Rosy Lady

Welcome to my new home

Thank you for your patience while we moved house and then waited for our internet service to be connected.

The move went smoothly but it was so tiring, I suddenly understood the meaningful looks people gave me when I said we'll be moving house while I'm pregnant.  I wouldn't be doing that again!

We love our new house.  It is a big old Victorian house that needs a lot of tender loving care and money thrown at it so, we'll be doing it over time.  We are just so thrilled to have the extra space and the opportunity to put our own stamp on the place.  I took a few photos with my phone when we first moved in that I thought I'd share.  Please excuse the poor quality of these.

I love the view over the garden from the back bedroom.  The whole house has these old wooden sash windows.  I thought the house was going to be cold but despite the recent snow that we've had, it has been surprisingly warm and I haven't noticed any drafts.  The house that we rented before we bought here was so drafty and cold in the winter so, we're really glad to be away from there.

Hubby took the carpet up in our bedroom before we moved in and discovered these old Victoria tiles.  Unfortunately someone has removed the original fireplace but it is on my to-do list to eventually restore that.  I hope we make more discoveries like these.

I love the Rennie Macintosh design on them (by the way, I have just spent the last 10 minutes trying to turn this photo but as you can see, I give up.  I have turned it on my computer but for some reason it will only upload the original version).  Anyway, moving on...

I also love the cornicing and ceiling roses in the house.

The front door is a red double door with these red stained glass roses.  Again, they need a lot of tlc but I think they got me the moment we first went through these doors to look at the house.

Out in the garden, there is a lot of pruning for me to do, including this overgrown grapevine.

There are also a few glimmers of hope that need to be rescued.

I hope you've enjoyed these little snippets and teasers from our new home.  I hope to blog about the progress we make as we tackle each room to redecorate.

I also wanted to say that me and the baby are both well.  My bump is really growing now as I'm approaching 30 weeks so, the big count down is beginning.  We are so excited to meet our little girl!

Hope you're all well.

xx

A little update

I knew it was time to blog again when I got an email from a friend who said she was fed-up with seeing berries every time she looked on my blog for an update.  I'm sorry that my posts have been so few and far in between.  The days just don't seem to be long enough anymore.

I've had nearly two months off work after the doctor signed me off to rest (pregnancy related) and I have to say it has done me really good.  

 So yes, I have put my feet up a lot.  On the other hand, my poor hubby has had to try and keep up with my eating habits which seem to change on a daily basis.  The list of food that I can't stomach is getting rather long.  I think he is most disappointed that I can't eat his bolognese anymore and don't even mention spicy food to me!  But, he is trying very hard.

  We are also in the process of buying a house so, I have the pleasure of dealing with estate agents, builders, solicitors etc.  The house is a big Victoria house, but it is a fixer-upper.  We are really excited at the prospect of putting our own stamp on the place and, I will have a lovely big studio *big grin*.

In my last post, I set myself some deadlines to finish my textile designs and although I've totally missed the deadlines, it has really spurred me on and I have been making really good progress.  Although I can't show you what I've done so far, I can tell you where my inspiration is coming from.

If you've read my blog for a while, you may recall our trip to Keukenhof in Holland.  So, I've decided to use that as my inspiration :)  It is kinda strange to be so focussed on Spring when everything around me is turning towards Autumn (Fall) but, I am loving the whole process.

 

Hope you're having a really good weekend.

xx

All is calm, all is bright

It was so good to spend some time with my family in South Africa where it was hot and sunny.  We talked, laughed, ate, shopped and I took lots of photos.  I took my smaller Nikon coolpix so the photo quality is not as good as with the bigger camera but there is still plenty to show you.  I also want to say a big thank you to all who have shown me so much love and support.  I am so happy to tell you that a full body PET scan has shown that my Hubby doesn't have any cancer in his body.  That was such an answer to our prayers.  We feel like a weight has been lifted from our shoulders and we can finally start to look towards the future rather than to live from day to day.

 

I always try to visit South Africa during the UK winter.  The sunshine and beautiful flowers have a way of lifting my spirit and it is always a good time to reflect on my life, my goals and to be inspired.

As it is Christmas Eve, I wanted to show you some of the Christmas decorations that I saw in a couple of malls:

 

Maybe not traditional but, I like how they have an 'Africa' feel to them.

I had a great time.

But, then I came home to this:

Photo taken through train window.  

This was the train platform:

I was in the last train carriage so, this chick had to walk through all of that and then over a bridge (to get to the other side.

May I take this opportunity to wish you a very blessed Christmas and say thank you so much for your support and for reading my random ramblings. 

xx

  

Weedy beautiful

I have made an attempt with the garden in the Spring but the slugs, snails and spiders had other plans for the garden and in the end, I admitted defeat when I got fed up with all the dead plants.  This year ended up so busy with work, designing in my spare time and life in general.  So, when I ventured out into the garden this week, I was 'pleasantly' surprised by how happily the weeds were taking over.

So screw it, as much as I love flowers and beautiful gardens, I've always secretly known that I don't have 'green fingers' like the rest of my family but I can always pretend that I intended to go for the wild, untamed look.

I know it's not a bed of roses but, I think a chair covered in deep purple flowers and heart shaped leaves is a close second.

And, I make the connection that magical things happen in my garden if I just keep out of it.

Hope you have a magical weekend!

xx

One sunny day

I'm still off sick with the flu but have been enjoying the time on my own. And, on a day like today when the sun is shinning through my studio window and my Begonia is blossoming her little heart out, 

I really feel like I can 'hang in there'.

Of course, it is all made even easier when Hubby comes home with a surprise bouquet of roses 

to make me feel better AND a copy of one of my favourite South-African magazines, Idees, arrive in the post.  A birthday subscription from my Mum.

I hope that no matter what is going on for you today, that you get to feel some love too.

xx

I thought I would tell you a little bit about where I live.  I live in Southend-on-Sea, which is a coastal town in the county of Essex, England.  Across the English Channel from us, you have Europe.  The town is also on the Thames Estuary, which runs all the way from here to London.  We used to live in a flat with lovely views over the Estuary, but since we've sold up and moved to our rented house, we are a bit more inland although still within easy reach of the seafront.  Enough with the geography lesson, I'll show you a few of my favourite photos

The Thames Estuary has tides, sometimes you would see water one minute and when you look again in half an hour, it's all gone and vise versa.  The changing scenery can sometimes be breathtaking.

We also get some beautiful sunsets here...

And I just love the look of a row of beach huts...

On a sunny day, with the water in, there is nothing better than to watch the various boats bobbing on the water while you have some Rossi ice cream, a local Italian ice cream, which is synonym with Southend.

Southend also has some amazing, award winning parks where the abundance of flowers and colours never seize to inspire me.