Wednesday 7 October 2015

Sunny Home

Before I begin with any autumn/winter inspiration posts mainly featuring cosy blankets (I love cosy blankets) I just wanted to show some appreciation for the September/October sunshine.

It's been nice to still be able to have the back door open and sunshine streaming in and lots of trips to the beach.

We have been living in our home for 7 months now and I could still write you a list of things I want to do but we have been slowly getting new bits and changing things as we live in the house. Here are a few things we have added.


As you can see these are mainly small additions and changes. We have added pictures, rugs, curtains and light fittings which for me all make it that little bit more ours. We had some really old light fittings that I couldn't wait to take down. I was especially happy to see my yellow pendant from Habitat go up that I actually bought before we moved! There are a few rooms still waiting for the perfect light fittings. I like to take my time with each room and shop around. At the moment I am struggling to find the perfect light for the stairway. Our next big project will be our bathroom which I have lots of ideas for. 

For now I am going to enjoy our home and family time. 

Love Lemon x


Friday 24 July 2015

Garden Update

As a family a garden is important, particularly in the summer months. I love the size of this garden as it feels like a good space but not too much to look after, I will admit that gardening is not my thing so I am always seeking advice from family on what to do. So taking on a garden project ourselves was a challenge. We spend a lot of time outside and enjoy BBQs so it was important for us to make our outside space work for us and the existing garden just wasn't what we had in mind.

Our new garden had lots of mature plants and a lot of thought had gone into each one. However we had no grass for the boys to play on and lots of sharp plants around, we couldn't even see the decking at the back. We spent a lot of time working through ideas and planning.
BEFORE:
We made a decision on a shed size and where it should go and got it set up in the corner of the garden. We decided to keep the decking at the back of the garden but removed the side steps to make space for the shed. We then got to work clearing the plants from the garden. 
Over quite a few weeks we cleared stones, bricks, plants and some huge roots. We gave away lots of plants and stones through our local free cycle.

We then had to clear the soil and turn it over before putting down topsoil. Then it was time to lay the new grass. It's not something we have done before and we are not gardeners so we did some research and then ordered the turf when we were ready to go. It was relatively easy to lay and then it was just a case of keeping the boys off it and watering it lots.

The difference once we had laid the lawn was amazing. I had imagined the space but not imagined the view from the kitchen. It was so lovely to look out and see it looking so green and I liked being able to see the decking and pot plants too.

We kept a holly tree and of course the beautiful palm tree and the surrounding path with beds to the side. We are adding more pots and have cleared a raised bed behind the decking which has a beautiful old stone wall.

We also kept a circular patio by the double doors from the kitchen and we have an old bench we are going to fix up and paint for that area where the sun hits early in the morning.

We painted the decking and the shed and bought an outdoor table and chairs. 
I am so happy with the end result, we spend so much time out there.

Love Lemon x


Tuesday 24 March 2015

1 Shade of Grey

Here are the promised snaps of our new living room. 

We still have lots we would like to do, as you can see we have lots of bare walls. I am trying to decide where to put pictures and I have my eye on the perfect shelves for one of the alcoves. I am pleased with how it is taking shape. 
   
The grey walls look so different in different lights.
We absolutely love the 'steel grey 2' colour we chose from Dulux, its a perfect neutral colour. We have then added our colourful pieces and some wicker and wood to soften the slate around the wood burner. We plan to add more colours on the wall with our pictures and I am also planning to add some shelves for more of our vintage treasures. 

50 Shades of Grey seems to have brought out a new found love for the actual colour! Its a great choice for a neutral backdrop and there are so many shades to choose from. 

I really like the grey sheepskin rug and cosy blanket that add some texture and comfort to the room. I really don't think you can have enough blankets. 

What do you think?

Love Lemon x

please note that the paint was given to me by Dulux, all thoughts are my own.

Monday 9 March 2015

I'm here!

Hello, I'm back!
It really has been far too long. However I promise I have lots of excuses that are actually exciting and lots to come....

