That little kitchen corner

 Remember my little corner in the kitchen?

Well today I got 5 minutes to paint the walls and whilst everyone went swimming, I started my little project.

I wanted to cover the front of the trolley with a little curtain. Now to a lot of you that seems like a pretty easy thing to do but I have never sewn anything other than help Sophie with her little bit of bunting. 

I choose gingham because it's all straight lines to sew along LOL! But I must say, I was pretty pleased with my straight sewing.

And ta-da there it is, the finished curtain or I should say curtains!

I'm really chuffed with how it's turned out and now the walls are finally painted I can pretty up the corner with some bits and pieces.

Will there be any more sewing? Well maybe, I quite enjoyed it but realise I can only do it when I can can get a bit of concentrated time. Sophie and I are booked in on a cushion making session with the very lovely Millie Moon in a couple of weeks, so we will see if a cushion is the next sewing project I attempt.

Cornwall at it's best!

Late Monday afternoon we headed for Cornwall - the weather forecast was good - sunny weather ahead, so we packed the car and headed down to Mum and Dad's for a few days.

TUESDAY

 Tuesday we headed to our favourite beach over at Godrevy - the tide was high and the beaches busy but good waves for a spot of body boarding.

WEDNESDAY

 What better view at breakfast time - bacon butties and an early start over at St Ives

 Absolutely beautiful day

 Blue skies all day until.....

..... the sea mist rolled in - incredible difference and grey end to the day!

THURSDAY

It was slightly windy today so we headed over to the stylish, Jubilee Pool in Penzance - a sea water lido.

 With the high walls, we were sheltered from the wind.

 Love Sophie's red and white spotty swimsuit against the pale blue painted walls.

 In the evening Jeff and I headed back over to St Ives for a meal out - just the two of us. We saw the now 'common' sight of the seals in the harbour

 and enjoyed a sunnier end to our day.

FRIDAY

 We headed over to Falmouth as it was too windy to sit on the beach. I haven't been for years but we had a lovely day wondering through the town and harbours.

 The bunting was out and.....

 ... of course the obligatory ice-cream enjoyed!

 My Granny celebrated her 89th Birthday today, so wanted to treat us all to Fish and Chips at Becks and delicious they were too!

We finished the day off all sat around the TV watching the fantastically British Olympic Opening Ceremony.

SATURDAY

We headed over to Truro on Saturday morning for a spot of Retail Therapy and spent the afternoon over at my Granny's before packing and heading home today.

We have been so very lucky with the weather, blue skies and sunshine all week - when the sun shines you can't beat a bit of a British Beach Break!

Hip Hip Hooray.....

....the sun has come out to play!

School's are finally out for Summer (it has felt like a long term) and look what the forecast is saying!!!!

SUN!

and more SUN!

We were going to head down to Cornwall middle of next week but have decided to go earlier to make the most of the weather - if you want to order anything, please do so before Monday or wait until the 30th of July for dispatch - as the sun has been such a rare visitor this Summer we are certainly going to be making the most of it, in case it disappears again any time soon..

A little project

We have decided to take the house off the market - it's been up for sale since January, a decision  prompted by a house that we liked, which had more space and was affordable. That house has been and gone and after 7 disappointing months, with only 8 viewings, we have made the decision to take it off the market, enjoy it for another year or 2 and make a few simple changes that might make things easier.

 The kitchen being one of those little projects. It's a lovely space but has limited worktop space - the main 'usable' bit being just to the left of the cooker.

 We use the top of the dresser to house the kettle and make tea, coffee etc

 and then there is the tiny bit by the sink which simply isn't enough when washing up. So we have decided to store the lovely larder cupboard over at the premises and try and make more of this space. To buy the same work top was expensive - I only needed 83cm but had to buy a 3 meter piece so we had to come up with a different plan.

 Whilst at Ikea I spotted this trolley which fits in the gap perfectly and is very nearly the correct height.

 There was an extra bit of wood in the free, giveaway bit which made it the perfect height.

 So we have covered the free wood in some spotty oilcloth and I intend to have a go at making a little drawstring curtain to go across the front of the trolley - don't laugh! I'm sure Sophie and I can give it a go!! I will let you know how we get on! The Flea market shelves fit in the corner nicely so once I've painted that corner, I will add some bits and bobs to finish it all off!

Of course a thank you to my lovely hubby, who yet again had to get his DIY stuff out and do as he was told!   He loves it really! So this weekend I intend to paint and sew - what a fun prospect!

The end of term is in sight

 Tonight we decided to sort out our teacher gifts for the end of the year, I must confess it felt like Christmas rather than the end of the Summer term, as we sat around the kitchen table wrapping in the gloom. 

I think it is important to say Thank You - I often hear 'Teachers don't know they're born with 6 weeks off for the Summer' but having been a teacher, I know and appreciate how hard they and their assistants work. On Friday, we snuck a tin of mini chocolate bars into the staff room for the 'whole' staff to enjoy, to say thank you and get everyone through the last week of term.

 Sophie, now at Secondary school says it's not cool to give teacher's gifts except for her form tutor, so we decided on some 'on trend' paper pom poms, as she is an Art teacher and would appreciate them.

 We thought this year we would try and give the teachers a little bit of Summer as it is so lacking this year. I know the teachers like dots and spots goodies but feel as if not much thought has gone into the gift if we only give that, so we mix it up a bit.

 A little bundle of English Summer with a Union Jack M&S mini cool bag, some dots and spots British Teatime postcards and mini notebooks, Summer Pudding Chocolate and British Cherry Bakewell biscuits.

Sophie and Sam are very fortunate to go to such lovely Rural Somerset Schools with very dedicated, hard working teachers - so Thank You and fingers crossed the sun might start to shine once the holidays commence!

Shepton Mallet Giant Flea!

 So at 9am I headed off to the Shepton Mallet Giant Flea - it's really popular so always a good idea to get there early. Due to the wet weather we've endured, they even dropped the entrance fee due to poor underfoot conditions!

 It really was very muddy underfoot and it was really spread out in an attempt to get people off the grass and onto some form of hard surface. It made it seem huge but I guess it was probably as big as normal.

 There's always a really good mix of stuff - old, new, vintage, antique, shabby chic and rubbish!! 

I always have a quick look around and then go back to stands that really interest me.

Of course I came home with a few bits......

 This shelf for the kitchen just £12

 This old crate, just a tenner

These old vintage Union Jack flags just £2 each and some lovely red Gingham material just £7 a meter - The enamel dish in the first photo was only £2 and I got Sophie over a meters worth of pink stripey fabric for just £3. 

The next Flea is on August 26th and you can find out all about it *HERE*