CURRENTLY OBSESSING OVER....KITCHENS

Ahhh, i LOVE it when i'm introduced to something new. Finding a new interiors magazine, shop or design website feels like a treat & i literally obsess over it for ages. Well, you can imagine then my utter joy at discovering Pintrest - literally all my Christmases and birthdays have just arrived, smack bang & on my desktop - happy days!

Pintrest is where i can keep all the links to all the lovely things I see on the web & want to share on here and it's also where i get to swoon over pics of interiors from all over the planet. This week my obsession is kitchens!!
I LOVE a good kitchen, it is totally the heart of any house hold & just like that chappy in the Ikea add, you will always find me in the kitchen at parties. My kitchen is probably my favourite room in my house, and although it's not the largest kitchen in the world it's where i like to spend most of my day (& not only because i'm within close range of food, yadda yadda). In fact, if my kitchen was large enough to fit a sofa in, i probably would never leave. Currently my kitchen is powder pink, with a huge blackboard wall which the kiddos draw me lovely pics on, and I write endless lists. If I could, i would probably have a house full of kitchens..... and these lovely ones would all be in there.

sources:  one two three four

I love them all. Muchly. And I am so going to do that recipe idea at home.

Enjoy x

23.06.11 | GLASTO

This weekend is Glastonbury Festival, and I don't need to be told twice that i am being a big fat baby about not going. Yes yes yes, i KNOW I have a beautiful new baby girl & that's the reason I am not there, and obviously I wouldn't trade my gorgeous little Indi in for a trip to Glasto (even if she gave me about 3 minutes kip last night) but I still feel sad that i'm not going to be a part of it this year. My love for this festival is HUGE and as a true Glasto regular i feel like my heart's been ripped out this weekend (dramatic? yes I am, deal with it.)

But, rather than get pissy every time I see one of the students from up my road walk past my window with their backpacks, tents & trendy wellies, i thought i'd channel my negative energy into a postive blog post instead...... far out man.

I've been going to Glasto since I was a little 8 year old in 1989. That's me in that photo up  there with my Ray Bans & my skinny ribs...

My mum took me, along with my baby brother & i'm going to be honest, i hated the place. I hated the fact that I couldn't watch TV, i hated sitting in a field being bored, i hated only being allowed to eat chips because they were cheap. I hated having to sit listening to some old hippy warbling away on the pyramid stage (that hippy was Donovan who I thought back then was crap, until my mum bare faced lied to me & said it was Jason Donovans dad! Apparently as soon as she did I sat and watched as mellow as yellow - probably dreaming of the day Jason & I would be thee wed.) Anyway I digress... as the years went on I started to quite like the place and by the time I was a teenager I was hooked -well & truely addicted to the magic of Worthy Farm! I've been with best friends, housemates, ex-boyfriends, even on my own once & it's always been amazing, but for me the fact that it's become our annual family reunion makes it all the more special. There are things we do every year, like send a postcard from the festival postcard tent, meet up on Thursday night at the cider bus, visit the stone circle on Sunday, watch the bands from the right speaker, take a photo outside Joe Banana's, have a massive row (!)..... i could go on, and on as I have so many happy memories of Glasto. I'd need the whole weekend to blog them all, so here are the few that spring to mind;
Firstly, it was the time me & my best mate Caz plucked up the courage to get some cider from the cider bus. It took us about an hour to get the confidence to go, £1 in hand and mumble the words "cider. please.1 pint. of it." only to be hit with a question "sweet or dry?" ...... shiiiiit! I dunno, sweet or dry/sweet or dry/sweet or dry.... arrrrrgh. Traumatised by my first cider buying experience, i opted for sweet which was rank & i have never consumed it again by choice. I am forever a dry cider drinker because of that moment!
Oh & then there was The Lemonheads scar! Whilst watching The Lemonheads (still love you Evan) in 1994, my arm got scratched by someones' bag zip & it bled. So, in my 14 year old wisdom, i kept picking the scab for weeks to come, so i could have a Lemonheads scar for life - which, err i don't have.
Then there was the crowd surfing moment, which i ended up doing alone as my then boyfriend lost his bottle & stayed put, with one of my wellies which he didn't think to bring with him when he came to get me from the front. It was a very cool experience & i *think* it was to Dodgy when they were playing 'Good Enough' - that was a good year for bands that year, all Brit-poppy and lovely.

I could go on & bore the bones of you with tales of Robbie Williams singing 'Angels' whilst the sun shone or listening to the crowd sing 'Little Saint Nick' on a blistering hot Sunday whilst Brian Wilson kind of sang along too. Or i could get excited remembering Crowded House doing the longest ever version of Weather with You with the whole crowd smiling & singing along. Then there was Dizzee Rascal literally taking me to dizzee new heights as he dueted with Florence. There was the year I was pregnant with Dexy & he danced around in my belly whilst The Thrills played an amazing set, and of course there was the year PAUL McARTNEY played Hey Jude - now that has to be my best Glasto moment. Being a massive Beatles fan I welled up as I never thought i'd get the chance to witness a Beatle singing one of my favourite songs of all time..... magical, magical, magical.
There have been rainy ones - i remember watching the world cup one year in torrential down pours, too wet to keep a ciggy lit (classy) and i remember the sunniest one where I'd bought some Spanish potion i thought was sunscreen from someone. Turns out it the main ingredient was olive oil & I was just frying my face. I looked lovely that year, Brit-abroad chic i like to call it.

