Confession: it is one o’clock in the afternoon and I am writing this in bed, propped up by an abundance of mustard cushions, eating ginger cake and drinking yogi tea, while shivering my bum off because cold has settled into my bones and I cannot get warm for love, money or many a restorative bath. And so for two days I have wandered about muttering to myself about the perils of high-ceilings in Victorian houses, wearing Ste’s mountain climbing socks, and camping in front of the radiators until this morning when I decided to give up the fight to stay warm downstairs and instead grabbed my supplies (laptop, phone, jug of water, migraine tablets, pile of books, headphones et al) and headed up the apple and pears. My bedroom is my favorite place in the world. Here I am surrounded by my most precious things. The painting of the lady in pink, Finn used to believe was my Mum, this yellow quilt that was hers too, my Simple Abundance books, rose candles, the olive green cushion I adore, my basket full of cosy blankets, boxes full of memories and of course my comfort drawer, from which I have today pulled my almost threadbare pink pashmina to wrap around my shoulders. On the mantle-piece I have lit a row of candles, and after snuggling deep down among the floral quilts in an effort to warm every last inch of me (a nest of sorts), I have shuffled up to lean against the over-sized headboard and watch yet more Skillsharevideos, filling my head with the kind of knowledge I can at last use again. For it is true, despite these shivers, I am enjoying the kind of clarity that has evaded me for so long. And my thirst for knowledge is driving me all over again. A book always within grasp. Oh were it not for the slings and arrows of hormones and emotion! Life is hard right now. Money is tight and Ste a little broken. I have been battling the oddest sense of loneliness and having never known lonely before I hardly know what to do with it, Finley is so tall and I experience the body shock that is reaching up to hug him at the door daily as he jams headphones into his ears and wanders off towards a world I have no part of. I miss him terribly, yet enjoy him everyday. He will be home soon. Often now carrying a little bar of chocolate in his blazer pocket for me that he will exchange for the cup of tea I will have ready for him. So I must get out of bed! Though I would much prefer today to receive visitors in my bedroom and be waited on hand and foot, I am neither Lady Muck, nor Coco Chanel and there is gammon to be roasted and work to be done! I will take a quick shower and dress in polka dot pajamas and a cosy cardigan, insulating myself so that I do not lose the heat I have bathed in under these cosy covers. But oh what bliss today has been. What bliss it is to allow ourselves this kind of grace without beating oneself up with a “you are good for nothing” stick. I am learning now that practicing what I preach matters. That if I sit quietly and try to tune in to what I really need in any given moment, I can hear my body speak. And though my bodies demand might often seem outrageous (bed in the day, a few weeks without the red wine I adore, yoga poses that make me anxious), capitulating to its suggestions serves me better than constantly doing battle with my very self. Later then, gammon for them and a warm salad of halloumi and bacon for me. Another episode of the wonderful sitcom, Mum. Another early night. Tomorrow blood tests and the bank and then a weekend full of boys and noise. Loneliness be damned. I am surrounded, constantly, by so much love.
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.
Occasionally you happen across something on the internet that kind of wow’s you and so it was with The Toymaker, not least because of this utterly charming little introduction to her site by artist Marilyn Scott Waters… Welcome to my odd,…
Welcome to a scrumptious new week Housekeepers! And here I am, hands liberally doused in Wild Roses after half an hour spent rather blissfully hand-washing my smalls, (because cheap thrills have always been my bag!) and reflecting on what has turned out…
Is it wrong to mourn the baby my little boy was yesterday? Although I can hardly bear it, Finley will be two tomorrow, and while I had long suspected that Motherhood was destined to be punctuated by intense moments of grief, I…
Spotted! A vintage tarnished silver pocket watch dangling from a cut glass knob and unobtrusively keeping time in a Victorian bathroom. Beautiful. Other Things To Do At BrocanteHome Browse the Bookstore Discover a curated list of books to enhance and support life…
Cute and French. Other Things To Do At BrocanteHome Browse the Bookstore Discover a curated list of books to enhance and support life the BrocanteHome way Browse the Bookstore Life Love & Vintage Housekeeping the by BrocantePrintables on Etsy Create your own…
HUME – SWEET – HUME Lovely accessories with a taste of the Highlands… Other Things To Do At BrocanteHome Browse the Bookstore Discover a curated list of books to enhance and support life the BrocanteHome way Browse the Bookstore Life Love…
One Comment
I’ve only recently found your blog and I just adore it! I need a comfort drawer..
