The Money Pit

Stair project

2011-09-19T13:21:00.001-07:00

Okay, okay I have been really remiss in not posting any house updates since the kid was born but I am determined to get into it again. Especially as we are about to start on a new phase of works and I need to catch up on what's changed since last July!!

Okay between May and November 2010 there was the small matter of a small person that landed in our lives and dropped the bomb of never sleeping for more than two hours at a time. Which sounds a dream during the day and prior to having a baby I thought that wee ones sleep muchly so I would be able to, blissfully, get on with the numerous house projects while my little ray of sunshine slumbered away. Well it didn't exactly pan out like that...although she slept a fair bit in the day her snoozes were filled with me trying to retain some semblance of order and housewifery between THE CONSTANT FEEDING and THE WASHING MOUNTAIN....man they can eat and poo those newborns.

Anyhoo, after 6 months of shattered sleep, we eventually started to come out the other side and as an early Christmas present, in a wave of "wow our baby can sleep, let's make sure we put measures in place to never disturb her again" fervour (which included nailing down floorboards, installing black out blinds and oiling doors) t'husband arranged for our stair carpet to be fitted.

Looking at this picture, the non-carpeted stairs look quite nice....they weren't! If they had looked anything like this I would have kept them as they were.

And below is the new carpet....

Seems like a small project but seeing as we had to decorate the stairs and entire landing before it was fitted, this was the pay off.

Isn't it funny how some twinkly, sparkly lights make everything not only brighter but better!

An extremely belated Happy Christmas...

The reason nothing on the house is getting done...

2010-07-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

The Bedroom Project

2010-04-23T06:32:00.000-07:00

So we have spent the last few weekends trying to get a few projects completed before the arrival of the baby. Weekends in March and April have largely been overtaken by the Bedroom Project, the Nursery Project and the Downstairs WC Project.

Here is the low down on the Bedroom Project. This is it emptied of furniture. The front wall needed to be re plastered as the plaster hadn't been applied properly before and had lifted away from the wall.

The removal of the radiator in order to facilitate the plastering nearly led to the Replacement of the Living Room Ceiling project but luckily we managed to catch that little disaster before it became..well.. too disastrous.

Here is the removal of the old plaster and t'husband doing what he does best, project managing, which admittedly looks a lot like watching and chatting...

And the new plaster in progress. Love a bit of smooth plaster which is good as this wall took forever to dry. A good few weeks....

Then there was the sanding. Oh sanding how I hate thee...which is why t'husband did it.

Essential tools of the sanding trade. Paper, mask, ample supply of warm brews accompanied by lots of encouraging words...

I didn't photograph the next stage but between the sanding and the wiring was the wood worming. Apparently, the fumes are not good for a woman in my condition! Then there was the wiring. I am so impressed that I have a husband with all these rad skills.

Then there was a painting which was something I could help with. However, painting skirting boards at 35 weeks pregnant leads to all sort of contortions.

And finally there was the fitting of the carpet and the reinstalling of the furniture. So a few days of plastering, a few weeks for plaster to dry, several weekends of sanding, wood worming, wiring, painting and carpet shopping and that is our bedroom...DONE!*

*With the exception of a new light, some bedside tables and putting pictures up.

And from looking at this, it's just in time...

And none of this would have been possible without the skills, patience and hard work of a good and loving man. I am indebted to t'husband who promised me all along I would have a bedroom ready for when the baby arrived. You totally rock and I love you....

What Goes Up...

2010-01-12T10:49:00.001-08:00

To burn off some of the copious amounts of calories consumed over Christmas, our kind friends the O'Neills asked us to come and spend some time with them in the Lakes. They suggested a bit of skiing which I couldn't, unfortunately, take part in due to the passenger I am now carrying that makes these things difficult. So they suggested a nice walk and some fun in the snow with a stop for tea and cake after.

What I didn't realise was that the 'walk' was more akin to a hike. A three hour hike, up a hill, at 25 weeks pregnant with nary a toilet in sight...toileting issues (or lack thereof) aside we had a marvellous day. The weather was amazing...

The terrain challenging...

...enough to feel a sense of achievement at the top...

And the views were immense enough to warrant catalogue style posing...

But what goes up must come down and the descent was precarious and hilarious. I ended up deciding it was safer to scooch down on my bum, rather than risk slipping and falling. Anyway, I lifted my heels off the floor at the top for milliseconds and before I knew it was sliding high speed down the peak with no real means of stopping…all I could hear was t'husband screaming from the top of the hill ‘Who let the pregnant woman go first!?’ I eventually managed to anchor myself with a walking pole after sliding about 70 metres. Scare-larious…

Due to high jinx above, I was made to follow t'husband down the hill as he slipped and slid in his inadequate for ice, snow and descent shoes. Mrs O'N and I tried hard to contain our giggles at his flailing arms and legs but failed. Was exhausted with laughing by the bottom…

A brilliant day...

Christmas in Pictures...

2010-01-08T05:13:00.001-08:00

There was snow to get us dreaming of a white Christmas...

Gifts!...

Decorations...

Preparations.
Including cooking for the 5,000...

Seating the 5,000....

Eating....

With family (the aforementioned 5,000)...

Drinking...
With friends...

Visits...from family....
After this young lady below visited...

..and wore an apron so charmingly, helped to not only cook breakfast but also clear away afterwards and paid due attention to the man of the house t'husband decided he wants a girl...!

There were also visits from friends and friends' young families...

All rounded off with another flurry of snow...
A really, really lovely Christmas and thoughts now turn to what the new year will bring...good times!

Christmas House...

2009-12-23T02:47:00.000-08:00

Although, this is not the first time that we have seen The Money Pit blanketed in snow, it is the first time since it has felt like a proper home. The weekend we moved in, back in Feb, it was snowing too. That was a fun weekend! We had spent 3 days packing and shifting our wordly goods, and another week or so making good Eliza, and were leaving our warm, snug little house that we had made home over the last 10 years, for this monster. It was cold, actually it was freezing, empty and the size of the task ahead was a little intimidating. However, by Sunday evening we were in. The bed was made, the fire lit and the first of a few warming whiskies had been drunk and I was able to appreciate why we liked this monster so much.

The move would not have happened without a mammoth effort from t'husband and an intrepid bunch of helpers that I am still beyond grateful to, who not only did all of the heavy lifting but also had to prevent t'husband's wife from going into complete meltdown at numerous stages of the move. Thanks Dave, Graham and Rob - you all totally rock.

Just under a year down the line, although the task is still large, the Money Pit (despite living up to its name) , is no longer a monster. Even though we are still in a bit of a pickle, shopping for pretty stuffs (and even some essential stuffs) seems still to be a long way off, we couldn't be happier. I mean how could you not love a place that looks like this...

I wonder what 2010 will bring for The Money Pit. I suspect the projects may be smaller but will also, in their own way, be significant due to that other project we are also working on. You know the one that looks something like this....
Expect a host of nursery pictures in the new year. 2010 is going to be exciting....

It's (nearly) Christmas....

2009-12-22T02:57:00.001-08:00

What with all the snow, a stack of wood in the cellar for the cold nights, (non-alcoholic) mulled wine ready for mulling and the tree decorated it is feeling very festive at The Money Pit. I am lucky enough to have two trees this year which is an extravaganse in these lean times but we are entertaining a bit over the festive season and I am hoping that pretty trees will detract from the lack of carpets and soft furnishings and the chilliness...

There's something about the warm glow of of fairy lights that makes a home feel cozy even when it is -5 outside. I was watching Nigella's Christmas last night and she goes fairy light crazy but with a load of fairy lights you need little other adornment. Can't deck my halls with fairy lights, but I am going to buy up a large supply of candles.

I just hope I can make it home tonight to enjoy it all. It's really coming down out there...

Festive coveting...

2009-11-20T10:29:00.000-08:00

These...

Coveting...

2009-11-04T07:56:00.001-08:00

I have long known about Anthropologie from reading US design and interiors blogs and was sad that they didn't have a store in the UK (although you can order some things online). They have now opened a store in that London (oh please come to Manchester) which seemed a bit of a trek to go shopping even though I was sure that it would be my kind of place...

...London here I come!

Walls...

2009-11-04T07:50:00.000-08:00

A while ago my mum went through her linen closet and gave me some lovely linen sheets as well as a few crochet doily kind of things. Not sure of their name (anyone?) They are very pretty and intricate but I wasn't sure about using them on tables etc as they might look a bit twee.

I have also been looking for some artwork for our main bathroom (it is a monochromatic scheme) so when I saw this, it gave me the answer to both of these questions. Now I just need to make a trip to Ikea for some inexpensive frames, buy some black paper and I will have some new 'art'. A creative project that is within even my limited capabilities...

