So, as you may know, if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, I have two little cats.  Two very adorable cats I might add and I love them very much.  For the purpose of this blog however I would like to tell you just a teeny bit about my little black cat. 

'He', is obviously a little boy cat and is his name is Otter.  The reason he is called Otter is because every time I went to go and see the litter when I was chossing my kitten, 'he' was on his back with his paws on his tummy, just like a little baby otter, and thus he became 'Otter'. 

I could not and did not envisage that later in his little life, that would be obsessed with water!  Yes, you did read that correctly.  People always ask me if I called him Otter because he likes water.  But I did not know this when he was just a wee bundle of fluff.

He honestly defies all that is natural in the feline kind, as his true love in life and the thing that makes his little heart skip a beat is the sound of running water, as this can only mean that he will be able to play in a body of water of some kind should he find the source.

Now I've had cats my whole life and they have all, as is typical of cats, liked running water, as does Otter.  The difference is, is that Otter will get into a full bath of water and stand or indeed wade through the water.  He also, every day without fail, begs (via pawing at the bathroom door and whining), 'ask' to go into the bathroom, where he will run as fast as his little legs will carry him and fling himself into the bath tub and stand and stare at the tap.......until I turn it on of course!  This was much to the amusement of a plumber who came to look at my shower the other day.  I'm currently making lots of changes to my house and a new shower is high on the list of priorities.  Otter of course begged for the tap to be turned on while the plumber was looking at the shower.  He was in stitches over Otter and took a photograph of him to show other people$£"!"£??(*&*^!

I have never in all my years of having cats known a cat like him.  He will choose water or the lure of a nice bag or box to hide in, over food of any kind???? When I went to see the litter, I chose little Flossy (his sister) straight away.  It was only when I decided after the first night of having Flossy, that I decided that didn't want her on her own, so I went back for Otter.  No-one wanted him and he was the only one left in the litter : ( It was the best decision I could ever have made.  I really couldn't imagine my life or my home without him in it.  He honestly makes me laugh every day...he also is the most loveable little boy and loves nothing more than snuggling up to you for a cuddle.  

I could write an entire book, let along a wee blog, about my little boy.  But for fear of getting a reputation as a cat lady (probably too late), I will cease this chitter chatter about little Otter.  Needless to say he is a wonderful boy, and you probably haven't heard the last of him!

More about my house and my painting disaster later in the week....

Till then

xx

So, have you heard of RE?  I posted about RE last year after I visited Liberty in London, when RE had established their first pop-up shop.  What an amazing site for your first pop-up is all I can I say.  Anyway, I’m hooked on RE…

It’s one of my all-time favourite shops, both on-line but most of all the ‘real deal’ store in Corbridge, in Northumberland, which I’ve had the pleasure of visiting a couple of times now.  I can’t choose one thing that I love about the store which would give you the most accurate portrayal of what I’m talking about, but I can tell you that I always feel incredibly excited about visiting.  It’s like a whole day out for me.

The day starts with the drive there, which is definitely a ‘scenic’ drive.  The countryside is beautiful though and only made even better when you know you have a fab stop awaiting you at the end.  The shop is hidden away, quite bizarrely, behind a modern looking petrol station.  Really, blink and you’ll miss it!  The first time I went, I was sure I had gone to the wrong place.

The inside of the shop feels a little bit like an Aladdin’s cave, in that it seems to piled high with stuff.  Stuff that, at first glance, seems thrown together randomly which gives you the sense that you are about to find a bargain, which always find really exciting.  It’s very like when you enter a junk shop or flea market and you know there might be treasures hidden amongst the muck.  On closer inspection however it’s the complete opposite, where everything has a place, purpose and so much of what is sold seems like a work of art, even if it is covered in its original rust-jacket!

Anyway, the shop is stacked with notebooks (another fetish of mine), ribbons, glassware, creams, potions, stuff for the garden, kitchen and great little knick-knacks and gift items.  It’s one of those shops where you are probably best to not go in with an idea of what you want, but you know for sure that you WILL buy something and that thing you buy you WILL love, and you will eventually wonder how you ever did without it!

