19.11.13 | HOME DECOR: BEDROOMS

It's all change round here and to say it's bittersweet, is an understatement. You see, we are going through probably the last bedroom switch around since we moved here almost 7 years ago as a then family of four from London. Dexy is eight now and feels a little too old to be sharing with his sister and to be honest, India needs to get out of that damn cot (I know, i know - it's called 3rd child syndrome) and Flo? Well, Flo just needs a high bed and so we are doing the great switcheroo this weekend.

I'm really sad about it though. This is how it's going to be from now on; there's not going to be any more babies, big old Dexter will now have his own big boys room and the girls will be entering a massive new chapter. At the moment they are 2 and 6 which is going to be everything from cute to god damn noisy, then eventually (i hope) sharing clothes, make-up, gossip, stories about boys, secrets from mum etc etc. I hope I'm not being terribly naive and in actual fact a 10 and a 14 year old or a 12 and a 16 year old in the same room is going to be nothing short of hell on Earth.... oh god, what have we done?!?!

OK - time for something positive - OUR NEW ROOM! Yippppppeeeee!

I don't like our current bedroom, lets be honest here. My bed is FAB and MASSIVE but the rest of the room has about as much style as me circa 1992 when I was trying to be Blossom. We have a royal blue carpet which was left over from the Dexy baby days and white walls. OK, that's not awful I know and in actual fact it will be perfect for the girls because one of them at least is a die hard Chelsea fan, but that carpet for us? No thank you! Same goes for my bed linen actually, which i attempted to match to the carpet in a moment of "Wow! Look, this is only £3.99" Ikea insanity.

So, I'm planning and pinning like crazy. The mister has been working like a trooper on re-configuring the loft space (we took out the en-suite) and painting all the never-painted-before wood work and it's starting to look fresh and bright and spacious. He's laying some rich mahogany flooring at the weekend and then I get to have some fun, making our forever bedroom space beautiful. Above are some ideas of calm, clutter free spaces, and some idea for some wall art. What do you think?

*collage created from various images found via pinterest

GEEKY MEAL PLANNING

So, meal panning. 

Boring right? Um, maybe... just a little...

Essential for saving time, money, your sanity & your belly? You betcha!

I always meal plan, it's how I keep a check on not dishing up the same old meals week in, week out. It's also how I make sure I have every ingredient for when I'm trying out a new recipe, or new version of an old one. This past week I made a veggie cottage pie & needed some ras el hanout (eh? what's that?) & there was no way on earth that i would have remembered that funky little name if hadn't noted it down. It still took for forever to find it mind...

Anyway, I'm digressing (me? never...). The bottom line is I meal plan, and this is how i do it...

(Before I begin, I'd like to dedicate this post to my friend Kelly. This is the girl who scoffed at my meal planning ventures with my fancy-pant print outs & my special colour co-ordinated pens. I found this a little strange as she knows I'm a stationary geek (i heart pens & paper so much that aged 15 I did her entire Home Economics project for her) and she also knows how I like a certain air of organisation (I would regularly tidy HER room as a teenager. Well, she was too busy applying clean & clear to her chin to notice the 5ft piles of random crap building up around her...). 

So Kelly, this post is, like, SO for you and it is totes amaze. Dang!)

Here we go!

First up: get your template. You can scribble your own if you can be bothered, but i always use this one because I'm lazy. There are literally loads out there if you google them. I also keep a notebook handy to scribble ideas down too. 

Look, I've labelled up a picture there of stage one for you. I'm nice like that. I mean, did you know what a pen was before I labelled it up?

Next: get inspired! One of the benefits of meal planning is that you rarely find yourself in a food rut which means everyone gets to try new things regularly. If you're more organised than me, you'd keep previous meal planners so you get even more variation.

I grab the recipe books I'm loving that week & i find the Internet recipes I've bookmarked. Then i mix it up with a few staples too, like our (pretty much) weekly Taco night! Mmmmm, tacos.....

Then I sort my categories. Because the older kiddos are at school for 5 out of 7 lunch times, and India  & I generally have a sandwich or left overs at lunch, I plan our evening meals & weekend meals only. For example my categories are:

Kids dinners: mon, tue, wed, thur, fri

Adults dinners: mon, tue, wed, thur, fri 

Saturday lunch & dinner

Sunday lunch & dinner

Three nights out of the week the kiddos eat separate to us so I plan theirs first, then ours. Then I plan the nights and weekends where we all eat together. I make notes on top of the planner such as which books the recipes are in (with page numbers) or what website i found it on.

Remember to schedule things like parties / play dates / meals out etc too and don't forget to include all the other essentials such as fruit bowl items/kids snacks/any cleaning products you're running low on etc etc...

Once you're all planned up, write out the list you want to take shopping with you. You don't have to do this obviously, but I do because I know the layout of the supermarkets I use most often & I can plan the list that way too so I don't spend forever in there! I need to not spend my whole afternoon in a supermarket...

So, that's it! My quick-fire meal planning is in the bag.

Enjoy! x

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT

1 / they always head straight to the books, no matter what else is on offer
2 / we call her chocolate button eyes
3 / ickle baby ice cream
4 -7 / our favourite canal walk
8 / gimme a lick!

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.

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.