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.

Welcome to the first inspiration post in the journey of us bringing life back into our new house!

We are busy working on the dining/family room, which will definitely be the most well used room in the house, and I will share my ideas for that room later this week, but first I want to show you some inspiration for the boys' bedroom.

We decided we wanted to see if the boys would like sharing a bedroom, whilst they are young and play with similar toys, and before the moody teenage years kick in!

So when we sold our lovely house in Weston, they moved into a room together at the house we rented whilst searching for our forever house. And now I couldn't imagine them not together! The don't have to share at the new house but the attic room gives them their own space, on the top floor, a bedroom and a den in one. However at the moment it's pink!

They will desperately need a wardrobe after living out of boxes for a couple of months, and the space beside the doorway is ideal. But look at the angles! The beams are beautiful but they pose a challenge to most freestanding wardrobes.

What we really need is built in fitted wardrobes like the practical and classic collections from Urban Wardrobes. I had never even thought about the possibility of sliding doors in a loft space, but their clever designs have got me thinking. We need something that maximises the storage area and bespoke wardrobes are the ideal way to get the absolute most out of every square inch.

The boys have requested an aeroplane theme to their new bedroom. So the owl and nautical accessories have been passed on and stored away (Who knows there may be a nautical party in the future to plan!) and we are now firmly in aviation mode!

I love to build a room with a curated collection, not necessarily matching but with a strong central theme and then accessorise with curious finds. I want to reuse some of the lovely things from Sammy's nautical bedroom in the last house so we are sticking with a red, white and blue palette as the main colours and have tried to source prints and decor that will grow with them rather than cutesy younger boy's bedding and pieces that will date quickly and cost lots of pennies to update in a year or so.

The boys have strong ideas, the shelves behind their bed is going to be for their "precious things", birthday cards they treasure and special certificates from school and I show them samples of decor I like on the computer and they choose their favourite.

So here are a few things on my wish list. A love list and a lust list (I need to earn a few more pounds for those) of perfect plane decorations.

LOVE LIST

1. New England Style bunk beds £199.99 Argos
2. Planes wallpaper £9.99 Decorline
3. How cool is a hanging chair?! £48.59 from Acandi
4. Vintage aeroplane bedding set from £9.99 Dorma at Dunelm Mill
5. Alfie striped rug on sale £45.50 Laura Ashley

LUST LIST

1. Solid end detachable bunks £269.99 Amazon
2. Spitfires Wallpaper £60 Paperboy at Not on the High Street
3. Globo swingin chair £278.54 Amazon
4. Aeroplane bedding from £20 Babyface
5. Boys stripe rug £75 Babyface

So where would you splurge and where would you save? I have saved prints and other trinkets from talented makers and illustrators and I can't wait to show you the progress next week.

We hope they will be in and sleeping like babies in a week's time!

This post was kindly sponsored by Urban Wardrobes, talented crafters of all bespoke storage solutions. Oh and how much would I love a walk in wardrobe like these?!!!!!! YES PLEASE!

You can check out their blog for more design inspiration here.

I love getting emails from readers with photography related questions and today I want to start my #backtobasics series of tutorials. 

It's easy to buy a camera and dive straight in. Leave the manual neatly in the box un-thumbed and start snapping. I know, I've done it!

But understanding the principles and basics of photography will help you master your camera, whether it be a phone camera, compact, DSLR or anything in between.

I will be posting a series of easy to follow photo tutorials which will take us on a journey from the fundamental principles right through to editing processes and tips to ways to use your beautiful photos.

Everything is easier to understand in bite size pieces. Then when you piece them all together you will feel a light go off in your mind and bingo, you will start taking better pictures!

Today is about Aperture. 

Light passes through your camera lens through a hole. This hole decides how much light to let onto your camera sensor. Aperture is the size of that hole inside the lens. Just like how your pupils react to light. If you shine a light in your eyes your pupils will get smaller, but in a darker room they will dilate to try and let as much light in as possible.

Put your hands together in front of you. 

The smaller the hole the less light that can pass through.

Aperture is measured in F-numbers. This is the measurement of the diameter of the hole. 

Aperture is referred to as full stop F-number or F-stops. If you look at a lens you will see it has an F-stop range or number.

There are a number of different sets of F-numbers but the most commonly used are:

ƒ/1.4 2 2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16 22 32

It might sound confusing but the lower the F-number, like ƒ/1.4, the bigger the hole and therefore the more light that is allowed to the sensor.

The higher the F-number, like ƒ/22, the smaller the hole and the less light that is allowed through to the sensor. 

The amount of light that reaches the sensor affects the depth of field and the amount of your image that is in focus.

So... the lower the aperture, like ƒ/1.4, the bigger the hole and the more light, but this will give you a very shallow depth of field. You know the lovely blurry background shots with a very crisp focus in the foreground.

Take a look at this set of photos.

As the aperture number increases, the hole gets smaller, the less light reaches the sensor, and the more in focus the background becomes.

Look at the holes on the peg board (Which I was kindly given by Red Candy, I'll be sharing a post on that soon) higher the F-number the more in focus they become.

I love shooting on Aperture Priority and my signature style is to use a low F-number, typically ƒ/4, to get a shallow depth of field and a very blurry background.

Compare these 2 photos. The one on the left is a low aperture, ƒ/4, the one on the right, ƒ/22.

You can see how the leaves become more crisp on the right, but my familiar style would be the photo on the left.

Phone apps like Big Lens (iPhone) or Shot Control (Android) will allow you to play with aperture. I use an iPhone and tap the focus square until I am happy with the focal point and depth of field.

Have a play with your camera on Aperture Priority (Look for the AV or AP setting) and compare how changing the aperture alters your photo. If you are taking a picture of a landscape you may want to try a higher F-number, to get the whole view in focus, but if you are taking a picture of your child, a lower F-number might help keep the focus of the photo on their face.

Don't forget to leave me any questions on the blog post and if you take any photos on Aperture Priority tag me or tweet me so I can see! I love shooting on Aperture Priority because I have control over the atmosphere I create in a photo, by altering the depth of field.

Next up is shutter speed...