{"id":null,"mode":"form","open_style":"in_place","currency_code":"USD","currency_symbol":"$","currency_type":"decimal","blank_flag_url":"https:\/\/brocantehome.net\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/blank.gif","flag_sprite_url":"https:\/\/brocantehome.net\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/flags.png","default_amount":300,"top_media_type":"featured_image","featured_image_url":"http:\/\/brocantehome.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/tipjar-2.png","featured_embed":"","header_media":null,"file_download_attachment_data":null,"recurring_options_enabled":true,"recurring_options":{"never":{"selected":true,"after_output":"One time only"},"weekly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every week"},"monthly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every month"},"yearly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every year"}},"strings":{"current_user_email":"","current_user_name":"","link_text":"Leave a tip","complete_payment_button_error_text":"Check info and try again","payment_verb":"Pay","payment_request_label":"BrocanteHome","form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","general_server_error":"Something isn't working right at the moment. Please try again.","form_title":"BrocanteHome","form_subtitle":"Help Me to Keep BrocanteHome Online","currency_search_text":"Country or Currency here","other_payment_option":"Other payment option","manage_payments_button_text":"Manage your payments","thank_you_message":"Thank you so much: helping me keep Brocantehome online really means the world to me.","payment_confirmation_title":"BrocanteHome","receipt_title":"Your Receipt","print_receipt":"Print Receipt","email_receipt":"Email Receipt","email_receipt_sending":"Sending receipt...","email_receipt_success":"Email receipt successfully sent","email_receipt_failed":"Email receipt failed to send. Please try again.","receipt_payee":"Paid to","receipt_statement_descriptor":"This will show up on your statement as","receipt_date":"Date","receipt_transaction_id":"Transaction ID","receipt_transaction_amount":"Amount","refund_payer":"Refund from","login":"Log in to manage your payments","manage_payments":"Manage Payments","transactions_title":"Your Transactions","transaction_title":"Transaction Receipt","transaction_period":"Plan Period","arrangements_title":"Your Plans","arrangement_title":"Manage Plan","arrangement_details":"Plan Details","arrangement_id_title":"Plan ID","arrangement_payment_method_title":"Payment Method","arrangement_amount_title":"Plan Amount","arrangement_renewal_title":"Next renewal date","arrangement_action_cancel":"Cancel Plan","arrangement_action_cant_cancel":"Cancelling is currently not available.","arrangement_action_cancel_double":"Are you sure you'd like to cancel?","arrangement_cancelling":"Cancelling Plan...","arrangement_cancelled":"Plan Cancelled","arrangement_failed_to_cancel":"Failed to cancel plan","back_to_plans":"\u2190 Back to Plans","update_payment_method_verb":"Update","sca_auth_description":"Your have a pending renewal payment which requires authorization.","sca_auth_verb":"Authorize renewal payment","sca_authing_verb":"Authorizing payment","sca_authed_verb":"Payment successfully authorized!","sca_auth_failed":"Unable to authorize! Please try again.","login_button_text":"Log in","login_form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","uppercase_search":"Search","lowercase_search":"search","uppercase_page":"Page","lowercase_page":"page","uppercase_items":"Items","lowercase_items":"items","uppercase_per":"Per","lowercase_per":"per","uppercase_of":"Of","lowercase_of":"of","back":"Back to plans","zip_code_placeholder":"Zip\/Postal Code","download_file_button_text":"Download File","input_field_instructions":{"tip_amount":{"placeholder_text":"How much would you like to tip?","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"invalid_curency":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please choose a valid currency."}},"recurring":{"placeholder_text":"Recurring","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"}},"name":{"placeholder_text":"Name on Credit Card","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please enter the name on your card."}},"privacy_policy":{"terms_title":"Terms and conditions","terms_body":null,"terms_show_text":"View Terms","terms_hide_text":"Hide Terms","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."},"unchecked":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please agree to the terms."},"checked":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."}},"email":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"not_an_email_address":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Make sure you have entered a valid email address"}},"note_with_tip":{"placeholder_text":"Your note here...","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"not_empty_initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"saving":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Saving note..."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Note successfully saved!"},"error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to save note note at this time. Please try again."}},"email_for_login_code":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."}},"login_code":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."}},"stripe_all_in_one":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"success":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"invalid_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is not a valid credit card number."},"invalid_expiry_month":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration month is invalid."},"invalid_expiry_year":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is invalid."},"invalid_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is invalid."},"incorrect_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incorrect."},"incomplete_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incomplete."},"incomplete_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incomplete."},"incomplete_expiry":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration date is incomplete."},"incomplete_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code is incomplete."},"expired_card":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card has expired."},"incorrect_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incorrect."},"incorrect_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code failed validation."},"invalid_expiry_year_past":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is in the past"},"card_declined":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card was declined."},"missing":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"There is no card on a customer that is being charged."},"processing_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"An error occurred while processing the card."},"invalid_request_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to process this payment, please try again or use alternative method."},"invalid_sofort_country":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The billing country is not accepted by SOFORT. Please try another country."}}}},"fetched_oembed_html":false}
I’ve only recently found your blog and I just adore it! I need a comfort drawer..