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school never looked this good

Can you believe I used to go to school here? Needless to say, it didn't look anything like this when I was there. It was a run-down old mansion house, complete with the overgrown kitchen garden and tennis court.

They sold off the land a few years ago and turned the garden into a football pitch, which broke my heart. And the house is now for sale for a whopping £2.75 million!

The living room pictured below was one of the class rooms, and I can remember making a totem pole out of cereal boxes that towered up through the stairwell. When I first started primary school here, the first floor was occupied by a costume hire company. The lights were always off, and there were mannequins lining the stairs. Obviously I blame it for my fear of mannequins and statues!

(please excuse the tiny pictures - they are borrowed from the estate agent's website)

battle for a bargain

So, I'm back. Rome was amazing - and very hot. Even though we were only there for a few days, it has taken me ages to get back into routine.

We have had a quiet weekend, just pottering about the house and garden, which has been very nice. I didn't go to the car boot sale this morning as I was saving my energy for a special event later on in the day.

The local paper had been advertising a sale of Joules clothing. It was a sale of catalogue returns, in aid of charity. I have had my eye on a dress for a while now, so thought I would see if I could get a bargain.

I knew it would be busy, but oh my goodness. It was held in a garage (I think in the salesroom/reception area), with clothes piled on tables and a few hanging racks. It was absolutely jam packed with women. Let's just say that you don't come between posh women and reduced Joules clothing. There was pushing and snatching going on everywhere. There were a few little kids there, who were almost getting trampled. And it was so hot. Not a good combination.

I tried on the dress I wanted, but it didn't look very good. Instead, I got this:



As it was a catalgue return, one of the seams had come apart, but nothing that couldn't be sewn up (which I have just done, very messily!). It wasn't a huge bargain, but I have been wanting a new summer dress for a while, and do like it a lot.

After that I had to come home and have a sit down!

lots of love

Realising that my last post was a bit gloomy, here are some things I love this week:

* Buying new pyjamas (in the sale) - even though it is the summer, and will be too hot to wear them for a few months.

* Choosing which books to take on holiday - this can keep me happy for days. The current front runners are Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman and Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor.

* Watching an entire series of a favourite programme in one go.

* Scones with strawberries and cream on my favourite plates.



And I will sneak in a couple of not-so-good things:
* Discovering that a favourite charity shop has closed.
* Car boot sale vendors that have an attitude when people try to haggle.
* Trying to work out how to spell pyjamas - it doesn't look right.

a day out in... norwich

What a fantastic bank holiday weekend. I really needed that extra day, and made the most of the weekend. As always, I am so sad it is over, and really didn't want to go back to work. Does anyone?!

We hit three car boot sales and quite a few charity shops this weekend. And they were some of the best ever! I got some amazing stuff - things I have been looking for for a while, and some others that are a bit strange (but I love them)! I haven't got round to taking pictures yet, as there are so many to take! But I will do soon, promise.

On Saturday we went to Norwich. It's about two hours away from where we live, so was a bit of a trek. But it was worth it. What a fantastic place! There are beautiful buildings, lots of museums, fantastic shops and lovely walks. And it was a gorgeous drive across Norfolk to get there. We only scratched the surface, and will have to arrange another trip back soon.

We started off with a walk along by the river, and round the back of the cathedral.

Past this enormous building, covered in ivy and wisteria. It houses the Print Museum. It is only open one afternoon a week, so we weren't able to go in, but I had a peek through the window at the lovely printers trays and blocks.

Then we hit the shops. There is a great mixture of high street stores and independent shops, and some lots of lovely cafes and restaurants.

But my favourite shop was this one: The Treasure Chest Centre.



It was essentially my dream shop. Full of everything you could possibly think of.

Can you see the rocking horse outside? Just behind it in the window is a rocking reindeer!

I only took one picture inside, which doesn't do it justice. There were tables of jewelry, piles of old ice skates, telephones, buttons, clothes, crockery, books, and so on, and so on. And there was a warehouse out the back full of furniture. It was beautifully displayed too. It wasn't themed at all, not by colour or subject, but it was cohesive, rather than just piles of stuff everywhere. Um, not that it appears so in this picture!



