The Hills Are Alive...

... with the sound of... BEAUTY!

Yes, these are the views I am spoiled with every week when I take my boys to swimming classes in a nearby village. Two weeks ago, the sun was doing its best to convince us that, despite it still being unseasonably chilly, there will be a spring this year too... 

Having lived in Stockholm in Sweden before we moved to the UK, the pace is indeed a very different one here, in life in general and in the case of traffic in particular. Countryside living offers a - for me -healthy slower pace, and I cannot help but smile when I think of the only traffic delay I am likely to suffer here, is whenever I get stuck behind a tractor on a narrow country lane...! However, on this particular day I was lucky - this tractor was nicely parked  in the village...

I know, I know, I DO have a thing for doors. But how can you not in a country so keen on expressing individuality even in a front door, that even a short walk down just about any street allows for a colourful and interesting door-spotting expedition. And combined with some stunning old stonework... oh my... Oh, and throw in a stemmed plant and I am sold, grinning from ear to ear, letting out the odd unintelligible, happy gurgling noise. Yes, I am easy to please!

I think there are many among you readers who, like I, are becoming increasingly spring-impatient now, and perhaps you, like I, have become daily spring spotters too? Gratefully soaking up the sight of every little spring flower or hopeful pot? Well, the signs may be small, but they are there, so let's make this happen now, this SPRING THING!

Wishing you all a sparkling and spring-spotted day!

Helena

Ps. I know there has been very little interior inspiration here lately, but as I have got very little time to create indoor or garden vignettes at the moment, I hope a few "postcards" from the English countryside will at least offer you some "country air"...

Fraudulent fluffy stuff...

(Please click on the photo to see the whole photo - it appears cropped here.)

Now... spring may be unusually shy this year...

... and we have indeed seen some confused little white flakes 

sailing through the air in the past couple of days here...

But when I drove through our neighbouring village Biddestone a few days ago, my jaw dropped and I gasped for air in that dramatic way that only the sight of a world completely white in mid-March can provoke...

But then I realised...

... that the white fluffy stuff was indeed of a rather fraudulent kind...

... as were a couple of shop fronts...

... as it turned out they were filming some scenes from the movie 

The Christmas Candle, a "festive period drama" 

which will be out, I believe, next year.

So there we are.

A beautiful white world.

Even if fake.

Even if cold enough to be absolutely believable.

Oh bother, bring on spring!

Hoping you are keeping warm, wherever you are!

All the best and thank you so much for all your kind comments.

Helena

Purple peace and pretty purchases...

Dear readers,

I thought we might talk cushions for a moment. 

Cushions, I confess, is one of my weaknesses.

Cushions, I would insist, 

(although some family members, strangely, seem not to understand this...) 

you simply cannot have too many...

I say this, as I tend to make most of them myself, 

re-using the inner pillow and often using scraps of fabric to make the cover.

Like the peace sign cushion here...

...made from an old purple top of mine that was past its glory days in fashion, to put it mildly,

together with a peace sign cut out of some linen fabric and then painted with a thin layer of metallic paint, just to give it a modest shine, make it come "alive"...

But here comes confession time.

Cushion confession, that is.

See the other two patterned cushions?

Well...

If one happens to fall head over heals in love with a cushion one happens to see on the cover of one of one's favourite Norwegian magazines, Vakre Hem, and one then by complete coincidence happens to stumble across those very cushions at half price on a work trip to Sweden, one wonders if, perhaps, one is not meant to, maybe, well... buy them?

Well, one did. 

And one is quite happy one did. 

The sofa in the TV room (our TV is hidden away in one of the cupboards under the stairs) is now a little more colourful than before, and together with the fairy-light-stuffed ex-greenhouse heater in the fireplace, and my beloved, cheerful ceiling light, this window-less corner now seems a little bit brighter!

Wishing you a bright and colourful Sunday!

Love,

Helena

Spring signs in Castle Combe...

Our sunny walk last Sunday, described in my last post, ended up in one of my favourite villages around here, in postcard perfect Castle Combe (I have posted MANY photos from here before, please look under Castle Combe in Categories in the column to the right).

Every time I stroll up and down the main road here, I admire and envy the ancient doors, the stonework, the many not so straight angles...

