidden the sharp implements from myself to protect him when he does eventually walse in. But enough of that, i know i can rely on you guys to cheer me when im at my lowest and i hope a few pretty images and ideas might do the same for you?


Ok, well firstly, whenever i vist IKEA i try and sneak a few photos, i say 'sneak' but its not as if anyone has ever objected, i just get a few funny looks (nothing new there then). I love to spend time going back over them in my picasa albums, just a cheaper version of a home magazine i think-and i know where to purchase all of the items should the fancy take me!


I wouldnt say im a fan of everything in Ikea, for example white floors sofa cabinets etc would so NOT be a good look in a farmhouse, but chunky pine, simple lighting, and a few gorgeous cushions and pretty nets-now thats very 'me'.


Take the 'look' below, how many of us would have the room for a chaize like this one? And how many of us could put up with fighting over it with with the= kids-dogs-cats-partner= delete as appropriate...?


But the lamp-now that i like, and as soon as we have had the electrics redone here id love one just like it. Ive already got a little section in my notebook for 'electrics', where ive drawn out each room and put x's where we need plug sockets, they are VERY few and far between in this cottage.
As most of you know we have a 'red room', a rarely used lounge, it has laminate flooring, which, while practical(god im trying to write in sentences but distracted by the cast of 'GLEE' on radio 1-sorry guys) is not to my liking in this bloody freezing house! The red walls were also not my choice but a necessity according to the Mr, due to the fact that the walls were bright orange.So I have this room but kind of in reverse, a white sofa and red walls, brown reddish CK daisy fabric curtains, similar chandellier, same TV cabinet, but i hate it, yet i love what ikea have done...hmmm i think i need to study it further...


Wouldnt we all love a neat little officey/crafty space like this one? Main problem in this house is we cant to the whole 'shelf' thing, which is another cottage sacrifice! The white looks good though and is do-able for my spare room(no pets/shoes/food allowed!)

Now monochrome isnt my thing but im looking forward to 'doing' the dining room this year and i think id really like a similar wallpaper to the one used behind the sofa in this photo. I feel as though im slowly moving away from the 'shabby' chic look, not completely, dont panic! But the house is just feeling so cluttered, i think less is more for this house and its just taken me a while of living here to realise it.

White has always been a bedroom look ive favoured, i think with all the chintz and mix and match i have in my home, i need the peace and tranquility of a white bedroom, ive often considered papering the wall behind the bed, but just cant commit to it, i love it when you can lie in bed on a rare peaceful sunday morning with the curtains open and feel relaxed with no pattern distracting your mind. Do you know what i mean?

Ranunculas-who can resist???

Ive only reall recently discovered Ikeas kitchens, they're amazing value, im eyeing up a sink at the moment but Mr P isnt keen. This kitchen is very me, looks clean but classic and not too clinical (alliteration anyone?!). Just lovely. But how many people do you know who have ceilings as high as the ones featured in the ikea cataloge? Must be a sweedish thing i guess-no wonder they need those stools!

I have a couple of the cushions which match these lampshades-have you seen how much they go for on ebay-crazy money. I know you have one melmel...anyone else?

A stone floor like this is lovely but we are often found laying on the floor in front of the fire of an evening so a little too hard me thinks-underfloor heating would also be a must!

I already have the chest of drawers and bedside tables in this Hemnes range, ikea furniture is great in that its so solid and heavy but the two chest of drawers like these in my room were bought a year appart and the older one has started to yellow slightly-not happy about that.

Lovel lamp, might use this compilation of pic's and bits for the sideboard in my red room, maybe a little reorganisation would bring it back into favour?....

I do hope you hav'nt minded my running commentary on the ikea photos, i know we all take our own little ideas of each 'set', just wanted to give you an idea of the bits i love.

The next few photos are things im admiring this season. Im so glad xmas is over-all that red can get a bit too much, so lets look forward to spring with a few cheery brights and some lovely classic dinnerware. Ive used photos from lots of different sources so if theres anything you love let me know and i'll try and remember where i nabbed the image from(if i dont mention it alongside the item that is)

This year ive decided id really like to have people over for dinner more, at the moment i dont have any matching wine glasses-im reealllyy good at smashing glasses unfortunately! I got six of these from ikea, id been swooning over some Laura Ashley ones for a couple of years but to be honest, they're so thin that i think these will be far better value for money.
I also bought a set of these plates, they really are not shown to their best in this photo but they're classically beautiful and i think im only going to use them for best.

Do you like these? For non crochet-ers like me they're great! They're called Ketty and they are pot holders-they come as a two pack for 2.99, ive nabbed one but have kept one as a giveaway prezzie!How fab is this little lot?! They're called Drommar and they're plastic so you can make pretty patterns on your cake creations and then just give them a rinse....

EB/Rice lovliness......

How funky is this storage? It would certainly cheer my cupboards on a grey day!

Love these, budget wouldnt stretch though!

MMMMM Greengate lovliness-always holds a special place in my heart, this year i might collect a few pieces this year. Fell in love with some stunning green wine glasses of theirs at the xmas CL fair but they were too expensive for my nimble fingers...do you think these little china cups would survive?!

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!...........

Might mix up some pure white chinaware in with my cornishware to make it go a little further, more ikea anyone??!

Ive had my eye on this stunning cake dome for a long while, do i go for it and buy it before they discontinue it or is it something else to gather dust?

If you pop over Berryred you can ooh and ahh at all the lovliness on offer, such as this, ah it makes me happy!

I WANT ONE OF THESE THIS YEAR! Trying and failing to curb my jug obsession this year.

I need more cutlery and love the designs of these but they are no good in the dishwasher-the hunt continues....

Drommar plastic cake doilies, cute but they dont leave much of a design unless the cake is huge i reckon!

This adorable birdie tray jumped out at me at ikea, the colours are so lovely and the kids adore it too.

Again, these beautiful glasses are by Berryred.....

So there we have it, i hope you've got a little inspiration bubbling from todays post...and whatever you're up to, have a lovely day x

And the winner is...!

Well, i apologise for the delay in picking a winner for my giveaway, unfortunately Mr P and i have been in bed for the last two days suffering from Gastric flu. The less said the better but its been yuck!!
So all of your names were scattered ready for a name to be picked.....i needed some help, so...
Guess who got roped in? Baby bear....

Come on then, get into the game!(a little encouragement needed,it took him a while to figure what was required of him..i couldnt get him riled up and take photos!)

yes thanks Ted, i'll take it now!...

But eventually he picked......

Congratulations! I shall be in touch shortly for your contact details xxx

update on the little man of the house...

Well, most of the time, he can be found here....


Or here......

(He's grown hasnt he?...how handsome??!!)........

But sometimes bunny comes out to play!.....

Ted, LOVES bunny, she used to make a boing noise when you squeezed her but today, she just had to be washed, and now she no longer makes the noise but i dont think that'll make a huge difference to him. On saturday we had our first training session, there were about 8 or 9 other puppies and just did some basic retrieving and whistle work. Bunny came with us, and true to form Ted couldnt resist racing after her and bringing her back to me. I was really really pleased as our trainer said that shows promise with regards to picking up birds on shoots. Now we have homework of working on some basic whistle work, so far so good, so with lots more practice im sure he's gonna make me proud!

This evening after a long day, someone decided it was time to swap beds......

It wasnt Murphy....

(OOH, can i just say, if you'd like to enter my giveaway, i will draw a name this thursday at some point!! Go, you know you want some pretty goodies?!)