Creating the perfect living space

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When we picked our new house in North Wales, there was one room that really stood out for us. The combination of a kitchen, dining and family room. It’s the perfect space for a busy family – Paul or I can be cooking (mainly Paul; I’m rubbish), and the boys can be sat at the table, playing or watching TV. It runs the entire width of the house and also has the advantage of french doors that open up on to the garden. It really is wonderful.

The kitchen has already been installed – a combination of white and walnut units – and the most beautiful floor tiles have been laid. We picked walnut for the kitchen as before we had the boys and were a bit more (a LOT more) cash-rich, we splashed out on our dream furniture from Austrian designers, TEAM7. We loved their design and their ethos, only using hardwood from sustainably managed forests. Their pieces are amazing and despite CK’s best attempts to bang hell out of them with spoons, drum sticks and cars, they’ve aged fantastically well.

But now has come the time to choose a few accessories and a touch of colour. I toyed with pink but Paul quickly rejected it. And then we uhmed and ahed over green. It would go nicely with the walnut and also lead well in to the outdoor space. However, maybe I’ve been listening to Coldplay a bit too much recently, but it’s as if someone has been whispering ‘yellow, Yellow, YELLOW’ in to my ear as my eye keeps being drawn to the colour of sunflowers.

So here is my current mood board:

The photographs were taken when the room was in its almost-finished state and that’s the dining table (seats ten) and the coffee table that we already have from TEAM7.

What do you think? Does yellow work? Or would you opt for green? Or maybe another colour entirely? Answers on a postcard, please (or in the comments box below).

I think I might be a bit yellow-obsessed at the moment as I’ve just asked for this saddle bag from Zatchels for my birthday in a few weeks. I’ve matched my bags to many things in the past but never a room. A few days of sunshine and it’s gone to my head!

P.S. If you want to see more details about any of them items on my mood board, you can find them here on Pinterest.

Dear CK – Schwimm time

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Dear CK,

This morning you were the most excited that I’ve ever seen you. So excited that you ran round the apartment shrieking and unfortunately scared the living daylights out of me just as I was first cut in to a new fringe. Mama’s not looking good, darling. You’re too young to understand why people will be staring at me in the street until it grows out. I’ll tell you that it’s because I’m so beautiful and at two years of age, you will simply nod and agree with me.

But back to the reason for your excitement. It was your first trip to the swimming baths with your papa. Or ‘schwimming’ baths as you call them in your delightful English/German hybrid way of speaking.

Trunks on, towel wrapped round you like a cloak, you stood ready at the door for half an hour before we actually left. For a few moments, I thought about the possibility of using ‘we’re off to the schwimming baths’ as a way to get you out of the door for not so inviting activities such as trips to the supermarket or doctor’s. But that would be too cruel. Wouldn’t it? We could pop in for a moment on our way to the shops and let you have a little look through the window, couldn’t we? Then it wouldn’t technically be a lie.

Back to the schwimming. So full of joy to be at the baths with your papa, you hadn’t actually considered that it meant getting wet. You spent the first five minutes stepping in to the water and then trying to dry yourself. A drop got on your forehead and you were really not happy about it. I’d say you squealed but if you’re reading this in years to come, we can agree that it was a rather manly cry. Or we can pretend it never happened if you like? I’d like to pretend my current fringe disaster never happened. Quid pro quo?

After realisation dawned that you couldn’t actually partake in any schwimming activities without getting a little wet, you relaxed a little and went in waist deep. I can’t say that you looked overjoyed but the ~~squealing~~ manly crying stopped. You then discovered the little fountain and I think that this was the highlight of your first schwimm. Papa put his head underneath it; you put your right hand in. I think it you suspected that he might be tricking you in to a hair wash. You were not to be fooled.

Papa then took you in to the big pool for a bit and you enjoyed splashing about with him. You really wanted to take a closer look at the diving board but Papa held you back. He’s such a spoilsport, isn’t he? You also thought you might like to go in the lengths pool but I think we’ll save that for maybe your second or third visit.

So that was your first trip to the schwimming baths with your papa. I had thought it might be a nice weekly thing for you to do together but you’ve just informed me that you’d like to go to Kung Fu instead. While I think that this would be a wonderful activity for you, I’m not sure I could take the ~~squeals~~ manly cries of disappointment when you realise that there are no pandas in your class. We’ll see.

Love you, my cheeky monkey.

Mama x

Some things that I love #10

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I think that this has been the week where not only has spring decided to stick around but summer has tried to nudge its way through the clouds too. After moaning about the dismal weather, it’s now time for me to start complaining that it’s too hot. But then half the fun of being a Brit abroad is the expectation that you mention the weather at least twelve times a day. Wouldn’t do to disappoint.

Featuring a couple of weather mentions, here’s what I’ve loved this week:

Some thing I read. This week, I’ve been reading a lot of online advice about repatriating. There seems to be many accounts of a so-called ‘reverse culture shock’. It’s the shock that comes from returning to your home country and finding that it doesn’t really feel like home anymore; or at least, not the home that you remember. It’s something that I’m very conscious about and am trying to mentally prepare myself for a few hiccups along the way.

Some thing I watched. I’ve had this sitting in my digi box for a while now but I’ve just watched The Politician’s Husband and absolutely loved it. Such a compelling drama about the power shift and struggle between a husband and wife when her career starts to overtake his. David Tennant shouldn’t be my type – too short, too fair – but I really do have a bit of a thing for him … even with his dodgy highlights (were they meant to be blond or grey?).

Some thing I wore. For his sheer and utter coolness, I have to hand this section over to CK. It was thirty degrees yesterday, not a cloud in the sky and the smell of sun cream and BBQs filled the air. So the perfect accessory for such a glorious day? Ear muffs. Yes, ear muffs.

Some thing I listened to. With such wonderful weather and light nights, we’ve been struggling to get CK to go to bed. He’s finding it difficult to wind down and is quite suspicious about why he should be in bed when it’s not dark. I suspect he believes that Paul and I are trying to trick him. However, the lovely Emily from Bizzy the Butterfly sent me an audio file of her Bizzy the Butterfly and the Creepy Crawly Co-operating Caterpillar book to try to calm him down and it’s worked a treat. It’s the tale of Bizzy the Butterfly and is spoken very softly with soothing songs as well. Perfect for lying in bed and listening to at the end of a hectic day. If you head on over to the website today, there’s a chance to win a Bizzy the Butterfly Make and Play pack.

Some thing I cannot live without. It has to be my wonderfully cheeky but incredibly infuriating CK. Never has anyone filled my heart with such joy but left me shaking my head with frustration at the same time. He is my darling toddler and I have to admit that the qualities that test me the most are the ones he gets from me – stubborn, headstrong, challenging authority. He’s not always easy but he’s still my amazing little boy.