On weekends, visitors from near and far come to enjoy the beauty of this little gem, and what could be nicer than to "hang out" by the old market place, perhaps sipping a drink of one's choice, lapping up the sun...

The swans seemed to enjoy the tentative signs of spring too...

The beautiful cemetery offering its long-term guests a little floral feast...

And here they are, my boys, still in winter coats and hats, as the air was still a little chilly...

And yes, this may perhaps be a pot that is not particularly spectacular at first glance, but its colour explosion, lovely tulip buds and the fact that the little petal ensemble is in the Swedish colours, well, I think these are valid reasons for a little spring-y Swenglish cheer!

Next time I think I might introduce you to a couple of new members of the Swenglish cushion family. Think peacefully purple...

Wishing you a lovely and colourful weekend!

Helena

Sunday... oh, what a SUN DAY... hooray!

Bliss.

 My long lost friend and soul-nurturing confidant made a surprise visit yesterday...

... bringing hope and smiles to people and petals...

... inspiring us to go for a walk, having bribed younger family members with 

a promise of ice cream at our destination, Castle Combe...

... stopping, as always, for a good - albeit for my taste somewhat too competitive - game of Pooh 

sticks on a small stone bridge (with a view of this enviable house in a hamlet on the way)...

... taking the opportunity to admire some of the beautiful farm houses in the valley, 

before they are soon hidden in vigorous verdure...

Yes, the sun was indeed a welcome guest, warming our chilled, hibernating souls. Even if the thermometer did not venture into double digits, it was still warm enough for yours truly to enjoy a fizzy elderflower drink outside (!) when we arrived in Castle Combe. I have shown photos from this beautiful village many times before, but I am afraid that should you decide to pop in to the Swenglish Home again some time in the next few days, you may have to suffer a few more...!

To see all the photos in this post better (and not strangely cropped), please click on them. You may then also be able to better view for example the lovely Victorian post box in the old stone wall in the first photo. And perhaps even the snowdrops growing on top of mentioned wall...

Wishing you all a fabulous start to the new week 

and thank you so much for your kind comments on my last post. 

Shocking to see how many of you suffer from the same 

type of naughty car behaviour ... ☺☺☺

Helena

When your car decides for you...

Have you ever had your car decide things for you?

Well, as I was driving home from work today and approached a second-hand shop on the side of the road (the one where last summer I fell in love with the large tray that I used as a table top for example here), I thought to myself that I certainly do not need more things, no matter how lovely they might be, and I was therefore not going to stop...

Now, some of you may find what happened next hard to believe, but my car took me completely by surprise when it suddenly swerved to the left and turned in to mentioned shop. Just like that. And parked outside this large and eclectic second-hand shop, it would have been rather rude not to pop inside just for a minute or two... would it not?

Sorry about the grainy, un-sharp photos here - this window-less
room and my camera do not always see eye to eye...

And there it was. The Moroccan-looking wooden stand that my beloved tray had been missing. With paint peeling and just the right amount of scruffy patina, it called out to me in all its ragged glory: "Please, Miss, adopt me! We belong together!" Now, I may be a woman of principle, but I am not heartless. And when a fellow with a wooden leg - or eight as it were -  pleads with me in that fashion, who am I to reject him?

So, that is how my car made what turned out to be the best decision possible on this grey Wednesday, and my wooden fellow and I, I have a feeling we are going to live happily ever after!

Wishing you all a lovely Thursday, and may it bring you joy, 

car-encouraged or not!

Helena

Chilled dreams ...

For a week or so, twelve stunning long-stemmed roses have paraded their crimson charisma in the Swenglish kitchen, but as they hung their heads a little yesterday, looking tired and despondent, I thought I would try to encourage a little rosy encore performance from them before they become food for worms... 

Inspired - like so often - by blog friend and superb stylist, "flower magician" and photographer Minna Mercke Schmidt, I thought about the fantastic display she made recently for a Fairtrade Competition (organised to draw attention to Fairtrade products). Click here to see Minna's stunning display, which - not surprisingly - won the competition (Congrats, Minna!). For my little hessian pouch, however, I opted for a more "slumped" look, possibly reflecting how I feel this bitterly cold Saturday after a few hectic work weeks... ☺

Looking around the garden, I see that after the harsh winter, it is in dire need of some tender love and care, and perhaps, in places, more drastic cosmetic surgery... Hm, I wonder... Are gardens like many dogs - do they actually bear a striking resemblance to their owners? Well, plastic surgery is an unlikely contender to solve the appearance of this ragged thistle, but some sun-fuelled energy would not go amiss!

