I was asked this week by a very dear friend if I was a hoarder and I said yes!
However after 48 hours in the company of a friend's daughter (who is really rather lovely and isn't as stern as all that despite being queen of clutter clearing) I embarked on the mind blowing Phase II of clutter clearing and sorting and tipping and charity shop dropping and giving away and clearing and cleaning and and and and (you must get the picture by now) I can now say "I am Nell and I used to be a hoarder".
Unfortunately the rest of the family haven't caught up and they are still trailing around leaving everything where they feel it should be, whilst I have turned into the Meryl Streep character from the fabulous Lemony Snicket's Unfortunate Series of Events film and see disaster at every dropped hair clip!
I am longing for my mother and step father to come for a visit, it normally entails my mother tutting and sniffing and my steppa marvelling at how much useless stuff I can hoard for a rainy day!
We've had more than enough rainy days and nothing has been useful so it's all gone!
Gone gone gone.
I am hoping that I will remain strong and it wont start creeping back in, if it does will you remind me that the 'must have bargain that I can't live without' has to serve a useful purpose.
I've emptied the house of everything and have actually sat down and read a friend's Growing Spaces blog and marvelled, the perfect excuse to go shopping for storage! I've also found a pile of books to keep me on the straight and narrow (Dawna Walter, Judith Wilson) AND I now have a coffee table, ok so it's a coffer, which this week include my favourite books from the wonderful and talented (of course I'm biased) William Yeoward.
There's so much more room that I can now share my 80s dancing techniques with the children, they are understandably not impressed but it clears the room! Bonus!!
See you again soon!
Nell x
Sunday 8 July 2012
Thursday 5 July 2012
Camping in Berkshire
The Farm Shop is open Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 4pm selling my favourite
~Present Cupboard Loves~ every aspect of pork, as well as serving teas, coffees
and cakes. Do follow us on Twitter @Wysipig
Put a date in your diary for Saturday 14 July 2012 which is
the July Open Day!
You could always make a weekend of it and pitch up a tent,
have a look at the Camping Berkshire website http://www.camping-berkshire.co.uk/.
You can follow them on Twitter @campberkshire
The farm is surrounded by The Coombes (http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4067) which is
a wonderful place to walk and lose yourself in peace and quiet.
I do hope you will find your way up to the Farm Shop soon, be
sure to tell us how you heard of us.
More smells
As soon as I publish a blog I think I should have added in something else! Bear with me, I'm new to blogging and clearly have a lot to learn!
Following on from my Smells blog I wonder how many have you have said "well where can I get lavender cream?". I am very pleased to announce that I am a Consultant for a Jüstrich Cosmetics. Please do browse the website and if you are in the Thames valley then contact me via the website to book presentation of Just ~ Swiss herbal bodycare products. If you do order anything and are prompted for the consultant code then my code is NPG2012.
Following on from my Smells blog I wonder how many have you have said "well where can I get lavender cream?". I am very pleased to announce that I am a Consultant for a Jüstrich Cosmetics. Please do browse the website and if you are in the Thames valley then contact me via the website to book presentation of Just ~ Swiss herbal bodycare products. If you do order anything and are prompted for the consultant code then my code is NPG2012.
Smells
As I write up this blog I can see and smell the beautiful stocks I picked up from Wokingham Market this morning.
Smells are very important to me. I am sure my heart flips when I smell baby powder as it brings back the memories of those gorgeous little toes and the gappy smiles of my children.
Lavender is one of those smells that calms and awakens me. What a bonkers thing to say, but it's true! Lavender is well known for its calming qualities. My children went through stages of bad sleeping and it drove me to despair. Many years before the children rocked up I was invited to an Aromatherapy party. Oh! I am so glad I went! My bonkers children had to sleep! I would run a chamomile bath, wrap them in a warm towel and when dry, before the 'warmed on radiator' PJs I would cover their toes, ears, back of neck, chest and back with lavender cream. Sleep. Lovely sleep!
