New Arrivals

This week lots of our Own Label goodies have arrived, including these lovely fragranced candles in a tin. Our workspace now smells wonderful with a combination of fruit and floral aromas.

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We have also received news that our friends Keith and Amanda have a new member of their family. A baby girl was born in the early hours of 28th September ~ congratulations to them.

A spending spree!

Hi everyone!

Cecily has now moved from home to her new life at university. We are hugely proud of both the children.

Dave and I are now back at work and starting to make plans for the future. With decisions about our shop, ideas for the websites and continuing our search for fab accessories and furniture to be done; the next few weeks look like they are going to be incredibly busy!

We are really pleased that our new range of Pretty Practicals scented candles is due to arrive next week. Each one is nicely presented in their own tin with a lid to keep the fragrance strong until it is ready for burning. They come with lovely aromas like vanilla and ginger, cinnamon and orange or cranberry spice and of course, my favourite fragrance, lavender.

Our own label bath salts, shower gels and body lotions are also arriving any day now, it's very exciting to be able to stock up on all our favourite goodies, which until now we haven't offered for sale. With the shop due to open in about 7 weeks time, I can really enjoy myself and order in lots of products that I use here at home and know are of beautiful quality.

I have ordered a selection of gorgeous hand-made cards from one of my ever-so-clever friends. She sent one to me a little while ago and I was bowled over by the quality of it, so she is creating a range for Pretty Practicals ~ hooray!

Dave is still working hard on developing our new websites which will offer slightly different styles of furniture that will be available to order only (we'll order them from our suppliers as required), these will include some very contemporary ranges and the black baroque style and moulin noir ranges that are gaining popularity at the moment.

I've been designing the layout of the shop, which will have to change several times before I am actually happy with it and then change again when we get into the building (my spacial awareness is not one of my best senses), but I am having great fun and really enjoying the process.

Well, I think it must be time for a cuppa, chat soon, Liz

Liz and Cecily September 20th 2007

Dave took this photo of us today ~ Cecily leaves home in 2 days to start university.

8 legger alert!

I woke up at 6.20 this morning; I lay in bed listening to the rain beating against the window and realised that autumn is well and truly upon us here in Mid Wales. For me this means several things, the biggest issue being that all those huge and horrible spiders will suddenly make an appearance in our home.

Now I do understand that, like me, they would rather be warm and dry inside rather than wet and cold outside, but why can't they go next door? A few years ago, we were absolutely plagued by an army of enormous 8 leggers, I found them in the laundry basket, hiding in the tube of the spare loo roll and to my horror, one even appeared on Dave's shoulder whilst he was having a bath!

Over many things I am quite a normal calm woman and indeed spiders in my garden are not an issue. I love those cobwebs we find in summer that are full of tiny weeny spiders that if you touch the web, these little babies scamper in all directions, but... those big black crunchy beasts that inhabit my space from September onwards turn me into an hysterical and screaming girlie. Many a moment have been spent standing on the sofa (actually hopping from one foot to the other), shouting to Dave to rescue me from the advancing attack being launched across the drawing room carpet!

So this year I would like to think that I will not be so silly about those creatures that are, after all, just trying to survive the winter in the only way that they know how and that I will not have a conveniently placed size 9 shoe with me at all times, that I will not shriek and cry like a thing possessed and I won't become so paranoid that I check the loo roll before every use of the facilities.
That's how I would like it to be... but somehow I don't think it will be so.
Chat soon, Liz

Roots and wings!

Yesterday was one of those days that I would rather forget; the workman who is tidying up the cul-de-sac where our unit is, was power-washing the building and driveway and the noise was just incredible! Coupled with an apparent lack of understand that I cannot respond to his shouted requests and cheery comments whilst I am on the telephone to customers, it was a tres stressful day.

Today there is a blissful silence outside, what joy for the eardrums! Actually I knew today was going to be a good one when I managed to persuade Dave to get up before me and make a cup of tea (for the first time in about 3 weeks), but watching him unfold himself and clutch his back as he stood up, gave me a hint that he is aching and sore after moving huge boxes around the unit yesterday. Now call me cruel, but I didn't leap out of bed and tell him to take it easy, no I just lay there and revelled in the pleasure of being brought a cup of tea in bed.

We are on a final countdown now; Cecily (pictured above) moves to Bath in 4 days time to start her new life at the university. She has realised that she is not only excited, but pretty scared too. I on the other hand I am terrified! She has grown into a beautiful, intelligent and witty woman and despite being her mother she is also my friend, I really enjoy her company and will miss her dreadfully. What, I wonder, will I do without the 4 or 5 telephone calls from her each day to tell me what she is up to or the latest gossip or asking what I would like for lunch (which she has kindly prepared for us most days since she left school)?

