• homestyle - shopping

    Ready for Winter with Hotter

    December 21, 2016 - By 

    I have a confession to make. I don’t like shoe shopping. There I’ve said it, and I’m sure I’m not alone. I have wide feet and I hate shoe shopping so only have a few favourite pairs. Over the last few years I’ve been getting some pains in one of my feet and recently found out I had plantar fasciitis. Reading up about it I knew it could be eased by wearing good quality shoes, so was pretty delighted to be asked to review my local Hotter shoe store. So far this winter I’ve been wearing my favourite black boots. They…

  • best Elf quote We elves try to stick to the four main food groups- candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.
    Christmas - film review - homestyle

    The perfect festive family night in {watching Elf!}

    December 13, 2016 - By 

    Post in collaboration with E.ON. We’ve had a busy few weeks but I’m pleased to say things are finally slowing down enough to let us enjoy the festive season. This is a magical time of year but it can be tricky to enjoy it when there is an endless round of Christmas parties, nativity plays and Santa’s Grottos’ to visit! Last weekend was the first weekend in a long time that we’ve been at home. Of course we had a few festive things planned but we were all really looking forward to a family film night. This time of year is…

  • Gingerbread and Salted Caramel cupcake
    homestyle - mindfulness - Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy List – week 116

    December 12, 2016 - By 

    Last week the whole family was ill on different days so it was a strange week. I fell behind a little on my Christmas prep so I’m hoping all the illness is behind us now so I can get a move on with everything. There was a lot of sitting around and feeling sorry for myself. This quiet time allowed me space to read and enjoy the latest issue of Project Calm magazine. It included a lovely paper cut which I’ve been working on too. On Saturday I had my Christmas concert. I joined a choir a year ago and…

  • Unique Planners by Pirongs {planner review}
    homestyle - lifestyle

    Unique Planners by Pirongs {Life Planner review}

    December 2, 2016 - By 

    I love buying new stationery and with a New Year in sight I couldn’t resist trying out a new planner. Unique Planners by Pirongs, are a family-run British business, who produce gorgeous, hard back customisable life planners. Life Planners are huge in the US and are now pretty popular in the UK too. Unique Planners are completely customisable, you can choose your covers, diary layouts, add photos and text and choose around 25 pages at the back to add in – simply pick from the list of available ones including gift lists, birthday logs, personal goals, holiday wishlists, music to…

  • elf in operation sign
    Christmas - Elf on the Shelf - homestyle

    Embracing my inner Elf

    November 25, 2016 - By 

    Love it or loathe it but the Elf on the Shelf will be landing in T-5 days. I bought one a few years ago and the children love seeing what he gets up to every day in December. I clearly made a rod for my own back and spend most of December trying to think of new places to hide him, usually at about 11.30 at night! This year I am being super organised and have planned my activities. A few months ago I set up a secret Pinterest board and have been Pinning Elf on the Shelf ideas. I…

  • Festive Tunnocks Teacakes baubles
    Christmas - crafts - homestyle - tutorial

    Festive Tunnocks Teacakes baubles

    November 25, 2016 - By 

    I can’t believe it’s time for my last crafty post as part of the Project: recycle & create. I’ve really enjoyed the monthly challenge organised by Teach Me Mommy. This month we are all about the polystyrene. We don’t seem to get too much polystyrene packing but we do have plenty of the round balls which I’m using today. Since living in Scotland for 5 years I’ve been a big fans of Tunnocks, I was even a member of the Tunnocks’ Caramel Wafer Appreciation Society, so today I’m sharing my tutorial for super easy Tunnocks baubles. This is a lovely craft…

  • Top tips for gift wrapping from M&S
    Christmas - homestyle

    Top tips for gift wrapping from M&S

    November 24, 2016 - By 

    This is a commissioned post in collaboration with M&S. I absolutely love Christmas and my preparations start early so I can really enjoy December and all the fun events leading up to Christmas Day with my family. Because I love Christmas I am happy to do as much of the planning and shopping as I can (much to my husband’s relief!). I love to experiment with my wrapping so was delighted to be invited to an M&S Christmas wrapping event a few weeks ago. One evening I found myself outside a gorgeous old house in Soho Square, knocking on a…

  • Embroidery hoop Christmas decorations {Sew this is Knitmas}
    Christmas - crafts - handmade - homestyle

    Embroidery hoop Christmas decorations {Sew this is Knitmas}

    November 22, 2016 - By 

    This is a commissioned post in collaboration with White Stuff. Recently I’ve been working on a really fun collaboration with White Stuff as part of their #SewThisIsKnitmas festive fun. They sent me some of their fabulous offcuts and challenged me to make a unique Christmas decoration with it. This was a great excuse to browse Pinterest for some crafting inspiration! Not only do White Stuff make gorgeous clothes but their print and patterns are beautiful too. I love White Stuff and have some key pieces which I just love; the quirkier the pattern the better for me. They sent me…

  • Creating adult space in the garden
    gardening - homestyle

    Creating adult space outdoors

    November 20, 2016 - By 

    One of the hardest things about this time of year is that our garden is so sadly neglected. Our beautiful French doors are closed and the shutters are kept closed. We did venture out today to plant some of the new Miffy tulip bulbs and it was lovely to have a little tidy up. The recent stormy weather has blown leaves everywhere and it’s all looking a little bare and sad. When we bought this house a garden was top of our list. We had a gorgeous garden with our last house and our current one is a little small…