To say lavender awakens me is well yes I know daft! However, lavender reminds me of two wonderful ladies who are sadly no longer here. My father's mother was at home in the garden in Rowington wearing a quilted jacket stuffed full of mints incase a horse escaped and she needed to catch it! My mother's mother was a girl about town who used to change for supper. Those were the days! Both of them had a bowl of lavender and would squidge the fading blue as they wafted into a room - smelling of mint, baby powder and Ellnet!
These two very strong ladies inspire still. I am useless at flower arranging yet spent hours watching Granny Sheldon arrange the church flowers in Bath, I was too impatient to knit anything other than a square cotton dishcloth yet used to sit for hours watching Granny Pritchard-Gordon embroider. I think they'd be proud of me, if only for my love of smells!
I am very lucky that The Original Present Cupboard stocks beautiful bath oils and body lotions from Lubatti, their bottles evoke memories and the scents are divine.
I am very lucky that The Original Present Cupboard stocks beautiful bath oils and body lotions from Lubatti, their bottles evoke memories and the scents are divine.
Fabulous finds and fantastic friends
As I mentioned in the first blog
The Original Present Cupboard has been around since 2006 and over the years I have been very lucky to meet some wonderful people and I'd like to think you'd like them too!
Many many years ago when my smallest was a tiny baby I went to a gift fair to see a friend of mine and ended up meeting Harriet from Hunter Gatherer who has been one of the funniest friends I have met. In time I might just share the tale of our first gift event! The Original Present Cupboard stocks Cinnamon scented kindle cones and Bowlovers which are both amazing!
A great friend and blogger middleagedcred suggested I join Twitter as I was struck down with flu (not just small flu but big huge 5 months off work flu) and there'd always be someone to talk to at silly insomnia o'clock. Oh how I laughed, chatted randomly and got to know many Tweeters.
One of my earliest Twitter meets was with Georgie Newbery The Flower Farmer who is fabulous, has a black labrador and a terrific sense of humour. I love treating my friends and loved ones to gifts and gorgeousness and the flowers are a classic example of a gorgeous gift!
I have spent many hours tweeting and therefore I felt I had earnt myself an addict mug available from Name Art; a number of my friends have been given these mugs and we proudly sip our coffee from ours at the shop.
Another tweeting friend introduced me to his girlfriend Claire and since then she has made some fabulous cakes for me including an Girls Football Team cake (the girls were totally amazed by it), bowler hat cupcakes for my leaving do, some fabulous piggie cupcakes for Open Farm Sunday 2012 at Wysipig . I'm looking forward to the cupcakes for the July 14 Open Day at Wysipig as well as the birthday cake for my eldest!
Also through Twitter I got to know Gabriella from Moobaacluck who made the wonderful Open / Closed bunting for the shop. I could spend hours looking at her website and many of my friends and the childrens' teachers have been blessed with a handpainted personalised gift.
If you are looking for a hogroast for an event or would like to order some pork then I can't help but enthuse about Wysipig. I have blogged about them previously but without them I'd not be able to have a shop!
Many many years ago when my smallest was a tiny baby I went to a gift fair to see a friend of mine and ended up meeting Harriet from Hunter Gatherer who has been one of the funniest friends I have met. In time I might just share the tale of our first gift event! The Original Present Cupboard stocks Cinnamon scented kindle cones and Bowlovers which are both amazing!
A great friend and blogger middleagedcred suggested I join Twitter as I was struck down with flu (not just small flu but big huge 5 months off work flu) and there'd always be someone to talk to at silly insomnia o'clock. Oh how I laughed, chatted randomly and got to know many Tweeters.
One of my earliest Twitter meets was with Georgie Newbery The Flower Farmer who is fabulous, has a black labrador and a terrific sense of humour. I love treating my friends and loved ones to gifts and gorgeousness and the flowers are a classic example of a gorgeous gift!
I have spent many hours tweeting and therefore I felt I had earnt myself an addict mug available from Name Art; a number of my friends have been given these mugs and we proudly sip our coffee from ours at the shop.
