When You Least Expect It...

not the best picture taken with my IPhone... but at least some natural light!

I have for a long time been looking for a sideboard to go with our dining room furniture, but never found the right size. I wanted one with only two doors, a couple of drawers, not too big and not expensive.

I had more or less given up, but when I went to browse at Homesense on the weekend, there it was! Good sturdy, solid oak. Homsense (or TKMax is another one of these stores) is a great place to browse for unusual items. I believe they buy up leftovers from other stores and sell at heavily reduced prices. Some times I find a lot I could like and some times nothing. But, as it is here today and gone tomorrow and often just a few items of each, you have to buy it when you see it most likely won't be there next time you go.

 

There was a minuscule scratch on the top, so I took courage and haggled and got 10% off! Of course, that scratch is not visible now that I have buffed it up. I am very pleased with all the 'stuff' that now finds it's home inside it!

I have also bought some material with the plan to reupholster the dining room chairs. Think that will wait till it gets a bit warmer and I can work outside in the garden.

 

 Another of my finds, is the metal tray on top of the sideboard, now filled with cones, some cinnamon bark and a candlestick. I bought the tray at a car boot sale once for a 'song', not knowing what metal it was and hoping it would become more silvery when cleaned. It didn't and I still don't know what metal it is, but it works well with the little display on the sideboard.



4 Blue...and Freestyle Knitting

4 blue degrees this morning and bright sunshine makes the world look pretty

☺

But it was awfully cold biking in to work...

I have been busy lately with the "knitting bug" - knitting socks and other things.
One of the projects was to re-vamp a cushion we were given last year by good friends. Being very creative people, they had in a joint project made a scatter cushion for us. I loved this cushion as they had all contributed with the layout using different textures and materials in the panels. So, I was really upset when one of the panels made with lace got worn and torn!

The new panel in the cushion is made of the same yarn I used when knitting the "Marius-cushion"

To repair it I knitted freestyle two new panels, making up a pattern as I went along alternating knit and purl stiches (rett og vrang) and simply covered the broken lace.

One of my favourite shapes is the heart, so I included a couple of hearts.

 Now we have a unique scatter cushion jointly made with 

love!

On the Move...

We are selling our flat in Edinburgh!

 

the lounge

The Professor is taking up a new job in Durham (2.5 hours from us as opposed to 5 hrs like today!) in the spring and this means that we have to put the flat on the market and hopefully start looking for a new property for him!

 

kitchen

Let's hope somebody nice is looking for a lovely place to live in Edinburgh! It has been an extremely useful and easy property to have, so I hope it will be possible to find something similiar again.

 

master bedroom

We have fallen in love with these old properties with high ceilings and big windows. As the flat is on the top floor it lets in a lot of light.

 

en-suite

You can see the prospectus here 

 

main bathroom

2nd bedroom

Viewings on Sundays from 2 pm - 4 pm!

(The pictures are all taken by the estate agent)

 



Pinterest Inspiration - Table Decoration

The Ladies Who Dine came to my house for lunch yesterday, Sunday. It was kind of a start-of-the-season-gathering/birthday-celebration and just a general-together event.

 

We chose to meet on Sunday lunch as it is already increasingly hard to find a suitable Friday or Saturday that everybody can make. Besides, Sunday lunch is a great British tradtion!

 

The above IPhone-pictures (I really need to get my good camera more out - I have becom lazy!) are from the table and I was pleased with my simple silver/acorns/candle decoration on a slate tiered cake stand. Inspiration from Pinterest (you can find me there)! Very simple and just using what you already have but put together in a new way. And for some extra sparkle I added a smal battery-operated garland of fairy lights along the table.

 

As usual, I was worried it wouldn't be enough food (ok... I admit that after various canapees and a starter with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon followed by the main consisting of 2 mustand-and-honeyglazed hams and a roasted chicken along with a 'mountain' of roasted potatoes, mashed swede, brussels sprouts, fried mushrooms and a tomato and onion salsa and my friends dessert of apple strudle with whipped cream followed by coffee and mints and biscotti was too much for 6 ladies), but it looks like there are enought leftovers for me and The Boy for the rest of the week...

☺



Country Living Fair 2012

Yesterday I went with my two Welsh friends to the Country Living Magazine's Christmas Fair 2012, in Islington, London. I didn't bring my main camera, so you will have to do with the IPhone pictures.

 

The fair is an annual event, although this was my very first time.

 

It was almost a bit overwhelming, to be frank, but well worth going!

 

So much creativity and inspiration!

 

I didn't buy very much (ok, a few things...), but  I enjoyed even walking around making notes on creative suggestions. Got to love the "Notes" function on the IPhone...

☺

 

I simply loved the fair and I think it will become an annual event for me!

♥

3 for 1...!

