Home from uni and back to a lovely country life.

Ahhh home. There's nothing like it, is there? I've always been a huge home girl - yes, I was that little child who cried from homesickness at sleepovers, and I'm not proud of it. Going to uni was a big step and a challenge for me, and before nervously making the move down to Bristol for Freshers' Week, I'd never spent more than a week or so away from my family. But the past two years have flown by, and have helped me grow so much as a person - Yup, I can now survive sleepovers! YES!

A cup of tea and the Telegraph is my fave way to start the day.

Actually, I remember feeling like I didn't even want to leave Bristol last Christmas, I love my uni life that much (and check out my post about why 2nd year is much better than 1st here.) But now I'm back home home, in the house in which I've lived for the past 19 years, where I've grown up, in a lovely little village. There are so many happy memories from my childhood linked to this house, and it's going to be nothing short of tragic when my parents eventually decided to move. Sure, home is where the heart is, or where your family is, or something like that, but realistically, your childhood home is always special.

I have to admit, we do have a pretty delightful, middle class, countryside existence. Allow me to illustrate this and how lovely it is to be home through the medium of pictures:

We have a trusty old AGA (adorned with Cath Kidston tea towel, natch.)

We have SO MANY UTENSILS...

...and a pantry chock-full of ingredients.

As a student who loves getting creative in the kitchen, particularly baking-wise, it's such a treat to have slightly more to work with than butter, sugar and flour. Although obviously I relished the challenge.

And even though they get under your feet while you're cooking, the kitchen would not be complete without our two black labs just being there (told you we're middle class). Meet Dog No. 1, Coco:

She's veeeeery old. Bless.

 And crazy little Dog No. 2, Peppa:

She's a complete and utter nutter.

Walking the dogs round the village (and peering into people's cute houses, obvs) or the surrounding countryside with my mum is a little home routine that I love.

Peppa loves it.

Oh, and we also have pet chickens. The first hens we got were actually my 12th birthday present. Weird? Maybe. I was a bit obsessed. Yeah, definitely a weird kid, but I adored them. Aren't they cute though!?

Bella, Ginger Nut and Grey-one-whose-name-I-cannot-remember (sorry)

I have such fond memories of picking apples, plums, damsons and blackberries from the orchard at the bottom of the garden with my siblings as summer turned to autumn - my mum would then make the most fantastic jams and crumbles with our pickings. At the moment though, our garden is full of the most beautiful roses:

Pink roses are some of my favourite things EVER.

We're lucky to have a sizeable garden (although my parents, struggling to maintain it, may disagree) and it was so much fun when my siblings and I were little. Adults don't go outside and just play, do they? How boring we are. I'm also lucky to have had a big bedroom - also conducive to playage. My sister, friends and I would somehow spend hours sitting on the floor with Jelly Cat toys, Beanie Babies, Playmobil, Barbies, Betty Spaghettis, Polly Pockets and goodness knows what else. None of those new-fangled Bratz, thank you very much. (Sound familiar? You may like my post Memories of a 90s Kid.)

My mum made a rather wise choice when she initially decorated my bedroom - I was too little to know what was going on - so I haven't ever had it re-decorated. I was always quite jealous of my school-friends who would show off their newly decorated, oh-so-grown-up bedrooms, while I was stuck with my floral-themed room. To be fair though, there's nothing wrong or unsuitable about my bedroom design, and now I find it rather comforting. 

Naturally I covered the walls. Including a shrine to the Royal Wedding. And what?

Can you beat the sleep in your home home bed?

I tell you what, it sure is nice to finally be able to sleep without wearing ear plugs. Such are the problems of being a light sleeper living in a house of seven students. Eeyore was always my fave Winnie The Pooh character, and whilst I've packed away some of my childhood toys, there are certain ones that I just can't bear to let go of.

Fairy lights are obvs a must. I may or may not have three sets in my room.

It's a strange existence, being a student. You have two lives really - for 30 or so weeks of the year you live the uni (or maybe even unay) lifestyle in your student city, and for the other 22 you're back home. We haven't really left home yet, and living in different accommodation each year of your degree means your home home is always your real home, as far as I'm concerned. So I feel super lucky that I have such a lovely one, always waiting to welcome me back. Usually with freshly baked goodies and a cuppa.