As one door closes another one opens

I am sorry for the lack of Sunday scrapbook this week life's been a bit hectic with the house move but hopefully this post will redeem me as its a weekly scrapbook and a kind of room set post all rolled into one.
This week we are in the funny limbo bit of moving house we have exchanged contracts and are now playing the waiting game. The house we are moving too is already empty so we asked if we could have access between exchange and completion the solicitors agreed this and its made life a bit easier.

The house we are moving to has been tenanted for awhile and we wanted to get the carpets changed before we move in. Under normal circumstances i would not change a carpet until  all decorating has been done but the tenants had drank and smoked in the house and well.... just yuk the carpet had to go so we will just have to be very careful when decorating. Its been good to have the week of access and i would definitely recommend this if moving in to an empty property as although its been hard work its good to have it all clean ready for moving day.


Anyway here is a sneaky peak at our new home it needs a lot of  work and TLC but i know it will be a lovely house when done its just waiting for a family to love and care for it.

The kitchen needs updating and we are hoping to move some walls to make it bigger and make it into a kitchen diner as i will miss the space we currently have as i love cooking and creating with little E as you know. There will be no pictures like this for awhile......

The lounge is a good size space with two nice big windows overlooking the garden, it desperately needs decorating this picture at night does not really show how badly it needs decorating !! Mind you the lounge is not the only thing in need of some styling look at little E's interesting clothing choice pyjamas and wellies. He is just learning to dress himself  and pyjamas and wellies are easy, its a bit of progress for us as he has a clothing aversion (would rather be a naturist) so the fact he is putting clothes on is progress we can work on the fashion sense later!!

This is little E's new bedroom we have had a bit of a falling out over it already as he wants to keep his inherited curtains because they are fluffy. I don't even know where to start with this I'm not a fan of radiator skimmers or pretend velvet. Luckily nursery came to the rescue as they sent home a recycling charity bag and when we took the curtains in they were really pleased as they need some blackout ones for the planetarium so the curtains go to a good home and E still gets to enjoy them!

Hopefully soon he will have a lovely bedroom again as its really sad to be leaving behind his boat bedroom . I'm sure i can do some more upcycling and re use some of the items again in new ways.

http://makingitasmum.blogspot.com/2011/11/nautical-boat-bedroom-on-budget.html

Its getting exciting now we are already starting to imagine the house taking shape and what a difference just changing carpets and hanging curtains has made. We have alot of work ahead of us but this can be done slowly a room at a time once we are in.

The new house will be a lovely fresh start for us and the reduction in the mortgage will help me to be able to care for my mum and little E without constantly worrying about paying the mortgage.

I best get back to the packing now otherwise we won't be going anywhere but its been lovely to catch up and blog.

Its always lovely to hear from you so please feel free to leave a comment and say hi xx

Thought of the day ........................... As one door closes another one opens!

Lets make a breakthrough for breastcancer

Breast cancer sadly took the life of my best friends mum last summer a lovely kind lady who will never get the chance to meet one of her grandchildren.

Did you know that around 1000 women die from breast cancer every month? One in eight women will develop breast cancer at sometime in their lifetime. It is important to note that men also get breast cancer. The good news is that more people are surviving breast cancer due to greater awareness, improved treatments and better screening.

Everyone of the people that die are someones mother, daughter, sister, wife, father, son , brother, husband and this is why i am taking up the bloggers challenge for  Breakthrough Breast Cancer to help raise awareness and encourage regular checks that are vital for early detection TLC (Touch, Look, Check).“

The challenge is to write about a women you care about in 90 words i have chosen to write about my best friend and the courage and strength she has.

Sarah is mum to Oliver and has another very special person on the way which is a real blessing having suffered the heart ache of mis carriage. She is a truly amazing lady with courage and strength and kindness. She has been through a difficult time losing her mum to breast cancer and losing a baby however she still manages to keep going and her bright smile never fades. She is a true inspiration always the person offering help and support to others and words of kindness to friends. She always manages to see the good in any situation and from her sad loss she has seen this as an opportunity to raise funds and awareness to help others avoid the same heart ache.

