March - Happy Springtime Home

March - Happy Springtime Home by long-may-she-rain featuring modern home decor

Breville small appliance / Newgate modern home decor / H M wire basket / NKUKU vintage picture frame / John Lewis graphic t shirt

March has been flying by, hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend! I have been trying to do some organising and sorting every week (in line with my New Years resolution to declutter my life) so my must-haves must be just that, necessary!

I am growing to prefer more streamlined designs in the home, these frames from Nkuku are my absolute favourite and I have them throughout the house. You can mix up what you display in them such as dried flowers, postcards or family photographs - highly recommended! I am also trying to have house plants in every room to bring some of the outside in, I will be amazed if they are all still alive by the summer! And I have finally found the kettle of my dreams from Breville, I had my kitchen redecorated a year and a half and have been on the hunt ever since! Hooray! The scrumptious Lush facemask and comfy T are just to remind myself I can still treat myself, particularly if it's a Bank Holiday weekend!

Thanks for popping by,

Katie

Joys Of Christmas

I hope you and all those you love had a wonderful Christmas time! We had far too many presents, too much food and too much TV time...can't wait to do it all again next year! Christmas day itself passed in a flash after I was done 'doing a Jamie' on the dinner - the Norfolk Black turkey didn't disappoint and thankfully the roast potatoes were tasty - I think as long as the potatoes are crispy, you've got nothing to worry about! I did manage to get all my wrapping done in time (who's silly idea was it to stamp my own wrapping paper?) and I used the monochrome Christmas inspiration I had coveted on Pinterest, which wouldn't suit my more traditional home but was perfectly suited to my presents! 

Candles and fairy lights reigned supreme, and I did manage to sit down for the artistic genius that is Muppet Christmas Carol - it's not official Christmas without it! Mia (AKA - Santa Paws!) was super spoilt for her first Christmas as part of this mad family in the UK, she keeps gathering all her new toys into a pile like she can't believe they all belong to her! She also coped really well with the influx of visitors, noise and children, I couldn't have asked for anything more! Hope yours went off with a bang too, now we must face the confusion of the days until New Year - if in doubt, check the TV Guide!

Thanks for reading, hope you have a super start to 2016!

Katie

December Monthly Must-Have's

December Monthly Must-Have's by long-may-she-rain

Cotton kitchen towel / Christmas home decor, £40 / Christmas wrapping paper, £9.16 / Christmas candle, £21 / Christmas home decor, £8.68 / Black and white wrapping paper, £8.09 / Meri Meri christmas gift tag / Primitives By Kathy wood wall art, £7.64 / Christmas jewelry / Bare Escentuals brown eyeshadow, £13 / Heidi Swapp Oh What Fun Metal Dies-December Word 5.4"X2", £4.82

December is flying by, with only a week to go until the big day! It has been a flurry of work, friends, crafting, list making and watching every Christmas cookery show going (Jamie O is my choice!) busy busy busy! I am decorating the house today on a rare Friday day off, and I am feeling very excited about decking the halls with boughs of holly, I've had fairy lights up since November so I haven't been completely without festivities! This year I am just concentrating on making each room as cosy as possible, candles, sparkle and the smell of mulled wine and baking from the kitchen, that's the good stuff! All I wish for this Christmas is a happy day with those I love, with plenty of silly games, The Muppets Christmas Carol and for the roast potatoes to be crispy.....but any of the lovely things above would be a bonus ;) What's on your Christmas list this year? 

Katie x

First Weeks Of February

February is a funny old month isn't it? Blink and it's gone in a flash, leaving only Valentines mementoes and pancake overdose in it's wake! Working in retail means I couldn't escape the hype of Valentines Day, but luckily it was a good day and I did get some rather lovely surprises from some very lovely people (first solo valentines in six years was always going to be a weird one!) My rather fabulous '50 Shades Of Earl Grey' spoon is from La De Dah Living and is much more my cup of tea than the original, and a cheeky little addition to the afternoon tea tray. I also received the most hilarious, adorable pug biscuit in the post which was a surprise to say the least...almost too nice to eat! It's so good to have spring flowers in the house again, hyacinths are so worthwhile with their gorgeous scent, one of my favourites.

