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Are You Sitting Comfortably – Books on Love and Friendship- with Victoria Eggs Jubilee Collection-
Love and Friendship This month we look at books surrounding the theme of love and friendship. The two novels focus on unrequited love and childhood love, deep lasting friendships with blurred lines. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip are surely one of the longest love stories of our age. A deep and lasting friendship that has survived through so much. There is a wonderful section in the wildcard book about sustaining…
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If you liked this….Rebecca Fletcher’s picks for further Rural Landscape novels
Landscapes can be so much more than backdrops to novels – they can become protagonist or plot driver. As Costa Award Novel Winner Claire Fuller, our special guest for this month’s Are You Sitting Comfortably? shared, the story of Jeanie and Julius in Unsettled Ground emerged from a photograph of an abandoned caravan her son had found in the woods. Who had lived there? What was it like to be on the…
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Are You Sitting Comfortably? With Gone to Seed – Rural Landscapes
Who better to sponsor our rural landscapes book blog than Gone to Seed – online specialists in dried and gift flowers. Founded by Luke and Elly Collings, whose wedding like so many recently, was rearranged three times. Finally able to hold a small winter wedding, the couple foraged for flowers and mixed them with dried stems and out of an exasperating situation arose a beautiful wedding and a fantastic new…
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If you liked this….Rebecca Fletcher’s picks for further Crime Novel exploration
Sponsored by Ibbi Marple or Poirot? Morse or Holmes? We’re obsessed with solving a good mystery. With crime being such a hugely popular and varied genre, it’s hard to pick favourites. Who knew there was such a thing as ‘cosy crime’? Murdered by macaroon perhaps? I wonder if that’s what our dear Agatha would be filed under nowadays. Whether it’s a candlestick in the library or a drop of arsenic…
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Are You Sitting Comfortably? With Ibbi – Crime Time!
Three gorgeous women who 10 years ago travelled as friends and returned as business partners, fostering relationships with traditional artists in West Bengal and South Africa to promote their traditional skills responsibly and fairly to a wider audience. As soon as Rebecca Fletcher (my reader in crime – so sorry) mentioned “The Christie Affair” my tiny Marple senses began tingling. “What?” I screeched “As in AGATHA CHRISTIE!???? WE HAVE TO…
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If you liked this….Rebecca Fletcher’s picks for further Gothic Novel exploration
Sponsored by The Natural Blanket Company Further suggested reads If you enjoyed The Key in the Lock then do seek out Beth’s first book, The Witchfinder’s Sister for another beautifully crafted novel based on a true story. Bearing all the hallmarks of Beth’s atmospheric writing, The Witchfinder’s Sister tells the story of Alice Hopkins who returns to life in a small village in Essex alongside her brother, Witchfinder General Matthew. Home is much changed and Alice…
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Styling an Instagram photo – building a picture
Creating a vignette and building up a ‘story’
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Are you sitting comfortably? With The Natural Blanket Company
Thank you so much to the beautiful Natural Blanket Company for being brave enough to be our first ever sponsors for this new series. With their ridiculously soft British blankets this company seemed the perfect fit. They share my deep love for the British countryside and “the wild places found on our coastline”. Couple that with pure wool designed, sourced and made in the British Isles this makes us very…
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Country Cottage Creatives
Interview with celebrated local potter Gabby Smith “shopatseed” Gabby Smith took up pottery only a few years ago but her creations have rather outgrown her tiny home pottery studio and can now be found in numerous independent shops and restaurants with big names approaching her to create pieces for their exclusive venues. Not bad for a girl who was warned off taking GCSE art! With an entire page in the…
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The third and final instalment of Christmas Magazineing
Kate moved into this stunning building in Hertfordshire two and a half years ago. When she first viewed the property it had been empty for a long time and the previous tenants had left this beautiful old converted pub in a hideous mess. When I viewed the property It smelled so appalling that I kept having to pop outside to take in clean air! Kate – @myoldpub Kitchen doors were…
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Christmas Magazineing Part Deux
We were lucky enough to be invited into the stunning home of VV Raven . Not only a truly beautiful cottage but also practically on my doorstep so no terrifyingly long night driving for me – although I did manage to get lost on the way home thereby doubling the journey time!!! Jo and her husband Peter run VV Raven – an eclectic mix of amazing floristry and vintage clothing…
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Christmas Magazineing
My goodness, Christmas takes magazine shoots to a whole new level of styling and creativity! I remember last year when Naomi (Jones Homes) and Rob (Sanderson) came to photograph my cottage, I had to put so much more work into getting it ready than the previous summer shoot for Period Living magazine. One has to clean, tidy (hide most of life’s rich tapestry), probably repaint the hallway to cover the…
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Country Cottage Christmas Canapés
By Lucy Hoyle I couldn’t contain my excitement when the fabulous Rebecca of My English Country Cottage fame, (who until now had been my Pilates friend, exchanging grimaces as we were encouraged to stretch our bodies into bizarre positions) asked me to make some Christmas canapés for an actual real life photo shoot at her magical home. I immediately got to work looking at my canapé menu and working out…
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Sitting Spiritually Blog and Live with….me!!! Hurray!!!
