Tiddely-om-pom-pom.....

"Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

Oh I do like to be beside the sea,


And there's lots of girls beside

I should like to be beside

Beside the seaside

Beside the sea"

Sunday 11th July 2010, spent at Bigbury-on-Sea. One of those kind of days that just goes right from start to finish, full of fun, games and laughter.

And the best bit....well I don't have to get in the car and drive 120 miles back home today, or any day!...... Did I mention just how happy I am that we made the permanent move here?! Now I shall go outside and enjoy the lovely BBQ that Mr SB and the shrimps have just prepared for us all.

That Friday Feeling.............

What a great day.......Kicked off with a little retail therapy in one of my local towns, Salcombe.....

Oh my goodness, 50% off at Joules, not good news!.....

All my favourite shops in one teeny tiny street...

I remember when Jack Wills first opened and was just the tiny shop on the left selling just a few things. It has now expanded into three shops and as I'm sure you're aware has some enormous stores nationwide styled to perfection.

Crew Clothing also originated here in Salcombe with the owners living locally at Thurlestone.

I'd love one of the coats made out of sails from here, but may have to save my pennies first with them costing £300!!

Little shrimp has decided her life won't be complete until she has a pair of these stunning childrens clogs on her feet. Luckily for the bank balance they didn't have her size!! Gorgeous though aren't they?

Maybe she'll be happy enough with a pink and white striped bag full of sweets from her favourite sweet shop.

A quick refreshment stop at my favourite Inn, an ice cold coke whilst watching the boats sail past.

Then time to head back home via the garden centre to purchase these lovely plants to create the perfect country cottage garden in our new home.


Then with the sun shining, the beach was calling for a little chick lit whilst relaxing at the waters edge...

.....before being joined for a lunch date by my gorgeous husband for some quality time without the children.......

........before I headed on to the school to meet my little girlies ready to start the weekend.

Living the dream.......Come True.

There are those that don't and those that do......I'm a firm believer that you really CAN make things happen with a little luck and a lot of courage, hard work, and effort, and those dreams really DO become reality.

To leave behind some wonderful friendships created over the last 6 years was difficult, to take my children away from friends that they cherish and pre-schools and schools that they adored and flourished in was not an easy decision to make. The stress that came with trying to secure a fantastic house by renting out our own home (meaning all those jobs that you put off for years suddenly have to be fitted into every spare second of the day, often going into the night...decorating every surface of our home, so that we don't have to think about it for a few more years), not to mention the endless list of other jobs at the same time as packing up our home, looking after a 3 & 5 year old, running a company AND selling and packing up our little cottage simultaneously...........and all that packed into a few months........Believe me, when I say this, "we won't be doing it again in a hurry!!!"

So you can see, the blogging became way down my list of priorities. Making our dream come true became my main focus and boy was it worth it...every single second of the stress that it entailed.

Packing up our things each Sunday and heading back to the Wiltshire/Somerset border, we always felt a little sad...The South Hams had very quickly become the place that we most felt at home; somewhere that we instantly relaxed when opening our little cottage door and beginning to up-pack for the weekend, the friends that we made, the neighbours that were more friendly than any neighbours had been towards us in the 6 years we spent at our 'real' home, weekends spent enjoying the beautiful beaches, endless village fetes and festivals.......

As my eldest daughter started to become very settled in the wonderful school that she had started last September, the thought of our youngest doing the same when she starts this year suddenly made us realise that perhaps it was better to think about making this move sooner rather than later and why not?.....Why not make their 'weekend' lives in the South Hams a daily occurrence?

We committed the cardinal sin...."Let's just start to have a look around to see what is on the market at the moment"? I announced one Friday morning in February, prior to our journey down to the cottage. Of course it snowballed and at 9.30am the very next morning there we were viewing houses....Then it happened....we had already viewed two empty, unloved and VERY cold houses that had not only numbed my fingers but filled me with dread when thinking about the sheer amount of work that that needed to be done immediately upon moving in......We knocked on the door of the third house at 11am and were greeted not only by the huge roaring fire in the inglenook fireplace, exposed beams on ceilings and walls, exposed brick walls.........

......deep window seats......

...... beautiful new handmade small paned wooden windows , latched doors, curved walls in rooms.....

.......high ceilings with A-frames.........

........BUT it had 5 double bedrooms AND a big office (Mr SB could work from home downstairs at the end of the house, not being disturbed by 'little people') which meant that we could still easily have friends to stay with children without playing 'musical beds'. It became my SOLE mission to OWN this charming house. It was in the village that we always wanted, with a shop, post office, doctors etc.. but best of all the school, a 10 minute stroll away, is very sought after and 'outstanding' according to ofsted..... This move HAD to happen and we would move hell or high water to make the dream become reality.

The goodbyes were terrible as they were dragged out over so many days, and the last day that big shrimp went to school, well, I'd have cried if the post man had hugged me and wished me well.....Were we doing the right thing?!! It was a little late to back out now, with our house empty and signed over to the rental company, over 120 boxes packed, waiting to be transported 120 miles south, it had suddenly become reality.

