The Home Of Dreams

Practical Magic's Victorian White House

Ever since I was a little girl anything magical spoke to my heart so I was naturally attracted to the 1998 American romantic comedy Film Practical Magic starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. (SPOILERS) The story goes two sisters who loose their father to a family curse that kills any man loved by a Owens woman and their mother from the heartbreak, go to live with their aunts in New England in a beautiful white Victorian manor set by the sea that use to be a lighthouse. Growing up as witches doomed by the thought of love they go their separate ways. Sally played by Sandra Bullock who never wants to fall in love stays with the aunts, Sally's aunts cast a spell to find Sally love and when the clock strikes noon she is pulled to the middle of town where there waits a local produce man with a beautiful smile and rugged beard, which she doesn't even mind. She disowns her magic and focuses on having a normal life with her husband and two little girls who a spitting images of Sally and her sister Gillian. Gillian played by Nicole Kidman goes an opposite way to try and find her self by travelling and meeting man after man in the aim to find love. She gets trapped by an abusive Hungarian man named Jimmy Angelo played by Goran Visnjic. After Gillian calls on the help of her sister Sally by the power of sixth sense, they are taken hostage by Jimmy in his car where they drug him to death by accident. When they arrive back at the aunts house they try and bring him back to life with the aunts family book of spells, Jimmy comes back as something more evil than before and attacks Gillian causing Sally to kill him for the second time. They bury him in the garden and try to keep the secret from their aunts, Sally's children and detective Gary Hallet played by Aidan Quinn who comes looking for Jimmy. Not only does a rose bush appear in the garden over the burial site but Jimmy's ghost begins to haunt the sisters while they try and go about their day to day life, he eventually possesses Gillian, Sally unites the woman of the town who use to be afraid of her growing up to preform an exorcism on Gillian to help rid Jimmy. Along with deputy Hallet who discovers the intoxicating force of the undead man when encountering him in their attic. Sally confesses to Gary Hallet which goes down well as he's fallen in love with her as has Sally with him when it turns out a childhood spell about a man with one blue eye and one green eye that she created to be therefore immune to the Owen's curse appears to be Deputy Gary Hallet who has one blue eye and one green. They banish Jimmy's spirit and Sally and Gary begin the rest of their lives with each other. Gillian's not that bad off either...
(END OF SPOILER)

But the most magical thing about the movie is the house, I fell in love with the atmosphere it created, and even more so that it was an original build just for the movie. They built two in fact that were just outer shells and the rooms were all built as sets. But the location they picked, San Juan Valley Road, San Juan Island, Washington was almost perfect, especially for the lighthouse effect next to the water. The gardens surrounding it are every herb aficionado's dream but I'll let the house speak for itself... 

~ The Kitchen ~

I'm in love with the sink, who am I kidding, I'm in love with the whole kitchen? Those glass cabinets separating rooms couldn't be more beautiful and the wooden prep station in the middle and far end of the kitchen is beautiful.

The stairs and prep station are beautiful, it reminds me of something my grandparents had growing up.

The beautiful stone tile wall at the back of the kitchen, I love the feature of the wooden farm tables that appear throughout the movie.

That aga! Just imagine what you could bake in that!?

~ The Conservatory ~

The conservatory leads out into the garden.

I would spend most of my time in this room, the amount of herbs available. Potted Plants, its almost like an indoor kitchen garden.

The glass walls let enough light in for the plants but also to create a magical glow even at night.

A birds eye view gives even more insight to the conservatory that leads into the garden from the kitchen.

~ The Parlor ~

Leather arm chairs, how could you not love them,.... okay maybe if you're a vegan etc.

How cosy do those couches look? And I love the wallpaper, welcoming of botanical prints

Thick Victorian wooden beams and large printed rugs.

~ The Dining Rooms ~

Herbs are seen throughout the house along with yarn for knitting

The Aunts knitting wheel, a beautiful craft room.

I know many women in my life who would spend hours in this room!

~ Sally's Bedroom ~

View from the balcony looking into Sally's bedroom, here you can see her wooden bed frame with trunk at the end and part of the writing desk.

