Today was supposed to be a productive day. Today was supposed to be a great day. Instead I've been a bit miserable today. And apologies to those of you on Twitter who have born the brunt of it. And thank you for your attempts to keep me upbeat.

The cause of my misery is this...

...and this...

It's fair to say it's been a challenging Half Term. We are 3 weeks in with the building repairs and typically the worst week coincided with Half Term. I've been a little bit stressed. I was however so looking forward to today. Matthew had planned to take today off to give me a much needed work day. The builders had also planned to rub sand down the entire stairwell of the house. This entailed covering the entire place with a layer of dust that you have never seen. it also entailed ladders everywhere and making going from A to B in the house virtually impossible.

Consequently I have got absolutely nothing done and sat amongst a Sahara equivalent of dust in the process.

However all was not completely lost. I decided that I wasn't fit for anything constructive and the only thing taht was going to cheer me up and take my mind off it all was to lock myself in the attic studio, turn the music up loud and play with my new Orla fabric.

So all has not been completely lost.

Not so much a TGIF...TGFO...thank goodness for Orla ;-)

It's official. My little boy is all grown up. I am now no longer allowed to go and buy his clothes without him. I am now no longer allowed to choose and expect him to wear whatever I like . I am now no longer to expect him having a passive role in the process.

I used to love flicking through the Mini Boden catalogue and ear mark the corners. I used to like going to peruse the shelves at Gap. Neither of these are acceptable any longer.

The boy now how has opinions. How can that be? I've been used to my daughter having opinions since long before she could even talk. As for Noah, he had strong opinions about what colour his hoodie had to be at a very early age.

But Sam? My laid back, as long as it's within reach, child?

Apparently he has opinions too.

We've just come back from a shopping trip, while the little 2 are still at school. This boy knows what he wants and I'm proud to say he makes it look good too. When my babes were little I used to want time to stand still. I loved pulling them all up close and couldn't bear the thought of these days going. I wasn't sure I'd know what to do with them as they got older, became young adults. Having spent the day with just Sam, I can't wait. We have had such a blast. Just the 2 of us. Chatting, joking, being pals. And a great shopping loving pal he is turning out to be!

I hope it's been a lovely Valentine's Day for you. Right here we've been clearing out the love nest. That's the next room to be hit by the builders tomorrow.

Actually it's been a bit of a blessing. I'd been meaning to clear out my wardrobe for ages and I managed to get rid of 3 bin bag worth of old clothes. The wardrobe is looking a little empty now, so I shall have to rectify that very soon ;-)

We' don't really do Valentine's Day in our house. 'We' don't really believe in it. I think you know who 'we' might be...

As a consequence I normally buy Matthew a present that we'll both like (it's normally the only one I get.)

I've been wanting one of Dee's prints for ever. So to coincide with all the refurb we are doing, it seemed a good time to purchase.

Fortunately Matthew loves it as mush as I do and is very keen to get the others I have my eye on too.

Hope you got what you wanted this Valentine's Day xx

It's fair to say I'm not a happy bunny today. I'm getting a bit unsettled by the builders constantly being around. I am used to having the house to myself during the day and am not getting that at all. They are very nice. Perhaps a bit too nice and friendly. Always wanting to stop for a chat. Ask what I'm up to. "Trying to work, you *******"!

I then had a run in with the mother of one of Noah's classmates. Noah had done something he really shouldn't have to a boy who had been goading him. I immediately made him write to apologise and offer to pay for the damages. Strangely the boy never gave the letter to his parents...oh, could that be because he'd have to explain what he'd done to Noah? Suffice it to say our contretemps didn't go too well and I was left fuming.

Fortunately that was the point at which the doorbell rang and my weekend's indulgent purchasing arrived. This oh so beautiful little pile of Orla delightfulness obviously doesn't make up for such stresses we have to deal with, but it sure as hell helps.

Lucky lucky me! It was a question of being in the right place at the right time. I've just come back from dropping Noah at footy and having a quick warm cuppa before standing on the cold wet sidelines when I saw Aunty Cookie's tweet re her sale. Normally I miss these heads up, but not this time.

I am now the proud owner of these 2 amazing fabrics. I've used the yellow one before, so am over the moon to have some more of this in my collection. And the grey/blue one is going to be a perfect addition to my new scheme.

Can not wait for them to arrive! Thanks, for the alert, Shannon! And if you want to see if there's any left for you...head straight over to the amazing Aunty Cookie store right now...

At last it's started. Finally the builders are in and the day I was both dreading and relishing has arrived. You know when you anticipate how bad really can it be? And it takes less than 10 seconds for the first rubble of plaster to be removed and instantly the house is filled with dust? It's a bit like having your second child. All thoughts of how awful it was the first time have instantly disappeared and whilst you know it was the worst experience of your life, you can't quite feel the pain anymore so you forget...just a little bit. Ok, I'm not comparing having builders in to childbirth! It's the sentiment!

We have been monitored for nearly 3 years for suspected subsidence and finally it was agreed it was and the go ahead was given. Fortunately it is all covered by insurance and so it's a matter of grinning and bearing it and focussing on the end result (Orla, Orla, Orla)

As many of you know I've hated the decor in the house we moved in to more than 5 years ago and so this is quite a blessing to have it redecorated from top to bottom and a few rooms imbetween. So what's a few weeks of (major) inconvenience if we get a little help in getting the house how we want it. I have big plans for this hallway. It is so grand and beautiful, but is desperately crying out for a bit of 'Wow' factor. I am slightly nervous about getting it right though. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity and we need to choose carefully. Because I got my way with the Orla paper in the living room, I've had to give Matthew final say out here. Or at least let him think he's getting final say...

As you can tell we have a long way to go and there may be a lot of tears, a fair amount of moaning, but hopefully it will all go as smoothly as possible and before we know it will all be a distant memory...

I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but it's beautiful here today. Cold, but beautiful. I've been on a lovely little run out to Ilkley to take some stock to a gorgeous new stockist, Cakewalk.

This is an absolute gem of a place, tucked away off the main high street and is a collection of a few independent shops under one roof. It's a real Aladdin's cave full of vintage and handmade work, most of which is made in Yorkshire. Cakewalk is run by artist Emma Straw, who has some of her own lovely work on show. I was thrilled when Emma asked is she could stock my hearts and needle and pin sets and even more so when I delivered them there and saw what a find it was.

Of course I couldn't leave without buying something, but I did limit myself to just one thing (even though I could have bought the entire shop). As soon as I saw this jug I knew I wasn't leaving without it. Isn't it a beauty?

If you live in the vicinity, you must go visit. You won't be disappointed, I promise. Ilkley itself is a wonderful little town, full of quirky unusual shops like Cakewalk and you can always revive yourself at Betty's afterwards.