NEW

Some pretty, new pieces have found their way into our home lately...

1. A lovely vintage tin and gorgeous paisley eiderdown courtesy of my sweet friend Laura. With baby number two on the way her nesting has kicked in and she's having a big clear out. Luckily for me.
2. The beautiful scarf Ben bought me from a little boutique when we were on holiday. I love him and I love presents.
3. An awesome find of a jumper that has been patiently hanging in my wardrobe for many months now, waiting for autumn. And now it's here...hoorah!
4. Another holiday purchase in the shape of a little woven bracelet. It reminds me of sweetcorn, which is always a good thing.
5. I love finding pretty postcards in art gallery gift shops...these were the only good thing about an otherwise disappointing trip to Tate St Ives.
6. My sister and I became addicted to visiting Cornwall Soap Box when we were on holiday. So many delicious smells, so little time. It's hard for me to resist the fragrance of Christmas though, so this candle was a must. I can't help but take off the lid and inhale!

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I have been on a clearing/sorting mission over the last few days. Clutter, be gone! This morning there were four bags lined up for the charity shop (as in those huge blue Ikea bags). After a trip to the village there are now two, but stacks of books and a whole pile of clothes for Ben to sort through are sitting next to them. I am a woman obsessed, and I love it.

Mostly I have been inspired by this beautiful lady's house. So calm and serene. Claire, come style our home will you? Pretty please.

In the midst of all this cleaning and clearing I have had an epiphany. I think I know where I'm going wrong. I seem to have a 'thing' for having all the pretty things we own (especially pretty kitchen things) on display. I'm not entirely sure where this comes from. Maybe my Grandma and her beautiful house? Well, for a clutter-free home, some of these pieces will now be found behind cupboard doors instead. Then admired properly when they're bought out at meals or gatherings. Perhaps in the grand scheme of things this is rather a lame epiphany. In the world of sorting out our home however, I feel it's a biggy.

And the top, you may be asking? I find the only trouble with taking things to the charity shop is the too-hard-to-resist temptation to look around. And then to buy things. A wispy piece of chiffon hardly takes up any room and I deserve a I-have-actually-done-some-tidying-for-once treat. That's my reasoning and I'm sticking to it.

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So we're still here. Playing the waiting game, hoping Baby will make it's arrival soon. I'm focusing on staying calm and relaxed and know that this little bird will start on its journey when it wants. Like this lovely lady says...stay in the moment.

Between resting and walking, listening to my hypnobirth CD and whispering encouraging words to The Belly, I've finished the last details in the nursery and I'm so pleased with how it's turned out. A mix of bright colours and vintage prints, second hand discoveries and fairtrade purchases, Mama-made bits and Nanny-made cot bumpers plus a couple of bits from our own childhoods.

From the top:
A second hand sofa from my brother in law covered in a handmade quilt from a charity shop. No doubt one of my best finds ever, for the grand sum of £4. A little TLC was needed but it's a beautiful thing that I can't believe someone just gave away.
The Granny Blankets were also both charity shop finds and were a just few quid each. I completely agree with this lady ...there's always room for another Granny Blanket.
All cushions are Mama-made, with exception for the deer, using vintage fabrics and all the toys are charity shop finds. The knitted dolls I found at separate times for about 50p each in a charity shop, but thought they made a cute couple. Then there's this crazy monster and little bird, made by moi, as well as some cuddlies from my Nan.
The picture frames are Ikea bargains filled with postcards and prints collected from here and there and the Moomin poster is a sheet of wrapping paper from this store. Thw alphabet hanky came from a random homeware store in town that accidentally sells some pretty cool and retro stuff.
The cot is classic Ikea and the blankets include this awesome find and the quilt I made from scraps that I had lying around. The amazing reversible bumper was made by my ever-talented Mum in the prettiest fabrics.
The books are mostly second hand discoveries, with some new classics in there thanks to these ladies and the animal ornaments have been gathered since I first started thinking about this space.
I got pompom crazy with a bespoke Happy Circus garland and couldn't resist hanging the red woolly jumper I wore when I was a kiddo alongside these amazing dungarees.
The chest of drawers and mirror were uncovered at this junk shop and the nappy bag hanging on the bag of the door is a men's satchel we choose when it became apparent that the vast majority of nappy bags on the market are simply horrendous. Plus, blue and yellow anyone?
Our nephew's artwork turned out better than we ever hoped and looks so cool up on the wall. Something we will always treasure and a selection of truly artistic creations.
Finally, hanging above the cot is one of Kerry's truly awesome prints, the Donna Wilson baby plate, my felt cloud plus a dream catcher and beautiful hand drawn Christmas present Dora gave us.

We can't wait to spend hours in this little space with our baby. Watch it grow and develop and create memories as a family of three. Now, if only the teeniest member would shake that tiny booty and hurry along...

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Bump day. The Bump Day. 40 weeks and one day down (thought I'd hold off taking a picture yesterday in case the baby made a late night arrival...wishful thinking)

The Bump and I have been spending our days lounging around, taking little strolls and getting the final things ready for an arrival any day now. Yesterday we had a midwife appointment which went smoothly as always. Blood pressure, good; baby's heartbeat, perfect; blood test results to check iron levels had gone up a bit? Well the red meat has paid off and we're now well and truly in the safety zone. Our lovely midwife this week, Lesley, was who we saw at our first ever appointment at 8 weeks. How fast those months have gone.

At home the Baby's nook in our bedroom is now all set up. A vintage Babar print discovered in a charity shop and postcards with pretty birds and beautiful sayings all sit above the Nanny-made basket liner, which makes comfy living for Donna Wilson and Cath Kidston teddies.

So, we're ready when you are little one. Your bed's awaiting, with new friends tucked up in Mama-made blankets. We can't wait to meet you...

