Attic24

Dorset Jollies :: day 4

I absolutely adore this part of the Dorset coastline, the stretch between my little familiar bit at West Bay, all the way along through Eype, up over Thorncombe Beacon to Seatown, then up over Golden Cap to Charmouth and finally along to Lyme Regis. The whole lot has been designated as a World Herritage Site, you can read more about it here. In the years BC (Before Children), J and I have walked many times along this coast. Oh I adore coastal walking, it absolutely thrills me to the core. I love walking with countryside on the right and sparkling sea to the left, love the scent of it, love the exhilarating climbs up what are sometimes very steep stretches of cliff, love the colours, the light, everything. Absolutely everything (with the exception of sea mist which has been known to ruin a very good walk).

The bit of the cliff with the flat top that you can see in the above picture is Golden Cap, which is the highest cliff on the South Coast of England. It's high, and a hard climb to get over it. J and I have walked it, and yes, it's a tough one. But the views :: Oh!! So very worth the effort of the climb. We're very much looking forward to future years when the Little Peoples legs are longer and stronger and we can take them hiking up here. But for now on the last day of our hols, we choose to sit and admire it from further down the coast. We choose a delightful spot called Stonebarrow Hill which I remember very well from my own chidlhood. I have fond memories of picnics up here in summer, and blackberry picking expeditions in autumn. The views are breathtaking and as this bit of land is owned by the National Trust, there is a delightful little NT shop selling gifts and maps along with icecreams and coffees, and most important for the likes of the Little People there are WC facilities too, with running water and soap for the horrendous, sticky, chocolatey, icecreamy mess that followed the shop visit.
Yes, Stonebarrow Hill is very convenient, you can drive up and park the car direct on a little patch of grass with stunning sea views and the only strenuous thing you have to do is haul the knitted blankets out onto the grass.

It's hot on this day, don't be fooled by the cool blues of sea and sky. There was a haze over the landscape to begin with, which gradually lifted to reveal the hotest of summer days.There was no shade. J and the Little People alternated between playing football and flopping on the blanket panting. More football, more exhausted flopping to eat icecream/read the paper. I sat in the heat and rippled. This was my penultimate stripe, appropriately enough in a sky blue. I was rippling as fast as my hot fingers could go, very excited to be finally so very near the end. But the heat was relentless and eventually I had to admit defeat and join my family on a short stroll.

There are miles and miles of pathways up here, some snake through tall bracken and follow secretive, sunken old Smugglers tracks, while others wind down across open meadows.

There are the most beautiful wild flowers in the meadow pastures and the fluttering of many butterflies.

I show Little Lady how to hold a yellow flower under my chin to reflect the yellow. We used to do this with buttercups when we were children and it's supposed to show if you like butter, do you remember that?? Little Lady loves this idea and we walk and stop and walk and stop and walk and stop about twenty times to see the Butter Effect. Ahhh the little things that please little minds, so well remembered from my own childhood.

I take in the scenery, listen to the Little People chattering away as we slowly head uphill back to the car. I breathe it all in and try my hardest to trap the memories. I think of my ripple blanket, so nearly complete with one and a half sea/sky blue stripes to go. I think to myself how glad I am that in winter when those soft ripples are wrapped around me I can look at those final stripes and think of this time and place, of these colours, the ripply blues of sea and sky on a hot summers day.

The photo below is the view from the bedroom window where J and I sleep when we stay in Dorset. Its my old childhood bedroom, and that view is so familiar to me it makes me incredibly nostalgic when I look out. I took the photo as I was packing up the suitcase in the afternoon, ahhh the end of holidays are so bitter sweet aren't they? In one way I never want them to end, but I also suddenly long to be home.

And one final picture, taken at 9.04pm. We are driving into the sunset up the M6, about two thirds of the way home.

Home sweet home, we were very glad to be back. Such a wonderful time away but oh so good to come home again.

