6 weeks to get everything done

Well, our due date is now only 6 weeks away - Friday 11th July.
I'm actually quite calm about the whole birth thing now. Well, calmer. I'm not stupid, I still know it's gonna hurt I'm just OK about it now.

In fact I'm now able to look beyond the birth and take in information like this from Maggie Mason at Mighty Girl (she writes Mighty Goods).

"Well ladies, this is how long it took me to take off all the baby weight. Sixteen months."

It's something to look forward to!


Anyway, we have LOTS to do to get the house finished before the baby's allowed to arrive and it all stems from getting the dining room done. We basically can't get the babies room finished until that's done as we need to store everything in there. The babies room is actually my jewellery workshop at the moment too and I can't move that out to it's new home in the dining room until you know, the dining room is done! There's nothing like a deadline to get things moving.

We've actually owned this house for about 4.5 years now and the dining room is the final job so it'll be amazing and unbelievable to actually have it finished and have a whole functioning house! It just means Ben has some hideous time stripping woodchip wallpaper ahead of him. (Being pregnant has gotten me out of it this time mmwahahaha!) Hmm there's an interesting question. Given the choice, which would you rather do, strip woodchip or give birth...

I'm going to have a lot of before & after pictures I'm looking forward to sharing at some point. Such as items of furniture that Ben's been restoring, the new fireplace in the sitting room not to mention the dining room finally being done! Did I mention that?

Matte Stephens

I love Matte Stephens work. This image was one of the first things I added as a favourite when I registered on Etsy last year and have been staring at it ever since.
I think I mentioned before about my guilt of spending money on non-essential items. I generally um and ah for a long time before I finally just realise I'm spending so much time thinking about it I should just shut up and buy the bleedin' thing! Who'd a thought spending money could be so hard?

Well, as I mentioned here, I thought I ought to just get it seeing that I'd be giving up my spare cash soon, so I finally bought it! WooHoo! And I love it.


Next, I would like to own this one, and then maybe this one or this one, or perhaps this one.

Excuse me whilst I start um-ing and ah-ing.

(See also Matte's guest blog spot on Design*Sponge a few weeks ago.)

budanART - Etsy shop

Etsy is so busy and full of great shops it's exciting when you come across something a bit more unusual than the rest.

budanART is one of those shops...

Say it with Brownies!

This is not only a great idea but also my cousin's business.

"Whatever the occasion Kate’s Brownies are the most unique gift, as well as arriving beautifully packaged with raffia and tissue paper with your own personalised message, they are the Best Brownies you will ever taste."

UPDATE: Kate's Brownies have been re-branded and are now trading as Gower Cottage Brownies. The new website is at gowercottagebrownies.co.uk

Miranda Meilleur

WOW.
Design*Sponge has an article or two about the ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) in New York, which in itself doesn't mean an awful lot to me as furniture isn't really my bag. However this one particular bit definitely is my bag.



This is Miranda Meilleur's work. She's a Designer Silversmith from Wales and her work is so great I feel a little bit sick. Which is probably jealousy.

Let the gardening season commence

This week is the RHS Chelsea Flower Show which, having watched the opening day's TV coverage, has made me not only think that I'd like to visit one year (and one year I'll get to Wimbledon too) but it's also made me feel bad about my own garden.

I'm generally a fairly lazy gardener in that I only go out there in the Spring and Summer when it's nice weather and the rest of the year it tends to get ignored, but I do appreciate a nice garden to hang out in.
I know I have a good excuse this year in that I'm unable to reach the floor without looking like a ninety year old with arthritis so I'm not feeling too bad about it. And I have re-potted a few things (it might actually be fairer to say Ben did it) and planted some others.

We have strawberrys in our hanging basket which I'm particularly excited by - I'm hoping we get more of a crop from them than we did the 'tumbling toms' last year. We only really got one at a time which I wouldn't really class as a 'crop'.

And we also have some mystery seedlings growing! I harvested some seeds from the mini peppers we grew last year and they haven't grown at all, but I also harvested some seeds from something I can't remember and some of them are growing! Alas I have no idea in to what, but they are growing.


All I can think is that they're from either a Poppy, Allium or Aquilegia. Beyond that I have no clue - lets hope they survive 'cus I really want to know now.

Where's all the music gone

What with getting sucked in to all this Etsy malarky of late, and all things crafty, I feel I have totally neglected the music in my life.

Not only have I stopped my saxophone lessons to save money for the upcoming loss of income but I'm going to have to get rid of my piano as well!

Admittedly it's really not a great piano. Even my husband will enthusiastically tell you all about how bad it is even though he doesn't play the piano. (In fact I'm not sure how he's qualified to feel so strongly about it but he does.) It was already second hand when my parents bought it about 23 years ago. It's been through the abuse of two children learners and been moved about a few times and lost a wheel in the process (leaving beautiful scratch marks from the road side to the front door) and is only able to be tuned to itself but, it's my piano! Admittedly, I also don't play it that much either any more but, it's my piano!

But with baby coming we need the space so that's that. It will get replaced and most probably by a keyboard to save on space but let's not go there or I'll start on a rant about how it's just not the same as a piano and then I'll never let it go. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. As long as there's something with keys to push when I get the urge I'll be happy.

But, the whole point of this post was actually to mention a band I'd like to get to know better, but I've been completely sidetracked.

SO... Kings of Convenience!
I think I should like to buy some of their music.
This decision is purely based on their tunes 'Misread' and 'Toxic Girl'.
If you know which album I should start with let me know!