The weekend didnt really start out as planned.

Friday evening I disovered that the toilet in our cloak room/laundry room was leaking water from the water tank into the bowl. I got the lid off the water tank, but couldn't make out what the problem was. This is the most modern toilet in the house and therefore the most 'complicated' one. The old ones on the other floors are easy to figure out what is what and how they work.

My fiddling around made matters worse and soon water was gushing down into the toilet bowl. Here in England the water usage is metered and we pay for the amount we use, so this was NOT good... I ended up having to turn off the watersupply to the house and started to worry about finding a plumber during the weekend.

I could see a hefty bill coming...

Suddenly I started thinking - didn't we have some kind of special insurance policy for the water supply...? I also recalled that the papers for renewing this had come through recently and I had glanced at them thinking this was a waste of money and perhaps I should cancel it. But I never got around to looking at it again and the policy had therefore automatically been renewed.

The papers had not been filed away yet and were still on my desk. I delighted to read that we are covered for such incidences and immediately called the company. They have 24/7/365 cover, and they arranged for a man to be coming out in the morning between 9 am and 1 pm since this was not an emergency. Annoying, but we were not exactly swimming through the house.

Saturday morning a lovely, polite and very charming young man turned up. He fixed the toilet and got in my good books by complementing me on managing to get the lid of the water tank off. It is a little complicated and takes a special technique, but I had actually made a point of seeing how to do this when the toilet was installed.

We got chatting and he noticed that the tap to turn off the main water supply was dripping if it was left fully open, so he proposed to repaire this while he was here.

I then mentioned that I was not happy with the kitchen tap which was 'moving' and I was worried water would get into the counter and destroy it. The lovely young man had a look and decided this also needed repairing and got a new tap from the car (he actually gave me the choice of two) and installed this for me.

And none of this cost me a penny (well, except for the insurance policy I am paying for)!

He said we had the highest coverage possible, so I might as well get my monies worth!

I have to admit my brain was racing - did I not have any other things he could repair while he was in the house...? Alas, no. All my plumbing issues are now resolved and I am a very happy customer who will not hesitate to call them next time I notice some other little niggling issues with the water or taps in the house. And I realised how useful this insurance cover is. All the three jobs today would have cost me a lot more than my insurance premium.

Now all I need is to get a handy man who can do some carpentry and electrical work...!

But the point of all this rambling is -

do YOU know what your insurance policies include and what you are covered for???

The Joys of Home Ownership - The Never Ending Saga

amazing how shabby it looks when you strip it all back...

I have had a weekend to myself as Our Boy was on a scout trip and The Professor was at a conference. Great time to do some house projects...!

☺

Our house from 1969 is not very old by English standards, but by the time we bought it 10 years ago it had been a rental property for many years and it needed a lot of work doing to it. One of the first things we did was to change all the single glass windows to double glass window (triple doesn't exist here)... 

As I said at the time - I may come from a cold country, but I am not used to being cold indoors.

The rest of the house has been done step-by-step throughout the years and the only things left now are to change the interior doors, the stairs/stairwell, the master bedroom and the main bathroom.

So, this weekend I got busy with the main bathroom. When we moved in, it was army green.... 'nice'... NOT! At the time, my father-in-law painted it white for us and that was a great improvement! But that was now many years ago.

However, we didn't want to spend 1000's of £ on the bathroom at this point, but it was in dire need of some 'love' and I spent the weekend sprucing it up. I will get back with some pictures of the final result once I have had some help putting up some mirrors etc on the walls (no, I can't do EVERYTHING on my own...).

The next project will be my bedroom and then finally the stairwell and stair case. Don't think I can face another project for a while, so that probably won't be till after the summer. Isn't it amazing how the entire house becomes such a mess when doing house projects!

Sigh...

And then we can probably start all over again...

Oh, the joys of home ownership!

♥

Coming Together by Chance?

I promised yesterday to take a picture in daylight of the lovely cushion My Friend and her Delightful Son made for me and here it is together with the new throw. They all go together so well you would have thought it had all been planned!

Obviously, I am in a grey-&-creme-period at the moment.

The test of the warmth and snugness of the throw is whether The Cat likes it or not. He can be rather choosy and will not cuddle on our laps if we choose the WRONG throw... I had a little snooze on the couch after dinner last night and woke up to find my little black furry friend sound asleep ontop of me and the throw.

It is approved!

Marius-Inspired Sofa Cushion

Remember the project I started a couple of weeks ago with the enormous balls of yarn?

I am pleased to announce that the first scatter cushion is now done! I am mainly relieved that it didn't turn into another never finished 'UFO project' as I tend to get impatient and put it aside...

I kind of made it up as I went along and the front is loosely based on the traditional Marius-sweater pattern while the back is much simpler (I don't know the English word for it - lus we call them in Norwegian). I even put in a zip which is rather advanced work for me... 72 stiches and thick knitting needles made light work of it, to be honest.