If I wasn't already married...

2009-10-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

...then I would love to live with these people. They like so many of the same things that I do. I love the framed tea labels, peonies, welsh blankets, vintage caravans, galvanised tubs for planting...

Dressers, tea cups, leather chairs and vintage looking linens...

And I suppose if I was married to those people, I might have lots of lovely things but I guess I wouldn't have this, the loveliest of things...

How to be a domestic goddess when you haven't a kitchen...

2009-10-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a fair bit about kitchens. Mainly as ours is more than a little make shift. We have some nice built in cupboards (see above right) and of course a dishwasher (I am officially in love with the dishwasher and do not know how I lived for so long without one in my life) but the remainder of the kitchen is more than a little makeshift. We have a sink unit that was left (uninstalled) by the previous owners mortgage company. I suspect with a nod to making the house 'habitable', a fridge and freezer kindly sold to us at a bargain price by a friend (hi Gem) which is covered with a random piece of worktop which we found in the garage and holds the toaster, microwave and more importantly the coffee machine. We did splash out on the fancy new cooker above (hello handsome) as I refused to cook on a camping stove for many a month. And then the same lovely lady that sold us the fridge and freezer also donated a cupboard and dining table (for free!!) that make up the rest.

It's funny really as for years my mum had a mismatch of fitted cupboards, a dresser and a random cupboard unit completed with a dining table and a muddle of chairs so I think I am definitely from my mothers school of kitchen design. Eventually though she managed to get some new doors and smartened it all up with a lick of paint, new handles and a nice worktop and it is lovely and has always been warm and welcoming and sociable. My aunt always talks fondly of dancing in my mum's kitchen on New Year's Eves and I love the thought of that in ours....

Anyway, the central heating 'project' gobbled up the kitchen budget as quickly as it gobbles gas. Well according to t'husband it must gobble gas as despite it being a lot cooler now, we are still not allowed the heating on. I have to make do with lighting the fire which is lovely if you don't leave the living room and when I do, I have to carry a hot water bottle with me like a purse. Anyhoo, the lack of any cash for a kitchen only makes me covet them more. Here are a few of my faves.

Love the pantry cupboard and that it's not too 'slick'

Love that the cupboards and the table were obviously something else before they were a kitchen and look well used...oh and the sink and the tiles...

Love the open shelves (cake stands!) but I think t'husband wants to keep everything low level...

There seems to be 'a look' developing....

Love the dresser and the lights and the chairs...

We have a clock like this so scoorrrre...

Don't think we'll get the dog but still love it...

Lovely table and a muddle of chairs..more nice lights...another great pantry cupboard...

Seems I am branching as I love grey painted units too (note to self: F&B Charleston Gray) and the work station / free standing counter.

Despite the largely monochromatic schemes of the kitchens above am also drawn to the bright colours below. All removable items so I guess I can add these if I feel the need for colour...

Oh sinky sink, please be mine...

A coffee altar....nuff said and also stainless draws....

Pretty much all pictures from Livingetc

Next steps. Purchase lottery ticket and/or find (free) cupboards that would suffice and make friends with a carpenter willing to work for free...easy!

Why the DIY might not be progressing..

2009-10-05T09:10:00.001-07:00

...as quickly as it should. We have got caught up in this again a few weekend over the past few weeks.

Hope Series 2 Lee Quarry - Race 2 - Sept 2009 from Richard Drake on Vimeo.

But despite helping organise and attend the races we have a few things done at The Moneypit which I hope to blog about soon. Just need to recharge the camera....

Coveting....

2009-09-25T10:29:00.001-07:00

Found on HomeShoppingSpy - where else!

The person who designed this obviously thinks very much like me! But I think coffee might come first for me. Perhaps I could place it above the aforementioned fireplace. I already have the typewriter (thanks to Aly and Jolly - how are you guys? Long time no see).

The teapot (or is it a coffee pot?) is very similar to one that my mum's Thai friend Pom used to use when we would visit her as children and she would make us delicious (and I thought very exotic) Earl Gray tea from leaves not bags. Her house always smelt delicious. And being from abroad and probably not used to the British weather she had wonderful heated, parquee floors which to a chilly individual like myself were amazing and obviously way ahead of their time compared to normal UK houses.

Fireplaces...

2009-09-25T10:08:00.001-07:00

Livingetc

A fair few fireplaces were taken from Church View when it was repossessed so we are trying to put them back. I am now on the hunt to find something to fill the hole that remains in one of the spare bedrooms. Until we have that in place we can't really move on in here. Here (and t'husband take note should you be ebaying) are a few of my faves...

Also Livingetc

I also love the bowback chair above...

Seems with the exception of the last one, all we really need is a mantle, maybe a fire basket and a builder willing to take on the job.

Love on a post-it...

2009-09-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

Just because...

The Cuddleston Wedding Extravaganza - part 2

2009-09-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

So after a few days relaxing, eating, gently familiarising ourselves with our surroundings, eating and getting to know one another but mainly eating before we knew it it was the night before the wedding. Abi's brother and dad with the help of some of the other chaps prepared all the food for a pre-wedding BBQ. How Italian is this?

I was too busy eating to take photos of the food but believe me it was so, so good.. fresh fish, salads of various sorts, meats, and some rather hot roasted chillies t'husband insisted on eating and then regretted all followed by gelato of course. Anyhoo, here are the lovely couple still looking mighty relaxed the evening before. I think Abi looks super happy, mainly, as she has persuaded me to spend the last night as a single women with her and that is a treat for anyone!

Anyway, the day of the wedding dawned bright and beautiful with Abs throwing back the shutters and shouting 'It's my wedding day' rather too loudly for the early hour. This declaration of extreme importance was swiftly followed by the equally important 'Is it too early to open the Haribo?"

Matt had taken a more practical (and perhaps sensible) approach to dealing with wedding morning jitters. Instead of calming his nerves with a hit of sugar (!), he decided to wash the wedding car. The sight of something so beautiful clothed in white must have been a trial run for the day ahead...here she is. It makes you misty eyed doesn't it?

And Abi didn't scrub up too badly either! The headgear...

The flowers....

The boys in all their handsomeness...anyone else thinking that the Italians aren't the only ones with natty dress sense...

The calm before the storm....so lovely....(thanks for this one Nick)

The proud and also very lovely mum...

And then it was off the the ceremony. Twas a bit of a worry as we got separated from the convoy and only had very limited directions and even more limited grasp of the lingo and I am sure Matt could really have done without our 'we're lost, please help guide us through the town that you are not much more familiar with than us' type calls but he responded in his usual helpful fashion and we got there just in time. The vows were lovely. The Italians lay out the responsibilities of marriage quite wonderfully. I will try and get a copy...

Anyway, despite the ceremony being in Italian (they had a lovely translator) and it being the new Mayor's first wedding all went swimmingly. And after there were the congratulations...

The 'just married' photos overlooking the square...

The procession through the streets to find prosecco for some, gelato for others...

Then back to the villa for feasting...

And much love and romance...

Congratulations you guys, it was all so beautiful....

The Cuddleston Wedding Nuptials Extravaganza - part 1

2009-09-11T06:28:00.000-07:00

You may remember me mentioning on a few occasions that we were off to a wedding in Italy. We were away last week and then this week has been a bit busy so no time for blogging unfortunately but I have meaning to post something about the wedding ever since we returned as it was a truly wonderful, warm and memorable week, full of absolute loveliness in every single respect.

Abi has wanted to wed for as long as I have known her which is now coming up to 22 years, in fact I think it is 22 years this month and therefore the extent of her wedding celebrations were directly in proportion to the amount of time she has longed for them to happen with a full week long series starting with the Italian leg.

The setting
This gorgeous place near Alba about an hour from Turin....

...surrounded by wonderful rolling countryside....

Beautiful sunflowers...

And a hilltop pool, overlooking the aforementioned rolling countryside...

The guests...

The beautiful couple. Bonny bride and ..er.. groom. Looking good Cullum!

The Mother of the Bride. Apparently, after the bride the second most important person there and equally beauteous...

And the proud father of the bride and the event 'sponsor' whose generosity knows no bounds. Here he is preparing his speech and delivering it to no one in particular...either that or he has just got the bill!

Here is the photographer, nose excavator and best man...

...which I guess makes this the 2nd best man...only kidding Rich...

And this little lady very nearly diverted all the attention away from the bride... (and baby Rosie was a hit too!)

Like with the wedding I might eek out the post-wedding posts over a week so stay tuned for The Dress, The Flowers, The Marriage, The Reception and much, much more...

Walks...

