Did you watch any episodes of the Great Interior Design Challenge? I love that programme and watched every episode. I love seeing how the different designers met the brief and how they transformed the different styles of houses. I was waiting for them to design a 1990s house but funnily enough that didn’t happen. We are really struggling with ideas for our house. I’m not sure if these programmes are a good idea or not. On the one hand they inspire me to want to have a beautiful home. On the other hand, they make me feel inadequate that I…
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This time of year brings out the thrifty-ness in me. I love to save money all year round but especially at Christmas which is the most expensive time of year for us as a family. One of my most popular posts is how to save money on maternity leave. As I never returned to work after the birth of my first child I’ve been taking my own advice ever since! I thought I would share some of my money saving tips and would love to hear yours. Our biggest monthly expense is our mortgage but due to careful budgeting we’ve…
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This time of year is perfect for lighting a candle or two. I love candles and find they really add ambience to a room as well as eliminating nasty smells. With Christmas round the corner I’ve been stocking up on some seasonal scents from Febreze to help set the mood this Christmas. Filling the house with seasonal scents I’m expecting a house full so I want to make sure my house smells fabulous. The new range, which includes yummy sounding Vanilla Latte, Apple & Spice, Warm Cedarwood, Winter Garden and Festive Sprite, are beautifully packaged in vintage-inspired wrapping so are…
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We’ve had a steady stream of visitors lately which has been lovely, a great side effect is that my house has never looked so clean! Let’s be honest, I can’t be the only one who cleans for visitors?! Of course the only problem with having a clean and tidy house is that it really shows how shabby everything looks. We moved in 18 months ago and whilst we’ve decorated our bedrooms we haven’t really touched the downstairs rooms. The colour scheme is coming together thanks to tins of Annie Sloan paint. We’ve been painting lots of furniture and as soon…
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Last week Little Sis and I had a day out in the West End. We’re having lots of fun together whilst her brother is at school and I thought we’d ventureĀ a little further than normal. I love planning and making lists so used Journl to plan our day. I checked bus and tube times and made a note of them, researched exhibitions to see, places to eat and of course, some of our favourite shops to visit. We dropped the 4 year old at school, hopped on the bus to the station and caught the tube into the West…
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I love reading Tales from a Happy House and how her mantel charts the seasons in her house. When I saw her invitation to join in I knew I had to, albeit a little last minute as usual. Our fireplace is pretty nasty but I love the mantel in our living room, it’s a real focal point and I just had to share what’s on my mantel this month. I’ve said before that we haven’t decorated our living room since we moved in last April. The room is painted a neutral colour which means most things look good. The two…
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The start of the new school year means my washing basket is full of essential school items. My 4 year old must see it as his mission to get as messy as possible and give me something to do whilst he’s at school. Fortunately for me I received some samples of the new Lenor Unstoppables which are pure perfume for your fabrics in a bead format. There are three delicious scents – Bliss, Lavish and Fresh. You simply add a handful to your washing machine, and wash into your clothes along with your normal detergent. The scents can be used…
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I’ve been obsessed with vintage board games for a while now. Part of it is trying to re-create the games my grandparents kept in their wardrobe which we were allowed to play with when we visited. They had a great collection which included Tell Me, a metal wind up car racing game made in East Germany, a magnetic fishing and more, all stored in a green enamel bread bin. When they died I really wanted to take all of those with me, just to preserve the memories, but I couldn’t and I suppose I’ve regretted it ever since. What a…
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I love receiving products to review, especially ones which save me time and money and aren’t bad for the environment. The Bissell Vac & Steam seems to tick all those boxes š Our new house has a mixture of floors including large floor tiles and laminate. At this time of the year the children are in and out all day long, I shout at them ask them nicely to remove their shoes but they frequently forget and I often find myself cleaning the floors downstairs every day. I’m really hoping this will become less frequent the older they get but…