The heady days of a summer in France...

Emily, who writes the lovely blog Unravelled did a post this week about some bunting she'd made for her tent - they are attending a family friendly festival this summer (very jealous).

It made me really miss camping, I can't wait until we can take Mabel to experience sleeping outdoors. Just not sure how old she needs to be before we take the plunge..

And I love the idea of making your tent that little bit prettier.

Four years or so ago we decided (admittedly on a bit of a whim, after a little too much cold white wine sat outside a lovely pub on a summers evening) to give up our jobs and go travelling around France for the summer. We didn't really think through the full consequences (do we ever?) but it was one of the best decisions we ever made. And occasionally don't we all need a little spontaneity?

We literally went from North to South, in our little Punto (called Billy) with a tent and a copy of Alistair Sawdays 'Special Places to Stay' (for odd nights of relative luxury in a Chambre D'hote).

We stayed in each campsite for as long as the sun shone and the local places to see kept us interested.

We cooked up cheap fantastic food from the local markets, drank tons of cheap but delicious wine, visited some gorgeous villages and met lots of lovely people along the way.

And every time we put up our tent, the last thing we did before opening said wine, was to hang a little heart on the front...

I hope when Mabel is older and wants to make a decision which may not be the most sensible financially (or otherwise) we will remember this trip and encourage her to take a risk and live life for the moment. We did and it has given us loads of really happy memories.

And in the meantime I can't wait to introduce her to the joys of a BBQ, a campfire, sitting / playing outside in that lovely evening sun, and all with a very pretty tent!