I got this lovely gift last week, it is a lovely knitted throw made from really vibrant colours. I am looking forward to using it in the winter months when the weather is chilly. The Autumn is already beginning to slowly creep in here in Ireland. The evenings are getting shorter and much cooler. I don't mind the Autumn time, I love the trees changing colours and the crisp air. I light the log burning stove and cosy up at the fire with a big mug of tea, some blogging or a good book. We had a great Summer here in Ireland this year, the weather has been so good with lots of sunshine and heat. We got our garden almost completed now and the painting of the exterior of the house is coming along well. What have you got up to this Summer?

I took a few days off work and spent as much time as possible outdoors. The weather is still lovely although the temperatures have dropped to mid 20 degrees, rather than 30 degrees +. This is the first time I have ever got a tan! Before I would just burn and it would peel but not this time! I am getting lots of freckles and tanning too so it is all good. Below are a few photos of home I took when I was out and about.

1. Foxgloves in bloom in the local woods, 2. A view from my back door of the field that our house is built in, 3. The cows out after getting milked- all very content!

Some evening photographs

1. A view up one of the lanes on the farm, can you spot Wally in the photo? It is actually my husband :-) , 2. An old trailer on the farm, 3. The new stone walls at the entrance to our house which are still under construction.

1. A meal silo on the farm, 2. Another of the farm cats playing in the field, 3. A view along the laneway

I just love floral patterns! In my opinion floral patterns never date, they are in all the time! Here are some of my favourite floral items taken from a range of online sources, sorry I don't have the link backs to them. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and you have lots of nice plans :)

 

This weekend I didn't go anywhere.. I did lots of spring cleaning yesterday, washed all the windows and cleaned the garage. I walked to the village for some groceries and also spent time on the farm walking along the lake shore. Today I relaxed, read some magazines and had family visit. It is soon time to feed the calves. What did you get up to this weekend? Sometimes it is nice to just relax and spend time at home...

2012- What a Year it has been! We moved into our New Home on 1st January 2012 and I also got  a new job that month too, but to add to all of that, we were also arranging our wedding for February. We had our wedding on 25th February and thank goodness it didn't rain. I am blessed to have found such a wonderful husband. We did a lot of decorating in our new home and I enjoyed my afternoons on the farm- helping with the calves and getting lots of fresh air. We booked our honeymoon for September and had a great time. We even got a tan (I call it a tan,  but to most others it is probably just a lot of freckles). I wrote a review for the Irish Country Living Magazine which appeared in their Autumn edition. IKEA also asked me to take some photos of my new home to feature in their House Call Feature (they haven't used them yet which I'm thinking means that the photos aren't good enough quality). My blog got shortlisted for the Irish Blog Award which was really exciting too. I got lots of inspiration online this year and am really enjoying using pinterest! To all of my friends, followers and those who visit my blog, twitter or pinterest, thank you all so much, I really hope that my blog sprinkles some happiness into your life. . .

From top left: 1. We moved into our new home- our cottage in the country. 2. We got married, pictured above in the hotel. 3. Some daffodils I picked and put in our home, 4. Our kitchen is fully completed. 5. A trip to the seaside to my parents holiday home. 6. We booked our honeymoon to Madeira. 7. Some lovely hydrangeas my mother picked for me, 8. Long walks along the lake shore. 9. Honeymoon in Madeira. 10. Some more wedding memories. 11. A trip to the Market. 12. A view of Funchal from our hotel suite. 13. Some more flowers in my sunroom. 14. Another trip to the west coast of Ireland. 15. My spare bedroom, 16. Our Wedding Day

Over the road from our new home is an almost forgotten laneway which is rarely used. On Sunday we went for a nice long walk taking in all the beautiful wildlife and scenery all around us...

What a majestic oak tree...

As we continued along the lane it became very apparent that it is no longer in use. Years ago many families live in this lane and it once was a public routeway, however today it has become a forgotten land..... Home to an abundance of wildlife...

 

A hidden lake...

Just the sound of bird song...

Until it became almost impossible to get through.... We did make it through eventually! I often wonder is there many other forgotten places like this all around the country. Do you know of any? I love exploring these hidden lands...

 

Hello everyone, hope you are having a nice weekend. I am pottering about the house this morning doing a few jobs. Have the dinner on now so just relaxing a bit. I recently purchased a small unit for my entrance hall. It fits nicely underneath my stairs as this space looked very bare. I find that I have very little accessories for my new home and have put this damask pattern lamp and cushion here for the moment. I am on the look out for a nice light green colour lamp and cushion instead as I think they would suit much better. What do you think? The wee bird candle holder was bought in Homebase and the statue of the man and woman was a wedding gift we received. Have you any photographs of your hall, or any entrance halls that you think are inviting? If so, please let me know, as I'm looking for inspiration....

{All images my own}

The Farm Chicks....

Serena is the face behind Farm Chicks. She founded The Farm Chicks Show, established thefarmchicks.com, and authored The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen and the Farm Chicks Christmas. 
She is a wife, mom, entrepreneur, author, and Contributing Editor for Country Living Magazine.

Are you a farm chick? Well firstly what defines a farm chick? Serena defines a Farm Chick "as a girl who sees the world through rose- coloured glasses. Shes loves her family. She laughs alot. Shes farmgirl meets Fifth Avenue and with a little style, she'll change the world".

{Images: The Farm Chicks}

So let me know, do you think you are a farm chick?

What do you think? I will have to take some photographs of the room for you. The weather is fab here in Ireland this week, hence the reason for my lack of blogging. Hope everyone is having a nice week and the sun is shining where you are!

Hello everyone,

So I eventually have time to blog. Since the New Year, we have moved into our new home, we're really settled now; kitchen, snug, utility and shower room are all completed. I have a few accessories to get but that is on hold for a while. I have also got a new job which I am really happy with and enjoying, my office is small and really cosy :) So next thing on the "to do list" is get married. The wedding is in three weeks time! I have the dresses sorted, just need to get mine altered a wee bit. All invites are out, flowers sorted, cake sorted, food sorted, cars, rings, etc. I just have to buy my shoes soon and get my hair sorted. No honeymoon planned as my other half is a farmer and has a lot of work on with cows calving. So in three weeks I will be a farmers wife! I'm living life to the full in the countryside. I'm looking forward to getting married and have time to relax and also do some more work around the new home. At last I got the lead to charge my camera so here are a few photos from around my new home. The snug still looks a bit bare but I will upload more photos again for you all!

Here are a few more of my new neighbours when  I move house. 

The Country Living Magazine are holding their 20th Spring Fair this March in the Business Design Centre,  London where over 400 specialised creative crafters, designers, makers, retailers and small producers will showcase and sell their work. If only I lived nearer :( I am jealous of those who will get to go along.

{Images above from Country Living}

Here is the progress on my new home so far, the main part of the roof is now tiled and there is a velux window in the middle over the porch. We had the electrican around early in the week so at least things are beginning to happen again. The weather held us up a lot. The windows arrived yesterday. I won't get to see them until the weekend as it is dark by the time I come home from work. I will just have to wait!

In the cupboard...?

In the office...?

In the guest bedroom...?

In the kitchen...?

I'd work any of these places, if only my home looked this good...

{All images from Country Living}