Not on the High Street…

If you read Tuesday’s post, you will know that I began my Christmas countdown at 154 days. A little extreme I know but I woke up that day with the biggest craving for Christmas cake, chased down with a large glass of port. Before I knew it, I was daydreaming of dark cold evenings spent watching fairy lights, Christmas carols, chestnuts, wrapping paper and baubles. Now it’s all I can think about. I’ve even started to do some Christmas window shopping, starting at my new favourite online store Not on the High Street. The store has come a long way from gimmicky toys and personalised aprons that I remember from when it first started. In fact, I spent the better half of an hour “browsing” through their homeware goodies. I have a few favourites…

Incidentally, I couldn’t find Christmas cake anywhere but I spotted my first mince pie yesterday! Any sign of Christmas where you are?

1. Hand-painted doorknobs; 2. Reclaimed wooden crate; 3. Personalised pendant; 4. Trinket dish; 5. Mini bespoke map heart; 6. Sting lights

On my mind – vintage tins!

Just a little something pretty to get us through our hump day! I have been spotting pretty little vintage tins all over the internet and I just had to do a post on them. Fill them with wild flowers, use them as trinket jars, use them to keep coffee fresh and stylish in your fridge (which is what I do), or simply just use them as decoration. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

  

Just a few things…

I was tagged by Colleen from Ordinary Tales for this random sharing episode so here goes….

The Rules

1. Create a blog post including 11 random facts about yourself

2. Answer the 11 random questions from the blogger who nominated you

3. Give this award to at least 5 blogs up to 11 and link to them in the post

4. Tell those people you nominated them

5. You cannot nominate the person who has nominated you

6. Remember to tag blogs with less than 200 followers

Some random photos, most involving consumption of beer.

11 Random Facts…

1. I’m a compulsive list maker. I often write things down on a list that I have already completed just so that I can have the satisfaction of ticking it off.
2. I’ve had more hair disasters than I care to remember. In the past 26 years, I have had a bob, a perm, Morticia Adams hair, scarecrow hair and the infamous cheetah dye job. I never seem to learn.
3. I can’t sing to save my life but I sure can bust a move or two (in my humble opinion of course).
4. I have an aversion to ugly plastic-y things. Both Jordan and my work colleagues have become quite good at anticipating what items will offend me and hide them before I throw them in the bin.
5. I love any kind of sports, beer, metal music and fast cars just as much as I love interior design, Prada, Florence + the Machine and Real Housewives.
6. I once made the mistake of telling Jordan I was sceptical over the existence of dinosaurs.
7. I had such an addiction to sweet things as a child that I used to eat Rennies in moments of sugar desperation.
8. I have never seen the Lion King. I get tearful just thinking about watching it.
9. I go into a sort-of trance like state when I do the vacuuming.
10. I recently called my boss “babe” by accident.
11. I have a not-so-secret crush on Phil Spencer from Location Location.

The last thing I see at night before I turn out my bedside light… it’s a photo, not the real thing!

Questions to answer:

1. My first pet: Tommy the Tortoise. He liked lettuce but wasn’t big on cuddling.
2. My first love: cue the eye rolling and gagging noises, but I married my first love.
3. Where else would I live besides here: the land of great design and deadly creatures aka Australia.
4. Favourite and least favourite qualities about me: favourite = I am emotionally very strong (apart from the whole Lion King thing). Least favourite = my infamous temper.
5. Red, white or rose: white!! I love the idea and sophistication of red but I have never been able to drink something room temperature.
6. Favourite meal and where: oh gosh! Too many to mention but one of my most memorable dining experiences was in Prague. We ate Czech cranberry beef strew at a tiny hole-in-the-wall smoky bar with massive pints of Pilsner, watching the snow flutter down with the sound of the trams rumbling in the background. I relive it often.
7. Top of my travel list: road trip around America.
8. Favourite curse word: so many! I swear like a sailor! I probably say “twat” the most. Although you can’t beat a good f-word rant!
9. If I could be friends with a celebrity, who would it be: hmmm this is tricky! Probably not very original but I love Gwyneth Paltrow (and we all know she has got one or two connections).
10. Top five movies: Pride and Prejudice; Barefoot in the Park; Office Space; Man on Fire; Life is Beautiful – all random but all awesome!
11. Favourite holiday: Christmas. I started my countdown 154 days ago!

One of my favourite travel photos

11 Random Questions for those who wish to participate:

1. What would be the first thing you would do if you found out you won the lottery?
2. What’s your favourite city (even if you haven’t been to it)?
3. Do you have a nickname? If so, what?
4. Favourite time of day?
5. Do you prefer the beach or the forest?
6. What made you decide to start a blog?
7. Do you have any phobias? If so, what?
8. What’s your favourite dish to cook (if you cook)?
9. How would you spend a spontaneous day off?
10. Do you read magazines online or from the shops? Any favourites?
11. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?

I am tagging the following lovely ladies:

• Rooth from A Miusmie
• Vic from Cush and Nooks
• Lisa from a Room with a View
• Ines from Simply Classy Me
• Emily from Design and Nonsense
• Carolyn and Cynthia from The Buzz Blog

Something to fall in love with…

I know we all love a bit of Scandinavian interior design – the simple clean lines, the lack of window treatments to let enough light in as possible, the abundance of white… you know the stuff I mean? It’s probably fair to say that they have interiors down to a fine art… but what about exteriors? Well this beauty below is here to prove that they are pros at that too! The warm and inviting porch area was the first thing to catch my eye on this Swedish house. With the hammock, oversized rattan chairs and gauzy drapes, it looks like the perfect space to spend a balmy summer night.

Thoughts?

Images via

What I never leave home without…

We had our first real taste of an autumnal morning on Wednesday, and even though I waxed lyrical about being ready for the change… well, turns out I am still a big baby when it comes to the cold. So I am avoiding talking fashion today as I am not sure what side of the fence I want to be on: to be autumnal or not? That is the question! Instead, I’ll stick to something that transcends the temperature – sunglasses! If you have a quick squiz through my moodboards, you will notice that I add a pair of aviators to nearly every outfit I put together. In my opinion, not only do they make you look like a badass, but they go with everything too! I never ever leave the house without them! Happy weekend all!

And… ahem… yes, I think the first picture might well be Lindsey Lohan. Apologies but I like the picture!

Treasures from Ikea…

My weekend had one major positive – the arrival of the latest Ikea catalogue through my front door! I devoured it almost instantly and was left wanting to brave the Croydon traffic in order to buy as much as I could carry to the car! Luckily this moment of madness was fleeting and with a sick husband to console, I did a little internet window shopping. Since every page I skimmed through was bookmarked, I wanted to put a collection of my favourite finds together.

Note the Barometer lamp is on there again this year… hint hint!

1. Barometer Lamp; 2. Flower Picture; 3. Rocking-chair; 4. Laptop Table; 5. Tap; 6. Carafe 7. Orchid; 8. Olunda Picture; 9. Plant pot; 10. Basket;  11. Vase 12. Throw

On the light side…

One of the first things I notice in a space is the lighting (it’s almost certainly the first thing I comment on when trawling through beautiful images on other blogs). I can be flexible and open-minded when it comes to furniture, wall finishes, flooring… even colour (to a point) but my outlook on lighting is so particular that if it is just not right, I more than likely won’t be captivated by the rest of the room.*Sigh* Of course I have the dreaded renter’s lighting curse i.e. it’s a total shambles in my own house, so I counteract this with a mild moderate obsession with table lamps. This doesn’t stop me from living vicariously through others though! Here are my current lighting flavours of the month…

Light; Inspiration

Light; Inspiration

Light; Inspiration