Succulents

I have such a soft spot for succulents... I really think I need to pop out to a nursery immediately and buy a few to have as indoor plants. They are just go gorgeous! I love the architectural feel that they have about them.

Succulent wedding favours via Martha Stewart Weddings.

I think a set of three in some gorgeous neutral pot plants like the above image would be gorgeous in my kitchen window (although maybe minus the bow).

Image via inklore's photostream.

Image via sacredlotus' photostream.

Flowers

Ahh flowers. I don't think there's anything that makes me happier than having fresh flowers in my house. I wish I could have a new bunch (or two) every single week. Note to future potential boyfriends - flowers are always a good idea.

But alas, it's not something I can quite fit into my budget, so I tend to rely on what I can manage to steal from my Mum's garden.



Gorgeous roses.

More roses in my bathroom.

Lovely lilies (I think) - housewarming present from a wonderful friend.



More roses from Mum's garden.

Looking at all these flowers really makes me think I should do something about my garden!

Welcome and not so welcome

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who commented on my last post. It's so lovely to have such a warm welcome back to the world of blogging.

On not so welcome news, I just received the first unpleasant comment on my blog to date. I chose to reject the comment, as I was taken aback at first, but decided to bring the issue to the forefront. It was posted by an anonymous poster (no surprises there) in relation to my cow hide rug and stated:

"Next time I need to induce vomiting, I will look at this page."

Charming, right?

Now I don't expect that every single person in the world is going to love cow hide rugs or want one in their home. But honestly, what kind of a troll goes through blogs to post comments like that?

It's a plain and simple fact that cow hide rugs are a natural by-product of the meat industry. Now I'm not sure what issue the person takes with the rug because their comment wasn't particularly expansive. At the end of the day - the cows are not killed for their skin, a cow hide rug is not a fur coat.

Now I'm not here to enter into a big ethical debate, but I think ultimately there are far bigger issues in the world to deal with than the beef industry.

Before and Afters - Living room

I'm not sure if I have any readers left, after being on a blog hiatus for so long! If anyone is left out there - hello and please accept my apologies.

Before I entered into my hiatus, I know I promised that I would post some official before and after shots. I'm not one to re neg on my promises, so here is a little taste to wet your appetite... my living room, then and now!

Before:

Here is a photo looking from my kitchen to my dining and living rooms.

You can see at the end of the picture, there is an area separated from the living area by a half-height wall. I'm not sure what the intended purpose of this space was, but the half-wall rendered it pretty useless. I had considered opening it up into the living room, but this would have made for an unusual space. Instead, I converted the space into a third bedroom.

Here is another picture of the living room, with a view of what is now the third bedroom and into my hallway.

You can see in the third bedroom, there was once a large space with a desk (far left of the photo). This ended up being the perfect size to install a built in wardrobe.


During:

Here is a picture from a similar position as the first image. As you can see, at this point in time the area has been separated off to create the third bedroom and the flooring has been laid.


Here is a picture of the wardrobe in the third bedroom.

And just another shot of the newly created room. I don't have any "official" afters as the room is now occupied by by housemate. (I can only guess that it's probably messy!)

Afters:

Ta-da - the finished room!


The Barcelona chairs are a new addition to my home, as of this weekend! I manged to pick the pair up for a bargain price.

PS - do you spy my target mirror in the back? I only just got around to hanging it.


My vintage sideboard and collection of amber glassware.


Here's a close up of my display. Don't you just love the ram's head? We won't talk about the issues I went through in hanging that baby!


I hope you guys enjoy the photos. I'll be sure to include some pics of my kitchen soon (it needs a bit of a clean!)