Dorset Jollies :: day 3

Day 3 of our holidays and we had a low sea mist to contend with, not especially brilliant for lounging around in or for viewing scenery in. So we decided to drive along the coast and go visit Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens. We had a visit here last summer and really enjoyed it, so felt it was worth a re-visit. Its one of those places that I vividly remember visiting as a child and so was delighted to find my own Little People enjoyed it so much, and in fact it was their suggestion that we go back again this year.

I think it's one of those places that can please all generations. The Little People just love to run and the pathways through this wonderful garden are just made for running. And they are equally good for old biddies to shuffle around too, if you happen to be of that age. We just had to make sure that the two didn't collide. It was like trying to reign in a couple of over excited puppies, but overall, the Little People were a joy, I love the sense of excitement and adventure they seem to generate out of any given location, be it the beach, a small back garden, or a huge jungle-like garden such as this one.

As you can imagine, I took a lot of photos at this place, the colours of the flowers were absolutely breathtaking. But I don't think I was concentrating properly and a lot of them came out blurred. You can imagine me can't you, getting all in a  lather over the colour of the blue agapanthus set against the bright orange of crocosmia, with vivid red dahlias and purple verbena bonsariensis thrown in, I was delirious with joy at such colour combos. J just shook his head as I started going all giddy, I was running around like a loon taking photos left right and centre. I was obviously on sensory overload and must have been shaking with excitement, hence the camera blur. Sorry about that, but hope you do enjoy the photos I'm posting that are reasonably ok.

This gunnera by the pond was spectacular, as gunnera usually is, but most especially if you are 4 and 5 years old and the leaves tower above you.

And can't you just imagine the sound of four running feet, back and forth, over and over and over this delightful little red bridge? I had to wait patiently for them to tire of it before I could photograph it. It took quite some time.

And this is the Hydrangea Walk (or the Hydrangea Run/Shuffle, depending on your age)

I'm not a massive fan of hydrangeas. Maybe it's because I was forced to try and paint intricate watercolour studies of them when I was at art college, which is a very hard thing to do as it happens. I think maybe I could have developed Post Hydrangea Stress Disorder. True, the colour variation is beautiful, but a bit too subtle for me. I prefer my flowers to be wham-bam in the colour department.

There are magnificent lily ponds at these gardens towards the end of the walk round. They were so peaceful, I could've spent an age just sitting and looking at them.

The Little People were especially excited for this bit, which was well remembered from last year. Beside the pond is a little dispensing machine where you can exchange a 20pence piece for a handful of fish food pellets. Oh, can you imagine the thrill! Feeding these fish was such fun, some of them were ginormous with huge open mouths coming right up out of the water for the food. The Little People squealed with delight and so did their Mummy. Their Daddy even got quite excitable.

I love this last photo. Very much. These beautiful pink flowers, not sure what they're called, but oh so pretty planted there in front of the lily pond. Concentrate, focus, hold still and don't get giddy and the flowers come beautifully in to focus. Background in soft blur. Lovely shot.

It was not until I got home and put the photo on the computer that I noticed my Mum is there in the background. I was so busy focusing on the flower that I didn't notice she was in the frame. She was dressed beautifully in red that day, and the colour of her clothes compliments the colour of the flowers to perfection. I think I could be quite good at photography if I didn't get so over excited.

Dorset Jollies :: day 2

Oh that sky, those clouds, aren't they the very stuff that summer holidays are made of? In England we are so ruled by the weather aren't we? Yes we have variety, and yes I know our beautiful green countryside is only green because of the rain we get, but oh my, its just so very very wonderful when we actually get  traditional, proper, fully-fledged summer weather in summer. These photos of course were all taken last Thursday (today in Yorkshire it's absolutely pouring with rain) and I feel we were blessed weather-wise, and for that I am so very grateful. Incidentally, before I go jollying off and start rambling at you with Day Two, can I just say how nice it was to be back blogging in the Attic yesterday, and a heartfelt thank you for the welcome-home, I did really love that you were all still there.

