Some recent arrivals providing new services for the villagesr!

Some new residents have arrived in the village. As it grows there more work becomes available so more people move to the area!! Todays new arrivals are Charlie the window cleaner / handyman. I think he's my favourite, I just love him!!

Doesn't he just have that perfect cheeky chappy odd job man look about!! I love his not so lustrous anymore hair and he has such a cheeky smile!

Next is Jocelyn who has taken on the running of the cafe as Luigi and Maria are just too busy in the bakery! She loves a bit of red lippy!!  

Milly has popped into the church to drop some flowers at her beloved Bills grave (my Nan and Grandad were Mill and Bill)

The next couple to arrive have caused quite a stir! The gossip has been rife about who will be moving into Butterfly cottage. Empty retail space is like goldust in Quayside and they have been on a waiting list for an empty property. One has just become available and today Richard and Mags popped in to measure up and start planning! Its def something Quayside needs! All those WI ladies will be off for their flu jabs!!!

Hasn't my nurse got the kindest face I love her! My Mum, Margaret, is a nurse so I had to get her! Her friend at work all call her Mags! I love them all! New characters in the village really make me smile!!

It was so dark this morning I thought it might be a good chance to get a couple of photos of the village with the lights on. Its too dark if I do it at night and if I use the flash they don't show up. They came out quite well but its so hard to get everything in as I am against the window and couldn't lean back any further! Excuse all the odd drawers thats where I keep all my stuff and I have bought a nice curtain to put up and hide it all I just need to fit it!!!

La Belle Maison

Its been a busy day for housework and vowed I wouldn't do the photos of the shop til I had got everything done or I get sidetracked and nothing gets done lol! So I have been a domestic goddess all day and now I get to play with my village for a while!!

I finally persuaded Bethany to make my signs after copious amounts of begging last night! It def helps to tie in the colours up and down. Got my blue paint today too so thats the next job"

La Belle Maison translated means the lovely home! I wanted something that wasn't overly complicated but that sounded nice.If it had been too fussy I would have prob forgotten what it meant lol!

I have bought a few new pieces of furniture for the bedsit. The little bed with the bedding which is lovely and the table and chairs, which from the photo I thought was the same colour as bed but its actually much darker. Not sure how I will tackle that just yet! Its a shame as its the perfect size and style so I might have to learn to live with it, at least til my matching OCD kicks in again lol. I need to get a stove and sink to create the kitchen area. I found a gorgeous sink I loved only to find today it was out of stock which is a shame. They will be getting it again only more expensive and I decided not to bother, so I am on the hunt again! I don't want to rush just to fill it I want to wait til I find just the right pieces!!  Cookers are so hard to find nice ones. They are all agas or cheap wooden ones qf which neither is relaly right so I might save up for a Phoenix miniatures gas style one and paint it myself, a last resort though lol!

I have moved all the stuff from the furniture shop that was above the china shop into the downstairs as it seemed pointless having 2 shops selling pretty much the same things.

I stole the sofa from the holiday let as I got a nice red one today that has replaced it. All the furniture needs painted and distressed to give it that shabby chic look but you can get the idea of how it will look. 

 By moving the furniture shop out of its original home that gave me an empty space so I have just moved the nursery shop into it. That means the attic of Butterfly cottage formerly the baby shop is now empty! I already have a plan for it so watch this space lol although the next 3 days I won't be able to get near it as we have to put the Xmas decs up. We have 15 boxes of decorations and 3 trees and thats including the outdoor stuff! not sure thats entirely normal!!!

A bit of sunshine yellow

I have hardly had a minute to touch my new cottage all weekend so today I decided I would spend a little time on it or I would end up with another sleepless night! I lay awake last night pondering what colour to paint it. I have never been so brave with any other houses for fear I might ruin them! Its not that I didn't like the blue I just had a lot of blue in the village and wondered whether to paint it a slightly different colour. Julie had kindly told me the shade of blue so I could do the shutters but no idea when we will next get to a DIY store as out nearest one is nearly an hour away. One of the things I miss about the caravan is no huge B & Q on the doorstep! That got me thinking whether or not to use something I already had to hand which would mean doing both windows. I was looking at the little Meadow cottage plaque and the yellow really stands out so I decided to try and see what painting the upstairs window in a nice sunny yellow would look like. I had a yellow paint but it was a tad dark so I lightened it with some white to make it a little more lemony to match the shade on the plaque.

I really love the colour and think it looks ok but theres a tiny little bit of OCD in me that thinks the windows should match!!!!

 I made a little table to fit in the gap and painted that blue to bring the colour from downstairs up!

I had the lamp positioned just right when I took the photos and it looks like a late summers evening enjoying the last of the sunshine with a nice glass of Rose and a bowl of olives (I hate olives myself!)

One of Junes gorgeous little cross stitch cushions finishes of the chair. Of course I will need to get another one for the other chair now though lol!!

All opinions as to whether you think it looks ok or whether the windows should match will be gratefully received :-)

Also had to show you some fab mugs we got in a charity shop of Saturday. They were £3 for both and can't you just imagine them filled with hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows on top! We just love Christmas!! only 29 sleeps :-) xx

Moving houses!

