Well, I've made it to the first anniversary of my business. It's certainly been a roller coaster with plenty of ups and downs and a couple of surprises thrown in for good measure. Being self employed may have plenty of perks but it seems many people think you can do literally what you like when you like... if only! I'm lucky for sure, compared to my '9 til 5' job I certainly have greater flexibility. I can grab that cuppa pretty much whenever I like or nip out for a few hours

As you may know, I'm a great believer in re-using and updating where possible. I have tried to make a conscious effort in my life to not buy into today's throwaway society, certainly my home reflects this, full chock to the brim with vintage and retro pieces. With Christmas around the corner the impact of this throwaway society is all too obvious. It's far too easy to go consumer crazy and buy gifts just for laughs on Christmas day, after all who could live without a racing g

Well it's been a while since my last blog as I've been very busy. It's no mean feat to run a business whilst balancing the demands of the kids on their school holidays and just to make things a little bit more spicy we acquired an unexpected addition over the summer break! Living near an array of farms, we have in our time here seen the odd feral cat, keeping a check on the mice population, in the many outbuildings and barns dotting the local countryside. But never had we see

Thought I'd share with you my first experience of true rural shopping. Recently we heard there was going to be a farm sale, to be held on a hill farm opposite our house. The farm in question had already been auctioned a couple of weeks earlier and now it was the turn of the contents. We were after a few practical things for the house, a trailer being the top of our wish list and a necessity indeed of country life (in fact I 'm unsure how we've managed to live without one!) So

Just a little under two weeks ago we visited the Rhug Country Fair. Waking up early, I was very excited, we had been planning for sometime to purchase some new additions to our family. Since moving to the country and becoming self employed again, I have been able to indulge my passion for animals. Working from home all day means my chickens are able to roam free in the garden and generally enjoy an idyllic life. I've been itching to add some more birds to my little family...

This week we had some surprise visitors. I was busily sketching away when I heard the squeak of the gate. This instantly grabbed my attention, as seriously, no one ever comes up to the house... we are just too far off the beaten track! I promptly stopped what I was doing to go and see who these unlikely visitors were. Suspecting they may be walkers from the bridle path gone awry. As I approached them I could see it they didn't look lost, in fact they seemed to be quite at eas

Well it's been a long, hot, sweaty week. The rain has failed to materialise, despite my best rain dance efforts to coax it from the sky. The UK and our home in North Wales has continued to be clasped firmly in the grips of a heatwave. Our grass has turned progressively browner all week, it now has the most bizarre crispy feel when you walk on it and it's all starting to look more like the Mediterranean than wet Wales we are all too accustomed to. I've become an obsessive wate

That's it... I did it... I jinxed us... After talking about how the weather is a big factor in our new rural life last week, the UK is now well and truly in the grip of a heat wave with North Wales recording the highest temp in the UK on Tuesday. Whilst most people are enjoying filling up their paddling pools and throwing water at each other... just for fun! Here, in Wales we are officially in the grip of a severe water shortage. The spring that feeds our house has slowed to

Even though I'm a country girl born and bred, adjusting back to rural living has been somewhat of a culture shock, after the hubbub of city life over the last 20 years. A lot happened in those years to change my general outlook in life. These have been my adult years, my grown up years, the ones in which you're supposed to be all sensible and settle down... do grown-up stuff like: get a job, get married, have kids. Well I did all three of those whilst in Stoke on Trent, so my

Ok where do I start? I guess I should tell you a little about myself and how I ended up living half way up a Welsh hillside, with not another house in sight, in order to have the space to let my creativity run riot. Well a little over a year and a half ago I was living in Stoke on Trent, an industrial metropolis, but also a hub of creativity. I had moved there 20 years earlier, from the beautiful Sussex countryside where I lived a free childhood; able to roam and wander to my