So...Thursday 24th July, day two of the hols and my car was sick. It was no surprise, it had been sounding like a jet engine for a while and after the long journey down the exhaust was just too far gone to ignore. So at 8.30am, into the garage it went, which meant we were car-less for the day.
So it was decided we would relax and potter, see where the day took us. And to start any sort of relaxing/pottering day you have to eat the right kind of breakfast. Nothing too robust. Museli? No, too healthy. Eggs? No, too faffy. Ok, how about a  little jaunt to the local shop for chocolate croissants and strawberries? Yes now thats more like it, lets make some fresh coffee and eat outside in the garden. Oh the Little People could not beleive their luck, you should have seen the chocolately mess on hands and faces, it was a delight.

We were eating breakfast in B's garden, which is a hop and a skip from the town's  high street. So I left J and the Little People sitting in the sunhine and took a hop and a skip off to the shops. Well one particular shop actually, the shop that always calls me in :: take a peek and see how impossibly charming and captivating it is, how hard to walk on by.

This is the Girls Own Store in Bridport, a shop I am utterly in love with. You may remember me telling you about it when I visited in April? It really is a delight, in every way.

When I first arrived at the shop all eager and excited on this bright sunny morning, fueled by strawberries, chocolate and coffee, I found it was closed. But no matter, it allowed me to take some photographs of the gorgeous shop window display without feeling too conspicuous.

Oh, such lovliness! The crochet, the enamelware, the Greengate, the polkadots, the baskets!

I am pressing my face right to the window here to see in, to see if it has altered since I was last here. Ah no, it's not changed much, still as lovely. Still a great danger to my credit card. I wander round town and eventually come back when it's open. I browse slowly, taking in every detail and when I've been around the whole shop inch by inch, I start gathering my purchases.

I buy a paper lampshade with roses on, some pretty paper lanterns. Some paper napkins, an old vintage biscuit tin. Some Greengate tea towels and picnic plates. I chat to Sara (the owner) about my love for Greengate products and the crochet blankets she has in the shop. I feel like I would like to pull up a chair and have a cup of tea and stay there all day.

But eventually I leave and skip back to B's gorgeous walled garden where all is peaceful and sunny. Cosmo her canary is singing his little heart out in his cage which has been hung just outside the back door. J and my Dad are both engrossed in reading the paper, Little Man is playing with his lego and Little Lady is playing with the water in the birdbath. And me, what do I do? I spend a while going through all my purchases and then settle down for a bit of quiet rippling.

I love that my ripple blanket is there, that I can add some Dorset holiday memories into the final stripes. That I can sit peacefully in the morning sun and be totally immersed in the rhythm of the ripples. Such a pleasure this blanket of mine, every stripe has been a joy to create.

Later on in the morning, J and I go off to the shops and go Croc-hunting. The Little People have had crocs since the start of the summer and we decide we would like to join the fun, especially as they are so useful for paddling in the sea/rivers. I choose sky blue and J goes for manly khaki green. I force the family to line up for a photo shoot, I'm mean like that.

Later on after lunch we go on a woodland walk, giving our crocs a trial run out. Its cool and shady with dappled sunlight.

And later on again, around 5pm, we pack a simple picnic and walk the two miles down to the beach.

We walk through playing fields, past the local brewery, under the noisy by-pass and then on through fields of wheat and pasture, following the meandering river down to the sea.

The day has cooled down now, the sky has clouded and a light breeze has arrived but it's still warm and summery. We spread rugs on the shingle beach and settle down to eat.

Cold sausages, hard boiled eggs, crisps and cherry tomatoes. Green and Blacks Chocolate. OJ for the Little People and Chardonnay for the Large People. I love picnic food, the simpler the better. And beach picnics do have a certain special somthing.
Oh, it's been a lovely, lazy, relaxing, pottering, meandering sort of a day.

