Catching up with 2015

 
I can't believe how quickly the time is passing, a few weeks break from blogging quickly turned into a few months and suddenly before I know it Christmas is upon us and the end of the year mere days away.
One of the reasons I kept this blog was to keep a visual diary of our home improvements. But I find that I also like browsing through and remembering what I was up to a few years ago. It's easy to forget how much you have done during the course of the year and these past few months have been no exception.

August brought the excuse for a lovely sunny break in Suffolk, at our friends' new B&B the Round House. I've been back and forth a few times to Long Melford visiting one of my favourite shops Rosehip in the Country, but I am ashamed to say I never managed to get much further! This time we went all the way over to Holt in Norfolk as well as exploring Framlingham and Orford (which is home to the exceptional Pump Street Bakery!)

In September, inspired by my reading the book and watching "A Year in Provence" we managed to get away for a week-long break in the Luberon. It was beautiful and exactly what I had invisaged from reading the book. We went to many of the hill towns (Gordes, Bonnieux, Menerbes and Roussillon) that are rightfully famous for their quintessential French country charm.
After strolling around the brocante at Avignon (and making the rather unwise purchase of a bedside table which I had to lug back on the Eurostar!) we wandered round the atmospheric Palais des Papes, a trip to Chateau d'If was not to be missed and we wandered around the streets of Marseille.

I also finally bit the bullet and decided to paint our dining room fireplace which I had first mentioned back in April! It took me a while to decide as I am very conscious of not wanting to fall into the trap of painting everything. After the first coat of my chosen shade (Bath Stone by Autentico) I was convinced that I had made the wrong choice, but I carried on with a further 2 coats and after some gentle distressing and a very light coat of dark wax (which I rubbed in with beeswax furniture polish to mellow it down) I think that I now do like it. The good thing is that our neighbour and my Mum (who came to stay in November) didn't notice any difference. For me this is a good sign as I didn't want the change to be glaringly obvious, but just to look like it had always been that way. Not a brilliant photo below, it's the only one I have with me of the painted fireplace! Plus, I'm always worried that this blog represents a rather unrealistic view of my life, so the shot below cpntains a good dose of reality!

I'm now up in Scotland, enjoying a family Christmas in my Mum and Dad's lovely old stone farmhouse. I wish everyone who has been kind enough to read my blog a Happy New Year and a belated Merry Christmas!