I'm not sure whether this post has made me happy or sad but I miss you Glasto. I hope the sun shines on you for your 41st year and i'll see you again soon, probably as I start a new Glastonbury chapter in my life, one that involves sharing the experience with my own children :) I can't wait! In the meantime i'll stick the radio on, sit in the garden & drink some Brothers Strawberry cider & think of you.

Here's some pics from last years festival. Enjoy x

Glasto 2010

Family shot 2010

The Stone Circle

and one of the most magical views in the whole world!

HOME

One of my big passions is interior design. It all started when I studied set design as one of my modules at university and slowly over time it has evolved into homely interiors. I love browsing interior magazines and blogs & all the before & after shots you can find of peoples homes. Sometimes I find blogs which i  become crazily obsessed totally fall in love with and they really inspire me to search out little nik-naks for my own home which are a bit different. It's nice to find things that you hope are a one off,  instead of knowing that everyone down your street probably has the same Ikea Billy Bookcase as you!! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE ikea almost as much as i love my own children and have been known to spend literally hours zoned out with the new catalogue - but i'd much rather spend my hours rummaging around flea markets, car boot sales & cool little boutiques than trying to find a car parking space* at the big blue & yellow heaven. 
So, here are some pics of things I've collected over time. It's just a little selection of my favourite pieces right now - this would probably be a very different post tomorrow! I am so F.I.C.K.L.E!

my kitchen shelves

i had to include this, my 4th baby. I have wanted him since I was a little girl & we were finally blessed earlier this year. Ok, ok I *know* it is only a fridge. But it's a really cool one. Pun totally intended.

our kitchen wall where I write little reminders to the kiddos, shopping lists for the mister and mainly draw love hearts.

our hallway mirror. It seems to be made out of old batteries, but i don't think they are ones we have ever had over here in the UK. I picked this up in a gift shop in Port Issac for £1.25!

Hallway coat hooks which are only actually strong enough to hold keys. Fail.

Hallway pics. I have these polaroid photos up & down the hallway - i love them. They came in a pack of cards which i turned into framed piccies. People always think the little girl in the pink Hunters is 

This is a little corner of our lounge which is soon to be taken over by some decks & a shit load of vinyl - can't wait!! :)

AND.... here are some of my fave items.

slight obsession with russian dolls at the moment....

I adore my kitchen cannisters which the mister got me for Xmas last year from Bleubird vintages online shop 

and finally my Orla Kiely coffee pot.

ENJOY x

*oh & that should read "whilst I sit in the passenger seat screaming at other drivers whilst the mister trys to find a space". I do not drive, but I am a very very good & experienced back seat driver.

A PHOTO AN HOUR

I've seen this on a few blogs lately, so i thought i'd get in on the act. I've always wanted to do the 365 Project & some day soon i will, so i thought this is a good way to ease myself in & have fun practising!  The day i picked could have possibly been a little more eventful as it was a pretty dull & rainy bank holiday, but hey i didn't realise that when i started snapping in the dark at 6:30am! Next time it will be better, maybe i'll go to the moon or something....

So, here is my 30.05.2011 (from 6:30am to 8:30pm) in all it's Instagramming glory. Enjoy!

NURSERY TOUR

I think i may have finished India's nursery - hooorah! Not bad considering she's er.. 5 WEEKS OLD on Monday!! Actually, i'm not going to beat myself up too much as she won't be sleeping in there for at least another 6 months and she won't be old enough to appreciate any of her toys yet, so at the moment it's just a baby changing area to her, a pooing room if you will.
I am still waiting on trying to find some shelves for the back wall as it looks a bit naked with just bunting hanging there, but apart from that, i'm all set. I wanted to keep the room light & airy as it is a tiny space, and I wanted to mix some new items with some vintage pieces and create a peaceful little space. Luckily she has a built in wardrobe which is a converted airing cupboard so i can get away with just shelves on the wall, which are starting slowly to fill up with toys.

Finally she's here! (Well, i say finally but she's actually a month old today! That has got to be the fastest month in history.)

So, without further a do, i introduce to you my beautiful baby girl India Violet. She's just perfect & we are all totally smitten with her. It feels like she's been part of the family for ever and she is so good! She likes to have a bit of a party around her 4am feed some nights, but apart from that she is a dream!

