Print and Pattern on a Bank Holiday Monday

Hello! Did you have a good bank holiday weekend? Mine was spent solo parenting while John worked and, what with the fact that it was just me and the kids (who are not in any way demanding, on no), and that sun which refused to stay out and shine, and I had that cold which lingered and is finally shifting...considering all that, I would say it was not a bad weekend at all, actually. At times, I even did some Good Parenting. We went to the beach. We baked. I took them to places where they could practice riding their bikes. I tried to do washing and housework and some DIY and told them to put down the iPad every now and then and only raised my voice a few times. And when John came home tonight I did a happy dance as he's off for the next week and we have all sorts of lovely things planned.

It all seems to have gone very retro round here. I'm not quite sure when exactly that happened, but suddenly I find myself drawn to these brightly coloured repeating floral patterns in the things I am making and buying. It could be because summer's coming, or a natural shift in my taste, or perhaps our new home is having some kind of affect on me. Our house was built in 1968 and, while I don't know how it was decorated when it was first built, I envisage lots of pattern and strong oranges, blues and yellows. Suddenly it feels like future projects and new additions to the house have an older feel about them.

I first saw this cotton valance being cruelly mistreated by our gas man and used as a dust sheet. I told him of it's value (he thought that was hilarious) and he said I could have it. I already have a duvet set in this colourway but it's very faded, and the colours here are so much brighter.

With this pink linen, I am planning to make reversible cushions. I'm even learning how to insert zips!

Ditto these yellow pillowcases bought in a charity shop in Northumberland, teamed with beige linen. 

I pulled these two rolls of vinyl wallpaper out of a skip at our local tip, or Household Waste Recycling Centre as they're now known. They were folded flat and, apart from being a little dusty were in incredibly good conditon and cleaned up really well. I couldn't leave them there, could I?

Also rescued was this orange tin, in which my Dad had been storing plumbing bits in his garage. It used to be a biscuit tin I think. It's seen better days but my heart is lifted by that cheerful colour and perky pattern. It's not water tight so I think it will eventually make a great little planter for the garden. 

And after some persistent stalking of my local supermarkets, I have all found three of the limited edition Orla Kiely for Douwe Egberts coffee jars, and I have lot of instant coffee too. I really, really like these, especially the simplicity of the design and the way it's etched onto the glass. Very effective and pleasing to my eyes. 

I have noticed that many of the above items have provoked comments along the lines of "Why do you want that, it's hideous!" or a raised eyebrow at least. People have strong opinions about homeware from the sixties and seventies and it's not always positive. Perhaps it's still seen as dated and old fashioned, as something to be banished in exchange for something clean and crisp and new. The bold colours are often a bit much for some. Plus there's such a strong nostaliga element; people often fondly remember curtains or bedding sets in a certain style and associate them with their childhood. I love the colours, I love the patterns, and for me there is a comforting familiarity in the homewares from this era. But for me, I think it's the excitement of finding some treasure amidst the junk and grabbing a bargain. If I see something I like the look of in a skip for free, or at a car boot sale for £1, I'm going to grab it and have fun thinking about what I can do with it. 

Nourishment

I'm glad it's Friday and I'm very glad it's half term next week. This week has mostly rushed by, leaving me feeling frazzled, frustrated and like I've caught a cold - or it could be hay fever, I'm not sure. Both are unwelcome. Well then, thank goodness for Tuesday, when I had a delightful morning in West Sussex and met up with Christine from the blog Chrissie Crafts at West Dean Gardens. Meeting up with blogging friends is fun but, as when meeting anyone for the first time, you want to make a good impression. I was a full twenty minutes late. I took a wrong turn on the way and had to double back on myself. Then I saw a sign for West Dean Shop, followed it and ended up down a dirt track in a church yard. Back on the main road I then saw a bigger sign for West Dean College and took that turning; knowing the gardens were somehow attached to the college I assumed I was nearby. I drove around the college grounds and ended up on a road which seemed to turn into a path and was soon facing a dead end opposite a pergola. I felt like I was having an anxiety dream. Starting to panic slightly, I did the smallest, neatest three point turn you ever saw (not easy in my massive, noisy, diesel estate) and drove back to the front of the college, muttering "This is ridiculous, where are the signs, where are the signs?" to myself as I drove. I parked. There was no phone signal (we're in the countryside here) so I can't access my sat nav on my mobile. Apparently I'm very, very close. I drive around a little more and head back to the main road where, around a bend, is a HUGE, very clearly written sign saying "West Dean Gardens", where I turn in, park, and run towards the entrance. Upon seeing Christine my first words are not "Hello!" or "Hi, how are you?" but "I'm so, so sorry!"