Dorset Jollies :: day 1

Good morning, good morning, I am back.Yes, we are back from our little summer jaunt down to Dorset, and mighty fine it was too. Oh how blue the sky was and how sparkly the sea was and how hot the sun was! It was wonderful, in every way.
We traveled down by car this time as it was quite a last minute decision to go and no time to book cheap train tickets. We made the journey in the early evening, it took five and a half hours, and was two hundred and eighty miles of ok-ishness. Long car journeys with Little People are never brilliant fun are they, but we did ok. No mishaps, light traffic, well behaved back-seat passengers who slept for about a quarter of the journey and entertained themselves delightfully for the rest. There was colouring, reading, singing, playing and chattering. Lots of snacks were required. Loud music was necessary. We arrived at eleven thirty pm feeling remarkably perky, excited for the days ahead.

I took a lot of pictures whilst I was away. So I kind of figured that as I've already told you something about our trips to Dorset when we were there in April (see here and here), I will try and waffle less than normal. Let the pictures tell you about our days. Hope you enjoy.

Wednesday 23rd July :: West Bay harbour :: 11.42am

Wednesday 23rd July :: West Bay, west beach :: 11.50am

Wednesday 23rd July :: playing with pebbles :: 12.10pm

Wednesday 23rd July :: sky gazing :: 12.14pm

Wednesday 23rd July :: West Bay, the Pink house and east cliff:: 12.22pm

Wednesday 23rd July :: over to Mums cottage for lunch :: 1.03pm

Wednesday 23rd July :: the decking by the river at Mums  :: 1.08pm

Wednesday 23rd July :: into Mums cottage through the porch :: 1.26pm

Wednesday 23rd July :: into the cottage through the porch :: 1.26pm

  Wednesday 23rd July :: a plate of found treasures :: 1.27pm

Wednesday 23rd July :: Grandmas Summer Bowl before Little People attack :: 1.34pm

Wednesday 23rd July :: checking on the beloved blanket on the spare bed :: 1.52pm

 Wednesday 23rd July :: a corner of Mums garden :: 1.55pm

Wednesday 23rd July :: over to B's house for a summer drink and dinner :: 3.45pm

Wednesday 23rd July ::cliff top at Burton Bradstock :: 7.15pm 

Wednesday 23rd July :: walking down to the beach at Burton Bradstock :: 7.18pm

Wednesday 23rd July ::Burton beach :: 7.25pm

Wednesday 23rd July :: Little buried feet at Burton beach :: 7.28pm

Wednesday 23rd July :: Mounding up the shingle, Burton beach :: 7.29pm 

Wednesday 23rd July ::Back up to the cliff top, looking out to sea :: 7.59pm

So that was day one of our holiday, it was such a perfect, long summer day. I didn't want it to end. I always feel as if I want to capture and preserve every detail of these days and not ever let it go.
The light, the heat, the clear sparkling blue sea, the salty air, the cry of the gulls, the chug of a boat, ice cream, pebbles, leafy green lanes, hammock swinging, dappled shade, bubbling river, perfumed flowers, cool rooms, family time, laughter, summer drinks, clifftops, paddling, beach combing, golden light, warm evenings.
Summer holidays, how I love them.

More tomorrow xxx

The School Run

Monday to Friday at 8.30am we set out on our walk to school. It takes roughly fifteen minutes to do our journey to school and most of those minutes are along the canal towpath. Some days are much quicker than others, when the school run quite literally becomes a Run (well for the Little People at any rate, I just try to walk as fast as I can without panting). Some days are dawdle-days and we arrive late. I enjoy both, enjoy the rosy flushed excitement after the Little People have been racing on the Fast days (see the above photo), and enjoy the holding of hands, chatting, I-spy and observations as we amble along together on the Slow days.

 

We are not fair-weather walkers, we walk every day come rain or shine. We've seen the canal so cold it's frozen over and forced the ducks and swans to ice skate. We've seen it so wet that it's risen and flooded the tow path completely. We've seen it so windy that the water has blown across in windy waves, tossing the canal boats as if they were at sea. We've seen it so damp that the water has been shrouded with a grey mist. And we've seen it like today, beautifully calm, still and bright.