After about 3 hours of moving houses around which would be easy if all the adapters weren't connected and I didn't have 100 extension leads running from one to another lol!!! there was really only 2 places Meadow Cottage could go because of the height! Either in the middle on the left where there is no shelf or at either end. It couldn't go one end as it covered the light switch, it just looked wrong in the middle as it just looked too out of sync with the others so that left only one space! On the other end where the harbour is.

It does look huge next to Lifeboat but then I guess all houses in little Cornish villages aren't the same size and I actually really love the big window there as it gives off so much light and the little balcony is perfect overlooking the harbour.

This one really is quite a lot bigger than my others which I knew but I kind of ignored that fact cos I really liked it!!

I was reluctant to move Barnacle as I liked it there but actually it works much better where it is as it has no windows you can't see into and now I can access it much easier now its at the back next to the B & B.

Heres a pic of it in its new spot. I added an alley down the left side with light as I just love them! Theres one between almost every house and they are fun to stick a bin or a fox down them for a bit of extra detail!

I had to lose the witches house from within the village to fit the new one it! Its is now on the windowsill in the same room just the other side of the village which is fine! I am going to try and fit the beach scene onto the shelf somehow! That way the witches one will just be by itself so I can add a garden and have some fun with the outside.

A new house on the block! - Meadow Cottage!

Well I have a small, well actually not a very small confession at all to make! I bought another house!!!I never planned it but when I saw it It just called my name and I kept going back for another look! I just couldn't shake the need for it off so I went for it! At this moment in time I have no idea where it will go but I love it anyway!

It arrived safely today and is now sitting on my workbench!! It needed a teeny bit of attention a little bit of clay had come off the roof and the corner of the path but its all glued back on and touched up with paint so its as good as new! I think I am always relieved when its only a small amount of damage, it could be so much worse when it has to travel so far!!  Its one on JULIES but an older thats already had a home and was looking for a new one! I love that it has some history and a big thanks to Julies friend for letting me have it!

Its really lovely but boy its huge!! Quite a bit bigger than my others so will have to go on the end I think. Its got lovely big rooms and high ceilings and has been decorated really beautifully. It has really nice lighting too. I have a spiral staircase I got really cheap off Ebay and have a real urge to put it in! I just think as its got such a high ceiling it would make a great feature just not sure I am brave enough lol!!  

The big window and door is really fab. I plan to paint the shutters blue to match the bottom just to make them stand out a little better.I originally wanted it as only one of my big houses has an actual shop front but I am really glad I did as it has a different feel to my other houses.

I also just remembered I even had a name for it! I had a spare one of  JULIES lovely plaques from the green cottage front I had called Meadow cottage. I am so pleased it now has a home as it one of my favourites it was so pretty. See! it was fate I had to get just one more house for that reason alone!

The inside is gorgeous! Its funny people often ask me where the fun in buying a ready made house is. I have to say the building and decorating really don't excite me! I am def an interiors girl! I love looking at other peoples projects when they are building them themselves but I really don't have a overwhelming desire to do it lol  I tried once with Waterside Way and it just didn't float my boat! It was gone before I even put the windows in! Anyway Julies houses are always so lovely how could I possible do better! so I concentrate on doing them justice on the inside!

Maddie has popped in with Beans for a quick look round! Shes been thinking of expanding as the B & B pretty much runs itself now. Its very quiet at this time of year and she needs a new project! Shes been waiting for an opportunity for an empty shop to become available and this might just be it!!!

I also put her so you can see the size of the room its so big she looks a bit lost in it lol its going to be so much fun to fill!!!!

I like the darker effect wood and the details like the skirting boards. It even has the cutest little door handles! The upstairs is so pretty I just have a real desire to fill it with pretty things!!

I almost had a fit tonight trying to post this! It said I no space for nay more photos! Being a tightwad and not wanting to spend money unless its for a DH item or new shoes! I decided I had to delete some.To my shock I have posted 2000 photos onto my Blog!! Oops :-) oh well I least no one can say I don't post regularly ha ha! Had to pick some to delete and will have to cull some more before too long!!

Knitting Pretty ready for Christmas

Now the Christmas shop was all finished I could make a start on Christmas in the rest of the village. As you know I had some fabulous little knitted things from DEB which arrived last week so today I have been busy getting Knitting Pretty the wool shop ready for the Xmas trading period! I put all of Debs lovely things in and wanted to make sure I fitted in every single piece!

The reindeer jumper had to be the centerpiece for the window display along with the cute golly and a sweet  little Xmas pud tea cosy.

You can see the jumpers, the lovely little dolls, even all the woolly hats and tea cosies everything for you to buy for all your Christmas gift needs.

His and hers Christmas jumpers!

Gorgeous little dollies!!

I had a small space at the side of the desk and wasn't sure what to fill it with. It wasn't wide enough for a shelf. I spotted these cute little crocheted hangers on Ebay for £1 each and made a little display rack for them and I think they are so sweet and so nicely made and they fill the gap just right!

Hats and tea cosies!

The reindeer jumper in the window is stunning although when she sells them now they will have a plain back as that was a bit of a mistake but it works in my favour as its great in the shop as you can see the pattern from the back!

I love this little shop its def one of my favourites and I will be so sad when Christmas is done I won't want to take all my lovely things out!!!!