Make Bake Sew Grow

Hello you lovely lot! I hope you've all had good weekends? I received a rather surprising and delightful email a couple of days ago, telling me I'd been shortlisted for the Amara Interior Blog Awards! Well blow me down, I am completely and genuinely flabbergasted. And I have you to thank, for voting for me. Thank you. Thank you very much. 

{ Make }

Right then, on with the normal order of things. We are making plans to decorate the hall, stairs and landing this autumn and will wallpaper one small wall at the end of the hallway, so it's the first thing you see when you open the front door. It's a small, gloomy corner which only gets light from other open doors, so it needs to be fairly colourful and cheery, with a nod to retro pattern in keeping with the style of the house and era in which it was built.

Top row: Orla Kiely, middle row: Marimekko, bottom row: Mini Moderns, all samples ordered from John Lewis.

I usually love that John is so interested in interior design and that all our decisions are mutual, but sometimes I just really wish he'd let me have my own way. We can't agree. More samples will be ordered. 

We've been making improvements to the house, just small ones but exciting none the less. Our 4 metre wide living room window had a kind of UPVc bottom half which we never liked as it looks so white and plasticky. This is the best photo I could find, annoyingly, taken just after we'd decorated.

We had it boxed in with plasterboard and it looks a million times better already, more like the rest of the room, more substantial and more like a proper wall not a sheet of plastic.

Most excitingly, it gives me a long, long windowsill! I never thought this would matter so much, but hurrah, a big surface to display stuff on. It doesn't make for very exciting photos, though, does it. Sorry.

I have been making purchases and plans for Christmas. (I think it's ok to say the word Christmas now that we're officially in autumn - people get really funny about early references to that festive holiday, don't they?) A colleague recommended Edward's Menagerie to me and I bought a copy. It's great, really fun with little descriptions of each animal's character that tickled me no end. Bella and Angus have already picked out which animal I am to make for their Christmas presents. No pressure then...

{ Bake}

My shopping lists lately have included a lot of dried fruit and spice. Cranberries, dates, and sultanas, ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves - the flavours and smells of autumn cooking. I made tea loaf, an old favourite and one which I turn to when busy as it's so easy, and like to eat so heavily buttered that you can see teeth marks.

I also made a batch of cranberry chutney yesterday. It made the house absolutely stink of vinegar though - and I'm glad the weather was good today because I had the doors and windows opened wide - but it's worth it because it is so delicious, and almost more fun to make than jam. You don't have to watch it and fret about it setting, you just stir it all together and leave it to simmer for an hour then go off and do something else. Like open the windows. 

{ Sew }

I appear to have downloaded a pattern for a poncho, bought the yarn, and am in the process of teaching myself how to do front and back post trebles to make the rib stitch. I did not see this one coming at all! But I'm just desperate to make this right now so that I can wear it while it's still autumnal and not freezing cold.

{ Grow }

Wow, it's all go in the garden! I've bought bulbs. I've planted wallflowers all over the border in the back garden. These scrappy little things will apparently bring colour to my border throughout the spring. Hard to believe, I know.

This hydrangea was a gift from my mum. My parents have a huge one in their front garden and every year the blooms are magnificent. I've planted this in a sunny, roomy spot and I have high hopes. I also deliberately planted it right by the front door so it greets me every time I enter the house. 

Also, this is the kind of area where front gardens are immaculate and I feel the pressure, frankly. 

The sedum is flowering. I don't really know a lot about sedum (or any plant, let's be honest) but I really like it. It's shape and slightly faded pinks and greens remind me of the kinds of plants that grow wild by the beach, like sea cabbage. I have no idea why. This one was from my sister's garden and it's growing well in it's new home. 

So another weekend of pottering draws to a close. I wish weekends were longer. My hours at work have increased to the point where I am almost working full time and I'm feeling  the difference. Everything it rushed and time snatched in an hour here, half an hour there. I will be glad when things eventually settle back down to how they were before.