2009-08-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

Okay not strictly house stuff today but it has been a little mad recently. On top of doing house stuff, socialising, tweeting and blogging for work as well as tweeting and trying to promote the next Series of this, I have also been trying to get fit. I may have mentioend I have a wedding to go to and I am a bridesmaid - the only bridesmaid actually!

A few weekends ago I tried on the dress to make sure it still fitted me. I was aware that my exercise programme was on 'recovery' rather than 'fat burning' but I seem to have gained a few lbs and the dress, well, it was a little snug. Plus, the wedding is in Italy and we have a pool so there is the bikini wearing thing. So the last few weeks, I have also been trying to get fit. As my knees no longer seem to be up for running and my will power is not up for biking (plus I have a puncture and any excuse is a good one) I am trying to get out and do some walking.

To pass the time, I listen to music and recently have been taking my camera as there are all sorts of nice things to photograph. Despite the greyness of the day outside today, I hadn't noticed we seem to have segued into autumn.

The walk up the rake and the tower shrouded in the typical North West condition...

Victoriana...

One of th'Mother in Law's favourite houses. She always comments on how sweet it is...

Pink and green...

Berries already...

Hidden gate...

Just one question. What happened to summer? Anyone?

Coveting...

2009-08-25T02:48:00.000-07:00

...union jacks...still. For me, they just don't get old, mainy because I haven't yet got one. But perhaps my desire would be satisfied with one of these:

Or this:

This...

Or even this...

Plus, they are all on sale! It is my birthday in a couple of weeks so if anyone out there (hello family!) who is lacking inspiration about what to buy me you know I would be delighted with the above.

Reunion

2009-08-24T03:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend, due the t'husband being away biking, I went to catch up with some lovely people over at a friend's place in Chapel-en-le-Frith. Believe it or not, 'Chapel' is not en France but in the glorious High Peak. As t'husband was taking the car, I decided to take the train. It was a beautiful day and the views on the way over were wonderful. The train station is very sweet with a small cafe and and second hand furniture shop (mental note to visit again) and the walk from the station in Chapel was lovely. A long winding track through lovely countryside.

It felt like you were in the middle of nowhere and as I couldn't see a single house which was beautiful but also slightly worrisome as if I was in the middle on nowhere I was not suitably equipped for a hilly hike having only a wallett, camera and a bunch of these for the wonderful hostess.
Our hosts have also spent the last few years renovating a wonderfully grand Victorian house. In the giddiness of seeing friends, some of which I hadn't seen for a while, as well as all their beautiful offpsring [below and here] I forgot to snap photos of their house or of anything else for that matter.

The house is lovely and they have some really great furniture. But the thing that made me most envious was the garden. It is perfectly formed for socialising. So much so that it even as a bar (complete with pumps and a dart board) in the old outhouses.

I wonder if t'husband now has similar plans for the Garden Room!!

As the weather was playing ball we spent most of it outside (hence lack of house photos I suspect), drinking cold beer, eating the most delicious food and catching up.

Thanks for a lovely weekend guys. We miss you all...

Houses I love....

2009-08-21T08:45:00.001-07:00

More Friday house inspiration to fire me up for the weekend, despite the fact I am going away to spend time with some great mates. T'husband is away biking in Scotland so I have a free pass too to not do house stuff too!

Saying that the plumbers are coming over the weekend to fit a shower tray (fingers crossed it fits and they don't ask me any difficult questions) and connect up the downstairs basin.

Anyway, back the the prettiness. I can't remember the name of the person this house belongs to but I heart it. Tis, of course, from livingetc. Where else?!

Loving the built in cupboards, the bright colors against the white walls, the clock and the stove surround / mantle thingy. Wonder if we should get one for our stove? T'husband - what do you think?

Love this stair runner. Apparently, the owner made it by sewing together Ikea rugs...

Love the carpet, the globe, the blanket and that she has similar colour curtains to mine....

A shrine to coffee and stainless steel drawers. I am going to start building one of these and I shall worship there every morning.

The kitchen set up generally (another nice mantle), the island, the stools, the aga. All those cupboards must house other stuffs so only the pretty things are on display. Yum...

Rammy Rocks

2009-08-18T02:52:00.000-07:00

So, so, so gutted to be missing this (see here for more deets). We are heading off to Italy for my best friends wedding but even though that is super, super exciting, I am still gutted...

Especially about seeing (or not seeing) these...

We have loved Rammy ever since we moved there nearly 10 years ago (10 years???!). It just gets better and better. It is a great community. The shopping is wonderful: a great market, loads of boutique shops, great places to eat and the countryside on your doorstep.

And apparently, the biking isn't bad either...

So it goes without saying that it deserves it's own community website. And voila...we now have one. The guys are Ramsbottom online are doing a great job.

This is great resource and there seem to be more and more events happening on our doorstep like Rammyfest, the Rhythm and Blues Festival (26-27 September). And, of course, how can I forget the World Black Pudding Throwing Championships (13 September). According to this lady (who is also a resident now) Rammy is the new Chorlton!

Seems what Rammy needs is a boutique B&B for all the out of towners that might come to those events. Now who has a house that might be suitable? Hmmm....

Bohemian babes

2009-08-18T01:55:00.001-07:00

For their birthdays I made the girls festival kits for them to take to Camp Bestival. They seem to have taken to the whole festival experience like little diva ducklings to a disco pond. Using their charms to get the best view...

Put your hands in the air and wave them like you just don't care.

The 'don't mess with me or my balloon' look. Looks like a butterfly, stings like a bee...

Super high five....jump Jos!

The Winehouse effect...

Rave on raver....

Mixing with celebrities...

Mesmerised by music....

I love those kids....

News just in...

2009-08-17T07:10:00.001-07:00

I have just had a phone call from t'husband. The plumbers have been today to fit the downstairs WC sink (not yet fitted - heavy sinks and plasterboard walls don't go apparently) and get the pipe work in the main bathroom ready to plumb in the bath. They were going to check the plumbing and lay the pipework and then give us some time to fit the floor and then come back and connect it all up. However, in order to check the taps they have had to connect the bath anyway! Apparently it is easy enough to unhook and reconnect it once we get round to doing the floor but for the time being, and for the first time in over 6 months, we can have a bath. Right, I need to get some bubbles as I know what I am doing tonight!

In other bathroom news, we have also purchased a shower cubicle for here (aka top bathroom):

Fingers crossed it will be fitted at the weekend...yay! Plus, whilst buying the shower cubicle, we also found a really great flooring place. The owner was extremely helpful, knowledgeable, informative and his prices seem really, really good. On top of all that he also reminded me of Geppetto from Pinocchio, so I think we will be making a return visit sometime soon with a floor plan and measurements. I heart progress...

UPDATE: the sink is fitted but yet to be plumbed (funny size pipes apparently but isn't that always the way) and the bath was wonderful. We decided that last night was the soft launch (I was concerned the weight of the bath with the water in it would mean it would fall through the floor so limited the fill level) and when we have more time we will christen is properly and celebrate with bubbles (both the bath and champagne variety). I rush to add there will be no pictures of the launch. It is not 'that kind' of blog!

Coveting...

2009-08-17T03:03:00.000-07:00

...attractive storage recepticles like these ones on House to Home (and the motivation to use them!). It is a worry as I think I am turning slowly into a 1950s housewife and there is nothing more exciting on my mind than clearing out cupboards but as I said it is a distraction. Do I sound less of a sad case now?

At Uni, when I used to have a lot on my mind, but wasn't getting anything productive done I would spend a good few hours tidying my room. Some might say this is procrastination and they might be right as I am an expert! But I think the processs of decluttering an actual space helped to declutter my mental space or at last gave me something distracting to do so thoughts could simmer until they were ready. There is so much to do at The Money Pit but the things I keep fixating on (apart from the cellar that is STILL leaking - I save that particular worry for early morning anxiety sessions) are sorting out my wardrobe and the pantry cupboard in the kitchen.

I haven't fathomed a good system of 'wardrobe management' yet. Think I just need to chuck stuffs as I can no longer close the door and the back of almost every door upstairs is being used as overflow.

If the kitchen pantry, not only do I want it to be easy to navigate, making it easier to rotate stocks or at the very least give me the option of knowing what we have at a glance, it has got to look nice. Something like this...

So if anyone is at a loss to what to buy me for my forthcoming birthday then pretty storage jars please...

Houses I love....

2009-08-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

I am waiting for t'husband which gives me time to look at more house porn! I want this one (from Livingetc) or I just want the owner to give me her stuff for The Money Pit.

I love the pillow (obvs), the button back chair and sofa, the lamps, the clock. Pretty much everything...

Plus she has my dream rug (used as a wall hanging) and I want the industrial light...