It’s a little out the way, but the drive is well worth it and there are few great tea-rooms and pubs in the village for sustenance before you have to hit the road again.

Well worth the visit.  Do try and make it along of you are ever in the area, or like me, en-route up north to Edinburgh.  If that’s too long to wait, try the on-line shop at http://www.re-foundobjects.com/

Enjoy!

xx

 

....after I'd painted the walls of my hallway.

I went out first thing that same morning and picked up some bits from my local flea market.  I really can't resist when I'm there and more often than not get completely sucked into buying pieces that I think I can turn into something nice for my home.  On Saturday, as well as five bunches of flowers, hence the carnage in my kitchen seen here, I picked up a little wooden shelf unit, for the bargain price of £2!

It was a lovely solid piece, I could see easily that with a lick of paint it would fit perfecty into my new studio.  So, thats exactly what I did.  I grabbed my bargain while could and when all the painting of walls was done I covered this wee piece (along with a couple of older pieces that needed some attention) with some Annie Sloan chalk paint I had left over(see www.anniesloan.co.uk) . 

If you haven’t used Annie Sloan paints then really, don’t hesitate!  They are great paints and apply really easily as well as being really flexible in how you apply them. See the link here for details re these paints which you can order on line if you don't happen to live near a stockist. I also hope to do a few tutorials on these paints soon, and will keep you posted, literally, when I attempt to paint one of the walls in my bedroom Abusson Blue, another VERY strong colour! Honestly, I don't know what's come over me lately with all this colour.      

(http://www.anniesloan.com/).

I'll be showing you more of the finished products in my studio in the coming weeks.  I've another painting frenzy planned for this weekend...while I am on a roll! 

Till tomorrow,

xx

What did you do this bank holiday weekend?  I painted…lots!

 As you know, I’m slowly making my way through my new house doing as much as I can to get it looking like I want it to.  I decided that this weekend was the weekend to tackle the hallway, all the way up to the top of the house!  I got a little help which was fab…thank you Claire! 

I started off by going to B&Q and taking advantage of their offer on all decorating products and picked up 3 tins of Farrow & Ball, Great White.  Farrow & Ball paints are really lovely to use, as they apply really easily and you get excellent coverage from the tin.  I also ordered a tin of their paint in Down Pipe which I’m going to be using in the living room.  I’m super excited about using down pipe as it’s a really strong colour, one which I’ve not used before so do watch this space where I’ll be posting about that, hopefully before summer kicks in.

Anyway, we started in the early afternoon and made our way through to early evening.  By 5.30 we were done, all ready for a well-earned drink! I have to say that the colour was quite difficult to see as we were applying it as the colour that was already on the wall was super-similar.  It did certainly brighten it up though and managed to get rid of all the scuff marks that were still there from moving day…woops!

When the paint had dried I frantically applied a wall sticker in the hall way.  I ordered the sticker a couple of months ago and was desperate to get it up to see what it looked like.  What do you think?  I really like it, though it was quite finicky to get on.  Tips are to hold the sheet, not have it lying flat, and pull each sticker off from the largest edges, working your way towards the thinnest part of the sticker.

Anyway, the bug didn’t stop there.  I then picked up my brushes again on the Monday to transform a couple of bits of furniture, but more about that tomorrow.  In the meantime I hope you had a lovely Bank Holiday weekend.  What did you get up to?  Was it productive?  Or did you do what my kittens did and catch up on sleep?  Honestly, it’s a cat’s life!

Till tomorrow,

Serena

xx

 

 

Here I am!

Hello again.  I’m back in the land of blogging and raring to go.  An awful lot has happened since I last wrote, which has something to do with why I have been ‘off the scene’.  Let me tell you a little bit about what I’ve been up to.

