a house in the hills

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Loving Spring

The weather has been gorgeous this week and we have had a great weekend doing a couple of shopping trips around country towns , farmer's markets, op ~shops and lots of work on the house and garden

I found a pinned pile of early 20th century silk squares, all with different embroidery...I think they are modesty camisole squares

A piece of milk glass for 50c

Mr VL is very excited that his new incubator arrived and he was able to buy a dozen Sussex eggs ...so now we wait for 21 days

We have started on the building the coop...a work in progress!

The garden is still in full blossom and I have been taking heaps of pics as it is so fleeting.

The silver birch trees are beginning to sprout

Planting a new cherry and apricot tree

Daffodils are coming up everywhere!!

What I'm reading this week

Linking up with :

Apron Thrift Girl
The Dedicated House

Rooted in Thyme
My Charmed Home
Blackbird Has Spoken
Elizabeth & Co
The North End Loft
Finding Fabulous

Sunday, September 1, 2013

First Day of Spring

I found a very tarnished and black serviette ring .I took a punt and bought it, cleaned it up and found it is sterling silver and had a nice monogram ( I love anything old and monogrammed)

I also bought a vintage letter rack from the same junk shop

This was a pressie from Mr VL ...a cute pretend weight with our house number 8 on it

All our trees are in blossom at last and the garden is so gorgeous

2 baby bunnies grazing early morning

We have decided to block an entrance up in the kitchen to build a walk-in pantry.The pantry that was there was no more than a shallow cupboard. It's still a work in progress but should be finished in another week. Unlike our last house the cupboards are inadequate and ugly but we will be painting the kitchen white and one day put in decent bench tops

Looking through the kitchen to the formal dining room which we don't use except to keep inherited furniture

Looking from the dining room through to kitchen and the shallow corner pantry

cupboard gone and gyprock wall up

Skeleton frame going up

Mr VL got stuck into pruning and spraying the orchard

Linking up with :

Apron Thrift Girl
The Dedicated House

Rooted in Thyme
My Charmed Home
Blackbird Has Spoken
Elizabeth & Co
The North End Loft
Finding Fabulous

Sunday, August 25, 2013

The Third Week

Is it already 3 weeks since we moved in? We have lots of things ordered but I just have to be patient!

I did a little treasure hunting on Friday and bought this cute 1880's ale bottle with its marble stopper inside...looks nice in a sunny window

A new lamp from Freedom

Waiting at the Post Office a parcel from France...a vintage laundry bag from a Saint Porcain hospital....the ultimate recycling! Love the colour and perfect for storing my unused handbags

It is so wet and freezing outside Mr VL can't do much. He has bought home some hellebores to plant

and the first of our Japanese Maples and Prunus trees has begun to blossom

The lemon tree is overloaded...and there are lemons on the ground everywhere

Rain sheeting down...the view from the back door

Another great book from my new library I'm reading in bed this morning!

Linking up with :

The Dedicated House

A Living Space
Knick of Time
French Country Cottage
Ivy and Elephants
Common Ground
The Colorado Lady
Shabby Art Boutique
The Thrifty Groove
Chic on a Shoestring
Country Farm Home
My Romantic Home
Sir thrift-a-lot
Rose Vignettes
Rooted in Thyme
My Charmed Home
Blackbird Has Spoken
Elizabeth & Co
The North End Loft
Finding Fabulous

Sunday, August 18, 2013

A Busy Week in our New Home

Mr VL has had the last couple of weeks off work to get stuck into our renovations but we took Wednesday off to explore more of the Adelaide Hills towns. We loved the tiny antique shop we found it was crammed with treasures. We bought 2 very old pieces.

A divine 1930 hand stitched quilt in great condition. The fabric flowers are now almost see through they are so fine and mainly silk

This very old trunk made out of canvas ,leather trim, and wooden struts was made in Belfast

Inside is 2 shelves made of striped cotton and the top layer has leather straps to pull it out

I know what you are thinking....does she really need more vintage luggage but we actually left the shop and came back for it because we loved it so much

My re upholstered chair FINALLY was delivered after 4 months (it was supposed to be ready for the last house which was up for sale ) and is in time for the newly painted master bedroom from a yukky blue to white

BEFORE

chipped legs , dusty velvet

AFTER

The ceiling rose looks a lot better after painting over the pink and blue

Mr VL spent 10 hours putting in a new vanity and cabinet (IKEA) and new towel rails in the ensuite bathroom which is very tiny

BEFORE

It still needs to be painted.

It is so cold here this morning I am still in bed with a couple of books I found on the shelves of the local library I joined on Tuesday

We have also ordered a chicken coop to be delivered hopefully next week...can't wait

Linking up with :

The Dedicated House