Frame that picture!

Making Memories count
This is an Instagram photo I took whilst on holiday in New York City, its just one of the memories that we both love, its destination will be our bedroom, I ordered a 12x12 print of it and found the perfect frame to put it in

I was going to keep it pine but I think adding a pop of colour has really added to it.
I used Frenchic Hot as Mustard, this is my new go to paint as I love their colour range and ease of use, so expect to see a few more projects popping up here

Home - Decluttering and making our spaces work for us

I'm easily stressed by the amount of clutter that seems to accumulate in our home! I have a good splurge then its like its all back again. Living with all boys I find it difficult to put too much of a feminine stamp on the rooms!
I woke up one morning and thought enough was enough, the boys are back at school, the husband works odd hours, I'm now working part time and also trying to run my own small business, things needed to change.
The best way I imagined was room by room, I made notes (I love lists!) about each room and what their primary function was and decided on a plan, one that I thought I could share as I go along

I started with some downstairs spaces, just totally gutting, deep cleaning and decluttering them
From the front porch, hall stairs and landing, living room and understairs cupboard I've managed to fill 3 bags full for donating

Our living room feels calmer and more cosy, our porch more welcoming, the stairs clear and the storage space actually useable
I still want to add some decorative accessories here and there and I'm always on the search for the perfect sideboard in the living room (one day I'll find it)

I'm all for simpler living, having a budget and I donate all of my decluttering to an amazing charity 'Emmaus'

Cheering up a dreary day!

Sunday was wet! very very wet! there was a huge downpour for most of the day!
The boys were happy playing on games and watching movies, I was happy (not) cleaning and tidying up the home!
So to cheer up my space I thought I'd share the pretty floral delights in our hallway! showing the downpour behind it!

The Hallway

We're redocrating our hallway again as we felt it was a quick job to update it when we moved in but was far too dark
So we've stripped off wallpaper (finding a vintage wallpaper printed on the wall), ripped up the carpet and re plastered the walls

I chose a natural colour for the walls to brighten up this area and we got some decorators in to do the job for us as late nights in from work it just wasnt going to happen anytime soon
I cant wait to show off this space, its so much more inviting...

Home Storage!

Theres not many storage cubby holes in this house! I have nowhere to hide my larger cleaning items!

As part of my simpler living I decided to totally declutter under the stairs and make it into a useable space for what I needed!
Everything came out! The cupboard went back in which has all of our dvds and cds in (ones that we seriously cannot bear to part with!)
There was so much in there that I quite literally did not know where to start! but I started with bags! donate, rubbish and keep!
It worked! only what we needed went back in with plenty of space for my hoover, ironing board and happily the ironing basket too

Dont get me wrong, its not a pretty space! but it is a pretty darn useable space and thats what matters isnt it!

I've been using this new space for some weeks now to make sure it really did work before I posted it on here, well its certainly worked for me so now I wont be getting stressed falling over the hoover and mop bucket all the time will I!

Therefore helping towards my simpler lifestyle, and believe it or not I had a large recycling bag of rubbish, and two bags of home items for the charity shop just from this small space!!!

Simpler Life - Family Room

I decided to start decluttering properly, I looked in each room and thought about its purpose and how it was used
I started with the living room!

 Living with a welder means when we see metal artwork its generally a must have purchase!

 Who needs dozens of cushions on a sofa when you have a fluffy shih tzu pooch!

This is our tv room, our family room, our huddle in the evening room, we still need a few more essentials like a large mirror above the fire place and more family photos (on new unit once found)
We still havent found the perfect unit for in the alcove but until then a retro table will do, as this always end up as my home craft corner as its kind of out of sight (sometimes!)

Our nintendo wii hadnt been used for so long so I donated it to my gorgeous niece who was more than happy to rehome it, on the plus side when we visit we have something fun to all take part in

I feel decluttered in this room! Its made me feel very happy! very happy indeed!

Simpler way of life

..without losing the techno geekery!!

Does that even make sense!
Sometimes I just wish for a simpler life!
Pleasure when cooking, eating at the table, baking our desserts, creating a family but relaxing garden, a healthy home (I can feel a BIG declutter coming on), washing drying on the line, walking to my studio and work, the boys happy at school, 'simply' pushing them a little further with homework!

Is it a routine Im crying out for!
Less Stress (we all want this surely)
Is it a make do and mend lifestyle that I'm aching for
Can it be achieved even though we still have techno geekery in the house like games consoles and mobile phones!

After spending the school summer holidays at home and no routine in place this could be why i'm aching for something easier and more organised
After spending 10 days in France travelling, relaxing, camping and having fun this could be why i'm aching for more family time

Its not like all of the above doesnt happen, sadly it just doesnt happen enough, life gets in the way in many forms which stops the simpler life from emerging

I need to change this
I am going to change this
This will happen...

