ST IVES

Well Hello ! I am back from my holiday in Cornwall, even though I have left my heart in St Ives!! Is,nt it hard to drop back into normal life when you have been on such a fab holiday? I feel all kind of unsettled and droopy and fell like a square peg in a round hole!! Do you fell like this after a holiday and how do you click out of it? Thought I would give you a quick glimpse of St ives and what I got up to on my hols!( I will try not to bore you with my holiday snaps)





This was the lovely old fisher mans cottage we stayed in in St ives in a street called The Digey, only 30 yards from the main shopping street ,Fore street , all the streets and cottages are so picturesque , and I never get sick of wardering and exploring all the little alleys and lanes, having a sneaky peek through cottage windows, there are some fab ones believe me!!


The great nautical door...


This is the Digey with its cobbled road and old fisher mans cottages ,mostly holoday cottages now,At the end of the street just visible is Cath Kidstons little emporium...
The fab harbour beach, there are five beaches in St ives, its a perfect Holiday location and we go at least once or twice every year, and we have had in depth talks about moving there and even viewed a couple of properties.. so watch this space..Cath's little shop, it must be the prettiest Cath Kidston store in the country, don't you think?
This is the display through the door.. Its tiny inside but they have a good selection of goodies, and i went in nearly every day, sad Ho that I am!!! I will reveal all latter.. plus there are so many other lovely shops in the town I have come home shopped out..



This was the great window display , love the car boot theme,, In fact I managed to visit two car boot sales in Cornwall ,but will tell all latter..




We managed to have a relaxing time but still packed loads in all the same. Nat ,took a friend so while they were doing teenager things D and I managed to sneak off and and do middle age stuff!!
Sight seeing
Swimming..
Relaxing with Daphne de mauriers autobiography.( We visited fowey,do a post latter!) I stupidly burnt my legs in the sun while laying here.





We ate at some lovely restaurants and cafes , this was a the very stylish porthminster beach cafe, often featured in coast magazine , show you the interior latter. you will love it.
Ate far too many of these




and these...
My beautiful St Ives
I was delighted too see the wild seals in the harbour again ,,so adorable , they come in too beg fish off the fishermen, and make doe eyes at their adoring public, with corus,s of oows and arrs from the tourist on the harbour!




Nat spent loads of time surfing and and living in a wet suit throwing him self of the harbour wall..

This was very surreal. we were just coming off porthmoer beach( near Tate modern) and I looked up and thought who's this idiot in a suit. it was a scorching hot day and he looked so out of place with all the surfer dudes and scantily clad people, then I realised it was the gorgeous Laurence Llewellyn's Bowen! He had a camera crew with him and was doing a tv program , I had a few seconds chat with him and found him charming and dishy! I was talking to a local shop owner and she told me the week before we were in ST ives. Johny Depp was in town , if I had seen him I would have never recovered as I am a little( A lot)in love with him!!! but Laurence was lovely!!


But alas the 9 days sped past and we had to pack up and so sadly leave . my cath kidston bag ready to be loaded into the car but I was,nt!! until we meet again St Ives....

HOLIDAY DILEMMA

I am getting just a bit excited ladies as its less than 6 days to my hols in St Ives ! I am feeling very tired at the moment as it has been very hectic at work and i have a job where i am rushing about all day( wore a pedometer the other day and walked 14 miles in one day!!) and combined with this heat i am a spent woman... so need ,need this holiday , but hope to perk up a bit before so i am not wanting to flop all the time !!!! As promised i am showing you my little Cath kidston handbag collection... erm .

This is my new one I bought from ebay , I love its shape and its muted colour and as I ordered it from Japan I have not seen this design in the shops here, have you?


Fergal typical man was reduced to boredom by my handbag attentions...



The lovely stone roses bucket bag( front left) was my first Cath bag and I bought it in St Ives two years ago, I was so thrilled when I got it as I had so wanted one of her bags, and doubly delighted as I had,not realised Cath had opened in St Ives,so you can imagine my face when i spotted the shop on Fore Street !! So here is the dilemma girls ,which bag do I take on holiday, my new one or one of the others, Which one do you think I should wear in St Ives ?, Help me make my mind up!!