I do happen to think these poor trees are a bit harsh and a bit too clippy, but nevertheless I do love the reflections they make in the water.

 

We love to see the boats come and go, we are quite nosy towpath walkers. It's so intriguing to glimpse into these little houses-on-water, see the dinky little rooms, people eating breakfast, washing up, reading a book, pottering about. Some of the boats are lived on permanently and some are hire boats with holiday makers aboard :: there is always something new to see every day.

We admire the flowers that decorate the boats with colour.

Both real flowers and painted ones.

And the way each boat has it's own name and personality, a whole cast of boaty characters as we walk/run our way to school.

And then there's the wildlife :: ducks and swans swim over to say hello.

Today is our last school run before the looooong summer holidays begin tomorrow. Of course we'll still walk along the canal as the weeks go by, but we'll be heading into town to the cafe, or scooting along to the park instead of going to school. And it will not be 8.30am either. Oh I am SO looking forward to the holidays!

This evening we are going away for a few days, heading down country to Dorset to see my folks. We are very excited, looking forward to the sea and family time.
So I shall be back next week :: I know a lot of bloggers are taking a summer break, but I intend to still be here wittering my way through summer if you care to drop by. It may be a bit more erratic, may be more pictures than words and will probably feature the Little People quite a bit. But I would love for you to pop up to the Attic from time to time to say hello. Please do.
See you soon xxxx

The Bag, Ta-dah!

Finally, here is my first ever crochet bag revealed in all its stripy glory. And if I do say so myself, I  think it turned out rather fabulous in a bold, floppy, baggy sort of way.

It ended up a bit larger than I had first envisaged, mainly because I got so carried away hooking round in delightful, colourful, woolly circles that I didn't actually notice it was getting so big. And so thirty-eight rounds after beginning it suddenly occurred to me that I really ought to stop and begin thinking about an edging and some handles. And perhaps some little bitsy flowers to finish.

It was an easy thing to make folks, honest it was. And enjoyable, oh yes you betcha. After working on blankets recently (and the ripple still isn't finished, I've run out of yarn and have ten more stripes to go) it was lovely to have an idea, start it, work on it and finish it inside a month. Satisfying.

I didn't have a pattern for this bag as such, but I did have to learn about working in the round with increases ie how to create a flat circle for the bag bottom (from an old crochet pattern belonging to Lovely C, we cracked it together one morning over coffee). I learnt how to do the shell edging from my little crochet book, and used a pattern I found on line here for the flowers, although I found I had to alter it a little as it didn't seem to quite work out the way it was written. The leaves were my own design and the straps, well they're just long rows of single crochet.

I do especially like the way the bag can be plonked down and the top sort of rolled over so that it becomes very practical for using/selecting yarn when working on my hexagons.

And I think the hexagons look especially fetching nestled snugly in there, don't you agree?

It's a bag of multi coloured hooky goodness. Inside and out.

ps :: I know quite a few of you have been following the progress of this little project and have expressed interest in it as I've been making it. I'm contemplating attempting to write the pattern/instructions down for making this bag, do you think this might be something you would like? I'm happy to do it if you'd like me to, please just let me know what you think. Thanks :o)x

edited to add :: oh my friends, you make me so happy, thanks a million for the bag-love!!
I've written up the bag pattern, you can find it HERE. Happy Hooking!xxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

Winners

Ahh blue summer sky, warm summer sun and white fluffy clouds how glad I am to see you!! Its been so long since we had a warm, dry, sunny day to greet us and it's beautiful today here in Yorkshire, truly beautiful.

So today on this sunny Monday, as promised it's the day for the Blog Candy Giveaway draw.
I bought these pretty bags at the weekend and have begun to fill them with pretty little things, delightful little things, useful little things, yummy little things and smelly little things (in the nicest possible way). I am quite charmed by the bags themselves which are fabric washbags, aren't they just so pretty?

I have to say a Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge big thank you to all of you who were kind enough to play along with the BCG :: during the past week there appeared a total of 50 names, which has rocked my little world up here in the Attic! So many of you de-lurked and introduced yourselves, it was marvelous and so nice to "meet" you all. Thank you.