Last year I worked with the fabulous Sitting Spiritually team who make the most beautiful swings and swingseats from their family run business in gorgeous Lyme Regis. They got back in touch to see if I would be interested in taking part in their “Have a Seat with…” series. Given the extraordinary gardeners that they have interviewed, I felt impelled to gently explain that my gardening prowess extends to lobbing…
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November Norfolk Magazine shoot Part Deux – Reclamation and Roses
Tucked beautifully away on a bustling Georgian High Street in Hingham, Norfolk this stunning 14th Century home looks out over the village green, is rammed with medieval beams and wonky floors whilst also hiding a treasure trove of reclamation pieces in the shop below. Hingham received a Georgian make over in 1800 which has given this house the joy of characterful dark medieval beams but coupled with huge Georgian windows.…
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Norfolk Edwardian home magazine shoot
The not quite Christmas magazine shoots but by gum we will make them as super cosy and probably even as atmospherically moody as we possibly can (mainly because the photographing day is chopped in half by the light fading!). Our first house this month was in the Norfolk Broads, an incredibly beautiful part of the world, which was apposite given just how beautiful both the home and the homeowners were!…
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Get The English Country Cottage look for Christmas
High on the success of my English Home magazine coup (I still have no idea how we made it into this interiors magazine maven) I thought that I would go through each room with a little more detail as to how we created our cosy cottage Christmas. I spend days decorating our home every year and I genuinely believe that it makes the festivities feel far more special (that and…
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The wonderful world of wreaths
I find there’s something so rewarding about creating a wreath and also find them therapeutic to make. Christmas is a perfect time to get creative and have a go at making your own but I do warn you, once you’ve had a go at making your first, you’ll be making them throughout the year! Wreaths are not just for doorsWreaths make wonderful gifts and while there is the tendency to…
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My English Country Cottage at Christmas
Well it’s mainly about the magazine shoot but lots of Christmas photos – ok? I wrote this blog last year when the glamorous magazine people came to shoot my house for a Christmas magazine feature. The English Home magazine Christmas edition FINALLY came out this week (I had to wait an ENTIRE year!!) so I thought I would add the professional photos from the shoot that the genius who is…
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A quick 5 minutes on what you should be doing with your dahlias
By Karen Atwood @flowersandlifestylebymargot The darling dahlia, such a wonderful summer flower for borders and cut flower gardens. They provide so much colour and interest and with so many different varieties, I challenge anyone not to find one that they love. My favourite is cafe au lait but as my collection continues to grow, there are quite a few coming a close second. To lift or not to lift –…
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Simple Rustic Wreath
I appreciate that this is a little late to the party but so were my hydrangeas this year so it’s definitely not my fault! This is a super simple wreath that just relies upon glorious hydrangeas and a spot of foraging. You will need: Moss A copper wreath ring Florists wire Secateurs ( I bought some to copy @flowersandlifestylebymargot with my name on them!! – Copper Secateurs) Purple leaves –…
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Quick and Easy Apple Crumble
This is entirely based on my fruit hating (yes – actual hate) son and Dame La Aga’s dramatical tendencies (don’t cook won’t cook…or just burn). Ingredients: 4 large cooking apples, 5 eaters peeled, cored and chunked (app 3cm not too big to be “real” (my son) and will cook quickly) 2 tbsp golden caster sugar then throw on Demerara sugar and Muscavado sugar – douse the apples! Ground cinnamon – to…
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Pumpkin power!
