Loving before leaving

I'm trying so hard to get excited about the daily grind of keeping the house pretty, but it ain't happening!
Keeping a house clean, tidy and sweet smelling when you have two kids, three dogs, a cat, a hamster, two goldfish and a job is NOT EASY.
I find myself brimming with ideas for the pretty house I will have after I move and start the project of renovating my childhood home, but when it comes to the house I'm in right now, I'm all out of inspiration!

A lot of times I've seen people advising home owners to mentally detatch themselves from their homes while selling them, but I think it is quite important to love the house you are in. If you go into a house for sale and can see the way that the current owners love the space, it makes you more likely to fall in love with it too, right? Well, that's my theory anyway!

So I'm trying as much as possible to forget the debts, forget the recent stress and fall in love with my current home again. After all, it's not the house's fault, is it?

Today, I'm concentrating on the garden and entryway, plus the good old ten minute tidies everywhere else. Plus decluttering...OMG, I could declutter a whole bin bag of stuff every day and the house would still be stuffed full! It's amazing how much crap you can accumuluate in one little house!

Today, I'm going to look at my house with fresh eyes, and instead of seeing clutter, mess and a place my heart no longer lives in, I'm going to see the house I brought my baby girl home to from the hospital, the living room I took my son's photo in on his first day of school, and the kitchen in which I have cooked many lovely meals.

How do you feel about your house? Have you lost that loving feeling - and if so, how do you plan to get it back?

Me old china...

I adore china. I adore tea and cakes. My idea of absolute heaven is a table full of mismatched vintage china, pretty floral cake stands full of beautiful homemade cakes, and a pot of tea. If the teapot is covered with a handmade tea cosy, all the better!

Yep, you can keep your drunken nights on the town, I'm a definite tea party kinda gal.

A few months ago, I bought an antique china cabinet, which I sanded and started to paint white. Of course, me being me, I haven't actually finished painting it yet, but I will, honest! I'm also going to find some pretty paper to cover the back of it with, and haven't quite decided whether to keep it solid white or distress it a bit.

The intention for the cabinet is to fill it with my favourite cookbooks and lots of my beloved mismatched china. I was going to buy a vintage teaset from an estate sale, but I decided to start a slightly more motley collection by picking up odd bits here and there from charity shops, with a few new pieces thrown in here and there if they make my heart sing enough!

I started my collection this week by buying this...

Isn't it lovely! Called a trio, it comprises of a teacup, saucer and side plate, and cost me £5 from a local Red Cross shop. I love the images and the gold trim, so pretty! Stay tuned for more additions to the collection soon!