forest house

16 November 2015

We had a little holiday last week, just four nights, but for us it is very unusual to pay for somewhere proper to stay instead of just camping. When you run your own business, you get used to not having any long holidays...no paid holiday, sick leave or maternity leave...(I was answering work emails the day after giving birth last time!) I much prefer it to working in a boring office that I used to many moons ago.
Anyways, it's been quite some year for us, my mister refurbished our Tokyo shop, then a few months later we signed a lease to our new Isle of Wight shop, shortly after that I found out I was having a baby, so working hard fitting out the new shop with constant nausea and fatigue was one of the hardest things I have done in my life...oh and entertaining a toddler a the same time! Needless to say, we needed a break, so we booked one of these wooden chalet type houses in the woods in Hampshire.

















It was so lovely to get away somewhere different, although I never want the kind of life that you need a holiday from, it was nice not to be able to do anything or worry about work or the housework! Just looking out of the window or sitting in the hot tub (yes, me and my nipper were careful about the temperature ; ), playing jenga etc...

Our tot just never stopped running about the house since the minute we arrived. She had a huge meltdown when we had to leave. She loved the hot tub so much, we were talking about having one installed at home!

The forest is very near one of my favourite cities, Winchester, not far from the Isle of Wight. It is amazing at xmas time with so many gorgeous lights. 


...and our favourite xmassy shop ,The Hambledon.





We had such a good time there, it's called Forest Holidays and I'm sure we will be visiting again : )


4 comments

  1. That looks like so much fun. I love being in the woods :)

    I followed your blog for a long time but stopped getting updates. I checked and your blog is still listed on my bloglovin' feed but the last update it shows was at the end of 2014. Did something change? I can't find the issue on my end and thought other people might be missing updates too.

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  2. Lovely getaway! My husband and I are self-employed too, so I fully relate to the feeling that work sometimes takes over life completely–you have to sneak in those breaks whenever and however you can! It's so important to step away once in a while.

    We also love a good soak in a hot-tub (considering that the winters in northern Wisconsin drag on endlessly, folks around here have come up with coping mechanisms, and saunas, hot-tubs and many nights spent pot-lucking together in someone's cozy kitchen are our top three ways to survive winter) so we built a wood-fired one a couple years ago and it has been a life-saver! Nothing better than sitting under the stars in a steaming pot of water while snow silently falls on your shoulders. Add a few friends and tumblers of whiskey and you've got yourself a perfect winter evening. Anyway, you guys should build a wood-fired one at your house, they are really easy to set up! Ours is just a large metal stock tank (meant for livestock to drink out of). We fill it with water (doesn't take much, because bodies displace so much water and make the level rise) and get it heating up a couple hours before we plan to use it (it heats up faster in milder weather, but we tend to use it when it's REALLY cold out). You can buy the stoves online or scrap one together with found parts, they are simply just a small stove and stack. :)

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  3. Just to say I'm loving these continued images of family life on the Isle of Wight. And Tonia, if you see this, I (being a former Wisconsin journalist who's been in New Orleans for 25 years) checked out your blog, too. You and Artemis are kindred spirits. What a treat to view both of your purposeful lives.

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  4. Looks absolutely amazing! Your world is unreal to me. If I could buy a tiny bottle of the magic it session to hold, I would! You are an inspiration.

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