It was all a bit too much for me! Everything I had been keeping an eye of for in the charity shops was there, unfortunately at ten times the price (although it wasn't overly-expensive, just that I like a bargain). Rather than my dream place to shop in, it is my dream shop to own. Can you imagine it being your job to find all this?

What else did I do? I made some cookies, which are fast becoming one of my favourite recipies. We also did some jobs that have been hanging round for ages. S fitted his old CD player in my car, so I can now listen to my own choice of music. I am sure there will still be plenty of Radio 2, but its good to know the CDs are there when they are needed. One of the best things I did was tidy the airing cupboard! Very dull for everyone else, but I feel so much better now!

Back soon with pictures of the treasures!

bird song

Singing (and posing) for us as we walked home from dinner.

blackboards in unlikely places

Blackboards are all over the design websites and magazines these days (have they been and gone, in fact?).

On Sunday I saw a novel alternative to painting your fridge door - how about the hood of your car!

In the very glamorous location of outside Sainsburys, up pulled an old red Escort-type car, complete with boy-racer driver. Unfortunately the blackboard had boy-racer type comments all over it (complete with 'rude' words), so no pictures were taken!

Picture from Living Etc

easter weekend

Easter weekend was spent with family in Hampshire.

S and I grabbed a few hours on our own to go for a walk. St Cross is one of my favourite parts of Winchester. The meadows and abbey are so beautiful, and I have a lot of happy memories of sunny days spent there as a child.

We decided to have a picnic on my favourite bench. It turned out to be a picnic (and a walk) in the rain. We were having a lovely time, eating our cheese sandwiches, and watching the cows and horses.

Then someone got a bit inquisitive.

And a bit more...



So we slowly moved out of his way.

But he wasn't giving up, and followed us round the corner.

We made our way back into town, past the Winchester College buildings - this part of town is hidden away from the main streets, and feels very old fashioned.





At the Cathedral, they have a regular book stall, tucked away under cover. For some reason, I have never had a look at it before, but it was fantastic. I didn't buy anything, but spent a pleasant 10 minutes browsing.

thrifting on a sunny saturday

What a lovely weekend, particularly Saturday. Much of the day was spent sat in the garden, catching up on magazines. It was so peaceful, and so relaxing. Just what I had been craving for the last few weeks.

I made a trip into town in the afternoon, to have a look round the charity shops. I wasn't having much luck, and decided on a whim to get the candle stick and tin mug in the picture. The mug was 30p, and the candle stick was £1.50. The lady behind the counter added them up and said "£1.80. So that's 90p please."
Ok, I thought, handing over my pound coin. Only to get 1p back in change.
So did I get a bargain, or did I lose money? I really can't decide!



Anyway, after a good wash, the blue glass candle stick is lovely and shiny. And the mug can go with my other tin mug and bowls, which hold all the 'bits and pieces' in the bathroom.

But, what's that in the background of the photo? Only one of the best thrifting bargains I've scored for a while. There was an advert in the local paper last week for a 'Thrift Shop' being held at a local village. Apparently the organisers were 'keen to stress it is not a jumble sale', and it was in a very posh village, so I wasn't holding out much hope for any bargains. But I was intriuged, and dragged S along for the 10am opening time.





It was held in the Methodist Chapel, and on walking in there were piles of books spread out on the pews. The rest of the sale was in a room upstairs, and I spied this blanket straight away. It's huge (would fit a double bed) and really well made. I've seen similar blankets in charity shops before, but they are always very expensive (which is fair enough, considering the amount of work that goes into making them) and normally include some hideous colours.
I was told this one was made a a lady in the village. The price? £2
It's now gracing the back of our sofa, and looking very at home.

bye bye winter

For spring is on it's way.

duck tales

On Tuesday mornining, these lovely things met me as I left the front door.



Yesterday morning, in the same spot, there were three of them.
Maybe there will be four today?

Has the book started something?