Europe tips!

I am off on a new adventure. I am off to EUROPE for 2 months in a matter of days now! 10 and counting.

People keep asking me 'Are you excited?'. Well of course I am! I get to saunter around some beautiful cities throughout Europe for 2 months (hopefully in some balmy weather) without a care in the world except for which flavour gellato I want and if I want it in a cone or a pot with a spoon. Well, at least I hope that will be the major extent of my worries.

As much as I have loved the south of France over many family holidays over the years, a brief visit to Marbs in Spain, a week in Florence and a few trips to Paris . . . . including my 21st weekend . . . .

. . . . . . I am yet to experience a LOT more of Europe and what it has to offer.

This is where YOU come in! Yes, you! I know a lot of people secretly read this blog (my viewer stats are endlessly fascinating. Bulgaria! Iran! Thanks for joining me) and I want to get as much info as I possibly can to make my trip even better, and for the sake of some good blog reading for you! So I want you all to send me your tips.

So what I am getting at is that I want you to tell me where is;

• Somewhere great to go or not so great to go
• Things I MUST see
• A secret place/shop/restaurant/cafe I must go to
• Food I must try!
• A sight worth seeing or not worth seeing
• An experience worth doing

I love to see the hidden gems of places that aren't in the guide books and trying some crazy local culture that tourists don't normally see or do. So fill me in on all of your delicious European knowledge.

Now I am going to spout off a list of cities but if you know anything great about any of them HOLLA! Message me here, email me philippa21@hotmail.co.uk or facebook me friends

Bruges
Amsterdam
Berlin
Prague
Vienna
Grunau
Munich
Venice
Rome
Florence
La Spezia (Cinque Terre)
Nice
Milan
Lauterbrunnen
Barcelona
Valencia
Madrid

Thank you all!
(And if any of them are truly great I will publish them here for all to see)

Pinning my interests

I have a favourite website. It's a giant collection of photos of all kinds, food, crafts, fashion, home styling, party ideas et al, all from different blogs and websites on the interweb.

I've built up a nice collection of home ideas from it. Basically I know exactly how I want my future home to look especially the kitchen, down to the tiles. Let me show you around!

I love this barn door. We used to have one in our old house which in the Summer in the warm evenings was so nice. The perfect breeze coming through into the kitchen! And I have love for that bench with a photo feature wall.

I loved the look of this as soon as I saw it. That flag looks really great on the wall. Kind of old but still perfect. If anyone knows where I can get a Union Jack send the info my way.

I know that 'porches' aren't really a common thing in England but that doesn't mean one can't be built! That white wood decking, those rocking chairs and those swing seats. Oh my! Especially with my wish to one day live by the beach. Get me a cocktail and some lanterns quick!

These stairs are amazing! You just wouldn't think to do something so great and so simple. They are just made using wallpaper. . . . . which from my experience, you can get a fair amount of samples from big DIY stores for free.

This mirror in any room just makes the room seem larger, brighter and adds a nice feature on one wall.

This exposed brick wall (love these) with the hardwood floor and white accessories is really great

Another exposed brick wall in the kitchen. Mix matched chairs and pops of colour

I mostly want my kitchen to be turquoise with blues and greens. I am lusting after mix matched Italian tableware in these colours. Possibly open shelving to show it all off but that depends on whether my organisational/tidying skills have improved by then!

These are the subway tiles I want as the kitchen back splash *Love*

A beautiful calming bathroom with a sliding barn door! Possibly one of my favourite things that i've seen for the home, well, apart from this of course . . . . .

A. SWING. IN. THE. LOUNGE!

Enough said. I'm sold.

Get me the keys, I'm moving in!

Fancy boxing

Look. I know alright. I know I have been slacking again. Im not even gonna bother this time with excuses either because lets face it they are very few and far between. I've just been lazy!

Do you remember a while ago when I mentioned this old wine box?

And told you I eventually wanted to make it look a little like these?

Well I came by a few more old wine boxes a while ago. They weren't quite as old and rustic looking as I wanted to so I spent a nice sunny day in the garden tea staining them to make the wood that little bit darker and rougher.



Then on a terrible rainy day I sat inside and recovered them all in the same matching wallpaper. I was tempted to mix and match a few because I got all of the pieces as samples from big DIY stores. I am guessing your only supposed to take a small sample. . . . But it isn't possible to create great artwork for free on a mini sample so I took a whole load!

This first one is my favourite because it's just quite kooky and weird! Like a Japanese anime drawing with french wording?!

I decided instead to cover all three of my boxes in this paper, which actually was a really great choice because I got the samples from Focus which was closing down so Im convinced they wouldn't have noticed even if I took the whole roll! I'm not a thief I swear, but I managed to get a nice big 'wodge', enough for all 3 boxes and a little left over . . . . . maybe for a 4th.

I did have in mind the perfect spot to put them up as I did just move my bedroom around. So my before shot . . . . . . (featuring my turquoise frame which actually was a little neglected at that point in time just left propped up against that crappy corner of wall. Ooops)

And the wall as it is now . . . . . .

All of the items I have in the boxes are little things I've picked up over the last few years. The top box has a green fan that I got in China last year and 2 coloured lanterns that I was given for my last birthday. The bottom box has a tea cup set which I picked up at an antique shop a while ago. I don't even drink tea. Or coffee for that matter but I love the colours. There is also a pair of chopsticks propped in the corner that I got from Thailand. Again, I can't even use chopsticks but as the famous saying by William Morris goes 'Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful'. Something I now religiously follow and allows me to feel alright when I pick up another thing for my room!

Also there is the small pink frame that I picked up at Newbury antique fair. I had a few ideas for it and originally thought I would cover over the picture inside with the same hot pink and then put a light pink key ontop in it's place but I was a little charmed by the picture in the end and like the contrast between the hot pink and the old.

Let them.... I mean ME eat cake! Please!

I told you in my last post that I had been spray painting lots of exciting new things with my exciting colours so here is project number 1.

We recently got our hands on a LOT of old plates, bowls, saucers, cups etc which are just sitting around so my creativity went a little wild and I knew I had to do something with them! Although the colour just isn't that great, kind of a dull grey/mauve so it needed changing asap.
I wanted to use a nice bright summery colour so I chose the daffodil yellow paint for this project and got spraying. Made use of the last few sunny days and indulged in some toxic fumes in the garden!

Sadly in my excitement I didn't take a photo of the in between stage of the sprayed plates to my final creation but you'll get the idea!

And now my lovely sunshiney yellow plates and cup have with the help of some super dooper glue become a cake-stand! Which I love!

Now. This next photo is the cake-stand 'in situ' and I think it may shock and surprise a few of you . . . . . .
I didn't have any chocolate or cake in the house to make it quite believable. It was sunday night. We were having a BBQ, and all that was available was . . . . . . SALAD!
Although I hope that this may inspire some of you for uses and thinking out of the box! Maybe as a jewellery stand, or for crafty bits and bobs or once again for man stuff.

So be prepared for the reveloutionary 'Salad-Stand'!

Crazy I know, because if it were up to me it would be crammed with biscuits, chocolates, cakes . . . . chocolate cake . . . . . and you get the picture.

I hope you like it though! And of course I can make these for anyone who is after their very own salad stand!
Please leave comments as always.


I'm just off to snack on a carrot.

Spraying the paint

Im sorry.

I have been slacking again recently and I will lay the blame with

1. the nice weather again

2. my next creative escapades and

3. . . . . . . just because.

So here is a cheeky sneak peak at what has been involved during my creative ecapades . . . . . .

The first results of my spray painting will be up within the next few days. Yipeee. I know your all excited