Must tell you...

...Atlanta Barlett, who wrote "At Home With White" has written a new book called Pale and Interesting. It's absolutely lovely. Right up our street. One's coming home with me tonight!

Lovely times in...

...Norfolk at the weekend with my lovely sis-in-law Alex. Her daughter India...Boo from Monsters Inc. Adorable.

Think Alex has forgotten the "Joys" of an English summer after living in NYC for so long!

It was my...

 ...birthday last weekend. It was satisfyingly flower filled. Above for the garden, below for the house.

 Tea and cake on Friday after work and dinner on Saturday night. This was the table before dinner. The after dinner table was a slightly more bottle strewn, messy affair. It was a balmy evening and it ended with us all in the garden singing cheesy songs accompanied by Felix and Monsieur le P on guitar. Badly. The singing, not the guitaring. Sunday was a write off.

This is how...

...my sorry little garden looked when I bought my house in late summer 2009.

 Then in May last year it looked like this...

...then this a few weeks later.

Then in May this year, there was much hammering and banging at the bottom of the garden...

Then tadaaa!

I love my shed! 

Are you jamming...

...this year? I hope to be. Once the children break up. Which is in 30 days, 1 hour, 45 minutes and 38 seconds. Not that I'm counting or anything. Thought I might try raspberry this year after my rather triumphant  blackberry last year. We've just had more Jam Makers sets in, you get lovely labels and lid covers - everything to make your homemade jams and chutneys look top notch.

 We're also got loads of gorgeous vintage French jam jars in, snap them up quick you domestic goddesses!

My little boy...

...is 15 today. He's an annoying potty-mouth at times; seems to lack the ability to pick up a towel once he has dropped it on his bedroom floor and leaves a trail of mess, noise and debris where ever he goes. He's just shy of 6 foot now and thinks it hilarious that he can look down at me. He thinks I'm a total embarrassment and gets cross when I toot and wave when I see him out with his friends, (it makes me do it all the more). He's mostly a pain in the neck. He makes me laugh though.  A lot.

I won't lie...

...I'm feeling a bit tired and emotional after this week. Last Sunday I hurtled into London in search of luscious things for this website at a trade fair. Ordered the first of the Christmas stock...I know, a world gone mad. Then I got up at 4.30 on Monday to sniff out vintage and antique treasure at a fair. Then did the whole up with the larks thing again on Thursday for another fair. I'm now bent over like a comma from all the walking/carrying heavy stuff and resemble a troll from middle earth.
Worth it though, because I found this little piece of heaven!...

Happy weekend! X