Goodbye childhood...

Hello student digs. As proud as she is, of the new look room, I don't think I had better publish a photo of every square inch of it. I don't think E will mind this view though. It's a triumph over blu-tac. Boy that stuff made a mess of the walls and ceiling (yep ceiling). The old frame in this photo is a montage of her favourite bands which she can easily change from time to time.

It was goodbye lime green feature wall - her choice when she was about ten or eleven, and goodbye floral curtains (I could never work out how I managed to have a daughter who liked florals when I've never had anything floral in any house I've ever lived in as an adult). Hello brick effect wallpaper and black duvet cover. We pinched the brown leather sofabed from J's room while the poor lad was out. Even though there's no chance in hell of having any boyfriends over, apparently it's not cool to have a single bed when you are sixteen. It's still cool to have a cuddly Brocolli on your bed though.

The cat likes the improvements but she's proving something of a trip hazard when she chooses the black furry rug to sleep on...

The white bits are paws!

One of the other changes we made was creating a much bigger study and art area. E is hoping to study English Language, Literature, Art,  Photography and Sociology for A Levels. The art is something she enjoys as 'downtime' and so it was important to have a much deeper desk to accommodate A1 paper. In the back of my car and almost on the way to the tip was an old kitchen table. It's a clever IKEA design that swivels open. Luckily the inside is pristine and just happened to be the perfect size for A1 art plus room for paints etc. I love it when you can just shuffle things around without having to buy new. E also has a bookshelf from my room in exchange for two bookcases that are now in the kitchen. Jake has Ella's old desk in exchange for the sofa bed. So we haven't needed any new furniture at all.

On the downside the conservatory looks like a bomb has hit it. Two car loads have been taken to a charity depot. With a couple more to follow I think. A small amount will go to M's sisters foster children and some to a friends daughter down the road, but really we don't have that many people to pass things on to. I'm holding on to bits and pieces I know I will enjoy seeing my grandchildren play with, ie. a basic dolls house that could do with a makeover, brio train stuff etc.

So, not a lot of crochet going on while we've been doing back breaking work on the bedroom. It didn't seem like a high priority when we still have to build a kitchen but I try not to go back on a promise and I promised it would be done at half term. I'm glad we've done it because E says she feels like she can settle down and work with a clearer head for her GCSE's now.

Meanwhile, master chef, aka Jake, has trotted off to school today with his special scone recipe he had to a. Dream up b. Draw and c. Practice making. He makes it at school today, it's a banoffee scone. Wow. Can you imagine that?