I was struck down with a virus which wasn't the best 24hours, once I did manage to drag myself downstairs I found that the mini daffodils had finally burst into bloom, that splash of yellow is so welcome this time of year isn't it? Outside the snowdrops were unfurling, did you know that in the name Snowdrop, the drop is for the old word for earring - 'Eardrop' - NOT drop of snow? I didn't! It's still frosty in the mornings here, the gorgeous swirls of the ice caught my eye as I was grumpily deicing my car, hopefully that's the worst of the winter weather over now, I'm ready for my spring wardrobe!

And it wouldn't be February without pancakes! I went rather off-piste this year and rather than just my traditional sugar&lemon topping I branched out at my friends pancake banquet with maple syrup and bacon - good god, bloody delicious! We ate three courses of different toppings before admitting defeat, a very enjoyable evening indeed. This weekend has been beautifully relaxing so far, piles of magazines full of springtime promise, fresh coffee, long breakfasts and laughing at how loud my little terrier snores, I thought I was bad enough but Mollie takes the crown!

I also made the most of a rainy Monday by booking myself a solo trip to Cornwall at a beautiful B&B where I can sketch, surf and eat whatever I want - roll on May!!

Hoping it's been a good week for you too, what are your springtime plans?

Katie

My Easter Weekend

Well I can honestly say that was the nicest Easter Bank Holiday i've had in many years! I was quite happy pottering around the garden on the Saturday, swapping eggs with the family on Sunday, followed by the Easter Feast and sleepily settling down to watch David Copperfield. It was a shame to have such soggy weather on Sunday, but then again, I was too busy in the kitchen to have gone outside!

For me, Easter is all about family, flowers and of course, food. I gave into my inner child and whipped up the classic chocolate nest cakes (luckily. narrowly avoiding the UK Mini Eggs shortage!) and cooked traditional Lamb for the dinner, recipe from the Yeo Valley Farmhouse Cookbook that I would highly recommend, it was a winner! 

I did try and get some seasonal easter decorations throughout the house, I was very pleased to spot the Victorian Easter Card at my local antiques centre, I used to have a rabbit just like that! I was sad to see the last bunches of daffodils until next year, but I'm very glad it's now bluebell season instead. My local woodland has wild english bluebells....but I'm afraid I have naughty spanish ones in my garden - they weren't planted on purpose I promise, but whilst they're here, I will enjoy them! 

Mum&I had a rule not to buy each other easter eggs, so I was very excited to receive my first cup of tea in my 'Insead-Of' easter present, a new Emma Bridgewater indeed! I did brave the rain to pick fresh chard and kale for the Sunday Lunch, after chopping back the kale to the bare stems after the butterfly massacre of '13, it's bounced back to life and very tasty it is too!

Hope your weekend was a good one! Let's try and carry that Springtime Easter joy in our hearts through to the end of the week, roll on the weekend!

Katie

Christmas Memories

Well, after the whirlwind of Christmas, it's that time of year when no-one really knows what day it is, only the TV guide can set us straight! I had a really fantastic time this year, and was very spoilt indeed, my whole family were still unwrapping long into Boxing Day! I was in charge of the Christmas dinner, as was actually very pleased with my attempt, I highly recommend Jamie's tip of placing the turkey on a bed of clementines, very yummy indeed! We all managed to sit down and stay awake for Muppet Christmas Carol and Downton, still wearing our cracker-hats of course, it was lovely! I was back to work pretty sharpish so I thought I'd just revel in those Christmas memories for a little while longer with some Iphone photos of the day, I am usually too distracted to take any pictures but I was determined this year! As you can see, Bruce bought my my own 'Bear and the Hare', they will be included in the Christmas decorations for a long time I'm sure! Hope you enjoy this time before New Year, despite the weathers best efforts to dampen our spirits!

I'll be back blogging in 2014, as always, thanks so much for reading! 

Katie

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I do love my home this time of year, more candles than bulbs, the smell of spices, rustling of wrapping paper...seeing presents with your name on ready and waiting, I still get just as excited!
The weather has been wet and wild the last few days, thoughts to anyone who's suffered flooding or damage to their homes, seem even more unfair when it's at this time of year!
I have had quite a calm Christmas Eve, just about to finish off the mince pies, then it's smoked salmon and Christmas cocktails in the Shepherds Hut. Tomorrow is with close family, and I'm wearing the chef hat!

Wishing you&yours a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year, thanks for reading!

Katie