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Showing posts from 2017

| LIFESTYLE | My Favourite Season: Autumn

Autumn has rolled around again, and this pleases me greatly. In homage to my favourite season, I’ve listed some of my reasons why I just love this time of year! ©        Those bright sunny mornings but with a chill in the air ©        Chunky knit jumpers and scarves ©        Autumnal colours such as mustard, burnt orange and burgundy ©        Seeing rows of trees all turning different shades of yellow, gold and red ©        Crunching through the mounting piles of fallen leaves on the ground ©        The excitement of seeing pumpkins start to appear in supermarkets ©        Pumpkin picking! ©        Baking fruit pies and crumbles ©        Starting to add cinnamon to drinks or puddings…...

| HOME | Decorating With Pumpkins (For Grown Ups!)

Last weekend we visited a local farm which was holding its annual "pick your own pumpkin" event. I honestly didn't realise how enjoyable being in a field of pumpkins could actually be! At this particular place, they had over 50...yes 50  varieties of pumpkin. It's astounding to see all the different colours, shapes and sizes that you never knew existed. There's something very satisfying about foraging amongst the foliage and filling your arms (or in our case a wheelbarrow!) with your pumpkin finds- I guess that's the "hunter gatherer" instinct in all of us. I decided not to carve my pumpkins. It's fine when you're younger or you have children, but having a collection of pumpkins with manic toothy grins around the flat isn't really "me" and also once they are carved out, they don't last particularly long. Instead I decided to still celebrate Autumn and Halloween with the pumpkins, but to make the decoration a...

| HOME | My Interior Style

If I could describe my interior style, I think it would be “cottage/shabbychic/scandi” but really it’s just an accumulation of things that I think look pretty. Going back about 7½ years when myself and my partner first moved in to our flat, I had completely different taste. Before moving in, my “dream” interior was to have dark super-modern furniture, lots of chrome, faux fur throws and generally feeling very “luxe”. I lusted after a dark brown faux leather bed frame and I was thrilled when we managed to buy my ideal bed. After a year or so, we also painted the bedroom walls in a brown paint which had a hint of purple to it from Wilkos- I believe it was called “Earthy Hue”. I'd always wanted to paint rooms in brown (I think this was due to the fact that my parent’s house was predominantly painted in magnolia and my bedroom was wallpapered…I just needed to get it out of my system!) and I thought that this colour would make the room feel cosy. BIG mistake. Combined with the dark w...

| LIFESTYLE | My Trip To Emma Bridgewater

I’m so excited to be able to tell you about my trip to the Emma Bridgewater Factory in Stoke-on-Trent as a birthday present. As a relatively new collector, I felt that making the journey to the factory was almost a “pilgrimage” of sorts, and also can you even call yourself a fan if you haven’t been to visit?! My friend and I both had tickets for the Experience Day, which cost (a very reasonable) £30.00 each. This included a guided tour of the factory, afternoon tea and the opportunity to decorate your own item of pottery. You can also book to have just a tour of the factory which is an incredible £2.50! We arrived with plenty of time to spare before our tour started, so we decided to have a nose around. The factory itself I must admit looks pretty bleak from the outside. It’s a typical large red brick Victorian style factory sitting amongst similar grim-looking buildings, and next door to a petrol station. Still- we weren’t there to admire the outside! We walked through ...

| LIFESTYLE | Visit to Weathered & Worn

You’ve got to love Instagram. I was recently scrolling through my feed and saw a photo of an arrangement of some beautiful rustic homeware. As a lover of anything shabby chic/vintage, this photo really sparked my interest and I needed to know more! Turns out that this photo was taken in a shop called “Weathered & Worn”. The shop (luckily for me, but not so lucky for my purse!) is only a 25 minute journey from my house. After much Instagram stalking (their Instagram page is here ) and at the next available opportunity, I told my other half that we HAD to check it out! Weathered & Worn is located in the small village of Hadlow Kent, which is near to Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks. It is a vintage homeware, furniture shop and café, open Monday- Saturday. They also have free parking next to the building which is a definite bonus in my book. The interior is modest but just gorgeous! It isn’t dark and dingy in the slightest which I find with most vintage/antique shops. I...

| LIFESTYLE | Facts About Me!

I've been tagged a few times by people on Instagram and I thought I'd give you a bit of insight into me! I'm putting it on here in the form of a blog post as it is easier to lay out on here I think! So here goes... I'm 28 (turning 29 next week)  I'm a true Virgo through and through. I worry (a lot), I'm shy, I'm kind, I enjoy cleanliness and I HATE slovenliness and rudeness. My sister is also a Virgo and although there's 7 years between us, our birthdays are only a week apart  I'm a big animal lover. I absolutely adore cats, I love rodents (such as hamsters and gerbils) as I used to keep them as a child and I also love sloths and anteaters- I think they're amazing creatures and so funny to look at!  I don't get broody at all over human babies...but animal babies (especially kittens!) and you'll probably find me a complete emotional wreck!  I've lived with my Fiance for 7 and a half years, and we've been together since M...

| HOME | Brand Watch: Emma Bridgewater

A number of years ago I noticed pictures of other people’s dinnerware circulating online and in magazines, which featured white crockery with bold black lettering swirled around the outside of plates, bowls and mugs. Although a simple design, the collection really captivated me and I knew that I wanted to get my hands on some of my own. I discovered that this was the Emma Bridgewater “Black Toast” collection- one part of many collections that she has created during her 32 years in production. Other current collections include Marmalade, Rose and Bee, Polka Dot, Wallflower, Starry Skies and Pink Hearts (to name but a few). Each design is like a work of art; sponged or hand painted onto the pottery. You also have the option to personalise your item with a name for example, if you so wish. The pottery itself feels thick, sturdy and built to last; no wonder then that so many people have been collecting Emma Bridgewater for decades! Personally as I said, I’m a rea...

| LIFESTYLE | How Gardening Helped My Anxiety

We are incredibly lucky to have a large balcony for a 1 bedroom rented flat (approximately 18 foot wide and 6 foot deep). Having said that, when we first moved in 7 years ago and at 21 years old, we weren't that bothered by utilising the outdoor space that we had. Neither of us at the time were particularly into gardening. In fact, my other half didn't even have an outdoor space at his previous home. We both agreed that "at some point" we would do something with it and our attention was focused solely on making the inside of our flat look nice.  Years passed and the weeds got bigger; we bought a cheap metal table and chairs for the balcony, but that was the extent of what we did with it.  The turning point for me came when I developed extremely bad anxiety at the beginning of last year. I struggled to leave the house or even venture out very far beyond my "safe zone" which was my home town. One day my parents asked if I wanted to come with them to a...