This last month I have been absolute rubbish at getting my act together and coming up with a nice blogging post. Since my last posting I have been to the Shepton Mallet Antiques Fair, which was brilliant and stayed a week at my brothers in Devon. Both of these events of which I have no photographs to show you. Mr Crow needed the camera for work at home so I had no way of recording anything. Also I must say that I did not feel like taking any photos anyway as for the last three weeks I have had the most horrendous cold which was mainly an awful cough that went on and on and on.......! Having looked forward to the fair for months I spent the whole time feeling pretty grim, but still managed to spend lots of money although I did not put in the time sorting through all the lovely stuff on some stands as I just couldnt be bothered, how awful is that! Then while my brother and his wife were away and me left in charge of the animals I spent most of the time lying on their sofa coughing and sputtering without even Mr Crows 'not looking after you when your poorly skills' to cheer me up!Well back home and still coughing I thought I was going to miss another treat (coming up) but the cough took a turn for the better at the weekend and I was able to pack my bag again and go off on a little adventure.
About a month ago a lady called Susan emailed me out of the blue asking if I would like to go on a trial run of an interior design course being held in Somerset at Brympton house in Brympton D'evercy, they wanted to try out their ideas on a few people and get some feed back off them and it was free! Well of course I jumped at the chance especially after looking at the website for the weddings they run there and seeing what an amazing place it is. So yesterday morning I was on my way through the awful gloomy fog looking forward to what was to be a lovely time. Good old sat nav got me there and I was not disappointed when I arrived here at about 10.30.
My first view of Brympton House. What a stunning little gem this is, and you may recognise some of it as it was used in the film Chocolat, one of my fave films.
I know this might sound a little sad but it was quite a thrill to drive up to the front of the house and park outside, usually houses like this have customer car parks, I really felt like an old time quest, just wish I had been in a horse drawn carriage.
I let myself in through the front door as there was nobody about (I know there are people in this pic but I took this one later on) and entered the main hall where there was a lovely log fire that smelt delicious and just made it so welcoming. You could practically fit our whole house in this hallway!
I will follow on here with a little guided tour and tell you about the course in a bit.
Out of the grand hall into another amazing hall and the stairs. The stairs have the longest straight run of any staircase in England. We were told when the family moved in the children got mattresses and slid down the stairs on them, great fun, I was tempted myself! I pity the poor maid that had the job of cleaning them.
Two more flight of stairs later I was shown to my room in the attics. Very cosy and comfy and the view from the window over the lake was lovely.
Out of an prettily overgrown window.
I met the other two lovely ladies, Alex and Joe who were to take part in the course and we sat in the ballroom drinking in the view from the window. The course will be run by Sue and her friend Lindy and is all about the history of interior design which was very interesting. They have both become involved with bringing Brympton House back to life and work on all the windows etc, making sumptuous period curtains on other soft furnishings.
They took us for a tour of the outside and into some of the other buildings.
Filming has just been completed at the house for one of the BBC's major Christmas Dramas to be shown on Boxing Day, 'The turn of the screw' one of my favourite creepy ghost stories. The house is not creepy at all but I can imagine that it could be made to feel so. Cant wait to see it.
We were shown round the lovely little church attached to the house and then the Dower House.
I loved this window, very romantic. the old door was luckily stopped from being chucked out and burnt!
These are some of the room bells left near the butlers pantry.
An amazing painting on one of the walls must be at least 25ft long.
Well after a lovely day learning and being able to poke around this beautiful old house we were left to relax till we went down for pre dinner drinks in the salon, another roaring fire greeted us, they must burn at least a tree a day in this house!
Then dinner was served!
There is no electric light in the dinning room so we ate by the light of many candles, it was just lovely, the walls are lined with red silk and you just felt history oozing from room it must have looked the same to people dining a couple of hundred years ago. The family could not have made us feel more welcome, such lovely people, no airs and graces and their love of the house and its history is so obvious, they are really keen for others to enjoy the place and want to reinvolve the local community like it used to be when the house was so much connected to the people who lived around it.
It was really hard to leave the house today, it had weaved its magic over me and I hope that I shall return there again soon.