Me and Little Lady performed the draw earlier this morning. Forty eight names were typed out on weeny slips of paper and thrown into the stripy hat-bag. Little Lady carefully selected bracelets to wear, then Little Fingers performed a thorough shuffle.........

.......Little fingers plucked an itty-bitty of folded paper out......

.......Little Fingers carefully unfolded........

.......and Little Fingers revealed a name......

I feel bad there can only be three winners, but thats the way these things go I'm afraid.

The first two early birds to leave comments last Monday were

Kathy from My life and other beads

and Barbara.

And the third winner picked today is of course Julia from Vintage Heaven.

C  o  n  g  r  a  t  u  l  a  t  i  o  n  s   :o)

I'll drop you a line and we can get Blog Candy on it's way to you just as soon as I've made the hand-made element of the contents. Which may well be a week or two. Or even three. You know me, I do so love to dawdle.

Flowery

Its been a funny old day today. As you may know, my Little Lady will start school in September and it was her last day at nursery today. I blubbed. Yes I did, I was really overcome with emotion and it totally caught me by surprise as I am not usually one to cry. I then decided to call in to M&S on my way home and buy some bits of school uniform and nearly started crying again looking at the dinky little Age 4 grey pinafores. People must have thought me a real headcase, standing stroking the school uniforms sniffing madly and looking all snotty and weepy.

Anyways...enough of all that, how do you like the little posy on my table today? I took this pic late yesterday afternoon when the light was shining through the back window and across the dining table, lighting up the flowers. I so love this simple little collection of flowers and herbs from the garden :: a few more sweet peas, some lavender and the most gorgeous deep, dark cornflowers. Lovely C gave me these plants as seedlings a few months ago, she told me they were cornflowers grown from Sarah Raven seeds but she couldn't remember the colour. Aren't they just amazing? In fact I adore Sarah Ravens approach to gardening, she's a colour junkie like me. I order her catalogue and dribble and drool all over it.

And talking of flowers, I crocheted these ones last night as a final flourish for my bag.
The handles are there too look, and now it's been assembled and finished. I am so very thrilled with it! I'll reveal it for you on Monday in all it's stripey colourful glory.
And talking of Monday, I'll also be picking out the winner of the BCG, so if you have'nt already added your name to the hat, you are cordially invited to go forthwith to this post and add your comment.
See you then xxxxxx

On the Menu :: Tuesday Tarts (!)

I thought it was about time I bombarded you with more food, so today I'm sharing our dinner from Tuesday :: I call these Tuesday Tarts cos I've only made this recipe twice before and by co-incidence both times it's been on a Tuesday. But just so you know, these are officially called
Tomato and Goats cheese Tarts.

I have to confess I get massive childish pleasure from writing TARTS on the menu blackboard, heehee, I do chuckle to myself. Its like when the Little People say the word B.U.M. and find it hilarious, well I am no better. Shame on me.

Anyways, enough sniggering, lets get on. As I mentioned above, this is a new recipe to me and I love love LOVE it. Be warned its not the kind of quick sling-it-all-together type recipe I usually favour as it does take a bit of time to prepare, but trust me it is so utterly delicious it's worth that little bit of extra time.

First ingredients as seen above are cherry tomatoes, twenty of the little beauties (200g). Pop in the oven on a low heat to slow roast for one hour (see, you do need to think of this meal in advance somewhat). The other ingredients pictured below are very simple :: olive oil, onion, sugar, soft goats cheese and ready-made puff pastry.

My goodness, what a magical marvel puff pastry is! I had no idea, have never used it before and I am smitten. So easy! So grown-up and restauranty! Its already rolled so all you do is open it out flat, cut it to size and hey-presto, its ready to bake. The roll in the packet I bought made eight tarts altogether (four squares of uncooked pastry went into the freezer for next Tuesday). It goes onto a tray, pricked over with a fork and then baked so it turns golden and puffs up seductively.

