Introducing Georgia Rose

P and I have some big news...literally. On 8 July, we bought a house! It is a newly built three-bedroom semi-detached in a lovely residential neighbourhood not too far from where we live now.

I haven't been writing the blog as we have been busy packing, driving boxes to the new place, unpacking, putting up shelves and mirrors, gardening, etc, etc, etc. All the exhausting things you have to do when you move. We are happy as it's nice to have a place to call your own. I did have to sell my apartment on the Small Island to put a bigger deposit on this house. But it was time to do so and we are really pleased with the new property.

I will post photos once it is ready. We have ordered white shutters for all the windows and also the kitchen door which will take about eight weeks to arrive. I have always loved them as they remind me of the deep south of the Land of the Free, very 'Steel Magnolias'.

Talking about the southern states, we will have a new addition to the family as of 18 August. We are getting another dog! This time, we have chosen a short-haired silver dapple miniature dachshund. Her name is Georgia Rose and she is now seven weeks old.

I saw the ad for her some time last week and thought she looked beautiful but didn't look up the contact details of the breeder. However, she was somehow still at the back of my mind two days later so I looked at the ad again. This time, I decided to give the breeder a call and arranged for P and I to see her.

This is the pic of her that was in the ad:

We drove over two hours (one way) to her breeder's house yesterday and P and I both warmed to Georgia upon sight. She will be slightly smaller than Chynna and I hope as laid back. She seemed a confident little pup who was comfortable and didn't shiver or show nervousness when we picked her up. She is part of a dog family of about seven so she is very well socialised. The breeder has even started house training her in the garden. :-)

Georgia has very unusual colouring with lovely markings. She is mostly silver grey with a bit of black, tan and even red on her head.

Check out them rusty puppy paws:

Just call me button nose:

We will be very busy the next few weeks but once the internet is up and running in the new house, I will send more updates!

One Week from Shabby to Chic

Late last year, I bought this cabinet online:

I have always liked it as it is very old and unusual. If you click on any of the photos, they will enlarge so you can look at the detail.

However, the dark wood didn't suit the rest of our furniture, which is mostly off-white, creams and pale colours. I have said to P many times that we should paint it but somehow, we never got round to it.

However, last weekend when Yeller Fever and his girlfriend went back to the Small Island after a wonderful two-week holiday here, I was at a loose end and wanted something to do. P took me to the DIY store and we picked up a sander, primer and some brushes.

I did a bit of research on how to properly paint furniture and there are loads of steps. The first is to sand, which took P over two hours. He also helped me to tape up the glass frontage so that I could paint the woodwork. I then wiped all the dust off and painted both the cabinet and the two shelves with the first coat of primer:

A couple of days later, I primed it with the second coat:

After a gentle sanding and wiping down the cabinet, I painted the first coat of Farrow and Ball's 'White Tie':


F&B do the best vintage period paint colours. A small tin costs £15, but the finish is amazingly beautiful and tough. You don't even need a sealant or wax.

It looked much better after the second coat went on:

After that dried, it was time to distress the paintwork. Yes with shabby chic, you paint it on just to take it all off again! Or at least sand off certain bits to bring it back to the wood base. This part took absolutely ages and my arms (not to mention neck/back/shoulder) were aching. But P was a real star and helped me again with this bit of hard work.

Here is the finished result:

With all my trinkets, photos and vintage china back in it:

Do I love it? Yes, I do and so does P. It was really hard work and took over 20 man (and woman!) hours, not including purchasing the items or drying time. However, we now have a cabinet that is completely unique. It was really nice to do something together and have a wonderful new piece of furniture (and not to mention a ginormous blister on my thumb) to show for it.

Will we do it again? I'm not sure but now that we have the sander and the know how, it seems a waste not to!