Am I the only one or is other blogger's having trouble commenting? It's been five days now and its very frustrating. I don't understand why I can receive comments but cannot comment myself.

Inside a Little French Shop

Well I finally remembered my camera on a trip to Norwich and the owner of this little French shop 'The Bell Jar' kindly let me take some photos

I started off in the little courtyard garden at the back of the shop, where sculptures sit happily with garden paraphernalia.

The owner displays items so well and shows some great ideas for their uses.

I would love to have that tin bath in my garden filled with herbs and salads.

Do we really need plastic planters? I would much rather use these.

A Beautiful white bench and a nice idea for a patchwork garden floor.

A weathered plant display and painted herb pots.

Back into the shop.. the owner was painting a chair whilst I was there and paints some of the furniture herself. This little blue chair was a favourite of mine, love the patchwork cover.

Loved this mirror too.

White linen slip covered chair.

If I had the room this table would of come home with me.

The walls were colour washed with different shades of grey.

Wonderful patina on this bed.

Perfect. I must admit to being a bit in awe of this talented lady, the atmosphere and peacefulness of the whole shop with its soft tones and textures was beautiful, not one thing in the shop jars with the other, in fact I felt I was walking around an art gallery rather than a shop, who needs high street shopping?

Artwork and linen was everywhere.

a couple of great stools.

This was such a sweet cushion.

Even the radiator fitted in to the whole scheme.

Such a beautifully painted cabinet. I also like the contemporary light fittings.

Handmade ceramics.

The owner makes the cushions herself.

Love the patina on this sideboard.

There were weathered doors and shutters everywhere.

Today I am linking with Miss Mustard Seed for Furniture Friday

I'm a Bit of a Collector

The weather here is still lovely albeit a little windy but it seems calmer today.

I have always been a collector, since a child I collected stones from the garden, shells from the beach and my Roses are I suppose another collection, I have around 20 in my garden although I do struggle to grow them in a sandy soil, they either romp away or do nothing. A few Roses are starting to come out of bud now, not enough for a whole bunch but nice to add one to an arrangement for inside.

This Rose is 'Cardinal de Richelieu' its a very lovely old gallica Rose with a lovely scent, with it is, Granny's Bonnet, white Geranium, blue Companular and Scabiosa.

This Rose is 'Buff Beauty' , I have this growing in a pot on the patio, the flowers are quite small but you get a large cluster.

Here is is again with the Chive flower, it fades to a lovely pale apricot.

This is a collection I wasn't even aware of till I needed something to fill my little french wire basket, white cups, on my hunt for treasures the odd cup it something you see alot, I probably need a few more to fill the basket.

This wire basket is from 'The Bell Jar' in Norwich, a lovely french shop which I visited yesterday and took a few photos, which I will be posting soon.

Im linking today with a beach cottage for Good Life Wednesday

A French Basket

There is something about a basket that conjures up that feeling of summer and strolling around a market with a basket filled with fresh produce and flowers, this basket was another find from the little French shop and as soon as I saw it I loved it.

I have quite a few baskets in my home because I love the texture they provide but they are also great for storage.











Another find I have had recently are these little steps, I can't tell you how many chairs I have broken by standing on them when changing curtains etc...so these will be well used and they just fold up and lean against the wall.

Another basket. I have had this hanging basket a very long time and the liner had to be replaced but a pet hate of mine are the liners in the shops at the moment especially the paper ones, so I have tried to come up with something that looks good for the few months till the plants become established. This hessian sack bag is something I picked up in our local pound shop, I cut down one side of the seem and lined it with newspaper to hold the compost. I'll let you know if it last the summer.

Today I am linking with a beach cottage for Good life Wednesdays

and Faded Charm Cottage for White Wednesdays

French Vintage Finds

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend, we finally had some rain and my garden is starting to perk up again.

I gave my dresser a bit of a revamp due to a few additions of some lovely French finds from the Little French shop I posted about a few weeks ago .

One of the French treasures I bought was this blue coffee pot, its such a lovely blue I just couldn't not buy it.






Next to the coffee pot is a small enamel sugar tin, I couldn't believe how well they match each other, now every time I walk past them I have a little smile on my face, I'm easily pleased.

This white enamel jug is something I have had quite a few years, when I first started collecting enamelware I could pick them up for a few pence.

My husband doesn't understand the chips and rust but men just don't seem to get it do they?

Cow Parsley or Queen Anne's Lace, a favourite of mine its becoming very popular lately and apparently we will be seeing a lot of it soon for Chelsea (looking forward to that).

This little wire basket was thrown in for free by the owner.

This is an old draw I had in the shed, I just painted it white and distressed it. There are more treasures some for the garden too which I will post soon.

Today I am linking with:- Boogie board Cottage for Masterpiece Monday and

Dittle Dattle for Amaze me Monday

A Dry Garden in May

Such a busy week, my daughter has had more interviews for art college and this meant lots of prep work organising and mounting artwork.

Still she did well and got on the course she wanted and this also meant we had a trip to the city and I visited the little French shop, unfortunately in all the rush I forgot my camera but I will do a post on all the treasures I bought, well I believe them to be treasures, I don't think the hubby would agree with me.

I have also been working hard in my dusty garden, it rained the other day but not enough to really penetrate the ground and this is effecting seeds I had sown but established plants seems to be OK except flowering period is over quite quickly.

This Iris is actually purple but photographs blue.

We have a lot of cement paths in our garden which wouldn't be my first choice but it's been mixed with a lot of stone which gives it a nice quality. It was laid in 1911, I know this because the person who laid it has scratched into it at the top of the garden... a nice touch and when it catches my eye I often wonder what he grew in this garden.