Poppies

 I remember last year in our garden...it was our first summer

and bulbs were popping up all over the place...

we really didn't know what was hiding away under the soil.

After the daffs, hyacinths and tulips had been and gone this green foliage

started to erupt. Now my husband wanted to yank it all out, 

thinking that we had a lovely crop of weeds, but I told him off suggested

that we wait and see what happened and sure enough...

we had...Poppies!

Poppies really are the cheeriest little flowers...
opening up during the day to face the sun...

then closing up for the night when it gets dark...

Me and my shadow.

Then I noticed next door these lovely fuller blooms popped up,

growing like weeds in the front garden...

Stunning against a black wall..

This bigger variety of Poppy makes quite an impact..

and I was thrilled when this one bloomed in our garden just this week...

Now I wouldn't ordinarily pick these...but as a certain young boy

kicked his football and broke one off at the base...I brought
it in and popped it in a vase...

and it has been gracing my lounge room...

adding a lovely pop of colour...

"Country"

I recently purchased a beautiful book as a going away present for a friend 

who has been living here in the U.K....and is about to depart to fairer shores....

"Country"

is a beautiful coffee table book, compiled by Jasper Conran

that really celebrates life in England...

From the minute you open the cover you are in for a visual feast...

as well as plenty to 'reed'...

The photography is captivating....

every day objects displayed to perfection....

floral wonders..

vegetable societies...

quirky characters...

including 'men with meat'...

and 'happy' families

?

As you would expect, there are of course some magnificent interior shots ...

and this beautiful painting of a little boy at the seaside.

This book has everything...even a little bit of 'bull'.

Of course I announced that I will have to have one for myself...

can't wait till we leave the country...hubby hopefully suggested it would be a good

Christmas present...fat chance...I cant wait till then!

Jasper Conran could not have produced a more diverse
or visually inviting look at England...
a lovely pictorial souvenir...

Flowers in the House

Today I am joining Jane at Small but Charming

for some Monday Flowers in the House....

Now I knew that I could not possibly post about

'Peonies' again...not this year anyway, 

so out into the garden I went...

and managed to find some purple 'Buddleia',

which has only just come into bloom.

It's also know as the 'Butterfly Bush' because it attracts

those pretty insects...

I also popped in some of this pink flower,

which I think is some kind of 'Sedum'...

it flowers all over the garden and adds 

a nice pop with the Buddleia.

For more beautiful blooms pop over to see Jane

at Small but Charming.

Friday Flower for Auntie Norma

Today I'm sending...yes...more peonies to 

a lovely lady back home in Melbourne...

She is a very talented lady...who has been decorating

with secondhand finds and vintage bits 'n pieces for as long 

as I've known her...nearly 40 years! 

As a young woman I loved visiting her home 

to see what she had acquired,

or if she had recently re-decorated a particular room,

repainting...moving furniture around...

In fact, not all that long ago I spied those telltale bruises 

on her upper arms and I knew what she had been up to

because when I shove push heavy items of furniture around...stooped over...bum in the air...

I end up with bruised arms where the furniture rested...

now she's not over the hill by any means...

but she isn't a spring chicken either....

and I had to laugh...thinking that I hope I'm still rearranging and pushing furniture around my house at her age!

Happy Friday!

Kitchen party

I've been invited to a kitchen linky party hosted by the 

inimitable Sarah, of Modern Country Living...

so I'm going to show you around my little kitchen in our English rental house....

Firstly, this corner by the window is where I am always

faffing about...changing the scenery....

I use an old round French bread board as a base

to arrange some paraphanalia...

and I usually have a bunch of flowers

or at least some sort of greenery to soften it.

Scattered around the rest of the kitchen is an assortment 

of vintage bits 'n bobs... some of which I've found locally,

but a lot of it I brought with me from Australia.

These sieves are great as this predominantly white kitchen 

needs a bit of warm wood going on...

 These little French cannisters came with me from home

and have done a round the world trip...
ending up where they started...back in Europe.

This lovely cherry red pudd'n bowl sits on top of my

microwave... it's from the 'Jamie at Home' range...

now if you want some really gorgeous and practical
kitchenware, go to one of these parties...

