Inspiring Vintage-style Bathrooms

Upheaval has been the word of this week as I have been having my bathroom redone. Isn’t it funny how changing one room ends in chaos throughout the rest of the house?!

We discovered a leak from our shower soon after we moved in (over a year ago!) but hoped that a bit of silicone sealant and quick showers would get us through – well folks, it didn’t...! 

After water started to come through the kitchen ceiling from upstairs we decided that we better have somebody come out and have a look. 

Of course there was the usual ‘hmmmm-ing’ and ‘hahhhh-ing’, before it was thought that the best plan would be to take all of the tiles off the wall and have a good look behind them. What we discovered was a leak which had been temporarily repaired by the last owners of the house (thanks for that!), which had steadily been getting worse.

Every step of the process it seems as though things have been against us – but finally the shower is back in, new tiles have been fitted, and the whole bathroom has had a lick of fresh white paint.

Although it looks very stark and cold it has been a bit of an eye opener to remove everything – a bit like having a blank canvas to start again with. Of course we didn’t change the big things; the bath, sink and flooring – but we have realised how much difference all the accessories can make to a room!

Today I thought I would share with you the pictures which have inspired me when I have been thinking about my new bathroom. It is quite a modern room compared to the original features in the rest of the house, so I would like to inject a vintage theme and make it a warm, romantic and relaxed space.

I found all of these inspiring rooms on Pinterest by searching for ‘vintage bathrooms’.

What is your favourite bathroom theme? Have you got any ideas of how can I add a touch of vintage glamour to my room?

Until next time,

K x

The Essence of Pandora

Yesterday the jewellery brand Pandora released its exciting newest collection – Essence. 

Don’t worry – this isn’t a sponsored post – although I can’t say I wouldn’t accept the freebie! 

I already have the traditional Pandora charm bracelet, loads of the stacking rings, and some earrings too – I am a BIG fan! (Apologies about the terrible pictures in this blog post - taken from the catalogue!)

“PANDORA’S Essence collection is an emotional expression of inner values. It connects us to who we are, and marks a deeper connection to and a profound understanding of the multi-faceted components that make up a woman and her life”.

For those of you who already know Pandora (let’s face it, who doesn’t?! ), you will know that the main product they sell is bracelet and charms – meant to represent and celebrate the special moments in a woman’s lifetime. Pandora believe that women are now looking towards products which have more soul; something which represents who they are – and they have tried to capture this with Essence.

The new charms are smaller and more streamlined than the traditional ones, and have a special silicone core which means that they stay put on the bracelet without the need for clips. Most of the charms are made from genuine gemstones too – so the collection feels more elegant than the traditional one. 

The bracelet is smaller and more delicate too. I love my Pandora bracelet but it is SO HEAVY now that it’s full – so I can see me wearing the Essence bracelet more during the day and saving my other bracelet for special occasions and evenings out.

I went to my local shop yesterday and spent ages looking at all the new charms and finding out about the emotions which they represent. I wanted to pick something which was truly meaningful to me and my life – something which expresses who I am, and what motivates me at the moment.

After lots of deliberation I chose the HOPE charm – a solid charm made of milky quartz and sterling silver.

“Make a wish for the best and dreams are already within your reach”. 

I have mentioned before about jealousy and how sometimes I can struggle to see the bigger picture in life. Everytime I see this charm on my bracelet I want it to remind me how lucky I am, and even though things can be hard at the moment with a new house and a new set of responsibilities, I think it will encourage me to keep hope that things will be easier in the future.

I have big dreams for my career and family life, and I know that the only thing which will help me to achieve them is to keep positivity and hope.

Have you seen the newest collection  - what do you think? Which one represents the Essence of you?

Until next time,

K x

Saturday Stitches: Hoppin' Robin

Just a quick Saturday Stitches today folks – is it me or did it just get very cold, very quickly?! After the storms which have hit the UK this week I am beginning to think I must have missed Autumn and landed straight into Winter!

