The Swenglish Home

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Colour cravings, anyone...?

Well, that makes two of us!

So, sticking my tongue out to the chilly wind, I today "recycled" a few tulips that were on their last legs, for a little colour therapy by the wall at the very back of our garden. In the wind, it was touch and go if the petals were going to stick to their day job long enough to let me play, and later, when I was carrying my "toys" indoors again, these pink princesses bowed one last time and then spread their glory all over the ground...

I have lived in the UK for over six years now, but my affection for

the old stone walls in this country has not subsided.

Not. One. Little. Bit.

And as a true quality of play, the imagination is allowed to run wild...

So what if a small green cabbage was not meant for this...

So what if it is perhaps rather more bizarre than beautiful...

Tickling the creativity for a brief but blissful moment, and aaaaah -

- my smile is instantly a little broader and more sparkling than it was a moment ago!

So, today's conclusions?

1. Allowing yourself to decorate in less than conventional ways can put a smile on your face - HEALTHY...

2. I have said it before and I will say it again: Playing with your food is a GOOD thing...

3. The wind did indeed play a February tune, but with a promise of the main act,

The Spring Overture, being only moments away...HOPE

4. A purple shawl that in real life matched the tulips perfectly can indeed look very different

in a photo...! Hmmm, I think I will have to stick to the "so what"...here too!

Thank you so much for all your kind words and anniversary greetings after my last blog post!

A warm HELLO to my readers who have been here for a while,

and a special HI THERE to all of you who visit The Swenglish Home for the first time.

A WAVE and a WINK to my new followers,

and a HELLO, HELLO, HELLO to all of you anonymous readers - I am happy to see you all here!

Wishing you all a great start to the new week,

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 08:52:00 +0000

One step behind...

Dear, oh dear... sometimes the wheels spin so fast one forgets all sorts of things...

...like the second anniversary of my blog! A week ago, it was two years ago that my blog took its first stumbling little baby steps, and little did I know that two years later, I would have enjoyed the most amazing experience being part of such a warm-hearted community! So many smiles, so many encounters - even if many only virtual - with lovely, lovely people, whom I feel very grateful to have met.

But this journey has not only been about virtual friendships. Some blog friends I have had the delight to also meet in the flesh, so to speak, and last weekend one of my very cherished blog sisters visited the Swenglish Home again. Charlotte, with the inspiring blog Trädgårdsflow (Garden Flow) ended a UK business trip with a day here, and you can imagine the rattling sound of our thoughts, ideas and giggles flying back and forth between us. Think squash game, but without the ferocity behind the serve...

We took a little stroll through Castle Combe...

...where the snow still lined the road of these two love birds

(unknown to me, but my lens caught them showered with sun light and couldn't resist)...

Imagine my delighted surprise when on Monday we woke up to a completely snow-free world,

and not only that, but one where GREEN seems to have been set as the new trend.... Yes!

Today, the spring-dizzy birds are singing as if their life depended on it, and when I saw these

lovely snow drops on the side of the road, I let out an equally spring-effervescent tune.

***

As a special treat for my boys who are on half-term school holiday this week, I took them for a scrumptious lunch at our favourite sushi restaurant in Bath (Yen Sushi). This little coincidental leek heart in my Miso soup brought a smile to my lips that lasted long into the afternoon. For once, I also happened to have my camera handy, and there it is, ladies and gents, evidence that we only have to open our senses to the small signs around us, to see that there is love in the world, sometimes even in your lunch!

Soooo, last, but not least... a Valentine greeting a little late...

This little heart is for you, for being the lovely readers that you are! :

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:16:00 +0000

Dear Weather Gods...

Dear Weather Gods,

When I was talking about SPRING in my previous blog post,

this was not exactly what I had in mind...:

The snow that fell last week here in the south of England nearly put a stop to my work trip to Sweden, with a large number of flights cancelled from Heathrow last Sunday...

However, I made it both there and back, but I had only been back for a day,

when again I woke up today to a world covered in a fluffy white blanket...

So, true to my conviction that one can lure spring out of its hiding place if one only tries hard enough, using floral bribes and bulb reminders of how spring is really done, I confess to having done a rather desperate raid of the garden centre shelves yesterday...

And what better box to fill with Muscari/grape hyacinths, than this lovely,

numbered tin one, a gift from my dear blog friend, Lotta!?

So, there we are, all ready for spring... so feel free to take the cue from me, dear Weather Gods.

Feel free to go wild and crazy with warm temperatures and colourful buds.

We are ready, so bud away!

Thank you all for your lovely comments about my tulip play last time,

and for visiting my blog despite the loooong wait between the posts!

Wishing you a fabulous weekend. I know my weekend will be special,

as I am expecting a very special visitor in the Swenglish Home...

