Spring GIVEAWAY Book and mystery gift!

It is the first day of Spring and what perfect excuse for a GIVEAWAY!

The giveaway comprises of ONE of the books shown below and a little mystery gift.

All you have to do is leave a comment on THIS blog post, stating which book you would like to have should you be the winner. There are 8 books to choose from.
If your name is selected, you will have an opportunity to choose a different book if you change your mind between now and then.

The giveaway is open to everyone, you do not have to have a blog. I will post worldwide.


Creative Walls: How to Display and Enjoy Your Treasured Collections by Geraldine James


The French Inspired Home by Carolyn Westbrook


Romantic Prairie Style by Fifi O'Neill (Added to list on 23rd March)


Modern Vintage Style by Emily Chalmers


Pale and Insteresting by Atlanta Barlett & Dave Coote


Romantic Style by Selina Lake and Sara Norrman


75 Birds, butterflies & beautiful beasties to knit and crochet


Baking Made Easy by Lorraine Pascale

Remember, if you do not have a blog, please leave your details (name & email address)

The draw will take place on Monday 28Th March at 19.00 hours GMT. I will be using an online random number generator.

THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED, THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO ENTERED.

Good luck! :-)

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

LOUNGE - Work in progress!

I have not been to a boot fair or any kind of fair for several weeks and why? Well, because apart from going away on holiday recently, our spare time has been spent working on the house. Yes, it is still ongoing! There is so much to be done (the entire house & garden) and with just Alan and I doing the work it's taking longer than we would like but it is gradually & slowly advancing.

Due to a 'happy' accident in our lounge, the carpet has gone and next week we begin the task of painting the floorboards white. The walls, tongue & groove and all wood work will also be painted. Above the fireplace will be wallpapered.
Miss P has already said: " I hope it's not all going to be white! Can we have purple floorboards?" At that point you can already imagine my face, purple...eeek!

We began some of the work at the weekend. Here is a sneak peek.

Work in progress...

This room (the lounge) was redecorated about 10 or 12 years ago before I moved in. When I moved in, which was about 5 years ago. I didn't make any changes as it was not necessary then. Over the past year we have started making various changes and have begun the process of redecorating the whole house. (I have really enjoyed choosing the colour scheme, fabrics, furniture, finishing touches etc... for each room, don't we all ladies!)

We have just emptied a dresser in the lounge, the contents of which is in the carrier bags which I am in the process of sorting out. At the weekend, we replaced the dresser with a bookcase as we desperately needed storage for our books, most of them being mine...
We have thrown out an armchair & temporarily replaced it with the pine settle shown in the picture, this used to be on the landing. Eventually, we will be getting a new armchair and sofa.


I absolutely love these curtains. Petronella by Liberty


The sofa, with plenty of cushions, you can never have too many!
My first crochet purchase (before I could crochet)


Lamp & bookcase next to the sofa.
Ooh I had fun arranging the books and decorative things in the bookcase!


Close up of one of the shelves in the bookcase.
Painting by Phillipa Stanton (5FT INF). I love the mix of oil paint and 1950's newspaper cuttings used to make this painting.

The evenings are cosy in the lounge

This barrel belonged to my Belgian Grandmother, I use it as a side table.







Will keep you posted on progress. Alan is taking some time off next week so we should get quite a bit done then.

To anyone who has painted their wooden floorboards and has cats & children: Do you have any useful advice & tips on how to get the job done well please?

Thank you

A bientôt!

Isabelle x

Essential decorative touches & Meet Lilly and Larry

I added more decorative touches to the landing this weekend. It is so satisfying when you are getting much closer to achieving the look and feel that you want.

I recently won a giveaway from SweetScarlett

Pretty book plates. I was able to chose my own design and wording and Maggie did the rest. Thank you Maggie, I am really pleased with them!

Here are some of the things which have made their way to my home recently.


This beautiful 1930's mannequin head from Vintage Home recently made her way to my home.

She is still in her box waiting for my work room to be finished. I look forward to finding the right spot for her.

The detail on her face and paint work is incredible!


Pretty tin from Country Cottage Chic


Fabric and pins also from Country Cottage Chic

Bought for £1 at a fair, not my sort of thing usually

but I found myself quite drawn to it, so sweet!

Lily of the Valley & forget- me -not small jug

Bought for 50p in a bric a brac shop

Gorgeous coat hanger from HenHouse .

I love the pattern and the colours.

Meet Larry. He was determined to get into my pictures every time I tried to photograph something for this post. Especially when I was photographing the kitten fabric, pins and floral tin. Fame at last, he made in to one of my blog pictures. He tried so hard, I couldn't let him down!

And so as to not be left out, here is Lilly. She is quite shy! Lilly & Larry are brother & sister. They are lovely kittens with great individual personalities! We adopted them from the RSPCA in January. They are 10 months old.

I have not been able to make anything for a while as all my fabrics, craft bits etc..are all packed away in boxes whilst my workroom is being worked on. I really look forward to making things again soon...

And finally...

A BIG THANK YOU to all you who left such kind and thoughtful messages on my last post. Your words meant a lot to us. Phoebe is amazed at how many of you left a comment. She also said how nice that all these people were thinking of her. It put a big smile on her face, thanks to YOU.

A bientôt!

Isabelle x