So, after a long long wait (she was 9 days over her due date) I went into labour the morning of the 18th April 2011. My labour was actually amazing (no, really) & for the most part, i loved the experience. It lasted 7 hours in total, 6 of them being fantastic & only the last hour being a little like hard work! I went from being in an amazing state of mind, bouncing on my silver space hopper singing along to lots of 90's indie (whilst caning 6 cannisters of gas & air) to suddenly feeling like i'd been hit by a bus. The home-birth went out the window when India got stuck. So, one blue light ambulance ride later, and only 3 minutes actually on hospital grounds, out came a back-to-front (hence the getting stuck part) & pretty large 9lb 3oz India, ready to meet her adoring public. This is *exactly* what her sister did (ambulance ride, 3 minutes in hospital!) - hmmm high drama girls, where do they get that from?!

My midwives were the best - especially Anne who is probably the worlds nicest woman & the student midwife India (see what we did there?) who was experiencing her first birth. At one point i had 4 midwives in my bedroom drinking tea & chatting about holiday destinations whilst i drank tea & ate peanut butter sandwiches!! It really was the most chilled out vibe ever, so thank you to Bath Community Midwives for that experience which i will always treasure ♡

Here's some piccies from her first month - enjoy x

Less than 24hrs old here. Yes, she was the only baby with a bright orange gnome hat on! Ha!

Here she is 11 days old giving it some Heart at the Royal Wedding picnic in the park

 & all bright eyed and flippin' gorgeous working out on her baby gym!

SPRING WEEKEND

Finally, after what feels like the longest, coldest, bleakest winter ever (drama queen, moi?) Spring decided to arrive and gave us 2 whole days of uninterrupted sunshine - bliss! It was so warm & sunny that we decided to get out, and be quick sharp about it and even though my energy levels & walking speed currently resembles those of a slug, we crammed quite a lot in. 

Parks, woodland walks, beer (read lime & soda) gardens, ice-creams, bouncy castles & picnics we're all on the agenda & it was lovely. I even managed to enjoy myself doing a spot of spring cleaning - not nesting - spring cleaning (back to denial for me it seems). Speaking of which i actually hit the 37 week mark with babygirlbump so i'm done, and she's done and now we just..................wait. And eat. Lots. Which is good as we're all off out for Pizza tonight at the new little cafe at the bottom of our street - hoorah!

Anyway, here's some sunny spring pics of our weekend. Enjoy x

The very same Golden Valley walk

 and again...

Icy Gubbins refusing point blank to smile for the camera. Dizzy on the other hand, lapping it up...

Picnic time! Or should that be 'I will only ever eat Pomegranate jewels and crisps' time?

Bounce

and finally... Balloons over the park :)

36 WEEKS

36 weeks - WOW! Not a lot has changed really since my last pregnancy post, except i've probably gained about 4 billion pounds (i banned scales at about week 1) and drank about 4 billion litres of diet coke. All i want to do is drink, drink, drink and it has to be fizz, fizz, fizz. I'm trying really hard to be healthy, but as all the important developing of baba has been sorted and she's just gaining weight now, i'm chillaxing a bit more. Walking is quite a mission, and i'm waking up about 6 times a night, but apart from that it's all good.

I *think* I have everything ready - with the exception of a pram & car seat (yep, pretty major i know!) so I feel a little less manic. I have even stopped waking up at 3am to make lists & email the mister exciting emails about breast pads (tmi?) so I must be ready in my head.

I'm going to see the midwife on Wednesday, and i think i'll pack my (emergency) hospital bag tomorrow once i've picked up some comfy lounge clothes to settle into after the big event. Ooooooo - it's getting so close now.

♡

FANTASY SHOPPING

I would like more money please. Every day I see something that I neeeeeeed to have and i've never got any spare pennies to buy it. Crap isn't it?! I'm going to have even less money once we shell out £300 on a new buggy, £150 on a car seat and about a million squid on all the other things babies need, so I have decided that once a week I will indulge in a spot of official fantasy shopping. I can buy whatever I want for moi, and buy whatever I want for the people I love.
Pointless activity? You betcha, but I love online shopping so this will make me very happy indeed ;)

For me - I want this print for our hallway 

It's from one of my fave shops Urban Outfitters

For Dizzy Boo i choose these. He'd be the happiest boy on earth

I haven't seen them online anywhere (yet) - I found them here

For Icy Gubbins, i'll get this even though she really doesn't deserve any fantasy treats as she has just had the mother of all tantrums and chucked her juice across the room  

It's from my absolute fave online shop to buy kiddies clothes from - Nordic Kids

And even though she's not even here yet, i still get to chose something for little miss bump. 

I'll probably end up getting her this anyway, as I love anything BlaBla for babies . She already has a mobile from them waiting to be hung up, so this will match lovely (and excitedly Violet is a possible middle name!!)

Blabla Kids

............And the mister? Jesus, give me a break! It takes me about a month of restless nights, intense shopping, constant probing and nagging to find out what he'd like for his birthday, and that's only once a year! So no, he won't feature in the 'Fantasy Shopping List' posts much!!