how hard can it be!

until this week .. i never knew that there was so many shades of grey!!!!!!

i thought you either had a dark grey or a light grey!!

Ive been back to Homebase now four times each time buying a tester pot of a different grey, the man who mixes the paint up even knows who i am now and is finding it ever so amusing that i still cant decide!!

can anyone help me.. I'm looking for a nice pale grey.. not to cold.. not to bluey .. something that perhaps looks a bit Swedish..somthing that will look nice with reds and whites..

anyone make any recommendations!!

charity shops 1 the big town 0 !!!

on Saturday me and my sister went to Liverpool for the day.. off we trotted without any children just ourselves for a nice girly day out..
we thought we might have a nice drinky and lunch as well halfway through the day whilst going through all the bags of gorgeous clothes that we had treated ourselves to ..

now whilst we did have a laugh together and we did try on some beautiful clothes..
we were very much overwhelmed by the amount of people in town.. the sheer noise every were.. and the volume that people were buying.. ( schoolgirls in Zara buying beautiful clothes.. so not fair!!)

we took ourselves off to primark.. and for a while got carried away shoving all sorts of clothes into our baskets..however i bought about 3 things and one of them was a pair of tights!!!..
everything i tried on looked awful.. i looked awful as i was hungry and tired so had that lovely grey pallor .. and we just couldn't wait to leave and get back home!!
we didn't go for lunch but we did have a well deserved glass of white when we got home!!!

now we are not country bumpkins.. we only live about 15 mins away on the train from Liverpool.. growing up we went to town with our mum practically every weekend.. but you know it was just a bit of a nightmare.. i couldn't wait to come home and get to the charity shops.. were i wasn't faced with volumes upon volumes of sequin tops or tiny dresses that only a 15yr old could get into on a night out.. there was no "normal" clothes.. no just nice nipping to the shops, type of clothes.. it was all geared towards going out and that was it.. even the girls walking round town ( in their rollers might i add) looked dressed for a night out.. this was at 2pm !!
all in all it was a very depressing experience and not one i want to repeat for a long time!!
so anyways i got to go to my precious charity shops this week and came away with a few nice bits.. ( and breathe!!!!!!!!)

i bought this gorgeous sweet little china posy.. i love it.. Ive had my eye on it for ages but then it disappeared so i thought it had been sold.. but no out it came and was a pound cheaper so i had to buy it..
i love the colour of the pot.. that green is so pretty . .i love it alongside my others,,





i love this oval plate that is just made for serving up nice little sandwiches or little cakes!!..


(can you see my new posy alongside its new family..looks sweet doesn't it!!)


and then this pretty round plate to eat the said cake or sandwiches from..


i just love floral plates they always manage to look so pretty don't they!!!

a few books to read when i get the chance.. not had any new books for a while so cant wait to get into these.. nice girly chick lit ones. nothing to taxing!




and then this gorgeous little mug to serve my coffee from when I'm reading my book and eating my cakes.. i love the little union jacks on the front.. I'm not at all in the slightest patriotic but i do love the little design!!



i even managed to pick up a gorgeous H&M black satin blouse which is just gorgeous.. so you know what i don't even need to go into the big smoke and stress myself out ..
its charity shops all the way for me............ ( well until perhaps after January sales when it wont be so bad!!!!! )

the things you find!

tomorrow we are having our loft insulated...brrrr its getting so cold now that I'm glad its getting done. think it will make a big difference.. our house feels like a fridge at the moment..Ive constantly got the heating on and am normally found in weird and wonderful layered outfits just to keep warm.. ( saying that. the kids are always warm and hubby is normally in shorts.. so perhaps I'm just very cold blooded!)..


anyways because everything has to be cleared out of the loft i came home from work to find this little lot in my bedroom







ooo looks nice doesn't it!!!!

