New in store!

We have been working on some new products and these are available via our Etsy store

 Rustic finish bath caddy, these can be made to fit any bath size and are perfect to put a nice glass of wine and a candle on.  Designed to aid relaxation!

Patchouli candle range. Available in Travel, medium and muckle size.  Patchouli helps to get over the feeling of sadness and helps fill the mind with thoughts of new hope. Inhaling the oil helps stimulate the release of pleasure hormones like serotonin and dopamine, banishing feelings of anxiety, anger and sadness.

This wonder oil helps put the spark back in the bedroom by stimulating oestrogen and testosterone.
For centuries this has been used by merchants to keep insects such as moth away from silks and precious fabrics.

 Recipe book stand. 
this has been lovingly made from reclaimed wood and designed to be distinctive.

Dark hardwood wooden bath caddy.

Our First Trip

Converting the van has been really hard work, Davy has spent long hours stripping all the walls back, cleaning and then insulating it.  This is the boring laborious part because there isn't really any design involved.  We have also been trying to find some inspiration as to how we are going to deck it out.  But we thought we really needed to spend a night in it to find what we truly need!

So we headed to Keilder forest for a couple of nights.   Kielder is a manmade forest and lake that is situated in the heart of Northumberland, it's not too far from where we live so we thought this would be a perfect place to have our first adventure.

Around the lakeside there is loads of really interesting visual art and architecture.  We spent a lot of time on lengthy walks exploring it all. Lola was in her element.  This little house is called Freya's Cabin which is all carved in the inside and is in a fantastic location overlooking the lake.

Lola was absolutely pooped after so much walking!

This is the view we woke up to every morning

This installation is called Silvas Capitalis, a giant timber head nestled in the woods.

Lola was a little bit scared of it at first and it took a little bit of coaxing to get her to climb the stairs into the top.  This is the view looking out of one of the eyes!

Davy had a go at stone balancing, I think he's done pretty well!

3 of our travel candles, the smell from the Vanilla essential oils filled our space it was lovely.

A Run Around Northumberland With Lola

So it's less then 3 weeks until we go away to Marrakech on holiday, I've left it a bit late to get the dream bikini body but something is better then nothing non?!
I've been a seldom runner for a few years now, I've never really found it easy, some people are born to run, not me, but I do love the feeling after I've completed one, the health benefits are definitely to be reaped.
Since moving here running is no longer so much of an urban chore, I'm not sure if it's because every run is an adventure and I'm not doing the same mundane route.  Sorry this is the second 'Northumberland is my new beau' post but it really does make my heart beat.  Today's run was a good 10.5k but a slow one (1hr 41) because I kept stopping to catch my breath and soak up the views. Here's some pics to share...

 Acomb Hall in the distance

 Rapeseed as far as the eye can see, I just wanted to dive in this field, the smell was immense!

 These cheeky calves, so curious. Lola was too, she's not met that many.

 a lot of Northumberland was regularly under attack from Scotland so had means of defence built to protect livestock.

Northumberland Day Out

We've been living in Northumberland for around 4 months now, Davy was born and bread here but I am from the lakes and never really ventured east but this county is gorgeous, some say Britain's best kept secret.

I love doors especially when they are full of character, it gives you an insight of what the home is like inside.

I wonder if the heads above this door are of the lord and lady that built the house and became the first residents?

This is Allen Mill or what is left of it.  It use to be an old smelting mill powered by the force of the river.

Bardon Mill is close by, the chimney has a plaque on it to say it was built in the 1920's but this must of been a later add on as the mill started making pottery in 1878.  Before that lay a woollen mill but this was destroyed by a fire made by a one-legged employee with a grudge!

One of the kilns

We topped off the day with a nice drink sat outside the anchor in Haydon Bridge with it's stunning view of the Tyne.

Langley Castle -  those windows!

Our New Van

The hunt for a VW van has been a long one, all the decent options seem to be around the south-coast which would be a trek and a half.  After endless days of searching one came up in Scotland, so we bundled in my car and headed up with Lola in tow.

 On the Anglo-Scottish border there is a place called Carter Bar where two stones lay, one to mark Scotland and one to mark England.  Here in 1575 hosted the last large scale battle between the two countries. 

 Whilst in Scotland you have to have an Irn Bru!

Lola seems to like the van too! The view from the border is gorgeous especially on a nice day.

Lola's Bed and Kirkstall Abbey

I took Lola for a walk around Kirkstall Abbey in Leeds last week.  A medieval cistercian ruin - no thanks to Henry VIII!

 Walking round the place you do get the feeling of how grand it use to be, once inhabited by monks now is the home to various types of birds.

Lovely to see some snow drops along the bank of the river, the first sighting for me this year!

Another thing I wanted to mention was Lola's bed, I have posted a few pictures on Instagram but I wanted to shout out about how clever the design is...

Lola is a pretty big pooch, an Airedale terrier (king of the terriers although in her case queen, she really is a madam at times), so since moving into our rental we have struggled to really find the best place to put her dog bed.  At first it sat at the bottom of the stairs but it was just getting in the way of the front door and it wasn't really a nice safe haven that it should be for her.

So Davy, being the clever one that he is suggested we put her under the table in the kitchen, seen as it isn't really a table we sit and eat at (we have a separate dining table for that) its more an extension of worktop.  But this table has pretty chunky legs so Davy designed it so it fit perfectly by cutting leg shape corners.

I wanted to make it really comfy for her, so I bought a coffee sack off eBay and filled it full of sheep wool (the type you get for eco packaging) and I quite often find that she has taken herself to bed when she feels like a kip or a bit of me time!

Valentines Day- Bath-Time Retreat

Valentines day is fast approaching, one thing I love to do is decorate the house because there's nothing more I like to do than have a meal in and relax with the one I love (cue sick bucket!).

How about creating a serene atmosphere with one of our bath caddy?   Just add some candles and petals and voila! There's a few in stock over on our Etsy page here.