Anyway, it was the most glorious morning, it really was. Christine is funny, warm, friendly, and seriously knows her plants. We had a coffee together before heading into the gardens for a nose around. So beautifully maintained but also relaxed, with friendly staff and so much inspiration to be had, and tantalising glimpses of the stunning college through the trees. As you all know I'm no gardener, but show me a walled garden and some Victorian cold frames and I'm happy. It was all very Mr McGregor's Garden - I'm sure Peter Rabbit was lurking in a watering can somewhere.

I wanted to take something home with me from my day out and I did, but it was more a feeling than a purchase. Gardening in our new house so far has involved digging, moving sheds, assembling trampolines and a lot of me staring despondently at half finished jobs. I haven't been feeling much love for the plants, but spending some time at West Dean nourished my fickle gardening spirit. I bought a lavender plant at West Dean and picked up some compost on the way home. I called in at a farm shop on a whim and, thinking of the pelargoniums I'd seem earlier in the day, bought two geraniums and a bunch of locally picked asparagus. Once home, I gave some brand new terracotta plant pots a wash of watered down chalk paint to make them look a little more like the ones I'd seen earlier that day, and planted up my new purchases. Looking at the asparagus, I thought something chickeny and lemony would be nice for dinner and made this. I wish I had the time and opportunity to be so inspired in both garden and kitchen every day. 

A Cete of Badgers

This week....

:: We celebrated Angus's sixth birthday.

:: I learnt the collective noun for a group of badgers.

:: I made a delighted boy a badger t-shirt (and my mum was thrilled to find that blue jumper in M&S.)

:: I baked two cakes, one to be eaten after school with family and a McDonald's Happy Meal...

...and one Badgery one for the party at the weekened.

* * * 

And in other, non-badger related news, I also:

:: Picked bluebells from my sister's garden.

:: Learnt the difference between native and Spanish bluebells (these are Spanish)

:: Continue to be displeased with the mantel arrangement I've been faffing with. Everything about it is wrong and unbalanced and I don't know why. (I later moved the pussy willow stems and that helped a bit, but still, it's traumatic.)

:: Discovered that still warm off-cuts of cake with buttercream sandwiched between them are delicious, and everything I thought a whoopie pie (remember those?) would be but wasn't.

:: Saw a bird from the kitchen window, photographed it (sorry, not much zoom on my camera) and then looked it up in a book! A first for me. Suddenly we are all very interested in birds, all four of us. I think it's a goldfinch and I know you'll all correct me if I'm wrong.

:: Failed to cut the grass and admired the daisies instead. Why are we so obsessed with neat lawns in this country? Why are daisies and dandelions all over the grass considered a gardening failure?

:: Got excited about these rhododendron buds in the garden and wondered what colour they'll be.

:: Enjoyed John's banana ice cream, his first experiment with the ice cream maker he got for Christmas.

:: Also enjoyed using this old Tala ice cream scoop I recently liberated from my Grandad's kitchen drawer. Nice handle.

:: Had a lovely morning in Arundel with Sara. There are pretty buildings everywhere you look in that picturesque town.

:: Started a new book, The Year Of Living Danishly. It's very good, very funny.

Also, how lovely is that pink gerbera? 

I am looking forward to an early night and slightly less hectic week ahead.