Sarah is an inspiration to me and i hope her story has inspired you to get involved maybe you would like to write your own post and link up with Kate on thin ice.  http://kateonthinice.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/i-am-looking-for-90-bloggers-to-support-breakthrough-breast-cancer/

The most important thing is doing the checks for early detection as this helps to save lives so please look after yourself and make these important checks TLC (Touch, Look, Check).“

Last year for breastcancer awareness month my whole town turned pink and i encouraged fellow bloggers to turn their blogs pink.
http://makingitasmum.blogspot.com/2011/10/witney-turns-pink-to-support.html
This October i will be turning blogs pink again and if you would like to help me with this and be involved please leave me a comment and i will be able to get in touch xx

Thought of the day ................... Get involved change lives

Its always lovely to hear from you so please feel free to leave me a comment.xx

Sunday scrapbook my week in photos

This has been a bit of a hectic week again our house move is just a week away so i feel i have spent more time looking in boxes than looking through a camera Lens taking photos for my Sunday scrapbook.

I was however pleasantly surprised as this week i received a lovely box  one that needed opening rather than packing and that contained something lovely that i was very much in need of..............

 I  never win anything so no one was more surprised than me that i won this lovely pamper box from pamper Witney on twitter http://www.pamperpartiesoxfordshire.co.uk/ . I think this is a wonderful business  so i re tweeted the competition as i thought it was something my followers would be interested in not expecting to win myself. I know all us ladies need a bit of pampering so the ladies pamper parties caught my eye as what a lovely way to get together with friends.

So i opened my lovely box and it was full of pampering goodies that gave me the perfect excuse to have that long bath i have been promising myself. The grooving mums will be proud i relaxed for well over an hour and even took a book in the bath something i used to do but have not done since my little boy was born.

Well ladies i recommend it delegate the childcare for at least an hour and re discover the lotions and potions in the bathroom. I returned from my pampering feeling like a new.... well less frazzled women.

I did have to make one compromise though there was a box of chocolate in my pamper box and i bribed my husband and little boy with it. The deal was they could have the chocolate if the promised to stay in the lounge and quietly watching a film no banging on bathroom door no matter what!!

My next photo for my Sunday scrapbook is a photo of what happened to wise old owl! I was playing around on my sewing machine a couple of weeks ago and made a little owl  but i did not know what to turn him into, this week i got the sewing machine out for one last run before packing it away and made him into a note book cover with a little pocket for loose bits of paper and a place for my pen. I'm not convinced i have that many wise words but at least now if the moment strikes me i have a place to jot them down.

My final photo that sums up my week in photos is this picture of little E in our very empty hallway with his coat on. Our current home does not feel like home now as its all pretty much packed away and we are just waiting to move on to the next chapter in our lives. When we have not been packing we have tried to get out as much as possible even if just a walk to the shop. Anyone who has moved home with a child of this age will understand this they start to get unsettled want to keep unpacking the boxes and are just too excited about the big van that will soon be on the drive !!

That's my week in pictures, hows your week been please feel free to link up a post anytime that reflects your week in pictures.

Its lovely to hear from you so don't be scared to say hello leave a comment in the box below xx

Thought of the day .............. All packed up and nowhere to go

Top five biscuits #listography

photo  http://armynow.blogspot.com/2009_01_21_archive.html

This weeks listography is top 5 biscuits and as i cant resist a biscuit  how can i resist a biscuit related post. I'm very partial to a cup of tea as you know and nothing other than a slice of cake compliments a cuppa quite like a biscuit.

So here's my top five favourite biscuits

1.  A firm favourite since childhood is the good old jammy dodger although i prefer them to be the jam and cream version which you cant get very often called smiley faces. I mean what could be better than a biscuit filled with cream and jam with a silly face on to make you smile. These are also good as they are one of the few biscuits that when dipped in tea don't fall apart and cry, good job really as i would imagine there's nothing quite like drowning in a hot mug of tea to make a happy biscuit sad.

2. My second choice is possibly controversial as its Jaffa cakes and the fact there is cake in the title leaves them a bit up for debate. I think they are a biscuit as they are in the biscuit isle of the supermarket and supermarkets never get it wrong do they!!! Jaffa cakes are supposed to be less calories than many biscuits but i don't think that works for me as they are very moreish and i end up eating more than i would of any other biscuit.

