Deck the Halls! 2015

Merry christmas! I hope you've all had a really amazing festive season and made some great memories!

We started a new tradition this year  - Christmas Eve! Since I started working when I was 18, I've always opted to work Christmas eve. I worked in an ice rink so the festive feel, smiley childrens faces and my amazing co-workers just made it brilliant and I always looked forward to it. I have a new job this year, and I'm loving it just as much, so I worked for a couple of hours before heading to my Mum's house. It was so lovely, my sister and nephew and my Grandad joined my Mum, me and my husband. Mum cooked her (healthy version) party food which was delish, and my in-laws popped round too. It was lovely to be with my favourite people, chilling and watching old home movies and having a giggle. I hope we do this every year, it's definitely my favourite day now after Christmas Day!

Of course, the first person in this household to unwrap a present was the dog :) his new bone kept him entertained for the next few hours whilst we got ready fir our guests.

I spent most of the morning making sure the house looked presentable - my number 1 tip if you're hosting Christmas Day is to always make your house tidier than you would be happy with. It inevitably gets cluttered with pressies, paper and people! Starting with the absolute minimum will mean even when its chaos, it won't look unbearably untidy (which is great if you take lots of photos like me!).

 I tried to help hubs start cooking but DOG.

I mentioned before that this Christmas would be odd because it's our first since our parents separated. It was SO lovely, however, to have them both over for the day. It wasn't awkward or sad because they've stayed amicable and friendly, which is a massive relief for anyone who knows what it's like when your parents split up! 

Here are a few photos from the day that captured just what it's all about for us.

Hubs really went all out and made it a lovely day for everyone, despite being in
unbelievable amounts of pain. What you can't see here are the bandages and knee supports
so he could sit on the floor with my nephew and open presents.

I really loved giving presents this year. I really made an effort to get things that were meaningful and useful instead of just getting things for the sake of it like I used to do. It really paid off, my sister adored her and my nephews matching fishtail blankets, my Dad loved the book he had been after for months, and my Mum was really thankful for all her little makeup and home decor pieces. 

I'm not one for receiving presents. Don't get me wrong, I still find them exciting, but I get more enjoyment from giving people presents. However my husband really surprised me this year with my gifts. I've never known someone to pay so much attention to their wife's comments. He must have, even when I thought he hadn't heard, because he got me exactly what I needed. A gorgeous Animal aztec print waterproof watch, an endurance Speedo swimming costume and a gorgeous Animal feather print backpack with waterproof pocket - I'm a baby swim teacher so to me, those are the most perfect gifts I could have wished for. The fact that he got an extra watch strap, matching wallet and other things were just a bonus. I got him wireless headphones for the nights he can't sleep for pain, and doesn't want to keep me awake watching movies in bed (now he can stay in bed and I won't wake up :) ) and a Tassimo machine, as well as way too many clothes - I now have one very happy husband!

We had the family boxing day party the following day. O had a great time playing with his gifts.

It always feels odd when it's over. All that build-up and suddenly, boom. Finished. 

I'm not one for the 12 days of Christmas malarky - after Boxing Day I want nothing more than to take the decorations down and move on. So that's exactly what I did this morning :)

Decorating for Christmas.

With the kitchen all but finished now, we're in the process of getting the house ready for Christmas! As we're hosting, and this year's been an upside down one for our families through various different happenings, we decided to make a real effort to get it festive and give it a happy, warm, positive vibe. Nothing says happy more than Christmas, anyway!
This is our third Christmas in our home, and unlike previous years, I've really thought hard about colours and decorations that will complement our personalities and tastes, which luckily for me and Mr. W are very similar.

We decided to use the fake tree again, even though last year we bought a real one. The cost just didn't seem worth it. For me, the excitement in a real tree is that cold winter evening, going to buy that one tree that's 'just right', gloves and scarf at the ready, pine needles throughout the car and decorating it with a hot chocolate and christmas film. But the price of the tree and getting rid of it after was so much hassle, and the fake one looks just as nice. So pretend tree it was.

Decoration wise, we have always gone for the turquoise theme on the tree with it being my birthstone colour and both of our favourite colours. We bought lots of new decorations last year so didn't buy anything extra this year except some more lights. Happy, frugal days ;)  

This beautiful little snowman was my secret santa gift from work, and I think he's a lovely addition to the tree. My favourite decoration by far is one we got handmade last year as a memory of our Las Vegas wedding a few months earlier. 