Sorry about the picture quality - as we know, evening light is not the best for taking pictures. 

I think it works well on the sheepskin in the sofa.  

I also think I need two complimentary cushions... 

I have a plan for another one with a slightly different pattern, but again I don't promise when it will be ready.

And, yes - the balls of yarn are still ENORMOUS!

Domestic Pleasures...

One of my guilty domestic pleasures are bedsheets...

The older I get the more I just love them.

Can never seem to have enough and I am always drawn to this department in the shops although I am sure we have enough sheets to last us for years...  There are few things in life that beat sleeping in clean, fresh, crisp bedsheets...

:-)

But I used to find folding the fitted sheets a real mess and could never work out a good way to fold them so they would fit neatly in the cupboard. Until I found this instructive film on YouTube. I struggled a little to begin with, but now it is second nature. Ok, it isn't the BIGGEST challenge in life (contrary to what the lady on the film says), but it does help up free up space in the linen cupboard.

Give it a go!

:-)

The Biggest Balls EVER....!

For those of you who thought this was about some other types of balls, I am afraid you will be disappointed... 

We are talking about balls of yarn!

I wanted to knit some new covers for a couple of sofa cushions and came across these balls of yarn meant for big hunky Aran sweaters. Since I am making up the pattern etc as I go along I was not sure how much I needed. Also, it needs to be said that it has been a while since I knitted anything... So, when I came across these ENORMOUS balls I thought this would save me running out of yarn. 

Yep, I was right. 

I think I have enough yarn to knit an entire sofa... 

Well, maybe not a sofa, but each ball is 500 grams 

(I think 'normal' balls of yarn are 50 gram)...

I promise to show the finished product... when I get there. 

But please, don't hold your breath waiting. 

It could take a while.

:-)

Oooooh! So Tempting...

You know how you see on TV all these auctions for antique furniture?

I love those shows!

Despite having lived here for maaaany years I was not aware of any local auction houses.

Well, my colleague changed all that when she introduced me to a local auction house. The great thing is that they have their catalogue online and you can go an browse the items live for a week before the auction. For some items you can bid online, for others you can leave a bid if you can't be there in person on the day.

The auction takes place today and last night we went over to have a look at things as she was looking for a particular item. The item she had seen online didn't turn out so nice 'in real life', but she found some other nice items she put in a bid on.

So exciting! 

I decided not to put in any bids, but rather take some time looking and learning.

According to The (minimalist) Professor, I would need a larger house as well to accommodate any more furniture...

Imagine if this top hat (and leather box) could talk...

I would love to attend an auction, but WORK gets in the way... At least I can see online what the various items went for and learn from that!

... or the tales these three friends could tell!

:-)

And We Are Off....!

Advent...

The best part of the season, in my opinion.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe this year advent is super long since Christmas Eve is on a Saturday.

I am a huge advent fan!

I love the anticipation, the preparations, the gatherings, the feeling of working towards a goal

- and new beginnings.

This year I wanted a new twist on our advent decoration. I took 4 silver candlesticks in various heights, (one I have bought, one I have been given and a couple I have inherited), put them on a silver tray, added a few pine cones along with some cinnamon sticks for nice Christmassy smell and added purple candles with silver number stickers on.

Simple!

As for the colour of the candles - I am old fashioned this way.

I normally prefer white candles, but purple is the colour of advent and the only 'right' colour in this connection

- for me.

What colour do YOU prefer for your advent candles?

My Day!

This weekend we celebrated 

MY DAY!

Yes, it was my birthday and I think I must have been good this last year as the sun shone and I got lots of attention from my men as well as friends and family.

:-)

My boys woke me in true traditional style with coffee, cake and presents in bed and then took me out to a Christmas Fair at Wimpole Hall where we also enjoyed a simple lunch.

The afternoon was spent relaxing at home and talking with friends. No big celebration this year, just nice to be together as we don't get too much of that these days.

I have to show these:

Above are pictures of the fabulous glasses I got from The Ladies Who Dine.

The series is just so MAD - I simply love them!

:-)

While we are on this drinking theme - some other lovely friends took me out for lunch on Friday and we celebrated with the most lovely Prosecco called La Delfina.

It was such a surprise!

I wasn't planning on having any (had to work in the afternoon), but I threw caution to the wind and I did not regret it. I don't know if it was the occassion, the ambiance or the fact that this was simply a really great Prosecco!

I looked it up and it is available from various wine merchants. 

This is absolutely my new favourite 'bubbly'!

Will certainly get some bottles for the upcoming festive season!

Night Time Comfort...

picture borrowed from www

I love my bed.