This week I have been continuing the Christmas stitching with this cute little red robin. This is from a past Cross Stitcher edition – from October 2011.

I absolutely love the little footprints in the snow!

The plan is to make a little row of hopping robins above a line of deep green holly leaves but finishing it has been resigned to the ‘to do’ pile! That pile is growing steadily the closer we get to Christmas!

What stitching projects have you been up to this week? Leave me a link to your blog – I love to see what people have been up to!

Until next time,

K x

Saturday Stitches: Begins with a bird

This post will be my 51st and I am shocked – don’t they say time flies when you’re having fun?! I am so happy that I decided to start blogging this year – the web is such a fantastic place to find inspiration and read about lovely people and their goings on and I feel a bit honoured to be a part of it!

I thought I would start a regular Saturday Stitching post to encourage me to keep up my cross stitching every week and inspire you to show me what stitching projects you have been completing!

 This week I have been celebrating the end of Summer in my patio garden – with a little wildlife inspired stitch.

This was the perfect mini project to complete after all of the weeks spent on my Christmas sampler (see here). I found it in a project book which came free with a back issue of Cross Stitcher (I know, do I find inspiration anywhere else?!).

I love the sketchy-type outlining of the backstitch in this picture – there are a couple more birds in this series so you may see them cropping up one day soon. Don't you just love his teeny rosy cheeks?!

What stitching projects have you been up to this week? Why not leave me a link and I will check out your blog!

Until next time,

K x

Deli-cious in Dorset

Last month I went to beautiful Dorset to stay with my mum for a week, and the OH and I got to spend the entire week exploring by ourselves – heaven! There is nothing better than a little day trip somewhere new (and the chance to discover a new vintage shop which might have a treasure tucked away for me!).

One place which I definitely have to tell you about is a little deli / cafe which we went to in Wimborne Minster. The town itself is worth a visit – it has lots of lovely shops situated around the Minster - and has such a quaint feeling to it! No.9 On The Green is situated just opposite the Minster itself, so you have a lovely view whilst sipping your cup of tea!  

 

When you walk into the cafe you are greeted by a counter choc full of yummy looking breads and baked tarts – they definitely got my tummy rumbling and ready for some lunch!

The decor in the cafe was just right up my street – very quaint and rustic. All of the tables had mismatched table lamps, fresh flowers and vintage books on them. It looked like a scene straight out of a Farrow & Ball catalogue!

I am more than happy to abide by these house rules!

It goes without saying that the food was delicious – we had soup which was served with freshly made crusty bread, and tasty paninis.

On the way out the OH couldn’t help himself but buy a huge crusty rosemary and olive loaf to take home – and it didn’t disappoint!

I know that the next time we are in Dorset we will definitely be making another trip to No. 9 On The Green – I just love to discover a new favourite!

Until next time,

K x

Cross Stitch Christmas Resolution

Last month marked the start of the Xfactor on TV again – a sure sign that Christmas is just around the corner! It’s just frightening how fast September to December usually goes in my world. I work in a shop which has a really big focus upon sales at Christmas which means late shifts, overtime and manic panic customer buying!

I LOVE Christmas – the sparkle, the family time, the snow outside the window, being curled up inside, and, of course the presents! I LOVE shopping and picking out things which I think people will love and I LOVE seeing what people have chosen for me!

 

It’s the only time of year when I like surprises. I LOVE the movies on TV, the mince pies and the cinnamon scented candles.

Woah, that’s alot of love!

Working in a shop full of grumpy customers who HATE having to spend their money on people they don’t like, HATE having to spend their days off trawling the shops with wet feet, HATE having to wait in a queue to be told the item they want is out of stock and HATE the Christmas songs being pumped at them from every direction has been a bit of shock the last few years.

Sometimes I think I can feel the Christmas spirit being dampened inside me. I think of myself as a positive person but there’s only so much a person can take. Last year was the worst as I only had one day off over Christmas, spent no time at all with family and friends - and what should have been such a memorable Christmas – the first one in our first home – ended up disappearing in the blink of an eye.