All the best,

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:23:00 +0000

Spring on my mind...

Yes, with spring on my mind and in my step, my mission this morning was to treat the Swenglish house to some tulips, and of course I had my favourite tulip colour in mind: deep purple/magenta. Imagine my upside down smile when I realized that the shop only had yellow and red ones to offer... Not seeing a tulip-less day as an option, especially since these were to be the first of the season (!), I had to think outside of the box, call out to all the flexibility this Swenglish head could muster...

And with a bunch of squeaky fresh friends, I left to go home to play...

Mixing these two colours is a rather daring and unusual adventure for my otherwise so one-tone-themed mind, and I do confess to a purple longing still humming inside, but for now, these colourful little heads will serve as reminders that spring will soon be here and my beloved flower-picking season not far behind...

My head is bulging and brimming with ideas for decorative symphonies, but having just returned from a work trip to the US, and with another to Sweden in a few days, I will have to practise a -to me- rather alien concept: patience... Ugh, not something I will ever win awards for, but nevertheless a necessary mantra...

And to all of you lovely readers out there who so patiently wait for my new blog posts, to you who send me the sweetest comments and incredibly kind emails, a warm thank you and a squeaky bunch of tulips to each and every one of you!

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:24:00 +0000

Side-tracking from the season...

The garden at King John's Hunting Lodge Tea Rooms in Lacock

Peering into a private garden in Lacock.

Images 3 and 4 from the cemetery in Corsham (The manor Corsham Court in the background behind the wall in image 4).

Dear readers,

I had hoped to offer you a bit of floral entertainment and interior playfulness this week,

but the time monster seems to have gobbled up this week's ration... again!

So, above are some photos from October that I have played around with a little in Picnik (free editing program online). I just enhanced the colours a little, but even without any computer "tricks", these flowers could still hold their own, even at this late date in the season. Now, as we approach the end of January, I can't help but yearn for the delight of spring flowers, and even if Mother Nature is not quite ready, I think I might just sneak a few shop bought petals into the house, when I return from a couple of work trips in a few weeks...

***

Meanwhile, should you happen to find yourself in the lovely town of Bradford-on-Avon, just outside Bath, and your tummy starts rumbling, here is a place to change the rumbling into satisfied sighs:

Eating like a queen...

Well, I don't exactly know that the queen has ever set foot here, but the burgers at the restaurant the Castle are certainly fit for royalty. The menu offers other slightly more sophisticated dishes as well, and lovely, characterful décor. I fell in love with the fish wall paper! But no, perhaps not something that would work in the Swenglish Home... (This is not a sponsored blog post, the Castle do not even know I am writing this.)

I wish you all a fabulous end of January and an equally stunning start to February,

and I hope to see you all again in a few weeks time!

Love,

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:19:00 +0000

Runaway spring...?

(If you click on the images, they look much better against the black background.

Above is the gorgeous view that greets me when I come out of our little town and look across the valley towards Bath.)

For the past two weeks, I have woken up to the beautiful symphony of bird song from some feathery friends in our neighbour's cherry tree. They were clearly singing serenades of spring, and looking around, this has not been surprising...

Trees have been blossoming, rumours of daffodils in full bloom....

But my spring delighted senses stumbled and tumbled on Friday...

What was this strange white dust embracing the world outside...?

The most vain sheep I have ever met posed happily for me in her frosty wool coat (doesn't it look just like she has been sprinkled with icing sugar?!). She made poses any catwalk model would envy, and I snapped away...

Two weeks have passed since my New Year's blog post, and time has just flown by. No time for decorating, creating, crafting or blogging, but an increasing itch to do it all! Perhaps some of us simply need to hibernate a little in the winter!

A huge and humble THANK YOU to all of you who have sent me kind comments and emails in the past two weeks - I have read and appreciated every single word. And HELLO to my new followers, I see you and welcome you to my world.

With a big work trip on the horizon, I foresee some serious blog hibernation for a few weeks again, but I shall try to pop in at least once next week with some floral joy.

Until then, warm regards to you all, and stay warm!

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:28:00 +0000

Looking back at 2011

Dear readers,

I hope you have enjoyed a joyful and relaxing Christmas.

Perhaps you are sitting with your feet tucked under a blanket, devouring the book that Santa so perceptively knew you had longed to read... Perhaps you are thinking of that box of chocolates you now wish you had not finished so quickly... Or maybe you are taking stock of the year which is swiftly coming to an end, making plans and promises for the New Year ahead... a year which I hope will bring you everything you want and more.

As I am sitting here under my blanket, I think back for a moment on my blog year 2011. First I... and then... Oh, shall we take it from the beginning? Would you like to walk with me down Memory Lane for a moment? You might want to snuggle up and get comfortable... perhaps even reach for a new box of chocolates, because this may take some time. Are you ready? Here we go..