It’s pumpkin season, so it felt right to use them in some way in my floral designs. There are so many varieties and colours but I opted for these mini white pumpkins. The beauty about this design is that you can adapt them in whatever way you wish, so making the design completely your own: Ingredients Hypericum Mellow Romance Bloom Carnation Antique Sanguisorba of Red Dream Astrantia Prin Ballerina Eucalyptus…
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Turning to the dark side as we build up for Halloween
As we head towards Halloween, I start to feel a real association with rich and vibrant colours – that only the month of October and the celebration of Halloween can bring. I find I use more accessories, with throws and candles being an absolute must. For this table setting I focused on my ever-growing love of our hedgerows, drawing inspiration from all the ferns that are starting to turn from…
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Autumn Magazineing part Deux (it sounds more stylish)
A double date with two timber framed Suffolk gems. Naomi Jones (https://www.naomijoneshomes.com/) and Rob Sanderson (https://robertsandersonphotographer.com/) and the very important Assistant stylist roamed the hill-less Suffolk countryside to track down these absolute beauties. This was a two day shoot of country home drooling (mainly me) and historical joy (mainly Rob “Where’s Rob?” …”Examining the markings on the beams in the hallway…again…”) and impeccable styling (Naomi “Is anyone going to do…
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Creating an Autumn feel in your home
As we head into Autumn, I definitely notice a difference in the colours of flowers I use in my arrangements. I start to step away from the delicate, pastel colours of Summer and move towards the rich, vibrant colours of Autumn. If I had to choose my favourite Autumn flowers, it would be the hydrangea, dahlia, berries and grasses – don’t make me choose though! I love using them to create…
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Autumn Magazineing
Yes it’s definitely a verb. It’s officially no going back Autumn. Time to embrace the change, wrap up warm (then unwrap cold) and channel the beautiful Autumnal colours and simply glorious sunlight. Thank goodness both houses for our shoot were close by (I get slightly twitchy when I have to travel further than the postbox at the end of our lane) and that the sun shone in extremis for both…
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Pickled Pear Recipe
Ingredients 20 conference pears 1lt white wine vinegar/ delicious cider vinegar ½lt water 500g caster sugar 3 star anise 1 large stick cinnamon, broken into three 1tbsp allspice berries Zest of a lemon cut into curls with a potato peeler. ½tsp cloves 1dsp juniper berries 3 sprigs rosemary (optional – my rosemary died this summer so mine is rosemary free!) You’ll Also Need: 2 x 1½lt Kilner jars or 5/6…
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Just a little bit of multi tasking and upcycling
Around this year I start to dry lots of hydrangeas, as I love using them throughout the Autumn and Winter months for styling and adding to floral arrangements. I recently wrote a blog on what I’ve learnt along the way when it comes to drying hydrangeas https://www.myenglishcountrycottage.co.uk/heavenly-hydrangea/and after a weekend in the garden, I discovered another way of ‘drying hydrangeas’ which is a little more pleasing to the eye. The…
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Heavenly Hydrangea
While I adore fresh flowers, I’m also a huge fan of dried flowers too. My absolute favourite has to be the hydrangea and I have built up quite a collection over the years – in fact I’m drying some as I type. They are so useful as we head into the Autumn and Winter months as are also the perfect accessory to decorate with at Christmas. They definitely are my ‘go to’…
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The power of scent
One of the things I love about arranging flowers is their ability to be used to help set a scene or evoke a memory. For example, I always think of my mother in law whenever I smell geraniums, as she has them scattered throughout her house. Also, a yellow rose with it’s lemony smell will always remind me of my mum. I was recently reminded of the power of scents when…
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Marr House Farm
Their English Country Cottages The very moment the previous owner opened the large oak door, I know it would be ours. Lisa Johnson-Richards The main part of this beautiful cottage is Georgian, dating back to 1710. Originally owned by the Crown it was bought by Sir Henry Vane the Elder, (a Member of Parliament and an advisor to Charles I household) who in 1626 purchased nearby Raby Castle, Barnard Castle…
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The Old Hall Cottage
Their English Country Cottages I loved the symmetry of the property with the large entrance vestibule in the middle. It was just as I had drawn houses as a child. Tanya Muller Tanya – a senior University lecturer in Childhood Studies and Special Educational Needs lives in this beautiful cottage with her husband ( an RHS qualified gardener), their teenage son, dogs Fergus (a cockapoo) Charlie (A King Charles spaniel)…
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Welcome To My English Country Cottage
In May 2020 our little thatched cottage was featured in Period Living Magazine. It was the culmination of 7 years of creating a family home with my “effortless rural style” – I have taken this as a positive comment on my interior design style rather than a reference to the lack of housekeeping, muddy wellies and occasional strange smell and have created a website to write about interiors, gardening, recipes…