Our first Christmas in this house was one we hosted. We were so excited, and it was a lovely day, but the house wasn't decorated (except the living room), we didn't really have the room and facilities to cater for the family, and last year my parents hosted at their house so we didn't see the point in decorating ours much when hardly anyone would see it. But this year, knowing everyone is coming over is a real motivation for making it look amazing. 

The new fireplace that I posted about last week has just transformed the living room into the most cosy space ever. 

One of the best things about Christmas is the candles! I have a lovely Yankee advent calendar, so I use each day's candle in our Winter Spice candle holder. They all smell incredible. 

I don't decorate every room - there's just no point. I may go full 90's and get some snazzy Christmas toilet paper, but that's it for upstairs. We also don't have a regular modern stair rail so I can't wind garlands or things round it which I'd like to do. We do however have a door knocker which was the perfect place to hang our wreath. It's my Grandma's that she used to use. Hubs tied some wire to it, tied it to the door and wound some fuscia string lights to it. It looks so inviting, but isn't too in your face. (Lights + epileptic dog = nope!).


Now, for the kitchen!

We're finished!!!!! (Blog post coming ASAP!). Me and hubs still have to do a few things - the organisation station, and TV need fixing to the walls, but other than that we're pretty much good to go. So I took this morning as a chance to start decorating where I could. Now our gorgeous table is up and in use, I brought some decorations in and started working out what would look good.

Our theme for the kitchen is cream tones, with bits from the living room intertwined. 
Scout's dog basket has the same throws on it that we have on our sofa's in the living room - gorgeous tartan ones that are only £3.50 each from Primark. He goes through them so fast that we always buy 4-5 at a time so they last the season.

 

 
To bring the tree into the dining room, I decorated our wooden serving tray with baubles that match those on the tree. As simple as it sounds, it looks really effective and everyone's complimented me on how they love the idea.

I was also really excited to get my little deer back out on show again! You might remember these from when I posted about upcycling them two years ago...

They are really festive, but blend into the background in an elegant sort of way. I just love them and I can't wait for my Grandma to see them over Christmas dinner, having had them in her home since she left South Africa over 50 years ago!

You might also notice on the radiator cover some paper flowers. Man, do I NOT recommend these! They're so fiddly to put together and honestly, I am not sure I even really like them but they fit the theme and they're a nice, simple way to jazz up the space without overcrowding it, so they're staying for now ;)

I'm also excited that I can put my gorgeous little light box on show! I'll have to think of something festive to write on it before the big day.

The rest, I'm afraid, I'm going to save for a post a little closer to Christmas! I also haven't forgotten that I promised you a before-during-after kitchen post to show you the final product, and reminisce over just how it all started 12 weeks ago. So stay tuned!


 Saira
  xo

Logs of Love

Back when we moved into our house, we redecorated the whole living room. It desperately needed it, having not been decorated for many many years when my Grandparents lived here. On the plus side, it aged well. There was very little blown plaster, so only the window areas needed re-plastering.

FROM THIS....

TO THIS!

But the one thing that let the whole room down was the fireplace and gas fire. As fantastic as it was at warming the room quickly, it was such an eyesore - a real old-fashioned thing. As we're having the kitchen done at the moment, we couldn't afford to do what we eventually plan to do and remove the whole hearth too, and replace it with an open fire and new modern surround. The gas had to be cut off when they condemned the pipework last month, so the fireplace was sat there with no use at all. Cue my great idea! Lets get some logs and some lights, chuck the fire itself and fill the hole with something worth looking at! My inspiration came from the lovely Charlotte Valentine from The Home that Made Me - this image below is taken from her blog, and I warn you now - you'll soon become addicted! Her home is amazing!

 

Knowing my house could never be as beautiful as hers, I'm pretty pleased with how mine turned out! ;)

I can finally see past the still-ugly grey tile surround, and just enjoy the fireplace as something new (and shiny!).
The fireplace came out so far that it now feels like we have loads more space and the dog doesn't keep having to shuffle past it! He pelts toward me and jumps onto my lap on the sofa at full speed - he definitely approves! 



xo

Kitchen - the final week!

