True love is not just one day ....

I think that true love is too precious to celebrate just once a year ...

Last year I blogged about a funny-little-thing-called-love & it holds true for me.

Advice given to me years ago was to speak to your children & family in the same way that you would speak to friends - if you would not put down, speak or shout at your friends, then it is not acceptable to do it to your nearest & dearest! 

That is a sobering thought & it hinges on respect - respect for yourself & respect for others around you.

Respect must be practised daily in families until it is the accepted way of behaving - for me that is the best display of love - doing things out of love & respect, all the time, not just one day of the year.

A massive bunch of red roses or  the largest box of chocolates will not make a person feel loved & valued if it is not reflected in your everyday manner ...

I love changing things in my home & my heart decorations are things we like & have at home so I collected them together as a symbol of love.

The large heart shaped wreath is one I bought at a local craft fair & love the pinks; it is teamed with 2 strands of Gisela Graham heart bunting & my wooden hearts that are often on the fireplace

Our conservatory sideboard changed to heart bits that I love ....

 I love this African plate with the beaded detail - teamed with love heart sweets & some die letters we love using

 Heart shaped plates - I am sure many of us have these 'Flora' plates ...

 XOXO - always place for a bit of Gossip Girl ...

 It is looking a bit more cheerful - I really love our sideboard x

 Do you observe Valentine's Day? What do you do? I will be thankful for the enduring love of my fabulous Hubby & family - I hope I never take them for granted x


Tell all, thanks for stopping by, always lovely to read your feedback & return the visit.
Dee ~♥~

Shrove Tuesday is pancake time ♥

I admit to always looking forward to Shrove Tuesday & having pancakes - it really brings out the child in me as I plan some interesting fillings.

Somehow, it seems strange to be thinking of the 40 days of Lent to Easter while we have snow on the ground.

While quickly browsing for inspiration, I came across these in the fabulous Marie Claire book, the Seasonal Kitchen.

 

The only indication of Spring is our indoor (bought) Daffodils ...

 

Hmmm those griddle cakes look good with all the berries. What will you be having on your pancakes?

We favour cinnamon sugar on ours as it harks back to the traditional way of eating them in South Africa, but I am definitely inclined towards some blueberry ones - the small ones oozing with ripe blueberries.

This is our pancakes tonight - with cinnamon sugar, blackberries, strawberries & ice-cream ♥



Do you give up something for Lent? What is it & how hard is it to give up?

Last year I gave up chocolate for Lent & I actually kept it up which was really hard.

Thanks for popping by, hope your pancakes were fabulous too ♥

Happy flipping & thanks for stopping by,
Dee ~♥~

IKEA hacks

Are there any other IKEA fans out there?

Ikea remains a fabulous place to get inspiration from - I love their candles & fabrics because they are just so pretty & their cushions are also always right on trend without breaking the bank.

When we moved in some years ago, this was the guest bedroom of the previous owner …

I love colour but that just had to go.  The coloured wallpaper & borders were too much - I couldn't live with something so vibrant when bedrooms are meant to be calm spaces to unwind.

The riot of colour soon gave way to my favourite Dulux Natural Calico & Fired Earth Ivory. We decided that since we had 3 other double beds that this one would have twin beds for visitors.

This is our  guest bedroom after much Dulux Natural Calico & Fired Earth Ivory paint. I have had some requests via my flickr/photos/deirdr/ for additional photos of my IKEA hack so here they are ....

The space between the two twin beds is not huge & so I used an Ikea RAST pine cupboard I already had. However,  I knew the cupboard was way too plain for the purpose.

The starting point was the two lovely vintage French design headboards. They were tired & dated with a gold rub so we painted them in Fired Earth Ivory to show off their beautiful shape. We needed something to match them.

I found some good wooden moulding decorations at a local hardware shop, glued them in place then put a thin nail through each to secure it properly before painting it in Fired Earth Ivory.

Clear glass handles just finish it off nicely. It looks more at home now with the vintage (painted) headboards & the vintage chest of drawers which was also painted ivory instead of its dark wood.

I shared this hack on 25-ikea-hacks-diy-home-decor & have had several requests for more photos so I hope this inspires others to just do it.

We all love the calmness of the room & it is perfectly suited to all guests without being too girlie.  Because it is a completely neutral palette, I can find any duvet covers we like to change the look & suit the guests.

Are you tempted to paint furniture & do you like neutrals?

Thanks for stopping by, always pleased to return the visits
Dee ~♥~

Satchel time ....

Cambridge Satchels are a success story - Cambridge-Satchel-Company-mum tells the story of how the founder Julie Deane started in her kitchen to finance her daughter's education & today is a rags to riches story that we all love.

The daughters, being right on trend, have had their eyes on a satchel & so we duly treated them to one each for Christmas.

In the run up to Christmas, we could only find one classic brown satchel at vintage-shrewsbury - a fabulous shop with gorgeous vintage finds ...

We duly ordered a black one online & then the girls took ages to decide who gets which one & because they have the 15 inch satchel which can hold their lovely notebooks & even an ipad if needed.

The satchels are favoured by the fashion conscious as this article sets out le-brit-it-bag-de-cambridge-satchel-company

Of course, things often come full circle because like many parents, we used leather satchels at school - they were not considered trendy, just what we all used. I don't recall them coming in any particular colours in my time but they certainly did the job of carrying around all our bits. I even had a leather music bag ....

Did you use a satchel at school? Leather or canvas? Trendy or the norm?

This is oldest daughter, Wondering Star's black satchel Wondering Star's Black satchel  choice while youngest opted for the brown one

I love the leather smell of the Cambridge satchels & how beautifully they are made & while browsing their website cambridgesatchel.co.uk I thought .... Hmm I wonder what colour I would choose? I am rather inclined towards the Racing Green colour or Antique Gold or White or red ... just so hard to decide!!

What colour would you choose?

Thanks for stopping by, I love your feedback & links so I can return the visit!

Dee ~♥~

Updates on posts ...

I follow many blogs & always enjoy getting updates on looks or development so I think that some updates are in order here too ...

I shared my first photographing-beautiful-wedding-behind the scenes with you as I joined daughter as her second camera.

I then gave you all a glimpse of the lovely couple photographing-beautiful-wedding-2

This past week a beautiful handwritten THANK YOU card & envelope dropped through the door from the couple. I love the writing & how they took the time to send it - isn't that special?

I love thoughtfulness like that because there is something special in someone taking time to write a proper note as I blogged here about emails-are-just-not-letters


I also shared my frustration with you about my pesky squirrels who eat my bulbs at home & generally take over trying-my-patience.

I planted some hyacinth bulbs late in November & kept them safe in the garage until I noticed growth then brought them in. I had found some coloured bulbs on sale after I had planted the white ones & so I potted them up too ...

Well worth it as we now have the most heady scented Hyacinths in the house - well worth the effort. Do you grow any?

My love of handbags is well known & something I have blogged several times ♥

handbags

Michael Kors

working-handbags

In working handbags, I shared my two Fiorelli's that I use for carrying around all my tutoring bits.

I have added another working bag to the list - a pink Radley satchel bag - isn't it just too lovely ♥

How can you not enjoy your working day with a lovely bag on your arm?
It is just big enough for the things I need with my eldest girl students as they appreciate such things as nice bags ....

I know as soon as I press - p u b l i s h - another update will spring to mind ...

Have a good week, I always enjoy your feedback; hope you enjoyed the updates!

Dee ~♥~