Friday 29 July 2011

bright whites mattress

on Park Parade, NW10
went for a swim at the lovely old Porchester Baths last night (thankfully we managed to get in and out before the lane swimming got too competitive) and spotted this pair of mattresses outside the corner DIY shop on my road on my way home...and then there was one...
blink and you'll miss'em

Monday 4 July 2011

the kitchen of mass destruction....

in a state of bliss...now its all finished!
i have been putting off the HUGE post i need to do about my recent kitchen makeover, which actually included demolishing a wall, blocking up one door and putting in a new one to the garden, building a 'summer house', installing a kitchen, new flooring and putting up a new garden fence (my facebook friends have lived it blow by blow for the last 6 months!).  it all began in January (after years of procrastination and endless indecision) and goes a little something like this.....first get a huge shed installed on my decking with a view to being a future craft room/den/place for visitors to sleep (!) but for the immediate use as a storage unit!  the lovely Polish boys and my [super]Dad did a grand job of getting it in place, despite the cold weather (and odd snow flurry that day) in late January!
in the cold of winter...the deck is ready...just hope they don't use a spirit level!
up go the walls!

job done!
next came the mammoth task of packing the whole of my kitchen and living room into boxes....and saying goodbye to the chaos!
the kitchen chaos before was beyond ridiculous...i had to move a ton of junk to get to the cooker!
it really had gotten totally OUT OF HAND!

CHAOS!
how did i EVER live with this mess?!
time to start packing!
stop mucking about and get on with it!
stick all the boxes in the 'summer house' (it didn't remain this tidy looking!)
rip the bloody doors off!
say goodbye to that wall...see ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!!
in February my brilliant builders, Dean & Will, came to knock a couple of walls down and put in a new door to my garden....
brrrr....there's a terrible George Raft (draft) in 'ere!
the summer house looks nice tho....
ta daaaaa...new door!
from the outside....i think the pigeons approve!
....and down comes the inside wall!
then it was a few months wait, while i settled into a new job and decided [finally] which kitchen  i wanted to buy (in the end i went for ikea cabinets & appliances, howdens beech style counter tops and wickes oak effect flooring) before Dean & Will were back (with a little help again from super-Dad)...ding ding...ROUND TWO...kitchen installation, block up side door, new fence, new floor!
Will contemplates...where do I start?
move the old kitchen into the garden....
ikea delivers the kitchen...how am i sposed to get around? oops!
Dean and super-Dad get to work....

making up the carcasses....
at least i have a little alleyway to get upstairs!
we're getting there!!!
the door's sealed up...and the flooring's down...happy feet!
next its the new garden fence....
meanwhile...old kitchen is still in the garden....
and the foxes think it's their own personal obstacle course!
and finally....we're on the home stretch!  the kitchen is in...the fence is up (& herb garden installed) - i just need to paint and i know just the man to help...!
the kitchen is done!
the lovely 3-ring hob is in and the butcher tiles are up!
i start to fill the shelves with all my lovely things i've been missing for months (including this gorgeous tea-set, a charity shop find!)

3 trips to ikea and i find the perfect bar stools...now all i need are some barflies to test them...!
the fence is lovely and the herb garden and plants are settled in now that the old kitchen has been removed!
the paint-a-thon begins...with a little help from a friend...
johnnie brundle-chef - after a hard few days painting tests the kitchen and barfly facilties!
...and it really is lab-white brilliance...so its time to unpack the shed and find a home for all my books and pictures (this is an ongoing process.......!).
emptying the summer house....this could take some time...
labour intensive decision to color-stack the books...but well worth it I think!
achieving a state of whitenessssss.....
a place for everything and everything in its place...including my new BARFLY!
my first new purchase...a fly print from the lovely & charming Rory Dobner...collected today from his studio in Hampstead!
i can't believe its really over...and it looks absolutely FABULOUS!  i've already been inspired to make some delicious food and had a number of friendly bar-flies round to to test the bar-stools - so after months of hibernation i think the party is ready to start....the grand opening will be a wicked party August bank holiday weekend...i just have to get all the boxes unpacked by then!!!

mattress updates...

lyin' in the sun on Harvist Road, NW6
i realised i didn't post these few mattresses that i have spotted lately afterall...so here they are....
DO NOT CROSS THE LINE! Tavistock Road, W11 
there may be trouble ahead...Monson Road, NW10
....and evidence of the residents of Mattressland's inventive use of a bike-lock station - who needs "left luggage"!
on Park Parade, NW10

sly fox

mr foxy on Portobello Road
so happy that the new fence in my garden hasn't deterred the fox cubs....a bold little fellow came right up to my living room window the other night - but sadly i didn't have time to snap a photo.  i haven't managed to get a shot of any of my garden visitors any lately (apart from the colourful one above - spotted at Portobello Market under the Westway).  i managed to get my hands on a copy of An Illustrated Guide to Cocktails by Orr Shtuhl and Elizabeth Graeber - with this gorgeous sly fox on the front cover.
you sophisticated fox!

a great little boo - not only does it give you some beautifully illustrated classic cocktail recipes but also the stories behind their names (& i don't know if it was deliberate but the book actually SMELLS lemony!) - it will certainly come in handy on my new brekkie/alkie bar.