....lots of bin bags and all sorts of bric a bac!!..

most of it is pure tat.. and hence the reason why its up in the loft and not around the house on show.. but then Ive re-discovered a few things that i shall be keeping down stairs from now on!

this lovely picture.. in a lovely silver frame.. now when i finally get round to doing my hallway which i want to do in whites and greys i think this will look really nice with it.. its quite modern but i think its rather pretty so who cares that its not very vintage looking!

this lovely old green vintage quilt.... id completely forgotten that i had this.. this will be great on my sofa especially with the cold nights now.. it will really tie in with my pinky red and green theme that i have in the living room.. cant believe that's been stashed up in the loft all this time!

a lovely cream little lamp table..perfect for displaying some pretties on of some sort.. not sure where this is going to go yet..which is probably the reason its up in the loft anyways!.. might paint it a completely different colour and pop it somewhere though. theres always a home for abandoned furniture in this house!!!

awww my wedding dress... its rotten now.. and a bit smelly from being stored up there .but its still big and fancy!!.. i tried it on before and it fits!!.. 2 baby's on i didn't think that was to bad really.. it was huge and so heavy Ive no idea how i managed a whole day in it!!!..

a funky red chair that we bought for our oldest but he started using it to climb up on things..being only 18 months at the time we thought best to take it off him but i think he can have it back now.. hes 3 now so I'm sure he'll be fine.. just have to make sure the baby who loves climbing doesn't use it as a "get me up" on to things!!

and then look..my diary from 1999..when i was 18-19.... Ive been having a laugh reading it tonight.. oh its so full of angst!!..

isn't it amazing though the things that are so important to you when you're younger that now just wouldn't bother you. i literally went shopping for clothes nearly every other day..worried about my figure and my hair.. and was out 3 nights a week .. now i never buy clothes .. wash my hair when i remember and go out about once a year!!!!.. having children really does make you take a back seat when it comes to yourself doesn't it!!!!

i found some more mundane things like bags of clothes that Ive been collecting for my little boys and just shoving up in the loft until they would fit them..and now they do fit into them.. so there is tons of clothes that need washing and ironing now but its most handy as we needed to buy them new clothes and Ive been worrying a little bit as they were in need of new stuff and its been under my roof the whole time!!

so it just goes to show you sometimes the things you want and need are under your own roof anyways!!!!

I heart you !!

looking round my little home Ive realised i have two things as a theme running through it.. flowers and hearts!!




i find I'm a little magpie if i see anything floral or heart shaped!!.


here's some of my hearts that are around my home...

hope you enjoyed seeing some of my hearts!!

well I'm off now to try and sort my hair out.. had a crazy idea about dyeing it red.. now i look like me circa 1996... its so not a good look... !!!!

Lunch time lovelies!!

took myself off into town on my lunch break today.. thought i would take advantage of that gorgeous winter bright sunshine before the fog set in on us.. and it really did..really quickly so glad i went when i did!!




its such bliss when you can nip in and out of shops without getting a buggy stuck in the doorway .. or you look down and realise you're baby is/has getting sticky hand marks all over the clothes ..or is just pulling them off all the hangers as a little game... its so nice to just walk around the little charity shops and not have to buy 4 broken toys for them just so that you can look in peace!!!


anyways I'm going off the subject somewhat there arnt i!
were was i...oh yes.. i took myself off all wrapped up, enjoyed the nice brisk walk into town and came across these little lovelies


these gorgeous little glasses.. who's blue is sooo vintage looking i think.. I'm in need of a new shelf being put up in the kitchen just for these as i think they should be on display









this lovely picture all the detail is sewn on. really lovely.. just going to whack a bit of cream paint on the frame and then add it to my ever growing collection of pics that are waiting to go up in the living room





this pretty water glass/carafe type thingy.. with really pretty rose detail..very delicate,




this is going to have to go somewhere out of sticky fingers reach as i think one drop on the floor and it will just smash.. very thin and pretty though..!


and last but not least this lovely picture of a lady walking in what looks like a very pretty garden..








oh and then on the way back into work i bought my self an iced bun..but obviously that got eaten very quickly so couldn't take a picture of that particular lovely... MMmmmmm delicious!!!!!

diet starts tomorrow !!!

xx

Newbies

Just thought id share my new things of the week

new lights making a cosy feel







five blank wooden hearts ready to be painted up and hung around the house or maybe kept together as bunting.

new magazine to drool over

even more new boots.. cant wait to wear these! will only be worn when not a lot of walking or indeed moving is involved i think they are quite high!!



new fairy lights. new crafty bits, new mag, new shoes ...what more can a girl ask for!!

