Rosie Brown's home

If your a regular reader you'll have noticed me mention Papa Stour every few months. The online boutique sells a gorgeous range of handmade quality Scottish gifts including textiles, jewellery, ceramics, cards, something for those of you who love fabric birds and even a felted lambswool corsage. The product shots that Rosie styles for the website are really lovely too using her home (I'm guessing) and nature to show things off beautifully!

It was only after my first mention of Papa Stour that I found out Rosie studied in Dundee (this is an example of her work at Papa Stour), and realised she'd been in the year above me at college. She was one of those people that you look up to and aspire to be like, but, as a shy person, are too scared to talk to. Thankfully I'm not quite so shy now and emailed her in late Spring to say 'hi' and congratulate her on her gorgeous business.

But it's not just her business (and herself) that's beautiful, nope, her house is too as I discovered to my delight when I got the December issue of Living Etc. through the door yesterday (eternal thanks to my brother for the gift subscription). I was at the section where they feature 3 homes and was feeling a bit ugh about the 1st house valued at £8 million ($15m), then I turned the page and beamed at what I saw next, a vision of Scottish cosiness, and then realised it was Rosie's.



I just love her cottage, so full of things a country girl like me loves, painted wood floorboards, deep cottage windows, lots of different chairs and stools and, of course, wonderful little collections of 'things' many from the Papa Stour artists/crafts people and others from nature. The cottage is FULL of soul and personality, and she didn't need to spend 3 million dollars on it. I know which one I'd prefer to visit.

And speaking of visits, she has done up a cottage near Applecross (see pic below) in the North West coast of Scotland that you can rent as a holiday home, see some pics and get more info here.

It's a really lovely part of the country, when we were together Mr P. and I (yes, we were a couple many, many years ago) used to go to a cottage just outside Kenmore, north of Applecross. It had it's own bothy, it's own little bay AND it's own tiny island! A group of us used to have summer or winter holidays there for a few years. We'd go climbing in the mountains and playing on the beaches. Everywhere you go you see the mountains or the sea, or BOTH!

And the sunsets, west coast sunsets can be breathtaking. Since my health went downhill I can't often do the mountain thing anymore, but I still love a good beach. The pub in Applecross is so nice and cosy to go to after a wintery walk and after a summer walk a cup of tea and a scone are just the thing from the Flower Tunnel.

Often when the more serious climbers would go for a huge trek I used to enjoy just taking the rowing boat out and peacefully floating around between the bay and the little island with a glass bowl in the water so I could peer at the fish clearly. If you were very quiet the otters would pass nearby too.

I also loved making sculptures on the beach from whatever was lying around, the west coast is wonderful for strange things washing up after storms, and incredible pieces of wood just begged to be gathered and made into things. Sadly this was all pre digital camera so what very few photo's I have are all packed away just now. Some day I'll find some photo's to post, but for now, I'll simply enjoy the happy memories that are flooding back as I sit with my stove, my hot spicy drink and my magazine. Autumn bliss.