We went to the new Cecil Beaton exhibition of photos of the Queen and family.  Rather delightful and whimsical.

Have just driven home and it’s now -4 degrees and I don’t like it!  Bring me some warm sun!!!

Well, it wasn’t perhaps the best few days to take a trailer to France, but we managed it!  Snow fell thick and fast (for Surrey) on Saturday night and we thought we might have to call the whole trip off, but we decided to give it a go, with the theory that if we made it out of the village we’d probably be ok.

Well, we did make it out of the village, round the M25, to the tunnel and down through France.

The roads weren’t exactly clear  

But the sun shone   

The little hotel was fine   

We did need to use the snow socks at one point and were glad to have them

(I would highly recommend them).

Buying went well  

And we left a happy Frenchman taking my Euros to his bank!

We have finally unloaded the car and trailer and delivered the trailer back to the hire  company.

Not much else on the cards for today.  Lighting the fire and a cup of tea I think.

It all started because I’ve just booked a trailer to hitch up and take to France for my buying trip this weekend.  I’m on the hunt for furniture in a big way, plus have three beds to collect that we couldn’t fit in the car on our last trip.

So, I was thinking about insurance and what happens if the car breaks down in France so I spoke to the RAC who were most helpful and said they could upgrade my European cover to include repatriation of a trailer for £65.  The man I was chatting to then kindly mentioned that if I was a member of the c&c club, they would upgrade my membership free of charge.  And it’s only £39 to join the club – so I am now a member.

My husband is embarrassed for me but will no doubt be telling everyone he sees, kind soul that he is.  Camp I can do – camping I’m not so sure!

Well, wish me luck, I’ve never pulled a trailer before and this one has a double axle so I know backing it is going to be a bitch!  I remember my long suffering mother trailing the horsebox around the Surrey countryside for me and my pony as a child and she was fine as long as she never had to back it up.  Generally at a horse show that’s no problem as you are in a large field.  Narrow French lanes and brocantes?  I’m worried already!

I loaded up a car full of new stock to freshen things up and the space now looks much better.   I sold well at the end of last year and it was good to see spaces – it was certainly high time to make a visit.

I prefer it when I have a large piece of stock as a centrepiece but you have to go with what the buying trips bring – maybe next time!

I always enjoy my jaunts to Gloucestershire.  Tetbury is a sweet little town and is real country, unlike Surrey.   Huge tractors rumble up the high street and the dress code is mud splattered tweed and wellies and there are lots of dogs.  You would feel very out of place in a black coat and high heeled boots; labels here are Barbour, Hunter, Dubarry, Aigle, labrador and spaniel!

Antique shops outnumber all others by about 10-1 but there are also plenty of great places to eat.  And of course the Highgrove shop is right in the centre of town beckoning tourists from far and wide.  So, everything you need for a good day out really!

It’s just over 100 miles each way so a bit of a schlep but Costa Coffee on the M4 gets me there with no problem.  Unfortunately I always seem to get tied up in traffic making my way home and arrive back pretty tired but such is the life of a girl on the road.

A beautiful lace curtain and fine linen sheet frame an early 20th century bed dressed with a delightful fluffy eiderdown and vintage pillows.

I’ve been at the sewing machine again so there are new cushions from old linens; I used fragments, monograms, vintage linen guest towels and even a madly embroidered antimacassar!

And of course, linen tablecloths in a huge variety of sizes, colours and designs, some also with matching napkins.

I love my kitchen cupboards!  No photos yet of the  finished items but I’ll add some soon.  The carcasses are Ikea with a pair of bi-fold doors that David found in a brocante in Normandy.  The result is an easy to maintain wipe clean interior hidden behind something rather  more stylish.  Love the colour of the doors but they’re a bit too trad for me, I  will be repainting them (possibly in soft green).

For me it’s important to know that all my china and glass is shut away so that when we come back down to the house after a few weeks away, I know that everything is dust and spider free!

Hallway cupboards also finished and David will take better photos when we’re back in a few weeks.  We made the doors with chicken wire panels, backed with fabric for a modern take on a traditional French cupboard.  Very pleased with the results. Finally, after eight years in the house, the hoover has a home and isn’t stored under the stairs – HURRAH!

It’s a friendly place to sell and it gives me an opportunity to showcase some of my more individual items.  Also the commission structure is very reasonable, unlike Not On The High Street who seem to charge a very high rate.

It is time consuming, as is any online selling platform, and it’s baby steps for me, I only have 24 items listed, but given time I’d like to have 10 times that number in my store.

So, better stop waffling and get on then…

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,300 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 22 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

I absolutely adore this oak window – how stunning would it look used as a mirror?

The oak has aged so beautifully, it has such character and is still in its full window frame and has its original hardware on the inside.

Also two more unusual beds; sadly we don’t have anywhere for them in the house as I’d rather like to keep them.

I was so pleased to find this little sweetie.  Small double (4 foot) size and in excellent condition.

And as for this bed, I’ve been buying French beds for about eight years and this is only the second full corbeille I’ve found.  (Thank you Nigel for snapping up the other one before I could get there!)