This saddle bag was a Harrogate purchase , or my birthday last year ,so cheery.. Before falling for theses floral lovelies I was,nt really a hand bag girl , but now.....



Its really nice when you spot another Cath fan with a bag , I have often ended up in conversation with other ladies, its as if you kind of know they will be in your tribe and will get on, my husband laughs and says its like certain car owners when they have secret (or not so secret!)waves ands light flashes!!!!


This little blue one is a bit of a favourite and i use it most days to work as its compact and handy and lovely! Now I am going to sound really sad as the cottage we have rented in St Ives is only 100 yards from Caths little emporium, so I have a whole week to ponder on if I NEED i light blue or cheery red bag to join my meager collection.... I will not buy one till the last day.. as I don't know about you but the anticipation is almost exciting as actually finally getting the thing of your hearts desire...
Also as promised a glimpse of my barn room .. Malachy and orla my cats get fed in here as they get mugged by the dogs in the kitchen! my son is in the picture as he was following me about trying to" persuade "me to let him go to a party and all night camp out, he persuade me.. I am such a push over!!





I have try ed to keep a light french feel in this room .. as it has a slightly more modern fell than the rest of the house...





My favorite piece of furniture my armoire with my collection of Wallis and Gimpson pottery dating from 1886, i have amassed it over the years,




A little old french bird cage picked up in Normandy..











This is an old french stove we fitted and D made the mantle shelf



The cross stitches were done by me years ago and have Noah's ark on them.. Malchy and orla munching ...



shells are another of my loves the anemones were picked up on the beach in gallway after a storm..




These are prize plaques bought from a antique market in Honfluer France, , they were presented for best Percheron horse used to carry fish from the coast to Rouen, i suppose the best turned out etc, i just love the history and design and were a bargain, honestly...




Well i Hope my ramble has,nt bored you and if don't manage another blog before my hols, have a safe and lovely couple of weeks and I will come back hopefully haven taken loads of photos and have stories to tell , hoping to get to Fowey as well ,as a wonderful place, its where Daphne De Maurier lived and wrote, love Rebbecca, so bye for now.Linda x x

DOGGIE DELIGHT

Well another week has wushed by, and have just managed to grab a little time to my self to say hi, and to say I have had a lovely time reading your latest posts and catching up with whats happening in your worlds ,I so enjoy my time spent with my blogy friends!This week I managed to spend some time with my lovely friend Wendy( between my work commitments and her horsey/ family ones , we had,nt managed a get together for weeks) enjoying a leisurely cappuchino or two and trawling round the charity shops together. she was,nt really in to charity shops till i started dragging her around .. shes now a bit addicted. Ha another convert to the tribe! Then she spoilt me with a yummy ( healthy )lunch at her lovely house and gave me a belated birthday pressie, a huge pretty gift bag of delight,inluding cath kidston blue bell hand cream and note cards,plus rose and french insprired goodies,it was like a birthday stocking, i did a lot of squealing as i opened each pressie, i just was hoping her neighbours wouldn't phone the police!!! I get two days off a week but not together from work ,so really my time feels very precious, but i enjoyed every minute with Wendy and just want to say a big THANK you for every thing, i felt so special as every gift was so well chosen, she (poor girl!)knows me too well!! Who do you have that makes you feel special , apart from your families??

Just want to show you my lovely doggie on wheels which I bought from lovely fellow blogger and crafter Sarah from who is at north field primitives . she makes the most wonderful primitive covet able things!!!




Is,nt he adorable, love his vintage little wooden wheels and the bell and tag round his neck, he has happily settled into my expanding kennel... i have called him Stanley after Mrs Kidstons little dog...





This is a lovely elephant Sarah makes and i am ordering one of these soon.. is,nt he fab??
well i must leave you all as I have a hay stack sized pile of ironing to do and other equally riveting things s to occupie me!!,the high light of today was the car boot sale ,but pickings were lean, do you think there getting worse and whats your theory for it??,, but hay ho.. i am hanging in there as my hols are just over two weeks away and cant wait to see my beloved St IVES , ho well be back with you soon , I will show you my lovely Cath kidston bag I bought from ebay, ( to add to my other one or two i have) , but will have to get a blocking devise barring D from reading the next post .....shush ,do you know of one!!!???