What I love most about it is that it is 1.8 m wide

- plenty of space for two

(or even three when Our Boy was little).

Amazingly enough, it never seems large enough when I sleep alone in it with The Cat. It is incredible how much space such a small animal seems to 'need'...

Anyway, this isn't about The Cat.

I have for many years been honkering after a Tempur mattress. Admittedly, I have never tried a Tempur mattress, but somehow I believe it MUST be great. My plan was to get one if/when we move house. That is still some years away, so when I came across the offer for a mattress topper from Cloud's Memory Foam on a GroupOn offer (73% off!) I took the chance. The topper arrived yesterday and I put on new clean bedsheets.

Don't you just love the feeling of clean bedsheets?!

One of life's little luxeries

:-)

I wouldn't say I slept 'on a cloud', but it was veeery comfortable. Being rather generously endowed from nature's side (sounds better than saying I need to loose some pounds, doesn't it?), I often have aches and pains in my hips and back when I wake up in the morning. I was pleased to note that I had none of that this morning. This is just a mattress topper, so I believe that a real Tempur mattress MUST be even better.

The Professor did not share my enthusiasm.

I had snored.

To my defense - I have a cold.

On the bright side, it probably means he will use another bedroom tonight and I get ALL of this lovely comfort to myself

... unless The Cat decides to stay in and occupy it, too!

HE doesn't mind if I snore!

:-)

Something a Bit Different...?

I came across these purple sheep skin rugs.

Never seen anything like it!

In addition to the normal colors you would expect sheep to have, they come in bright pink, lavender, purple and red!

I have ALWAYS loved purple, but not sure about these...

Not Exactly Bread...

On the weekend I was on my way to buy Lavash bread for my in-laws in a part of town I don't often get a chance to look around in. Next door to the bread shop were two small antique shops and I couldn't stop myself from having a quick browse around...

These three old solid silver candlesticks came home with me...

I don't mind that one of them is missing a 'partner'.

I think mixing different sized candlesticks together is rather nice.

Oh, btw - I didn't forget to buy the bread!

:-)

Friday Country Living Temptation...

My lovely colleague often passes on to me the

Country Living Magazine

when she is done with it.

She brought in to the office this months issue already today...

A bit naughty - it is so tempting to have it on the desk!

I was good and only took a picture of it (for the blog!) and put it away till I get home...

TGIF!

I heard another variety of this the other day -

 TGIW:

Thank God It is the Weekend

or

Thank God I am a Woman...!

;-)

Have a lovely weekened,

whereever you are

whatever the weather

and

whatever you are reading!

What a Weekend!

I found some tempting material at John Lewis which apparently is especially made for the upcoming Royal wedding! Don't worry - it is not what I am using for Our Boy's headboard... ;-)

My computer is at the repair shop so I haven't been much of a blog-friend this weekend, but I will hopefully come back stronger once I have my computer restored..!

After a busy end to the working week I also had a very productive weekend.

We have had the most amazing weather with 20 degrees and sunshine from a clear blue skye!

Summer is here!!!

But I know all too well that this might not last, so we are enjoying every minute of it!

I got through the 'mountain' of laundry (12 machines, I think) which had piled up after two weeks of having no washingmachine and with the lovely sunshine it was doddle to get them dried.

Among this weekend's projects was a new head board for Our Boy's room, but I thought they were just so expensive in the shops - all over £100.

I therefore went to our local timbershop on Saturday and bought a piece of MDF which they cut to the size I wanted. Back home I had some padding and proceeded to town to look for a demin material to cover it with to match the curtains. However, as always when you are looking for something particular - it can't be found. I stopped by Laura Ashley's and as they didn't have any denim material either, but I settled on some other material which I actually think will work better. All in all it has cost me about £22.

Me like!

I will post it once it is done.

I didn't complete that project simply because the weather was too glorious to sit inside. Instead, Our Boy and I went to the garden centre and got the tomato and chilli plants to start this years crop! The lawn got a good cut and we tried to get rid of some of the moss... a never ending project, I fear.

Lots of plans and ideas for the garden, but 'Rome was not built in one day'...

But the biggest news of all this weekend is that I joined a gym and had my first workout Sunday morning.

It was great!

I hope I will manage to keep it up.

Amazing what a bit of sunshine does to your energy levels!

Another Glimpse...

The decorating project of Our Boy's room is more or less done

(still need to paint the skirting above the wardrobe...). 

With The Professor home for a long weekend (hurrah!) I hope to get a hand and finish hanging the various pictures/decorations on the walls.

As most British homes our walls are plastered and a nightmare to hang anything from... It is particularly 'scary' with freshly plastered and painted and so far 'untouched' walls...

Stickers are therefore great for easy decorating with NO NAILS needed! The picture above shows a part of a London Skyline sticker I got from John Lewis.

More will follow

;-)