About Me

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antrim, antrim, Ireland
Hello and welcome to my blog. If you like flowers and gardens, housey stuff, food and banter, then this is the place for you. I am a decorative artist, florist and maker of things. I sell painted furniture, plants and crafts, through a local retail shop, in my native Ireland, and wedding flowers from home. I am married to a lovely patient man and have a smashing little girl. I blog for the fun of it. Thank you for listening.

Friday 23 September 2011

Black and White (and shades of grey).

Have you ever noticed that when your mind fixes on a thing, you see it everywhere? Mine is fixated on black and white. I am planning to re-decorate my living room, which at the moment is in stone and cream shades with splashes of raspberry pink. I want to change it to shades of grey and blue, sort of french looking, with touches of black and white. As soon as my mind was made up, I saw wonderful old ticking on Julies lovely blog The Cloth Shed, which of course was a 'sign' and I had to buy! Then I bought a book about the life of Grace Kelly, and there she was lounging on a fabulous Art Deco shaped sofa covered in black and white ticking, with wonderful frizzy black trim. Well.....that was going to be me!! I then went to the cinema with my 2 sisters and my neice to see Jane Eyre ( which we really enjoyed), and lo and behold there was the black and white ticking again in the form of a mattress cover at Jane's horrible school. Then the floodgates opened, Ican't help it I am seeing black and white lovliness everwhere I look. Here are just some lovely images from Pinterest.

Ticking how I love thee!




So smart!




Yum!






It's that black door again.



I know these as baseball boots! (Showing my age now).



These are biscuits with the icing stamped with food colouring would you believe!


gorgeous teatowel from Pottery Barn.

I adore these big clocks, inside and outside.

And a couple more from Tumblr.

A wonderfully retro looking desk from Restoration Hardware.

A bit wintry..sorry, but I love the basket on this door.

Simple but effective!


This is my favourite, so friendly and welcoming.
My kitchen smells wonderful at the moment as I have just taken some Pumpkin Bread out of the oven. I am having a little coffee morning tomorrow and have been making sweet treats. I will try to let you see what I made before it gets eaten. I made a wreath out of some of my apples. It weighs a ton so I didn't dare hang it on the nail on the front door, but I rather like how it looks on my courtyard door (even though my husband screwed the key hook, left of centre...say nothing!).

Thankyou so much to all who make the effort to read this, and a great big kiss to all who kindly comment, it means the world to me...thankyou. Wishing you a heavenly weekend, love Linda x

A rainbow I tried to capture a couple of days ago after torrential rain.

16 comments:

  1. I love that set of pictures and the one with 'yum' underneath really made me smile. What a good idea to stamp icing with food colouring....I think I may be baking tomorrow.. now I am all inspired for the weekend
    Hugs Lynn

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  2. Hello Linda, I was looking to see if you had a picture of my local football team in their strip.... Newcastle United wear black and white! Lol :)
    As always, this is a wonderful post, and full of the most gorgeous images. How I wish I was coming to your coffee morning. I hope you have a lovely time and don't forget to take a picture of the goodies before they all get eaten... I like to see what I have missed!
    The Vintage Flowers book has arrived and I absolutely love it! Thank you again for recommending it. Have a lovely weekend. Love, Abby xx
    ps. Spotty would love your apple wreath! ;)

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  3. Such elegant black and white and shades of grey! Makes me dream about redoing my kitchen! Wish money trees were real.

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  4. Hi Linda

    I love all the images you have given us and it will definitely flow nicely with you hallway. It is curious when it is right that the images will show up and confirm our thoughts. You have my full permission and I know it will be superb. Looking forward to seeing Jany Eyre picture.

    Have a wonderful, peaceful weekend
    Helenxx

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  5. Hello Linda
    Beautiful pictures - thank you for taking the time to share them. I love the last one also! Our home here in South Africa has a lot of this kind of wood panelling - It was all orange pine when we bought the house..... even on the ceilings! Enjoy your weekend
    Karen

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  6. Hello Linda

    Your pictures today are an inspiration. I love the traditional black and white tiles in the staircase. I also notice that your courtyard door is painted black. It's such a good background for your stunning apple wreath. What a welcoming sight it must be for your guests.
    Have a great weekend.

    Anna

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  7. A beautiful post. Loved the teatowel from Pottery Barn and the last photo of the rainbow. I've been chasing rainbows for a year now trying to get a shot. Good job.

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  8. Thanks for popping into my blog and leaving a comment, always lovely to hear from you. Just love the photos, especially the snowy one - OK and the young man isn't bad either!
    Looking forward to photos of 'the room' once it's done, and the sweet treats too!
    Maggie x

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  9. Oh Linda,
    I love all the beautiful photos (except for the snowy one)
    Uck, don't even want to think of that horrible white stuff for months and months!!!!

    Love the apple wreath and the frilly black knee sox are so cute!


    I want to drink champagne and dance on the table!!

    Maybe tonight.........

    Have a great weekend and enjoy your coffee morning. I have never heard of pumpkin bread!

    x Fiona

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  10. Hi Linda, I am sitting here reading your post with my long black and white stripy socks on...must be something in the air! Not as pretty as your lace ones with button detail, they are fab.
    Julie x
    Glad you like the ticking...look forward to seeing what you do with it.

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  11. Hello Linda:
    We think that your idea for your room is lovely. Yes, the addition of some black and white ticking would, we are sure look wonderful. Such a classic colouring but also, the informal nature of the fabric means that it gives a tailored yet comfortable look to any soft furnishings.

    And, what an intriguing set of images you inspire us with today. So many ideas......!!!

    We do so hope that you are enjoying a happy and relaxing weekend.

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  12. Good morning Linda, I am here catching up after four days with no internet connection thanks to a huge storm! I love the wreath of apples what a fun idea. I also thoroughly enjoyed your last post, thanks for sharing your memories.

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  13. I love the apple wreath - I may make one myself!

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  14. Such fabulous pictures today, Linda!! I love so many of them, especially the ones with text or numbers in black on white, all these images are just up my street! But my most favourite one has to be the biscuits with the stamped design using food colouring! How amazing is that!Must make a note to try it out...I'll put it on my to do list, and also must buy some black food colouring. Thanks for sharing.
    Have a happy week. Helen x

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  15. Wow, you found some amazing pins! I love them all.

    I just found your blog via Kylie at Stylish Settings. If you have time to pop by and visit my blog, I host a Pinterest party each weekend and would love it if you could link up this post-it's wonderful!

    Take care and best wishes for a lovely week,
    Natasha @ 5 Minutes Just for Me

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  16. Where are the seed packets found that are shown on this blog. Thanks!

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