3. Rich tea are my next choice although they nearly don't make it on the list as they are stressful if there is such a thing as a stressful biscuit. These are high maintenance biscuits as they need careful attention not long enough dipped in the tea for which they are intended and you just end up with a wet biscuit and too long and you have a cupful of mush. However get these just right and the tea biscuit combo is heavenly and for that they redeem themselves for the list.

4.  The other end of the scale from the good old rich tea is biscotti the perfect partner for a cup of coffee after a meal. Biscotti is a biscuit made for dunking as the hot liquid is needed to soften it to perfection. Unlike other biscuits though it is not recommended eaten without first being dipped in a hot beverage as this may result in needing an emergency dentist.

5. My final choice is possibly a bit random as i think these are like marmite you either love them or hate them. They are the very retro pink wafer biscuits that my nan gave me when i was small. I don't come across these very often these days but occasionally they turn up in selection boxes and always make me smile.

That's my five favourites what are yours...... Why not pop the kettle on and find out and then head over to Kate takes 5 and add your own listography. http://katetakes5.blogspot.com/p/listography.html

I love to hear from you so don't be too shy to say hello feel free to leave me a comment below xx

Mood boards inspired by elemental design trend

The room set

This week with the move to the new house just over a week away i managed to steal a few moments  from the packing to think about the feel i would like for the new home. I did get a raised eyebrow from my other half when amidst all the chaos i sat down with a cup of tea and pile of magazines and flicked through them at lightening speed tearing pages out. The reason i flick through at lightening speed is at this stage i am just trying to get a feel for what I'm drawn to rather than getting hung up on actual item choices.

Mood boards are a great idea when planning a new scheme as you can play round with colour and pattern see how things look together without any financial out lay. I like the flexibility of the changeable mood boards and starting with photographic images as the photos can be taken away and replaced by actual samples as and when you find them. To get the best overall feel use smaller samples of accent colours and larger ones of bigger items as this will give a better representation of the overall scheme as in proportion.

I have not concentrated here on one room i have just tried to create the feel for the whole house i think this is a good idea even if you are only decorating one room as a house needs to flow as a whole as this gives a sense of space. Thinking about the house rather than individual rooms also gives flexibility as items can be moved from room to room when you fancy a change around.

We are working on a tight budget so there are a few things we have in our current home that will need to be incorporated into the new scheme. Often though when items are put into a different room it gives them a new lease of life. When buying investment items such as sofas i tend to play safe and buy natural colours or classics such as brown leather as accent colours can be added with cushions and throws to get the desired look, these can then be replaced in expensively if you fancy a colour up date.

Inspired by the elemental design trend i have worked with the colours of nature as i love the idea of bringing the outside in. Home should be a place to relax and unwind and i cant think of anything more calming the great out doors. A small room can instantly feel bigger if the colour palate used takes your eye beyond the room to the garden outside.

Each room will have its own identity but when the three boards are put together you can see that although different colours are used the elemental inspiration from nature allows a flow around the whole home and will make it easier to move items form room to room to ring the changes.

There you go i have given everyone a good excuse now to sit down with a cuppa and flick through some magazines all in the name of research. If there are no magazines to hand or the Internet is more your thing i have also found a great site called my deco where you can create virtual mood boards on line

http://mydeco.com/rooms/moodboard/

Its always lovely to hear from readers so please feel free to leave a comment or share your ideas.

Thought of the day....................... Get inspired

Top five tips for new bloggers - Listography

This weeks listography is top five tips for bloggers as I'm a fairly new bee blogger myself i thought while its still fresh in my mind i would give my top five tips for new bloggers from what i have  learned so far.

1. The best thing i did was to sign up for a free blog course i found at little mummy this gave me free weekly emails to follow to set up a blog from scratch. It was easy to follow and really helpful and saved me hours of searching for information.

http://www.littlemummy.com/mum-blogger-e-course/

2. Start by just using the basic templates provided and just play around changing colours etc as trying to add themes when your just starting out can stress you and make blogging seem more complicated than it is. Later on when you are more confident and want to maybe invest in your blog get someone technical to help you design something.

3. If there are blogs that you love reading don't be scared to comment and join in memes such as listography. I was reading Kate takes 5 silently for ages before i got brave and said hi and once i did i found a lovely lady who i now chat too often on twitter.
 Commenting and joining in memes are a great way to meet other bloggers get comments and followers back. It is also a great way to find new blogs to follow and read as the other people who have linked to the same post like the same type of posts as you do.

