Mini me

Guess what??

I'm pregnant. What do you mean you already knew?? Ah yes I remember all of my follwers were already my friends before I started blogging... Well that ruins that announcement.

Dear rest of the world. Guess what??? I'm Pregnant.... YES its very exciting!

17 Weeks and counting. And what a long road it has been so far. We have been trying for a baby for over 2 years. I have PCOS and this has made it really hard to conceive and super frustrating at times. Last September we were finally put on to a prescription of Clomid which was supposed to make me ovulate. You have to wait for your next cycle to start before you can use it - and for me that can be anything up to 6 months away!!

I was lucky and only had to wait 6 weeks. I was sure I was pregnant. Super sure. Convinced that the tests I was taking were wrong. Too early it must be. I'm sure. I wasn't - It was the first month  I was asking a lot.
But I felt gutted. So back we are to waiting. Waiting to come on again so I can take the next months. And waiting and more waiting. (a few more tests as I was so sure - nope still not) Thoroughly fed up of waiting by mid January. And feeling crappy to boot.

And sore boobs - really sore boobs. But mustnt get excited, must have wasted a fortune on pregnancy tests so far. And obviously havent ovulated - need to come on again. 3 days later - Really sore boobs. Well I've already wasted a fortune what is one more test.

Normally a failed test takes an AGE to develop an answer. This time it was just seconds. I'm in shock. I scream for my husband - apparently its my genuine scream as he thinks I have seen a spider. He casually saunters along wonder what on earth I am wailing like a banshee for. I hold out the test and watch the look of suprise dawn on his face as he reads the word I have been waiting to see for 2 years (and at least another 6 if I am honest)

Pregnant.


A bit of quick maths and a lot of wondering how on earth I am 15 weeks along without knowing makes me realise that I'm not. I have no idea how far along I am but someone who is this anxious for a baby doesnt miss 15 weeks worth of signs. A quick scan later and we find that I am just 3 weeks at the test (so 1 week after conception) and 5 weeks at the scan. All you can see is a little white marble 1cm across that the baby should be in (baby currently the size of a sesame seed)

Come back in 10 days and we can scan again - me wondering how on earth 10 days will be enough to see anything. 10 days later baby is 1cm long! That's amazing!

So there you have it. Its official - we've seen the pics and everything . And now it is kicking like a good un - Usually my bladder. Cheeky little one.

So boy or girl we don't know. I would love to find out but my husband would prefer the surprise. I just hope the baby presents butt first at the next scan!

Baby is the white smudge in the black blob!

This one is a bit clearer - Can even see its toes

Time does fly

Wow. I can't believe it is a year since my last post. That's not very impressive is it! Barely a blog at all. Ah well, as with all things in life time flies by and for me blogging will always be a bit of fun.

So what have we been up to in the last year?! My knee jerk response is - not much. But actually I expect there have been loads of little projects if I think about it.

The epic battle with Thames water when the pipe under the house sprung a leak and we needed a replacement connection that took 3 months to get sorted. The idea of a house being split in two really really confused them. (Actually still not fully resolved - Leak was in April)

The formal house split which is now all legal and sorted. That was also a fairly mammoth project including new morgages, council tax, (recycling bins- finally!) Insurance, parking arrangements and a heap of plans from the architect.

The new wall blocking the doorway in the dining room and the accompanying loft and bathroom works to meet the sound regulations - and concurrent decorating.

Finally blocked off

We re-decorated the spare bedroom which we now let out to lodgers to help fund the works.

Before (previous owners)

After

We have floored the room above the Livingroom that is to be the master bedroom and have had the windows replaced and sandblasted the feature wall to expose the amazing stonework from 1888.




We have also finally managed to order and have now got the roof-lights ready for installation (From an ace company who are local to us). We cut the number of roof-lights so that we could buy some really beautiful clean lined ones for just over budget but as that room is vaulted ceiling I think they are going to really make the the room.

We have also bought a chandelier for the room- which I LOVE but which is waiting on the roof-light installation, then the insulation and then the ceiling before we can hang it. (It was an ex-display bargain so I couldn't help myself)

So as the new year starts we are just getting a push on all those niggly little jobs that have driven me mad over Christmas while I was at home.

Just last night we completed  a little tiling project behind the fireplace in the office which I am very pleased with (considering that I am no expert tiler!)

 The plaster behind the fire (which used to be an old doorway) was coming away due to the heat from our amazing Town and Country Ryedale stove. But our new rough slate tiles will protect the stone work nicely and take the heat.


This coming week we are finally replacing the Dining room carpet (which I loathed on sight the first time I ever walked round the house!!). See image above of blocking the door.

And we have an electrician coming to sort out the electrical split between the 2 houses - no more seeing my parents have left the telly on again and quickly working out how much that is costing me (although to be fair they paid for all the times I left the TV on as a teen so I probably still owe them thousands!)

Its nice to be getting the house bits moving again but is a constant ever expanding to-do list which can wear you down. Last year seemed to be lots of jobs that you spend a fortune on but don't visually see a lot for your money. This year the changes should be a lot more decorative which I think will keep me going.

Well now you are up to date - I don't think it will be a year until my next post but just in case it is.... Happy 2014!!!

Ikea Hack

Hello ,
For todays post I thought it was about time I revisited the livingroom for a few more details on how we put that room together.