The kitchen units, signage and table...

The bathroom slash dressing room. Love that bath and more button backs. She is lucky, lucky, lucky...

And she seems to also be a fan of skulls?! I heart it...

Sigh...

Coveting...

2009-08-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

...vintage tourism posters seen here. Although we already have a few...

Fruitshare

2009-08-14T04:49:00.000-07:00

I love community initiatives like this one. Here's the skinny...

Thousands of gardens across Britain bear an over-whelming abundance of fruit. So much is produced that a lot is discarded, left to rot and finally cleared away to the compost.

Fruitshare is about making the Nation's surplus garden-grown fruit available for others to eat, to cook and turn into their favourite summer puddings!

I thought of doing something like this with my fellow allotmenteers once I got my hands on one but it seems that I still have a bit of a wait. At least, once I do I will know who to call if it produces fruit abundantly!

Betty...

2009-08-11T06:41:00.000-07:00

Well this is not glamping or glamourvanning. This is Betty...

and she is beautiful...

She even has a blog...

Coveting...

2009-08-11T06:22:00.000-07:00

Steel wash tubs / buckets for planting produce in the yarden. All these found on Junkaholics blog.

I also want everything she wears...

S'Tile'-In

2009-08-11T04:55:00.000-07:00

So, despite a day out at the cricket and a night out on the tiles on Saturday, t'husband (after a bit of persuasion / negotiation) managed to finish the grouting in Sunday. He's a wonder. Whilst he was otherwise engaged with cricket watching and champagne drinking, I managed to repaint bathroom and get the skirting boards painted...oh the drudgery. Although it took a large chunk of my Saturday and it didn't look too bad anyway it now looks refreshed. Plus, I got treated to lunch for my hard work whilst he was out playing...

So here are the photos with grout in place...looks good doesn't it? From one end...

And the other...

And to check the workmanship here are the close-ups. Please excuse the grout speckles on the floor but didn't have time to sweep before I grabbed a few photos this morning....

Welldone t'husband. One lot of bathroom tiling done. Only 3 more to go....

Houses I would swap The Money Pit for...maybe...

2009-08-10T05:21:00.000-07:00

Whilst doing some research into units to place the new basin for the downstairs loo atop I visited the Livingetc site. I am not going to go on about how much I love Livingetc but it is plenty. I think I have kept every copy that I have had over the last few years and there a few houses that have stood out as ones that I want to replicate in almost every way. I guess this one, especially the kitchen and living areas and more specifically the fireplaces and the kitchen dresser, cupboards and island is one that stands out to me.

The kitchen and the island...

The pendant lights and chairs...

This dresser...

And this cupboard...

I love the living room and especially the sofa and floor...

I am thinking this fireplace...

Or this one..

for one of the bedrooms...

The only changes I would make are the odd splash of colour with bright rugs or graphic artwork as I think they would really stand out against all the white. And I am not so keen on the bathroom...

I think I prefer ours...

A new purchase

2009-08-10T04:08:00.001-07:00

T'husband has done it again with his wonderous ebay ways and snagged us this sink for our donwnstairs loo. Yay!

We have the plumbers coming back soon to move the pipework for the main bath so we can then floor it. Once floored they will, at last, plumb in the bath but at the same time they are going to fit this sink. It is rather heavy so we need to find something for it to sit on so next up researching counter top sink thingies. I think I would like something that feels like a piece of furniture in its own right. Like this...

I have just looked back over my inspirations files for this room and what do you know the sink t'husband has bought more than a little resembles those in my file.

See here...

And here...

The uncanny thing is I am sure I never shared these pics with him. The only explanation is my husband is design psychic so I am going to start thinking deeply about what pretty things I want for my birthday now...

Oh and we have finished the tiling. I say we, of course I mean t'husband, but I am on excess grout cleaning duty later so I help in my own small way. It looks really beautiful (photos to follow) and I am so proud that t'husband has such practical skills and although I tease him about it taking four days, the finish it totally worth the wait. In fact, I think currently the main bathroom (or 't'husband's bathroom' as he has staked the claim) is currently my fave in the house. Might be as it is heading towards being the most finished but I think it is the light in there. I also loved the light in the bathroom at our old place so maybe I just like bathrooms...

Coveting...

2009-08-10T03:56:00.000-07:00

At The Money Pit, we are short of a fair few things but mainly carpets or any other flooring for that matter and also lights. Lots of bare (low energy of course) light bulbs hanging from white wire at our place. I am struggling to find lights, perhaps because I have no money to pay for lights, so am not looking that seriously. But also we have expansive ceilings that are not particularly high so really we need squat wide lights.

Despite those restrictions, I am loving most of these...

Anthropologie via Oh Happy Day

Coveting....

2009-08-07T04:56:00.000-07:00

I like the simplicity of this but also the sentiment. I think perhaps it might go well above the fireplace in the bathroom. The colours work well and the fireplace is someone else's cast off after all...

And via the power of Photoshop (please excuse the limited skills) here it is on the wall.

I also like this and want to adopt it as my mantra but calm is not my natural state so there is work to be done there...

Staycation part 3 - at last some DIY

2009-08-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

Why is it when you approach any DIY project the amount of mess generated is far, far beyond the size of the job you are doing? We only had to tile a small area of the bathroom but in no time at all it looked like this...

Here is t'husband looking suitably attired. This T-shirt is always worn when there are messy jobs to do. I think if anyone comes round he can use this look to play the 'look how hard I am working' card.

In reality, I think the set up meant there was more time admiring progress rather than making any...

And here it is sans grout.

Just check out the quality of the workmanship round the toilet.

So 4 days, 90 cuts, 160 tiles and more than a pinch of swearing, tiling (with the exception of the grouting) ....done!

Staycation part 2 - Puppy love...er not so much!

2009-08-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

We had also agreed to babysit t'mother-in-laws dog during the week as she sunned herself in Greece (the M-I-L not the dog..sunning herself..). Here she is...

And because Rob was away on his honeymoon, his dad was playing golf and his mum has a bad knee, we offered to look after Jess too. Two can't be much harder than one can it??

They are both lovely dogs, well Meg is more than a little loopy but it seems to be the way with spaniels, but are both good natured. Until we introduced them. You can't see them both on the same photo but here they are exchanging looks.

Now it seems Meg has a bit of a jealous streak. Loves people and loves them so much that another dog is not allowed within at least a 2 metre radius. I now have some idea what it is like to be Britney Spears as everywhere I went, if Jess was in the vicinity, Meg would circle me constantly to make sure the 'pupparazzi' that is Jess came nowhere near. And if she did then there was the bully boy 'chesting'off and eventually the snapping. It was a diplomatic nightmare and affection had to be distributed cunningly in order not to bring on a 'situation'. This was the view around my legs most of the time during their visit. Just a blur of circling dog...

But the walks, despite the pouring rain, were lovely with much stick throwing (me), river swimming (the mutts) and even a token 'deposit' clear up by t'husband. Despite him achieving a ratio of 1 in about 10, I have high hopes now for our future offspring's nappy changes if they are left with their dad! Despite it all being a bit difficult having them together, once we had taken them home the house did feel a little empty.

Staycation part 1 - Halfway to 70!

2009-08-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

We were off on staycation last week and although it was great being at home it wasn't a relaxing week but it was a good one. The first weekend we were off it was t'husband's birthday so we decided to have a few friends over. Despite now having a house that can accommodate a fair few peeps they all decided to sit out in our yarden. If the kitchen wa smaller I am sure they would have all headed in there.

We tried to get the Hashdi's to stop boasting about their tans but could we get them to cover up? Enough of your beautiful olive skin already. Here we prefer it pale and interesting or maybe just pale. Don't we Iags...?

Now these people look more like they holiday in the UK.....

Do you notice the empty remains of what was a jug of Pimms! I think we managed to polish off about 5 jugs. Not bad going considering there were only four of us on it! Below are what we call 'The Handsomes'. These guys came to our wedding and totally monopolised all our wedding photos with their attractive magnetism...

Here are Aly and Jolly of Aly and Jolly fame. Nice of Aly to co-ordinate her outfit with my hanging baskets. And Den was my accomplice in the Pimms drinking....

But I think after rushing round after those featured below she deserved a drink...

Angelic aren't they?

So I think it was a late night for all. I say I think because due to the evidence in the photos below I can't remember what time everyone left and I crawled into bed...There were a few bottles of this...

A fair few of these..

Boxes full in fact...

It was a good night and I would like to thank all our friends for coming and all getting along so beautifully. We love you guys...

Photo envy...

