G’day all.

So thanks for the advice on the Powder Room, I can’t believe how many of you took the time to actually email me with ideas, thank you.  I will hopefully do a little post on them all, show you what I think and show you how it’s coming along.  One thing for sure, there won’t be much colour in there, and I know some of you suggested some but I am a neutral pallette girl, even if that neutral is black.   I was thinking about that and wondering maybe if I’m a bit odd in terms of my (non) colour choices, but then I think sometimes fashion plays a part and at the moment fashion in trendy interiors seems to be all for the brights…so not me. 

Anyway ahoy to making traditions and such like.  Marie emailed me about her blog party asking would I like to participate.  Which got me to thinking about traditions and what routines we have here in Australia.  And funny the beach came up, ‘cos that’s what we do day-to-day now.  But so did the beaches we perused in England.  And not because we didn’t go to the beach in England.  More because we did. 

Back in the early days of our marriage and the first few weeks with our honeymoon baby Mr Beach Cottage and I drove to our nearest beach, which we repeatedly convinced ourselves was a 37 minute door to door journey but really it was nearer 47.  

That drive took us down the motorway and then down winding English country lanes, through a beautiful, beautiful old coastal town, with wooden fishing huts, shops selling oysters and cobbled streets.  

Through the town and then onto the slopes of one of the best beaches in Southern England.  Pebbles, beach huts and long long bleached old breakers to lean up against.  One of our first outings with Mr Teenage BC was to this beach, my weren’t we brave?  Goodness I think I packed a change bag for about 25 babies – a million nappies, so many changes of clothes, all manner of creams and lotions.  Looking back, at 24 I suppose I was still a youngster but I can remember sitting there just by the beach huts, a tiny baby, the sun out and watching the world go by.  Like some strange vortex time that is, with a new baby. 

Over the years, and as more babes came along we would head down to that beach often – we even made it there one Christmas for a bracing Winter’s walk with hot chocolate and the like.  But mostly it was summertime when we’d plan to spend our Sunday on the coast – we’d pack up a picnic, our wind breaker, bbq and chairs, a stack of the Sunday newspapers, head off early in the morning and spend the whole day hanging out.  For lunch we’d grill sardines and as the sun set and the tide went out, we’d walk far out where the sea had just been and often just before we’d head home, we’d pop into the pub for a quick pint.

I miss that beach.  

When anyone asks us what do we miss about England, my first thought is the beach, which is funny really as that’s one of the reasons we came here.  But there’s nothing better than that beach, in England, when the sun’s out.  Though for sure if you’re from there you’ll know that this fantasy is sometimes all too rare and often the sun isn’t out and so the whole thing was a bit hit and miss. 

So tradition for us is those sort of outings, normally to a beach, sometimes a park, always with a picnic and usually a few beers…and I think we’ll always do that, even as the kids grow up and the numbers go down…

A favourite spot for a mini-vacation, any vacation for that matter!

blogged for Hooked on Houses & The Inspired Room’s blog events, thanks girls!