About Me

I’m Jen, I’m forty, I’m just ordinary... I live in Derbyshire with my partner Phil, our ginger cat Tilly and our Italian Spinone puppy called Albert Jones who is my little dreamboat.

I own a small interiors shop called Lotties Loft... all sounds very mundane and regular I know so what on earth am I doing writing a blog, goodness only knows but here goes...

I have a couple of  customers who have been “enouraging” me to do this for a long time and I’ve finally got my act together and I’m thinking why ever not?...but admittedly I’m fighting my inner lack of confidence and fright of negative judgement to actually put myself out there, will anyone actually be interested enough to read it?...people who know me and those of you that hopefully get to know me through reading my posts may possibly be a little surpised by this as generally I am outwardly confident, gently opinionated, wordy, chatty, full of ideas...

Just so you get to know me a little, here are the things that I love...

Dogs

...In particular Italian Spinones but any will do, in my world they really are “man’s best friend”.

Hydrangeas

...Blue ones are my fave and I love them more at the end of the summer when they start to fade and are ready to be dried and scattered about the house.

French daybeds

...Overflowing with cushions and blankets, just willing you to snuggle up and while away the hours.

Candles

...no a home can never have too many, lit everywhere at all times of the day.

Fabric & Linen

..piles and piles of it, makes my sewing table look more interesting and makes me feel creative. White cotton bedlinen, all fresh and crispy, who cares that it needs laundering far too often, its heavenly. Linen, anything and everything thats made of it, I can’t get enough of it, I’m aiming for a wardrobe containing only that, all wrinkly and floaty.

Lavender

...dried, the colour and smell are both divine.

Old stuff

...The more worn and used the better, makes you wonder where its been before and what secrets it holds...

And a few other things....

Coffee, lots of it, double shot skinny cappuccino to start the day, every day, then all day long... Shoes & Boots, how many pairs??? Say no more... Hotwater bottles - best invention ever and a must October to March regardless of outdoor temperature... Woodburning stoves, they create the perfect Sunday afternoon, all snug and cosy.

Lotties Lifestyle is a way of me sharing my “stuff”, my likes and occasionally my dislikes, my plans, my dreams, my ambitions, my discoveries. It’ll be full of stories and lovely pictures, it’ll be the journey of my life ...a way of me seeing and sharing what I can actually achieve...

Now I don’t do “resolutions”...I find them too stiff and feel like I’m setting myself up to fail but what I do do is planning...and this year I plan to;

1. Keep my little shop growing and thriving...it is my baby afterall albeit a labour of love...
2. Design, make and possibly even sell my own small range of linen clothing...all natural, floaty, different...
3. Buy a house in france...come with me on that exciting journey... 
4. Raise my puppy to be calm and obidient...wish me luck...
5. Renovate my kitchen and dining room...I’ve been waiting 17 yrs for a new kitchen, will this be the year...
6. Turn my scrappy garden in to a floral cottage delight...can but dream
7. Walk more...I will have slim thighs right through my forties...and I do live on the edge of stunning countryside...
8. Go vegetarian then vegan...slowly...very slowly...I’ll need help with this one...

Follow me on this journey and lets see where it goes...what actually happens in ordinary, everyday life...