Calling it Winter

Don't. Do NOT tell me it's not winter. Do NOT tell me that it's still autumn! Look outside - what do you see? That's right, a big ice cold popsicle of awful for you to chew on. Whatever it is technically, I'm calling it - winter is on, and so too is the game of how to survive it.

Number one? Twinkly lights. Who could not find joy in a twinkly light or twenty? A black hearted psychopath, that's who. Last year I didn't put any up and it's safe to say it impacted my mood. So. Come hell or high water when I call winter? It's twinkly light time.

I shall refrain myself from full-on wreathe putting-up and candles everywhere phase until there is a December in the date, but by God, come the 1st - it's grotto time.

No, we do not celebrate xmas or solstice; I am just finding ways to add beauty in this, the season that tests me the most.

Evenings

Evenings. Where to distinguish night from day in this gloom?

The sun barely scrapes the horizon, the zenith is mere inches off the ground and I'm finding that at about 2.30 the light is so bad it's time to switch lamps on and call it a day. I will never get used to this. I tread the waters of winter; I hardly thrive in it. But. If you're going to have to live with something for a while, might as well make it pretty and seek the beauty in it, right?

A cosy fire, some blankets, hot chocolate or elderflower cordial, some books to inspire and a quiet, q u i e t, evening with nothing to do except dream and plan.

I'll take it.

Shifting Corners

I don't have the luxury of being able to shift furniture around my large sitting room, because, well, I don't HAVE a large sitting room, and pretty much the way the furniture works now is due to necessity rather than aesthetics. And don't you get just a little fed up of seeing people furnish their house with just one. more. chair. for the heck of it? I know I do - because, goodness, how I love to re-arrange a room with the best of them!

Not to be outdone I do the next best thing - I rearrange corners. Yes, I can just about manage a corner or two in this tiny two bedroom mid-terrace. A new picture in a frame, an ornament moved from there to there, perhaps a new cushion or a rearranging of the blankets if I want to go all-out crazy.

I dream of bigger - of having ALL the couches of my dreams in one room, just so (I do love me a good couch and daydream a lot about them). But until then, corners will suffice.

Yes, as we move into the season of being indoors, a few new corners feels just right.

And finally...

I think these are the last of the DIY paint blog posts. I think. I might get the urge to do some more, but for now, I'm all painted out.

This lamp base was green faux marble, thrifted with the intention of painting. At last it is done. All that remains is to buy a proper lampshade and add doilies (yes, why not?). Because this lamp is a bit of a granny chic lamp, I think. She needs doilies to finish her off and make her feel special. (Apologies again for Orla overload).

And this little beauty was calling for a spruce up... a drop spindle who has laid dormant and forgotten since the wheel has been put to use. But a lick of paint, some lipstick and eyeshadow and she's all ready to bat her eyelashes at me and call me over to the dark side of spindling once again. Who could resist the allure of a spruced up spindle?

Just Because

And whilst we have the paint out, why not paint a couple jars, add a decal, hide the screw lid with some lace and call it a vase for good measure? They will look nice on the table outdoors and add a splash of colour inside too. Why not.

My Biggest Fans

These heinous, sun-faded, thrifted, dust-ridden, crimes against good taste that had been sitting in the boys' room for longer than I care to think about were destined for the charity bag or bin. I didn't much care which. Because being beyond fugly makes it OK to dispense with things in my book.

But then. There was that nagging voice in my head 'waste is the biggest sin', and I really do not like wasting perfectly useable things. It makes me tetchy even thinking about it. But I did so want something shiny and preferably not fugly... what to do?

And then Pinterest saved the day. Again. Paint! What was I thinking?! Of course, paint. Always paint.

A quick trip to the DIY store to buy aqua spray paint resulted (due to the fact that I took the boys and there was no aqua spray paint) in this - slightly better than heinous - gold fans. "We can pretend they're trophies, mummy!". Hm.





I know for a fact that one day these will be aqua. I'm just biding my time...

My Floor

The boys had a retro moment last week, and literally the entirety of my sitting floor was one whole farm yard. And I didn't have the heart to clear it away. Not just because it is probably the closest thing to my own farm I'll ever likely own, but because no matter how cluttered it gets, wooden toys never look ugly.

morning : evening

Morning to evening, two ends of the day. A little tired at both. Some sitting with a little tea and company; a little knitting; a little time between chores to sit and reflect. Small moments can contain such promise. It's fleeting on some days, but there alright.

Out of Room

Don't worry. This isn't going to be another long diatribe about insanely small my house is, but just one small gasp of pure helplessness at how I literally have run out of space for books.

I am packed to the rafters. I am out of ideas. If you ever visit and it takes ten minutes to open the door, forgive me, but I am moving furniture to get to you, and you may have to sit on a pile of books instead of a chair if you even make it indoors.



Carry on.