Lunch date

07 Friday Mar 2014

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Cafe in Ashburton

On the spur of the moment, I decided to take Frog to our favourite cafe for lunch yesterday. One of the things I love about working from home is that I get afternoons off and I can be (mostly) flexible about when I work. On a whim I made my mind up to treat us both to a slap up meal, making the most of those flexible hours.

Despite moving to a village just before December, Frog still goes to pre-school in the town we lived in for a few months when we first moved to Devon. The town – Ashburton – is only a few miles away and the pre-school there is really lovely. It’s a cute town, with a plethora of vintage, antique and second hand shops, along with a posh bakery (“artisan” don’t you know) and a couple of tasty delhi’s.  Continue reading »

The intelligent way to heat your home

07 Friday Mar 2014

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OK, I’m going to be honest. Central heating isn’t top of my list of fun house things to talk about. I’d much rather get stuck into a new upcycle project or plan what colour of paint is going to go in my hallway. But, aside from running water and my kettle, central heating is probably the biggest thing I’d miss if we didn’t have it in our home.

We live in a Victorian terraced cottage. It has high ceilings and the windows at the back of our house are the originals, without double-glazing. It means the house can get drafty. Lighting the log-burner downstairs helps, but it can take a while for the place to heat up on a really cold day. Which is where the Hive from British Gas comes in.

Victorian windows

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Days before school

05 Wednesday Mar 2014

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Days before school

As the spring draws in and the sun teases us with hints of summer, I’ve become more aware than ever of my three year old’s impending fourth birthday and first day at school. Frog’s growing up.

It’s evident in her speech – some of her sayings leave me speechless (“I can’t POSSIBLY do that!” and “It’s too rubbish!”) being my least favourites of the moment. It’s evident in her growing limbs – suddenly she doesn’t fit into her favourite pair of tights or leggings. And it’s evident in the fact she chatters non-stop about when she starts “Primary school like the big boys and girls Mummy”. Continue reading »

On becoming obsessed with interiors

04 Tuesday Mar 2014

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We’ve been in our new home now for just over two months. The boxes are all unpacked and, as the weather improves, we’re starting to plan a few DIY projects. I have eight years of pent up DIY frustration at living in rented houses, so it’s all I can do to stop myself running amok with a drill and a hammer.

First on the list is a new sofa for the living room. I love the mixture of old and new in a room, with vintage or pre-loved pieces alongside newer furniture. This suits my limited budget too, which is handy. I’ve got my eye on a grey or charcoal sofa to go with a new black and white striped rug, which would look lovely against my grandma’s old Danish teak sideboard. A recent trip to the home department at John Lewis has had me salivating over much of their furniture. The Barbican Sofa in Charcoal is my absolute favourite… Continue reading »

Not gone

02 Sunday Mar 2014

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She made the best Lancashire Lemon Fingers I’ve ever tasted; moist with a crust of crispy baked sugar on top. Puddings were always called a “round robin” because of the huge array on offer – chocolate torte, trifle, cakes and more. No one could choose just one dessert, so they’d opt for a “round robin” of them all instead.

Roast dinners were the best, all of us crammed around the table in the dining room, on dining chairs and stools, deckchairs and cushions. It was loud, with lots of laughter, my grandad at the head of the table, asking, “What’s for pudding?” before he’d even taken a bite of his chicken.

Bustling. She was always bustling. Bustling around the kitchen with an apron on, stirring things and taking hot trays out of the oven, making cups of tea and passing them through the hatch, or spreading butter on pieces of bread for sandwiches. You’d try to help and she’d pretend to smack your fingers away. “Don’t you be silly, I’ll get it for you, what would you like?” Continue reading »

Style inspiration from the telly

28 Friday Feb 2014

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Thanks to my new Netflix subscription and snazzy iPad to watch it on, I’ve been enjoying more telly than normal recently.

Monday wasn’t a good day for me this week (actually, the whole week has been a bit of a write-off I’m honest), so I did what any normal person would do and went to bed early with my iPad and Katy Perry: Part of Me lined up to view. The (self-proclaimed) Northern Love Machine was surprisingly not in the mood for this film, so it seemed like the perfect time to indulge in a bit of high brow viewing.

The main thing I took from the film? I need to inject a bit more colour into my wardrobe, like KP herself.  Continue reading »

An afternoon in Brixham

23 Sunday Feb 2014

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Brixham

For the first time in ages we had a free day together as a family – and it was sunny. The day stretched before us like a blank piece of paper, full of possibilities and blue sky.

But first we had to do the boring stuff, like a supermarket shop, meet a couple of work deadlines, do a load of washing and (the biggest challenge considering our daughter’s current phase) get our three year old dressed.

Once that was all dealt with it was 12pm and the clouds had gathered. Ignoring the impending rain we bundled into the car and set off for Brixham, a little seaside town about half an hour from our village on the edge of Dartmoor. We bickered part of the way, then got lost looking for a car park, then realised we had no change for said car park. But, finally, we were there.  Continue reading »

Curing myself of a cold

21 Friday Feb 2014

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Cold

This is me a couple of weeks ago. I was feeling VERY sorry for myself. I don’t “do” quiet illness. When I feel rough, everyone knows about it – including Instagram.

I was halfway through a radio shift, hence the ear-wear, and struggling with a sore nose, scratchy throat and aching joints. I was also feeling rather tired, a mixture of being up since 4am and waking up every hour throughout the night to blow my nose.  Continue reading »

The makeover project

17 Monday Feb 2014

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“He looks boring Mummy. And anyway, boys can wear dresses.”

My three year old greeted me with a serious expression as I wandered into the bathroom to brush my teeth yesterday morning. I’d heard her pottering around in her room next door, but she’d been in no rush to come in to us.

“He is better now. He likes it. I made him better. Come and look Mummy!”

She’d obviously been hard at work. And then I saw what had kept her so busy.  Continue reading »

What motherhood is like

11 Tuesday Feb 2014

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Motherhood. It’s at once a huge mystery to those without kids as well as being the one thing we all – regardless of age or gender – think we can define. After all, we have all had a mother, or know mothers, or see mothers in the street, don’t we?

Since becoming a mum myself I’ve read reams and reams of articles, Facebook statuses, tweets and blog posts about motherhood. About the good bits, the bad bits, the identity of the mother in society, stay-at-home mums versus working mums, yadda yadda yadda, blah blah blah. But what is this thing called motherhood? What is it actually like being a mum?

What a ridiculous question, I can imagine you’re saying. Who cares? Why does it even matter? What’s with the self-indulgent mother stuff? Just get on with it. Everyone is different anyway! And, to a certain extent, I’d say you’re right.

Asking what motherhood is like is equivalent to asking what the ocean is like: it’s blue and green, warm and cold, teeming with life and void of creatures, calm and stormy. In short, the only thing we can really say with true certainty about the ocean is that it’s… well… wet.  Continue reading »