2009-07-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

I was uploading some of my pics last night and they accidentally ended up on one of t'husbands web spaces rather than my own. However, as I was having a quick snoop, as a wife is want to do, I saw some rather nice photos he had taken while out biking. Now I don't really have t'husband down as a creative type but I think due to his engineer's love of symmetry and his ability to figure our technology, he seems to have captured some crackers...

Ramsbottom on fire...

Biking to save the world from alien attack...

The climb to the Tower with a bit of sunset thrown in...

And I am jealous as I try hard to take nice photos and don't often succeed so I was feeling pretty frustrated about it and then I saw this...

...not so pretty and more than a little disturbing....perhaps the others were a fluke!

Who says we're not already a B&B....

2009-07-23T01:52:00.000-07:00

More peeps to stay this weekend....a fun rain coat and some wine which summed up the weekend really. Wine consumed and a lot of wet weather but still much fun..

My cousin. I managed to capture him without the goofy expression he sometimes uses for photos...

His very beautiful lady wife...

And they brought this rather cherubic child with them. He is the perfect mix of his parents. I think we have a future Angel Gabriel for the nativity if they still do such things in school...

On Sunday, it lived up to its name and the sun came out so we went to the park....

Larked about on the playground....

And I think the kid had a nice time too...

Followed by a walk through the woods...

Seems our family have a thing for stripes as evidenced in this post...in this case his, hers and even one for the baby!

Appreciating the flora and fauna....

Freebies

2009-07-22T12:56:00.000-07:00

When I last went to Norfolk Mum and Kit gave us some really nice things for our house. This colourful blanket...

Kit gave us these rugs as we are seriously lacking in any floor covering. His father made this and I think that is lovely. Thanks Cliff...

And this carpet. Not made by Cliff, unfortunately, but I love it all the same.

Something for the yarden...not sure how many courgettes it will produce but the flowers are pretty. And tasty I believe...

This picture...

And this wasn't from my mum but it is a picture of my niece's boots. It was a Christmas gift from her mum and dad. It must be an image from a lot of children's memories and wardrobes...wellies!

Mirror, mirror...

2009-07-16T06:50:00.001-07:00

I also saw this which reminded me that I need to collect more mirrors...and vintage fabrics...

At least I have made a start with this one..

Curtain and flag union...

2009-07-16T06:37:00.000-07:00

We are seriously lacking in curtains at The Money Pit. We haven't managed to put any up anywhere yet apart from the living room.

Part of the problem is cash, the other is that the top of the windows are so close to the ceiling, often with coving taking up space either side, I have no clue where to attach a curtain pole so that the curtain reaches the top of the window. But this has given me food for thought. I have talked of my love of union jacks on numerous posts so I thought this was wonderful....

Images from Vintage Vacations via TeaForJoy

Event planning....

2009-07-15T06:58:00.001-07:00

We are in the process of planning a birthday party for Jason. Now I know it is his birthday and everything but I am getting giddy with party ideas. I would love to have a picnic in the afternoon with rounders and croquet. In my head it is like this...

Or this...

Or a BBQ in the yarden with bunting and other party loveliness like this one...

And a display of these on the table in the kitchen....

But I suspect that rain will ruin the picnic ideas and it will be more likely much alcohol in the confines of the house as we all stare out of the window waiting for the rain to stop. Followed by a midnight dash to the kebab / pizza place to soak up aforementioned alcohol.... sigh!

Norfolk in progress - a weekend in pictures...

2009-07-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

Did you see what I did with the title there? Did you? Well the reason there was no progress at The Money Pit this weekend was as it was a busy one. Friday night it was a very special girls birthday. There were balloons....

There were cakes baked by the lovely Josie...

There were presents involving appropriate wear for festival going - I think I may have inadvertently turned my niece into a mini Amy Winehouse (sans drugs obviously!) ....

And fancy dress....

Don't they look sweet! Talking of sweet, we also had time catching up with great friends and their beautiful offspring...

Going for a walk to the beach whilst shooting the breeze with a cousin (who doesn't like being photographed)...

And coming back under ominous skies....

Admiring my mum's house and the garden that has now grown back after Kit's Garden Room building project...

Coveting some of her things and being given other things (photos of the haul to follow)....

And driving back late in the evening as the sun went down....

Coveting...

2009-07-08T09:49:00.000-07:00

...graphic prints for the dining room walls. I like these...

And perhaps something by Paul Rand. I saw this on Dooce's Daily style and if I could I would buy everything she recommends in the Daily Style section of her website. And then if she ever came over I could freak her out by welcoming her into a complete replica of her home. Sans the heated baby wipes contraption. Then again, I am sure t'husband would love it...

And this was the original Union Jack piece of wall art I saw that made me want all of these...

It is by Lucinda Chambers via The Rug Company, costs an arm and a leg. The image is from Living etc. Oh me oh my...on my quest to find out Lucinda's name I also happened upon this....

Hubba hubba. It is by Vivienne Westwood so I daren't even dream. Oh the internet, you are bad...

Pottering and pictures...

2009-07-06T03:54:00.001-07:00

While I was yardening, t'husband decided it was time, despite rooms being far from finished to hang a few things up to get them out of the way. Or at least on the walls. Here are the lights for the dining room...

And then some pictures. Here he is applying his DIY mantra - measure twice. Cut /drill/hammer once!

For me, with pictures, I want something on the walls that I like but that also means something. Therefore, whenever we go abroad, we usually buy some sort of picture for the walls at home. In the old place we were running out of walls but now have many to fill with holiday art. Unfortunately, we no longer have the funds to go abroad which means the pictures are now good reminders of our frivolous youth!

From New York (my 30th birthday trip)...

Brooklyn Bridge and Portabello Rd (our 1st anniversary trip)

er Morzine....

Not a picture and not from abroad but its installed, it tells the time, the temperature and the humidity...yes really!

And although again not from abroad but the one below was given to me by my mum. Way before Kirsty and her homemade home made skip diving de riguer, my mum used to come back from, what they would now call, the recycling centre with goodies she had unearthed. She found this picture there. I think it was part of an art students discarded portfolio - I am hoping they make it big and I will have an unknown work which I unassumingly hung in the lav and then sold for millions in the future. Of course, in that particular future I have also won the lottery so won't need the cash.

But I digress. In those days the recycling centre was called 'the dump' hence its current home at The Money Pit!! Aly said she thought that our downstairs loo was like a gallery (being long, white and lit with spotlights). So I am taking her at her word and turning it into one, one picture at a time.....

We also hung a few more bits a pieces and I will try and get photos of these tonight...

Summer breeze makes me feel fine....

2009-07-06T03:17:00.001-07:00

The recent spell of beautiful weather has definitely got me in the mood for summer and hankering after picnics, barbeques and living outside. Although we haven't a garden as such we do have a yarden and like everything else at The Money Pit it was in need of a bit of care. So this weekend was mainly, for me, given over to tackling the rather overgrown beds and giving it a good tidy. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any 'before' photos so my sense of achievement cannot be communicated in pictures but here it is after I had, for the time being, beaten the battle against the bush on the left which is trying to take over every bit of soil...

The offending bush of unknown type

Succulents

Adopted gnomes

Hanging garden

Flower bed

Once it was all tidied it gave us a great excuses to use it and we had the lovely Claire and Rob over for dinner. There they are below at their wonderful wedding...

Had a really nice night and as we sat in the glow of the BBQ turned into open fire, with drinks and candle, as Claire said we could be anywhere. If the weather continues to be wonderful I am officially jumping on the staycation bandwagon. In fact, I will adhere to the letter by just having holidays at home.

Flahs

2009-07-06T03:03:00.000-07:00

In order to take my mind off much dust and other significant building problems, including the ongoing cellar leakage, I have been trying to add prettiness at home to distract myself. So I have been trying to buy a bunch of flowers each week. Writing that seems as if I am being very extravagant but the proviso with this wanton need for blooms is tempered by the fact that they should cost less than a fiver...it still might be considered an unnecessary extravagance but I can't describe how much I love having flowers in the house. I end up going into rooms just to look at them. Here are some of the latest...

Sweet William

Iris

Lily

Rose

Okay the roses were not under a fiver. They were an anniversary gift from t'husband...as you can see the rose bush outside is doing well so I have roses in and out. I am just too lucky....

Also, bought some peonies from M&S British range which have been beautiful but didn't snap them at their best and now they look a little faded.

Coveting...

2009-07-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

We are not duvet people. T'husband and I seem to reside in different climates so a layered approach of sheets and blankets seems to work well for us as layers can be kicked off (mainly by him) or added (mainly by me) depending on the temperature. I have a permanant stack of blankets at the bottom of the bed should the room suddenly turn icy cold and manage to penetrate the 12 layers of wincyette (so soft, so cosy, so not sexy!) and bed socks I am already wearing to bed. When we eventually get round to decorating the bedrooms I want to make the beds with vintage linen sheets and some lovely Welsh blankets like the ones above and below....

