at the Dorset County Show

It was recommended to me that I should go to the Dorset County Show so this I did. I don't know why I've never been as it was just up my street. Even though I have lived in Dorset for 6 years it reminded me that I spend my time in the areas that I have grown to love, but don't really take the time to explore further than the radius of Hengistbury Head to Lulworth.

There was so much to see.....and eat! ....The cheeses.. cakes..pies...sweets!  It is a surprise I didn't roll home. I loved how you could have contact with the animals and talk to the owners and breeders. I had no idea what an assortment of different breeds of sheep and cows you could get. All were stunning in their own little way. I sank my hand into the coat of one sheep and lost it in it's thick fleece. My friend asked me what was my favourite animal there; My answer was initially the piglets, then no the goats, oh and the sheep not forgetting the amazing Bulls.

It was a shame that Maria got stuck in traffic on Saturday and didn't join us as I would have loved to have seen the look on the Little's faces, when they saw the rows of tractors and animals. So that would be my only tip! Come as early as you can to beat the traffic and leave later to avoid it going home. Maria and her family did go on the Sunday and absolutely loved it.  I did really well not coming home with enough animals for a small holding and enough cheese for a cheese cake factory. But I did buy myself a lovely cheese wedge door stop and a sheep skin rug to wiggle my toes in come winter.

This show will definitely become an end of summer tradition and break the fall of having to go back to work.

 Big kids making bees wax candles

 In its life time a bee only produces a teaspoon of honey! 

 Knees

 My dream car!! 

 Didn't bring enough cash for this lovely moon print 

So white and cuddly! 

Stunning - I think these are long horns could be wrong! 

Lets hope the farmer hasn't counted these piggies 

Just like in the film Amelie - I loved putting my hands into these sacks of grain and wheat

Love a goat especially when they look this snuggly 

Could make a great leek and bacon dish with these guys! 

Cheeky Sheep with his cider bucket 

Alpacas are amazing I can't get over their gentle nature and long eyelashes

Loved this inquisitive goat! They have so much personality

This made me laugh! poor uglies! Bet they taste ok! 

We would love to hear from you about your summer finds! 

Gem x

...starting a new 'At home' series

Gem and I love nothing more than having a good snoop around people's houses on blogs and Pinterest. Some of our favourite homes are those of our friends and family. We decided to start our own 'At home' series here on Ohidoliketobe, and managed to convince some of our nearest and dearest to get involved!

So, to start our new series we have the lovely Ann Marie, a life-long friend of mine whose home is always warm, welcoming and spotless!(I don't know how she does it) Growing up she always took pride in her bedroom, carefully curating each shelf and table top with ornaments and keepsakes. Now, years later, I still find how she styles and decorates her home inspiring. Over to Ann Marie...

James and I have been living together for nearly 14 years. In the first place we owned, nearly everything was borrowed or given to us by family and three properties later our favourites are still dotted about like old friends. Some of the decorative pieces come from another generation altogether like the old clock in the sitting room, which is from my dad's family home, and the black pedestal that's in our bedroom, which used to be painted gold.

 I've also got an old suitcase that belonged to my Dad's grandfather when he served in the army which still has some of the labels on from his travels. I think that's the key to our home; I like to surround us with memories and interesting things that tell anyone looking in who we are. For example, the coconut that is knocking around in our dining room was sent by my Dad to my great aunt from the Maldives in the sixties. Dad was working there at the time. The stamps are still stuck on the actual coconut with a very young looking Queen. Imagine trying to post something like that these days?!

We moved into our current house nearly 8 years ago with a baby in my belly and big plans! I knew from the moment I walked in the door that it was where I wanted to raise our family. The house looked pretty different to how it does now, it looked bare and the previous owners seemed to like the colour orange and the whole hallway and one of the bedrooms was painted in a garish shade! If it wasn't orange it was white and it lacked any character. We set about decorating and before our baby arrived we had spruced it up and settled in. I will be honest not every idea worked and I would advise against decorating when your body is full of raging hormones!

Since that mad rush to get the house together and ready for our new arrival we have tackled a room at a time and try to decorate at least one room every spring as well as making little changes and updating things along the way. Every room change starts with a pile of home magazines ( my total weakness) and some scribbled ideas. I have recently discovered Pinterest and wonder how I survived without it all this time! Next I think about what furniture I already have in the room and how it's going to fit in with my plans, or if I want to move something from another room. Most of the time I adapt things to fit in, like the rocking chair in our bedroom has been with me since I was 12, I spray painted it white when I last decorated and I'm pretty happy with the result. If we buy something new I try and think about how it's going to fit in and change over the years and always opt for something classic that won't date. For example, the changing table from our first baby became a dresser in the dining room for a few years and is now back in the nursery for our second baby doing it's original job! I don't like things going to waste and even used the left over paint from our bedroom to paint the sitting room! Because it's a different room the light varies the colour and each room has separate accent colours which change the look.

Now with a second little lady arriving on the scene things are changing again. I feel the need to find extra storage space wherever I can and thank those clever Swedes from Ikea for making that task a bit easier! I would love to put a window seat in the box bay in our sitting room and my next project is a big one... the kitchen. I better get saving the pennies!

Thank you Ann Marie for sharing your beautiful home with us!

Maria x

Summer holidays under the Tuscan sun

Last week I stumbled back to Dorset tired but still buzzing from a week of endless fun. Sun kissed cheeks still hurting from a week of laughter, sea swimming, gelato eating heaven. Family and friends said I would fall in love with Italy and I did...deeply. The brightness of the sun, the soft amber glowing farmhouses, the joviality and animated way the Italians talk, the time they have to share their country and the love they have for food and family. There really was nothing not to like.

We spent our days cycling to the beach, singing silly songs, tasting the amazing local produce, making camp out of drift wood and laughing a lot, laughing so much there was a high risk of drowning in  the sea. When night time came we cycled to the local tavernas in Principina a mare  altogether on our rickety bikes, making sure we all got their safely or we cooked a massive feast and danced with watermelons.

The night I will remember most, was the night the owner of the farm kindly took us on a road trip to the most incredible town on a hillside, followed by a hairy twisting drive in a summer down pour of thunderous rain to Terme di Saturnia. We hesitantly stripped down to our cosies, our eyes searching in the dark for this magical place we could only imagine. Our noses being tickled by the sulphur of hot steam, our eyes cleared the mist enough for us to make out smiling faces submerged in water, bodies relaxing in the natural heat of the river. The sound of the waterfall 800 litres of water a minute fell from the hillside as we laughed some more and gingerly let our feet find themselves over the rocks readying for us to plunge into the natural springs, we stayed there till gone 1am in the morning, allowing the thunderous power of the natural springs to pummel our aching bike peddling muscles. I am glad we have no photos of this, just the memories off our laughter and surprise on our faces. 

It was Bellisimo! 

Thank you to everyone of you for making this a holiday with memories so funny I will catch myself remembering and laughing to myself like a mad women when winter comes .

See you next year our secret farmhouse under the Tuscan sun

I hope you've had a lovely summer and the memories keep you going when the rat race tries to win your thoughts over

Gem x