 

-----

I made a resolution to myself this year – to enjoy every moment of the festive season and to try to let criticism, anger and bad behaviour wash over me like water off a duck’s back.

Christmas went by so fast last year that I didn’t have time to whip up any festive creations to decorate my home, and relied upon shop bought decorations. This year I have started early with my first ever sampler.

It will sit pride of place over my mantelpiece and every time I see it I vow to stay positive and keep the Christmas spirit alive! I plan to create, create, create until my house is full of the handmade things which I jealously see on other people’s blogs!

Have you started any Christmas projects yet?

Until next time,

K x

Good ol' catch up

Happy October! Yes, I realise I’m a week late but my blogging mojo has left me recently. I’m not giving up though – I’m not forcing myself to feel inspired, rather I’m giving myself some time to catch up on life and letting my blogging side come back to me slowly.

I have recently discovered Instagram and I have been loving how quick and easy it is to snap away any time inspiration strikes me! I thought the best way to show you what I had been up to was to share my ‘pick of the pics’.

1.       I picked up this Hummingbird Bakery recipe organiser on a recent trip to my local charity shop for just 99p and it has been inspiring me to start baking again! 2. Jack hibernating indoors away from the Autumnal weather. 3. My favourite pic from my annual trip down South to visit my mum in Poole – proper post coming soon! 4. The start of my first Christmas project, which I began when I was Home Alone.

1.       My sister came back from New York with this gorgeous little make-up bag for me – what a lucky girl! 2. I met this beautiful Great Dane called Miss Zelda whilst visiting a friend of the OH...she was just the closest thing to a horse that a dog can be, but so gentle with it! 3. I had a serious plum craving last week, and ended up making a delicious frangipane plum tart - recipe courtesy of Jamie Oliver. 4. I visited a friend who has recently moved just a little way up the road to Gateshead, and we had a stroll into Newcastle. We had lunch and a little retail therapy and it was a perfect day out!

Until next time,

K x

A great big vintage style cross stitch project

Phew! I have just completed my biggest cross stitch project ever. I have been cross stitching for years, but most are mini projects which I make into cards or put into frames. This little beauty has taken me a few months, and more than a few trips to Hobbycraft for more supplies!

As soon as I saw this pattern in Cross Stitcher Magazine I knew that I wanted to make it. My granny has a stash of threads kept in an antique sewing box in her bedroom, and the last time I visited her I was lucky enough to be allowed to raid it to pick some colours to start off this latest project. I wanted the deep pink of the roses and the dark green leaves to stand out against a paler border. I decided to sew it on an antique off-white aida instead of crisp white because I think it gives it a more ‘lived-in’ vintage feel.

After I had finally finished stitching it I headed to the charity shops to find a square frame for it. The hunt for cheap square frames seems to be getting harder and harder recently – why are they so much less common than rectangular ones?! I finally found a pine frame and brought it home for a couple of coats of white emulsion before sanding it down for a distressed finish.

 

Currently it is sitting pride of place in front of the fireplace in our living room waiting for me to find the perfect space for it. I quite like the contrast of the pastel against the jet black stone of the fireplace but our lounge has a bit of a ‘Scottish hunting lodge’ theme – all tartan and wicker – so it isn’t quite right in this room.

What have you been up to this week?

Until next time,

K x

Home Alone

The other half has gone away for a few days to complete the coast to coast route by bike so I am home alone with only a cat and some goldfish to keep me company. I have four nights when I won’t have to fight for the covers or endure re-runs of Top Gear, and I have started to think – what on earth am I going to do?!

 

It seems so long ago when I had the whole house to myself – it was only back in February when he disappeared for a ski holiday – but it feels like forever ago. For the past few weeks I have been coming across jobs around the house and thinking “when I’m home alone I’ll do that...”, but now all of those ideas have just vanished from my head! As I lie starfish-shaped in the bed I have decided to make a list so that I won’t waste the little ‘me-time’ that I have to enjoy and tick things off as I achieve them.