Liking...

2009-07-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Not sure I would have it in my house but I really love this wallpaper. Maybe I have a thing about buses as they featured here recently too! Love the suitcases and they would definitely be welcome at home. My mum gave me one not so long ago so just need a couple more.

Found at HomeShoppingSpy again. Must resist just completely reiterating their blog via mine but I love so many things on there. That is a hint for anyone that is looking for something to buy for my birthday in case you didn't recognise it....

Three years ago today....

2009-07-01T03:40:00.001-07:00

And I thank you for bringing me here

For showing me home

For singing these tears

Finally I've found that I belong

Feels like home

I should have known

From my first breath

Happy Anniversary my beloved. It's been a blast.....

The Wife x

Coveting....

2009-06-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

These cross stitch tapestries made into pillows. Not cheap but I guess they are a work of art.

Coveting...

2009-06-29T06:49:00.000-07:00

More Union Jack loveliness from Jan Constantine which I found over at Home Shopping Spy. I think getting a Double Decker to display them might be going a bit too far but they might look good displayed on this...

Houses - real ones not magazines!

2009-06-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before my wonderful friend Abi has the most beautiful home, full of the most beautiful things. Despite the range and variety of objects their owners have somehow managed to pull all these interesting things together and make it look cohesive and lovely. I love wandering around her house as there is always somehting quite lovely and original to look at but I guess she and her nearly husband (hi Matt) both work in theatre so are visual people. Below are just some of the things I love about their home.

Lighting

Abi has slowly built up a collection of really beautiful lights. No paper globes for these people, their lights have to be beautiful too. Here are a few...

The use of colour and texture

They are much braver than I with their colour choices. The Money Pit is pretty much all white and I love how light it feels but their home feels rich and luxurious....

The painting in this picture, I think, is by Abi's very talented brother. He now has a fancy career building sets and all kinds of things for photo shoots as well as designing shop windows such as the wonderful Liberty. So I guess taste runs in the family...

Unfortunately, the bathroom, I think one of my faves was occupied at the time of photographing but it is a deep teal green with white accessories, floor and beautiful aqua shower tiles...

Cakes, fizz, curry, fizz and much, much fun...

2009-06-22T05:06:00.000-07:00

No progress again this weekend on the house as I was at Abi's hen party. Although this post is not strictly house oriented, Abi has also renovated her house over the last five years and she has now nearly finished it so I can put the weekend down to 'research' and 'motivation building'. I can not only take pictures of all her beautiful things (photos to follow), I can see what you can create if you put your mind to it and take your time selecting the things you really love and produce something very beautiful on a limited budget. Anyway, as I am still a little weary after all the hen party japes this post will be a weekend in pictures!

Arrival drinks in Abi's kitchen at Pimms o'clock...

Off to the beautiful Luton Hoo...

For afternoon tea...

Quick change round and then we dragged our rather full bellies out for a curry (or mung beans?!) and then home for pyjama clad grown up slumber party viewing of Sex and the City (for the lightweights) and more fizz and followed by whiskey nightcap for the hardcore! Next morning dawned bright and sunny for brunch...

and the papers...

In the garden...

Followed by a quiz with 'nearly wife' suitable prizes...

Isn't she a picture? Anyway so many thanks all you girls for attending. It was a super fun weekend and reminded me how much I enjoy spending time with groups of kind, funny and quite brilliant ladies. Same time again next year??

Coveting...

2009-06-19T03:07:00.000-07:00

More chairs. Button back. Grey. Reasonable price....bet they're not that comfy but I am still liking.

More glamping...

2009-06-18T06:35:00.000-07:00

One of my colleagues has booked a holiday to go glamping here. I am thinking they should pay me a commission. I am more than a little jealous but it has reminded me of another place that I would love to stay. Not camping but caravanning. Like canvas accommodation, I am rather dismissive of caravans but I would make an exception if it was like this....

Inspiration...

2009-06-18T04:06:00.001-07:00

As this is a place where I can keep a record of things I love, things want in my home or just find inspiring it is only fitting that I include this...

It is my mum at my childhood home in the 1970s. Isn't she lovely? This is what one of her oldest friends said about her and I couldn't agree more.

Your Mum is probably the most amazing person I know! Despite lots of setbacks in her life, she never complained and would keep things to herself so as not to upset anyone else. Wherever she lives, her door is always open, especially to people in need of advice and/or tender loving care.

She is fun and easy to be with, she is the epitome of compassion, she is smart, a great cook, extremely efficient and one feels secure in her presence. Last but not least, how many people would 'jump start' a new career in their forties? None that I know of! I am proud to be a friend of hers and I wish her lots of good things for now and in the future.

Love you Mum xx

Coveting...

2009-06-17T05:31:00.000-07:00

Union Jacks for their graphic quality not because I am a nationalist...

Love this wall hanging and the pillows and even the dog....

And this is pretty...

Bathroom Progress...

2009-06-17T03:50:00.000-07:00

I mentioned the other day that we had at long last (6 months since we bought the place) bought ourselves a bath. T'husband put in a mammoth effort and trekked over to Durham and back on Saturday to collect it. He also collected me on his way back and got many a look and comment when he rocked up at the supermarket with a bath strapped to the back of a pick-up. Think that mobile baths or 'Tub Tours' might be the future. If it had been a rocking chair I would have totally rode it home, preferably sucking straw and strumming on a ukulele. Anyhoo, here is story of the bath room so far.

This is how it looked when we bought the house...

We were given a fireplace for free by t'husband's sister - gotta love the free (thanks Marie and Bri). Here is a glimpse...

As the fireplace is quite ornate and pretty I thought I would go for very simple, modern, masculine bathroom furniture as t'husband has informed me that this is 'his' bathroom so I thought he may not fancy a feminine 'Powder Room' despite him spending much more time in there than any girl I know. So we bought the sinks and WC first (on sale of course!). Here they are...

And last but by no means least the new addition.

Isn't she pretty? I even bought her some flowers to welcome her to her new home. Although not plumbed in, I am still admiring her sculptural quality and think I am getting as much pleasure from looking at her as I will actually using her. If she's not good to go anytime soon I guess we could always use her as a beer cooler for t'husband's upcoming birthday.

So here is how the bathroom looks now...

Still to do: tiling around sinks, filling holes, re-grouting shower tiles, new flooring, plumb bath.

As well as all the bath excitement we also got up to a fair few other things including...

Seeing relatives...

And spending time with siblings...

With whom we obviously share a fashion sense...

Eating food...

Burning it off...

And enjoying Ramsbottom...

Weekends rock...

Glamping....

2009-06-15T03:51:00.000-07:00

I am not a fan of camping but this looks beautiful...

Coveting...

2009-06-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

I know this blog is mean't to be about the house but I have been looking for a boat necked long sleeved shift dress for a long time. I was even thinking of trying to get one made but then I saw this....Pretty ain't she?

Coveting....

2009-06-11T07:37:00.001-07:00

I saw this image in a brochure for leather Chesterfield sofas. I love the style of Chesterfields (and button back chairs generally) but always felt leather would be too cold. So when I saw the grapic above I thought..if I could just find a grey fabric version of that chair....well looky here!

It's button back, it's grey, it's Chesterfield style...what's not to love! This is going on my list of things I don't really need but want so much it almost counts as a need....

A purchase for the house....

2009-06-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

Currently, we are without a bath which in the majority suits me fine but I think t'husband really misses the, especially when he is aching after biking....so he has come up trumps on ebay again and has purchased this for a bargain price.

Now all we have to do is source some flooring, have a creative session with some old picture frames, tile, fill holes and that room's done...

Decorating with Emerald Green and a bit of black...

2009-06-09T05:13:00.001-07:00

Part one - Dublin...

Okay the title may be a bit misleading. There has been no decorating, and especially none in Emerald Green. The excuse this time....a trip to Ireland! Not only did that take us away from The Money Pit for a week (time continues to slip through our fingers - June? Already? Really?) , but also all that Guinness, the 'craic', not cooking for a week and having a menu of foods you could choose from willy nilly by using the phrase 'well, we are on holiday' and those hostelries took our money like the most charming pick pocket you could ever hope to meet. So no house progress but a really good holiday. A few things that caught my eye...

Trinity Capital hotel and its crazy chairs ....exhibit A

And exhibit B....

Local colour...even the graffiti is attractive

More colour...

A place to worship...at the altar of Guinness. A bar (or is it a Church?) where they combine the institutions of religion and drinking...

