Soft

 Enjoying soft light through curtains gently moving in the breeze.

Enjoying soft quilts and cuddling soft baby skin whilst gently sleeping.

We had a lazy Saturday, no rush, no fluster. Just going with the flow and enjoying a siesta.

RHS Tatton for Children

Just a few more pictures from my weekend visit to the RHS Tatton Flower Show that appealed to my inner child. I saw plenty of children enjoying themselves with gardens that were interactive and just asking to be explored. I even saw a tiger in one of them.

We started with fairy tales.......

...and had a tour around the world courtesy of some local schools. The creativity was excellent.

All sorts of papier mache creatures and a slightly befuddled cactus.

There were great paintings and fun planting schemes.

The Mini was my absolute favourite in the bedding plant category by Birmingham City Council.

And of course the dinosaur!
(by Chester Zoo)

Wanting posh wellies

RHS Tatton Park Flower Show time again! This is my neck of the woods and one of my favourite dates in the calendar. I've been coming here for the past ten years and have helped construct gardens here three times which is truly magical, seeing a vast field transform day by day into many amazing displays. This year I was purely looking and enjoying.

It was a lovely sunny day, thankfully. I've been here in several deluges in the past, ruining shoes and ending up soaked to the skin - not fun. This year made up for all that.

I love the marquees and the stalls, gathering ideas and watching posh ladies in smart Boden wellies dragging their trolleys full of Verbena bonariensis alongside the latest trends in perennials.

It's a dream of a day, soaking up the atmosphere of jazz music, watching florists weaving perfect blooms and sitting in summerhouses which I will never in my lifetime purchase. I bought a few small bits to pretty up my decking area but for me the main pull is of course the gardens. I especially love the back-to-back gardens rather than the huge brassy show gardens. I love the creativity of the local allotment societies, councils, colleges and schools - they are of course easier to emulate in your own back garden, particularly on a budget. I found much this year that appeared to my inner child, fun displays, bright and quirky so much so that I will give them a blog post of their own. Did any of you go to the show and what did you enjoy? Do any of you happen to be the aforementioned ladies in lovely wellies? ;)

Crayons

We attempted to do some toddler art.

I demonstrated some scribbling.

Instead Little Bird created a new game of Roll-a-Crayon.

Have you ever heard of crayon muffins?  I hadn't but Lucinda has been making these at

  Bakes, Books And My Boys - have a look at her Top Ten Boredom Busters for the school holidays.

Vintage

I didn't always like vintage and the word made me think of stinky cheese or smelly charity shops. You would find me solely ordering items from the Next Directory but then I bought a Victorian house and my fascination for all things old started.

Now I love the charity shops, auctions, antique emporiums, car boot sales and junk shops.

I relish any family hand me downs.

I hope you like the small snippet of vintage odds and ends from my home.

Pop over to see the other entries....

Brown Owl

I love starting the morning with a cup of coffee and a buttery crumpet. 

My favourite mug found at a car boot sale.

I agree with the Guide Law.

I often look out for Girl Guide items especially from the Brownies and have a collection of badges that I plan to turn into a little piece of art for my growing home stairway gallery.

I had a little look on Etsy for some items but not much luck. So whilst I had my coffee I put together this Brown Owl treasury - well it's the closest I could get!

Brown Owl Gocco Printed... inkmeup $8.50	Mod Owl Tin Bank Money ... chixycoco $18.00	Tweet Hoot Little Whit... feltmeupdesign... $16.00	CIJ 10% off Odd Owl P -... QuiltedBlissBy... $15.00
Night owl - Coin purse ... Beaky $8.00	Owl Necklace Jingle Bel... twobadbananas $6.99	NIGHT OWL in Black - PA... SewEnglish $80.00	How Curious Digital Pri... SophieParker $12.00
Who's Hoo 'Jess... JillGriffinBou... $12.50	Sugar Owl Screen Printe... liwbanks $8.00	Handmade Knitted Baby O... TheMiniatureKn... $50.00	the brown owl retro fab... Fluffington $16.00

When you don't have a great weekend....

..... you just have to focus on the good bits.

*A visit to my dad's allotment albeit in the pouring rain*

Past the obligatory allotment junk.

Dad has a full plot so a lot more space than my teeny tiny allotment

Lots of room here for fruit trees - apples, cherries, plums, pears...

We dashed home soaked to the skin. At home was my lovely nana who knits & knits & knits to keep her fingers nimble. She's nearly 90 and a gem in my life. 

I love listening to her stories. Maybe the weekend wasn't so bad after all.