Finding the balance between neutrals and colours....

Morning all,

I don't know how it's with you but the lack of summer makes me want to surround myself with summer like colours even more .
I've been trying to add some colour in my (mostly filled with natural and neutral elements) home for some time now. But being afraid to "spoil" the serene atmosphere what makes me feel so at home every time I enter the house made me a little reluctant.
And then, unexpectedly, something comes your way....

I already mentioned that one of our three sons recently lives (totally happy) on his own now and that results in some "internal relocation's".
The youngest son will soon move to the attic his brother left behind (which means I finally get my own working space ! ) and therefore we've made a trip to Ikea with the main goal to buy a new bed .

And perhaps this sounds familiar to you .... but often when I'm not really looking I run into the best things !
While we walked around, my eye fell on this beautiful embroidered cushion with all the colours I was just looking for!
I also found this lovely vase who fit in perfectly in what I had in mind.
My kitchen consists of cream with black accents (even the tea towel) and also could use some colour. So this would bring in a little more of that (love the stitches on it)
This plate & bowl blends nicely with my creme plates.
And as a nice bonus from the bargain section and almost for nothing this beautiful dish which all but candles will come on I think ;-)

All this.... and at the time at their best and not to resist ..... peonies. And yes, for someone who almost always buys white flowers, now I'm going all the way.... so they are pink !

And here is the result of my (cautious) attempt....

My weekend will be dedicated to making the completion of the attic for our son Gabriël and maybe make a small beginning with my own space and hopefully all accompanied by plenty of sunshine !

Enjoy yours,
Anita xo

A little homesick ....

I hope you don't mind me bothering you again with some pictures from our trip to England. But I promise, it's the last post, if only because there is nothing much left to share ;-) Maybe it sounds a bit exaggerated, but I seriously think I'm a little homesick. My colleague teases me, saying that I certainly must have lived in England in a previous life....

In the morning of our last day in Sussex we walked along the coastline of Fairlight.
It's so beautiful there....

After our walk we went to the lovely Rye and spend a very nice afternoon in this little town with its many antique shops (where it was very hard not to buy more than what I already had done in the days before)
Of course we started immediately looking for the picturesque....

With all its nice features....

And after that we've had a delicious crepe in the most characterful Coffee House in Rye , The Apothecary . It's a great spot to curl up in one of the lovely leather armchairs and watch passersby from the huge old corner windows....

I'm afraid there's nothing else than a quick return to my "second homeland" to go against my homesickness. And in the meantime looking at this.... a lot !

Enjoy what's left of this week and have a nice weekend!

Anita xo

Brighton .... a city with a positive vibe ....

Morning all,

Having a little less energy after a busy week with my mum still in the hospital ,
work and all of the other tasks on the menu of everyday life it feels good to go back
to our wonderful trip to Sussex for a while.

And now I'm talking about energy.... this was the feeling I felt walking through Brighton , a lot of positive energy.
Not immediately, because we parked the car as we thought initially not in a very good district.
So my husband wasn't that pleased at all thinking about his "precious" car , me a bit grumpy because I felt we had left too late for this visit . My own fault because, as I wanted to do as much as possible in a short time, we also had a very nice walk in the morning that lasted longer than we thought.
But our mood was getting better the more we reached the centre of Brighton which turned out not to be so far at all!

First we walked towards the famous pier.... and have taken pictures I think everyone makes during a visit to Brighton ;-)

The Clock Tower on Brighton pier ....

Then we walked back into town towards the (exotic) Royal Pavilion where we heard a steel band playing from a distance.

When we walked into the gardens of the Royal Pavilion we spotted a lively bunch of people gathering on the grass, enjoying the nice weather, a casual picnic and.... the music.
It's that I had stowed my camera that I was too late to capture the moment but try to imagine....
This cheerful company that went out there seats and were dancing and jumping around to the music of Baggy trousers original from the (eighties) band Madness now played by this steel band, it was such a nice atmosphere....

Continue our walk towards The Lanes we saw several artists, many musicians but also these acrobats....

So glad I was able to make some pictures with the large number of enthusiastic people that stood out for me....

There was something going on at every corner of the street , like this cute dog on his skate board ....