Here's another view looking towards the balcony doors in Sally's bedroom. The beautiful large rug on the wooden floors next to the fireplace really make this room.

From Sally's bed you can see the top of the fireplace and the large mirror above it that add a victorian look to the room.

~ The Pantry ~

The Kitchen pantry looks like it's full of more than I could ever imagine.

 The different glass bottles in the see through cabinets give a very Victorian feel.

~ The Gardens ~

 I'm in love with the kitchen garden, I could spend days gardening here.

 The white picket fence

 What a stunning and peaceful view

All photos property of Warner Bro. and found through
http://www.amasveritas.com/film/index.html
http://hookedonhouses.net/2009/10/25/practical-magic-a-victorian-house-fit-for-a-witch/
http://weheartit.com/polaroidgurl/collections/25885540-house-from-practical-magic

It's My Birthday

And I'll Cry If I Want To

Completely forgot that it was birthday month/s coming up! For our family January, February, June and August are our busiest birthday months. Every family has them, the rush of birthdays in a month that creep up on you without warning. I got reminded when I visited my mother today (yes that's right, I'm feeling much better!) and my soon to be 17 year old brother came in and excitedly said "5 days!" to which my dear mother replies with "till what?". My brother and I share a glance and we proceeded to tell her that it's his birthday in five days, her face went white. "Oh my gosh, I forgot!" she didn't mean to, and it's quite understandable with everything that's gone on, I don't think anyone has really settled into January, have they?

Last year was a wonderful Birthday, Ralph took me to the restaurant we had our first date, a beautiful French bred cuisine destination called The Lounge. It sits in the heart of Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland, and begs to be dined in with it's beautiful decorated walls and furniture. It's become a home away from home for us, well it was, this past year we've only managed to go a few times, life has gotten in the way. I'd be happy if we went again this year. It's become a birthday tradition that in the morning I get a massage at a spa and an evening out, usually at this beautiful French sanctuary. A great way to age don't you think?

Last year ended a little stressful, so I was over the moon when I opened my stocking and in lay a gift certificate to one of our local spa's for a 1 hour massage. Something my body had been begging for, since having Rohan my back has been in really bad shape. I'd never had a bad back, this rock climber, runner and flexible lady was now making cracking noises every time she moved, locking up while changing nappies or bathing little boys. Last year my massage at Be...Salon was amazing, so much so I added a facial from my own pocket as a birthday treat to myself. I felt so refreshed, so ready for the day ahead. Everyone deserves to feel like that at least once a year, and a birthday if any is always a good day to experience it I think!
I may not have a luxurious life, but that just makes me appreciate luxury so much more!



~* Birthday Wishlist *~

A Calligraphy Set like this one from manuscript.

A New Camera Strap like this one from SweetStrapExpress on Etsy.

A Lomography Camera like this Lubitel 166 Universal 6x6 Medium Format Camera I found on Ebay.

A new scent like the spicey notes from Yves Rocher, Yria.

Sickness In Slumber

Attack of The Stomach Bug

Answering emails in the office, when I get a niggle in my stomach. Without thought I glance at the computer clock, look at that, it's 2pm! I'm probably hungry right? The kitchen is a warm welcome to hunger pangs, moulding a home made sub from brown bread, cheese and mayonnaise, maybe could have done without the mayo but butter would have been too plain. It seems after every bite, instead of the rumbles in my stomach vanishing they get stronger, so much so by the time I finish I'm almost in agony!
Without warning I make a dash for the bathroom, from this moment on it's downhill only!

The evening is spent with my son Rohan by my side, he's somehow grown up in the last hour by stroking my face and hugging me gently as if he knows this is exactly what I wanted, I'm transported back to the time's of a little girl, curled up in my parents bed with mother by my side, stroking my face until I fall asleep. How this 17month old has managed to make me feel this all over again, has astonished me? 