One of the most satisfying projects for me was an Ikea/ eBay bargain that I transformed in to our TV cabinet.

We have a rather complicated TV setup with a computer instead of a tv freview sky whatever box. As such it is larger and uglier (my husband will baulk when he reads that!). Whilst I love the freedom this gives us to record tv for free and to have the x box connected to the tv and to browse the internet from in there too I hate the cables and wires associated.

So I wanted a cupboard that wouldn't show all these bits. The budget £35.00.  It also had to fit nicely in the alcove that was already designated for the Tv , and be deep enough for the pc.

So I came up with this

An Ikea Leksvic tv Cabinet £129.99 - second hand on Ebay for £30 and about 5 miles from here for collection. Its deeper than it looks and the proportions were spot on.

Whilst I loved the glass doors the whole point of having doors on it was to hide the junk inside. Plenty of images like this lurking on the net which showed me what it would become with the doors as glass.

So On went the paint and I cut and stapled 2 rectangles of fabric that I have had for at least 7 years waiting for me to do somthing with it!

A simple transformation really. All I did then was replace the handles with some new brass ones from Relics of Witney - my fantastic local hardware store.

Still plenty of cables sticking out the back to the subwoofer - Still waiting to get that inside the cupboard too - Hubby is going to cut away some of the base shelf so that it stands on the floor. We also took the back off the cuboard so that the cables from the tv can get in there easily.

Thats it for now. Off to serve up dinner.

Happy Monday xx

Crafty Creations

Hello! How are you all? Enjoying the chance to catch up on some blogs?
 Lately I have found myself slightly obsessing on pinterest. It seems to me there are more amazing ideas and images collected on that one site than anywhere else.

I wouldnt say that I am an arty person particularly but I certainly have that side to me in my love of crafts and photography. So with Pinterest as my inspiration and some fab projects already under my belt I thought today I would show you a little bit of what I have been up to lately. Well not too lately. This last week I have been full of cold - I'm trying not to feel too sorry for myself so have been distracting myself as best as possible on my pc.

Anyway on to the pictures.

 This is my current window display in the Kitchen. I try and update it seasonally. I am blessed with lovely deep window sills. The house is made from cotswold stone and the walls are VERY thick. This one is deep enough to sit in so when we re-do the kitchen I may plan in a window seat. Although it is a little high at the moment.

The paperwhite peonies are made from coffee filters and are ridiculously easy to make. I sold some at the village craft fair at christmas and sat and made them at the stall.

All that you need are white coffee filters, stiff wire, florists tape, scissors and a little PVA glue.

The link for the tutorial is here

They are really fun to make and very realistic. I have seen pictures of them in pink but I love the white. Once you have done a couple they take maybe 3-4 mins each.

So for my winter window I wound the wire stems around some rose branches from my garden. I have a lovely english rose that grows like a bush and it has goregous dark red stems. They need  trimming back before the new year anyway so before christmas I headed out to the garden and snipped some good long twiggy branches.

Then I arranged the branches in a jug - this one a beautiful blue willow pattern with roses and a peacock that I have inherited from my husbands grandmother who died last year. I love having it out as she used to use it to display the flowers that we took every week when we visited her. It stands on a matching plate - on to which I have piled some pine cones that I collected at the same time as I picked sloes in the Autumn.

The coffee pot on the right is rusted and not fit for use. I bought it from a fantastic Antiques shop in Chipping Norton. I fell in love with the shape of it.

Want to make some for yourself? You betcha do!

Link again in case you missed it is here!

See you next time x

Yummy Pintrest

Hello,

Hope you have all been keeping busy. I am approaching a serious period of change in my life at the moment. I seem to have spent the last week doing paperwork and applications. Including a full planning application - very scary. We are approaching the time when our lovely house gets split in half. My husband and I bought a house with my parents that we have spent the last 2 years doing up and splitting in half. Well come the end of March they will be legally split.

Very exciting but this is causing an absolute shedload of paperwork to land on my desk!

Source: http://acccbuzz.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/too-much-paperwork/

Whilst I take a break from all that detritus I like to wander on over to Pinterst with a cup of cappuchino and look through some of their amazing images
I'll share a few that have got me drooling at the moment

Currently dreaming of an organised and clean desk!

Source http://www.massuccowarnermiller.com/images/residential/sanfran/17-office.jpg
 

Or Like this one - beautiful colour accents.

Source : http://images.meredith.com/bhg/images/2011/03/550_101632751.jpg

Source: http://samplehomedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/DIY-desk-project-by-martha-stewart-shared.jpg

My office is definitely lacking in storage at the moment which is silly really as it has plenty of space and we spend a large amount of time in there really!

Like many things it just hasn't reached the top of the "next to do" list.

Now I don't mind sharing it with you if you promise not to judge me. There are lots of "To do" sections in here. I'm still not happy with how the desks are joined (a poor Ikea hack!). The patch behind the stove is waiting for retiling or somthing similar that will take the heat. But when its tidy I quite like it. Its definitely due a coat of paint. It was white washed by the previous owners as they never used this room. For them it was a second sitting room and it has no central heating (and 3 external walls) so it was always cold and damp. Its taken us 2 years to get it properly dry so its about ready for some new wall treatment.

Below is Before we moved in

I should say that this is my Husbands room (he gets one room and a single drawer in the kitchen). He will be making most of the design choices .....

Coming along hey?

Til next time.