January

In January, I was again reminded of one of the big differences between living here in the UK, where already at the end of January I could start bringing home spring flowers, and living in my birth country Sweden, which was kept 'hostage' by snow for many months after that.

The new year brought new ideas, and I played a little with

twigs from the forest, some paint and some old cutlery.

February

More and more, I found myself seeing the world in pictures,

and the desire to 'set little scenes' and play around with the camera grew larger.

Continuing to be trusty props partners, my garden bench and old

stone wall became very familiar sights for my regular readers...

March

The tulip season brought even more colour to the Swenglish Home, and this photo was one of the first I became aware was circling around other blogs, Pinterest pin boards etc. It was also around this time I realised that the concept of 'mine and yours' varies a lot in meaning for different people, and I found my photos here and there on the internet, sometimes without any reference at all, and sometimes even with my name cropped out and the photo used as if it had been taken by someone else... An interesting insight and good reminder that the second we press 'Enter', our material is no longer protected as ours.... (although it should be pointed out that most people do state the source and respect the copyright laws).

An old fruit box from a skip was transformed to a box carrying some springy loveliness...

Inspired by spring and sunshine, the table was set for a spring lunch...

A work trip to Ankara in Turkey introduced some travel photos

in the midst of the interior and garden themes in this blog.

April

Spring continued and the garden seemed to beg to be prettified, again and again...

And one day in April, this little scene was set to welcome a special visitor. One with a camera around his neck and many years of experience and talent behind it... The result of this visit will soon appear in a UK magazine, and I will tell you which and when as we approach the publishing date...

Swedish cinnamon rolls and fruit were presented on a cake stand I made

at the beginning of the year from an old cup, old saucers and a door knob.

A 'hanging garden' was created above another old, scruffy bench in the garden...

... and I kept wondering if I would ever find the time to actually just sit and relax

in my created relaxing corners of the house and the garden...

May

In May, I was very proud to see some of my photos in Norwegian writer and photographer

Franciska Munck-Johansen's book Sanselig Sommer (Summer For All the Senses).

The month of May is such a wonderful month,

full of the hope of warmth and growth and the summer to come...

And flowers - flowers everywhere!

June

With the summer months came a desire to spend more and more time outdoors, and many walks in and around my home town provided the material for the blog, which was, for a while, rather dominated by stone houses and cottage garden images...

And we continued to enjoy our neighbours' walnut tree stretching its

branches so kindly into our garden and offering shade on a hot day...

July

July gave me a lovely reason to revisit a favourite garden, Abbey House and Gardens in Malmesbury, a k a The Naked Gardeners. The lovely reason? A visit from my dear blog friend Charlotte and her lovely family reminded me not only how much I would love a large rusty cauldron like this in my own garden, but also what an amazing community the interior and gardening blogs have to offer, and what gorgeous people you may meet here!

July was also the month when I was cajoled into going camping with the family again.

We shared the farm camp site with some other happy campers...:

And with the camp site only a skip and a jump away from some of the most beautiful

beaches in Cornwall, I had to admit the trip had not been such a bad idea, after all...

The beaches were so fabulous that even the oldest beach boy in

the family had to be dragged away at the end of the day...

... and whilst dreaming of toes tickled by sand,

one could always organise a bath in one's own garden...

... or continue to try out different decorations inside and out...

I got hooked on photographing figs,

and 'purple' seemed to be a theme I would not easily let go of...

... well, blue-y purple counts too...?

August

August meant both holiday away and at home, the latter which was enjoyed through several

walks around the surrounding countryside and villages, which I never seem to tire of...

Picking flowers by the road side and playing around with garden peas and other decorative

vegetables were two favourite activities that continued to bring joy to this Swenglish soul...

...and my passion for purple seemed unstoppable...

September

With September came whispers of autumn, and also a lot of work involving trips away. The blog slowed down, again, and there were few opportunities to send blog love to my much appreciated readers... Here, a few hearts were carved to carry the message, and I hope that you all felt it!

October

I started October in one of my favourite cities, Istanbul, and returned to the UK high on baklava and impressions for all the senses. (Baklava is a sweet pastry, but the way I was downing them, you might have thought they were a more addictive substance!)

Autumn really settled in this month, and I had a hard time keeping up with the massive crop of various pumpkins the man in the house had grown this year. Not being a big fan of eating pumpkin myself, I did my best to use them in other ways...

The misty mornings, the yellowing leaves... even for a spring and

summer lover like me, it was hard not to be seduced...

Castle Combe

November

Mother Nature - still my favourite artist of all times - continued to offer some stunning poetry...

...and still stuck with more pretty pumpkins than we could possibly consume,
I decided to make use of them in another way - an autumn table was laid....