And on our way back to the car we've crossed a street with a lot of nice vintage shops and there we saw this  beautiful graffiti on a wall....
the idol of my husband in his youth and it still is I think ;-)

So what first looked like not such a very successful visit, the positive energy of the city made it just impossible not to enjoy this town.

It's clear that a few hours is much to short to visit this city with his heritage from the Regency time, lovely shops and vibrant art & culture .... so we'll be back!

And every time I hear this.... I'm back in Brighton .

Enjoy your weekend,

Anita xo

Our colourful visit to the lovely town Lewes....

Hope you've had a very nice weekend. Over here the weather was fine but this afternoon a bit cloudy so no "distraction" with wanting to catch some sun rays in the garden and enough time for a new blog.
I've already mentioned in my last blog that I've met many acquaintances at Village-Vintage 
Amongst them Lucy from Love Lane Vintage  and also co-organiser of this great fair.While we were talking she gave me the tip that we should visit the town Lewes because she was very sure I would like it.
And she was right.... such a lovely town!

"You can see Lewes lying like a box of toys under a great amphitheatre of chalky hills"
 ~ William Morris~

It's amazing how much varied things you can find in a small town and especially one street, Cliff High Street.

A lot of history....

Harvey's Brewery as seen from Cliff Bridge, Lewes

High above the medieval streets stands Lewes Castle

When we walked into town we were just in time to get a glimpse of a small organic market with many stalls including this one with (flowering)plants ....

But also a lot of lovely (antique)shops and flea markets....

With a wide variety of trinkets and valuables .... for instance this doll of Lady Di in an antique shop (image above)

But also this lovely stone plaque of a hare on a flea....

While we walked through Cliff High Street I caught this beautiful alley with pastel-coloured front ....

And this cute cottage....

This lovely shop Flint with a simple but beautiful storefront beauty....

After our walk we've had lunch in a place called Bill's and talking about colours.... enough of that around here.
It's a very nice concept because not only you can have a (biologic) breakfast, lunch or dinner, you can also buy all kinds of jam, chutney, olive oil.... you name it. Everything is displayed around the tables .... it really gives a nice atmosphere.

I even liked the chair I was sitting on....

And as might be expected, our lunch was delicious....

All in all a very tasty closure of what has been a beautiful day....

Next time more about a completely different but also very nice visit to Brighton, enjoy your Sunday evening and have a nice week!

Anita xo

Signed, sealed, delivered I'm ....hooked

Hi,

Back again from what has been a wonderful trip to England! I've tried to stay as long as possible in my English mode for it felt so good over there. But after "just got of the boat" have to go to the hospital where my mother was admitted for the .... don't ask me how many times in the last few weeks (I'm a little lost count) made me step into every day life immediately.
But that's another advantage of blogging, writing this post and editing the pictures easily brings back the memory and documents it all at the same time!

We've done so much in a short time that I don't know where to begin, perhaps with the beautiful lodge we've stayed in....

And every day our morning coffee on our terrace with this stunning view....

Not to mention dear Hetty (the lovely Labrador from "our neighbours" next door) who came to say hello a few times a day!

And of course the event what was initially "the purpose" of our journey....

Village-Vintage 

It has been so nice to meet all that lovely ladies in person while following them already via facebook!

Lucy from  Love Lane Vintage, Laura from Wild Willow, Caroline from  Harriett's Attic a place of Vintage Treasures and Jill from Rosiebud Decorative Vintage from who I bought this beautiful stained glass window and which I think  will get a nice spot in my future (own) working space....

This lovely plate (of which I think you can never have enough) from Caroline Zoob 

These lovely cups and saucers from www.willandbea.co.uk (we've also took the original and delicious country farmhouse cake back home) 

After seeing all the pictures of the event on Facebook I realise that there were more "well known" I didn't even shake hands with :-( only therefore I need to go back next year! ;-)

But that's not the only reason.... the more I'm in England the more I get hooked to this lovely and beautiful country....

We've visited such nice places (more about that in my next post) and there's still much more to see. So I think this will not be our last visit, that's for sure....

Enjoy your weekend, 

Anita xo