time flies

well i cant believe its been so long since i last posted... April..was months ago and that was the last time i thought to leave a little blog post..
i think i just get  caught  on the wheel of life and i find myself going round and round without particularly anytihng interesting or extraordinary to say or write about but i am also rather busy at the same time so i hsould technically have tons to talk about!!

anyways tomorrow is a big day for the pretty vintage household.. the baby of the family is donning his Clarks sensible school shoes and his owl emblem school jumper and crisp white polo shirt ( along with horrendous black tracksuit bottoms which have been introduced for the reception class..but lets not go there!!) and will be making his gorgeous cute little footsteps into the infant playground that hes been going to for the past two school years but this time will actually be going in through the classroom door

oh my days...i cant believe that my baby is going to school...it seems such a short time that i was writing this post about returning to work after my maternity leave

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i actually cant believe Ive been blogging for so long you know it doesn't feel anytime at all but the move-arounds that this house has seen ...theres been tons!!
i cant believe how that time has flown...and I'm filled with all sorts of misgivings.. "have i wasted the time we had just me and my little man??" "have i done all i can to prepare him for school life?!" "if he stays hot school dinners for a change will he know how to carry his tray of food!?"....
am i normal in thinking this ?? when my oldest boy started school 2 years ago i didn't feel any of this..he was so confident ..in fact i think he'd been waiting to go to school since he was 18 months!!.. now i just feel that my little boyo is going into the big wide world of education and i have to watch from the sidelines when all i want to do is carry him through it and speak for him at every stage...( this is possibly coming across as control freak mummy and I'm sure i am so no excuses really!!)

so anyways i cant say much more than this as its all a little bit emotional and you know i hate this salt water coming from the edges of my eye!!.. so all i shall say is at least i shall have abit more time to take lots of lovely pictures of makeovers and room changes and even possibly a Friday frock or two!! ( ahh remember them days..oh well maybe i'll come back with a bang (....or a sparkler ... we dont want to get too excited!!)

windy wittering wednesday !

ooo today has been soooo windy around here.. beautiful bright sunshine for most of the day but phew that bluster was very strong.. i was freezing!!

suppose it has blown a few cobwebs away though which we all need from time to time!..

well i met my mum in town for a little mooch around the charity shops this afternoon, i bought these two retro style candle holders for 59p...

the pattern reminds me of bubbles for some reason

these are from ikea and look brand new, actually not sure were I'll put them yet as they dont really fit into any of my colour schemes around the House but i did think they were rather cute so im sure i'll find a home for them!

then in the next charity shop i spotted these PJ's as soon as i walked in . ( you know with me having extra floral magpie vision.. i can spot a rose petal at 100 yards don't you know!) .. they were only 99p .. my mum bought these for me and she got her self a lovely pair of navy blue silk PJ's.. £ 1.98 for the pair.. i mean how fantastic is that..

i love the duck egg blue background on my ones . .works so well with the dark pink of the flowers.. and also is an almost identical match to my bedroom wallpaper so i could actually camouflage myself into the wall if i wanted to !!!..

then on the way out of the same shop this little tpot with tea cosy was sat on a table just waiting to be bought..


so i ummed and ahhed for a few minutes and then my mum bought me it anyways!!.. the label says country living


so i assume its come from an offer from the magazine or something, again its a lovely duck egg blue

so we went back to mine and munched our way through a pack of coconut rings biscuits ( i wonder why my clothes don't fit!) and had a cuppa..then the hubby took mum home and on his return produced a bag of goodies from mummy dearest .. ooo exciting.. i do like a bag of goodies

so first out of the bag was this lovely red throw.. brand new still all wrapped up in a red ribbon.. i think there is nothing more special than somthing being wrapped in ribbon..perhaps im a little bit sad but i do think it always gives it an extra somthing.. !!