I don't imagine Dave will want to come clothes shopping with me for hours on end, stop me from making fashion blunders or be able to say 'actually that makes you look really fat' without being embarrassed. Good grief, why don't children come with a manual that tells parents all the right things to say and do and gives a guide for helping parents let go. When the children were little, my mother gave me a lovely wall plaque that read 'There are two important things we can give our children; one is roots, the other is wings'. This week I am learning how hard this really is to do.... so to all parents who's youngest child is leaving home this month, I offer my heartfelt sympathy.

Chat soon, Liz

Rooms with a view.

I can't imagine why Dave got upset when I asked him to clean the windows!

Actually this is a lovely view of Powis Castle from the Orangery, that Cecily took earlier this year. If you have never visited this magnificent building, it really is worth the trip. The castle is beautiful (you can tour parts of the interior), the museum has some stunning pieces in it and the much celebrated gardens are spectacular at any time of year ... and of course, you can come and visit us as we are only about 45 minutes away from the castle.

I have finalised our family plans for Christmas today, it's very early to be thinking about it I realise, but I want my mother to come to our house for a few days this year and I wanted to give her some time to think about it before she decided what she would like to do. Hooray, it took her no time at all to decide that she would like to be chez moi this year. Last year, Dave got stranded by the heavy freezing fog at his mother's house and Cecily & her boyfriend spent the day at his mother's home and so I drove the two hour journey to my sister's home near Monmouth to spend the day with her family and my Mum. Dad died last July and it was our first Christmas without him; it was probably one of the saddest Christmasses that you could imagine.

So with all that in the back of my mind, I wanted something different for this year. Dave will be at home with me, Cecily and her boyfriend plan to be here and I've invited my son and his girlfriend to join us. We often have a friend or two here for a few days too, so once again this house will be put to good use over the festive season. One of the joys of living in a large house is that it is easy to accommodate friends and family who want to stay over (the disadvantages are too many to mention today... I will leave that grizzle for another time).

I will get the cookery books out over the next few weeks and start to plan what I can 'knock together' for eating over Christmas, in the meanwhile, it's definitely time for a cup of tea.

Chat soon, Liz

Shabby choas to chic kitchen!

Well it's been incredibly quiet today so I have taken the opportunity to sort out our kitchen. Over the last couple of months, it has become the dumping ground for all the bits and pieces that we haven't got a proper home for and quite frankly, it was shabby, untidy and a dreadful mess.
So I tackled it by finding homes for all those bits and pieces, washing the insides of the cupboards and shelves, throwing away the things that seem to have accumulated that have no real use what-so-ever and putting everything useful back in the cupboards.
The dresser in the corner of the kitchen is once again home to our collection of spongeware china (my love affair with Emma Bridgewater's work and that of Brixton Pottery continues unabated) and the table has a new oilcloth covering to disguise the fact that it has seen way too many years of use.
I've washed the doors of the kitchen units which are now back to their intended colour of cream (thanks to a weekend of hard work a couple of years ago when I decided the kitchen needed a makeover and painted everything in sight with cream matt emulsion and then waxed it afterwards to seal it) and it is all looking lovely and tres chic once more.
If I wasn't so tired after all that work, I could be tempted to cook a family meal... oh well, looks like it is going to be a takeaway for us tonight then!
Chat soon, Liz

Moving plans

Hi everyone,
Well here it is, what will be our new home with the shop inside it... it doesn't look incredibly pretty from the outside I realise, but finding premises big enough to hold all our stock is not easy!

The last of the new stock that we have ordered arrived today (much to our surprise as we weren't expecting it until next week) and we are now bursting at the seams and raring to go.

I've been busy taking photographs and in readiness for listing all the lovelies on our site, so make sure you have a moochy through our new in section regularly.

I was really pleased to get the cream baker's rack back in stock today, we use one in the office for storing the tea, coffee and most importantly fruit and cakes. Not that cake stays on the shelf for long, but we do have some nice bananas and dried dates today too.

It's a time for change in so many ways for us this autumn. My daughter heads off to university in 8 days time ~ how exciting must that be for her? and how daunting for me who has been an active parent for 24 years and now both the children will have left home for pastures new, I will be left at home with my husband (by the way, he hasn't taken my previous hint yet)!

Anyway I had better get back to the photography, the sun has just come out filling our unit with beautiful light... chat soon, Liz

Welcome to our new blog!

It's so exciting! Dave (my very patient husband) has now added a blog to our website, so that I can keep you up to date with all our news...

After months of looking and waiting, we have finally found the right premises to open a shop!

We will be moving at the start of November, all the way across the road from our current premises to a beautiful enterprise unit that is twice the size of the one in which we are now based.

This will allow us to create a shop space that you will be able to visit, browse and purchase all the items we carry in stock. You will also be able to take a leisurely look through our catalogues at furniture that we can order for you to collect from us at a later date. I can hardly wait!

We have been busy searching for and finding lots of new lovelies for the website too. Our new finds have started arriving and I am adding them to the website as fast as I can, I particularly love the new selection of pink Venetian style mirrored accessories and the cream rose candles, all very romantic and pretty. It's our wedding anniversary this month... I wonder if Dave will take the hint?

Chat soon, Liz