So that is what I dream of, this cold, cold February weekend: 

sun-stroked, rosy cheeks for garden and self!

... and speaking of garden...

Ladies and gentlemen... DRUM ROLL... 

I am so happy to present to you a fabulous new web shop for all of us 

who like to prettify our gardens in more ways than one.

The GARDEN FLOW Shop

My dear friend Charlotte Andersson (the Garden Flow blog), whose stunning garden I featured on my blog in several posts last summer (see Charlotte's Garden under Categories to the right, has just opened the Garden Flow Shop - a web shop which also has a show room in Sundsvall, Sweden, where Charlotte lives.

All the photos below are taken by Charlotte:

In true Charlotte fashion, the photos of the products are beautiful and the "goodies" include everything from hands-on planting tools and gardening clothes, to decorative items for your home and your garden, quirky vintage finds and do-it-yourself craft material (and much more).

Welcome to browse this inspiring new web shop - very soon Charlotte will also be able to ship outside of Sweden (I will let you know when) and then I think all of us will find it very hard to resist ordering a little spring inspiration from the Garden Flow Shop! 

 ***

Last, but not least, a huge hug to all of you lovely readers out there, who seem to still pop in to the Swenglish Home, despite the rare updates and my silence on your blogs. Roses and sunshine to you all!

Helena

A string of hearts to you...

Dear readers,

On this heart-focused day, I would like to send a string of hearts to all of you, my lovely readers!

The music heart bunting in the first photo I made recently by simply cutting out some hearts from old sheets of music and then sewing them together with my sewing machine. Easy peasy, instant craft!

The other photos in this post are all from past springs, but remind me of what I dream of at the moment...

Discovering snow drops on the side of the road, allowing myself to stop and 

admire their beauty and strength to grow even when nights are still cold...

With the early rays of spring-inspired sun, comes my desire to 

dig out my old pots and fill them with little petalled heads...

... perhaps create a little corner of decorative greens, 

welcoming spring and its energizing yet calming powers...

And the pansies, oh the lovely, lovely pansies. I may not know much about what this spring will hold, but I can almost promise that The Swenglish Home will house many a purple pot of pansy loveliness!

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

❤- greetings to you all!

Helena

A brighter Friday...

On my way home from a nearby town today, 

I took a small detour via the lovely village of Holt...

Parking briefly near the old Glove Factory (now a lovely Art Centre and workshops), 

I was glad I did...

On one side of the road, I was greeted by an explosion of floral beauty (photos 1 and 2 above),

and on the other side this beautiful old red brick house serenaded me quietly.

Since living here in the UK, I have learned to recognize how the look of the houses changes according to the local stone in the area, and even though the area around Bath is indeed dominated by buildings in the gorgeous local sand-coloured Bath stone, you do not have to drive far south before you see red-brick buildings appear more frequently.

Even though the black pots on the steps of this building look like they are plastic, which may perhaps not be my favourite material, I love how the owners have placed one pot on each step. They almost look as if they are queueing for something fun... perhaps this is the local Night Club for plants...?! In that case it must be a very popular one, if you need to start queueing already at lunch time... Hm, perhaps not then. Maybe a Secret Green Society... only evergreens allowed?

And speaking of greens... Seeing the local farm shop (The Toll Shed in Holt) display their fresh produce on a table outside the entrance gave me spring vibes!

On the way home from Holt, I had to take a deep breath several times, as I drove through heavily flooded parts of the small country lanes, hoping they would not be too deep for my car. Here, just outside one of our neighbouring villages, the little pond was threatening to spill into the road too, but so far it just looks a little more like a lake than a modest pond, beautifully reflecting the cottages on the other side.

So, have you guessed the reason for the title of this post yet? Yes, the observant among you will have noticed a rare but oh-so-delicious light in some of the photos, as the sun, the stunning star in the sky with the power to warm our land and our souls, made an appearance today... and the world became a little bit brighter. Just like that. Oh, do come again, you lovely thing!

Wishing you a inside and out bright weekend!

Helena