Ive put it over the arm of my floral sofa ( i already have a red throw on the other arm so now its nice and matching .. but not to matching.. don't want it to be twee!!) and i love the pretty cut out heart detail on the trim..

this sweet little jam jar lid.. which i think i may make into a broach /badge ..


on the back it tells us its from a jam jar company..


anything polka dotted or floral is always welcome in this house...no matter how big or small!

and then this divine little vase.. the beautiful rosebuds all around are just beautiful.. i think I'm going to use it as a candle holder i love it so much..





its on top of my china cabinet at the moment and its funny because your eye is drawn to that and then to the china posies inside the cabinet at the same time.. a proper feast for your eyes now!!

as i was getting the things out of the bag i noticed how the pyjamas, the red throw, the teapot and t-cosy and the little lid all complimented each other with the blue red and pink tones .. it looks like a little display and if i was creative enough i would display it all beautifully and take wonderful pictures but i kinda just threw it together and took a few pics whilst the kids were occupied!! but you get the picture don't you!!

oh and if i haven't been treated enough there was something else at the bottom of the bag .... a HUGE bar of tolberone ... MMMMmmmmm....

well it is Wednesday after all.. to late to start a diet mid week and ive wittered on enough so surely Ive burnt some calories off doing that!!

***oh and my mummy has just discovered the pretty vintage blog today.. so she may well be online now reading this.. so big wave to the mummy!!!****

Saturday night in the den

Weekends BC ( BEFORE CHILDREN!) for me use to be, a quick nip around the shops on a Saturday to buy an outfit for that night... a bit of a soak in the bath, my whole beauty regime.. then a few drinks to get me relaxed ..jump in a taxi with friends and out we'd go were we would dance till dawn,

how times have changed... this weekend we made a huge den in the living room..watched movies all afternoon with the kids..

and once they were in bed.. me and the hubby stayed in it with wine and snacks and watched Wayne's world!!!

please note that vintage and floral fabrics were used though .. mummy has to keep some order !!

just one quilt

well i bought a quilt cover from the flea market in the summer for something silly like 50p!!

had a funny musty smell so gave it a wash .. and then cut it up to use as material for my doors in the welsh dresser...

still seemed to be quite a lot of material left so just put it back with my fabric stash and basically forgot about it!

then we got this cupboard didn't we off freecycle beginning of December


..which we put in the bathroom... it went in the corner were my washing basket had been..

this was then rehoused in our bedroom...but you know what i know it was only a little thing but it really did my head in!!.. i hated feeling like my dirty washing was on show in our room!!..

couldn't find anywhere to put the basket it just had its natural corner in the bathroom but that was now taken... so i knew it had to go!

decided to make some laundry bags..one for us and one for the boys room..did have some fabric but just thought it would be to nice to use for the purpose of smelly socks and dirty school jumpers!..

so i found the old quilt cover and because its gingham on one side and floral on the other it was perfect for both the boys room and ours...

so Ive made pretty big bags because i constantly have the washing machine on and yet theres still always washing.. is it like that in your house??

and you know what .. i still have quite a bit left .. i think its like a magical bit of material that just keeps returning to size when its cut!!..

***thanks for your messages from yesterdays post... the bubs is feeling a lot better than he was.. still full of cold and snuffles but we are just keeping his temperature down and basically trying to get him to chill on the sofa!..hes getting back to his dramatic little self anyways.. the arm against the wall with head in arms in a favourite one of his, usually followed by the words " no mummy!" so i take that as a sign to him getting better!!**

shades of grey

well Ive been feeling as grey as the flowers in my hallway this week!!

something that Ive not been able to shake off as quickly as i usually do when i feel low..

but then last night the baby was really poorly.. he was sick in his bed ... was absolutely red hot.. temp sky high.. his body was shaking.. very wheezy chest which is his weakness it was all very very frightening.. so it was a dash to the hospital again.. me making tearful phone calls to my sister convinced he had swine flu . ..

anyways they gave us antibiotics and paracetamol so that we can keep his temp down

today he isn't as bad.. he is still quite warm but no were near the furnace like temperatures he had last night.. * and why is it children wait until late at night be become really unwell ..when they've been running round all day fine !?? *

so from this i have realised that what Ive been feeling low and depressed about is really not as important as my family are to me.. that my family should come first in my life and not let situations get in the way that i cant do anything about but just concentrate on bringing up our boys the best that we can..

so Ive decided that yes life can seem very grey at times but what do you see when you look at my jacket here..



the red stand outs doesn't it... that's what I'm going to do..I'm going to focus on the brightness in our lives !