I wish you a merry christmas, I wish you a merry christmas, I wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year!
Boris and Midge send christmas woofs and meaows to all your pets!
Last night me Mr Crow and a few friends went to Lostwithiel to the Christmas Dickens evening where all the shops stay open for the evening and the shopkeepers dress up in Victorian clothes and ply you with mulled wine, cake and mince pies. Have no photos I am afraid but I bought this little basket from one of the antique market stands, I think its a Cath Kidston one and it only cost £5 and is just right for little Midge who had a lovely snooze in it this afternoon after a gorgeous long walk round St Anthony's head this morning. She is modeling a little jumpie that she wears around the house as she feels the cold and she is spoilt!
I am gradually introducing Christmas into the house now, I dont like to go too mad till about a week before but thought its time to start swapping cushions and things for more festive colours. Boris likes this hand stitched Hungarian cushion, I just have to watch he doesnt claw it!
I bought some old American school books on etsy last week, only took about three days to get here from the U.S. I am cutting them up for collage's as they are a bit tatty and have used some of the winter pages to make Christmas hangings to cheer up door knobs and things. Only wish we would have some snow this Christmas.
The nights are drawing in and Christmas is peeping round the corner, my favourite time of year has arrived! I love the winter and on Saturday we lit the woodburner in the kitchen for the first time, it was horrible weather, the wind was blowing and rain lashing down most of the day but I was all cosy sat by the fire with dog and cats having a lazy day reading magazines. It felt a bit strange not to be doing anything with all the frenzy of work lately and I felt a bit guilty with Mr Crow having to be working away all weekend. 
It looked so homey and warm through the kitchen window I wish I had got a shot of Midge watching me but she jumped down before I could snap her. I could not sit still all day though and started to rearrange the furniture, like you do! Whenever I do this I always think why didnt I always have it like this, its so much better. Till the next time that is! I have a little dresser and thought it would look nice on the side table so I started to get together some little bits and pieces to go on it and ended up with a mostly red, white and blue theme somehow. I think it looks sweet and if I can stop the cats jumping up and knocking it over it will stay there.
For the V&H Fair I made this little kitsch Christmas Cabinet full of vintage bits, nobody bought it but I dont mind as I love it and will have it out myself this year, unless anyone out there is interested?
I also made this assemblage and the flag below is one of quite a few made from vintage fabrics and hand done embroidery to give it that war time feel. I am really going to try and get stuff onto my etsy shop soon.
Just thought you might like this little bird on a little chair, sweet.
Have a good week, hope you all keep warm and dry!
There's no place like home....is certainly true. It was lovely to get home even after such an exciting event as the Christmas Vintage and Handmade Fair. 
After going on about being a bad blogger in my last post here we are five weeks later and here I am very ashamedly writing this after promising myself to do better and post more often! I do not know quite where the time has gone, is it just me or is time moving faster nowadays? Since I last blogged I have ...........
Had a rainy afternoon in St Ives ....... with delicious local crab sandwiches ..............
Had halloween tea with Jacko Lanterns and devils chocolate cake ........
Found funny photos on the internet...set on auto timer looked who popped up in the picture ........
Made necklaces for the Vintage and Handmade Fair ...... made out of vintage oculists lenses with collages stuck behind and vintage beads and charms etc........
Little cones for sweeties of little gifts........
Boxes made from old postcards that are then stamped on........
Some assemblages with birds in.........in an old clock.......
And this afternoon we paid our weekly visit to Constantine Bay on the north coast, a bit cold but lovely and moody. We have decided to go here every Sunday for the winter and this was our fifth week and it has been different every time, what is nice now is there are not many people mostly fellow dog walkers with happy dogs playing ball. Midgie loves it and is worn out when we get home.
Also since I posted last time I had the really great pleasure of meeting my first blogging friend Helen from Cocoa and Blankets. They came down to Cornwall in a camper van all the way from Yorkshire and we spent a day and a half together. There was no awkwardness or shyness it was just like meeting an old friend you saw the other day. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them, Mr and Miss were both a delight too. 
