Photo envy...

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....

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

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

...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...

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...