... and then, to my surprise, I found it was already time to invite the first signs of Christmas...:

December

Being a keen advocate for the "Play With Your Food Movement" (no, I don't think there is such an organisation, at least not outside of my - sometimes rein-free - imagination), Brussels sprouts became the 'flavour' of the month of my blog, and these photos were taken for the Christmas issue of the Hungarian magazine A Mi Otthonunk.

Having decided to attempt to toddle down new paths,

I also announced the birth of my new company:

... hoping to be able to 'steal' some time from my other work

to explore the possibilities here during 2012.

***

Little Christmas sweets and treats were prepared... and,

I admit rather embarrassed, consumed loooong before Christmas actually arrived...:

... and the Brussels sprouts came back to haunt the blog again... and again... and again!

Well, there we are.

Many other things happened too of course,
in the unstyled and multidimensional world outside of the blog,
but these are some of the images and events I chose to share here..

This blog year has brought to me so much light and smiles from the blog world, where I have been met by an unwavering source of goodness and unselfish encouragement in you, my kind, kind readers. Your warmth and positive pats on a sometimes tired Swenglish shoulder has meant the world to me, and I only wish I could have cloned myself in order to visit you all and deliver hugs and words of gratitude in person. As it is, many of you have only seen me reach out a hand in collective thank you-s here, or at best, have felt my little heart-filled thoughts be carried by imaginary doves to wherever you are across the globe. I will make no New Year's resolutions that I will be able to post, visit or comment more next year, but I can promise you this: You inspire me and your inspire the world with your kindness. Thank you.

I hope 2012 will be your best year ever,

and hope to see you here, in the parallel universe of blogs...!

Love,
Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:29:00 +0000

And pooouffff, there it was!

That gorgeous WHITE fluffy stuff...!

I had been dreaming of a white Christmas...

... and when we arrived here in Sweden a few days ago...

I saw that there was a good chance...

... that we would indeed greet Santa with some snow this year!

I end this blog post with a photo snapped in the TV room back home in the UK, just before we left, with some modest Christmas decorations in the shape of snow flake fairy lights around the mirror, and some Christmas sweets on a wooden tray...

...and from all of me... to all of you.... a Christmas card (click on the image to view it larger):

Dear blog readers, I would like to thank you for visiting the Swenglish

Home blog this year, and for all your kind words and support!

I wish you a lovely Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:47:00 +0000

Sprout mania...

Dear readers,

If I promise not to show a single little sprout for the rest of the year...

...will you allow me to play around with these little green fellows just one more time?

You see, as I was looking at the moss wreath earlier, thinking it needed a little something extra, the idea suddenly seemed obvious... some Christmas baubles from Mother Nature's own X-mas shop.

Joined by napkin rings made from a fallen down branch from the forest, ivy from the garden, pine cones brought back from the forest in Sweden, some cinnamon sticks, and my rusty "gazebo" (which I think used to sit on top of a chimney, as a bird safe guard) - now with a small candle holder hung 'cauldron style', this simple table setting was created today to the tunes of Bing Crosby's "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..."...

Keeping up with the season, the CALM letters above the white sofa (in the

background) have been replaced by NOEL (also cut from leftover floor boards).

And these beauties... are they not stunning? I wonder if the people working with these small shoe lasts many years ago could have imagined the latter would one day serve as candle holders (the little hole on top seemed to scream out for a small candle!)... The lovely American shoe lasts were a precious, precious gift from a dear friend, Annelie. Dearest Annelie, thank you so, SO much!

And now, now I can hear you moan "Please, we are 'sprouted out'! Sprout no more!"

So, I promise, no more sprouts for a looong time!

Wishing you a lovely week leading up to Christmas!

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:22:00 +0000

Keep on sprouting...

Continuing my 'sproutful' playing in the garden a few weeks ago, I also set a slightly larger table...

You have seen all the 'buffet food' before in different ways,
and you may also have seen this 'table' in summer costume before...

... so instead of lingering further by these natural 'nibbles',

for those of you who were curious about the feature in A Mi Otthonunk,

here it is, courtesy of the magazine:

(Click on the images to view them larger.)

Last, but not least, a huge THANK YOU! I feel so grateful, humble and overwhelmed by all your kind words of encouragement after my last blog post! You, my supportive readers, are what makes this blog worth writing and what makes me inspired to create more, and I cannot thank you enough for popping in and voicing your kind support. Thank you!

Wishing you a lovely week, with lots of Christmas sweets and hopefully no stress at all!

All the best,

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:07:00 +0000

Bring on the sprouts...!

However, just as I am no friend of a cabbage-inspired cuisine,

nor are you likely to ever catch me munching brussels sprouts...

But who says you have to eat them?!?!

