Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Travel and home keeping...


Tick Tock...

Our departure for Italy is coming up quite quickly.

  I have been collecting travel sizes of toiletries and make up.

Deciding on which clothes I will pack 
as
 the temperature looks much warmer than I expected.

To distract myself from thinking only about the trip
I've been keeping purposely busy in The Humble Bungalow.


We purchased new graphite grey IKEA Ectorp slipcovers 
to replace the "not so white" ones 
They had stains and have been washed so many times 
that they were looking very shabby...
definitely not "shabby chic." 

We found a plush grey carpet and the room looks so much better.
Chester looks quite at home with the change.

It's odd how we can live with things for a long time 
almost not noticing 
as they fall into decline 
 then one day we just stop and say this is just appalling!
Then we act immediately to remedy the situation in a weekend.

Does this happen to you too?


One of the BEST books I have read all year.
I highly recommend it.

Haunting and beautiful.

The story line is different from anything I have read recently.
It reminded me of story "The Island Of the Blue Dolphins" 
which I read as a child and remember quite vividly.

The ending had a twist which was unexpected...
I won't spoil it for you if you have not yet read the book.


Last month I did a big purge of our knick knacks...
trying to create more "space" by reducing the clutter.

Less to dust, easier to clean and it feels so good.
Our home is very dusty...
Dark wood shows every speck too which makes it difficult to ignore.

Micro fibre cloths and mops get used regularly.
It is a daily job to stay on top of it BUT sometimes I just turn a blind eye...


When I was a young mom at home with two children I was so busy being engaged with the children
that I didn't always have time to do a proper job of house keeping...

So when friends would come by for coffee or a meal 
I made sure that the bathroom was clean and that we had fresh flowers in the house.

I need to remind myself that people who pop by for a visit 
are not here to judge me on my cleaning skills...
I try to keep things tidy and organized but I am not always on top of the dust.


I love this Method cleaner...


This one too!


Autumn leaves and cooler weather...
Fall has arrived!


Green turning to Gold...


Soup weather.



Time for a little Autumnal Porch decor...


Hanging up my gloves for the time being...
going out to the garden centre for some fall decor inspiration.

I may not have time to post again.
I leave for the 3 weeks in Italy and France next week.
You can follow me on Instagram.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~


30 comments:

Sheila said...

We were in Italy in October 3 years ago (Venice, Rome, Cinque Terre, Florence) and it was quite humid, up in the mid-20s most of the time. I found it very much like here in summer, but with more rain. I think you'll be comfortable. Have an awesome time!!

Carol in VT said...

Your (house)photographs were especially beautiful today. I, too, love the Method products, especially when I match the fragrance to the season. I have been quite happy to be able to keep my house much neater and cleaner since retiring. The next phase will be de-cluttering like you. That may take some time...sigh.

materfamilias said...

So exciting! I won't say that I enjoy the anticipation more than the trip itself, but it's a close second. . . as is the remembering, later. . . I'll definitely be watching your Instagram, keen to see where you go and what you do.

La Vie Quotidienne said...

Have a wonderful trip.

Susan said...

Have a wonderful time on your trip! And yes, we are the same as you in that we don't notice how bad something looks and then suddenly decide it is totally unacceptable! A case in point---window cleaners at our house last week and today!

Jen Lawrence said...

Enjoy your trip!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I am packing some tees and sleeveless tops with a cardigan and a tencel shirt that I wear as a jacket. Plan to bring a rain jacket as I saw they had rain in Rome...need to also bring some casual yoga pants as we bike to a vineyard in Tuscany when we are at the cooking school! Variety of activities but hope I have all the bases covered...will post pictures on IG...stay tuned Sheila!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

It IS easier to keep a home tidy when we have more time...as any organized person will tell you its more efficient to deal with stuff right away rather than waiting until it becomes a monumental task!
Take your time with the purge...once done you just have to be mindul not to fill the voids created with more stuff!!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

International Travel is fairly new to me...I started after retiring and I cannot believe that it has been 5 years since my last trip !
Am totally looking forward to exploring new places and savouring the sounds, sights, food and wines!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Thank you Adrienne...will do.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

We had our window guy here last week! Now I need to do the inside windows...maybe they will wait until I return?

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Thank you Jen, will do my best!!!

Jeannine said...

Thank you for this varied post. I know exactly what you mean about living with things and not noticing until suddenly you do! I also know what you mean about the dust collecting, etc. I am hoping that one day, when I'm retired, I will be much more on top of things. Maybe that's a dream, but I'm still going with it! Have a wonderful trip!

Anonymous said...

Your trip to France and Italy sounds wonderful. Have a great time. I'm sure adventures await.
Your photos are just beautiful and your stories always inspiring. Thank you.

Safe travels,
Honey Bee

Anonymous said...

Have a wonderful trip!
Dottoressa

hollybholly said...

Enjoy our adventure and looking forward to posts on IG. Thinking about replacing my sofa with the Ektorp. Aside from the slips getting dirty, do you find it wearing well?

KSL said...

Have a fantastic trip, I think you'll really enjoy Italy and of course Provence. I'll be following on Instagram! xo

Madame Là-bas said...

I’m sure you will have a fabulous time in France and Italy. I’m having a hard time commenting. Brian bought me a new computer and I’ve had to make some changes to blogger. My sister just came back from St Juan les pins and she said that it was very warm still. I love following travellers on Instagram.

Lorrie said...

Have a wonderful trip! I'll be following on IG. I'm also leaving next week - for Spain with a group of students. It will be a very different travel experience, but I'm looking forward to it. The suitcase is open in the sewing room and I'm starting to throw things into it.

LA CONTESSA said...

OFF YOU GO!!!!!!!
CIAO CIAO BELLA................SOAK IT ALL UP!
XX

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Retirement can make us rather lazy...there is always another day to accomplish what we put off today!!!
The dust seems to resettle after I mop the floors so its a never ending job...I think its our forced air furnace that messes up the bungalow.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

My new IPhone has a much better camera so I hope to take some great photos to share with you Honey Bee.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Thank you :-))

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Oh the slipcovers are really very sturdy and we had our white ones for probably 10 years and I washed them regularly...one of our cats gets fur balls and leaves a mess every so often so thats why we had some stains that would not come out. I would totally recommend them.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

They have some fun events on the Cook Eat Discover Tuscan cooking excursions week...we will be fishing in the Tyrrhenian Sea and biking to a local vineyard and more!
Hope the WIFI is decent in the medieval village for posting pictures.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I knew that you needed a anew computer so thats good news...hope you can rectify your ability to comment. Maybe you can use Bloglovin if it continues ot be an issue?
Juan les Pins was a setting for one if the books I read this year...it must be beautiful.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Your trip sounds like fun! Hope to see your pictures on IG...bon voyage!
I need to get my carry on packed this weekend...

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I will! Cannot wait to see Italy! So looking forward to the experience, the architecture, food, wines and scenery.

Mary said...

Was in Paris last week and the weather was changeable: sunny and 22c one day, then rainy and chillier several of other days. Traveled on to Switzerland and then points north where the weather was just as capricious. Just back. Hope the weather cooperates wherever you go. Have a wonderful trip.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Hope you had a fun trip Mary!
Rome is forecast to be 24 and 25 the days we are there...Tuscany in the village we are staying on should be around 22 and we will wait to see what the weather is like in Provence and France. Will hope for the best.