4. Join networks such as Net mums, Brit mums and love all blogs you will find lots of tips and be able to chat to other bloggers and join in forums. Everyone is really helpful and kind and again you will find some lovely blogs to read and meet some great people.

5. Never struggle in silence if you are stuck if you send out a tweet someone will always try to help you. Bloggers are a great friendly community and my only blogging regret is that i did not start sooner. I am along way form knowing all the answers but I'm happy to help if i can either leave me a comment or find me on twitter @theroomset.

I hope my limited knowledge will help someone or encourage anyone thinking of starting a blog to have ago. I am the least technical person i know so if i can do it  anyone can.

If you would like to have ago at your own listography hop over to katetakes5 and have ago . http://katetakes5.blogspot.com/

Comments make my day and help me to find you so don't be scared to say hello x

We can learn alot from our children #grooving mums

This week in my search to become a grooving mum life has taken some unexpected twists and turns and inspiration has come from the most unlikely places.

I am still taking baby steps towards my goals a bit like a toddler learning to walk for the first time who takes one unsteady step at a time into the unknown as the realise they can't reach what  their heart desires sitting round waiting for it to come to them.
When learning to walk the toddler takes a small step at a time reaches out for help and support when its needed and keeps trying until they succeed and before long the walk has turned into a run because they persevered and mastered the basics first.

I have realised as well as teach my little E new things i can also learn alot from him and his approach to getting what he wants out of life. It was nearly two years ago he learnt to walk and now he runs so fast i struggle to keep up. He is never afraid to try something new and he definitely is not lacking with the energy and determination to succeed. I have the determination and im working on the energy  and with the support of the grooving mums i will be running again in no time.

We have a reward chart up in little E's bedroom which is an incentive for him to do well and when the chart is complete the reward is going to Peppa pig world as this is what his heart desires. When attaching the stickers to his chart the other evening he asked me why i did not have a reward chart.

 This made me chuckle and  i did not really know what to say but Little E persevered with the conversation advising me that i could get stickers for going to bed on time eating my vegetables and drinking water and getting dressed properly! He is a sensible boy as yes bedtime needs to come forward and a chocolate orange is not classed as one of my five a day and the first thing i can grab is not getting dressed properly.

 He continued with and when your charts finished mummy me and Daddy will buy you a nice present what would you like ! Hmmmmmmmmm what would i would like some pampering i think a day at a spa with an over night stay pure relaxation and time to quiet my racing mind.

 I think little E is onto something here with Mummy reward charts what a fantastic idea to praise our daily small successes the little baby steps that move us towards our ultimate goal with a small prize on completion to celebrate our success.

This weeks grooving mums challenges are Body (lotions and potions ) mind (celebrate whats good about us) Blogging (what to we plan to do with our blog and the big question what can we delegate.

I think i will take up Little E's advice and start a Mummy reward chart my weekly treat will be delegating Sunday evenings to my other half and locking my self in the bathroom for an hour for a lovely long bath rather than a quick shower and re discovering those long forgotten lotions and potions. The chart will be encouraging me to look after myself better too drinking a litre of water a day is supposed to work wonders for the skin and eating my five a day should fill me up enough to resist a sugary snack when my energy is flagging.

I will do my homework like on Little E's chart and take some time out to discover where to take my blog. I would really like to develop the room set posts further and work with companies to help show Mums affordable home products that benefit mums and make life easier. I would like to be able to use my knowledge of affordable interiors and visual merchandising to help others. I am really unclear at the moment how to use these skills but ultimately i would like to offer affordable design to help small buisnesses make the most of their products and home owners get the best from their houses and add value to it. 

I'm not really good at blowing my own trumpet so the question what is good about me is tricky for me to answer not because I'm not good at anything just that I'm am better at shouting about other peoples success than i am at shouting about my own.

 Maybe that in its self is something good about me that  i can lift other peoples spirits and often know exactly the right thing to say in a moment of crisis and somehow manage to make things not seem so bad and often even manage to raise a smile from a tearful friend with the right words and TLC.

I was really inspired this week by the posts from Kate on thin ice and mammasaver where they have shown their skills as a blog C.V this is a fantastic idea and one i will pluck up the courage to do myself this week.

Thought of the day...................... Reward the baby steps