This month we have been living in chaos. I have been able to write my name in the dust on every window ledge, sideboard, the floor in the hallway and even the cutlery that sits in a basket in the kitchen needed washing every time before you stirred your tea! But it's all worth it. Because when you see a room slowly come together it starts to feel more like yours. More like home. Our home in the country.
We are trying to be methodical, move room by room, and translate our vision for this beautiful old house into walls, furniture and all the other bits and bobs that are the fun part to source and buy!
I have lots of photos to share over the next week or so of the inside of the house but when we first viewed the house, on a chance drive by back in the Spring, it was the garden we first fell in love with. The garden is a picture perfect backdrop, still full of colour, and a testament to the vision and loving care the previous owners poured into it.
So it seemed fitting that our family photo for this month was amongst all the crunchy leaves and apple trees! We donned our wellies and headed out yesterday whilst the air was still full of mist, with the horses next door looking on bemused.
Balancing the camera on an old stone sculpture that I was thrilled they left for us, we snapped this.
My family. My boys. And their stinky dog dog and puppy. (Yes we go for original names for stuffed dogs here!) And then I really looked, looked at the small boys between us. They are still so little. We have expected so much of them lately, been frustrated at the continued broken night's sleep, been horrified at the level of rough play fighting and the constant desire to run around the garden in bare feet getting filthy!
But we have been blessed with 2 boys, slugs and snails and puppy dog's tails! I followed them as they headed down to the pond, their precious dogs in hand, and listened as they talked about adventures in the trees. Climbing trees has become a standard in this garden, a big challenge for big boys, apparently! All 3 ft off the ground!
We feel like we need to freeze time at moments like this. Simple, happy moments with no bickering, no endless request for Takeshi's Castle, followed by endless requests to turn the lounge into an assault course. Last weekend we went to the big annual village event, the Harvest lunch at the village hall and I was so proud of them. Polite, funny and nice to the other children from the village. As we chatted to new friends and enjoyed the amazing food (The dessert table was like a final of the Great British Bake Off!) I caught a glimpse of them in the garden, throwing leaves in the air with the other children and smiled.
They are wide eyed and innocent for such a short time. They won't want to come into our bed for cuddles in the middle of the night when they are teenagers, they won't fiddle with my hair when we sit next to each other on the sofa.
And it's these moments we need to freeze and store away to get you through the days of moaning and arguing! Boys - you are our greatest challenge and greatest achievement. And we love you very much.
Now hurry up home from your kind grandparents who have had you for a half term sleepover so we can get dressed up, put our wellies back on and go trick or treating!
I've shown you me and mine now show me you and yours. Join in with us and share your little family. This month, pop across to Lauren's blog, another Mummy with 2 beautiful boys!
The best thing about moving to a new area is finding new places to discover.
And the moment I walked into Fork and Flowers in Shaftesbury, I knew I had found a special place. A family run business, filled with pretty stems and bursting with antiques.
Cassie show cases other local businesses and uses their pop up pieces to style her carefully curated shop. There are vintage apothecary bottles squeezed next to antique crockery and decorative home ware.
Her window displays are award winning and as I snapped away quietly, it was lovely to see the passers by stop and stare at the vision before them.
Not only does Cassie offer a bespoke floristry service to her many happy clients, she runs workshops through the year for adults and children.
Next week on Tuesday she is running 2 workshops for children during half term and there are still a few spaces left. As we have family visiting on Tuesday we were lucky enough to spend Friday after school stuffing some gourds with beautiful flowers.
The boys were totally engaged and played nicely with Cassie's two children. Sammy asked questions and Ollie was determined to cut his own stems! It was lovely to see them doing such a calm activity and now our fireplace is filled with pretty pumpkins!
There are so many photo opportunities at Fork and Flowers, the garden where Cassie grows all their foliage and the baskets of gourds that line the floor, the rustic old table by the milk churns , the old stone steps. And I couldn't resist taking a few photos or five ;)
Find out more about the upcoming workshops at Fork and Flowers Facebook page or connect with Cassie on Twitter or Instagram.
We have been showered by the kindness of strangers since we moved. Parents at school, neighbours and villagers, I think we may have moved to the friendliest village in the world and I keep having chance meetings with strangers who I hope will become friends.
It's daunting moving to a completely new area, sussing out where all the essentials are like a doctor, the dentist, where you can buy a pint of milk and a loaf of bread. And during those first frantic weeks, I set up camp, almost daily, in a little find in Wincanton High Street, called Divine Wines.
Jenny is a hostess with the mostest. For 10 years she has curated the most beautiful wine shop, with a delicious lunch time menu and cakes under glass domes on the counter. Mis-matched antique chairs invite you to while away the hours over a glass of wine or sit for a moment with a hot coffee and read one of the magazines or books, bursting from the painted bookshelves.
I wanted to share Jenny's wonderful wine emporium as a big thank you for letting me make the most of her precious wifi whilst ours was being connected. I would blast in, hurriedly order a drink and sit tapping away at speed.
If you ever have the pleasure of passing by Wincanton, make sure you have a pit stop. Jenny sells a covetable selection of wines and liqueurs, from a mid-week accompaniment to a home cooked dinner, to special birthday present treats and collector's bottles.
There is an adorable back garden for dry days, with vintage benches, chequered table cloths and an abundance of plants and flowers. You get why I like this place right?!
I loved listening to Jenny welcoming her regulars into the shop, an atmosphere we hoped to find when we moved to the village close by. And then a new customer would open the jingly door, with the same tentative look that I had on my first visit, as though you had found a secret discovery, and Jenny would make them feel as though she had known them for years.
I like wine, no wait I love wine, but I don't "know" wine. Jenny knows her wine. And I felt in just a few snatched earshot's, I learnt a little.
One of the things I like best about Divine Wines is how they are a champion for other local independents and artists. All over the counter are business cards, handmade products and flowers from talented makers and crafters, which Jenny displays in a way that makes you want to touch it all.
I was lucky enough today to pop in just as the talented local flower farmer, Georgie Newbery was dropping off a set of her new books. Georgie is a pioneer for the British Flower industry. I have followed Georgie on Twitter without realising just how close she was to our new house! The Flower Farmer's Year is a beautiful book and is released on the 23rd October so if you want an early (and signed) copy, pop to Divine Wines!
You can find Divine Wines at 16 High Street, Wincanton, Somerset, BA9 9JQ.
You can follow Divine Wines on Twitter.