I think that 2020 has been something else than that we all had anticipated,

Covid-19 has had a huge impact in all of our lives.

In terms of work and definitely also on a personal level, and onfurtunately it's still not over yet.

At the time of writing this blog post we're heading to another lockdown for at

least two weeks, a situation I think you can all relate to.

                    

    

 This year started really positive with our shop featured in

 the 'Brocante Living' (see previous post)  

I couldn't have imagined how much impact that would have and still does.

So many people have find their way to our shop and I'm so grateful for all your 

support, despite the fact it's such an unsettling time for all of us 🙏  

 

That's one of the reasons I haven't been around here much.

I've been very busy with the shop and sadly no trips to my beloved England and France to share here.

But also on a personal level time was precious, especially in the second

 half of this year because what we were all afraid of happened ... 

My dear mother-in-law tested positive for Covid and sadly didn't win this very unfair battle 😢 

She will be sorely missed but she will live on in our hearts where we keep such happy memories. 

During all these eventful times we managed to have a short family 

break in our own country and again we were so very lucky with the weather.

And on another positive note, again I've got some excited 

news according the shop!

I'm so very happy to share that we've become

 a stockist of another gorgeous english brand, namely 'the Stitchery'

From now on you can find several Kits designed by the lovely 

Nicki Franklin on our Website

  

I'm so very honoured to bring these wonderful Embroidery Kits to our customers ...

Haven - under the Pear Tree

The Stitchery Seasons - Autumn

Mini Kit Blackberries

Vintage Christmas Wreath Embroidery Kit

Christmas Goose Mini Embroidery Kit

Because we all can do with some cheering up and our

 shop also celebrates its 4th Anniversary I thought all the more 

reason for having another Giveaway!

So if you would like to have a chance (just like last year) to give your Christmas

a little bit more sparkles with this cutie below on your Christmas Cake, 

then hop over to my Instagram or Facebook Page to participate!

It would be your last chance to have this little one at your home

 because sadly it's no longer available.  

But luckily there are still enough other festive items to shop on our Website  

Fingers crossed we can all celebrate Christmas with our loved ones.

Take care, stay safe!

Anita

~xo~

 

The Peak District second time around ....

Due to my reduced vision (which takes almost six months now😔) 

I still didn't wrote a blog post about our annual escape to the English country. 

Because computer work isn't really possible at the moment I write this post on my phone

 (which is not the most easiest way🙈) so it will be a short one. 

But I just had to document this lovely trip before we leave for our next holiday.

Again we had our first stop in the wonderful city Cambridge where Spring was at its best!

For the first ever time we booked the same location for the second time and it didn't disappoint, 

because it really felt like coming home at The Wee House on the Hill ....
You can read more about our first stay and see indoors photos of the cottage here

Gorgeous Bluebells at Lea Wood

We had a lovely walk at Dovedale

Our daily walk into the little town Wirksworth

The lovely Secret Orchard Nursery

Serious Wisteria envy 💜

At the cottage a view that never bores ....

And also the same breathtaking view on the little enclosed terrace next to the cottage. 

Not only the cottage gave us a wonderful week
 but also provided me to take some photos of the new Hogben stock
 we picked up during our stay which you can find on our website.

In two weeks time we will leave for the Provence

 to have some family quality time.

Hopefully an eye operation will be on the cards when we return.
Who knows, maybe next time I will be able to write a proper blog post again.

Until then!

Anita
~xo~

Goodbye 2018 ... hello 2019!

It's a cliche I know, but another year has almost flown by.

One of the privileges of having an Instagram account is that it isn't hard to look back.

This is a collage of my Best Nine of 2018 on my Instagram 

Although it's nice when so many people like your photos, 

they not always represent that precious personal memories, 

or those little moments to treasure. 

So I picked my personal favourites of each month.

January

One of my good intentions for this past year was to get more out and about and enjoying nature.

Sadly I haven't made so many walks as I intend to, but I started well in January.

  

 February

But luckily there was enough to enjoy in my garden, 

like this still life when we had a dust of Snow in February.

And of course my favourite bird.

March

In this month we had a little trip to the province Zeeland where we 

also visited the lovely town Domburg and its wonderful beach. 

April

A month of which I'd rather forget the first weeks.

Our middle son came back very ill from Guatemala which ultimately 

required hospital admission.

I took this photo when he made his first walk outdoors (feeling a bit better already) 

visiting the Cherry Blossom not far from our village.

May

The month of our annual escape to the English country, where we spent the first week

 in the beautiful Shropshire Hills

A real gem was this spot .... Lyth Hill 

The second week we celebrated (with almost all our loved ones) my
 husband's 60th Birthday in West Sussex.

It was so lovely to show them the places that feels like a second

 home to me, wonderful memories were made.

June

Was a month where ideas for the future started to take on more serious forms.

Now all our boys have flown the nest, the house feels a bit empty.

