This month we have been living in chaos. I have been able to write my name in the dust on every window ledge, sideboard, the floor in the hallway and even the cutlery that sits in a basket in the kitchen needed washing every time before you stirred your tea! But it's all worth it. Because when you see a room slowly come together it starts to feel more like yours. More like home. Our home in the country.
We are trying to be methodical, move room by room, and translate our vision for this beautiful old house into walls, furniture and all the other bits and bobs that are the fun part to source and buy!
I have lots of photos to share over the next week or so of the inside of the house but when we first viewed the house, on a chance drive by back in the Spring, it was the garden we first fell in love with. The garden is a picture perfect backdrop, still full of colour, and a testament to the vision and loving care the previous owners poured into it.
So it seemed fitting that our family photo for this month was amongst all the crunchy leaves and apple trees! We donned our wellies and headed out yesterday whilst the air was still full of mist, with the horses next door looking on bemused.
Balancing the camera on an old stone sculpture that I was thrilled they left for us, we snapped this.
My family. My boys. And their stinky dog dog and puppy. (Yes we go for original names for stuffed dogs here!) And then I really looked, looked at the small boys between us. They are still so little. We have expected so much of them lately, been frustrated at the continued broken night's sleep, been horrified at the level of rough play fighting and the constant desire to run around the garden in bare feet getting filthy!
But we have been blessed with 2 boys, slugs and snails and puppy dog's tails! I followed them as they headed down to the pond, their precious dogs in hand, and listened as they talked about adventures in the trees. Climbing trees has become a standard in this garden, a big challenge for big boys, apparently! All 3 ft off the ground!
We feel like we need to freeze time at moments like this. Simple, happy moments with no bickering, no endless request for Takeshi's Castle, followed by endless requests to turn the lounge into an assault course. Last weekend we went to the big annual village event, the Harvest lunch at the village hall and I was so proud of them. Polite, funny and nice to the other children from the village. As we chatted to new friends and enjoyed the amazing food (The dessert table was like a final of the Great British Bake Off!) I caught a glimpse of them in the garden, throwing leaves in the air with the other children and smiled.
They are wide eyed and innocent for such a short time. They won't want to come into our bed for cuddles in the middle of the night when they are teenagers, they won't fiddle with my hair when we sit next to each other on the sofa.
And it's these moments we need to freeze and store away to get you through the days of moaning and arguing! Boys - you are our greatest challenge and greatest achievement. And we love you very much.
Now hurry up home from your kind grandparents who have had you for a half term sleepover so we can get dressed up, put our wellies back on and go trick or treating!
I've shown you me and mine now show me you and yours. Join in with us and share your little family. This month, pop across to Lauren's blog, another Mummy with 2 beautiful boys!
I have a complete obsession/weakness for stationery and anything office related.
There are several wooden boxes on my desk bursting with cards for friends, pretty notelets, prints that inspire me and little pots of your everyday office supplies. But what I have always lusted after is a peg board.
I read a lot of American craft and DIY blogs and every now and again they would feature this beautifully holely piece of wood and I would despair about where I could source one over here. No longer confined to a garage wall, a peg board is a sleek and elegant, functional, modern noticeboard.
I have always used a noticeboard as a mood board for inspiration. And a peg board takes that concept to a new level.
So when Red Candy kindly offered to send me one of Block Design's boards for my new home office I said ooh yes please!
I couldn't wait until my office was ready to share it, so I will save my office makeover for another day. At the moment the barn above the garages, which is divided into three, has one end set up resembling an office for Richard, albeit with no flooring or heating, and the other side looks like a car boot sale!
Over the next few weeks I am going to repaint and carpet my office under the wooden beam and clean up the store room next door to use as a prop room.
And this peg board is going to have pride of place above my desk.
I love the multicoloured pegs and with two sizes, so you can hook to your heart's content or slip over the ends of bulldog clips and collate your latest inspiration.
I love how just 2 pegs make a shelf for your favourite card, a mini cork peg board tile or a pencil holder! Perfect for your phone too. And the best bit is you can reconfigure the pegs at any time.
I adore the symmetry a peg board gives you and its makes an awesome backdrop! You may have seen it creeping into blog posts and my Instagram photos ;)
Thank you Red Candy - I think the Block Design product is awesome. Now if only I could have one in every colour...!
The best thing about moving to a new area is finding new places to discover.
And the moment I walked into Fork and Flowers in Shaftesbury, I knew I had found a special place. A family run business, filled with pretty stems and bursting with antiques.
Cassie show cases other local businesses and uses their pop up pieces to style her carefully curated shop. There are vintage apothecary bottles squeezed next to antique crockery and decorative home ware.
Her window displays are award winning and as I snapped away quietly, it was lovely to see the passers by stop and stare at the vision before them.
Not only does Cassie offer a bespoke floristry service to her many happy clients, she runs workshops through the year for adults and children.
Next week on Tuesday she is running 2 workshops for children during half term and there are still a few spaces left. As we have family visiting on Tuesday we were lucky enough to spend Friday after school stuffing some gourds with beautiful flowers.
The boys were totally engaged and played nicely with Cassie's two children. Sammy asked questions and Ollie was determined to cut his own stems! It was lovely to see them doing such a calm activity and now our fireplace is filled with pretty pumpkins!
There are so many photo opportunities at Fork and Flowers, the garden where Cassie grows all their foliage and the baskets of gourds that line the floor, the rustic old table by the milk churns , the old stone steps. And I couldn't resist taking a few photos or five ;)
Find out more about the upcoming workshops at Fork and Flowers Facebook page or connect with Cassie on Twitter or Instagram.