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So. Nursery Inspiration. I think this post could have easily had eight thousand images in, but I’ve saved your finger from all that scrolling and cut it down to this lot. There are a whole heap more in a folder on my desktop.

Right now I have so many ideas rattling around in my head it’s hard to decide which will work well together. We want this to be a space we all love being in; spending time in as a new family. Nothing too matchy matchy (obviously…wait ‘til you see the rest of our house) and somewhere bright and colourful. With the perfect sprinkling of handmade, vintage and second hand treats.

Now I can’t wait to get started. Because at the moment, this is how the room is looking….

PICTURES: source 1; source 2; source 3; source 4; picture 5: source unknown; sources 6&7; source 8

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Some rather lovely things that are making me a happy bunny today and cheering up the day. Sometimes it’s the little things that make the day a little brighter. Something I’ve noticed more and more recently. Maybe it’s the little hands and feet knocking me in the belly that remind me the best things always come in small packages.

Firstly is this beautiful book. I saw a copy in a store in town and had to grab it. It’s basically how I want our house to be. Plus it’s written by Emily Chalmers, the owner of Caravan. Such a cool shop. The gal knows what she’s talking about.

Next is this awesome package from Kelly. The magnetic buttons are making their way to the fridge right now and I’m trying to decide whether to use the card and label or just keep them for myself. Thank you lovely Kelly.

A few days ago I got a message from Hinke, letting me know she was showcasing some of my Happy Circus booties on her blog. I was so happy to receive such a note, as it led me back to House of Hink. A beautiful blog from another corner of the world. Go check it out.

Another bundle of treats from the knitting machine that is my Mum, including these dungarees which are up there with my favourite pieces for the baby. And she made the pattern up as she went along. We’re building some ideas for her additions to Happy Circus and I think these have made the grade.

And this brilliant card, drawn by my sister and sent to us from her crazy rattakins to say thank you for the new cage B grabbed off the forums at work for a bargain price. Apparently Bette, Diane and Goldie are loving the extension to their home. Name explanation? Dora and I love the movie First Wives Club.

Oh, and thank you for the brilliant comments on our nappy quandary. It was so good to read some first-hand reviews and find out what works and what doesn’t. What fabulously helpful readers I have. Don’t go anywhere…your services may be required again.

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We’re currently in the middle of some serious picture hanging. That’s right people. 4 months after we moved in we’re finally getting the last bits sorted, the last boxes unpacked. I’m on a mission.

While our house isn’t quite ready to be photographed, I thought I’d give you a glimpse into my grandparent’s house. I took these when we were in Cornwall because it’s always been such an inspirational place. Overlooking Lands End, their cottage is rammed with treasures. Seriously, it’s like walking through the best antique shop ever. I could happily steal so much.

My Grandma’s interior taste has rubbed off on my sister and me greatly since we were kiddos, when we spent many weekends there playing with everything. That’s what I love the most – my Grandma always views these treasures as pieces to be used. We were never told to not touch and bits were never moved out of reach. We always knew to be careful and to take care of these beautiful trinkets, but there were there to enjoy as they should be. From vintage clothes when we were dressing up and linen textiles on the table and bed, to the antique settle that would be our horse and cart or the Victorian high chair we were all sat in.

This is something I really want to emulate when our own bambino arrives. Our house is full of trinkets too and while I’m not naive enough to believe a crawling toddler may not grab this or that, we won’t be changing the way we live or decorate. Our baby will learn to touch and play gently, to enjoy these things as we did, and I will learn to let that happen and not be scared of breakages. Well, that’s the plan anyway. Get back to me in a year and we’ll see how well that one’s working out...

Oh, and a big hoorah for reaching 120 followers. Hello newbies and welcome. It’s lovely to have you all here xx

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You could say that getting pregnant, and hence being too tired to sort out ANYTHING, is not necessarily the best plan when you’ve just moved house. OK, so there aren’t many boxes left to unpack, but the walls remain bare and pictures are still leaning against the wall, the sideboard and bookshelf tops are still empty and the towels in the bathroom are still perched on the window seat rather than stacked neatly on the shelves we still need to put up. To be fair, B’s happy to get on with a lot of it, but the boy’s all too aware that I have a very specific idea of how it needs to be done and that it’s just not worth doing until I say so.

So enough is enough. That’s right people, it’s time to write a list. When something needs sorting, a list can never fail you and I think this one’s gonna be a goody. By which I mean long. Very, very long.

Here’s a couple of things topping the Must Do Soon section…
1. Print off some wedding pictures to complete the collage type thing I started about 8 months ago.
2. Print off some pictures of all the gorgeous kiddos in our lives to update the ones that are now pretty old. They’ve all grown at least 6 inches since those were taken.
3. Work out where some of the furniture in the living room and kitchen should go. Right now a few pieces look rather plonked.
4. Get some curtains up in the bedroom. B is not the right person to be woken up at 5am by light pouring through gaps in the shutters.
5. Find a few more random picture frames to complete the photo wall I’ve been planning. Luckily this shop provided some awesome vintage postcards to be included and today I finally found the perfect little plate to hang too.

And that’s just the beginning. Bigger things include finding new-to-us, mis-matched dining chairs to replace the rather horrid ones we bought for our first flat four years ago and saving a bit more money to finally buy a laptop so we can get rid of the ugly computer and computer table from the living room.

There’s only one problem. While I think it’s slowly leaving, the sleepiness is still there. Hanging around. And just thinking about this list makes me need a nap. Perhaps I’ll tackle it tomorrow.

Pictures from The Selby. Always inspirational and a website/book that has taken many a spare hour from me.

ps. I promise a little bump picture soon…thank you for such sweet requests to see how it’s coming along x