Normal Service to Resume Shortly

well its been a lovely past few weeks.. however my oldest boy is back at school tomorrow and the little bubble that we've been living in has to come to an end!!

so its normal service from tomorrow

no more sitting in our pjs watching cbeebies on the computer while eating our breakfast..
instead of at the dining table with no distractions!

no more mummy sitting in her pjs for most of the day reading gossipy mags

no more drinking endless cups of coffee and digging into the biscuit tin through out the day!!

no more eating handfuls of dolly mixtures every time we go into the kitchen ( again mummy!!)

and no more endless cheese and cracker midnight snacks with a large glass of rose always as a side accompaniment!! ..



its early to bed now the school run beckons again!!!..

i know we do need routine in our lives and the fact that some of the days did blend into one another so it could have become boring in the end if it carried on..but it has been so lovely having lots of snuggly days in our pjs and eating whatever we wanted.. but its everything in moderation i know.. now Ive got to get back on a bit of a diet wagon if i don't want to end up looking like a sumo wrestler!

so from tomorrow its back to packed lunches.. ironed school uniforms.. sensible meal times and a dollop of self control!!!

oh well Ive still got a few more hours to go ..think I'll just make myself one more gin and tonic!!!

its been a hard days night!!

well last night was not a night that i want to repeat in a long time..but hey we'll give it about 6 weeks and im sure it will happen again!

our baby has suffered from chest infections since he was born.. mostly around the time he is cutting a tooth.. he tends to get wheezy, ( is that how you spell it!!??) and his little chest makes all sorts of rattleing sounds..
over the holidays he had two bouts of antibiotics for this and hes had inhalers by the bucket load!!
so last night was a bit worse than usual his poor little ribs were really protuding from his little body and he was really struggling to breathe.. its so frightening when this happens as you just feel so helpless .. we rang the nhs direct who contacted the ambulance and they came pretty sharpish...
so off i trot in the amublance with a screaming baby.. at around 10pm.. having been in work till 7pm and still not having had my tea ( I'm so selfish arnt i!!).. the ambulance got about 10 mins away from hospital and decided to break down. so then we had to wait until another one could come and pick us up.. ( I'm now imagining looters trying to over turn the ambulance for all the medical equipment and drugs inside.. getting slightly worried at this point.. by the way i don't live in the ghetto so don't ask me were the looters were coming from!!)...
the next ambulance arrives and takes us to the hospital were for 4 hours we sat in the children's A&E Dept.. the baby suddenly decides hes alright and starts running around the ward wearing just his nappy and carrying my mobile phone ( even though theres signs every were telling you not to use mobiles!) but then again gets a high temp and rattly chest..
then we were sent up to the children's ward.. which is fair enough...but first of all.. they put me in a wheelchair and i have to hold him ..at this point he is wrapped in a sheet.. i felt mortified.. if anyone had saw me they would have thought that i just given birth to the worlds largest new born baby I'm sure of it ! and the nurse pushing me was tiny.. i did apologise for not having started my diet before she had to push me.. she did sound out of breath by the time we reached the ward!!
so once again we were in the children's ward were baby is wide awake, and I'm soooo tired.. its now about 6am and they send us down to the x-ray dept.. on my own i might add pushing the baby in a pram they have found from somewhere !!!.. so here i am walking through hospital corridors frightening myself by the reflection of myself in the windows..thinking theres bound to be a mad man sitting in wait to get me .. do i watch to many dramas on TV.. i really think i must!..
well i got lost about 3 times.. ended up in the wrong x-ray dept.. how many are there in one place..
10pm we went in last night.. 5.30 pm we left today... !!!!!!!
so anyways turns out bubs is OK.. well hes not.. hes still wheezy and rattly and is now on yet again another inhaler.. i just wonder how many times we have to go through this before they say yes we do think its asthma that he has!
i really do believe that he has asthma and probably with regular use of an inhaler we wouldn't have the problems with his chest that we have.. its soooo frustrating and frightening for him as well. seeing your baby in pain is just horrendous isn't it..
at the minute we've settled him off hopefully for the night as he really is in need of a good nights sleep.. the big brother is at my mother in laws for the night so he hasn't got him waking him up at some ridiculous hour playing with his cars!!