So, true to my motto "Play with your food!", and inspired by something I remembered seeing in Minna's stunning blog Blomsterverkstad last year (read her blog post here) about how to turn these little greens into flowers, I ventured into the garden a few weeks ago...

... to set a small winter table with hints of the festive season...

... but this blog post does not end here... so, are you ready...?

Drum roll...

Here we go...

***

Announcing a small birth...

Dear readers,

Some of you may know that my "day job" is as a Communications Consultant and University Guest Lecturer in Intercultural Communication. I enjoy this work very much and find it hugely interesting!

However...

I am also - and this may come as no surprise to you - passionate about interiors and how you feel and live in them, as well as how to try to recycle and upcycle old items and use nature's own treasures when decorating, to aim for a both personal, soulful and sustainable home.

Having had such kind and encouraging response from you (the world's loveliest blog readers!), and having been contacted through my blog by professionals showing an interest in my ideas and photos, I have for some time been pondering if I could pursue this path too...

So today I invite you to witness the modest birth... of ...

Helena Bernáld Interior Styling & Photography

You are welcome to visit my website at:

http://www.helenabernaldinteriorstyling.co.uk/

With a lot of lecturing work lined up, I may have to take baby steps here at first, but I look forward to exploring what is possible and how to combine the two jobs! I hope you would like to join me on this exciting journey too!

Now, stand back, here comes the champagne cork!

...and there is more....:

***

Published in A Mi Otthonunk

Some of the images above, together with some of my other winter and Christmas-inspired photos and ideas can be seen in a six-page feature in the Christmas issue of A Mi Otthonunk (= Our Home) (http://www.amiotthonunk.hu/), which is out in the shops in Hungary today. I feel very honoured - thank you Tímea for contacting me!

To those of you who may have found your way here from the magazine feature, welcome to my blog! For those of you who may not have access to the magazine, but would like to see the feature, I will try to show it to you in the next few days.

So, having shamelessly blown my own trumpet and also a tune for brussels sprouts,

I will let the final note today be an encouraging fanfare to play more with your food!

(It need not be wasted, as in most cases, it can be eaten after having been used as decoration!)

Wishing you a playful weekend!

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:08:00 +0000

Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-...yum!

With the festive season here, it is time to stock up on sweet treats for Rudolph and his horn-clad mates. In old chocolate and tobacco tins from local second hand shops and car boot sales, some home-made ginger bread moose and trees rub shoulders with some home-made chocolates (cinnamon/hazelnut-flavoured, see recipe here), eyeing up the colourful candy cane strangers in the taller tin.

The home-made goodies are clearly a little thrown by the curvy shop-bought cane knock-outs, and earlier today I heard worried whispers from the sugar-stacked tray... Concerns that the humans might reject the 'boring browns' and aim straight for the 'stunning stripes'. Hushed voices talking about 'outsiders' and 'initiation rites'. Well, reassuring the gingerbread and the chocolates that I would always be faithful to my brown buddies, I managed to calm them down...

... and with the help of my yuletide-spirited mediating pine twigs, gone is now all talk about 'outsiders'. In fact, as I was leaving the room, I heard the pine twigs invite all the sweets to embrace the message of peace and love...

Not that it matters that much...

In a house full of sweet tooths, these sweet darlings will not be given much time to fret...

... they will most likely not live to see tomorrow!

Oh dear, I am now worried that anyone using Google Translate will end up with a horribly morbid story here... Let me just clarify, I am only talking about eating the biscuits and the chocolates!!!

Wishing you all a lovely start to the new week!

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:29:00 +0000

I'm dreaming of a moss Christmas...

Little by little, step by step...

... small signs of the season are appearing here and there...

True to nature - both mine and Mother Nature herself - I keep on "mossing" the place.

The little "tree" above was made by a twig from the forest (with a convenient "tripod" at

the top end), a moss ball and some conkers to keep it steady in the concrete pot.

***

And if we look the other way...

Well, a mini Christmas tree has found its way in, subtly decorated with some tin hearts.

Perhaps I have gone a little overboard with the moss this year, but I find it a lovely way of introducing a natural, seasonal vibe to the house, and one which does not cost a thing! However, with fresh moss come a LOT of new house friends... and the slug that was found yesterday hanging in a thin thread of its own slime, dangling under the moss wreath I have made and hung above the kitchen table (will show you soon), well, he has been shown the door and will have to find somewhere else to celebrate the festive season!

Thank you so much for your kind comments on my last post and welcome to all new readers!

All the best,

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 17:19:00 +0000

I have heard a whisper...

... that something special is happening quite soon...

... which will involve flying reindeer and awkward incidents with chimneys and bellies too big...

So I have started gathering my moss and planting my hyacinths...

... because I heard it all from a pixie in Lappland... so it must be true!