Oh and how can we forget that other institution Rugby or is it football of the Irish variety? Think I switched off around this point....

Twas only a flying visit as we stopped over on the way to a wedding in Omagh....so more excuses when I post about that!

It's curtains....

2009-05-01T04:35:00.000-07:00

This blog seems to be becoming a list of excuses rather than developments on the house. We had lovely guests to stay this weekend so we were playing host rather than interior designer / builder.

Our lovely guests (hi Aly and Jol) also brought us a fantastic house-warming gift - a vintage typewriter! I love it and it goes beautifully with the awesome phone t'husband bought for my birthday (photos to follow). When we eventually get round to sorting the office they will look lovely together on my desk and I am also envisaging a shelf of other vintage stuffs such as a camera, lots of books and perhaps a globe or two...

Image from Oh Happy Day

Anyway, although we were having too much fun drinking wine, walking, talking and eating curry to get much house stuff done. I did get round to replacing the temporary curtains with the longer term temporary curtains. Eventually I want something really thick and warm with a strong graphic pattern. Was thinking about these....

I really like the material, the background colour (I have a thing about grey at the moment) and the pattern but the pink is just that bit too pink. Wanted something more raspberry and something that won't cost me an entire months wages for one window! So it was a trip to Ikea to see what they had. The bedroom ones we were using were too neutral to really work in the room. The good thing about having a light house where everything is painted white is that I am being a bit braver with the colour choices. But I think I may have been a bit too brave....

Although I love the contrast between the white walls and the shock of raspberry, I sometimes think my living room now looks as though it could double as a bordello! Think I will leave them for the time being (especially after the time it took to hem and hang them - I am not gifted at such things) and because they look much more cheery than these....

Other projects included a cloakroom area.....

And some 'investigative' sanding on the stairs.....

So we now have a random semi-sanded panel that will probably remain this way until we can pay to get someone to decorate the stairs. T'husband has said he thinks it looks like a little bit of art. I keep thinking I may attempt to strip and decorate the stairs myself and then I remember I HATE sanding and I am not brilliant at glossing. No patience = lots of drips....so I am going to also keep thinking of this as a little bit of art too and reminding myself it's not about the finished thing but the process you go through to get there! But when we do get there I want stairs that look like this....
Or like this....

Stair images from Living etc

House schmouse...it's all about the bikes!

2009-04-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Rick 'Retro' Milner

One of the reasons that we moved house was in order to allow t'husband to completely indulge his love of biking by having his own workshop. However, it seems that the biking love means the house is loved a little less currently due to our weekend committment to Brownbacks.

Now although I am want to grumble about Brownbacks when it takes time away from him doing 'man's' work around the house, I loved the first race as I mention here but as I am in some small way helping with the marketing and pr for the event it really pleases me when we get some coverage for the races. There is a really nice write up on Singletrack's website which you can read here, have a look at a few photos here or see more photos and a few more words on the event below...clcik to enlarge.

We have a weekend off the biking this weekend before the 2nd race on Monday 4 May. Get your entries in! Mum, I guess you don't fancy giving it a go??

And because the biking thing seems to not only punted the house into runner up for things to do at the weekends, you know behind biking, sleeping, entertaining and staring out our toes, here is some house loveliness to remind me (or really t'husband) that I want my house to be as lovely as this....one day!

Image from Domino (RIP) I think?

Baby Steps

2009-04-20T04:30:00.000-07:00

Very little to report on the house after the weekend. Mainly as on Friday and Saturday we were a little preoccupied by this:

This....

And this.....

But mainly this....

Despite the lack of house action, we had a lovely time with the above, riding on trains, decorating the furniture with Pollock-style yoghurt art and becoming the target for a rather violent human coconut shy. Owww Denise! Stop throwing it so hard...I mean it...quit it....let the kids have a go....

Up very early on Sunday morning for the first Brownbacks race at Lee Quarry. T'husbands mate, Dave, was at the door soon after the sun came up and t'husband was in the shower (yes I know t'husband up early - amazing how he manages it when he wants to!) so I had to answer the door in a state that wasn't really suitable for guests. Dave was very kind though and rather than telling me that I looked as you'd expect at 6am on a Sunday said in his slight Brummie accent 'What's with the mismatched jammies?'. Jammies is now my new favourite name for my night attire....however, I think he is hardly one to comment when he spent the day looking like this...

Dave's on the right and someone described his get-up as a hip hop bin man. I shall now be mainly calling him the Notorious B.I.N. The above photo is for Jenny who has long suspected t'husband sometimes feels the need to wear a high-vis vest. In this instance he is not wearing it for pleasure or to ensure people listen to him. Look again....this time he means business...'official' business...

Anyway, it was a beautiful day and once I had got over the shock it was wonderful being up as I love the light at that time in the morning. So after a strong coffee, I headed off to meet the gang at Lee Quarry for the race.

Walking up to the the race course was really exciting and I felt really proud to be involved in a small way with this new race series. It all looked great, the weather was marvellous and there seemed to be a real buzz. I think we had nearly 100 entries which for the first race is fantastic and the feedback seems to have been really good so far. Only a few falls and one incident, as far as I know, that required the help of Mountain Rescue. Of course, the fall happened close to the stretch t'husband was on and as he had recently attended a first aid course he was on hand to help out. Although according to some spectators reports, he was last seen dabbing pathetically at an ear that was bleeding profusely!

As well as the excitement of the race, we also got to hang out with lovely people...

Admire the views...
Visit the pub for post race celebration feasting and still managed to get a few things done including this...
And at long last these, although these are only doing the job short term until I have put up the longer term temporary ones....

So a lovely, busy, fun weekend.

Bathroom project - planning

2009-04-07T09:56:00.000-07:00

So, with the other two (drains and civil engineering type stuffs that I mention here) being more t'husband type of projects (he is the kind of man that got excited about copper piping during plumbing stages, copper piping that will be hidden under the floorboards and eventually carpet -see exhibits A and B above) my next project is the bathroom project. Or I should say a bathroom project as we have the luxury of three bathrooms and a downstairs loo. Three bathrooms sounds like far too many but if you know anything about my husband then you may even question if three is enough! In our old place we only had one which could be pretty frustrating when t'husband was in residence as his residence was never a short term let, if you know what I am saying.

Now, because of The Grand Plan (which I am not yet going to divulge details of here...yet) we decided that the bathroom on the third floor will be the next one for attention. As well as the kitchen, bathrooms, fireplaces and stone flags that were taken by the previous owner, it also seems that he may have taken the chimney pots. Okay, he may not have done but when we were fitting the living room fireplace, the sweep discovered that there were no pots. Hence the weather had been getting in and the chimney breast in the top bathroom was rather damp and the paint was flaking. I decided this weekend (in order to get the project underway) to try and sand the chimney and them give it a lick of paint. As I seem to be finding out rather too frequently with this house, there is no such thing as a simple task. As I began to sand, rather than taking off just the flaky paint, big chunks of plaster decided to come with it. So what was meant to be a quick touch up job now looks like this...

Mneh...ah well another job to add to the list. No biggie as we have to get the plaster chipped off the wall in our bedroom as it has come away, so hopefully we can get this skimmed at the same time. By the time I had achieved (?) this, I was fully into the swing of chipping off stuff so also had a go at the grout that had been left behind when the shower was removed.

Although it don't look that pretty it is now ready for new tiles and a lovely cubicle which we could probably purchase for the same price as 1 metre of plastic inner sleeve for the drains - see I can even joke about the drains now...well nearly!

I have a fairly clear idea in my head of what I want for this room. Although I love prettiness and I love colour I am not actually very confident with either so any choices I make of this nature have to be temporary and reversible. This doesn't help with bathroom 'furniture' as it is permanent.

One of the nicest bathrooms I have been in is my great and dear friend Abi's. She has a beautiful home, full of beautiful things, colours, patterns and textures but I think that her bathroom is one of my favourite rooms in her house. I will try and get a picture of it. So when I thought about the style of bathroom I wanted then Abi's was one of the top of my list. This was helped by the fact that one of Jason's work colleagues kindly donated a basin that he had removed during his own house renovation. Here it is...

So we then had to find a toilet to match (and matching can be tricky as I daresay I will talk more about when I go into the details of the 'other' bathroom). Fortunately, we found something similar in B&Q and even more fortunately it was half price, and I am delighted to unveil the new loo.

Jason still has to finish off some bits of joinery but you know, it's in, it flushes and that, my friends, is progress...

All we now need to find is a bath and I want something like this...

Flooring along the lines of this...

And tiles like this...

