Happiness is: A Man and his Grill
It has to be said; I’ve taken full advantage so far of the fact that Harry, at 2, is happy pottering around in a play kitchen and keeping shop, oblivious to the fact that these will rapidly become...
View ArticleRocket Man!
Today the house is once again filled with swirling brick dust as our renovations continue, though it is eerily silent as the builders seem to have downed tools in search of sunshine, and have not been...
View ArticleWelcome to Harry’s Hardware!
Well welcome to the grand opening of Harry’s Hardware, Gas & Auto! I’m sure you’ll agree it’s about time this small e-neighbourhood had a one-stop shop where you can refuel, choose a can of...
View ArticleThe Little House
House-painting can be a relentless, unforgiving task. Slaving away in the burning sun and occasional rain, painting never-ending woodwork atop a wobbly ladder. My advice? Buy yourself a house that’s...
View ArticleTreasure-Hunting…
One bright day two weeks ago, we piled into the car and headed for Ardingly, which periodically hosts one of Europe’s largest vintage & antiques fairs. It’s an annual pilgrimage for me; a hunting...
View ArticleDIY Art Installation: The Great Wall of China
I’ve always had a bit of a passion for matt white porcelain; there’s just something about its beauty and fragility, and the understated simplicity of it. Having neither the lifestyle not budget to...
View ArticleA Cupcake Armada (and back to school fever!)
How are you? Today feels like the last day of the long summer break, before school and work restart in earnest next week. An amazing summer of long hot days, evenings without bedtime curfews and...
View ArticleWelcome to the Starlight Puppet Theatre!
It’s funny how randomly some childhood passions are created. Whilst every small boy seems to go through phases where the world revolves around dinosaurs, superheroes, and Lego, other obsessions are...
View ArticleThe Dream House Renovation: The Guest Room!
We moved into our house almost 3yrs ago, and it’s taken us this long to tackle the guest room. Partly that’s due to cash-flow – living in an 18th Century house means that every year there’s an...
View ArticleSilvered Pebbles; a DIY Garden Game for Summer
We’re in the throes of an unexpectedly lovely May holiday weekend, and have been living outdoors, sorting out sheds and pottering in the garden. I uncovered a stash of old tiles, leftover from...
View ArticlePainted Pots!
Earlier in June the sun broke through the grey British skies and we had three magnificent weeks of an early taste of summer. We spent most of our free hours outside; building dens, bringing the garden...
View ArticleHow To Look Manly In An Apron (or: Impress Your Friends With a Tea Towel DIY)
Successful marriage requires compromise, as we all know. The hurly-burly of give and take is what bonds you as a couple and cements your union. Sometimes it means making sacrifices for the other,...
View ArticleDream house Renovation: The Dressing Room
It seems inconceivable that just five years after moving into our rambling, creaking old house we could be decorating a room for the second time. Harry’s then-nursery was the first room we did anything...
View ArticleMoody blues
Recently I’ve become obsessed with deep, inky blues and charcoals, and decided to give our bedroom a bit of a makeover. Regular readers will remember it’s a big, high-ceilinged room, connected to a...
View ArticleDIY World of Harry Potter – in cardboard!
Regular readers will know of our household obsession with Harry Potter, and also with cardboard. Recently, Harry and I combined these two great passions by beginning to build the wizarding shopping...
View ArticleJust for fun… how to win at festive Zooming
Well, no-one can say that this year hasn’t tested our resolve and adaptability, with its constant peaks and troughs and changing guidelines in the face of the ever-evolving COVID-19. This weekend we...
View ArticleUpcycled sewing basket
I have a passion for old baskets and trunks, and an equal obsession with reuse and upcycling, so when my husband bought me this second-hand wicker hamper from eBay for Christmas I was thrilled… (so...
View ArticleDream House Renovation: The Cellar Studio
Regular readers will know we live in a vast and rambling house that is quietly falling apart but has the beautiful bones of a society grand dame. Restoring it is a life’s work, and even after nearly...
View ArticleBeachcomber Sculpture
We’re just back from a wonderful week away in Tenerife, one of the Spanish Canary Islands. It was the first trip abroad we’ve managed for two years, and our first sunshine holiday since Covid began....
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