***

Last year, this room looked like this:

... and I think there is a chance those NOEL letters will soon emerge again,

and pine cones may find themselves potted and "mossed"!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 23:28:00 +0000

Weekend walkies...

So what does one do a sunny weekend in November...?

One could perhaps go for a muddy walk...

... maybe enjoy a few minutes of watching grown men cuddling on the ground
(forgive me, all rugby fans, I am a little ignorant of the rules of this sport)...

Perhaps admire the view of another back-side (the clue is in the moo)...

But best of all, one could enjoy a competitive game of Pooh sticks! As in Winnie the. As in drop a twig on one side of the bridge and hope it comes out first on the other. And if it doesn't, claim the one that did was yours. Perhaps not in the best Winnie the Pooh spirit, but boys will be boys. Need I say the worst looser is the oldest "boy" of the three...?

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my last blog post.

I wish you all a brilliant start to the new week!
Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:37:00 +0000

A sticky American situation...

Those of you who have been following me for some time now know that I have a weakness for several interior styles, one of which is the star-studded "New England" style...

So yesterday, when I made some

American pancakes as a special treat for the boys ...

... the craft-starved yours truly just had to play a little making instant mini-bunting

("instant" here reads "glue" rather than sewing machine) and flags to top off...

... the pile of pancakes covered in drippy, sticky, gorgeous American syrup...

And all this just because a few weeks ago I happened to stumble upon ...

... a local gem...

A fabulous little vintage café in our neighbour village Box...

Toast Coffee House is owned by lovely Lucy and Simon Wright,

and not only do they always make you feel very welcome...

... they have created a fabulous little slice of vintage heaven in their former garage (!),

offering coffees, cakes and lighter bites, which you can enjoy at one of the old wooden tables,

whilst you listen to the shelves whispering tempting tunes of pretty tins and yummy foods...

(Love the coasters Lucy has made from old grain (?) sacks! - Not for sale.-)

***

Again, I bow humbly at your incredibly kind words on my last blog post. I am very frustrated I have not got the time to visit you all and tell you in person how happy and "lifted" I feel when I read your amazing comments, but thank you, THANK YOU! Every comment is like being given a hug and an approving pat on the back, and I soar. I think I might just have the loveliest readers in the blog universe!

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:48:00 +0000

Golden glory for lunch anyone...?

After an inspired autumn walk, I felt like bringing some golden sunshine into the house...

A few - by the man in the house - home grown pumpkins were still around...

One small home-made willow wreath on the table, a leaf-clad larger ditto hanging above...

And yes, for those of you wondering, the photo above

was taken whilst levitating, in true Halloween spirit...

My hessian (burlap) fabric here again used as table cloth and glass decoration.

(See here how it was used for a spring table.)

And the best bit? With the exception of the two pears and the rustic bread,

all the material was old, recycled or free from the forest...

May all your meals be sun-lit and scrumptious today!

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:32:00 +0000

Mother Nature's mood board...

A few days ago, we went for a walk in and around the lovely village of Castle Combe again...

... discovering that Mother Nature...

(The Old Rectory Tea Rooms, here decorated for autumn. See here what it looked like in August.)

... was in full swing creating her golden mood board for the season...

Our walk at one point crossed the golf course behind the village...

...but for those of you who are golfers, don't worry, despite being a snap-happy girl, not afraid to climb high and low for a good shot, I did keep strictly to the paths on the golf course...

There is a saying in Swedish that "green is lovely and yellow is ugly" ("grönt är skönt och gult är fult"). Yellow may perhaps not be my favourite colour, but when Mother Nature is holding the paint brush, her art work is FAR from ugly..!

In fact, I was so inspired by this golden glory, that I decided to bring some of it indoors...

... and in my next blog post, I will show you how...

Thank you so much for your kind comments on my last blog post. You make my day!

Wishing you all a golden day!

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 20:22:00 +0000

It is that time of the year...

... when the ghosts and the ghoulies may come knocking on your door...

But if they approach the Swenglish house, they should be warned...

...that here, they may just run into the scariest, spookiest character of all...

Do not let yourself be fooled by her placid appearance...

... you do not really know where she sleeps at night...

Do you...?

Aaaaaouuuuuuwww...

Happy Halloween everyone!

Helena

Welcome to all of you new viewers who have found your way here via Pinterest (where one of my photos has been repinned frequently in the past few days, - to date an astonishing 1013 times!). The internet is an extraordinary thing...

(The last two photos taken in the morning mist in the graveyard of Malmesbury Abbey,)

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 22:56:00 +0000

A sunny day in October...

... I decided to add these enormous Turkish acorns to the side table in the kitchen...

(Like my children, I seem to end up with all sorts of treasures in my coat

pockets - these brown-hatted friends picked in Ankara a few weeks back.)