First things first, I bought a house!  A super-cute little house that makes me smile every time I think about it.  I didn’t even know a house could do that, did you?  Anyway it does make me smile and it did from when I first went to view it.  To be honest I wasn’t seriously looking for a house at the time.  By that I mean I am always looking at houses, it’s kind of in my blood as my dad has been in property development since I was little.  I just mean that I wasn’t convinced I was in the right position to actually buy one of my own again and live in Nottingham (I’m still hankering after my country pile). 

 

Houses are really exciting to me.  A lot of my early memories are of running around the derelict houses that my dad was doing up, having fun in all sorts of places and things I probably shouldn’t have been.  Since then myself and my two brothers have developed our own ‘house fetish’.  One of my brothers is a real estate agent the other is just about to launch a property business and I am obsessed with interiors and well, what I call ‘nesting’….basically the pretty bit.  In fact my Dad has a lot to answer for in terms of my very expensive obsession with house magazines!  Hey ho, I digress.

So my house is pretty…I think.  It is wee 3 bedroom cottage style Victorian terrace in a conservation area in the city.  The area is definitely ‘up and coming’ but the street I live on is just gorgeous.  All the houses are so quaint and sweet and the neighbours are all so friendly.  In fact when I moved in just a few days before Christmas, I received cards from the entire street, bar none.  Then several of the neighbours came to knock on the door to ask if I needed any help moving in….in this day and age!  I tell you, things like that restore your faith in society.  Anyway, point is I am incredibly lucky to have stumbled across this little street, not to mention the house which seems to draw everyone in.  I will be in this house for a little while I feel.

I’ve a little work to do around the place, but nothing drastic.  It’s all just the pretty bits which are the best bits.  I’ve already painted a few rooms, and the front door which was a dark green before, and I’ll be showing you all the other things I've done over the next while.  Next I'm going to be tackling the hall and bedroom I think, so expect some upcoming blogs in which I’ll be showing you what I’m up to. 

Other than my house, which has been a big, but exciting upheaval, I’ve been incredibly busy at work, lecturing and generally keeping up with the madness that goes on behind the scenes.  I’ve also spent the last couple of months consolidating all of my stock for the business which means I will now be working from my new home studio, so watch this space on that one.  I’ll again be keeping you up to date with what I’m up to , and what I've done so far, in my new attic studio (seen below), which is super exciting!

 In the meantime, it’s good to be back!

xx

Well I have been swamped!!  The University term has started and to say I have lots of work is an understatement.  In fact work has been incredibly stressful since I’ve been back.  I’m responsible for some 300 students in our first year intake this year which means it’s really difficult to cross things off of my to-do list.  Every time I cross something off the top of my list, 3 things get added on to the bottom, aaaagghhhhhh!

Anyway, I'd hoped to tell you all about my lovely holiday to Cornwall, but I think that telling you about my kittens is much more apt at this moment, given how bogged down things have been these last few weeks. 

You see, when you are really stressed, animals have a wonderful way of making you laugh and showing you that life should be enjoyed.  Tonight as I was sorting through a pile of paperwork and generally chasing my tail before it all starts again tomorrow, Flossy & Otter were doing this...

Chill out they said...relax they said..come sit a while and snuggle they said..life is too short to stress out, just come and lie on the sofa and stretch like you have never stretched before and life will be good!

Well, I intend to do that for the rest of the evening while working on not feeling guilty (something I'm not very good at).  In the meantime, I hope this finds you all well.  I'll be back with more bits really soon...just as soon as I've learnt to relax little my little Floss & Otts...

Big hugs to you all and don't forget to take time to relax!

Serena

x

 

So, I’ve loved Agatha Christie since I was a little girl.  I love reading her books even more now for the comfort they bring as I know some of the stories so well.  Like a lot of great writers she was a troubled soul, and as a result she had an interesting life.  Every year in Torquay, in her home town and around the time of her birthday, a festival is put on in her honour.  It’s an opportunity for people who loved her work to get together and well, be a bit sad really.  So, that’s exactly where I went with my friend Jenny!!  The festival started on a Sunday and ran for a week and Jenny and I managed to get down for 3 fantastic fun filled days.....a non-stop itinerary of events that I'd pre-booked for us to enjoy.