Someone said to me before the move; "Oh...it will soon become reality, the school runs, supermarket, play dates etc" But believe me if this school run along the meadows.....

.......this is the early morning dog walk along the shore of this beach....

.....driving along the coastal road to Sainsburys.............


....and days are spent mooching in Salcombe before catching the tiny ferry over to East Portlemouth beach to lie on the soft sand reading and admiring the passing boats......

......before heading off on the school run.....

.........then I think I can 'just' about manage it..........tough as it is, someone has to do it!

Five weeks later the boxes are unpacked (mostly), the girls survived their first day at school.....

....and are still loving it, swimming in the school's outdoor heated swimming pool, growing vegetables at gardening club, bug hunts at the nearby wetlands and rock pooling during lesson time...what child wouldn't? We even fitted in a 4th birthday party for little shrimp.

This is the life that we dreamed of for our children. I feel very lucky and privileged to be living this life. Each morning that I wake up in this lovely home in this beautiful area, I thank my lucky stars and savour each and every moment, I don't take it for granted as I know how it could all change with a blink of an eye, but one thing that I don't like is how I have sometimes been made to feel guilty about talking about how happy I am living this lovely life, so I feel as if I can't. We were brave, we took chances, we changed our children's childhoods and the precious memories that we are in the process of creating. It creates so much hard work, stress and upheaval making a life changing move but sometimes you just make the decision and run with it, towards a brighter, happier and calmer future and never look back.............

Heavens Gate....

There are some places near to where you live that make you sometimes think; "If we moved from here I'd really miss this". This morning was one of those occasions. A 10 minute drive down the road, a short walk, with the girls collecting a multitude of pine cones, feathers and small sticks along the way.........

.....brought us here to Heavens Gate. A stunning, peaceful location on the Somerset/Wiltshire border, where you can see for miles across Somerset, Longleat House and its estate designed by Capability Brown in the latter half of the 18th century.

The sculptor, Paul Norris, worked on these stones (made from Granite originating from Mabe in Cornwall), for 2 years whilst living on the estate, and carved the them inspired by his surroundings.

Like Paul, Heavens Gate lifts my spirit too, as I know it does many others that live and visit this lovely part of Wiltshire.

Here is what Paul had to say;

"Heavens Gate is a magnificent place of beauty where people spend time absorbing the splendour of Longleat House and its park. My intention was to convey beauty through emotion rather than attract attention by art. I hope the sculptures will act as a greeting place rather than an attraction as they are set back from the viewpoint. The Millennium was the end of an era and the beginning of another, which encouraged excitement and hope for the future. Longleat is so very special as it changes with the times but holds onto its deep rooted history".

I have many happy memories of times spent at Heavens Gate. I have photos of me standing in the circular stone when pregnant with big shrimp and others of her tucked up in her sling carried by daddy when she was newborn. I have one particular memory of walking up there one Sunday morning when 41 weeks pregnant with little shrimp. Mr Shrimp and big shrimp striding on ahead telling me to hurry up as only a man can who has no idea of quite how much climbing a hill when overdue with a child, can take out of a pregnant woman!! There have been lots of pictures taken over the years here of the girls standing in the circular stone and our picnics together.

Only last week I whittled away 4 hours here, chatting away with a very dear friend I've met since living here in Wiltshire, whilst our two girls played hide and seek with each other behind the carved stones, before enjoying a picnic lunch in the April sunshine.

If ever you are this way, or visiting Center Parcs at Longleat, then take an hour out of your day to visit this spiritual place. It is located on the same road as the Center Parcs entrance. A little further up on the left you will find a car park, cross over the road into the clearing and follow the path...it's worth it, you'll see.

Bargain of the day.

My shopping trip today saw me come home with the following;

1 x Striped long sleeved t-shirt from Cabbages and Roses.

2 x Retro blue & white towelling all in one short jumpsuits from The Little White Company.

1 x Greengate tunic style dress in this beautiful print;

But my bargain of the day came from WH Smiths; Rachel Allen's fab cookbook for the grand total of; £6!!

This is selling in Cath Kidston at the moment for £25.00, but good old WH Smith has it reduced to £7.50. I was able to use the 20% off discount card that I had knocking around in my purse from a previous purchase which made me smile even more!

Thought I'd let you like minded ladies know, just in case you too were thinking of buying it.

Enjoy the lovely weather this weekend, doesn't this lovely sunshine lift the spirits?

A rainy and creative Saturday afternoon...

With Mr Shrimp painting away in the top bedroom all day, the shrimps and I have been busy with 'all things Easter'.

We've baked and decorated cakes ready for tomorrow's family visits.

Big shrimp finished decorating the egg she had started.

And little shrimp got all 'gluey and fluffy' whilst making her Easter Bonnet.

PHEW...Time for a sit down I think!

Happy Easter.

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing this weekend, enjoy yourselves and have a very Happy Easter.