Another tweeting friend introduced me to his girlfriend Claire and since then she has made some fabulous cakes for me including an Girls Football Team cake (the girls were totally amazed by it), bowler hat cupcakes for my leaving do, some fabulous piggie cupcakes for Open Farm Sunday 2012 at Wysipig . I'm looking forward to the cupcakes for the July 14 Open Day at Wysipig as well as the birthday cake for my eldest!
Also through Twitter I got to know Gabriella from Moobaacluck who made the wonderful Open / Closed bunting for the shop. I could spend hours looking at her website and many of my friends and the childrens' teachers have been blessed with a handpainted personalised gift.
If you are looking for a hogroast for an event or would like to order some pork then I can't help but enthuse about Wysipig. I have blogged about them previously but without them I'd not be able to have a shop!
Wysipig and the July Open Day
The Original Present Cupboard is very lucky to have a shop on a farm in the Aborfield countryside.
On Saturday 14 July 2012 Wysipig at Ellis’s Hill Farm, Arborfield will be having its monthly open day, between 10am and 4pm.
Visitors will be able to sample the wonderful range of pork products including master butcher Kevin Turner's tasty sausages and bacon. Audrey French, the proprietor, will be on hand to share her knowledge of food and cooking with helpful hints and advice, together with details of future events and the company's weekly home delivery service .
Visitors will be able to relax and enjoy a hog roast roll, teas and coffee; cakes from Warings bakery as well as some themed cupcakes from Cake Obsession.
The steam engine, vintage tractors and vehicles will be on show and visitors will be able to see the pigs and goats.
Wysipig is at Ellis’s Hill Farm, Sindlesham Road, Arborfield, and more details can be found on the website at Wysipig.co.uk and on Twitter @wysipig or by calling 07774 989362.
SPECIAL ATTRACTION
Furniture repair surgery by local specialists ‘Traditional Restorations ‘will be taking place on the farm demonstrating techniques and giving quotations for small items or arranging appointments for home visits.
On Saturday 14 July 2012 Wysipig at Ellis’s Hill Farm, Arborfield will be having its monthly open day, between 10am and 4pm.
Visitors will be able to sample the wonderful range of pork products including master butcher Kevin Turner's tasty sausages and bacon. Audrey French, the proprietor, will be on hand to share her knowledge of food and cooking with helpful hints and advice, together with details of future events and the company's weekly home delivery service .
Visitors will be able to relax and enjoy a hog roast roll, teas and coffee; cakes from Warings bakery as well as some themed cupcakes from Cake Obsession.
The steam engine, vintage tractors and vehicles will be on show and visitors will be able to see the pigs and goats.
Wysipig is at Ellis’s Hill Farm, Sindlesham Road, Arborfield, and more details can be found on the website at Wysipig.co.uk and on Twitter @wysipig or by calling 07774 989362.
SPECIAL ATTRACTION
Furniture repair surgery by local specialists ‘Traditional Restorations ‘will be taking place on the farm demonstrating techniques and giving quotations for small items or arranging appointments for home visits.
The Original Present Cupboard ~ a new chapter
Hello there, you've found this blog so thank you!
The Original Present Cupboard has been around since 2005, when Nell decided to add something else to the chaotic mix of 3 children (aged 1, 5 and 8), a busy husband, an overgrown garden and an ancient cat.
After a completely bonkers change of magnum wearing neighbourhood policing direction, I returned to what I love best ~ gifts and gorgeousness ~ in the shape of
The Original Present Cupboard . The children have matured a few years and only one of them is smaller than me, the busy husband is still busy, the cat is even more ancient and to add in a bit more barking there's a daft dog. The garden is less overgrown but like everything else it needs time!
The Original Present Cupboard can be found in the Farm Shop at Wysipig thanks to my fabulous friends who breed pigs on a farm that evokes many childhood memories. The Original Present Cupboard website is coming soon, do follow us on Twitter @MrsOrigiPresent
The Farm Shop is open Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 4pm selling favourites from The Original Present Cupboard every aspect of pork, as well as serving teas, coffees and cakes. Do follow them on Twitter @Wysipig
We look forward to seeing you soon!
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