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I'm Alison, that's my little boy Finn, and we are absolutely thrilled to have you at BrocanteHome!

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Monday 1 March 2010

A Very Puttery February


Goodness, commit to doing something once a month and in the blink of an eye, a whole month passes by. Because, yes Sweethearts, it is time for all my Puttery Post lovelies to check their in-boxes all over again and discover this months Puttery Treats waiting to be collected in one easy download...

February was I think, a rather fabulous puttery month, jam-packed with a series of treats created by little old me and designed to deliver a little good old fashioned homemaking efficiency to your door with all the scrumptiousness you have come to expect from BrocanteHome. Between de-stinking slippers, writing "Happiness" cards  and wafting up home-made tumble dryer softener, this month on the Puttery Post we also got to grips with the menace that is the abundance of chargers we are now required to own, organized a Read Me Later file, mixed up some flu-fighting home-made hand sanitizer, chose a "Flower Book",  created some "Just Because" bowls and awarded someone we love with dinner on an "Aren't You Wonderful" plate...

All that and much more! But my favourites this month? 

The Read Me Next Shelf from February 3rd

If you are anything like me you probably have a barely checked book fetish, and find yourself acquiring book after book with hardly a good hour to spare to read!

While words may be essential to your survival, the constant acquisition of new books is bad for your purse, so today let's do battle with "Gotta have New Books Syndrome!" and instead establish a system to read what we already own before we go trawling the second-hand book shops for one more vintage literary treasure to add to our collection...

1. First choose a place where "books you haven't read" are going to live. Empty a bookshelf,  choose a big basket, or allocate a window ledge on which to store them: preferably somewhere you pass frequently so you will be constantly reminded what is available to read...

2. Scour the entire house for all the books you haven't read, then sort them into two piles: books you won't read in a million years and books you still plan on reading.

3. Give away or recycle the books you won't read in a million years. Today!!

4. Place all the other books on your "Read Me Next" shelf. Add library books and borrowed books while you are at it...

5. Finally (and this is key) make a list of the books you haven't read in the back of your Book Journal and tick them off one by one...

  Only when the shelf is empty are you allowed to go book shopping!


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And The Bedside Table from February 11th

I always think that the bedside drawer is the one place in the house we should regard as sacred: that it is a private, secret, cosy place that at once speaks of our more sensual selves, whilst providing a comforting space in which to keep those things that safeguard us in the middle of the night.

Today let's tip out all of the nonsense we have accumulated over a lifetime of shoving in goodness knows what and re-invent our private little worlds in a way that does just justice to who we are and what we need when we are snuggled up under the cosiest of quilts. 


Empty the drawer and return anything that doesn't belong in it to its rightful home. Wipe the drawer out with a cloth scented with lemon juice and lavender oil, then go through your stash of vintage linen and source a pretty embroidered runner or tray cloth to use to line your drawer.



Now comes the fun part: choosing the items to put back in your drawer.

First of all think practically: every bedside drawer should contain a spare set of house and car keys, a spare mobile phone with pay as you go credit available, a torch, a packet of matches and a couple of household candles. (Don't forget to copy a short list of emergency and family telephone numbers on to the back of a vintage postcard in case the mobile fails).  

Next up, add spare reading glasses, a tiny little photograph album with your most treasured family photographs in, your journal, a couple of the kind of pens that make you smile, some pillow spray, paper handkerchiefs, lavender sleep balm, aspirin and herbal sleeping tablets.


Other ideas? A small packet of facial wipes. Private letters wrapped in a hankie and tied in a bow. A tube of hand cream or preferably an all purpose balm like the very wonderful night-stand classic that is Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream. Bach Sleep Remedy. Massage oil. A tiny notepad. A pretty embroidered handkerchief. Vic's Vapour Rub. A packet of parma violets for sweet breath first thing in the morning. Lip balm. A book that is important to you. A secret bar of the darkest, most scrumptious chocolate you can find. A bundle of short lengths of ribbon for book-marking. A little batch of post-it notes. A pashmina folded flat for draping around cold shoulders.     

And of course anything else you need beside your bed. Night night Housekeepers..


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Should the Puttery Post take your fancy you can sign up for a years subscription on Etsy, (the cheapest option!) or pay by monthly subscription here and get my emails delivered direct to your in-box or should you prefer you can simply download each months Puttery treats for $3.00 a month below...


2 comments:

Jamie said...

I just wanted to let you know that I stumbled onto your blog today for the first time. I spent at least an hour just looking around and reading. You have a wonderful blog here, fabulous! I am going to sign up for the newsletter right now...

Kelly said...

What lovely ideas! Especially the bookshelf treat!!!

Puttery Post!

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