Night out!

well me and the hubby actually went out for the night on Friday... a proper night out.. with no kiddies, or child friendly pubs were you can eat a meal together and have indigestion because your up and down slides with the kids in between meals!!
just me and hubs together on our own!
a first for quite a while.. we havent been out for so long that we didn't even know were to go!!..
we had to ring some friends up and ask them were the cool young beautiful people go these days!!!
how tragic is that at all!!..
anyways Ive been worrying all week about what i was going to put on.. what do people wear to go out in now, i wanted to feel comfortable but not look to mumsy and i just wanted to feel young again!

so i found in my wardrobe ( which is made up mainly of rubbish) a little black lacey dress that i bought from the charity shop in the summer for something silly like £2.99 and thought how very similar it looked to all the little black lacey dresses that are in the shops now ..im so ahead of my game in the fashion stakes arnt i!!..

so with that i was on all the websites asos, topshop, river island.. to see what i could wear on my feet to go with the dress.. didnt want to look like id made to much of an effort either ( oh isn't it a minefield now.. i never use to be this bothered..just went out and danced all night then!) so i
actually went and paid full price for a pair of shoe boots from new look.. and guess what happened.. got the heel stuck in a grate in the floor and ripped the leather off the heel..can u believe that.. i never pay full price and look what happens when i treat meself gutted!!



fuming over the ripped heel!!!!!

it was so nice getting ready though..the boys went over to my in laws about tea time so i had about 3 hours all to myself to get ready.. this is sooo unusual that i was actually a little bit lost as I'm used to getting ready in about 10 mins .. but id just recieved my cath kidston mag friday morning and there is a page all about getting ready for a night out so i was trying to follow all the steps, long soak in the bath, doing my nails.. i added a few steps of my own to.. slapping on the fake tan and pouring a large glass of rose wine!!!

anyways we had a nice evening.. had a laugh together and actually were just a young couple for the evening again and not just mum and dad!!

And so to bed...

well obviously not yet.. i haven't been blessed with children who actually go to sleep in the day...so it shall be how many more hours before i can climb into my big gorgeous old bed and sleep!!!..
when i get there though this lovelies to greet me!!!..
i got this lovely cosy king size throw over from the charity shop the other day.. its huge..


my ideal really is to have a cath kidston gorgeous one but alas i do not have £130 to spend on bedding ( well not until i find that elusive money tree!) so until then i have to pretend that i have one..
the colours are quite pale but i thought along side my white bedding it would look so fresh and pretty...also very feminine ( sorry hubs i know its your room to!!)






then my mum bought me these lovely pajamas.. they are soooo pretty..



the pink of them doesn't really come across in the pics because the light is quite pale but they are a really pretty pink and then the little flowers and the little trims of lace around the coller and short sleeves.. ooo gorgeousness...
very shabby chic don't you think ..



so cant wait tonight to go and have a nice soak in the bath.. then take my gossipy mags ( thanks sis!) and have an early night wearing my new pj's under my snuggly new quilt..

only trouble is we'll end up with the boys in the bed early morning and I'll be hanging on for dear life to the mattress with a bad back and a child digging their arms into my back.....

HAPPY DAYS !!!!!

All You Need Is....

well today i made a "LOVE" cushion using some plain red fabric i bought from IKEA last week and some of my Cath Kidston samples. it isn't perfect..in fact its probably a bit rough round the edges and needs finishing but I'm quite pleased with the overall effect.. i am going to have a go at making the same style again but with "HOME" on it instead... will have to start building up the CK samples again though, as i just don't think i could bear to cut up such beautiful material into letters!!





its been ages since Ive used my sewing machine so i was made up to get the old girl out!!

on the subject of Cath Kidston we went to Morrison's supermarket before to get the children some tea, Ive had my eyes on their cake tins for a while and thought id treat myself oh well it is Saturday after all ( good excuse ey!)
i think they are gorgeous , very CK'esque don't you think but at £6.99 a lot cheaper..