Number one on the list is to watch Mad Men. I have wanted to watch it for years but always managed to miss it being shown on TV. We have just got Sky installed so I have recorded the first three series’ to watch and it is taking up SO. MUCH. SPACE on the planner that I have been told I will be in trouble if it’s all still there when the OH gets back. I am always seeing references to the amazing vintage outfits and hairstyles that the characters wear on the show so it is high time I settled down for a Mad Men day!

 

Buying a Country Home magazine and reading it cover to cover whilst lying on the sofa is definitely on my to-do list. I think I will have a bath that lasts for hours until I am as wrinkly as a prune, and then deep clean my wardrobe – decluttering from shoes to hairbands – and everything in between!

I have about a hundred cross stitch products started too...so I need to get some of those finished before I lose my mind. I have been meaning to start other types of needlecraft  beautiful crochet blankets and knitted cushion covers so perhaps I will have time to watch a YouTube tutorial or two.
 

Phew – I’m not sure I’m going to have enough time to get everything done!

What do you like to get up to when you have space and time all to yourself?!

Until next time,

K x

Fruits of our labour

This week has been all about fresh fruit in my household. After weeks of being tantalisingly green our homegrown tomatoes have finally ripened enough to eat – and they taste so good! These little beauties have been a real labour of love. They spent weeks on the kitchen windowsill requiring lots of gentle watering and transplanting into slightly bigger pots every few months.

At one point during the last few months you could barely move in the kitchen with all my teeny pots and trays of seedlings – much to the disgust of the OH.

Now that they are outside they are still taking some love to help them grow – they suddenly got huge very quickly and we needed hastily build a frame for them to climb up. They were worth all the care though, just to be able to bring them inside and have them as a little treat!

 

The OH and I were walking his family’s beautiful Border Collie last week when we discovered a massive hoard of brambles. Well, I’ve never been known to refuse a freebie so I got right in there. I filled every available carrier...err....yes even EMPTY UNUSED doggy bags. Don’t judge!

 When we got home we realised we had quite a lot of berries. About 3kgs. That’s a few berries. We decided the best way to use them up was to make tons of jam.

There are a few berries left so I have been looking at recipes online – apart from the obvious blackberry crumble – my favourites are blackberry sorbet and blackberry roulade.

Finally, the weekend involved more fruit – in the form of cocktails with some of the girls from work – a Strawberry Supernova counts as one of my five a day doesn’t it?

Until next time,

K x

Dirty little secret

Today I’m going to let you in on my dirty little secret. Here goes....

I hoard empty glass jars.

Ok that doesn’t seem so bad. I don’t know why I do it – although growing up my mum always said “it might come in useful one day”, so I think it has been engraved in my thoughts since the very beginning!

Much to the annoyance of the OH they DO come in useful!

 

Whether used for storing leftover food instead of a Tupperware, or as coin or button storage there are no limits to what an empty jar can do! OK maybe I am getting a little over excited there but I constantly have to justify why an entire shelf in the pantry is covered in empty jars and tins of all shapes and sizes!

This year we had a bit of a bumper crop of sweet peas. It’s amazing to think that the tiny seedlings which I looked after on the kitchen windowsill a few months ago have ended up in a wild, beautifully sweet smelling plant which has overgrown the wicker obelisk which we bought for it!

I read that sweet peas will continue to flower if the blooms are picked regularly, so it seemed like the perfect excuse to bring some of them indoors to brighten up the living room!

When I brought the delicate sweet peas indoors I discovered that my vases were all too big...

 

...but an empty Loyd Grossman sauce jar was perfection when filled with my sweet smelling blooms!

 

I just can’t help but smile when I look over at my mini vase!

Have you been hoarding anything this week?!

Until next time,

K x