I never like to talk much about selling/buying as it never quite seems real until you have some keys in your hand. Last year we decided to sell our London flat that we had been renting out and finally settle in Suffolk by the sea. It feels like it has taken forever but I am sat typing this in my new home. We moved just over a week ago and apart from many illnesses taking us all down at some point it went fairly smoothly.

It's exciting for us after 5 years of renting to have a home to call our own and for that home to be as a family. Our boys really seem to love it here.

We even had a few days before moving to do some decorating. So thanks to family looking after the boys for us me and the mr got painting. I mostly just do as I'm told as the mr is a lot more knowledgable about painting and decorating after a brief stint working with his brother in law. He knows some good tricks of the trade but is also a perfectionist. Let's just say I was allowed to paint the downstairs toilet and not much else! 

We did also have carpet put down in the front room which was a last minute decision after we saw how tired it looked and how much easier it would be to get done with the house empty.

So before we did the big move we had managed to paint the hallway, front room, dining room, the back bedroom, downstairs toilet and paint over a bright pink wall in our bedroom. Pretty much all the rooms we felt needed it. It feels like so long since I have painted my home and made decisions about what I want rather than adapting to fit with the rented room decor. 

I had decided a while back that the neutral colour would be grey and then 50 Shades of Grey was released and Dulux sent promotional info coinciding with the films release. I was then offered some paint for our new home. Just send us the grey shade you would like they said. Well that sounds like an easy decision to make but with so many to choose from it did take a while. Luckily we have a Homebase in walking distance from our rented home so I could keep popping to the Dulux Mixlab to have a look at different shades. I finally decided on 'grey steel 2' mainly because it wasn't too dark but was definitely grey. A perfect back drop to my furniture and style. 

The front room and dining room are definitely rooms that need attention to get them looking complete and how we want them. I will be busy these next few weeks making some decisions to get our style right which I feel has already changed since we moved. So a few new purchases for practical storage and some for the fun styling part.

So keep an eye out for some photos of what we have done so far. I would love to hear what you think so I'm hoping for lots of comments.

Love Lemon x

Monday 5 January 2015

2015

Happy new year to you all. 
I hope you have all started the year with lots of plans and goals for 2015.

Our Christmas break has been amazing. I have enjoyed spending time with my family and laughing a lot. Not to mention all the food! I must admit it's a bit sad to think it's all over but I'm excited about the year ahead.

I like a list and resolutions feel good at the start of the year but I rarely write them down. I just like to have ideas of things I really want to focus on. I'm excited to hopefully move to a home of our very own this year, which is taking up a lot of my focus. However I'm thinking a lot about my health and fitness and making a few changes this year.

Health and fitness have always been important to me. At the end of the summer in 2013 I took up running and really enjoyed the couch to 5k programme. I haven't done quite as much running this past year but I'm working on improving that for the year ahead and in December I started going to a core extreme class twice a week as well as getting back into running. On New Year's Eve I went for a run and did core workout on the beach! 

On Monday I start a 9 day cleanse. After lots of over indulgence these last few weeks I am really excited about getting stuck in. It feels like the perfect way to start the year. I am now a distributor for Forever Living and supply these cleanse packs. If you interested then look out for the new bar appearing on this blog and my daily updates throughout the cleanse for a lot more detail. For now I shall be completing a pre cleanse week, this includes slowly cutting down on caffeine and alcohol, increasing water intake, doing more exercise and looking through the details provided for recipe ideas and what each day entails. 

Along with everything you need to complete your cleanse and recipe ideas, vitamins, shakes, aloe and a booklet with step by step instructions it does ask for 3 goals for the cleanse. 
Here are mine:
1. Kick start a healthier way of living for 2015
2. As a sufferer from IBS I wanted to complete the cleanse to try and help create a healthier gut.
3. ENERGY - as a busy mum of 2 this is extremely important to me. 

What are your plans and hopes for the year ahead? 

Love Lemon x

If you would like more information on the cleanse 9 plan please email me or click on the Forever logo on the right hand bar which links to many Forever page on Facebook.