time on your hands

Love these hand painted wooden clocks- tough tattooed sailor, cute blue knitted jumper or um, veins and arteries...

There's also hand painted wooden figures, houses and my favourite- volcanoes!





All to be found at Sandra Eterovic's shop here

at home with the Sun King

What's your decorating vibe? A little bit of gold, a teeny bit of marble, a few statues, a dash of glass and perhaps a tinkle of chandelier? I think you'll feel very at home in Versailles...

Well thanks so much for the guided tour Louis XIV, we love what you've done with the place! What? yes, yes, the gardens are lovely too, definitely like that pond thing you've constructed out back, and all those little garden buildings are just the ticket. What's that Louis? You hear music? Why yes, Louis, I hear music too...let me see isn't that the Beatles...dum, di dum,  you say you want a revolution...yes, catchy little number isn't it...

le weekend

We spent the weekend in Paris with friends. It was a heavenly combination of mild Parisian infused sunshine, lots of laughter, food and wine, window shopping along with some sight seeing thrown in for good measure. Ah oui, la vie est belle!

Next post is Versailles in all its gilded glory!

the best is yet to come

happy st. valentine's day to you!

I heart Alice Pattullo's work

goose weather

We've just had a flurry of snowflakes. The sky was leaden and the temperature had dropped and then all of a sudden the snow fell, covering the garden and the emerging Spring bulbs snoozing in their pots. It reminds me of this wonderful poem and evocative illustration by the great Shirley Hughes

                     

just because

Just because it's February and things are still a bit grey and blustery it doesn't mean we can't have something a little floral, a little Spring like, a little colourful to remind ourselves that the gloom will pass, eventually. Actually in the garden some bulbs are already peeking through the soil and the snowdrops are out so it's not all a lost cause and today there is sunshine enough to hang some winter woollens outside to dry.

The lovely paintings are by Scottish painter William George Gillies, and I for one wouldn't mind that white cottage by the sea with flowers filling every vase, pot and jug to ease those winter blues.