Cowboys,Tequila and Gingerbread Houses

Yesterday we went to Newnam-on-Severn in Gloucestershire, a really pretty village by the river Severn where the houses on the high street are in painted pastel colours. One of my sisters lives there in an old ramshackled Georgian farmhouse on the outskirts of the village, held together mostly by the mass of ivy covering the front! They had had a cowboy themed party the night before and my brother-in-law had converted one of the old (very delapidated!) outbuildings into a Victorian syle wild west saloon complete with a bar and red chandelier!! it was amazing..there were "wanted" posters on the walls..one of which made me laugh as it was a poster with a sultry photo of Tom Cruises ex, it said;

-WANTED-

PENELOPE CRUZ

.....just because

There were old black and white framed photographs of families and cowboys,an old woodburner in the corner and blow up cactus plants ...they all dressed up and got incredibly drunk! Looks like a good party was had by all judging by the amount of empty tequila bottles! Needless to say they were a bit hungover when we got there...

Later we went to see one of my sisters' friends who is an interior designer, also hung over from the night before! She has the most incredible house and we got a tour!

I've seen this house in 25 beautiful homes and recognised it in the there (I'd bought that issue a couple of years ago to have a nosy at Nikis lovely house from Nostalgia at the stonehouse!) It's been in a few other magazines too as she loves changing everything on a regular basis.From the outside it looks almost like a gingerbread house,stained glass windows and fancy bargeboarding all painted in farrow and ball colours,the inside is like an Aladins cave,its really quirky with lovely features,some quite unexpected, like the internal stained glass window they found in a skip! The house was on 3 levels and although the rooms were small it seemed to go on and on, up a step through another door,down a coridoor...a rabbit warren of beautiful rooms.

The garden was gorgeous too, only little...but I love gardens that are like rooms and this was one of them. Walled areas with archways and steps that lead to another part,lots of topiary box bushes in wonderful pots.It had the most beautiful shabby old garden furniture and fantastic salvage finds..oooh wonderful! I bet it looks even more gorgeous in the summer when all the plants are out and the huge fig tree is in leaf. I hadn't taken my camera as I thought it was a bit rude but I still have the magazine so I've scanned some pictures to show you!..its quite different now, but you'll get the idea.

Now I have my blog on the go, I must remember to take my camera with me more often, or rather, take more photos that are in focus! There were so many lovely pictures to take, its a pretty place, the river is lovely and it was a glorious sunny day..I'll have start to become the mad auntie armed with a camera from now on!