Monday, 7th December - Day 85

Our 8 week/56 day plan went slightly out of the window. We're now on day 85, our 12th and final week! The builders ran into an issue with B&Q when ordering the double doors, so we ended up having two weeks break from the work. They arrived back last week with the doors in tow, and boy were we glad to see those bad boys! 
 

Before

Old doors out, new ones in!

 

 

 

Plastering

Painted, ready for the blue stickers to come off!
Skirting applied too.

We have double doors!
The space finally feels like a room now. That last wall was the remaining reminder of how it used to be, so we're super stoked that its finished. It also means that the builders have started their final job now - the flooring!

The flooring is a beautiful grey and whitewashed wood effect. It screamed beach house at us the second we saw it, which is exactly what we wanted. It also turned out to match the grey wood worktops perfectly without being overpowering.

That all said, I'll be back later this week with my reveal post! I can't wait to show you the space in its entirety!!!! Oh, and as promised, I'll report back with everyones reactions :)


xo

New directions

I mentioned a while back that I was training for my new job - well I've had THE email - I've passed my 5 months of training and I am now a fully fledged baby swim teacher! But not just that, as a Water Babies trained swim teacher, I hold the highest baby swim teaching qualification in the WORLD. Yep! How cool is that! We are the highest qualified swim school you can get, and let me tell you, it's quite something to brag about once you get that certificate :) 

We do our Child Safeguarding, Lifeguarding, ASA level 1 and then our ASA level 2 is incorporated into a week long residential course that we do near head office, which is specific to Water Babies. Call it our 'secret ingredient' ;) 

Along with that we are all members of the IoS and we are all DBS cleared of course, which makes this job the most qualified role I've ever held. 

But the most exciting part of all is that I am not only teaching babies lifelong safety and swimming skills in the water - I am also spending some of my time in the office getting to speak to you lovely lot and going to baby fayres to let people know what we do and get as many babies as possible swimming! 

It might just sound like another class to take babies too, swimming - it's just a hobby right? Wrong! Our babies learn how to handle dangerous and life threatening situations from their very first lesson. My nephew is 2, and he only yesterday achieved his 5 metre badge and his ASA stage 1 award! HE'S TWO! Our babies are 2-4 years ahead of their peers in mainstream swim schools, and that just makes me feel even more proud of what we do. But at the end of the day It's not about being the best, it's about saving lives, promoting healthy active lifestyles, and giving people a fantastic experience! I am so privileged to work for Water Babies and if you'be not heard of us before, what are you waiting for?! 

 

Here we go!

We're in that final stretch now where the building work is all but done, and the kitchen has arrived! I never realised how slow it is installing a kitchen - every piece has to be measured to fit, drawn out, then placed. The doors are added, and the handles are measured, marked and attached. The handles themselves take almost an entire day! 

It's great to see everything going into place. I'm sure it'll fly by now with the builders in all week to get it done. Then it's just hooking up all the electric, gas and water, and of course the windows haven't arrived yet so we still have to have that final wall plastered and painted at the very end. 

But here you go folks, here's how we're looking this week so far!

It's hard to see colours in these photos. The cupboards below are Greenwich Shaker Grey, and the top cupboards are Greenwich Shaker White. The worktops are Grey Oak Effect and the island top is solid oak. 

I've been traipsing round The Range today looking for inspiration for the walls but I literally, for the first time ever, couldn't find a thing I liked! I still have a weeks of assessments before I am qualified for my new job so no spending until that's done!

xo

Organisation Station!

There's one thing I've already got my heart set on for the kitchen when it's finally finished - an organisation station. Also known as control centres, they're a hub of obsessive compulsive goodness, and for someone like me who loves lists, it's the perfect way to keep track of life.

Here are just a few of my favourites taken from Pinterest.

I'll be sure to show you guys what I end up with. So far, my chalkboard is the only thing I can think of that I want to include. I'm terrible for hoarding post so I think some little shelves for important mail and things to address would be really helpful. 

And don't you just love the IKEA buckets! We bought some two years ago to put on our rail and grow herbs in but we never put it up, dreaming of that new kitchen they just sat in storage. It'll be great to finally use them! 

Share your control centre ideas with me!

Xo