Tiny Stitches...

...and lots of them
Its a job to be honest I've been putting off for sometime!
When we moved into this house (*cough* 3 years ago) the curtains were left here, there a beige suede effect and really match the room and I like how they fall to the floor, the big but though is that they were dragging on the floor and it was quite annoying!

So I got my pins out (finally) and needle and thread and set to it!
I couldnt afford to have them turned up professionally and there was no way I was attempting to do it on my sewing machine either! So just a simple turn up is what it called for

and voila, oh my goodness, I really should have done that sooner!

Are you putting a simple but tedious job off! Arm yourself with needle and thread and strong cup of tea and a spare hour and it could be over x

Rubbish into Storage!

Oh my goodness, since we re done our kitchen, our under sink storage has never been the same! Due to having more piping underneath it meant I lost the shelf! Now you'd think this wouldnt be a huge problem, but honestly its a nightmare!

On my recent trip to Ikea, I got told about these Variera shelves and oh my goodness my life and cupboard situation has changed!

As you can see I recycle where I can for containers, the washing tablets I use are perfect for storage for batteries, tealights etc As for that gap, thats a cat food shop that needs doing!
All I can say is, I need to go back and buy more, many many more!!!
Thank you IKEA

The Festive Home

A tummy bug hit our house over the eve and day of christmas, I was super poorly on the eve and towards the end of christmas day my man came down with it! In all honesty we're both still a little fragile now!
We still managed to have a great day with family, good food, relaxing, watching movies, snacking on food and lots of cuddles from the boys

The scent of flowers in the home always make me smile, its quite rare I get a bouquet the size of this one!!!

Remember the Jumper I fixed for a customer, you can see the post here , well there was me expecting some supermarket flowers and in she walked with these and I'll be honest I was choked (I'd had a rough morning with a bad anxiety attack and these just totally made my day)

The addition of the butterfly is just beautiful

Den Building

Den building is super fun I remember doing it so much when I was little
Riley was a little out of sorts yesterday so to cheer him up we threw blankets here there and everywhere and came up with a little den with cushions and a duvet, in front of the tv so he could snuggle up, drink juice, eat an icecream and play hide and seek in

By the end of the day I could have happily curled up in it and fell to sleep

The weeks are certainly flying by now, only 2 and half weeks of the summer holidays left so trying to make them count
I've been busy this week redecorating my big boys bedroom whilst he was away, he loved the colours when he came home!
Heres a peek,

Still have a few bits left to get and finish off then I can wait to share how I turned my pink crafty studio into a soon to be teenage boys bedroom!

The sun is set to shine this week so we will be out and about as much as we can!

New Bathroom!

We're working on installing a new bathroom at the moment! Hopefully the main parts like plastering and fitting the new bath, sink and toilet will be done so we can then decorate!
Currently we are living like this!

eeeek

kitchen makeover - during

Its been a while and its not really a workdesk, but i'm getting there.

My kitchen table, whilst waiting for the studio to be finished is now in the conservatory looking like this!!!Due to having this done yesterday!Our new kitchen/diner, well I know its not finished but I'm so excited, having the wall removed has made the room soooo much lighter and I can already picture how its going to look when its finished with a new kitchen and new furniture, not for some time though as we're saving up and doing it in stages.
Although I walked into the kitchen this morning and let out a little squeak of excitement when I saw it all again

By the way, the poles are still there because we have to add a shorter beam to the end of another one! Everytime we try and do something in this house something rears its ugly head to try and defeat us, this time it was pipes in the way!Thanks to a friend we escaped to her house whilst all this was been done as Riley and Wicket arent too good with loud noises!Do you join in with WOYWW, hello if you do, and if you dont, do pop along to Julias blog she's quite funny you know :) x

Porch - Makeover

Our porch is tiny but a great place to chuck shoes and hang coats and keep the clutter out of the house.
I begged my Mum to give me this old cupboard as it was just hiding under her stairs as I knew it would fit and be perfect for a shoe cupboard, but this needed a little makeover too

*before*

I used some eggshell paint and some of the olive paint for the door inserts, added a couple of new door handles. Its not a perfect makeover but I didnt want to take away the fact that it is old

*after*

The porch itself needed a little makeover (as does every room in this house) but since we've moved in its just felt really cold to me, so I used a lovely warm 'Olive Green' colour and white around the window and door to allow some more light in.I bought this picture a couple of years ago and couldnt wait to finally use it, its one of my favourites purely for the quote 'Love who you are'
Hopefully the next room I show you will be my studio!!!