Summerhouse, a surprise & pretty parcel :)

Hurrah, its the weekend again :)

The boys have cleared off to a scout camp, leaving the parents behind - plans have been made to enjoy the peace & quiet - more on those next time ;)

The summerhouse is as finished as it can be for now - we still need a little table, some storage & clock but otherwise its done & much (in my opinion) improved;

Lots of bunting;

New cushions - one side for the boys & one side for me :)

Sofa has some new throws and I've allowed David Tennant to remain on the wall ;)

Now that would normally be enough for one post but there's more;

A neighbour dropped these lovely flowers off at lunchtime - MrVV had done some accounts work for him but wouldn't take any payment, so my neighbour bought these for me;

and then the postie arrived with a little parcel for me - all the way from New Zealand. Not sure if you remember or not but I had a spare CK magazine and offered it to any blogger. Well it ended up going half way around the world to the lovely Sarah @ Red Gingham. Well today a lovely little surprise thank you arrived;

2 parcels tied up with pretty ribbon and a gorgeous handmade card - inside;

Ribbon - I shall be using the handmade one on my next lot of makes :)

Also in there was this gorgeous pegbag that Sarah has made - very pretty and perfectly me. I shall now think of Sarah every time I'm hanging the washing out!!!!

I've been outside quite alot today - more planting to be done and veggie patch to weed. We are very lucky with our garden, the previous owner had a good eye for colour & plants and we get a burst of colour all summer.  One thing that predates even her though is the hawthorn hedge that borders the back of our garden and each summer I love it when it blossoms;

Have a great weekend - its supposed to be a scorcher :)

xxxx Vicki xxxx

The start of summer? & hint of a makeover ;)

Good afternoon from Sunny Suffolk :)

Hurrah the weather has taken a turn for the better :)

Today's post is rambling & disjointed - lots of little things to share with you all :)

First of all - the summerhouse. Little son & I have been painting inside today - I did the edges & he did the filling in bits - I think he really enjoyed it (trust me it looked much better after the 2nd coat);

More photos to follow another day when its more finished.

I made some bunting at the end of last week - lots of it is destined for the summerhouse to brighten it up and this length was a request from my eldest niece;

Sometime last week I received the most gorgeous smelling parcel - this time not a swap but an order from a lovely little company I have discovered - 4kandles. They do a gorgeous range of tarts that you put into burners - instead of the huge ones that are hard to break up these come as 4 smaller flower shaped pieces in a pack.  There is a huge range of scents and you can mix & match them together. Our favourite here is the Red Hot Cinnamon mixed with Golden Delicious - we've nicknamed this mix - Mom's Apple Pie :)

I ordered a couple of things - this pretty little cupcake tea-light holder for me;

and this scrummy campervan burner & a selection of melts for my next giveaway - haven't quite decided when that will be - sometime soon - depends when I can find the other items I want to include ;)

Last but not least - I can't believe its June already - where is the year going to? Now June means only one thing - the bloggy meet in Southwold - Sunday June 27th in the afternoon?? I know we've got quite a few interested people - are there anymore?

xxxx Vicki xxxx

Summerhouse makeover (part 1) & a lovely little parcel :)

Good evening

What a difference a few days makes - today has been mainly grey here with downpours :( I've had to rush out and rescue the washing and also race to close windows :(

After my Monday post I had a message from Sarah @ Red Gingham asking what the little building in the corner of our garden was. I explained that it was our summerhouse and it had me thinking about a post or 2.

This little building was in the corner of the garden when we bought this house almost 8 years ago.  We decided to give it over to the boys who were only 5 & 7 at the time as a playhouse.

It really hasn't altered much in that time - it had new doors a couple of summers ago and some new gingham door curtains but otherwise its remained slightly unloved & uncared for :(  It gets an annual spring clean and yesterday was that day;

Inside - a slightly tatty sofa, toys, scooters & an inflatable alien!

and lots and lots of cobwebs and dead things :(

Not really selling it to you am I!!  I spent a couple of hours in there - hoovering, cleaning and tidying.  The door curtains have come down for a wash and so has the large Jolly Roger flag.  Once this was done and I sat on the sofa for a breather I looked around and realised this was only the tip of the iceberg. So sometime next week, I shall be re-painting the inside, finding throws to cover the sofa, making some cushions and hanging some pretty bunting at the windows. MrVV has promised to re-install the electrics so we have some lights out there for evening and it opens up the possibly of one day sitting out there sewing :)

One thing I did notice once the windows were clean - the views of the garden - when the roses & honeysuckle flower soon it really will be a lovely place to sit;

Oh yes - the windows are really old leaded ones that were reclaimed from an old cottage :)

Another day - another 'thud' as a parcel hits the doormat :) - this time a little giveaway win from Jackie @ Sew Special Bears . No pics of the unopened package this time - no many address details to hide. However inside was;

A prettily wrapped pressie with added chocolate :)

Some new bedtime reading (or hopefully summerhouse reading) :)

Thank you Jackie very much. Now Jackie & I have been paired up in the Strawberry Swap organised by Pixiedust @ Faerie Nuff. So I shall be studying Jackie's blog in detail to find out her likes & dislikes - just hope she really does like strawberries ;)

Oh I haven't forgotten I mentioned the Giveaway word last time - just need to sort a couple of things and then I'll share it with you.

Until next time

xxxx Vicki xxxx