Dipping my toe in.............

Hello everybody and welcome to a new week. Hope you all had a good weekend. The sun shone here in the Cotswolds and it was a very eventful weekend.

Saturday was my first foray back into the world of work. Well, I say work but really it's a way of making a bit of extra cash doing something I love. Before I had Kitty a friend and I used to make and sell items at craft fairs and parties. I made the decision to stop when I had Kitty for various reasons, the main one being that I wanted to spend time with her whilst she was small and not have the pressure of deadlines for orders etc. Now she's started pre-school my good friend Andrea and I have decided to have another go together. She makes the most gorgeous handpainted boxes and furniture, which go brilliantly with the stuff that I make. As an gentle re-introduction into the world of "work" we decided to have a stall at the village fete that Andrea organised for the village she lives in.

That fete was on Saturday, and what a success it was! The whole day was absolutely fantastic, Andrea had put so much effort into it and it certainly paid off. There were stilt walkers, bouncy castles, giant y-fronts (yes, you heard correctly!), fantastic stalls and just a great atmosphere. What's more we sold lots of our stock and it really boosted our morale and gave us the impetus to get started again. So we've much more in the pipeline, I'll keep you informed!

Sunday morning Andrea and I went car booting as usual, and managed after a slightly disappointing start to find some fab bargains (more on that later in the week). After lunch Ian and the children and I went for a walk to a local village called Miserden, not the happiest name for a village, but a lovely place to visit. Needless to say I forgot the camera, but we had a great walk, collected conkers, acorns, feathers etc. to add to the massive pile we already have, and came home to lamb casserole and rhubarb crumble - just as well winter's coming and I can hide under my layers of clothing!

The run up to the fete has meant that housework has lapsed slightly but I've rooted through the photos to see what I can add because I know bloggers like pictures. I know I do anyway!

This is the living room, the place I can be found most evenings. It's funny but since we had the kitchen built we hardly ever go in here during the day. The kitchen turned out exactly as I wanted, it's become the hub of the house, everything goes on in there. It's where I sit with friends over tea and cakes (& wine and crisps!), where Jack does his homework, Kitty does her painting and Ian and I chat. There's been a lot of laughter shared around that table, and a few cross words! It's also always totally covered with paperwork, lego, crumbs, you name it, it's there! In fact, the kitchen is NEVER tidy, I've given up, life's too short to live in a show home!

The chair in the top left picture is one of a pair I bought from a junk shop years ago. I had them covered in bright Cath Kidston prints and I love them. When the upholsterer returned them he was somewhat perplexed by my choice of fabric but they're my favourites.

The playroom is behind the living room, this is where the children drag all their toys into the kitchen from, and I drag them all back into at night! The pale blue dresser is filled with just some of our favourite china, including a lovely coffee set we bought at a fair a few years ago. It also houses my tea and coffee pot collection on the top shelf, that I started collecting in my 20's.

The huge pine dresser has been dragged from house to house over the years giving many a poor removal man a hernia! When we first moved to the Cotswolds we had a first floor flat and Pickfords had to shove it across a balcony and into a first floor window because it wouldn't go through the door!

Time now to eat and enjoy "Nigella Express", yes I know some of you find her annoying but I can vouch that the squid recipe was flipping delicious. See you soon..........