We stayed a cute, very quaint little b&b called The Lawnswood Guest house which was right in the middle or Torquay.  Highly reccomended, great value for money and the biggest breakfasts you have ever tried to consume (http://lawnswoodguesthousetorquay.co.uk/).

After the long drive down (we talked non-stop for 5 hours!) we arrived at the b&b and immediately had to don our gear, 40s flavour of course, for our first outing, a tea-dance to be held at The Oldway Mansion, apparently the place where Agatha and Archie Christie danced on many occasion.  The mansion itself was amazing having been built in 1873 for the singer family, as in the sewing machines!  I love my sewing machine, though unfortunately it’s not a Singer….I’ve always wanted one though and have coveted my grans for years.  Anyway, here are few shots from the house… 

It was a great afternoon and we met some lovely people.  We didn’t dance though.  People were, ummm, very good.  There were certainly no amateurs to speak of so Jenny and I quietly sat and drank our tea and chatted as usual.

We had a relaxing evening and great meal in Torquay followed by a great nights sleep, all ready for our adventure the next day which included a boat trip to Greenway, Agatha’s holiday home....

It was a beautiful sunny day and the boat trip out past Torbay, into Dartmouth and then down the River Dart, was just glorious.  It was also the most beautiful house, and I think we both fell in love with it.  Though Agatha didn’t do any real writing there as such, she did read and go over her works here.  Having read quite a bit about her life too, it is mentioned again and again as being her favourite house, which makes it even more special really.  A real privilege to be able to go inside the house and walk around the grounds.  Day dreams about winning the lottery followed as we sat and had our lunch in the cafe...we both bought a ticket together the next day…oh to live in a house like this…one day!

When we finally got back to the b&b we had less than a hour to get ready for our Murder Mystery Dinner.  No Agatha Christie Festival would be complete without one….

The dinner was fun and again we met some lovely people.  We, of course, guessed the murder correctly (2 Forensic minds..Jenny is a Forensic Psychologist) were bound to get it right of courseJ 

So, that was our trip...just brill.  The next day, after another HUGE fry-up, we started on our journey to Padstow in Devon for the second part of our trip and to meet up with more friends....more about that next time.

Until then,

Hugs to you!

Serena

x

With barely a few hours to sleep, I went to bed at about 2am after a cup of tea with my mum and a debrief about the night, we were up again to get ready for the next bit…the white wedding. 

I started the day by, again having a cup of tea with my mum and discussing the day ahead.  I then did my mum’s hair, not a hairdresser by any stretch, but I was quite pleased with the end result seen here…

My ‘girls’ were soon to follow.  Now if you don’t know about my girls then let me tell you a bit about them…’My’ girls are my nieces.  Their names are Jasmine who is 7, and Aaliyah who we call LiLi who is 5, and they are my darlings!  I love them.  I don’t have any children of my own, yet, so all of my maternal affection goes on these two little beauties (well them and quite sadly my kittens).   Anyway, they were flower girls for the day, they came to my parents’ house first in their pyjamas, as my other brother (who was Best Man), wanted to get ready there.  Here they are in their pj’s anyway…cute.

After a quick shower I did my own hair and make-up all in about 20 minutes!  As I was going to be a bridesmaid, Lisa had told me the night before how she wanted our hair to be.  Based on her quick explanation I had a bash, fully expecting to be told it was wrong when I got to the hotel room, but apparently it was fine so I was good to go. Inbetween I made my way to my brother’s house to get some shots of him with his mates, all being helped along with a bit of Dutch courage. ..

The day was beautiful.  Hot, sunny and the grounds were really spectacular.  Here are a few shots that sum up the day…

All in all a lovely day and so great to be a part of it.....

We all wish RD and Lisa every happiness together.  Much love to you both.

Tomorrow I'll be telling you all about my holiday and how I'm dealing with being back at work...aaaaghhh!