£6.99 isn't bad is it for two tins that are a good size as well.. at the minute they are empty but i plan on doing some baking this week so they'll soon fill up!!!
so for now they have joined my cupcake patterned tins (also from Morrison's actually!!) on the pink shelves!!!

well now its saturday night. that can only mean one thing X-FACTOR!!!.
so its Ben & Jerrys ice cream and a few vodka and cokes.. im easily pleased arnt i !!...

All change!!

remember the free desk that i got out of a skip on Friday!!..



well it has caused me no end of trouble..it has resulted in me throwing myself around the house like Kevin the teenager as things just were not going to plan like they should have been!!





the problem was i was swapping my old computer desk for the one id found but it just didn't look right in the room..the problem was id already got rid of the old one so needed a desk or somthing for the computer now!!
... i was trying to look beyond the oak and think that when it was painted it would look different but it just didn't work housing a computer, the moniter was to big and all the techno bits like wires and things were all stuck at the side of it so it just looked a mess.. i was fuming to say the least!!!
..


BUT.. i did like were id shoved the desk in the corner of the room when my temper got the better of me as a genuine place for were the computer should go as it freed up so much more room !!





well we went to ikea tonight and bought a little computer desk..Ive never wanted a modern computer desk in my house as i don't want my house to look like an office but this is quite cute..my sister has it in pink in her dining room and it looks rather nice so i knew i was on to a winner!!..


i was worried that with my two red arm chairs it might start looking a bit much but to be honest it doesn't.. it just sits in the corner under my china cabinet without a care in the world!!!




Ive had a move about as well because of this.. Ive moved my singer sewing machine table in this room



and moved the new (old) beauru into the space were the sewing machine was.. i think both have now found their natural spaces.. the sewing machine was to small in that alcove with the high ceiling and the desk just looked plain old big and ugly in this smaller sized room



I'm thinking how sweet this desk will look when its painted up a lovely old country cream colour.. cant wait to do it !!



the problem with this room it doesn't get loads of light and until about 6 o'clock in the summer is quite a dark room so I'm never happy with it.. also as its next to the kitchen it does act like a bit of a corridor .. so I'm sure it will continue to be the moving around room!!!!




hubby is hoping that this is the last of the moving around..i don't think he understands the decorating plans that are going to be taking shape over the next few weeks


hahahhahahahha ( evil laugh going on here !!!)

Pink ladies!!

hi all

well today i finally got round to painting and getting hubby to put some shelves up in the kitchen that i bought from a carboot in about April..
they have been under my bed and were sooo dusty one of them even had a little cobweb with a tiny spider in..eeek!!!
anyways they only cost £1 for the two!!.. brand new from IKEA, and are really good quality.
so i took me self off to wilkos and bought 2 tester pots of their own pink emulsion and did my usual amazing slapdash job..followed by a bit of clear varnish that i already had!.
i was going to paint them white but i thought the pink might be fun and make a change in the kitchen add a splash of colour ( not that it really needs it but you can never have enough pink now can you!!)
so after much huffing and puffing and spirit levelling them out up they went..
i like them... i have only put two things up for now but it means that i can now start buying even more of other peoples junk and Ive got more wall space for it!!





Ive put my radio up because i usually have it on the worktop that's above my washing machine..and if the washing machine is on ( which is ALWAYS in this house!) then it just interferes with the reception..so I'm hoping that up there its alright!!
I'm pleased as well as i could keep my big enamel plate from IKEA on the wall .. i thought that we were going to have to take that down but for now its staying... that is until i start filling up the hooks with cath kidston aprons and oven gloves etc..
the poor things will probably fall down with the sheer weight of what Ive got planned!!!


the only trouble is i really need to repaint the whole kitchen as its soo minging .. as its a little kitchen it really collects the grease so the paint work really needs doing again.. so they'll be down in a few weeks when i get crackin!!







oh i painted the frame for the little home sweet home sampler that ive also had for ages and ages to.. i might keep it were it is for now as it makes a nice little corner display!!

anyways hope you've had a good weekend.. Ive been X-Factored out!!. anyone see Whitney.. was she actually talking to herself during her performance..crazy woman!!!