Love is...

When I was a kid I was mad for Love is... I used to draw them all the time.

Well, this weekend I came across this Christmas present I made for my dad when I was about 8 years old. 

Pink gingham and Love is... One can only imagine his delight.

A beautiful way to waste time

I bought a jigsaw puzzle at the weekend in the charity shop.

It was the picture that got me - a beautiful Alpine chalet. The first house I ever lived in when they brought me home from the hospital was a chalet. I am always drawn to them.

But now I find I am wasting hours sifting through bits of tree and mountain to find bits of roof...and I should have been making the evening meal. 

It's developed into a fish and chips emergency type situation!

Violets

 

My office

We've been in this house for six months now, but there is still so much to do.

These last few days I have been having a bit of a blitz on my office. It's nice to have one room finished.

 

 

An intriguing email from across the world

I love it when I get emails from afar. It's like my little world expands for a moment.

This morning I had an intriguing email from China, from someone who has been charged with translating a design book in which I am featured, into Chinese.

I thought I would show you the book which is an offshoot of a well known design blog which has periodically featured freckleface over the last 5 years. I was so excited when she selected me for the book which now sells all over the world.

Evidence of man

I know some people like their countryside unadulterated. No sign of human habitation or toil, but I quite like the small signs of life. Particularly when they fit so well. This stone is the stone so visible on our climb.

These small farm buildings were built in 1627. Nearly four hundred years of history. Imagine all the lives and times they have seen.

Bleak and dramatic

If I'm honest, I'm probably more a dappled sunlight through bluebell woods kind of girl. But a change is good. Here it was a bleak and unremitting, ever upwards, stone and heather kind of landscape. Big skies. Stone formations and dry stone walls. Punishing wind, the kind that makes your ears hurt. You certainly know you're alive.

The view I see a lot is the back view of my companions. They walk fast, so when I stop to take a photo I have to run to catch up. It takes me back to my childhood, when I would hold an adult's hand and spend the whole time running because their strides were so much bigger than mine. 

A weekend away

Great excitement. Today I'm going for a weekend away in the country with the girls. It is a friend's birthday and she has booked a cottage in Derbyshire. There will be four of us. 

The plan is walk, eat, drink, sleep, walk, eat, drink, sleep. But hopefully there will be plenty of chitter chatter and laughter too. And I expect there will be the names on the forehead game too, once we've completed the drink part of the agenda.

 I wonder if I will be Chesty Morgan again?

Image copyright Aston Cottages

Here's where we're going. It's a little converted farm building on a smallholding out in the middle of nowhere. Lovely.

Love hurts

This is a great song and a great, albeit desperately melancholy, version here by Elvis Costello and EmmyLou Harris.

Such wonderful harmonies.

Enjoy!

Sky, Bristol

On Monday, on my way back to Nottingham, I dropped by Clifton Village in Bristol, which is home to one of my freckleface outlets, Sky.

It's a very pretty shop with a lovely Georgian frontage painted turquoise blue. Clifton is such a charming area of Bristol, with lots of small independent shops.

Opposite was this really lovely flower shop. It was full of beautiful flowers which were almost singing "Spring is here" and smelled how heaven must smell.

Catriona Andrews

I love this blog. Simply love it. Things don't happen fast on it, but when they do they are wonderful treasures.

It is the work of Scottish artist and illustrator Catriona Andrews (Cat to her friends, which I always think is a lovely name). She tells little stories about her life through her drawings. She loves nature and being in the countryside, which I can totally empathise with and she seems to have loads of interests.

My favourite things are her monthly visual diaries. So many stories in there!

 

Today I saw...

 A flying pheasant...

An Elvis-alike, with the most impressive, blacker than night, brilliantined quiff you've ever seen...

 

The M5 camels...

and Serena de la Hey's Willow Man sculpture.

The one that got away

Oh, I hate it when that happens. I have been coveting this postcard for about a week, and was watching it and everything, but then I forgot exactly when it was up for sale and missed it.

It is possibly my favourite postcard ever. A little winky wonky wooden house, wearing folk costume,  keeping animals and growing vegetables. I could so happily live like that. In my dreams I already do.

Eloise's home part 2

Cute little boy stuff and The Work Space! Eloise has some beautiful vintage books.

 

 

 

 

 

  

So long Eloise!