After ten lovely years online, it is now so very hard to sum up both the essence and the vast array of loveliness I now stash under this virtual rose covered roof, that I rather thought it was time that I tried to sum it up for readers old and new alike: and so here we have it Housekeepers: An A to Z of Brocantehome…
A
A is for Alison (of course):That’s me and you can read my story here. It is also for Alfie (Our dog, who now lives with my Dad). And Authenticity. And Abundance. And Aprons. But not for apples, because I only really like Granny Smiths.
C is for Christmas: for I have a love/hate relationship with this jolly season and spend many a November hour making the kind of Christmas Plansone needs in order to avert festive disaster. C is also Car Boot Sales. And Comfort Drawers filled with lost-love letters, bath oil, dark chocolate and books full of poetry. And Coeliac Disease, because my son has it, the poor Darling.
D
D is for Daffodils: I’m afraid the letter “F” wasn’t free so  “D” is also for sunflowers. And cabbage roses. And pale pink peonies.  I adore flowers and I would paint the whole world with them if I could…
G is for  Grumpy: Because I sometimes am. Sorry about that. It is also for Growth. Because I truly hope that the reason you come here is to learn how to grow as Homemakers and women in your own creative right. And it is for Gratitudebecause we cannot GROW without it.
H
H is for Housekeeping:Â the reason why BrocanteHome exists and everywoman’s opportunity to create the routines and rituals that will turn her house in to a sanctuary for her soul.
I
I is for “I Heart Brocantehome“: Because I really hope you do. Ooh yes, and it is also for Instagram because documenting my life in little square boxes really makes me smile.
J
J is for Junk: I can’t get enough of it. Entire weekends are lost to traipsing round junk shops in search of  vintage holy grail. It is also for Jimmy: the darling cat we lost to a VERY BAD THING indeed.
K
K is for Cath Kidston:Â (I cheated a little but you will let me off won’t you?). And it is also for Kindness. Because above all else, it is so very important to be kind.
L
L is for Lavender:Â And The Living Room: my very own community of wonderful women. And Love. And Lemons. And lace. And lemonade lolly-ices. And Leonie Dawson and Danielle La Porte. Two on-line ladies I ADORE because their courses were life-changing for me.
N is for Nothing: because the literal translation of the French word “Brocante” is little bits of nothing, so hopefully that explains the delicious little scrapbook of all my little somethings that is Brocantehome.
P is for Planning: I am a planner. I use my own Heart and Home Planner and follow my 365 Plannerto the letter. I get a bit stressy when life falls off track and I do so like doing what I have told myself to do! P is also for Propelling Pencils, because my entire life is scrawled in  their perfect, pointy sharpness.And P is also for Puttery Treats (how could I forget??) – the tiny little tasks I dream up to banish the humdrum from your very own domestic stage.
Q
Q is for Quilts: preferably patchwork ones. I have an old blue floral quilt I bought when I was twenty-one, that is the quite the perfect anti-dote to the Winter-blues. We all need a crying blanket too, don’t we?
R
RÂ is for Routine and Ritual: the mainstays of life as a Brocante Housekeeper. It is also for Russell Brand because I love him so.
S
S is for Scrumptious (but you knew that didn’t you?): It is also for the SALON – my very own private members community, jam-packed with downloads, planners and inspiration (140 modules and over 70 downloads!) And Sarah Ban Breathnach. Read among the lines of this  A to Z and you will find her in almost every line. Oooh and it is also for The Slow Scrub because it is the only way to Spring Clean if you have a life…
T
T is for Trello For Housekeepers: the most life-enhancing way to use this oh so necessary software! It is also for Trash It or Treasure It:  my flagship download for re-inventing your entire life, banishing clutter and learning to see again. It is also for Transcendental Meditation. And Tumble Dryers, because I cannot live without mine and hold no truck with the “vintage housekeepers didn’t have tumble dryers” argument: if they’d had one, they would have used it. End of.
U
U is for the Universe: because I believe in it truly, madly, deeply and whole-heartedly. And this darn Under-Active thyroid of mine because it will not behave itself.
V
V is for Vintage: Vintage everything but knickers. No-one wants to wear vintage knickers do they? Â It is also for Violet Cremes. Preferably from Prestat, but truthfully, I’m not that fussy and those from Beechs suit me just fine…
W
W is for Writing: And Words that speak to my heart. Should you feel like reading in sync with me, might I recommend starting with Elizabeth Taylor? No me Darling, not that Elizabeth Taylor!
X
X is for xylophone: and that is the best I could do. Though Brocante is, I can assure you, utterly free of the noisy blighters.
Y
Y is for: Y Don’t U?  Make your bed the Brocante Way? Dance a jig, live life less ordinary, garden in your nightie, throw a party for breakfast, wear your best silk lingerie under your jeans and decide right here and now, to live life the BrocanteHome way??
Z
Z is for Zen: Which I’m not. But I truly wish I was. Frankly there is no one less zen than me: I am noisy and opiniated and I laugh and sing and dance and tie scarves around my head in quite the maddest fashion, but fingers crossed,you love me anyway… Happy Housekeeping Darlings!
Create your own Brocante Life Book, plan Christmas, set up routines and rituals or live life the BrocanteHome way with my guided workbooks and planners.
At the beginning of January I posted eleven ways I was intending to make life better. I was giddy with the intention to be a better me. To nitpick my way through all the teeny tiny little somethings that bother my day…
"But what sickened Lester was the unscrupulous exploitation of the home-making necessity, the adroit perversion of the home-making instinct. Jerome Willing wanted to make it appear, hammering in the idea with all the ingenious variations of his advertising copy, that home-making had…
It is half term and two days in, already I am banging my fevered brow against the walls of the proverbial cabin. Oh that I was not so resentful of the time stolen and the mess created! I tell myself that childhood…
Once upon a time, I was deeply in love with red wine. The kind of truly, madly deeply, cannot wait until wine o’clock to switch my brain off kind of love that might have spoken of future addiction but thankfully, never got…
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/31733784 w=520&h=380] I don’t think I have ever seen anything quite as life-affirming as this video I have just happened across. Simplicity, work and enjoyment. May she be an inspiration to us all. Other Things To Do At BrocanteHome Browse the…
On Sunday I had a long lie in. At least a lie in of Brocantehome sorts, for as usual I opened my eyes long before the church started making my lane reverberate with its jolly bell, and then took it into my…
3 Comments
What a sweet alphabet you’ve made. And I bet it changes every year. I know mine certainly does.
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What a sweet alphabet you’ve made. And I bet it changes every year. I know mine certainly does.
I’m not sure Ali… looking back through Brocantehome, it looks like I have been singing from the same hymn sheet for ten years now!x
I love your vintage alphabet pictures. Beautiful! Congratulations on your 10 year anniversary. 🙂
Sarah