Til then

xx

 

 

Celebrations all done!  I am currently still recovering from the most hectic few weeks I’ve had in a long time.  My brother, RD, got married on Friday in a lovely ceremony in Dunchurch just outside of Rugby in the Midlands.  With all the rain that we have had lately, we were super lucky to get a great day of sunshine, I actually heard people say that they were too hot!

The festivities started on the Thursday night with the party that I’d organised, on behalf of my Dad, for 250 people.  Thankfully all the people that were supposed to turn up to do ‘things’, did.  The caterers were brilliant, so thank you Friends Corner in Coventry and the DJ and drummers were fantastic, so  thank you to 2L and Dhol Division.  Everyone was so professional, on time, prepared and all smiling J  Will try and add some footage in the coming weeks of the drumming which was just fabulous…

You can see here a wee shot I took from the stage...

 My brother and his new wife Lisa are sat at the front, backs towards the camera.  As my father is from Pakistan the festivities on this day were to celebrate their marriage in true Asian style.  This means colour, dancing, good food, drumming and general merriment, and all without alcohol!  What was really lovely was how many of my mum’s family and also Lisa’s, who are predominantly Irish on both sides (yes, my family is the real East is East Family), commented on what a fantastic time they had, ‘Ooooo, so different from a ‘white’ wedding’ they all said J

Anyway, it was a really great night with so few bums on seats as everyone is encouraged to get up and dance, even if they can’t!  Here are some of the highlights…… 

This was my gift to my brother and Lisa, it was an Olive tree...

 Each person had a small card on their plate which I’d punched a wee hole through.  They then were able to tie a message to the tree with a piece of ribbon before they left.  I hope that Lisa and RD take the messages and keep them  (I’ve also kept lots of little mementos from the hen-do and both weddings and will be purchasing a little memory box for them).  The tree can then be planted in their garden.

The White wedding photos to come!  Watch this space……

I spent a few days in Brighton after my trip to London.  I've only been to Brighton a few times in my life, all of which were 15 odd years ago...it's changed a bit since then. 

Anyway, I had a lovely time.  It was great to be 'beside the seaside' for a few days.  I've always wanted to live near the sea, so any trip I make to a coastal location, I start to inadvertantly look for houses to buy!  I have to say, as nice as Brighton was to visit for a day or two I wouldn't want to live there.  I'm more of a Cornwall girl myself and I'll be visiting there very soon!...anwyay, here I am sat on the beach, just taking a minute or two to settle before I headed off for a walk around the lanes.

The Lanes were, aside from the sea, the highlight of Brighton for me.  They were really quaint and had lots of lovely wee shops that seem to be all tucked away so it feels like you are finding them all by accident.  Anyway, I stopped to have a coffee at a really cute little coffee shop called Coffee Coho which was lovely, of which I took a couple of sneaky shots when I went back the next day...

I had a great latte and spent about an hour there chatting to my mum on the phone and then reading my magazine Handmade Living which you can see here.  It's not one of my regular magazines but I enjoyed it nonetheless...let me know what you think if you get it.

Brighton is also full of characters, lots of people dressed in weird and wonderful things.  I liked this about Brighton as it seemed that people were comfortale to express themselves which is a always a good thing.  I managed a sneaky picture of the chap sat next to me when I was having a coffee.  I think he looked great.

I visited a great little bar called The Mesmerist too.  I do reccomend it for its quirky atmosphere, great chips and cool old fashioned pianist.  Just be prepared to sell a kidney for a drink which unfortunately compared to London prices.  It had some great art too, seen here...

I manged to nip into Cath Kidston and pick up a small mirror and was hoping to get a cat collar or two for my wee kittens but Cath only does dog collars...get with the programme Cath.  We like cats as well!  I did manges to pick up some really cute little sticky notes in a shop called Englanda at Home which I do reccomend though.  It has some really pretty things in it and isn't too costly. 

So, that was Brighton.  Go if you haven't been.  It's great to be beside the sea, though I did have to turn a bit of a blind eye to the tacky beachy shops and greasy spoons that covered the sea-front.  It is however full of great coffee shops and quirky characters and well worth a visit!

Back again soon!

Serena

x