it has been too long since the last...
summer kept me outdoors...travelling...kiddo organising...thinking...creating...
so it's now time to take stock of what is a new school year here in ol'Blighty...& to share with you a long awaited virtual coffee....
i've been struck with the spring cleaning bug...so grab your coffee & head with me, if you will, to the kiddos domain...the playroom...
not the season to clear out...i realise...but for me, having grown up down under where the start of a new school year is january...clearing out is what i do when they all go back to school!
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| (a gorgeous gift from the lovely anna to our little vegemites) |
i'm starting a fresh new school year with organised cupboards...clear under beds & a full re-cycling bin...
just as i would in january living on the beaches back home...
you can sit in the sunny bay window whilst i tell you about this playroom...
when we first moved from our sandy-toed life in sydney, to our *horse-riding-football-mad-milk-from-the-local-farm-country-inspired-life* here in ol'Blighty...i had my check list in hand...
my own personal *what-i-want-english-house* check list...
&
right up at the top was a playroom...
not a rumpus room- as friends had had in australia when we were growing up...
not a family room- where the toys were dumped & everyone ate round a coffee table...
i wanted a real mary poppins playroom...where the kids had their games...the girls had their doll houses...& there was a drawing desk...
a playroom where they all snuggled down in winter to watch movies...
& where in summer, we opened the windows & let the air in...
& where kids could climb in & out from to the garden with their friends...
so when we looked at big old english houses...i just held my breath for a playroom...
& we found...on the edge of our little market town...a perfect playroom...with a bay window...& high ceilings & lotsa light...
aussie kids need a lot of light & a lot of space...suddenly our outdoor life was about to become indoors and this playroom was the perfect mary poppins inspired answer...
so for three & a half years we have lived in...& so loved this playroom...
but just because i wanted it so desperately didn't mean it was my space...
chippy was not high on the kids list of decorating...
nor was a sense of calm white or jugs of flowers...
this playroom was for kids...& toys & colour & dancing & wii & karaoke & lotsa fun...
so we met half way via ikea & some very special vintage car-boot, thrifted finds...
i must admit...i don't usually share a coffee in here...it's only cause i'm on this cleaning thing that i'm giving you the bay window seat...
you've not had to side step any little animals living in castles...leggo scooter sets...i-pods...art supplies...drink bottles...tents...cubby houses, sweet rappers or soccer boots...
the floor is clear...
the kids are at school...
come 4 o'clock & i'm back on my chair in the sitting room...
pretending the floor hasn't been covered in up-ended baskets of
so...if we were really having a coffee today...i would ask you if you've ever dreamed of a real life mary poppins playroom....
i'm not into the singing birds...or the ordered shelves...or the links to a world of children seen but not heard that a playroom used to represent...
but i do love me a space to hold all the kid stuff...
everyone always harps on about the long nights, the broken sleep and the constancy of having and rearing kids...
i just wish someone had told me about all the stuff !
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| (the daunting after-summer-before-cleaning-out-very-used-playroom!) |
so...coffee drunk...playroom seen...i'm either pushing you back out into the wind with a bag of pre-loved toys under your arm...or you're coming with me to attack my sewing room & office space...
totally up to you...
but from here on in...it's pots of tea...garbage bags...a ruthless edge to the day...perhaps a little cursing thrown in for good measure and a promised sense of satisfaction at the end of the day...
&
you can still take the bag of toys...
&
we may even find you something special in the sewing pile...
tempting i'm sure ;)
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yep...i thought you'd be away...thanks for the coffee...
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| (disco ball + world globe + vintage map + doilie bunting = playroom heaven!) |