While the pastry is puffing away in the oven, you make the topping :: into a bowl go the roasted tomatoes, thinly sliced onion, crumbled goats cheese, oil, sugar and seasoning. Mix well and it's done. It looks a bit gloopy, but don't be afraid, it's the makings of a taste sensation. Really, trust me.

Divide the mixture and spread onto the pastry bases, then back into the oven for final cooking to melt the cheese and turn it lightly golden brown......

......these utterly delicious little tartlets were simply accompanied by one of my usual salads, and served with a ta-dah!!
The Little People loved the fact we were eating Tarts (which rhymes with F***s). They really, really enjoyed eating these and have demanded I make more. J unbelievably inquired whether I had actually made these or bought them from the bakers. Bakers?Moi? Serve something I had not made myself?? I was a little huffy and indignant but had the good grace to take it as a compliment.

The official recipe with quantities and temperatures and times can be found here.
And this book is at the top of my teetering Amazon Wishlist.
I love Fran Wardes recipes, I can also highly recommend this book which I do own and use a lot.

Do let me know if you try this one. I think it'd be a good-to-impress meal to serve visiting guests, also top notch picnic fodder. Tasty all round.

Book love

I'm a very visual person and I love to absorb visual things, it's like Food for the Soul if you like and essential to my wellbeing. Whether it's my own surroundings or someone elses, I just love looking at visual details :: colours, textures, cushions, blankets, pictures, vases, flowers, collections, rugs, shelves, china, lamps, tiles, stuff. The stuff that gives personality to a home. And if I can't get this visual stimulation in person, then I like to read about it. I find that blogs, magazines, books and certain on-line stores (like my beloved Greengate) perfectly feed my addiction for this sort of thing. I like to eat it all up, gobble gobble mmmmmm!

Yesterday after writing about my sweet peas, I was reminded of one of my favourite books. Like Jane at Posy, I have a huge love for interiors/styling/decorating books and magazines. I devour them, savour them, adore them. I totally love these sort of books, I love everything about them :: the writing is so evocative and the images so inspirational they make my heart squeeze.

My collection is not huge, I think I own about fifteen or so, with the same amount sitting wishfully in my Amazon Wishlist. One of my favourite things to do when I want to relax is to select a book from the shelf, make a mug of tea with perhaps a bun or some buttered banana bread and settle myself down to absorb the content of the pages.

I own several Country Living publications, and this one is an absolute gem ::
its called Country Colour Combinations.
I came across it one day whilst browsing in Borders BC (Before Children) :: now normally when I'm in Borders I browse away and if I see anything I like the look of I jot down the details in my Hello Kitty notebook so I can order it from Amazon. Saves money see? But on this occasion I simply could not walk away from this book, I had to have it there and then.

OK, let me tell you a bit about how the book is set out ::
There are five chapters which give "an irresistible palette of decorating schemes inspired by the natural shades of landscape and garden."
Take a look...if you click on the images they should pop up large in a window for you to have a good long look at the lovliness ::

Above picture is from the first chapter called Field and Hedgerow, which then goes on to show schemes inspired by things like berry and holly leaf, chestnut and copper beech, wheat hay and meadow.

Then there's the Sun, Sea and Sky chapter with schemes such as chalk and sky, storm cloud and sea spray, rockpool and driftwood. (I am swooning by now)

Next up is the Flowers and Blossom chapter, with some beautiful palettes such as mixed hydrangeas, sweet peas and stocks (ohhh bliss!!!), jasmine and honeysuckle.

And then comes The Kitchen Garden chapter and some yummy schemes based on vegetables, such as peapod and asparagus, aubergine and courgette flower, radish and tomato. Mmmmmmmmmm.

And finally the Slate and Stone chapter (my least favourite, but still beautiful), the schemes here include plaster and terracotta, marble and flint, sandstone and clay.

Its an absolute feast for the eyes on every poge. Can you tell how much I love this book? You can? Yes, I suppose its obvious really.