An Afternoon in Cranford

Having been cooped up in the house for the best part of two weeks I decided an afternoon out in the fresh air was required. Thursday was a fine day and I took a trip out to Lacock where much of the BBC series Cranford was filmed last year. (one of a number of films to have used Lacock as a location, most famously Harry Potter). It's a very picturesque National Trust village, dating back to the 13th century and well worth a visit if you are in the area. Aside from the village itself, you can visit Lacock Abbey which is a medieval cloistered abbey converted into a country house, and the Fox Talbot Museum ( dedicated the the work of William Henry Fox Talbot, the father of modern photography, who lived in the Abbey).

A view of the Abbey as you walk into the village

I tried to recognise some of locations from Cranford, but I'm afraid I didn't, I think it's too long since I watched it, plus the presence of rather a lot of cars parked in the roads and other evidence of modern life didn't help.

For filming Cranford, the roads were covered in earth - what a clean-up job that must have been afterwards!

The houses are a mixture of limewashed, half-timbered and stone built and the village has changed little over the centuries.

A front door with a clock set into it!

You can find out more about Lacock from the National Trust Website here, information about the filming of Cranford here and loads of pictures here.

There are no charity or antique shops, so no opportunities for thrifting, but there are a few craft and gift shops which sell rather nice things, located in some wonderful buildings.

Quintesentially English is entered through this lovely stable door - how quaint. Mainly selling soap and bath fizzers but also home goods and a few hand-crafted items.

Lacock Emporium is in a converted barn and has some very pretty home accessories and gifts.

This was one of several tea rooms which also houses a small craft centre - Wiltshire Crafts. The shop is run as a co-operative between the crafters who sell there and you can buy handknitted goods, jewellery, children's clothing, pottery, ironwork, cards, amongst others. Absolutely nothing imported or mass-produced here!

Of course, with no thrifting opportunities I almost came home empty-handed - but that would be unheard of, and I found this cute poodle in the Emporium. She was the only one in the shop and I could see she was longing for someone to take her home.

Once back we had to find her a place where she would be happy. We tried several locations...

...before deciding she would like it best with a canine pal to keep her company.

Today was Mothering Sunday in the UK. For some, it may have been a day of many different emotions. However you spent your day today, I hope it was filled with love.

Spring Blooms in the ground of Lacock Abbey

Bathing Bliss

In all my previous homes I have lived with inherited bathroom suites and decor, there were always other priorities. This is the first house where I've decorated the bathroom exactly how I wanted - and it's bliss!

It hadn't been a priority but it all started a couple of years ago when I dropped a bottle of shampoo into the bath. I didn't think anything of it until the next time I ran a bath and water started dripping on Mr. Bloom's head in the kitchen - the bath had cracked. Not a real shame since it was an ugly peachy-beige colour, and since it couldn't be matched we had to get a whole new suite. I was very pleased to be seeing the back of the ugly beige floor-to-ceiling tiles.

I went for a combination of tiles and painted walls - green for the walls, it's the only room in the house where we have any colour on the walls (at the moment!), it doesn't get any sun and I think the green warms it up.

Mr. Bloom did it all himself, it did take some time but it's such a pretty room to go into now. It's a small bathroom so most of the trinkets and toiletries are kept in a glazed cupboard on the wall.

Of course these are strictly display only!

In the original bathroom there had been no storage space whatsoever. There was a wide ledge at the end of the bath which was wasted space so I decided to sacrifice a few inches off the length of the bath (I'm the only one to take baths and I'm a shorty, so it doesn't matter too much) to have a built in cupboard.

The doors came from Ikea's bargain basement for a couple of pounds each. As there weren't the same colour they had to be painted all the same, which was rather fortunate because they don't look so new now. There's loads of room now for towels, toiletries and cleaning materials, I'm really pleased with this extra storage. Behind the door there's just room for this little painted cupboard.

A large mirror to reflect as much light as possible.

Here's a little tip for you. If you have brand new shiny chrome taps and you want them to look a little less new, here's what to do. Get one of those plastic shower hose thingies, the type that fit over the taps. Leave them on the taps for about 18 months whilst you wait for the shower to be plumbed in. When you eventually remove them you will have lovely aged-looking taps! (hee-hee, Mr. Bloom was not best pleased, I wasn't too upset but pretended I was)

I've never really been one for spending a lot of time at my toilette, I like to get these things over with as quickly as possible (more time for crafting, you know). But now, I don't mind lingering in the bathroom just a little while longer!

p.s. just wanted to add, following this morning's earthquake, which we both slept through, all the tiles are still on the wall!

The case of the disappearing emails

I wasn't going to post this weekend, this cold or bug thing has taken a liking to me and is showing no signs of clearing off at the moment. I know a few people who have had it for weeks, ooh dear, I hope that's not going to be me, I'm not really very good at being ill. Thank you for all your comments wishing me better soon - I do hope so!