...next to my treasured little cabinet (given this lovely

vintage look by my talented friend Sarah)...

... and since I was in a decorating mood, I quickly snatched one of the green pumpkins

from the row of pumpkins lined up in the conservatory to "redden"

(hoping the man in the house will not notice the blunt veggie kidnapping)...

On the bottom shelf, nothing new: a bucket of old conkers, two rusty shoe lasts and...

...my "planted" onions with some fresh moss...

The sun was flooding the room today...

... encouraging day dreams of summery scents and sun-soaked happiness...

... forgetting, in a moment's blissful ignorance, that there are only 63 days to Christmas!!!

Hoping your weekend is sun-soaked and fabulous, wherever you are!

All the best,

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:04:00 +0000

Tales from Turkey - Part III

Dear readers,

A warm thank you to you all for visiting my little corner of the blog universe,

a special welcome to new readers and a big hello to

old blog friends as well as anonymous readers.

As I continue to chase my own tail trying to catch up with life, here are a few more photos from my trip to Turkey a few weeks ago. Can you smell the sweet, almost nauseating cloud of water pipe smoke holding your nostrils captive? As fascinated as I was by this exotic environment, it was not long before I felt a need to escape into the streets of Istanbul for some... well, if not fresh, then at least a little less water pipe-infested air.

Even though I am rather pleased Atatürk (the founder of the Turkish republic) ordered a change to the latin alphabet in 1929 (makes it a lot easier to find your way around as a tourist), I find the old Turkish form of the Arabic script incredibly beautiful!

***

Now, after having attempted to calm down the hustle and bustle of the Istanbul explosion of impressions with a few black and white photos, I simply have to end this journey on a more colourful note, much truer to how I see Istanbul:

A wall in the Harem at Topkapi Palace, Istanbul

Are you into colourful mosaics? If so, this is MUST SEE territory! The extraordinary Harem at Topkapi Palace is a jaw-dropping, retina-tickling, mind-boggling visual experience, and made me want to return to the Swenglish home (which felt drearily pale in comparison) with my pockets full of bluey-green mosaics en masse, and transform a room or four...

Hm. Billy the bookshelf from IKEA, or the built-in beauties above? Tough call...

***

As a tourist in this magnificent city, you may want to visit the Blue Mosque on the inside. You may, however, be slightly overwhelmed by the crowds having shared the same idea. If so, do try to make your way to the stunning Rüstem Pasha Mosque next to the spice bazaar, where you are much more likely to experience the calm, the beauty in architectural detail and simply catch your breath in a blue-tiled haven only a few steps away from the bustling bazaar, but a million miles away from it at the same time.

Rüstempaşa Camii, (Rüstem Pasha Mosque), Istanbul

My last postcard to you from Turkey will be a photo I have showed here before. I was hoping to take new ones of the waterfront in Ortaköy, but as I found the mosque undergoing renovation and completely covered in plastic at the moment, it did not offer the most lens-tempting motif... so, recycled from a few years back, some misty magic:

Ortaköy (Istanbul)

***

Last but not least:

Honoured...

Do you remember this photo I took in Castle Combe a little while ago?

What an amazing honour! Johanna, with the blog Johanna kan vissla,

was inspired by it and decided to paint it (below)! Isn't this gorgous?!

Until soon,

all the best,

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 06:16:00 +0000

Harvest delights...

Yes, you may have guessed it, it was this little metal up-side-down cup that was introduced to the oriental corners of the Swenglish Home on my return from Turkey last week.

I can assure you that it was with some pizazz that the man in the house, a k a self-proclaimed gardener, strolled down the garden path the other day with a wheelbarrow full of "ugly" pumpkins. "The uglier the better", says mentioned gardener, but I think they are rather gorgeous and certainly do not want to encourage them to turn orange - these speckled green babies are perfect like this!

Decorative cabbage - definitely an autumn favourite...

Mixing old and new, rough and smooth...

Is it just me, or isn't there something particularly cheeky about this little yellow fellow?

In a sort of "I'm the king of the castle, you're the...etc" -way?

Not a fan of mixing too many colours? Never put yellow with purple and pink? Yes, I am on your side, but sometimes when autumn wraps its darker, gloomier arms around me, I tend to allow myself the odd no-rule colour fiesta...

***

What I used my little tassled souvenir for? A piece of Turkish delight, of course!

Afiyet olsun! (Turkish for "bon appétit".)

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Tales from Turkey - Part II

The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul has allegedly got 58 covered streets and over 4000 shops! Overwhelming is a pale understatement. Getting-lost-factor? Very high. However, this being my fourth visit, and having been blessed with a built-in radar, I know my way around some parts and know that when the crowds, the chaos and the sales-hungry shop keepers start getting to me, I can escape to a small outdoor square in the western area of this enormous myriad of bustling trade. It seems like few tourists make it out there, and the small shops and workshops flanking the little square are a calm haven.

