Snowballs deep.

Trying my best to not get too excited about Christmas just yet despite the unexpected flurry of snow, whilst simultaneously wanting to jingle my bells all the way.

Our first snowfall of the season, and our first snowfall with the new cottage colours.

So, I might not have had quite as many inches one fantasises about, but there’s been enough to do the trick and get me all festive. You must make the most of what you have in this life, don’t you? I have to say, even though my mind is whizzing around with everything I need to do, in what seems like impossibly short days, just having a moment in a morning before anyone stirs with a coffee, candle, good book and snow falling is actually the most perfectly soothing ease into the working day.

I’m a filthy beast

For anyone who’s been following along for some time, you’ll know that last week we began our rather impromptu revamp of the conservatory. This all began because of ordering a new sofa. We had been talking for some time about getting a really big corner sofa. The theory (and I appreciate this is very much a theory) is that all hoomans and puppers will be able to fit on comfortable and co-exist in front of Schitts Creek and Downton Abbey re-runs. But we know that in practice, I’ll probably still be sitting on the cold stone floor, negotiating with Oliver to ‘borrow’ a cushion he’s using as a pillow for my posterior, whilst Googling the availability of any local osteopaths.

But with the sofa on order (bless you Zero Percent Finance) and due imminently, our slightly battered and bruised conservatory needed a revamp. When it comes to decorating, I am famously clumsy. A real slap dasher – or slapper you could say. There’s usually more on me, the dogs and any surrounding furniture than the actual walls. I amaze myself at how spectacularly hopeless I am. Even after all these years. That being said, my decorating trousers are fascinating, and a real walk down memory lane of Rooms from Ye Olde Days. I especially enjoy seeing the splatters of Flower Pot from my old living room ceiling.

Anyway, we did it. Of course, everything took much longer than anticipated. In part, because much to my horror, I realised that I don’t think I’ve ever really properly cleaned parts of the conservatory in the two years we’ve been here. Many times, you’d hear the audible gasp: “oh, you filthy beast”. I worry we might be the talk of the lochside if anyone was to have overheard.

Oliver making it very clear what he thinks to our day of decorating. He got a trip to the new dog treat shop after this! We promise.

And, par for the course, the entire cottage was shrouded with chaos. And the dogs – Oliver particularly – was very grumpy about being made to sleep in their very comfortable beds on the other side of the door from us. And whenever they had the opportunity, they would try to barge in and inspect what was happening. “He’s got a green face. HE’S GOT A GREEN FACE” was said many times. Of course, I’m referring to Logie here. But he loved the process of having it cleaned off. To him, none-the-wiser about what he had done, he just thought he was getting some kind of Super Reward of Ultimate Ear Scratches for being the most devilishly handsome Good Boy. He wasn’t be entirely wrong. But he had also just been for his full groom, so I felt a good scrub to restore him to Friday’s floofiness was essential, so as to get our monies worth!

“I didn’t think that colour would work.”

I have had quite a few people get in touch with me on Instagram saying that they were not convinced about the green paint (it’s a mix of COAT Paints ‘Ditch The Tie’) when I first gave a sneak peak, and that it wouldn’t add to the cosiness of the space. I have to say: I was with you. I was nervous about the colour change (to some degree, I always find myself rather bold with paint, as I know it’s not the worst thing in the DIY-world if you hate it and need to repaint, though I appreciate that can be wasteful and should only be done when absolutely necessary). The previous incarnation of the conservatory – the brown – was a paint by one of my absolute favourite brands, Abigail Ahern. The colour was ‘Ember’ and it was so deliciously warming and cosy. But, unfortunately, her paints are currently unavailable. I think I also thought that if I was going to repaint, then I wanted a change. The aforementioned sofa is Forest Green. So we thought we would lean in, and embrace the nature vibe. Connecting with the great outdoors. And we are thrilled.

Add in our little electric fire, and the slight zhuzh (more to come post-sofa) and I am pleased to report, this space feels very cosy indeed. Especially as the snow falls. The only problem with revamping a room is that I am then so tempted to revamp adjacent rooms too. I will basically just keep going around and around in circles for the rest of my days, won’t I?

But as a friend, please, please slap me – slap the paint brush out of my hand, scream at me, whatever it takes - if I so much as mention a colour chart again in 2024. Promise?

So on that note, I shall get on merry(ish) way, and try to crack on with all these jobs before the weekend. If you have snow where you are, stay safe and warm. And I hope you all have the most wonderful weekends, whatever is in store!

G xx