Honesty and Hellebores

This post is somewhat of an explanation / apology for all those many months were my blog fell silent. I hope there are some of my old readers still here, still reading? If so then this is for you and thank you!  If you are a new reader then I hope you enjoy this very honest post and learning a little bit more about me.

I remember very clearly one of my the last nights in London was spent having dinner with friends. 

The conversation natually went to that place of "but what are you actually going to do when you get there?"

We had decided to move to the countryside, leaving behind great jobs and great friendships, a life that was nearly Ten years in the making. Obviously everyone around us thought we must have some incredibly secure plan for our new future... We did not!

My reply was along the lines of... "Above all I want to be happy, I want to do something that makes me happy. I want to spend my days in and around nature. Using the skills and knowledge I have already gained and build on them, learn every day and set myself on a path where one day I can genuinely say that I LOVE what I do. Where happiness is priority, not just climbing a career ladder."

Blank faces and mmmhmmm's, led to a silent, unspoken "Yes that is everyones dream, but realistically how are you going to do that!?" " You are giving up EVERYTHING!"

I was trying to convince people who had watched me work incredibly hard at building a successful career in the city, already doing something 'I Loved',  I was also, more than anything, trying to convince myself, because I was very scared! 

So just to reassure them/me, I went on to talk about about a vague plan of " hoping to somehow stay working in styling with vintage and props but perhaps try and get into the wedding industry, and if I could do all that combined with learning and being in and around nature, then that, right there, would be my dream job!" "Plus it all obviously has to happen in and around The New Forest."... No biggie! 

They were still worried, I could tell... They still thought I was crazy, but knowing how blindly optomisitic I am, they decided to humour me and waved us off with concern hidden behind their smiling eyes, probably waiting for us to turn back just before hitting the M25.  

Yes I am blindly optimistic, I always have been so, but my optomism has always lead me to where I needed to be. Plus I am very very stubborn! Once my heart was set on persuing my dream life in the countryside then that was what I was going to do (dragging Craig along for the ride) and it WAS going to work. It had to, I believe that thoughts become things and they always do!

 So there you go, my vague plan/ big dream has manifested itself into my new journey of floral styling and being involved in the weddings at the incredibly beautiful (and inspiring) Deans Court, in Dorset. 

 There is still vintage and styling and there are still props (much more of that to come). 

My Etsy shop, much like this blog, has fallen silent but will be re-opening again in May, and it has all been so that I could focus on my new floral adventure. 

Hence the very botanical turn this blog has taken. Things will be changing a lot around here. There  will probably be less pictures of me in pretty vintage, (which does still happen but I have less time and want to document it), and if honesty really is the flavour of this post then the 'honest truth' is that I'm more likely to be seen in my Barbour jacket than my Edwardian shawl! 

Practicality over prettiness but all in the name of vintage, props and flowers so I guess I can be forgiven? 

The pictures in this post are all taken by me and are dedicated to the heavy headed Hellebore, or 'Winter Rose'. 

A large boat vase arrangement and a Boutineer using Hellebores, plus other delights found in the Deans Court garden and my own. 

♥♥ Etsy ♥♥ Facebook ♥♥ Twitter ♥♥ Instagram ♥♥ Tumblr ♥♥