The next photo shows our annexe where we hope to receive our guests,

 somewhere in the second half of 2019  

A new business will arise next to the Webshop, our holiday let ... 'Stay at the Reed Warbler'! 

July

This year I finally got round to saw my own cutting flowers.

I felt so inspired by Emma Connolly and still picking flowers now, 

can you believe it in December!

This is one of the lovely bunches I picked at the end of July.

August

In August we went for a family holiday to the Provence and 

I had the most wonderful time with this lot.

September

Still picking flowers ....

October

And yes, these were also still from my garden, I'm planning to sow more varieties next year.

November

The month we celebrated our second anniversary of the Reed Warbler Shop 

 and so very grateful for the support for our small business.

We celebrated it with a giveaway of our best-selling brand Hogben Pottery 

December

It has been a good year and I consider myself very privileged with a lovely family
 and running a small business that I love.

This year's Christmas card was again a bit of a project,
which got a bit out of hand in terms of time 🙈

But in the end I delivered the last ones just in time at our neighbours yesterday evening
and now the only thing that's left is to share my good wishes with you ....

So from me to you ...

Wishing you sparkle,

wishing you cheer.

For a bright merry Christmas

and happy New Year!

Anita

~xo~

Celebrating Summer in the best company ...

Just can't believe it's only a week ago we returned from our family holiday in the Provence.

Despite all our good intentions to slow down after our return, this past week was a busy one.

Unfortunately some things can't be ignored (read the daytime job 😉) 

But also busy with the pleasant ones, like our frequent visits to my dear mother-in-law

 and of course the Webshop 😊

Even during our break you've been so very generous with your orders, 

can't thank you enough for your constant support for our small business!

Blogging about our holiday sure is a way to remember and document the lovely time we've had.

You must agree with me that we were so very lucky with the luxurious accommodation we stayed in,

 Villa la Farigola

Two whole weeks of enjoying blue skies and Oleander

And clearly not the only one, because it was a coming and going of butterflies and bumblebees.

Being in the Provence, visiting a market is a real must (at least to me it is 😜)

So we went to the market in the lovely town Cotignac

In my opinion, you only find market stalls like this in France

For me another typical french thing is the taste of their melons.

 At least, I never have tasted them better than in France.

Before we left I found a very easy recipe for a salad including melon.

Here it is;

You will need:

- one package Serrano ham

- one ball mozzarella         

        - one bag of rocket salad           

        - a half ripe (cantaloupe) melon
- olive oil                           

- balsamic vinegar             

 - pepper and salt                 

Spread the rocket salad on a large bowl.

Then divide the mozzarella together with the Serrano ham 

into small pieces over the salad.

Drizzle the salad lightly with olive oil and balsamic 

vinegar (and some salt &pepper)

Bon Appetit!

        

After a stroll in town and having crepes on a lovely terrace accompanied by live music,
we continued our way to the village Tourtour

On our way me made two unexpected stops.
First one was this wonderful cascade near the village Sillans-la-Cascade
we encountered along our way.

We also passed the town Aups where we camped many years ago when
 our boys were still young, so we just had to stop and have a little walk.

Love this display as an entrance.

After lovely Aups we finally reached our destination Tourtour , with this wonderful view!

Such a privilege to have again two of our sons joining us during this holiday.  

Not only a fabulous view but also a very picturesque village

I finally had time to catch up with my embroidery 

Accompanied with a cuppa made by the husband who was 'in charge'

 for our daily one on this holiday.

Another outing on our list was going to Lac Sainte-Croix and

 hire a pedal boat to explore the Gorges du Verdon

Nature at its best

Afterwards we ended up in the lovely village Moustiers-Sainte-Marie 

Just can't beat facades like this (📷 my sister-in-law).

And again stunning views

After a day of rest we went to the village Cannet des Maurus to go to the 

Brocante Market I already visited a year ago. 

And also this time it was worth the visit, because I found these lovely Tureens

 you can find in our shop on here 

After that we continued our way to Aix en Provence 

A city that never disappoints, despite the fact that all the roads around the centre looked 

more like a building site, due to the construction of a new electric bus.

The villa were we stayed was surrounded by vineyards

Here is one of the stunning views driving to our villa at dusk

Still making (holiday) memories with two of our boys is such a blessing, 

the second town we explored this year was Marseille

Where we climbed a lot of stairs to reach the Notre-Dame de la Garde 

The stunning interior of the upper Church

On one of our last days we went to the town Vidauban

In love with the shutters, balcony ... well actually everything in this photo. 

Our main reason going there was to eat a real french delicatessen, Profiteroles!

I've so enjoyed spending time with this lovely lot and having serious
 intentions to go for a repeat next year. 

This home coming sure made up for missing blue skies and oleander every day, my Cafe au Lait 😍 

At the moment we're having a little Sale on our Website to make room for our new Autumn stock, 

which I'll share with you next time. 

Until then, have a peaceful Sunday all!

Anita

~xo~