There, in a tiny shop, I saw these little tassled darlings, and it was explained to me that they are for "lokum", i e Turkish delights, sugar and other sweet things.

Gorgeous metal kaftans in different sizes and patterns.

I simply had to take a photo of The Cat on a Hot Tin Roof here, just so that I could write that...

...and this little darling needed no literary reference...

***

The hotel we stayed in had a very warm and welcoming lobby,

more like someone's modern - or modern traditional - Turkish living room than a formal lobby:

I like the kaftan-shaped lamp base...

... and the colours here are to me both calming and energizing...

Now, I confess, one thing in the pictures in this blog post happened to come with me home. I wonder if you can guess what...? A hint: as much as I would have liked to, no feline smuggling took place in the Swenglish suitcase. In my next blog entry, I will show you what it was and how I have put it to use at home... After that, one more Turkish-scented blog entry before I return to my interior and garden themes a little more religiously for a while!

All the best and thank you for your kind comments.

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 11:13:00 +0000

Tales from Turkey - Part I

Yes, I know, flying carpets do perhaps not often appear in fairy tales from this magical country, but I can honestly say that I would not have been surprised had one flown by, right in front of my eyes, as I was sitting there on the hotel roof terrace in Istanbul, with this as my breakfast view to one side...

... and this to the other!

Slurping one's freshly squeezed orange juice in Europe

whilst watching the sunlit morning haze over Asia,

is a rather splendid way to start the day!

Between Sultanahmet Camii, i e The Blue Mosque (in the first photo above), and

the stunning Aya Sofya (Hagia Sophia) is a small park with fountains

offering sweaty passers-by a moment's rest or

- if the wind is blowing the right way -

a cooling spray of water.

Built in the 6th century as a church, Haghia Sophia was 900 years later ordered by the Ottoman Turks - who conquered Istanbul (then Constantinople) in the mid-15th century - to be converted into a mosque, which it remained until the 1930's, when it was transformed into the museum it is today.

It is the most spectacular building, and the sheer size of it is enough to make this Swenglish tourist weak at the knees. See how small the people are down there on the floor? (If you click on the image, you can see more details.)

Its Byzantine architecture, its 900-year-old mosaics, its dramatic colours, its massive marble pillars, its Ottoman decorations, its extraordinary dome with light flooding in from forty windows around the base of the dome - all adding up to a jaw-dropping and rather mystical experience of a building whose walls, if they could talk, would be able to share many stories of exotic, dramatic moments of the days of yore...

Even the street lights are stunning!

Istanbul is a place experienced with all the senses. A day in this spectacular city often ends with your senses groaning with equal amount of delight and impressions overload. The cacophony of sounds, the lingering joys on your tongue from the obscene number of baklava pieces you have sampled, the explosions of colours and exquisite architectural detail, the overwhelming range of smells - the evocative smell of spices, the vaguely nauseating sweet smell from all the waterpipes, the puffs of sewage stench, the whiffs of some lovely cooking from one of the many restaurants, the choking exhaust fumes, the collective scent concoction of 13 million people in this vibrant, crowded fairy tale city...

The Grand Bazaar

So yes, many of you proved to be splendid detectives - Turkey was indeed the destination for my work trip this time, with a couple of days in Istanbul on my way to Ankara, where the "real" work took place.

I know this is supposedly an interior decoration blog, so forgive me if I - again- am a little unfaithful to that creed for a few days, to share with you some scents and flavours of a country I always enjoy visiting and which has indeed served as a source of inspiration for some of my interior inclinations...

Dining on the waterfront in Ortaköy, a short boat trip up the Bosphorous.

See you soon and iyi günler!

Helena

noreply@blogger.com (Helena, The Swenglish Home) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:44:00 +0000

Now you see me...

... now you don't!

Dear readers,

With work gobbling up every minute of my time, I probably seem rather like this rather splendid Mr Piggy to you, playing hide and seek, but mostly hiding my tired trotters on my way to my next assignment. After recently having come back from a trip to Sweden, I am on my way elsewhere again tomorrow... Where? Well, I shall bring my camera and most likely share a few snaps on my return... Want to join me playing hide and seek, but feel you need a clue? I shall give you three: Delight-ful, Delight-full, where East meets West...

Meanwhile, I will recycle a photo from one of my autumnal scenes in the garden last year, where, in fact, yet a few clues about my whereabouts for the coming week can be found... Now, whom of my readers are natural born detectives, I wonder...

Wishing you all a lovely weekend,

in what must be the most stunning of

summery October beginnings!

Love,

Helena