Luckily there are lots of open shelves in this kitchen

which enables me to display my bits and play around when I get bored with it all...

although, I have to agree with Sarah...

open shelves can be real dust catchers...

Another favourite, from home...this little cabinet with a silver framed mirror on the door..

a good place to stash those odds 'n ends...

My other big bread board is very handy...

and when not in use lends a bit of rustic charm...

This is where I keep all my 'dregs'...

for cooking purposes only!

My other seive, which is hanging on the wall...

this was sent to me by my lovely friend in Australia...

she knew I would love the label...

and finally, behind the door, a beautiful frilly linen apron,

made by a lovely lady back home...

Well that's it...if you would like to see more kitchens

pop over and say hello to Sarah...

If you would like to have a look at the beautiful new kitchen

I left behing in Australia...

with my kids...have a look at this post.

Awards

Today I want to acknowledge four lovely women who have each sent a blog award my way....

 ***

Marnie from 3 pickles, is from my home town of Melbourne in Australia, in fact I suspect she lives quite close to our family home. She writes about her life with 3 little boys in tow...and she kindly sent me this 'Versatile Blogger' award...

Thanks Marnie.

I would like to forward this onto Paul at "from sheep to alligators". He is a Brit, currently living in Florida and he is fascinated with alligators...photographing them in their natural environment, which often happens to be in suburbia. He also chronicles his observations of American life and how it differs from life here in England. Definitely a good read!

***

Lisa Roy  is a Canadian who has recently moved to Dubai. Her photos of this vastly different city are amazing and you can follow her exploits and quest for new digs via her blog where she describes herself as .."a designer obsessed with pretty things, beautiful spaces, interesting places and ...handbags!"...she has kindly sent this lovely award my way...

 Thanks Lisa.

I am sending this award onto Robyn from "Out of Ours". Along with her family she has made the move from England to Melbourne, Australia and in fact lives in the exact area where my kids went to school...not far from our family home. I love reading her stories and seeing her photos of very familiar sights and have to admit that I have a good laugh sometimes as she struggles with the lingo and some of our strange customs.

***

The Liebster Blog award is given to newbies with less than 300 followers and was very kindly sent to me sometime ago, by a lovely lady named Linda from "Flowers on my Table". Linda lives in Ireland and like myself, loves French and Scandinavian country style.

 Thanks Linda.

I would love to send this onto Zosia at "Polonica: Home Again". Zosia has lived for many years in Canada and has recently returned to her home country of Poland and through her new blog is rediscovering her old stomping ground.

I am going to send this award also to Beth at "A Welsh Girl in Australia". Beth is another expat living in Brisbane and is bravely facing not only the challenges of a new country but all that tropical Queensland has to offer...snakes, spiders, jelly fish, sand flies, budgie smugglers etc....(not wanting to put anyone off Australia at all)...

***

Lastly I would like to thank JoAnn from "...and Bob's your Uncle", who kindly sent me this award back in March. She describes herself as "a Minnesota girl hanging  in England for a while" and blogs about a range of topics as she experiences life in her adopted country.

Thanks JoAnn.




I would like to forward this award onto Deb at "The fisherman's cottage"...she is over Norfolk way...a place that is definitely on my list (especially as it has a great French Antique shop)...I love reading about her vintage finds and her photographs are lovely.

***

Before I go, one of the conditions of accepting these award is that I have to divulge 7 things about myself....so if you really want to know...


1. I love food, preferring savoury to sweet...and usually I have a second helping.

2. Sparkling wine is my drink of choice...be it Champagne, Prosecco or Cava...

3. My favourite day out would consist of fossicking around junk shops or
collectible fairs...

4. A perfect night out would include dinner at a nice restaurant, a good movie at
the cinema followed by a sleepover in a fancy hotel.

5. Love to watch Episode IV of Star Wars...I know your opinion of me has just
gone out the window!

6. My first imaginary love affair was when I was in primary school...the object of
my affection being Davey Jones from The Monkeys.

7. Getting back to food, I would love to do food styling...that's of course as
long as I get to eat it too.

***

Lavender Pots

I found some little beat up gal pots recently

and thought that they would look lovely with lavender inside of them.

So I brought them inside onto the windowsill...where I could admire them.

Happy weekend!