• flush-windows
    homestyle

    The benefits of using a local window company

    September 28, 2016 - By 

    Last week our new kitchen was fitted. I’m not sure why it took me so long to realise that it would require time and effort (and money) to make our 1990s house bearable. We both loved our Edwardian terraced house. I loved our neighbours, our street and our proximity to central London. The area was showing signs of gentrification when we lived there but this month they got their first Pret which caused a bit of an outcry and meant Wood Green hit the headlines. It’s fair to say Wood Green has finally arrived – just not in time for…

  • DIY constellation pin badge holder
    crafts - homestyle - upcycling

    DIY constellation pin badge holder

    September 27, 2016 - By 

    It can’t have escaped your notice that pins are really popular at the moment. My collection has been growing steadily for weeks, thanks to my Lucky Box subscription and Instagram. I can’t help but see a pretty pin and have to follow the trail until I have it for my collection! My enamel pin badge collection is getting out of control. Two of my favourites are the Custard Cream enamel pin by Nicki McWilliams which I picked up at one of her workshops, and my seam ripper No Regrets enamel pin badge from Colette. I do have a few more…

  • days out - homestyle - Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy List – Week 105

    September 26, 2016 - By 

    This past week has been a strange one. I’m still adjusting to both my children being at school. There was no time to relax at home though as our new kitchen was installed. We ordered it through Wickes and they had a cancellation which meant we were offered a really early slot or had the option of waiting another 6 weeks. We went for the cancellation slot so spent last weekend packing away our kitchen in the spare room. It was interesting watching our new kitchen being installed and it’s looking quite good with just a few snags. We still…

  • Decorated Trolls gingerbread biscuits
    baking - gingerbread - homestyle

    Decorated Trolls gingerbread biscuits

    September 15, 2016 - By 

    We’ve been taking inspiration from those cute little Trolls recently. We’ve seen the trailer for the new Trolls film a few times and enjoyed playing with the new Poppy Style Station which we recently reviewed. I thought it would be fun to bake and decorate Trolls gingerbread biscuits so found a cookie cutter online and got everything ready. Decorated Trolls gingerbread biscuits You can probably guess that I made a batch of my favourite gingerbread dough (using this gingerbread recipe here). They spread a little whilst baking as I hadn’t chilled it for long enough, but they were still recognisable…

  • days out - homestyle - Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy List – Week 103

    September 12, 2016 - By 

    It’s Monday again and for once I am sitting in silence, listening to the radio all on my own. Time for my weekly Monday Happy List post! Monday was the last day of the school holidays when we were all together so we celebrated by visiting Northala Fields,  local country park. Unfortunately the boating pond was out of action but they have an amazing play park and we took a model car too. It was really quiet and we almost had the place to ourselves. It was also a great way for the children to use up some of their…

  • Waddingtons vintage jigsaw puzzle
    homestyle - vintage

    Vintage bird jigsaw {charity shopping for me}

    September 9, 2016 - By 

    It’s been a while since I shared a vintage find here. I still love charity shopping but as my children get older (and there is no more room for toys!), I’m able to focus on the things I want for myself a bit more. I love vintage games as they are fun to craft with. I have more than enough Scrabble sets but I couldn’t resist a sweet vintage Waddingtons Birds Spelling Pictures jigsaw I found. I absolutely loved the birdy theme (very on trend for Autumn) so snapped it up. I bought it without seeing inside but I thought…

  • Makerly craft kit subscription box review
    crafts - homestyle - subscription box

    Makerly craft kit subscription box review

    September 3, 2016 - By 

    Regular readers know I love crafting and subscription boxes so it’s probably no surprise that I regularly feature the ones I try. The Makerly subscription box is a new one for me and I was kindly offered one to try out and share with you. Makerly make craft kit subscription boxes for people who like making stuff (like me!). Each kit is lovingly put together to make sure you have fun making something awesome each month. Your box includes all the materials, instructions and patterns you need to complete a new project, as well as a craft zine, various tools and…

  • Noisemakers birthday card subscription box
    homestyle - subscription box

    Noisemakers birthday card subscription box

    August 31, 2016 - By 

    When I went to Blogtacular earlier this summer I received the most amazing goody bag on my way out of the conference. The Blogtacular goody bag should have had its’ own blog post really as it was pretty damn amazing. The tote was a collaboration between designosaur and hello Dodo and inside was a fun retro jelly bag stuffed full of goodies from small indie designers to a pattern from Tilly and the Buttons and a sample pot of Annie Sloan paint. As well as the free things, many of which I kept and enjoyed, were leaflets for small indie…

  • Orla Kiely Multi Striped Petal wallpaper
    homestyle - interiors - Orla Kiely

    Updating our home {Orla Kiely wallpaper}

    August 27, 2016 - By 

    I find it hard to believe how long we’ve lived in our house. It’s definitely not our forever home but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to create a happy home environment. In the past 3 years we’ve decorated all our bedrooms, the hall and stairs and are just finishing off re-tiling the downstairs bathroom. I’m the first to admit I really hate decorating. I love the idea of freshly painted ceilings, new wallpaper and furnishings. But in reality I hate the mess and upheaval and would put it off for ever if I could. In a bid to fall…