Is it possible to find affordable interior design?  And is it worthwhile hiring an interior designer?  I am not blessed with a natural ability to pull together cohesive looks for my home, I love scrolling Instagram and Pinterest and I dream of the most amazing magazine inspired interiors.  But reality is a bit different, interior design looks easy but it really isn't, for me anyway!  Plus there is the little matter of getting my husband to agree - forever practical. he doesn't quite understand my need for all the extra 'faffy' bits!

I have a beautiful home, my cottage in the woods, we have lived here for coming up 30 years now!  It was a renovation project and we originally intended to move on but we fell in love with it and have stayed.  I think my cottage deserves some extra TLC now that the children have grown up and flown the nest.  And it was very much on my radar especially over lockdowns with a new emphasis on DIY projects in the UK.  My husband built a wood store and painted the outside of the house, not my idea of fun!

Then Charlotte got in touch with me.  Charlotte has recently set up her own interior design business Minshell Designs and works alongside her husband who is a property developer.  Charlotte asked if I might consider writing a blog post about interior design, we got chatting and I said well why not help me and I can document the process on my blog! 

Minshell Designs is based in Buckinghamshire and works across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, the Home Counties and Greater London.  They  offer a complete design service from property development, design and build, project management, interior design and full interior fit out. 

Below.  'before' my conservatory and dining area and initial design ideas from Minshell Designs

I went to Boots Hearingcare recently for a free hearing test, I have been meaning to have one for ages, well since I turned 50 probably, but when Boots Hearingcare asked if I would consider sharing details of their free hearing test service on my blog, I decided it was an ideal opportunity to get one done myself!  For quite a number of years I have suffered with painful ears, recurring ear infections, excess wax and temporary poor hearing which also caused me to feel dizzy and unsteady - gosh I sound like I am falling apart!  I was under a private ENT Consultant originally and I had regular appointments to get my condition under control, this included microsuction and antibiotics.  Eventually I was able to transfer to the ENT Nurse at my local NHS Hospital - until Covid arrived! 

For the last 18 months I have had to either pay for private microsuction ear wax removal or go without.  And although I have increased the time between appointments, it is clear I still need this service.  The longer I go without seeing the ENT Nurse, the deafer I get, I am fairly sure it is related to my excess ear wax and ear eczema but I still knew that it was important to get my hearing checked and especially as I am over 50.

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Hi!  I am slowly getting back into a routine after the summer break!  You may have seen 'being fifty and fab ... this summer' where I touched on what I have been up to during the holidays.  In this post I wanted to share my new home office and more about my autumn planning, with help from the lovely life and mindset coach, Siân Winslade!  I love a bit of planning this time of the year, much more so than new year resolutions!  It is a habit that I started once I had my children and after the summer holidays, September felt like a new year, new start.

I have moved my 'blogging' into a new home office, I decided to separate home and blog and Fifty & Fab is now based in the log cabin in my garden.  Following on from my coaching with Siân, I realised that a lot of my overwhelm was due to my crowded office in the house, and no separation between 'home' and 'work'. 

I was recently sent a book to review, Just Passing Through - Interactions with the World 1938-2021 by Daniel Snowman, interested me because of the poignancy of the title - we are all 'just passing through' and sometimes everyday history, from the man on the street, normal people like you and me, can be the most fascinating.