But before I know it I'm back in the bathroom again. Rohan waits outside the door for me, knocking with the cutest "Heyo" you will ever hear. He's only privy to a small vocabulary at the moment, as most 1 year olds are, but he says so much with just one word! When I finally come out of the bathroom, I ask if he can bring me the Ipad to message Daddy, not really thinking he'll understand and I'll probably just end up lying in bed trying to stir up the courage to establish some way of outside contact. Oh yes, I haven't mentioned it's just Rohan and I at home, but you probably realized that already.
To my amazement about two minutes later he arrives in our bedroom with the Ipad in hand. For the next almost 2 hours he sat with me until Ralph got home. I felt so loved by this quality time with my son and what normally is my role, he took on.
So when Rohan came down with it the next day, you can imagine I was heartbroken. 

It came on a lot like mine, unexpected. He was fine and then he had a temperature, not chipper little Rohan any more. The pains in his stomach started and I watched helplessly as he scrunched up his knees and bent to the ground to relieve it. I dragged us both into bed, asked Ralph to make a hot water bottle, to relax his stomach along with the medicine. We found Calpol brought the temperature down but gripe water eased the stomach. Not just for colic eh! We spent our day and night in the cream walled solitary confinement I call the master bedroom. Staring at the blank ceiling when we weren't watching Disney movies or sleeping. I noticed how lacking in design and décor my room was, how it needed a little TLC, a bit like Rohan and I. But we were cared for, Ralph waited on us hand and foot, making sure we had warm water bottles, cold compresses, medicine top ups and anything to eat that we could keep down. I was delighted when Rohan started to spark up a bit and wanted to get up and play, it made me forget that I was still unwell, until I over did it and ended up having to go back to bed. He kept coming to check on me whenever he got too overworked and needed a rest.

When Rohan wasn't with me I felt a bit helpless, letting my motherly duties down. But why? He was in capable hands with Ralph. I found myself trying to get up whenever I heard him and then being "yelled" at to get back to bed. Of course I sat there twiddling my thumbs, mind racing with chores I needed to do, ideas for the shop, blog, photos, and everything else! My camera called to me, I was still knocking about the thought of how bland our bedroom looked. How "clean" feeling it was, like a hospital bedroom, just 2x smaller. I started to take photos of what I could see that needed an upgrade, some influence of life.

When I wasn't documenting boredom I was reading, or checking emails online. Rest is such a funny word, if you think about it, it has many definitions. I did sleep. But I felt like I wasn't being productive enough with my time, I could still take it easy without having to sleep right?

The Midwife by Jennifer Worth is my choice of reading at the moment. Worth was a British nurse and musician who wrote about her practices as a Midwife in the East End of London in the 1950s. And yes, if you hadn't already guessed it, they are the books that the BBC Telivision show Call The Midwife are based on. I haven't gotten very far through the book yet even though I've had plenty of time, my mind keeps on forming a barrier against any relaxation and never fails to remind me of other things I should or could be doing. But I love books, my childhood was spent either with my head between the pages of a good book or up a tree pretending I was in one. Books now wait for me before bed on the side table, silhouetted by the table lamp above. By then I'm usually too tired to carry through more than two or three pages, and for me once I pick up a book I like to read it through to the end without putting it down or it seems I can't enjoy it as much. But then it's over too quickly and I'm eager for more! Which wont be a problem with this one, thanks to Worth, she has more books waiting for me to pile into!

Today I'm almost over this bug, Rohan seems a lot better, he's running around, singing, dancing to his shows, permitting the odd dizzy spell that we both get from time to time still. We're both up and down in temperature and tiredness, but it's 12x better than we were a couple of days ago. I can actually stand up for long periods of times now, my back doesn't feel like it's been smashed in, nor do my muscles ache around my belly any more. Rohan has spent the morning back and forth from the bedroom running his cars over my back as I rest, it was quite nice actually. Great way to get a free massage, was a bit disappointed when Ralph called him into the other room thinking that he might be bothering me.
We're taking it day by day, it would be nice to be back to my somewhat normal self, but for now I will just take comfort in the fact that Rohan seems to be doing so much better inside and out.