And the room will be finished. So a lot to do but a little in the scheme of things. I would have liked to have made some progress by the time my mum (hi mum!) comes to stay early May but if I say that out loud then I am setting myself up for disappointment....but you gotta have a plan.

Money down the drain ...literally!

2009-04-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

T'husband was away at the weekend on a first aid course in preparation for the Brownbacks Racing Series he is involved in. So I was left to my own devices with a vague brief from t'husband to have a think about the next house project. Funds are getting pretty low now so it is a case of what we prioritise and what's next.

The cash we have left will probably be directed to 'the cellar of doom'. It's not immediately obvious on the photos above but the cellar keeps flooding. We thought the wet was due to the previous owner stealing all the yorkshire stone flags from the floor and in doing so he had broken some kind of seal meaning water was leaking up from below. This was also the view of a surveyor and an experienced builder. It seems that they all missed the fact it was coming through the walls! Which amazes me as you can both see and hear the water coming through....

We have been monitoring the cellar water problem since we moved in as we were concerned that it was water run off from the hill which would mean trying to find someway of redirecting the rain (which is quite plentiful in the North West) and this seemed like a job that was too big for my head to handle but it now seems there wasn't a lot of correlation between the rain and the wetness of the cellar! However, the problem did seem to get worse whenever we used the washing machine. A friend of ours (hi Rick!) assisted in the rather grotty job of clearing the internal cellar outlet drain . He stuck his hand down it with no idea what could be there and fished out all sorts of silty yuck (apparently, I declined being involved in this particular project) Must have been a little like that bit with Peter Duncan and the poisonous creature infested log in Flash Gordon!!

Not only did he show that kind of selfless bravery, he also helped dig a trench (which I like to call the brook- it's more romantic) from the leaking wall to near the cellar drain and a collection hole for the water to gather for easy emptying into the drain. Now all I need are a few reeds, pond life and a heron and I have my own ecosystem.

Anyway I digress. So the cellar fills when the washing machine is on It seems that now we have the small matter of dealing with problem drains....as I am not a very practical person this seems like a big deal whereas t'husband seems to think that it's better knowing what is wrong and to fix it all we need to do is dig up the back yard and have a look. Easier said than done when you have yorkshire stone flags atop a thick slab of concrete before you get to the drains. Not the kind of work that appeals to me really....

Anyway, a very nice man turned up today to have a look at the drains. We had already had one guy who thought that the water was overflowing the drain and then making its way into the cellar. He put an elbow on the pipe and off he went. Needless to say the brook in the cellar has not run dry so they came back again today. No messing with bits of pipe today. It was all heavy duty drills and cameras! Have a look...

Anyway, after thinking that the problem was just the initial bit of pipe that was broken, further investigation has shown that all the joins in the pipes are cracked and leaking. The easiest way to sort this (digging up the back is not the easiest option as the pipe goes under the backyard wall which would need to be dismantled and rebuilt) is to insert a waterproof membrane sleeve inside the pipe to stop the water leaking out. All fine and dandy I thought and seems easy enough but...the cost is rather prohibitive. £400 per metre prohibitive....do you know what kind of curtains you can buy for £400 per metre. Gold curtains that's what...with diamonds embroidered into them!

Anyhoo, they are coming back tonight (to do what I am not sure, I think my brain stopped processing after the £400 per metre mention) so I guess I will know more then...

The other job we still have to allow funds for is the civil engineering work to monitor whether indeed our house is moving. There were some cracks under the front right bay that showed up on the survey which could be signs of movement. Now, although the house has been there for a few hundred years (I think it was built in 1833), these cracks were raised as an issue for further investigation by the surveyor and caused us all kinds of hoo hah trying to get buildings insurance prior to us completing (I still shudder thinking about those few days). So, annoyingly, we need to keep some cash to put a few studs in the wall and then triangulate and measure them over the next 12 - 24 months. Although I know it is important I don't want to spend cash on these things when we are without carpets and curtains but needs must...

So all in all, I am not happy with the house at the moment.

I think it is like having a naughty child. Although you can't not love it (especially when prettiness like the above appear in the back yard) , sometimes you really want to shut the door and no longer hear about all the problems it is having and instead wish it would just grow up and sort itself out already. Saying that, I daresay if it is a sunny day tomorrow, it will win me round again by shining all that beautiful light in and showing me a potential glimpse of the grown up and together house that it could be. Church View, despite everything, you had me at hello!

Kitchen - the range cooker project...

2009-03-24T08:24:00.000-07:00

Project number 2 was installation of the cooker so we didn't have to rely on camping stoves and the microwave when we moved in. Saying that we have a curry house practically next door and not having a cooker would have been the perfect excuse for th'husband having to eat curry every night. So to save his waistline, bank account and my nasal receptors from that which occurs when he eats too much curry we thought we ought to get a cooker installed.

Prior to us getting the house they had a smart kitchen (see below) with a range cooker up against the chimney breast. Of course, all of this disappeared during repossession. Well all apart from the floor in which there are now just a few holes that show what the kitchen once was! We decided so that we had room for an island (or more room for the island) to knock out the chimney breast and make use of this space by sinking the cooker into it...

Here it is part way through (see below). Although the hole for the cooker is relatively small the amount of rubble that was produced seemed to be way too much to have fitted in the hole. I think th'husband singlehandedly took 2 x pick up loads to the dump.

Denise, had you witnessed it, you would no doubt have been impressed at this display of manliness. It had the same effect on me as Jason fixing your video recorder had on you all those years ago! As you can see from his attire Jason is taking an office based site foreman type roll on the knocking down and rebuilding part of the project rather than being hands on....here he is staring at the wall as he is want to do when there is work to be done!

And here it is plastered. I am referring to the cooker not th'husband! See it fits...amazing!

And here it is again in context with that part of the kitchen. The plaster has dried out nicely. Yes, there are a few boxes still to find homes as you can see!

Oh and here it is painted and by night.....looks a bit alien doesn't it? I think it is the futuristic element or the combination of shiny-ness, lots of buttons and a digital display that means every bloke that visits comments on the cooker. The irony being I am not sure many of them would actually have a clue how to use it.... (Kit - you are the obvious exception to this statement and we look forward to you using it for cake baking in the near future - I will warn you, it is gas!)

As with the fireplace in the living room, there are still some joinery bits to do and floor tiles to clean (how does one remove concrete from slate tiles?) so finished photos to follow.

Hours taken: again a fair few to find the cooker and a fair few more to purchase it. Yes, I have a husband that likes to research to make sure that 1) we have bought the best possible product for our needs and 2) you can't buy it for 5p cheaper elsewhere. A week (on and off) to knock out chimney breast, re-fit gas pipes, fit lights, hook up electrics and a few hours painting!

Living Room - Fireplace project...

2009-03-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

So one of the rooms that was least affected by the house being repossessed from the previous owner (for least affected perhaps read cheapest to get sorted) was the living room. Here it is prior to repossession and what it looked like when we moved it ......

So as you can see the first project was to put back the fireplace. Th'husband managed to put all that time that he spends surfing the net to good use and scored a fireplace for a great price on ebay. We didn't like the original tiles so replaced them and job's a good 'un. Here's a preview of the new tiles...

And here the fire is installed and plastered. Unfortunately, we couldn't wait until it was all finished to light it as we missed having a fire. Especially on those cold evenings.

Yes that is a bottle of yummy red wine next to it. Well we were celebrating the fire lighting. Not sure if the warm glow created was the achievement of having completed something, the heat from the fire or the rosiness caused by a few glass of warming red. Probaby a combination of all the above.

Oh and here it is after a few coats of paint in the light of day. Just now need to re-fix the picture rail and skirting boards and this project is done. Will post a final picture once joinery is all complete!

Hours taken: many if you count all the time it took to find the fireplace and the time it took our great friend Al to go and collect it. (I swear the address said Northants Al, I swear). But one day to install, sweep, fix chimney plus a few hours painting.

The work begins...

2009-03-03T10:51:00.000-08:00

....after all the excitement and ups and downs we went through, albeit in a relatively short period of time (due to the vendor insisting on a 28 day completion), we finally got the keys to our dream house.

Although the house itself is beautiful, due to it being a repossession the guts have pretty much been ripped out of it. So although you tend to take before and after shots to show that the after shows an improvement on the before in this case it is before and after repossession!

Bedroom

Kitchen

Living room

Main bathroom

So we have quite a job on our hands but I can't wait to get started. I think project 1 (phase 1) is to get the Living Room back into shape. It's probably the room with the least investment required and I am talking time and money (and if you don't think about re-sanding back the floors and revarnishing) and I need a refuge and somewhere relatively comfortable to retreat to when the dust / painting gets too much. First up..buy a fireplace!