anyways sorry to bore you with my night of hospitalisation .. but i really felt the need to write it down.. call it sleep deprivation .. Ive still not gone to bed but when i do.. I'm in for a treat haha..
i have put on my bed my new ( well obviously not new.. but new to me.. !) throw for my bed.. I'm in love.. its so pretty..


just look at the detail around the edge and in the middle.. i love it...

now my bedding is white and this does have a cream background so I'm going to have to sort out the pillow situation as i don't want it to end up looking dirty against the white!! honestly the dilemmas!!
so i think for tonight its going to be an early night in my cosy pajamas.. some trashy mags

and perhaps a hot chocolate

tomorrow work have told me not to come in so its just going to be a snuggly day with me and the baby.. we hopefully we'll catch up on our sleep.. honestly being a mum is a full time job and a half isnt it.. but i dont think id have it any other way !!!!

red....

i love the colour red... and i think my baby just looks the cutest in his baby gap red dungarees.. here he is watching " In The Night Garden"...mesmorized.. always guaranteed atleast 10 mins were i can wash up, stick the washing on, make myself a drink, and i know he isnt climbing the stairs..getting onto window sills or sitting in the fridge !!!!

more snow and makeovers!!!

our family in wellie form!!

well I'm sure everyone has been in the same boat this week.. schools closed, ( poor mums.. especially after the long holiday) ... people taking snow days from work as its just not worth the risk going on the roads.. it is beautiful to look at snow.. but it can end up being very inconsiderate cant it .. ( especially when i had a trip to ikea planned!!! )

and as i usually keep my mop and bucket outside my mop has become frozen inside the bucket.. and i cant get it out haha!!!

here's the little trellis in my backyard.. doesn't it look pretty the green against the white!

well as i predicted the first day we had snow.. hubby came home with a huge piece of plastic



that he took out with some of also mad friends to go sledging down huge scary hills in the dark.. i mean were is the pleasure in that!!!..

today we took the boys to the park by our house were there is a smaller hill and it was light so i could see if i was about to go head first into a tree or whatever !!!..

it was i have to admit quite good fun.. emphasis on the quite.. mind. my feet were freezing from the minute we got there but i am very cold blooded !!!.. the boys just loved it.. even our 18 month old couldn't get enough of going down with daddy.

this is a pic of our 3 yr old on daddys back .. i think hes inherited the no fear gene from daddy!!

hubby of course had to go down standing up at times or on his stomach...honestly i think I'm married to a member of jackass or some other crazy gang!!.

while we were there i thought id just take a few pics of the snow.. as it did look so beautiful!!

onto another subject now because i think i am starting to get snow blindness.. remember the chairs i got from freecycle in the summer . well i finally got round to painting them this week.. i took myself off to homebase - walked there in the snow.. wellies on, hat, scarf, gloved up.. what a trouper!!!.. and got some of the made up paints in gloss.. and how glossy they are.. i never use gloss normally I'm a satin wood kinda gal..but on the chairs it just works so well..they are so shiny and lovely... i keep looking at them!!..

i think the bright pink one is my fave!!!

although on the brighter pink chair my 3 yr old sat on it in the morning when it wasn't completely dry so there is a sort of rub scuff mark that I'm going to have to sand down and paint again honestly don't you just love kids!!

so we have changed the church pew around and put it on the other side to were it normally is and it makes such a difference I'm not worried about the children banging their heads on it when they are running past etc..

please excuse the dying flowers in jug on the table.. they have come to the end of their life but i just haven't got round to buying new ones yet!!!

really want to paint the legs and underneath of the table now.. hubby thinks I'm a painting junkie i think i may be!!!