Rather alarmingly, I've recently discovered that some email orders haven't reached me. I don't know if these were isolated incidents or if there's a bigger problem, as I have been getting other emails. I always try to respond as soon as I receive emails, or at least the same day, so if anyone has emailed me and not had a response where one would have been required, I haven't been ignoring you, I simply didn't receive it. If you would be good enough to mail me again, hopefully they'll get through this time. If I don't get back within a day, please leave a comment on my blog and I'll send you an alternative email address.

As this is a rather boring post, I've put in a few random pics of prettiness I prepared earlier.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend,

Lucy (atishoo!) x

February Fever

I try not to buy magazines as a rule, I find them quite expensive for what you get. However, I saw something on the cover of Country Living which sucked me in.

(Though I think they may be preaching to the converted.)

I couldn't browse it because it was in a plastic sleeve, so I bought it on the strength of that cover story, imagining all sorts useful tips and advice about thrifting and wonderful pictures of thrifted goodies. Well, not quite - it referred to the two homes featured in the magazine whose owners had decorated in a vintage-style. Pretty enough but I did feel a bit shortchanged, although I haven't really looked at it properly yet, so that might be unfair. However, I did take their advice and brought back thrift. This thrift - pretty rose patterned china I picked up last weekend.

Sadly only 1 cup and saucer, but 8 teaplates, 4 spare saucers and the cute little jug.

Last weekend I also took delivery of these (Thank You to A and W for picking them up for me!).

I had great plans for lots of crafting this week. Instead I've been laid low since Sunday with a really nasty cold. After feeling under the weather a couple of weeks ago, I thought I had got away with it, no such luck! Coughing, sneezing, eyes watering, runny nose, aches and pains, I've got the lot. Well I do feel a bit better today, but very annoyed that I've hardly achieved anything this week.

Though I did manage to make one set of pink hangers. I haven't updated the shop as I'm waiting until I have more things to put in there, but this set is available for purchase. * now reserved *

Well, I'm off now to drink my third cup of Lemsip, open a third packet of tissues and watch Atonement for the third time today - now that's value for money for gorgeous interiors!

My Mr. Bloom

Look what was waiting for me on the kitchen table on Thursday morning:

Red roses, truffle chocolates, pink sparkly, and my favourite - the CD which I have been desperately waiting for ever since I saw the film last year. In fact, just on Tuesday I'd seen it advertised on the TV and asked Mr. Bloom to pop out to Tesco to get it for me. Poor man had to make an unnecessary trip then come home and tell me it was out-of-stock, because in fact he had already bought it for Valentines day. Mr. Bloom is good at storing away snippets of information about things I like. I have to be careful what I say sometimes though, that's how I ended up getting a Lilly Allen CD for Christmas.

Anyway, ever-thoughtful, along with my gifts, Mr. Bloom had left this magazine cutting on the table. It made me smile.

I don't really write about family and friends on my blog, though I love them dearly, it's not what this blog is intended to be. I do mention Mr. Bloom sometimes in a jokey sort of way, but I wanted to write just one post to let him know how much I appreciate having him in my life.

After all it's not always easy living with a crafty vintage-loving girl, who is intent on adorning every possible surface in flowers...

(including Mr. Bloom's alarm clock)

Someone who covers the kitchen worktops and table with her crafting activities, so that most usually we have to eat our dinner off our laps.

An ever so slightly mad woman who lately has taken to photographing anything and everything and spends hours sitting at the computer doing who knows what, and when he asks her what she is doing, says "nothing".

Who issues strict instructions about which soap, flannel and towels he can and cannot use.

And insists, whenever we have a day out anywhere, on going into every single charity and junk shop... and drags him out of bed at some unearthly hour on a Sunday morning to go to the car boot sale, when all he wants to do is have a lie-in, just so she can buy more 'stuff' which he then has to carry around while she looks for even more 'stuff' (but he does get to have a bacon butty).

Thank You Mr. Bloom for putting up with me.

I'm sorry about the scratches on your car when we were trying to load that wicker chair I bought at the car boot last summer,

...and that you can never open your wardrobe because there's too much stuff and not enough house,

...and the times you've tripped over the furniture when you've come home late at night from work and I've been re-arranging...

I know I don't tell you very often but I really would be lost without you.

I know this will ring true (and it's probably been said before, but not by me!) with many a vintage-loving girl and their long-suffering other halves, we carry on doing it and they carry on loving us anyway!

So, the roses were arranged in a vase with sugar and a drop of bleach, their stems carefully snipped on the diagonal, and I've been changing the water every day.

Oh yes, do you see that picture propped up on the table - if you are reading this Mr. Bloom, I'm still waiting for you to hang it up...