Country House (& behold - an actual style!)

Right before school started, the girls and I had the amazing treat of going to the country house of one of Chloe's and Mia's classmates. Mom's name is Carly and she has three sweet girls Ella (Chloe's class), Issy (here short for Isabelle/a in Mia's class) and little Evie who is two. Their house is about two hours away in Kent (although it's only 70 miles - gotta love traffic getting out of London). It is so gorgeous that I had to share photos with you. It was during those two days that I confirmed for myself that having a retreat is the key to living in London with children. Of course, when Euge and I told the girls we were going to try and rent a country house for our family, they had lofty expectations based on this beautiful beautiful home.

I actually covet both of their homes - their one in London is double ours and beautifully decorated. Actually it was here that I finally learned that there is an actual style of decorating that I love called "shabby chic" or "vintage style." Most of all, it realizes my love of beautiful linens and is very soft, feminine and yet elegant. This discovery, combined with nesting instinct, made for a few pricey purchases and today I adore the new hemstitch bed linens on my bed, with two soft blue rose linens pillows and other little additions I've made in the house.


Anyway, we had a fab time, esp me as I learned that I really like Carly and so enjoyed my time getting to know her. She even had a home birth with her third! The best part was having a bit of red wine after the kids went to bed and chatting by the fire. Here are some photos of the back of their country house and yard/gardens/pool, and the kids just having fun in the out of doors.












PS Happy Bday mom!